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Chapter Text

The dark green floor of the forest blended in with the scales of his monstrous body. His coils sliding through the bushes with ease despite the stinging pain of the wound on his lower half. The open wound from the angry townsfolk that threw pitchforks and food from their garbage to throw at him once they spotted him trying to slink out of their eyesight.

He remembered their fearful faces and others looked upon him with disgust and hatred. Zhuzhi-Lang will make sure to repay their treatment once he heals and checks in with his uncle. He went all the way through the town to find the latest volume of the romance series Junshang was interested in.

He stopped at a clearing, placing the book at his side as he looked down at the bleeding wound caused by the angry townsfolk mob.

All he wanted was a book that he paid for. Yet every human he comes across is quick to jump to horrible conclusions about him because of his disgusting form. His hood had fallen and that was all they needed to condemn him.

Creak

Zhuzhi-Lang whipped his head towards the sound, eyes tracking beyond the tree line to check if anyone was following him deeper into the forest. His eyes landed on faded gray robes seemingly walking away from him with no urgency in his steps.

He hissed a warning which made the robed man pause in his step instead of run faster from the noise. Zhuzhi-Lang coiled up further into a ball hiding his injury from the stranger, only hissing again when he caused the wound to bleed more from the movement.

The man in gray robes turned his way, his head tilting to try and find the source of his hissing. He uncoiled away and looked at his wound. Someone must have gotten a lucky hit with a poisoned blade from how slow his healing was right now.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Are you hurt?” A man’s soft voice called out. “I have some medicine on me. But if you’re a robber, I have no money on me, so don’t get your hopes up!”

... Strange man.

The man dressed in gray finally caught sight of him, his body not drawing back once it landed on him. Instead, his gaze grew more curious towards him instead of flinching away from his hideous form. Zhuzhi-Lang’s eyes widened at the sight of the pale man coming closer. His black hair pulled up into a loose bun with a simple hairpin keeping it in place. His dark eyes tracked over his form like he was admiring each scale on his body.

“Ah, you must be the source of the hissing.” The man stepped forward through the bushes, avoiding a prickly vine wrapped around the Long-Flow trees like the ones surrounding them in the clearing. The strange man pursed his lips once his eyes landed on his wound. “Hmm, you must be in pain from that wound, it looks deep.”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched the man sigh as his smile cracked just a bit at the edges, staring at a blank space ahead of him.

“FML, I hope you can understand me.” What is that phrasing he used? He never heard that before, especially whispering so harshly under one’s breath like that. “I have some medicinal supplies I can use to help if you would allow me.”

He watched the man’s body language carefully for any sign of deceit before allowing him to slowly step closer. Zhuzhi-Lang kept his gaze on the man as the stranger knelt down and pulled out jars and bandages from his bag.

He remained still even as he winced from the man treating his wound, pouring water to rinse away and clean the dirt from it. Wincing again when the man poured a more potent solution to thoroughly clean out the wound. Yet even if it was uncomfortable for a few moments, the man continued with whispered words of praise towards him.

“You’re doing so well. I’m almost done with the cleaning and then I’ll heal you up. I’m sure my qi could help...” Zhuzhi-Lang heard him mumble something about being confused about which sect he... his character got kicked out of? Then something about an NPC. Was that a poison?

Is he being helped by a crazy person ?

The man sighed as he dried off the water from his scaled body. “This one apologizes for the uncomfortable part of it. I will try my best to get this done efficiently and quickly.”

He waited and watched the man with his eyes never once leaving him. The inner eyelids keep his eyes moist in his deformed form. Even if the man was crazy, he would be sure to repay this act in the future.

“I’ve never seen someone like you before.”

...Someone?

‘Filthy beast!’

‘It’s come to eat our children’

‘Demon!’

‘Kill it!’

‘God, what a disgusting creature. Put it out of its misery!’

‘Horrifying!’

“Your scales look nice,” the man continued. The stranger grinned as he ran his hands down his smooth scales all while complimenting the color and shine of them. The pattern and the shades of green running down his form.

His jaw felt slack from how his mouth gazed open slightly before feeling a small burst of warmth of qi, helping his healing process even more. The man continued with the process, bandaging the wound to keep it from infection.

Zhuzhi-Lang felt his wound already closing up as the man scooted back to look at him. His dark pupils meet the snake-like skits of his own.

“I go by Shen Yuán.” Shen Yuán introduced himself. Brushing back a piece of hair framing his face behind his ear. Zhuzhi-Lang tracked his fingers and darted to his mouth when he licked his lips. “I hope to meet you again.”

Zhuzhi-Lang didn’t dare speak a word as the Shen Yuán gathered his belongings and left the clearing with no rush in his steps. He watched Shen Yuán leave him behind, sneaking a glance back to wave at him with a smile like he was an old friend and not a demon that could slither up to him at any second and take off his head with one swipe.

His head slowly rested upon the forest floor of vines and leaves, avoiding the frills of the bright flowers begging for attention for new victims to fall to their dangerous pollen.

We will meet again, Shen Yuán. I will make sure of it.

After he located Shen Yuán’s residence, he would return back to his uncle to read from the book as he wished.

He snuck a glance to the book he hid behind him, the yellow cover taunting him with the filthy, sexual encounters inside. Zhuzhi-Lang sighed as a blush creeped up his face from the memories of the previous book his uncle had him read out loud.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuán choked on a meal of expired foods while cursing out the author of some shitty web novel. That was how he died with the sour taste of expired yogurt and meat bun in his mouth. He didn’t even get to taste the spicy ramen he got from the convenience store a few days ago. His custom Ning Yingying noodle figure still resting on the cooked ramen sitting on his desk.

"Stupid author, stupid novel!"

These were the last words Shen Yuán could curse before he died.

He wouldn't have thought he would die this way, so... pathetically. Although it was fitting since he didn’t really go outside his apartment that much. The only times he ventured out was to get food and visit family.

Oh, his family. God, he hopes they don’t find him like that. His corpse hunched over at his desk especially with a glorified porn novel on his screen.

It wasn’t even like he was reading it for any of the papapa scenes!

He was reading it because he liked and hated it all at the same time because of the author’s stupid choices on what to focus on and his outrageous number of plot holes in the story!

The author decides to make some cultivation world yet the readers see the cultivators traveling by horses or carriages way more often than swords. How eating and sleeping is necessary even after fasting. As soon as the protagonist shows up, even the most calculating bastards set up for a big arc will immediately drop to an intelligence newly an elementary school student.

Shen Yuán didn’t like to read something that hurt his brain more times than he could count when he was alive. It was that the novel had numerous foreshadows and plots holes that layered confusion atop more confusing elements which was never ever solved in the end for the novel. He kept holding on to see if it would ever be resolved.

Did it? No!

How was there so many unusual and rare plants, spirit pills, and miraculous medicine just all around the world? Why not focus some attention on plants that were more common, not everything that was super rare that was only defeated by something even more ultra rare in the next arc when Luo Binghe needed another stupid wife for his harem.

Luo Binghe was the only thing good about the novel.

Except maybe he wasn’t the only good thing because despite his critiques of the world, the things that drew him in were the amount of beast and monsters, especially the plants mentioned so many times before.

If it was him, he would have established more common plants and explored deeper into the spiritual beasts that Luo Binghe other encountered or killed in his journey. And actually gave Luo Binghe love interests that actually had some depth and truly loved him.

But no, Airplane Shooting Through The Sky couldn’t do it! He had to write horrible papapa scenes every single shitty chapter since the Endless Abyss Arc.

Shen Yuán felt that he was angry enough to come back from the dead. He was considering how to become a ghost and finds that shitty author when a robotic noise sounded beside his ear.

[Activation Code: {Stupid author, stupid novel }. Automatically triggering system.]

"How may I address you?" The Google Translate voice said, surprising him. He looked around in the dark space that seemed like he was floating in space except without any stars to light his way, instead only a blue screen floating in front of his face.

“...Shen Yuán?”

[We welcome your entrance into the system, Shen Yuán. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!]

“Uh, thank you...?”

[This system is based on the developing concept of ‘YOU CAN YOU UP, NO CAN NO BB’. We hope to provide you with the best experience. It is our sincere hope that during the course of your experience, you can achieve what you desired.]

[To transform a piece of stupid writing in accordance to your wishes into a high-end, impressive, and high-grade classic work. We pray for your happiness.]

“I can change the story. Hell yes.” Shen Yuán mumbled, silently pumping his fist as he thought about the critiques he would fix. Like maybe not killing the war god or actually exploring the world building more.

[Beginning Transfer...]

[Host: Shen Yuán]

[Transferring...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

[ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!]

What? What’s happening? Shen Yuán thought as the blue screen started to flash red.

[Host’s new body won’t allow transfer! Shen Qingqiu’s soul refuses to move on. No longer an empty vessel!]

That asshole?! Shen Yuán didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the option. “That scum villain?! I don’t want to be him!”

[EMERGENCY PLAN B INITIATED]

“What the hell is happening?!” He yelled out into the dark space.

Shen Yuán couldn’t get another response out of the blue screen before it was complete darkness.

When he woke up as a nameless An Ding disciple, safe to say, he was relieved yet disappointed.

Relieved because at least he wasn’t the scum villain or any other characters that would face their demise. But disappointed because how was he supposed to change the story like this or—

“Am I just nameless canon fodder?”

[Correct! But User: Shen Yuán can change his fate within certain limits]

He frowned. “Okay, what are my limits?”

[Despite changes made, main plot points and arcs may not change.]

“Like the Endless Abyss Arc?” He asked the system, receiving a positive ding like a notification bell.

[Yes. It is crucial for the protagonist to endure the Endless Abyss.]

“I can’t just let that happen.” Luo Binghe would face so many horrors down there and struggle to find food. “Luo Binghe doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment.”

[Failure to comply will result in a loss of 10,000 B points and the user will be rejected from his body into his past life’s body.]

Wow. The system sounded way more serious than he expected. “But I’m dead in my last life...”

[Correct!]

“So if I somehow stop it from happening, I will die. Will it still happen after I died?”

[Correct.]

“Ah.” Well, there wasn’t much to lose. “What can I change?”

He spent the entire day talking with the system to see what kind of limits he can function under and what types of things the system 24/7 service could help with.

He had read transmigration novels before. So he knows when he changes the split, all sorts of things can happen like a butterfly effect.

He just wants to hope that the effects he has are not too detrimental.

*

It has been years since he ended up as an An Ding disciple.

And the System was surprisingly more lenient than it would have been if he ended up as the scum villain. As a nameless character, he could go by his original name. And he could work on studying the flora and fauna of the world while working as a disciple.

“I thought you would be more insistent with things like, uh, Navi from Ocarina of Time.”

[This System could be more demanding if this user prefers.]

“No thanks. I like you the way you are now.” Yuán said. “Could I call you something besides a system like Navi or something?”

[This System will accept any name the user wishes to bestow upon it.]

He grinned as he recalled the annoying ball that constantly shouted out to the player to listen to their hints or advice. “Then I’ll call you Navi. My little sister loved them because they looked like a fairy.”

[Then user may prefer this system as Navi.]

He had cultivation! It was the best idea to play with this newly founded power during his training which landed him in musical cultivation for some reason. It only made sense when he remembered the music lessons he got in his past life. And when that shady Shang Qinghua tried to joke about him going to Qing Jing peak, he almost snapped at him while he responded that he would continue his studies at An Ding.

That’s what he was planning at least until his manipulative, traitorous Shizun put him as the sole errand boy for Qing Jing peak simply because of one reason.

He could actually put up with the attitude from Shen Qingqiu. He did a simple letter delivery that didn’t end up in tears, so apparently that was enough to get the ‘prestige’ of the job.

Which was stupid since he didn’t even do anything remarkable. He still remembers when he first showed up to the bamboo house to personally deliver the letter. Shen Qingqiu stood tall and elegant in front of him, cold eyes staring into his very soul.

He wordlessly handed the letter over with the practiced saying he had to repeat or so many times for the others peaks when the Qing Jing Peak Lord took his wrists.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes looked him up and down with a calculating expression. “Hmm. You have weak cultivation despite your age.“

“Yes,” Yuán nodded calmly, meeting the Peak Lord in the eyes without backing down. “That happens when you start a bit later than everyone else,”

“You might excel more if you were a better fit for your cultivation style,” Shen Qingqiu said with a certain tone in his voice that seemed strange.

He shook his head, “If this one wants to advance in skills and talents, this one must do so by himself.”

Shen Qingqiu hummed, using his fan to hide the lower half of his face while he dismissed him.

And since he was on the Qing Jing Peak, it meant he got to see the white lotus version of Luo Binghe and that was so... AH! He was so sweet despite the bullying he received from his peers. His hair was so curly that he couldn’t resist patting his head when he first met him which stunned the boy into silence.

And he was so proud of himself when he came across Luo Binghe’s fake jade necklace sometime after the event of Ming Fan throwing it. And the grateful tears and hug he received was well worth the scrapes he got from attempting to climb up the bamboo stalk.

It was almost as big as the thanks he got when he presented the protagonist with a real cultivation manual. At that point, Luo Binghe started calling him Shen-Shixiong.

Another event he was accidentally a part of was saving the war god. He has no idea what happened or what he remembered saying before Shen Qingqiu went into seclusion, but Liu Qingge ended up surviving. And he was surprised to see that the war god was more like a pretty boy than the rough warrior he imagined.

B-Points and events blended together as time went on. Luo Binghe started looking up to him as the only disciple even though an outsider to treat him with more kindness and even tutored him when he had enough time. He ended up becoming friends with a Huan Hua disciple, Gongyi Xiao, who would die at the hands of Luo Binghe.

He started pranking Shang Qinghua by moving everything on his office desk over to the left. Found some weird documents in Huan Hua when he visited Gongyi Xiao which led him down a rabbit hole which led him down an even deeper one after seeing just how odd the Palace Master acts towards his friend.

That took almost a year to unravel. But when he did, he couldn’t help but curse Airplane so loudly at such a disgusting detail that Shang Qinghua overheard.

“Proud Immortal Demon Way?”

Yuán slowly turned his head like he was acknowledging a camera in a reality show. Except this wasn’t a fictional show, this was real life in a fantasy prob novel. His eyes locked into his Shizun’s who were staring at him with hope in their brown eyes. “No fucking way.”

“Wow!” Instantly, those brown eyes lit up as the An Ding Peak Lord smiled. “It’s so nice to finally meet someone else in this world. God, if I knew when I created it that it would be so—“

“You’re Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky?!”

That asshole continued to grin, “Yes I—“

The other quickly trailed off when he saw his face. He slowly walked towards the stupid author who was slowly backing away from his approaching form. “Come here so I can kick you right in your fucking dick—“

And that was how he met another transmigrated right before the dreaded Immortal Alliance Conference where the Endless Abyss Arc would start.

Right before the conference could start, he handed a pouch for Luo Binghe to take who accepted it gratefully with a bright smile directed at him. If the white lotus had to face the Endless Abyss, food and water would be the most necessary things he would need another with the small carving knife he added in there. It wouldn’t last the entire five years, but it would give him something.

At that point, he had been hoarding any and every B-point he had. He knew from video games how important special items and currency would be. So like hell would he be wasting it on useless things even though he had to pry the information out of his system.

“System, what’s my goal here?”

[Main Goal: The protagonist going into Endless Abyss. Failure to do so will result in 10,000 B-points deducted and immediate account termination. Side Goal: Surviving!]

However, he wasn’t prepared for how intense the conference would really be. He tried to stick close to where the protagonist was on insistence from his system. But even then, he was still desperately knocking away the demons he came across. His robes were torn at so many places at once. His robes had a massive slit down the side which allowed a full view of his pale leg underneath the blue robes.

So when he saw Binghe again, he was reminded of the modesty standards of this cultivation world when the white lotus was immediately turning red while apologizing even though his head never fully turned away from him.

Oh, he must be worried I might be attacked from behind. It’s nice to know the protagonist is watching out for me despite the clothing mishap. Yuán thought as he rushed to help take down any demon he could handle at his level of cultivation.

But then, the Endless Abyss opened. And he watched then screamed as Binghe was pushed into the horrible hellscape by Shen Qingqiu.

And then he tried to attack Shen Qingqiu. Okay, attack was a harsh word to describe what he did when he lashed out. But it was the exact words the Qing Jing peak lord said that caused him to lose his place and rank as a An Ding disciple.

Shang Qinghua was apologetic as he helped him pack, trying to remember safer parts of the region where he could find a place to stay relatively easier. Especially with some pocket money that the other transmigrated gave him for the road.

“God, I’m going to miss having another person to talk with. When you get set up, find a way to contact me, so I can come visit.”

At any other time, Yuán would have pushed the annoying author away. But with the future of his life uncertain, he agreed.

And after a month of searching, he finally found the place he is now. It is like a hidden cottage between forests and a long walk to a small town where he set up. And he was glad to contact Shang Qinghua since the other man really pulled through on helping him get the space set up for him.

It was a humble house that looked abandoned for many years when he stumbled upon it. But now it was adorned with lanterns and glowing moss he found from the Enchanted Evermore Evergreen Forest. Ah, alliteration.

The walls were lined with shells of poisons, medicines, seeds, petals, stalks, leaves, beast parts, beast bones, beast bone powder, fangs, claws, and other items he had collected over the last year from the journeys he had gone on. Who knew getting kicked out of a cultivation sect would turn out this great?

It has been a year since he got kicked out. And he was happier being a rogue cultivator than he had ever been in the past few years he has stayed in this world.

First off, he got to cut his hair an inch or two off without feeling intensely judged. He got to wear fewer layers of robes since he lived alone and where no strangers could regularly appear. And he got to read as many novels as he wanted to!

“System. Do you have any side quests available for me?”

[Searching...]

[Side Quest Available: Help the Hidden Character! Reward: 250 B-Points and the hidden character’s loyalty. Punishment: Deduction of 200 B-Points and the hidden character will remember your poor action done upon him.]

“What does that mean?”

[Hidden Character could kill you in future if you do not assist.]

“Okay then. Where do I find them?”

[Location: Forest of Endless Sweet Sorrow.]

Yuán nodded as he pulled his hair up to start his side quest. Some of the ones he received from the system were pretty weird. But a lot of them catered to his interests like ones where he gained B-Points by finding and researching a new plant he hasn’t come across yet. It was like he was gaining experience points just from walking around a forest.

The Forest of Endless Sweet Sorrow was the home of some wife plots from what he could remember. A lot of wives would fall into tricks that were either, as the name suggests, sweet or sorrowful. With the sweet part of the name mostly referring to the fruit found inside the forest or the plants that provided them a ‘sweet’ time in the bedroom.

Binghe would save a wife from a trick, make dinner with a sweet fruit, and be rewarded with an aphrodisiac sex scene at the end. The pattern repeated more than a few times with multiple wives in his harem in this exact location. It was like Airplane copy and pasted the same chapter over and over with just a different name for the new wife.

His critical thoughts faded away as he stepped into the forest with his mind set on finding the hidden character.

Once he heard a hiss ringing in the air, he paused in his step to assess his surroundings. He turned his head until he heard another hiss that sounded more pained. Maybe it was an animal that was caught in a trap? Or maybe one of those mimicry plants that mimicked victims to draw in new ones.

He took his chances and called out despite the risks of the sound being more dangerous than he could handle. “Hello? Is anyone there? Are you hurt? I have some medicine on me. But if you’re a robber, I have no money on me, so don’t get your hopes up!”

Yeah... hopefully he doesn’t get eaten.

Then, his eyes finally found the sources of the hissing. A giant snake with a man’s head attached at the top. Their eyes are like a watercolor painting of a sunrise on a mountain range. The lower half of their face takes a more reptilian shape with a forked tongue poking out through the lips. The hint of venomous fangs peeled through once their gazes met.

He watched their gaze widen more narrow as he slowly approached them, taking in the sight before them. The being had been sliced and stabbed with wounds speckled through their body with a big wound that looked like the cause of a poisonous blade from the purpling edges along their green scales.

“Ah, you must be the source of the hissing.” Of course the giant snake was the one hissing. He had to dodge a vine wrapped around the signature Long-Flow trees. Those trees can lead to something sweet or something sorrowful much like the forest name suggests. Especially with those vines if he remembered correctly from a certain damsel in distress situation with wife.... 276? No, it was 234. Yet another wife with a tentacle/vine scene in that godforsaken novel.

He pursed his lips then clicked his tongue before saying, “Hmm, you must be in pain from that wound, it looks deep.”

Shen Yuán sighed, trying to see if the system would react to this encounter. Maybe the hidden character was the snake being? But he received no response.

“FML, I hope you can understand me.” Shen Yuán whispered under his breath as those eyes were focused on him, unblinking and focused on his movements. It was like they were tracking each breath he took. “I have some medicinal supplies I can use to help if you would allow me.”

Luckily, the being let him closer so he could help the wounded snake. Even if it wasn’t part of his side quest, he couldn’t just let them bleed out or die from the poison.

Without a word, he started cleaning the wound. He watched the snake silently as they winced. They looked like they wanted to slither away at any moment to get away from his hands. He hummed, then said, “You’re doing so well. I’m almost done with the cleaning and then I’ll heal you up. I’m sure my qi could help...”

Yuán kept a steady hand as he worked on the being. “This one apologizes for the uncomfortable part of it. I will try my best to get this done efficiently and quickly.”

He kept working on fixing their wounds, healing what he could with the knowledge he had. As he did so, he fixed his eyes in the shining scales on the being’s body. “I’ve never seen someone like you before. Your scales look nice.”

Yuán smoothed his hands down the scales once the snake relax under his touch. He felt a smile tugging at his lips at the smoothness he could feel under his fingertips. He lightly pushed more qi into their body as he ran his hand over the scales. Once that was done, he finished it off with a bandage.

[Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Host has completed Side Quest: Help the Hidden Character! Your reward is 250 B-Points. And now the hidden character has given you their loyalty and devotion until they can repay the favor. Good luck on your next adventure!]

“I go by Shen Yuán.” He introduced himself, brushing back a piece of hair getting into his face as he fixed his gaze on the hidden character. They tracked his movements with their eyes with their mouth slightly agape, fangs being shown off with their dripping venom. He smiled as he glanced back at the system’s words on the floating blue screen.

If they are loyal to him, they might be able to help him in future. “I hope to meet you again.”

In this world, he needed all the help he could get.

Chapter Text

Pleasure written across her face as she embraced her love, digging her nails into his back and dragging them down. The hisses in between the satisfied groans she received was the harmony to their song.

Never had she had found someone who could reach inside her with his words and dig deeper through his actions. And now it acted in unison as her moans penetrated the air.

“I’ve never met someone as shameless as you are. Your—“

Zhuzhi-Lang paused in his reading to look over at his maternal uncle who was laying on the floor. His body pinned under the mountain with rock piled at his waist. His hair was still dirty despite his attempts to brush through it with oil and the water from the spring. His expression seemed a bit lighter than it usually is.

Junshang always had that longing expression when he read through romance novels. Although Zhuzhi-Lang wished his tastes weren’t as focused on the yellow print novels with so many shameless sexual scenes.

There was just too much description for him to handle! His cheeks always felt a phantom feeling of warmth when he was reading it.

Zhuzhi-Lang cleared his throat to focus on the form of his family. “Junshang, do you need any water?”

“No, no. Continue as you are. This one wants to hear more.” Junshang sighed, his head moving towards him by an inch. “I never thought the side couple had this much depth to them. It made their reunion scene that much sweeter.”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked back to the novel. “...Alright.”

He continued to read through the sexual depiction, ignoring the usual feelings he got from it as Junshang gasped in the background at certain moments through it.

Zhuzhi-Lang never really pictured the characters as the scene happened, especially during the more... indecent parts. But his words tailed off when the man was described as pulling on a silver almost gray robe after the woman had finished.

His mind filled in the cultivator he had met, that soft smile across his face and what he might look like in the moonlight lit scene the book was describing chapters ago. How the woman had repaid the man a favor.

How Shen Yuán’s face lit up with a grin as he took his hand before—

“Nephew.”

Zhuzhi-Lang straightened his back immediately, turning his gaze to his uncle. “Yes, Junshang.”

“This one is your uncle.” Junshang sighed heavily. The sign sounded more like a wheeze as the man winced under the dirty wet curls framing his face. Zhuzhi-Lang slammed his hand into a bug before it could crawl near his face into his hair... again. “I can’t help but notice that you are acting more strangely than normal. I noticed when you came in hours ago, but as more time passes you get a bit more... involved with your thoughts.”

Zhuzhi-Lang brushed off the bug bits onto the rocky floor beneath him. “I am fine.”

“I also noticed the healed wound on your tail you thought you could hide.” Zhuzhi-Lang paused at his uncle’s words, noticing just how intently he was staring at him. “This one would like an explanation of what his nephew has gone through.”

“Yes, Junshang.”

Zhuzhi-Lang slowly recounted the retrieval of the yellow book and the following chase from the locals with their gathered blades and how he suspected one of the merchants had a poisoned blade that gave him the hardest hit.

“This is why I advise you to go only during the night. You can make me wait as long as you need to gather the materials safely.”

Zhuzhi-Lang paused before continuing his explanation, scratching at the scales around the irritated spot on his tail. The deformed form between his snake and human-like form was unappealing to look at especially with the lack of demonic energy his uncle would provide him.

As time goes on, he can only do as much as he can with his more snake-like forms. Which means that more people attack once they see him.

“This one owes his thanks to a rogue cultivator by the name of Shen Yuán.”

“Shen Yuán?”

Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. “Yes. This one wishes to repay the favor in the future when he can.”

“You say he is a cultivator?” His uncle asked, his voice monotone which was different from his usual tone.

“Indeed.” Zhuzhi-Lang recalled the soft face of the cultivator he encountered, his gentle hands petting his scales. “He saw me in the deformed state you first encountered. He wasn’t scared... He helped clean and dress my wound before continuing on his way.”

Shen Yuán acted with such a kindness that he wants to repay tenfold.

Once he succeeds in his quest to have Junshang be freed, he would make sure the man would be safe for the rest of his life whether mortal or immortal depending on how far his cultivation goes.

Maybe he could even offer his blood to extend his safety and protection further if Shen Yuán allows it.

“He sounds like a genuine man. However, tread carefully.” Tianlang-Jun said. His words sounded harsh before going a bit softer in the edges. “Even if he seems to be a rogue cultivator, you will never know if he will blindside you the same as what my love did to me.”

Zhuzhi-Lang still held a grudge against the cultivators responsible for his uncle’s imprisonment, especially the Huan Hua Palace. Although there is some uncertainty with Su Xiyan.

No matter how many times that Junshang curses Su Xiyan. He always refers to his love in the present tense. Like his love for her was like a gem never corroded even in the darkness of the cave he is trapped in. Zhuzhi-Lang always pretended not to hear when his uncle would start crying out for her. His voice desperately pleading like a prayer, asking what he did wrong to deserve this treatment, if what they had was all a lie.

Zhuzhi-Lang still wonders what became of her and the young cousin he was supposed to have in his life.

“I would ever want the last of my family to suffer the same fate as me.” Tianlang-jun said. “But I will hold onto the hope that your cultivator is as good as you say.”

“I understand, Junshang.”

His king sighed more heavily despite the wince it earned him. “Again, nephew, you can refer to me as uncle. I’m not sure how many times I will need to tell you this.”

“Yes, Junshang.”

“Why do I even try?”

*

Zhuzhi-Lang felt the blades of grass against his scales as he slithered in his smaller snake form. The talk with his uncle was exactly like he expected. It even needed him finishing the romance novel before the sun had set.

Pausing, he tasted the air to get the notes of roasting tree nuts coming from nearby.

He would have preferred the smell of roasting Fiery Citrus Chicken, but any food he could steal is good enough.

However, Zhuzhi-Lang’s plans to steal some food was paused once his gaze locked into the gray robes and flowing black hair. Shen Yuán had pulled down their hair and was struggling to braid with one hand as the other stirred the small pot resting over the crackling fire on broken stone.

The fire gave his face a warm glow despite the setting sun already providing beautiful lighting.

It almost distracted him from the sight of the most venomous spiders in the human realm approaching with its red tipped furry legs!

He hurriedly rushed to the spot Shen Yuán was standing before pausing at the sound of his voice warmly greeting the danger.

“Oh! You’re a Sunrise Sunset Spider,” Shen Yuán lowered his voice as he bent lower to the ground despite the bright orange colors of the spider that should have warned him about the amount of danger he was in.

Zhuzhi-Lang slithered closer, just enough distance to strike if the spider made any moves to bite their hand. Does he not recognize the potential of dying at any moment once the spider declares him a threat?

Shen Yuán didn’t look at all perturbed by the spider slowly creeping towards him. “I’ve read a lot about you since I’m researching more insects right now. Would you mind if we do a trade?”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched the spider pause in his tracks. He remembered that the spiders were intelligent enough to understand human speech if only a little. Maybe Shen Yuán knows that already.

“You see, I heard that you can make beautifully spun webs. Would you mind if I have one of your webs in exchange for whatever strikes your fancy in my possession?” Shen Yuán pulled a silvery hairpiece from his pocket that looked different than the one he saw him wearing before. “I have a silver jade hairpiece if you want that.”

Zhuzhi-Lang carefully watched the spider approach the offered hands, crawling into the cultivator’s hands which made his snake jaw drop open. The spider believes in his words! Thank goodness. Shen Yuán is naturally this kind; he never should have doubted his ability to deal with the spider.

“Oh?” Shen Yuán commented as the spider slowly dragged the hairpiece out of his hands. He watched as the spider wrapped the hairpiece onto his back with its own silk. “I see it looks like you accept. Thank you.”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched from a distance as the spider began to make its web on the other side of the stone that was far enough away from the fire. Shen Yuán‘s face looked awestruck at the quick web making the spider was doing. The sunset was fading into purples and pinks when the spider finally finished a masterpiece of their silk.

“It’s even more beautiful than I imagined!” Shen Yuán clapped a hand over his mouth then apologized. “Sorry for the volume. Thank you so much. I hope that you’ll find some great use out of it.”

The spider hopped off the stone and rushed into the forest line it came from with the hairpiece strapped to its back.

“Alright!” Shen Yuán plucked a large jar from his endless pouch at his hip. His mouth twisted as he looked between the art and his jar. “I can’t mess it up.”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched dutifully as Shen Yuán carefully plucked the web from the stone into the jar. He used twigs to guide its placement into the jar until the sparkling silk was safely contained into the jar.

“Perfect. Now I can just eat my snack and head home...” Zhuzhi-Lang watched the rogue cultivator as he looked around and realized just how much time had passed. Especially with how the nuts he was roasted seemed more burned from the smell in the air. “I should probably pack up instead. It’s getting way too dark.”

Shen Yuán sighed as he moved with urgency to pack up his burned food, put out the fire, and started walking in one direction. Zhuzhi-Lang followed after him fifteen feet behind him to make sure he didn’t lose him but also moving slowly enough that it wouldn’t alarm the cultivator.

It took until the sky had the smallest sliver of sunset left when they reached the house. Zhuzhi-Lang gaped at the home overrun with vines on the outside with flowering buds along the roof.

“Home sweet home,” Shen Yuán smiled as he pushed open the door, his body being bathed in the low light of lanterns inside the house.

The door shut behind him before Zhuzhi-Lang could sneak in. It looks like he must find another way to watch over him. He slithered around the house looking for an opening until he saw Shen Yuán open a sliding paper window. Perfect vantage point. And with this body, he could sneak through the vines to make sure that his body wasn’t injured when he wasn’t there to watch over him. If he was, he could sneak off to provide him the necessary ingredient for it.

Zhuzhi-Lang waited until Shen Yuán walked away from the window after adjusting the cloth around it while muttering something about ‘glass windows’ from ‘an apartment’? He could go to that place if a window of glass is what he seeks most. Although he would need more information about the strange sounding place. Was it towards the west?

He hissed as she started to slithered as vertically as he could by looping his body through the green vines wrapped around the wall and the flowering shrub right underneath the window.

Yet when he reached the window, he could barely pull himself up. Hmm?

He tried to pull himself up on the windowsill only to be stopped. ‘Oh. It seems I’m stuck’ Zhuzhi-Lang thought to himself as the vines constricted his movements.

Zhuzhi-Lang turned to see his body twisted within the vines so tightly he could barely slither out of its hold. He tried to pull himself through, yet it just tugged him back into the vines grip. Was the vines sentient? It felt like it was trying to keep him out of the window.

He watched as Shen Yuán pulled item after item out of his endless pouch into the pristine bed. “Let’s see what I have from— is that a vine?” Somehow, the cultivator was now looking at him with a confused expression.

All he could do was wait as Shen Yuán approached and finally noticed the state he was in. Zhuzhi-Lang hoped that their first encounter wasn’t a fluke. He clung onto the hope that the cultivator wouldn’t freak out at the sight of a snake just like many maidens would when he wasn’t anywhere near them. Yelling to the men in the family to come and stab him through the head.

And his hopes burned brighter when Shen Yuán looked at him with only mild surprise. “Oh! A visiting snake.” Shen Yuan blinked. Zhuzhi-Lang continued to stare. “Well, I hope you aren’t here to eat me.”

“Are you stuck? Hold on. I think I can help without hurting you,” Shen Yuán paused and pointed a finger right at his face quite rudely. “As long as you don’t try to hurt me.”

Zhuzhi-Lang stayed as silent as the cultivator unwrapped his body from the vines. He felt comforted by the body heat warming him as the cultivator’s body was hunched close to him as he worked through the vines to free him from his predicament. With each movement that caused him to hiss, the man apologized gently as his hands guided his body around the vine loops.

“There we go. Uh, what do I do now?” Shen Yuán looked between him and the outside through the window. Before his eyes seemed to space out.

Zhuzhi-Lang watched his expression cycle through annoyed to something strange then to acceptance. The cultivator turned to him, “Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat. Just wait here until I return. I don’t need you getting stuck under any of my furniture.”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched as Shen Yuán quickly walked out the room while mumbling to himself. He tilted his head then surveyed the room he was brought into.

There were many shelves across from the bed that had a growing collection of jars and small wooden chests. The collection of jars had so many things filling them up from seeds, herbs, flowers, fruits, stems, nuts, and what looked like fur or hair compiled in a small container.

There was a wooden dresser underneath the shelves with two smaller empty tables on either side that had the same style. A stationary station sat on the dresser with a stack of papyrus waiting for the ink. And the tables were cornered with potted plants both human and the saner side of demonic.

Shen Yuán walked into the room with a small plate of an assortment of things. A few small pieces of dried meat and what looked like bugs used for medicinal properties. “I don’t exactly know your diet. Sorry about that.” He was talking to him like a normal guest instead of a snake that was slithering to his window. “I made this plate with different foods that you might like.”

Zhuzhi-Lang flicked his tongue across the air to take in the scent of the savory plate before choosing to open his jaws wide for the dried, seasoned boar.

“Good. Go ahead and eat to your heart's content over here. I need to organize my shelves...again.” Shen Yuán breathed out, running his hands down his hair to get a nasty tangle out. He sighed as he walked back to his assortment of treasures laying on his bed. “I need to put the spider web as the main centerpiece of it all. It is so gorgeous that it was worth losing that comb over.”

Zhuzhi-Lang watched as the cultivator sorted through them, picking up two to place near the end of his shelves.

Shen Yuán started talking out loud to himself as he moved around the jars at the center of his shelves to place the large spider web in the middle. “The Sunrise Sunset spider could be using my comb to attract a mate since it is getting close to their season. Wait, am I getting their mating season timing wrong?”

He watched the cultivator hurriedly pull out a book from one of the dresser drawers and flipped through the pages for a few minutes. “No, I was right.”

Shen Yuán’s eyes flicked up to him over the pages of the book then smiled when he saw that he was still eating from the plate. Zhuzhi-Lang froze as Shen Yuán turned his attention to the plants on the ground. One of the leaves bristled when he walked closer like it was craving his attention.

“Which one of you needs some water?” Shen Yuán grinned. “I know you don’t, Scarred Cactus of Unending Heat. I already gave you your fill of the month this week. But maybe you need some refreshing, Moonlight Beam Blossom.”

Shen Yuán pulled a jug of water from underneath the table to pour into certain plant pots. Zhuzhi-Lang heard his comments towards the plants even when the words were whispered. Each one had such praise of flowers for blooming or stems for growing longer.

“It’s strange that I have such an eye for this now, you know? I was better with dealing with fake plants in the past. But I’m thankful I—“ Shen Yuán paused as he looked around himself. “Am I going crazy for talking to myself this much?”

Shen Yuán shook his head. “No, I’m talking to my plants. It’s a healthy thing to talk with plants and not a crazy weirdo thing. Meimei did it all the time to her succulents.” His eyes widened as his volume became softer and his tone changed to something more melancholy. “Meimei...”

...he could repay the debt by bringing back his sibling using the Holy Mausoleum if that’s what he wished. It would be difficult in the current situation, but he could attempt it when he became stronger.

“No, stop thinking about it.” Shen Yuán slapped his cheeks, startling Zhuzhi-Lang from the sharp sound. “I should just finish up and eat before heading to bed.”

Shen Yuán approached him once he blew out the lanterns. He knelt down so his face was right near him to look at him closer to his eyes. His eyes traveled over his scales with the moonlight highlighting his eyes in such a good way.

“You can stay the night as long as you don’t plan on eating me even though I know you probably won’t. It’s been awhile since I’ve had company here.” Shen Yuán smiled when Zhuzhi-Lang tapped his tail against his hand, relishing in his soft touch against his scales once again. “Goodnight my little snake.”

‘My little snake’

Oh.

That...

That is nice

Chapter Text

Zhuzhi-Lang thought he would just rest just for the day since his uncle was probably waiting for the next romance novel he would track down. He originally planned to just stay for a day and then go off. But somehow he had stayed there for three days already.

It didn’t help that whenever he would slip away, the kind cultivator would call after him so worryingly that he had to turn back. He had to. The kind cultivator’s voice sounded so wounded and sad when he called after his ‘little snake’.

It had nothing to do with how warm he felt from that nickname.

And he had to admit it was easier to stay with Shen Yuán because of his form. Being in a smaller snake form did not take up much of his energy which meant he could save his more demonic energy for his original form. The form that he met Shen Yuán in.

And if he could save up even more, he could get closer to having his more appealing form. But that was more hoping than anything. He couldn’t accomplish such a feat without his uncle’s demonic qi helping him reach that form. And as the years go on, his uncle barely has anything left. The cultivators’ seals prevented him from moving, healing and enjoying any moment of his time spent under the weight of the mountain.

Some days were more difficult than others. One moment he is laughing as he listens to him read. Another goes by and he is crying out for the injustice done to him and screaming from the betrayal. And then the next he is silent for days upon days like a corpse sullenly breathing as he waits for his last moments. Yet he is back to ‘normal’ the very next day with a more tired gaze in his eyes.

He couldn’t take any demonic qi from his uncle until he secures a plan to get him out.

Zhuzhi-Lang tightened himself in his coil as he casually watched his cultivator make notes into a leather bound stack of papers. He listened as Shen Yuán mumbled down at the book then mostly to himself. Some foul language slipped through his mouth as she scratched out lines of calligraphy he had just finished.

“Ugh. I can barely focus. These robes are making me uncomfortable especially with the amount of warmth in this house. “Shen Yuán picked at his robes, pulling it away from his neck. Zhuzhi-Lang could peek at the pale skin beneath the collar where a small mark lay there right underneath his jaw. The cultivator peeled off his outer robe with a disgruntled frown.

He looked away as he heard more clothes rustling. It wasn’t that big of a deal. He had seen his uncle strip some layers away for a more casual dress or a disguise for the human realm many years ago.

But when he turned back, Zhuzhi-Lang watched as the cultivator peeled off MORE LAYERS—he had to look away again as the robes fell to the ground.

He peeled back only to see so much of that soft pale skin that he needed to avert his gaze again. How shameless! Zhuzhi-Lang was the one at fault for gazing at Shen Yuán in such a manner in the privacy of his host’s abode.

“Hey, little snake, I’m going to bathe. Stay here and keep warm,” Shen Yuán threw over his shoulder as he grabbed his robes off the ground. Zhuzhi-Lang couldn’t look away from his bent over form, the lights hitting his hidden form in just the right way where the inner robes left nothing to the imagination. The robes were so sheer he could see the lines and marks along his back to the—IS HE?

“I probably have to do a load of laundry too.“ Shen Yuán said as he peeled away the last of his layers, gathering the robes that hid most of the front of his form. “I’ll be back soon.“

Zhuzhi-Lang forced himself to look away as the cultivator turned around, revealing his soft, vulnerable back to him. He felt so warm. Why was it so warm? Was this the same amount of warmth that his cultivator—No!—Shen Yuán was complaining about ?

He shook his head then tried to immediately bury himself underneath the thin sheets of Yuán’s bed. The scent of the cultivator on his tongue only reminded him of the beautiful teasing view he shamelessly watched.

It was...

Unlike anything that Junshang had made him see or picture in his mind as he read from the yellow books he enjoyed. No succumbs or incubus had that kind of hold on him from the times he passed by their pleasure pavilion under those red lantern lights.

*

[System would like to remind user—]

“Hey, Navi.” Shen Yuán greeted casually once he heard the robotic female voice enter his mind. His hands work to twist the water out of his clothes back into the giant tub.

The inside of the house was like an old version of a studio apartment with screens departing certain areas like the washing room. But the screen was open wide to the living space where his robes were hanging from a stretched robe as the water leaked onto the ground.

His bedroom was the only room more closed off with a structured wall hiding it away from the rest of the space.

[Hello Shen Yuán. ^_^]

[System.... Navi would like to remind user about modesty ruling in this kind of world.]

“...Am I missing anything here? No one else is in here except me and my little snake.” Shen Yuán clipped his inner robes onto the rope hanging the rest of his layers. “Was—is there an intruder that was peeping on me?”

[Navi will neither confirm nor deny. But Navi does recommend more privacy talismans to prevent any future incident from happening. And to remind user to not strip down to inner garments unless in the washing room.]

“Got it. I’ll get some done after I finish up in this water,” Shen Yuán hung up his last piece of laundry with a grin. Then, he whispered as he walked back to the wooden tub of warmed water waiting for him. Without waiting, he settled right into the water. Man, the only thing to make it better is if he had some bath bombs to make it smell all nice and bubbly.

His Meimei got him a whole pack of sparkly ones from her favorite place where she got a lot of her soaps and sugar scrubs. And he was not going to waste such a gift. Plus, when he lit a few candles and got himself a convenience store sake, he felt like a king in his porcelain tub throne. “Ah, this feels so nice.”

[Is user reusing the same water he used to rinse his robes in?]

“It’s called saving water. I did something similar when my apartment building lost water for two days,” Shen Yuán answered as he combed through his wet hair.

He was thankful that his hair was as long as some of the peak lords. But the length of it was still a bit hard to maintain. The longest his hair got in the past was down to his shoulders. But having hair fall almost to his elbows was weird to say the least.

That’s why he tries to trim his hair every now and then to keep it a respectable length in this cultivation world. Even though his hands itched to just hack away at it until it was flush to his neck.

Yuán scrubbed the oils and creams into his hair, combing it through to the very ends of his hair. He allowed it to sit as it worked to soften and condition his hair as he scrubbed at his body with his hands. The water was getting cold since he spent most of the time washing off his robes.

He held his breath and dipped his head back into the water to rinse his soapy hair out, rubbing his hands through the strands to make sure no cream was left in.

Shen Yuán allowed himself to rest in the water until the skin on his fingers wrinkled up. He dried off and plucked up two light layers he set aside for himself. The colors took more of a grayish green tone as he pulled them over his damp skin.

“Navi, do I have any available side quests I can do tomorrow?” Shen Yuán asked into the air as he pulled on the first sheer layer.

[Searching...]

[Scanning nearby area...]

[Loading Complete!...]

[Laven Town will urgently need help to deal with beasts that interrupt their wonderful life. Help the town before it leads to destruction of the village. Quest begins: 21:00:00]

Yuán’s eyebrows shot up at the quest. A beast quest? Yes! He hopes it’s one of the cool ones. “Oh, I have some time then. I’ll be sure to head their way in the morning. Unless the town is far away—how close is the town?”

[Laven Town is 02:01:57 from your exact position.]

“Okay. I’ll sleep and leave in the morning to get there with plenty of time,” Yuán pulled on his second layer then remembered the third one was in his room. Well, it was warm already. Two layers should be enough.

Yuán walked back into his bedroom and greeted his scaled guest. His little snake friend peeked his head out from under the covers only to dive right back in like he was a mole in those whack a mole games in the arcades.

“Hey. Surprised?” Shen Yuán smiled at the sight of the shy snake. He gathered the material he needed for his hair and sat down on the bed. The snake eventually came out from the sheets while he brushed the oils into his hair. His companion finally came closer as he braided.

“Were you trying to burrow down into the bed when I was away?” He asked the snake, letting his fingers trail down their smooth scales.

“Hey, little snake. I’m going to head to Laven Town tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?” Yuán asked his companion.

The snake dug their head into his palm making him smile at the funny feeling. Yuán snorted, “I’ll take that as a yes. I’m glad.”

He sighed as he slowly sunk back into the bed, allowing the snake to move out of his hands. He scored back into the pillows while the little snake slithered up to him. “It’s been a little boring with just me in here. So I’m happy that you are here.”

Yuán gently picked up his snake to rest him by his side in the makeshift nest on his bed. “Rest I’ll get us both ready for the trip in the morning. Hopefully I can find some trashy novels. And maybe find some better nesting materials for you to use. Ooh, maybe some sweets as well.”

He relaxed back into his soft pillow of chicken feathers. “Who knows what the town might have in store?”

Yuán turned his head to stare at the little scaled friend staring at him from the inner space in the warm nest. “Goodnight, little snake.”

Chapter Text

[User Shen Yuán! Good Morning! Good Morning! Good Morning! ^_^]

[Countdown until Laven Town Quest: 11:23:38 ]

‘Morning Navi’ Shen Yuán thought as he yawned, stretching his arms over his head. He groaned as he heard some of his body creak like he was an old man despite his young adult body. He turned to see his snake friend coiled up on his nightstand, flicking their tongue up at him in greeting.

“I hope you had a good rest,” Yuán greeted with a sleepy smile. He lowered his hands to brush against the scales under their chin. He replied when his snake friend nuzzled their head down into his hand’s warmth. “I’ll start packing for the journey I told you about last night. Laven Town is waiting for us whether they know it or not.”

Shen Yuán turned around briefly to loosen his hair from its night braid. When it was loose around his shoulders, he turned to his nightstand to retrieve his comb from the drawer when he saw his scaled friend attempting to crawl into the small opening of the drawer with their tail first.

“Be careful, little snake,” Yuán gently pulled the tail away from the drawer to retrieve his comb. He looked down into the drawer with the small collection of opened letters he received from his two penpals. Shang Qinghua sent him many more letters than Gongyi Xiao did. Mostly asking him to edit or to inform him of any suspicious things happened he should be aware of.

Gongyi Xiao’s sparse letters were always asking for updates on his life, his health, his research and asking if he was safe. The most recent one was Xiao telling him about a dream he had where they encountered each other on a mission and something about cranes becoming phoenixes.

“Those are letters from my friends. I know some pretty cool people the An Ding peak lord and the head disciple of Huan Hua Palace.” He tilted his head and pulled out the two recent letters to respond to them accordingly. “I should write to them soon. I could just write a response to both of them before we head out.”

He placed the letters on his bed then turned his gaze back to those dark green scales. “I’ll pack some food for the road. You stay here.”

Shen Yuán walked out of his bedroom and grabbed his travel bag before he headed to the small kitchen area. It was not as impressive as the huge one that fed all of the disciples at An Ding. But it was serviceable for him since he was only one person.

He lifted his travel satchel onto the counter to start piling away enough food for the journey. It was only a two hour trip there and back. And the town was bound to have food or serve hot meals that he could eat. But it could be expensive for tourists...

Yuán picked up a few slices of stale bread, some jam he made from pine cones, dried meat, and bubbly flower juice in a jar that Navi helped him make so it tasted like soda or as close as it could be.

‘Navi, why does this feel so peaceful?’ Shen Yuán thought to himself as he cut up some pieces of the dried meat morsels of his snake friend. He would have to give him a proper name soon. ‘Shang Qinghua is always complaining about his system.’

[That is because of the user's position in the story. Shen Yuán is a NPC (non-playable character). His actions would not harm the story too much as long as major plot points continued. If this system succeeded in the scum villain transfer, this Navi would be more strict with rules such as OOC behavior, punishments, etc.]

‘Ah, so you would be more business mode if I actually ended up in the scum villain’ body. Well, I’m happy I didn’t,’ Shen Yuán hummed as he packed away things into his travel bag. ‘Navi?’

[Yes, Shen Yuán?]

Shen Yuán looked down at his hands, unburdened by the burn marks of splashed ramen and uneven fingernails. His hands were perfect for a cultivator, someone he would never have dreamt of being in the modern world he came from. ‘Have you been a system before for other transmigrators?’

[Answering user...]

[This Navi has been in many villainess romance stories where many of the users tried to escape their roles. This is Navi’s first time in this type of webnovel.]

‘Did they all end up happy?’ He double checked his travel bag, pulling out a few crunched leaves that got stuck in the crevices from his last journey.

[:( Apologies. I am not allowed to talk about past users’ lives or endings.]

‘It’s alright, Navi.’ Shen Yuan smiled even as a sudden despairing thought crashed into him. Even if he found his own place, would it even matter when the demon and human world combined so Binghe could rule over it all as the Emperor with a giant harem. ‘I just hope that the way I am now is the right path.’

Yuán sighed as Navi went back to relative silence as he finished up his bag. He glanced at his doorway to see his sword and sheath waiting for him to pick them up again. Even though life as an An Ding disciple was the literal worst with all the carrying and paperwork he had to do. The one thing to come out of it was his sword, Peerless.

It was the only name that was fitting at the time. He even carved a small piece of jade to resemble a cucumber. A detail that Shang Qinghua noticed and laughed at.

He looked away from the hanging detail from the sword hilt to get back to his room to finally respond to the awaiting letters.

He quietly greeted his snake before grabbing the letters and turning to his dresser drawers to find his stationary.

“Ah, I seem to be running low on paper,” Shen Yuán said out loud. Pulling out the papers and ink stone to start writing right away. The quicker he did this, the more time he had to goof off in Laven Town before he needed to deal with the quest. “Note to self, get some paper and a new inkstone in Laven Town. Ooh, some more bread.”

[Adding reminder for paper, ink, and bread... Added!]

The cute beep rang out within his mind, making him smile as he started writing to his old boss—friend?—acquaintance. ‘Thank you, Navi.’

[^_^]

“I really have to call you something. Give me some more time to find the perfect name for you. Hm.” Shen Yuán glances over to the dark green snake whose yellowish eyes bore into his soul with an unending stare. He brushed back his hair from his face and switched back to a more formal talk. “This one is sure you might be curious about this one talk with Shang Qinghua. This one talks with him since he befriended him.” Formal way of talking was so weird. Navi kept trying to give him a cheat sheet but it never lasted. “You know, before this one got kicked out of An Ding peak.”

“This one also has a long distance friendship with Gongyi Xiao... for other reasons.” Shen Yuán kept talking like the presence behind him was a young adult his own age that he invited over to his house. It was similar to what he supposed. Even though they were just a snake he had been housing and feeding for the past few days because he was getting kind of bored out in the middle of nowhere with no one to talk with. Except Navi.

“I encountered him on a few missions. And this one is currently instructing him to dig deeper into a mystery about the previous head disciple.” Shen Yuán turned to face his snake friend directly to continue talking when he didn’t know what else to write to that dumb author. Really? You just happened to fall into a wife plot recently? Oh, do tell me never about how embarrassed you were.

“I’m trying to find out more about the situation because that Palace Master seems a bit too suspicious to me.” His snake looked more tense when he said that. His coil got tighter as those eyes were trained on him like hanging onto every word he said. “ I don’t like him. Do you agree with me?”

The snake nodded.

Or at least tried to. It was more like the snake threw his head down then back up slowly. But he would take that as a yes either way!

That old guy was a major creep who deserved his junk cut off and shoved down his throat! The more he gathered evidence about what that old guy was doing, the closer he came to buying a new knife just to sharpen it for the dick chopping.

Yuán grinned at the scaled body of his only friend from the past week or so. “Yes! The Huan Hua Palace Master hate club has a new member.”

Gongyi Xiao’s letter took a bit longer to write with Navi reminding him or correct language to use. Nothing too modern, more formal yet kept on friendly terms because of their friendship. He would need to find a way to plan a safe night hunt to bond with one of the few friends he had in this world. “Are you ready, friend?”

It took some time to finish up both responses and send them off through the message array. But when he was done, he dropped his arm to the bed and allowed the snake to slither up his arm and find a nice spot around his shoulders.

Yuán picked up his travel bag and headed to the front door while dimming down the lantern light until it was nonexistent except for the one that always remained lit like a candle in the corner.

Solemnly, he made his way towards the place in his house he cleaned more than every other place.

Binghe.

A resting place for Binghe was placed by Yingying on Qing Jing Peak from what he knew. Most of the pieces of his sword laid under the burial dome that he never got a chance to see in person.

The only thing he had was a little sketch he did of him as a joke back in the first year of meeting him, a true portrait that left him criticizing himself for not capturing him perfectly and a single shard of the sword that was left behind. The only piece he could grab.

He bowed as low as he could, letting the light from the lantern try to hide the imperfections he made on the only drawing of Binghe he had.

“Ah, I will never forget to say goodbye.” Shen Yuán felt his snake poking their head through the tickling sensation in his neck. “I’ll be back, Binghe. Protect the house while we are away.”

He plucked his sword from the ground while Navi reminded him he had a little less than 11 hours left to go. Wow, almost an hour went by already. There wasn’t much time to waste!

...especially since he couldn’t ride in his sword the entire way there. Nevertheless, he gathered himself and situated his friend to stay under his robes with a grip so they wouldn’t fly into the wind once he went sword surfing.

“Okay. Off we go.”

Time to see what kind of quests Laven Town has in store.

*

Zhuzhi-Lang wouldn’t say that he was still recovering from the night before. He would admit it in his mind while he thought back to his cultivator. Even after his bath, Shen Yuán was still so openly showing what he had in those thin inner layers.

If the circumstances were different, Zhuzhi-Lang would be hastily throwing all of his own layers on Shen Yuán to protect him from any wandering eyes. But he was in a snake form with no limbs or clothes. And they were both in a cottage in the middle of a forest with no random farmers or takers in sight that could gaze upon him.

Which was good. He wasn’t sure if he could get away with getting rid of them without Shen Yuán noticing.

Although maybe he wouldn't notice, just like he didn’t notice how he had failed to place Zhuzhi-Lang on his windowsill nest before heading to sleep. Instead, he promptly placed him next to his own resting place and gazed upon him with his head resting on the pillow in such a shameless way.

And now he had even more thoughts. One being the current thoughts of how comfortable his position was. And the other being the face he had seen in that drawn portrait.

It almost made him grow to his original form in sheer shock. The boy that Shen Yuán prayed to looked almost exactly like Mistress Su and just a hint of Junshang in his eyes. When he returns to Junshang, he should inform him of the strange sight.

A memory of his uncle screaming his head off penetrated his idea before it even began to bloom.

Maybe he should get more information about this Binghe person before he reported about it. The last thing he wanted to do was get hopes up only to crash them down yet again.

The journey took a bit longer than he expected. Although the time seemed to pass between sword flights, walking and stopping to eat some food that Shen Yuán packed. Although he couldn’t help but notice the lack of meat.

Maybe he could catch a basket of fish when Shen Yuán slept and deliver it to his door. Wait, the cultivator might take it as a threat since the only two people he knew he communicated via letter... he might throw it out believing it to be a poisonous threat of some kind.

He would have to get more creative, possibly weakening the animals so Shen Yuán could deal with them more easily. But they would need to be more normal animals and not the ones he found interesting.

So many rules he had to take into account.

The journey finally saw its end when his cultivator brightened up. “Look, the town is over there.”

Zhuzhi-Lang followed his gaze to see an area surrounded by lavender sprigs and bushes like a makeshift barrier. He could see the very topics of tall buildings picking out from the top. And a large farm with fenced in animals getting water straight from the river.

Shen Yuán hopped on his word to fly straight to the town’s entrance guarded by two men with modified farm tools to act as weapons.

One of the guards looked surprised at their appearance. “Master Cultivator?”

“Hello!” Yuán greeted them with a smile. “This one was passing by and wanted to stop by in the town.”

“Any reason?” The other guard spoke up. He shifted on his feet as his cultivator turned to face him. “Sorry, it’s our job as guards, Master Cultivator.”

“And you two are doing an excellent job.” Yuán answered. “This one plans to stay for the day and shop. And this one plans to help if you guys are in any trouble today.”

“Thank you, Master Cultivator. The town had some problems with the river water a while ago. But we haven’t had many problems since then.” The guard with the long rake answered. “But we appreciate the honesty in your promise.”

The other one with a sharpened shovel said, “Go ahead. The market should be towards the east side in the main district. Although it gets crowded quicker than one would think.”

“Thank you for your words of wisdom. Farewell for now,” Yuán bowed his head as the guards said goodbye to him.

“Alright.” Yuán clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “We need ink, paper, and bread. And whatever catches my interest that I can afford.” Yuán glanced down at him from the spot in his neckline he started peeking out of. Yuán grinned. “I get an allowance from my old master sometimes and I get monetary rewards from helping the town closest to our home.”

‘Our home’?

Oh.

Zhuzhi-Lang could barely pay attention to anything the others said after that. Something about heading to a bookstore. His cultivator continued through town as his mind filled with half-formed images of him living with Yuán in his more handsome form.

He could barely remember how Yuán got paper and ink from one seller at the market with a stall of folded paper decorations. How his cultivator stuffed two fresh loaves of bread and a small loaf saturated with sweet cream into his endless pouch.

He stopped daydreaming once the smell of books landed on his tongue. He glanced around to see both of them at a bookstore with Yuán a few pages into a... yellow book?

His cultivator friend read yellow book romances?

“God, what is with all these authors writing the woman’s breaths to be sentient? All these shitty writers think they could just use papapa scenes to cover up their lack of knowledge.” Yuán ranted, opening up the pages and pulling it forward towards his face. Zhuzhi-Lang moved his head away from the pages to look at Yuán’s expression. “See? This is how you could tell it was written by a man. If it was written by a woman, it would be so much better. Although the pairing might be a male x male one.”

And even though Yuán ranted about the weird incorrect detail, he continued to read. Something must have written across his face since Yuán had to whisper to him, “This one likes reading trash and critiquing it. If I could get PIDW in here, I would go through it with you.”

Hours passed with Yuán piping in after each chapter with a barely hidden whispered rant about the main couple having no chemistry despite the amount of sex ‘papapa’ scenes. His cultivator liked to say papapa in reference to sex scenes.

“Beasts!” Yuán and Zhuzhi-Lang both looked up to see a farmer rushing into the slightly busy market. Everyone’s eyes landed on the farmer who continued to plead. “There’s beasts near my farm! Someone help!”

“There’s a cultivator in town somewhere. We need to get him!”

“Right on time, huh?” Yuán put down his finished book onto the table he was sitting at. It was seemingly perfect timing since his cultivator finished right as the scream for help began. “Well, duty calls this one to act.”

“Master Cultivator!”

Zhuzhi-Lang shifted so he could hide the sight of his form in Yuán's hair. But he slipped out just enough to see the side of his face as he smiled gently at the townsfolk. “What can this one do for you?”

Chapter Text

[The Quest has begun! Two beasts have entered the village through the farmer’s extended yard. Deal with the problem in the best way.]

Shen Yuán stood up from his table at the bookstore right as the screams for the master cultivator were reaching its peak. He could hear one voice shouting over the others about his location.

[Failure to finish the mission will result in major injury or death.]

He almost allowed his expression to slip with all of the people starting to notice his presence. Is that sweat dripping down his back? Or was the beast already behind him ready to devour before he could even fight?

‘Huh? Why?’

[The beasts or Laven Town residents will hurt you depending on what you decide and the actions you make. Navi’s Advice: Choose your actions and words wisely.]

‘...Okay then. I will need to see what beasts have infiltrated to see what kind of problem the town is facing.’

Proud Immortal Demon Way is full of animals, mythical beasts, demonic beasts, and more that sometimes have the most ridiculous or longest names in the world due to the author’s inability to write coherent animal names.

He could understand the longer names for the flora of the world since the real world had some names like that. And some of the names truly sounded enchanting or intriguing at the very least even though a lot of them are plot point pushers with convent abilities or just papapa plants.

But nothing like Red Tipped Happiness Graceful River fish or Purple Misty Scaled Hippopotamus Hog.

Nevertheless, he planted a smile on his face and turned to the farmer who looked like he was thrown down by heaven at his request from the amount of relief across his face upon seeing his flowing robes and sword.

“What can this one do for you?” He asked, his voice calming down the harsh cries from the crowd.

“Master Cultivator, this one—all of us are so lucky for your presence here today.” The farmer’s tense shoulders fell into a relaxed position. All of his attention went to him, his expression pleasing as he gestured to the direction he came. “This one owns a farm with its back facing the forest. Two beasts have managed to escape from the forest into my farming land. It scared away my animals back into the barn. They are eating my crops. And they are breaking down my fence further to hoard the wood.”

‘Okay, any animal especially a farm animal would not take well to a beast on their land suddenly. Eating crops is pretty common. But hoarding wood?’

“Could you explain what you mean by hoarding wood? Are they chewing on the wood perhaps or using it against the claws or hooves?” He questioned. The presence of his friend slithering up his neck provided some sort of grounding that briefly distracted him from the tense situation starting to unfold.

The farmer gave a short nod. “The smaller one formed a circle of broken wood around the other. I think it might be stealing some hay from my horses as well.”

“A circle of wood with a grass material like hay...” Shen Yuán paused. This season was a common time for many animals and insects to have their courtship or mating period. It sounded like the beasts were making a nest, but he needed more details. “Hmm. Explain what these beasts look like. Are they furry or feathered? Dark or light colored?”

“The two beasts look like dark furry cows with three horns on their head and two tails,” the farmer replied, wiping his hands against his working robes, grass and dirt stains along the bottom.

“Ah.”

There were a few beasts that could fit that description. But they range from passive to kill you on sight. He is drawing a blank here. Dark furry cows likely look more like bulls which sound more demonic because of the horn and tail count.

Does the farmer have any more information? He tried to relax the tenseness between his eyebrows. “Is there anything else?”

The farmer shook his head. “This lowly one did not get too close to beast to find out. But one of them is not moving as much.”

Wait. “Not moving? How so?”

“The smaller one seems to be making the bigger beast a nest in the middle of my freshly planted rice. And the bigger one is laying down in the midst of it.”

Shen Yuán pressed a finger to his lips as he thought about the details all strung together. He felt the smoothness of his snake sliding underneath his hair and around his neck. ‘A smaller beast with a bigger one laying inside a nest. Which would mean the bigger one is most likely the female.... with dark fur... Oh!’

“This one has good news and bad news. This might be a situation with two Ash Mountain Horned Beasts. Good news is that the beasts will not attack unless provoked because they are considered quite the passive creatures.” Many of the citizens around the area immediately lost the tension in their bodies. “Although the bad news is everyone will have to refrain from your farm land until after the beasts leave.”

The farmer’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Why is that?”

“What was described is the mating behavior shown in nesting Ash Mountain Horned Beasts.” He took his time to explain the details aligning with the habits that was described. The citizens looked apprehensive about this information like they didn’t know what to do with such information. “This means that the two beasts are going to be territorial while they await the arrival of their offspring.”

“So these two beasts have chosen my farm to be their offspring’s birthplace? Why?” The farmer somehow looked confused, distressed and weirded out at the same time.

His snake friend poked his head out of his hair, drawing the farmer’s eyes. Without thinking, he ran the tip of his finger down his head with a smile. “The explanation is simple. This is an isolated space with little to no creature running amok to harm them or their young while they are in a vulnerable state.” Shen Yuán continued explaining while the farmer still had a complex look on his face. “And your land is bountiful with food. So take it as if you are an inn-owner giving them a place to stay for the day with free food.”

Shen Yuán frowned, delivering the bad side before any of the citizens decided to take this into their own hands. “I’m afraid if I or any of you try to intervene, the beasts will see this as a threat to their family’s lives and deal with it swiftly.”

“But what are we supposed to do, Master Cultivator?” The farmer looked desperate. “This lowly one provides most of the crops for the townspeople. I can’t offer them that so willingly.”

“This one understands.” Shen Yuán nodded. “Lead me to the beasts, so I may consider the best course of action.”

‘Navi?’

[Yes, User Shen Yuán?]

‘Is it possible to help the beasts and the townsfolk?’

[Think about it closely, Shen Yuán. If you do not reach an answer, this system will provide a hint for a price. ;)]

Okay, it seems he is on his own for now unless he really gets in trouble with this. The farmer led him past the townspeople gathered with a small crowd following possibly out of curiosity or boredom.

It didn’t take long to see the farmland with two dark beasts right on a piece of land behind the barn. The smaller beast was focusing on the nest while the female snuffed and groaned on the hay-covered grass.

From the sound of it, it should only be an hour or two. Possibly three depending on how long the mother had been like this. The birthing process happens within six hours of finding a nest due to the mother’s intuition. Although he found it interesting because from what he could remember, the mother could stall the birth if she and her mate hadn’t found a safe place to rest.

He supposed it was due to the mountain they lived in since most animals near that area were not as passive as they were.

“Ah, the mother beast seems to be close to birth. The young will likely be birthed before sunset,” Shen Yuán started, watching the smaller beast lick his mate’s face, paying sole attention to her. But as he stepped closer to the fence, their eyes were immediately focused on him.

He lowered his gaze and lowered his head to them, not raising his head until they both turned away once again.

“Master Cultivator, why can’t we remove the beasts from the farmland?” One townsfolk whispered, their fear apparent on their face from the sight of the two beasts. “This lowly one is sure there is plenty of space outside the town for the two to nest.”

“Be careful with your words.” Shen Yuán glanced at the beasts before his attention went back to the man. “The Ash Mountain Horned Beasts are passive until proven otherwise like this one has said before. But there is another aspect to their nature. They remember faces.”

“Beasts? Mere beasts remember faces?”

“Indeed.” He nodded, making the man even more afraid of what could happen. “These beasts have the everlasting memory to remember the appearance of who has acted with or against them.”

He turned his gaze back to the man who looked at his barn. “Farmer, have you done anything to enrage them or startle that at any point?”

He shook his head. “No, once I noticed them, I went to get help.”

“That is good. It will make this process easier.” Yuán responded. “If any of you try to attempt to disturb them and cause ill will, the beasts will retaliate. The beasts might even rampage through the town. They will remember your faces and might attack you if they encounter you again.”

The townspeople were raising their voices in their fear and anger.

“Then what? Are we supposed to wait while the beasts eat all of the crops?” These crops feed most of the town!” One voice shouted out to him.

He raised his hands in the air, trying to soothe them. “This one is not saying that either. If you would let this one finish, this situation will be solved easily.”

He waited until they quoted down at least a little before explaining the good part of all of this. The best situation to come out of this.

“From research, due to their passive nature and strong memory, the best thing to do is to let them give birth and go peacefully. If they go peacefully, they will recognize this place as a safe nesting area and will remember your faces as good people. This means that they will remain in the town’s debt and will repay it by protecting the land from any animals or beasts that you may come across in the future.”

“But the crops are a certain issue.” He relented on that. He had to. He knew how important the food was to the town especially for how small the town really was. “This one will help the beasts through this and guide them out of the village when the time comes if they haven’t already left. This one will not allow harm onto them or onto anyone.”

“So...” The farmer glanced to the nest, back to him, to the nest and then back once again. “Has my farm become a nesting ground?”

“For now, yes. But this one will provide them food, so they will not partake in your crops further.” Shen Yuán answered.

A man stepped out from the small crowd. “Wait, if we give the ugly cows food, they will leave our crops alone and protect us?”

He nodded. “In short, yes.”

The once angry man tilted his head back with a groan. “Fine. Let’s see what I got left.”

An older woman rubbed her chin. “Some of my fresh bread would have been stale by the day’s end anyway.”

The townspeople started to walk away back to their market stalls, business, and homes to gather food. The farmer gazed at the barn holding his animals with a tense expression.

“Hell, I’ll give them whatever they want as long as I don’t have to run into those dark eyed weasel things hanging from the branches at night.“

“Those things that squeal really loudly? If those two beasts could eat those things, I’m all for it.”

[User Shen Yuán has made excellent progress in quest so far! Laven Town has agreed to host two demonic beasts in return for protection! Continue with the great work!]

‘That’s great.’

[User Shen Yuán will now have to inform the two beasts about the arrangement! ^_^]

‘Say what now?’

*

Shen Yuán didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he crept closer to the nest with two territorial beasts in it with a bucket of water in one hand and food given from the villagers in the other. Thankfully, the weight of the buckets took his mind off the fact that the male beast had been staring him down since he popped his leg over the farmer’s fence.

The only thing he knows about this type of beast is limited to the books he has on them and the notes he discovered. The smaller beast is the male while the females are typically bigger and stronger. The females will seek out their mate and choose the one who proves the most loyalty as well as the most sharpened horns.

When they were not in mating season, they were a beast that he would have no trouble approaching. The beasts have some demonic energy in their horns that can measure the type of threat or prey they encounter. If he had any blood on his hands or showed any wrong movements, they would attack on sight.

So far so good as the beasts watched him with the female’s ears perking up from her head. He assumes it’s from the smell of food piled up in one of the buckets.

But the smaller beasts seemed to stiffen when his snake friend peeked out from his robes. Growling at the sight which made him stutter in his steps towards their spot.

“Did I take the wrong step?”

The male growled at him, making him stumble back in surprise. His snake friend hissed then disappeared back into his hair. But then he suddenly felt the scales leave from his neck and the crunch of the grass behind him.

He whipped his head behind him to see the snake slithering away to the exterior wall of the barn.

“What? Fine. I’ll just deal with this myself.” He pursed his lips and turned back to the nesting beasts. Although he couldn’t hate the small snake for doing that. He didn’t want the beasts to hurt his little buddy and the little guy was just protecting himself.

But also, what the hell? After everything we’ve been through?!

“Hello, this one’s name is Shen Yuán. I know of your species and I know the amount of intelligence you have.” The male’s eyes trailed over to him slowly, reluctant to take his eyes off the place where his snake friend was hiding away in the grass. “I have struck a deal with the town to allow you to rest here for now as well as have free food and refreshments for both you and your mate.”

“The only thing they ask is for your protection. If it is possible, will you guard Laven Town from any threats?“

The beasts were silent watching him. The male took a step further only for their gaze to snap to the barn right behind him. He watched as the beast growled once again before it fell silent in their throat. The female laying in the nest had shrunken back with a loud groan.

A hiss filled the air. Something louder than he had ever heard before. Like a giant snake had suddenly appeared behind him. Did something happen to his friend?

He turned back only to see the small coil of his friend against the barn, their body tense like it was looking to have the beasts for their dinner even though their body was much larger than his. The fangs were on full display now, his mouth open in a wide grin like he was daring the tiger to make a move.

Oh, the loud hiss must have been his imagination. Because the hisses he heard now were more subdued which was more accurate from the space between him and the barn.

The male beast snorted in the air, turning his gaze away from the barn and lowered his head to Yuán. He nestled his muzzle against the buckets in his hands.

“Does this mean you accept?”

The beast looked up and bobbed their head, grabbing the bucket grip with their teeth to deliver the food to their mate directly. The female inside the nest nodded their head to him with a low groan, taking the offerings from the townspeople.

“Thank you for your graciousness.”

He slowly backed away from the nest as the mates drank from the water bucket. He kept walking backwards until he reached the barn wall where his snake friend untended and immediately slither up the arm that was offered to him.

“You okay, little Jade.”

His scaled friend slowly turned their head towards him once settled around their shoulders once again. He nudged their head against the spot right under his chin, rubbing their smooth green scales against his skin.

*

[Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Laven Town Quest has been completed! User Shen Yuán has been awarded 2,000 points by reaching a satisfactory ending on both sides! ^_^]

The beasts deliver a pair of twins right as the sun’s rays start to touch the horizon. He brought a new bucket of water to help them clean off their baby if need be or drink from. The female took it without hesitation, dunking as much of her head inside the bucket to cool off.

He allowed the beasts to rest inside the large nest. Shen Yuán went back to the gathered townspeople with the farmer right at the front. “They will leave after the mother and calf are cleaned up. If you see them return, they have considered this village a safe place and will protect all of you from harm.” He explained. “Remember do not attack or disrespect them or else it will not end well for any of you. And the peaceful deal will be broken.”

“Thank you, Master Cultivator!” The farmer thanked him with a respectful bow quickly followed by the quick thanks and bows of the gathered crowd.

An older woman stepped out from the crowd. “Let me thank you personally, Master Cultivator. My inn has an empty room available. It will be a great honor to host you for a night in thanks for saving the town from harm.”

“Oh, this one couldn’t possibly—”

The older woman stepped forward with a pleading expression. “Please. It is too dark for someone to be out even a talented cultivator such as yourself. It is the least this one could do to repay for the help with a good meal and a place to stay.”

“Alright. I accept.”

He followed after the older woman while he continuously looked down at his snake friend to see him curled up with his head resting right on his shoulder.

The inn was nicer than he expected with a decent sized bar table in the lobby with some men gathered to drink from jugs. The older woman sat him on a modest table and hurried away to another room with a promise of a filling meal.

“Looks like our little day out got extended, little Jade.”

Little Jade snuck out from their resting place on his shoulders to look up at him.

“Hmm. I hope you like your name that I gave you. I couldn’t think of anything else that could fit.” Shen Yuán explained, his finger trailing over his head scales as his friend booped his fingertip. “Your company is like a treasure to me, so I thought it made sense.”

He kept his conversation with his newly named friend Jade in whispers to not draw attention to himself when the inn owner came back with a plate filled with food befitting a feast with a jar of wine.

“It’s on the house.” The inn owner refused his attempt to pay with a wave of her hand. “Enjoy your stay.”

Shen Yuán dug into his food while separating pieces off for little Jade. And before he knew it, his plate and small jar of wine was empty.

The inn owner escorted him to his room with instructions on where the bathhouse was so he could wash if need be. He nodded at her words, half listening before softly shutting the door after she had left.

He locked the door and focused his attention on the bed waiting for him. He laid his sword against the wall with his bag right next to it. He collapsed onto the bed, allowing time for Jade to slip out and onto the soft material.

Yuán took his time to make an effort so Jade had a warm place to rest right under the lantern. He pulled out things from his bed in order to make a warm enough place for his friend to rest.

“Comfortable?” His friend coiled up in their place, no sign of moving from their spot. “Good.”

Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him or just the light feeling in his chest from the wine. But he dipped his head to lay a kiss upon little Jade’s head. “Have a good rest, my little snake.”

He didn’t look back or have any time to look back as he collapsed face first into the pillows calling his name like a siren.

Chapter Text

It was taking every inch of him to not sink his fangs into the throat of the beast daring to threaten his cultivator. And the beasts knew it too. Even in his harmless form, the beast still recognized the energy he gave off.

When the beast tried to step closer to Shen Yuán, he released his hold on his smaller form to deliver a wordless threat directly to the pair. It was easier to show them just how willing he was to kill them where they stand once his halfling form was truly shown.

He heard the beast try to growl at him before they choked it back at his form. If they didn’t recognize him before, they would know.

Many demons in the kingdom knew of his appearance as Tianlang-Jun’s trusted general. Both in his mostly human form when dealing with political meetings and on the battlefield when he delved into his more monstrous form.

Word of mouth traveled far especially when someone as loud as his uncle was bragging about his strength in battle and trustworthiness in politics.

He leaned forward, his coil tightening as he focused his gaze right on them. A loud warning hiss filled the air with the poisonous promise of death lingering.

The hiss worked better than he thought although it alerted his cultivator. Zhuzhi-Lang shifted back into his harmless form when his cultivator turned around in a hurry. He didn’t take his eye off the beast as they considerably calmed when given the offerings. Even though they were calmed, he kept his fangs on display, daring them to make any move towards either of them.

Zhuzhi-Lang watched Shen Yuán finish the interaction with a smile, thanking them at the end. He finally looked away from the beasts to slither up Shen Yuán’s arm once it was lowered down to him.

He was missing the warmth of the shoulders and smoothness of his robes. Zhuzhi-Lang could get used to this spot if he wanted to go on more adventures.

Although he should visit his uncle soon to update him. Maybe he could borrow one of Shen Yuán’s books to read to him and provide him with the commentary that his cultivator gave on it. If it was possible, his uncle and his friend could be good friends over the interest in books.

Although the friendship would be comprised of his uncle defending the trash while Shen Yuán ranted about the lack of plot. Either way, he would be there to listen to their discussion and watch them no matter the time of day.

“You okay, little Jade?”

Little... Jade?

Zhuzhi-Lang turned his head to the concerned expression that melted into something amused when he shifted closer to their neck.

Shen Yuán had given him such a soft name despite not knowing what he was capable of. Of who he really was...

He reached up to nestle his head right under the soft skin of Shen Yuán’s chin. He paused in his movements as Shen Yuán walked to the villagers.

Zhuzhi-Lang curled up underneath the curtain of hair surrounding Shen Yuán’s neck.

Would his friend...

Would Shen Yuán look past his disgusting body? Could he accept his monstrous form? He had gently taken care of his wound before when they were just strangers in the forest.

Would the other even forgive him for hiding his disgusting true form from him for so long? Would he feel betrayed? Many people had run in fear or ignored him for the many years he traveled out in the world. He wasn’t given a name properly until his uncle had found him.

Could Shen Yuán understand why he had stayed in such a small form?

Shen Yuán muttered something about staying the night at an inn to him. He only cuddled closer, playing the role of his pet despite his ongoing thoughts.

*

Zhuzhi-Lang watched as his friend had a full meal with a bit too much wine from his shoulder. He watched in concern as he kept snacking on the meat Shen Yuán had pulled off for him.

The guest room they were given was adequate especially with the warm spot he found under the room’s lantern. He was settling in as Shen Yuán approached to wish him goodnight.

“Comfortable?” He gazed up at him from his warmed spot. He was about as comfortable as he could get, so he had no complaints. “Good.”

The next thing he knew was the feeling of Shen Yuán's lips against his head that sent a wave of heat through his scaled body.

“Have a good rest, my little snake.”

Zhuzhi-Lang’s mind went blank as the cultivator retreated back under the covers. If he could blink, he would. Yet he only stared at the far wall then his gaze drifted to the floor. His body coiled up to a point where he didn’t know where his tail was.

...

Ah.

...

...

...

AAAHHHHHHHHHH

*

He did not know when the sun had risen. Or when he had fallen asleep. Most of the night was spent agonizing over the simple gesture that his cultivator had made towards him.

Was it because he was drunk? The cultivator had been drinking quite a lot during the free meal he was given the night before. Was it a platonic gesture? It must have been because the cultivator only thinks of him as a pet snake that keeps him company.

Yet that kiss was all his mind could focus on as his thoughts went to the night’s his uncle told him about demon traditions of courting and the many marriages he was a guest of. The bride napping customs. The chasing down a bride to prove the loyalty, strength, and speed of the groom. The customs where female demons took charge to see who she would mate and how many.

His uncle told him about how his deceased mother was pulled into the snake demon traditional courting.

About how his mother’s eyes were captured by his father. How his uncle never saw her quite often, yet each time she was wearing elegant robes and was wearing a multitude of jewelry made from shiny, polished scales. And about the one time his uncle had ever seen his father, his father was cuddling up to his mother while she laid in the center of their giant coil.

That was all he knew about his father’s courting traditions. And as far as heavenly demon courting, his uncle didn’t tell him much, often telling him he was too young despite him being his general. If he could guess, he could assume it had something to do with his uncle forgetting his money, so Mistress Su would pay for—

“Little Jade, let’s go see if the beasts have left yet,” Shen Yuán groaned, a hand going up to his head and cradling it. He rose up a bit to watch. Was his cultivator hurt? He knew many herbs that could help if he could dive into the nearby forest. “Ugh, my head. I shouldn’t stand up too fast.”

“Man, I haven’t gotten drunk in so long. Er-ge would kill me if he knew,” Shen Yuán admitted with a grimace. Zhuzhi-Lang watched as the cultivator’s hand fell from his head as his gaze drifted away towards a wall. His next words were whispered in the quiet room. “Sorry, Er-ge.”

Shen Yuán cleared his throat before he could think any more in the sad expression that fell upon his face moments ago. “Let’s head out, little Jade. I don’t want to overstay our welcome more than we already have.” He reached a hand down and Zhuzhi-Lang did not hesitate to slither up back to his spot.

He had no idea why he was so attached to the spot around his cultivator’s shoulders. It might be the fact he was often used as the carriage for his uncle and Mistress Su for the journeys. Or it could just be the comfortable, warm feeling? Shen Yuán said, his voice thrumming in his throat like an instrument. “I could stop by one of the street stalls to get you something good to eat before we go back home.”

*

It took a while for them to finally set off back home. First, the beasts had to be checked on which ended quickly since they had already left. The townspeople almost persuaded him to stay longer, but Shen Yuán was very calm in explaining that he needed to get back home.

Although he did accept a gift of used books from the bookstore that the owner had given him. And a few pieces of street market food for both him and ‘little Jade’, the name made his insides warm each time Shen Yuán said it.

Shen Yuán ran out of topics to talk about on the way back to the house, so he started to rant more about the book he finished up the day before.

“I like it when more books have romance as the subplots instead of the main focus. It’s just because I don’t like when it gets too repetitive.” Shen Yuán ranted as he guided his sword with his feet to travel past the harsher terrain. “Like the miscommunication tripe is used way too much. And the romance book goes out of their way to make their horrible love interest better by making up some excuse for their shitty behavior towards the main lead—“

Zhuzhi-Lang listened to his voice as it bounced between topics and tropes that he avoided. The instant love issues. The accidental pregnancy trope. The one dimensional characters that all sounded the same with no definable personalities. At some point, Shen Yuán stopped flying on his sword and walked on the green grass that crunched under his feet.

“Don’t get me wrong. I do indulge in the cheesy romances from time to time. But they need to be done well!” Shen Yuán waved his hands through the air as his sword rested on his hip. “Give me a plot, don’t give me instant love straight into papapa.“

The time passed by like nothing since his mind was only focused on Shen Yuán’s voice. Somehow they got home without him noticing. Zhuzhi Lang watched as his cultivator put away the groceries he got and the few gifts he accepted.

Then a flash appeared in front of them which made Zhuzhi-Lang tense up just in case it was a threat.

“Oh? A message already?“ Shen Yuán opened up the Qi message which made the letters flow up into the air. “What did this dumbass—Cucumber-bro, I‘ve done it. Huan Hua is in the ‘fuck around and find out’ stage...” The Qi message made his cultivator look confused. “What the hell did he do without me?”

...What’s a... cucumber bro?

“Be right there. I’m on my way since my king is away and my head disciple is taking care of paperwork.” Shen Yuán paused, his eyes widening. “Wait, he’s—“

There was a knocking at the door.

“How the hell did he do that so perfectly?” Zhuzhi-Lang watched as his cultivator turned his head slightly to the left, his expression changed again to something more accepting and then turned his gaze to the door again. “Oh. That’s why.”

Why did he look towards the wall like that? Zhuzhi-Lang tried to follow his gaze to see just the plain wall of his living room. But anything he might have spotted was gone since his cultivator was moving towards the entrance and opening it wide.

The An Dong peak lord stood there with several hair strands sticking up from his bun and around his peak lord crown. The blue robes were askew as the peak lord was in the midst of pulling them into place.

“Cucumber-bro!”

“Airplane.”

What are these weird, familiar names for one another?

Hmph.

It doesn’t matter. Little Jade was a much preferably name to be called than whatever an ‘airplane’ was. Or cucumber. What kind of names are these? Did they create a new language on An Ding that he had no knowledge about?

“I connected all the dots we needed. This way everyone won’t be able to doubt us. Especially since I‘m getting my hands on a truth telling artifact.” Shang Qinghua, the An Ding peak lord, grinned despite the informal language he was using. “That old Palace Master bastard is going down!”

“And why is that?” Shen Yuán asked. His unimpressed expression focused on the flyaways on the An Ding Peak Lord’s head. “Did you show him your shitty writing and he had a stroke?”

“I found Su Xiyan’s remains.”

Mistress Su?

“It took forever since she died like more than a decade ago around, you know, the whole trapping under a mountain thing.” Shang Qinghua continued despite a mountain of rocks starting to form in Zhuzhi-Lang’s throat. “But I found the monk who helped her give birth and found where she was buried.”

What?

All this time...

And she was...

She was...

“Where was she?”

“Near the Luo River. She got far enough away from Huan Hua considering the place she died compared to the distance of the water prison she escaped from and stuff.” Shang Qinghua continued like he wasn’t tearing down his inner mind with the memories of Mistress Su and his uncle. Their dates he was a third wheel on. The promises they shared. And the moment his uncle was captured. “She could have gotten farther, but I’m sure the poison slowed her down.”

Mistress Su...

Oh, Junshang.

Chapter Text

“Cucumber-bro!”

“Airplane.” He greeted, hearing his system chime in the background with a little notification on Shang Qinghua’s character profile but he pushed it to the side.

Seriously, how did he get this perfect timing? As soon as he set his things down and read the letters, he was already at his door.

His fellow transmigrator wasted no time and started talking right after they greeted each other. “I connected all the dots we needed. This way everyone won’t be able to doubt us. Especially since I‘m getting my hands on a truth telling artifact.” Shang Qinghua rubbed his hands together like an evil villain plotting a cannon fodder’s demise. “That old Palace Master bastard is going down!”

“And why is that?” Shen Yuán asked, he was not impressed from his friend’s outwardly appearance. Man, he should really use that tree sap oil he told him about.

Or maybe that shitty author could have found a way to write an exception with the hair so he could trim it to his shoulders? He had enough time for needless and unnecessary porn. Why couldn’t he write that rogue cultivators could cut their hair short for whatever reason? “Did you show him your shitty writing and he had a stroke?”

“I found Su Xiyan’s remains.” Shang Qinghua responded. “It took forever since she died like more than a decade ago around, you know, the whole trapping under a mountain thing. But I found the monk who helped her give birth and found where she was buried.”

Wow, where was the protagonist’s mother buried? “Where was she?”

“Near the Luo River. She got far enough away from Huan Hua considering the place she died compared to the distance of the water prison she escaped from and stuff.” Shang Qinghua continued. “She could have gotten farther, but I’m sure the poison slowed her down.”

He felt the presence of his little snake around his shoulder tightened their hold on his neck, making him pause and look down. Thankfully, their grip loosened before their body disappeared under his outer robe and down to his sleeves.

“Hmm,” Shen Yuán hummed before his attention went back to Shang Qinghua. “What’s the monk’s name?”

“It was hard to remember his actual name.” Shang Qinghua rubbed the back of his neck. He watched the other concentrate for a moment until he shook his head. “I was sure it was supposed to be something different. I changed the name like three times before scrapping it. But he wrote it down for me.”

“Okay,” Shen Yuán waved off that detail. If they needed to discuss everything, it would be better with some snacks and drinks. He was hungry even though he made snacks along the way home. Plus, it was the perfect time to have a bigger meal for lunch. “Let me get some refreshments so we can eat and talk over the details. What kind of things did you bring?”

“I have several written accounts from the monk, a few disciples from Huan Hua who remembered Su Xiyan the most, and a shopkeeper that reported who she would always pay for Tianlang-Jun.” Shang Qinghua ended his response with a pointed smile.

Those words echoed through his mind. Wouldn’t a demon lord have money on him? Shen Yuán pursed his lips, “...Tianlang-Jun was a sugar baby?”

“I think?” He rolled his eyes. Of course this shitty writer couldn’t remember. Most of the time it was him, Shen Yuán, remembering and reminding him of the stuff he wrote.

Shang Qinghua interrupted his thoughts, “I also have a rough draft of the novel I was telling you about—“

Shen Yuán immediately said, “Then you are so lucky we have to talk about the heavy stuff first or else I would be critiquing your draft in front of you.”

That did nothing but make the shitty author smile at him. “I can expect nothing less from my self proclaimed editor.”

“I will not have you writing trash when you don’t need to.” Shang Qinghua shrank a little at his harsh words before laughing when he shoved at his arm. “Every bit of the original story of the PIDW you slip up and tell me about is better than the thousands of chapters you put out.”

“Wow. Thank you, bro.” Shang Qinghua touched his heart in such a dramatic way. Shen Yuán scoffed and rolled his eyes, listening to the other transmigrator continue, “Honestly, if I had the time, I would do a whole rewrite of PIDW that actually follows my original storyline.”

He wasn’t going to dignify that with a response.

...the amount of rewriting that the author would have to do. All of the names would have to be changed and—

No! Stop thinking about it!

‘System, what’s a good meal I can make with the ingredients I have?’

[Calculating ingredients available...]

[Loading...]

[...]

[Navi has found several ways to make a satisfying lunch for User Shen Yuán and his guest!]

Shen Yuán concentrated on slicing the bread and gathering the rest of what he needed while Shang Qinghua continued the conversation.

“Your house is looking better since the last time I visited,” Shang Qinghua commented. “It’s like a cottagecore fantasy that readers would love.”

Shen Yuán shrugged, putting on one of the few pots he owned on a burner. He silently lit a fire underneath it as he poured in a small amount of water. “Yeah, I’ve picked up a few more things and decorated a bit more with the souvenirs I got from my side quests.”

The souvenirs helped establish a cottage core aesthetic more than he would have liked, but his sister has multiple inspiration boards with the same kind of feeling. The mushroom decoration. The knitted tapestry from an older woman whose work was honestly the best he has seen. And the little pieces of pottery and several books he picked up along the way.

All of that paired with the several jars of beast, herbs, and more painted him as a picture perfect house that his sister would have loved to own. Maybe that’s why he leaned so hard into it.

It was not at all like like his brothers’ style. Modern and minimalism didn’t really fit this world or his life. From the amount of merchandise in his old room, he would say he leans towards maximalism more.

But he was working on having a bit more modern inventions in his house for ease. The bathroom was a work in progress.

Shang Qinghua set out multiple things on his kitchen table in two separate piles while he prepared a stew from some herbs and vegetables in his pantry. It would not take long with cultivation helping the process.

As he cooked, the two talked about Shang Qinghua’s attempt at making a romance.

Shen Yuán scoffed. “Why do you always tell but not show? It would be better if you say something more like ‘her pendant bounced with each step she took’ and ‘not she had massive breasts that are apparently sentient’.”

“Bro, I’m trying. It’s hard to detail things like that.” Shang Qinghua replied to his critique.

“Try harder then.”

Shang Qinghua scowled. “Bitch.”

“Bitch.” Shen Yuán frowned as he stirred the stew, feeling his snake was a bit more inactive as usual. They would usually be peeking their head out and observing the area around him by now. Maybe they were tired after such a quest?

It took a bit longer until the stew was ready since he needed to bring up the flames to really cook down the ingredients. He served two bowls with a few slices of bread and freshly brewed tea.

Shang Qinghua took the bread before anything else, groaning as he bit into it, “Wow. This bread is so crunchy.”

“Got it from Laven Town.” Shen Yuán commented. “I just got back from there after saving them from two beasts.”

Shang Qinghua looked interested as he went through the details of the two beasts and the wonderful night he stayed at the inn. And how the side quest ended happily with a deal settled between the two and the beasts with protection and sanctuary offered to each other.

After he explained what the last few days were like for him, Shen Yuán started asking about the accounts Shang Qinghua had acquired. “How hard was it to get information?”

“Not too bad. There were a lot of tight lipped disciples who didn’t want to participate. But a few stepped up since I was legitimately looking more into her death and the situation around it.” Shang Qinghua replied.

He felt a slither up his arm and a presence settled across the back of his neck as he slurped up a bit of his stew.

“A few even said in private that they have noticed several pointed accounts that disciple that were close to Su Xiyan or talked with her more disappearing on quests and each one of them ending up dead from them.” Shang Qinghua explained. His face looked a bit creeped out as he explained how the missions were clearly out of their level and the descriptions he found in reports.

A shiver went down his spine at the casual mention of how far the palace master’s obsession went. Really? Killing anyone that talked with her a little more than usual. “Shit, really?”

The familiar feeling of scales slithering around his neck brought no comfort to the horrifying ideas thrumming through his mind. When Luo Binghe got there in the original, was the palace master thinking of doing...?

Ugh. He had to wash the disgust climbing up his throat with two strong gulps of hot tea. God, Gongyi Xiao was close in similarity too. Shen Yuán sighed. “Do you think I could tell Gongyi Xiao? Will he be with us in this?”

“Possibly if we talk with him about all the details without sounding crazy.”

“Let’s hold back on that,” Shen Yuán said. He had to think of a more careful way to approach the subject with his Shidi. “The last thing we need is for him to get into trouble with the Palace Master.”

“If anything we should either plan a rescue or convince him to leave before the Palace Master acts on the fact he looks kind of similar to Su Xiyan as well.”

“Ew. Ew. Gross.” Don’t remind him! His Shidi, both of them, do not need to be anywhere near that pedophile pervert! “I would hate it if—“

“I know.“ Shang Qinghua looked as disgusted as him. “He never acted on it before. If anything, he is living through his daughter since the Little Palace Mistress is already engaged to Gongyi Xiao.”

“Is there any way to sneak him onto Cang Qiong mountain?” Memories of Gongyi Xiao talking with him about the lessons Gongyi wanted to try that he told him about. “He did say he wanted to explore more into what he could do. Maybe he could help you with the peak lord duties.”

Shang Qinghua sat up with a sigh. He grabbed the bowl of stew, and shoveled the bits remaining in their broth into his mouth. It took a moment before he replied, “Man, I should have made you the head disciple, so you could get a smidge, a taste, of what I have to deal with daily.”

“Everyday I’m glad I’m not a peak lord.” Shen Yuán held up his tea cup into the air in a mimicry of a toast. “Especially not the An Ding peak lord.”

“Preach to the heavens! What I wouldn’t do to just... pop! Gone! Do you know how bad the peaks would be messed up if no one was there to help with the business side of things?!” Shang Qinghua did jazz hands that didn’t last long as a long suffering sigh made him drag his hands down his face in despair. “Do you know how many times I have to deal with Liu Qingge’s bullshit?”

The peak lord stood up straight with an expression that mocked the serious face of Liu Qingge. Shen Yuán snorted as Shang Qinghua deepened his voice. “I broke literally every building on my peak since I threw my disciples into them instead of training them. Fix it or else I’ll beat you up. I’m going to go kill something now. Don’t bother me.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t seem that... business focused.” Although Liu Qingge’s face was something positive about him... Possibly one of the only things on the positives about him. “It's a good thing that he’s pretty.”

Shang Qinghua propped up his head with his hand while a mocking smile spread across his face. “That’s a nice way to call him a stupid, incompetent peak lord.”

“That is you saying that, I’m just complimenting his looks.” Shen Yuán laughed at Shang Qinghua rolling his eyes. Then he felt a welcome presence sift their little head through his hair.

He looked down to see his friend staring up at him through his dark locks of hair. He smiled softly down at them. Ah, the little one must not have liked me complimenting the pretty peak lord. “Hey, now, don’t be jealous little Jade. He could never compare to your beauty. Your scales outshine him any day, don’t they?”

His little Jade nestled into his palm while Shang Qinghua suspiciously went silent on the other side of the table.

“Uh, Cucumber bro?”

He looked up to see Shang Qinghua giving him a confused look. “What?”

“When did you befriend a snake?”

“A week or so ago when little Jade got tied up in the vines outside my window. He has been a lovely guest.” He explained, running a finger down the head of his little friend. But Shang Qīnghuá still had a strange look on his face like he was holding something back. Sighing, he asked, “What?”

“Huh?”

“You have this weird look on your face like you want to tell me something. What is it?” Shen Yuán prodded, not liking the feeling of his little Jade tensing up in his hands. He glanced down to see his friend staring at the peak lord like a mouse waiting to be eaten.

“Okay, I’m guessing you can’t see it for whatever reason. I don’t know why.” Shang Qinghua sighed, scooting back from the table slowly. His gaze bounced from the tensed body of little Jade up to Shen Yuán’s face. “Uh, do you know about the past heavenly demon Tianlang-Jun?”

“Yeah?”

He knew enough about him. He did feel immensely bad about the fate he suffered from the tragic origin story that Shang Qinghua wrote. He beat him over the head with a wooden fan for leaving out such a good story plot point for stupid porn.

“He had a demon by his side as his general who was also his nephew. A heavenly demon that was half snake demon.” Shang Qinghua’s eye’s darted back down to little Jade who had started hissing. “His name was Zhuzhi-Lang.”

Little Jade started to hiss even louder, slithering down Shen Yuán’s arm which made his transmigrator friend move back farther away.

“Little Jade, calm down.” Shen Yuán tried to calm down the hissing sound by softly petting his scales like he normally did. But it did nothing to soothe them. “Did seeing little Jade remind you of that fact?”

Shang Qinghua stared at him, blinked, then let out the most strangled sigh he has ever heard from him. And he has heard him deal with a mountain of paperwork that he crammed into one day of work. “...Dude, I want to believe it’s your system. But if you are this oblivious... nevermind you are.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re ‘lovely guest’” Shang Qinghua paused to emphasize the air quotes. “...is Tianlang-Jun’s general! Zhuzhi-Lang!”

“What? No way! Isn't that right, little Jade?” Little Jade had stopped hissing, a thrumming low sound echoing through their small body like a growling drum. The sound was similar to the one he heard when confronting the two beasts before. “Little Jade? My little snake?”

His lovely scaled guest fell to the ground from his arm despite his attempt to save them from the impact. Shang Qinghua hurriedly back away with a scream dragging Shen Yuán away by his sleeve which he did not care for.

“Dude, what the hell—?”

“Get out of the way!”

The peak lord pulled him out right as his little Jade began to shift. Shen Yuán watched from the other side of the room near his bedroom doorway as his friend started growing bigger. Those beautiful, shining scales grew bigger as their body seemed to crackle into a larger coil.

It wasn’t long until there was a big snake flicking their tongue at them, making Shang Qinghua scream and jump behind him.

“Oh.” Shen Yuán breathes out, seeing a familiar human-like face staring at him with reptilian features. Yet those eyes were still unmistakable.

Shang Qinghua whimpered behind him. “Please don’t kill me!”

That day in the forest— “I know you...”

A voice seemed to whisper to them, that forked tongue slipped out between those thin lips. “Tell me.”

“What?” Shang Qinghua peeked his head out only to pull it back when the giant snake hissed at him once again.

Those sunset yellow eyes were trained on the An Ding Peak Lord like a predator. “Tell me everything you know, Shang Qinghua. And I might let you live.”

Shen Yuán helped them out with the wound they were suffering. Those eyes never leave his face or watch his hands work. The little expressions he saw when he talked with them. They all belonged to the snake trapped inside vines. “Little Jade?”

Those yellow eyes like golden syrup slowly trailed to him, never blinking or wavering. Then slowly an expression he could only describe a smile with long fangs peeking out was aimed at him. Poison dripped from those dangerous fangs onto the floor where it started to burn a hole through the wood. “Hello, my cultivator.”

Chapter Text

Zhuzhi-Lang would like to convince himself that the reveal of his form was planned and went exactly like he planned.

Like on a day with the outside plants covered with dew like a recent rain. And sometime when the sun was at its highest which would mean it would be warm. Maybe a lucky day where it would be fresh from a quest they both returned from.

And then he would reveal himself to Shen Yuán with a ready apology for hiding it for so long. Then he would vow his life, himself, to him in thanks for saving him.

And if all went well, he would have a trusted cultivator on his side when he wasn’t visiting his uncle and reading stories to him.

But no, nothing like that happened. It wasn’t a perfect day. He didn’t have his apology speech ready for the moment. And Shang Qinghua was right in the middle of it all.

The An Ding Peak lord’s suspicion towards him drove him into a panic. The suspicion coupled with what they were talking about did not make him feel good. The truth of what had happened all those years ago…

Flashes of Mistress Su laughing and his uncle screaming out in pain drowned out his calming thoughts. The overwhelming panicked feeling traveling down his scales even though he could feel the gentle touch of Shen Yuán trying to comfort him.

His thoughts ran together as he slipped out of Shen Yuán’s sleeves to try and hide away from their gaze. Yet the feelings overtook him to a point where he could no longer keep the smaller form in control.

He could hardly see Shen Yuán when Shang Qinghua dragged him away. And the growing annoyance towards the peak lord was growing bigger when he saw the peak lord hiding behind his past disciple.

Even though it wasn’t what he wanted out of his eventual reveal, Shen Yuán didn’t react with any fear or hatred. Hesitance was present for a moment until his cultivator looked him in the eye and called the name he had given him.

“Hello, my cultivator.”

Shen Yuan’s eyes widened with a flush coming to his cheeks. Hey, he wasn’t screaming. That was a nice change of pace—

“I don’t want to die!”

Right. Someone else was here.

“Be quiet. There is no need to look so pathetic,” Zhuzhi-Lang hissed despite the slight lisp to his words that slipped during the ‘s’ sounds. He glanced at Shen Yuán to see no other reaction other than the same surprised reaction, staring out into nothing. Was he still in shock? “Start explaining what you know.”

Shen Yuán seemed to snap out of it and lightly slapped the peak lord’s arm. “Airplane, we should tell him. His uncle is involved in this after all.”

“I’ll do it. As long as he doesn’t kill me!” Shang Qinghua gestured to him with a harsh whisper. Zhuzhi-Lang narrowed his eyes when the peak lord shoved his cultivator away and kept staring at him like he was just a monster waiting to jump on him.

‘Monster!’

‘Get out of our town!’

‘Don’t let him near the children!’

The voices of villagers filled his mind from the hesitant look on that weak An Ding peak lord’s face. He didn’t care for the other’s blatant disrespect. “If you don’t start giving me the information I need, you will face the consequences.”

“Fine! Okay! Just don’t do anything.” Shang Qinghua raised his arms in surrender almost immediately. What kind of peak lord acted this cowardly? “We’ll answer whatever questions you need.”

“When did you sssstart looking into thissss?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked, unintentionally hissing in his words making his ‘s’ stay long.

Shang Qinghua made a pointed look at Shen Yuán who glared at the peak lord diverting attention to him.

“Well, I already told you in your... little Jade form about Gongyi Xiao.” Zhuzhi-Lang curled his coil tighter at hearing his nickname fall from Shen Yuán’s lips. It felt comforting despite the way they were right now. “When we became friends, I visited him at Huan Hua palace. I ventured inside his room since he was the head disciple. We often had tea together.”

“I found hidden letters left by Su Xiyan inside the room. It said something about her being pregnant and wanted to peacefully leave the sect and venture out on her own as a rogue cultivator in the near future.” Zhuzhi-Lang bit down on his thin lip, making the peak lord step back from the glimpse at his fangs. “I brought it to him to check her handwriting. And—“

Shang Qinghua cleared his throat, making his cultivator pause in his explanation. “It took a lot of digging since this was a little less than 20 years ago. But it matched some past reports that Cang Qiong had on file.”

“Mistress Su wrote a letter that lured him to a trap set by cultivators.” That look on his uncle’s face that went from expectant hope to confusion to betrayal in such a short few moments before everything faded to hurt and anger when the cultivators descended upon him. A whole army against the two of them until his uncle threw him aside when they started to seal him. “It was written in her handwriting too.”

“There are disciples that are trained to forge.” Shang Qinghua said. He saw the peak lord swallow then back away when his gaze narrowed in on him. Was he sweating? The strands of hair framing his face looked darker than the rest of his dull brown hair. “I taught my own head disciple to forge my signature as soon as I trusted them enough to deal with more important paperwork.” Forgery was commonplace in cultivator practice? Hmm. Interesting. “It could be possible that someone at Huan Hua like a disciple copied Su Xiyan’s handwriting.”

It couldn’t be so easy of an answer. He tried to rack his mind for a glimpse of the letter Mistress Su sent to his uncle. They would have spotted it if it was fake. His uncle kept every note from her either written on the backs of receipts of food she paid for or little scraps of paper to remind him of secret locations to meet. They would have seen something amiss with it.

“How could it be so simple?” Zhuzhi-Lang questioned, slithering closer which made the An Ding Peak lord retreat back even more steps with a small squeak. “Is this supposed to be an easy explanation? How am I supposed to know that Mistress Su didn’t betray him at the last moment.”

“A main part of that I got from two accounts!” Shang Qinghua squeaked out, his voice breaking at the beginning of his statement which made his attention float towards Shen Yuán who was hiding his laughter behind his sleeve. “One account described the first half and the other is from the monk who encountered Su Xiyan until her last moment.”

Shang Qinghua started explaining step by step what he could gather from the information he got. The assumptions he could make based on things that Shen Yuán had seen at the Huan Hua Palace along with the actual accounts.

Piece by piece connected to each other like a game made for children.

The Huan Hua palace master had his eyes on Su Xiyan for a long time as noted by several accounts. Detailed memories of him isolating her away from other disciples and praising her in such a way that no other disciples received. The gifts delivered to her bedroom after her successful missions were specifically made for her, even robes that were custom made to fit her body.

The same robes, untouched, that were folded and put away in a gilded chest by one of the disciples.

Then how the master got suspicious of her leaving so often for town. How several disciples had seen her out with a man that can only be described as his uncle and the traveling disguise he often wore during that time.

Shang Qinghua stuttered as he started to detail how enraged the master had become. Two accounts detailed how they had seen Su Xiyan be dragged away down to the water prison, but had to run off before they were spotted. How the master started talking about how Su Xiyan got led away by a demon and how he was going to corner the demon for seducing her, forcing themselves on her at a vulnerable moment.

Accounts detailed an army of cultivation leaving to take care of the demon. And a short time after, Shang Qinghua started reading directly from the papers written by Wu Chen, the monk responsible for helping with the birth of his young cousin.

Shang Qinghua looked up at him and back to the paper several times, gaging his reaction to every word that spilled from his mouth. “This Wu Chen found Head Disciple Su Xiyan by the Luo River. This one helped clear her meridians before discovering that Su Xiyan had been poisoned.”

It all led up to a very pregnant and poisoned dead disciple giving birth right beside the river. How Wu Chen hurriedly cleaned the baby the best he could. How Su Xiyan placed a protection seal on her baby with the last bit of strength she could. How he used a basket made for carrying away rice plants to place the baby inside and set them down a river. How Su Xiyan’s body gave up ten minutes after the birth.

How the last words she said was an apology to the son she would never get to raise and the love she had let down.

All of this time…

Junshang pinned under the mountain with no limbs, his curly hair all tangled. Bugs crawling in the dark space around them when he visited with morsel or sweet food and new books. His uncle’s tired face was getting less and less hopeful with each passing day in the minimal light.

How? How?! How did this happen?

“My uncle is rotting underneath that mountain...” Zhuzhi-Lang could feel himself bordering on hysterically screaming in outrage at the unfairness of the situation. His uncle’s body is dying just because one man didn’t like the fact that the one he lusted after loved his uncle. “...for nothing?

He would kill that old bastard. Drip poison into his eyes before slowly paralyzing his body while he screamed for mercy. Then have Junshang torture him for revenge for as long as his Junshang needed with blood parasites rushing inside his veins to keep him alive for all of it. Then he would take care of his body by sealing him under a mountain until he dies.

“It was all a tragic misunderstanding?!” Zhuzhi-Lang lashed out, making Shang Qinghua stumble inside Shen Yuán bedroom like it could protect him. Shen Yuán watched him carefully, staring down at the whipping tail behind him. His coils tightened, moving against the floor like silk as he craved to let his anger out. “My uncle is suffering for nothing?!”

“The only reason he suffers is due to the plan orchestrated by the Palace Master.” Shen Yuán raised his arms in surrender, drawing his attention to him. He could feel the venom pooling in his fangs, yet he held himself back from allowing it to drop. He didn’t want to burn their floors or cause them to flinch back from him in fear.

He tried to steady himself, glancing back at his cultivator to see him calmly watching, waiting for his next move. He breathed in. Zhuzhi-Lang heard his cultivator yell out something about how the peak lord needed to calm... what are ‘tits’? He breathed out.

He breathed in. Then there was the sound of rustling inside the bedroom like someone trying to find a hiding spot. And once again breathed out.

“Why?” Zhuzhi-Lang could barely hear himself think over all of the rushing thoughts. He had to tell his Uncle. But what could he tell him? How would his uncle react to such a mind boggling discovery? Would his uncle want to die to reunite with Mistress Su, leaving him alone?

Shen Yuán looked at him with sympathy, not pity. Something soft and considering in his gaze as he watched him break down into nothing. His scale felt so itchy under his careful gaze. “Junshang had done nothing wrong. He had just fallen in love. That was it. And he has spent so many years in turmoil because his love betrayed him! Yet that was all a lie!”

Shen Yuán bit down in his lip, glancing from him to the bedroom entrance where he could see a glimpse of the peak lord’s robes.

“His body is growing weaker every year.” Zhuzhi-Lang feared he looked too pitiful. But he steadily stared into the trusting gaze of the cultivator he had gotten to know in such a short time. “This one fears that this weak nephew can do nothing to help him gain his body back.”

The peak lord popped his head out of his bedroom with a wide eyed expression. “If you need a body, we can get you one!”

“What?” He asked, confused as to where the other was going. He had scoured the demon world for something to help him escape or find a new body. But none of the plants he knew of could help in such a direct way.

Shen Yuán looked equally confused only with a small amount of anger in his gaze. “What.”

“The Sun and Moon Dew Flower seeds.” Shang Qinghua said. “Maybe we can use that to make him a new body.”

“Isn’t that the one we—“

“Yes, the very same.” Shang Qinghua interrupted him because Shen Yuán could finish his sentence. Ah, that was quite rude. If this was a different situation, he would already be demanding an apology out of him for Shen Yuán. “Although I’m not sure if it will work on his demonic qi. It is made for spiritual qi, so I’m not sure what will happen when it is strengthened with demonic energy.” Shang Qinghua looked straight at him. “If anything, your uncle can use it temporarily while you find a more permanent solution.”

Zhuzhi-Lang wracked his brain. If his Junshang could escape and use his power, he could slowly release his old body from the prison under the mountain. It was possible if no cultivators learned of it despite the area being guarded by Huan Hua.

But there is a chance. “The only solution would be for Junshang’s body to heal while he occupies the plant replacement body. But this one is not sure how this could happen.”

He trusted Shen Yuán because of his actions to save him one day despite knowing how dangerous he could be. So he will extend it to Shang Qinghua for this.

Although he will have no issue tearing the cowardly one’s throat out if he dares to move against Shen Yuán or him.

So he explained about his uncle’s situation with the number of seals and the possibility of regaining his new body. If the temporary body was a possibility, his uncle would have enough time to fix his original body and return to his old self.

Shen Yuán mumbled under his breath, staring off into nowhere once again with a concentrated look on his face. “What if we try to help him out of the seals under the mountain?”

Zhuzhi-Lang was stunned at the honest suggestion. “What?”

The peak lord started talking out of the side of his mouth like his words weren’t loud enough for him to hear. “Dude, we can not be strong enough for those seals.”

“I’m sure if we work on one at a time with both of us.” Shen Yuán waved at the air between him and the weak-looking peak lord. “We can both chip away at it until all if not most of the seals are gone. If we at least get a few off, it would still be helping.”

“You are offering to help free my uncle...?”

Ah. His cultivator was so kind.

He would need to find a safe place in the demon world for him to live in. A nice place where he could cultivate in peace, record the demonic fauna and read to his heart’s content. And Zhuzhi-Lang would protect him for the rest of his known lifetime and the next to repay him for all he had done.

Whether it be for 50 more years or a thousand. Zhuzhi-Lang would make sure to repay his gratitude with a flood of kind actions towards his cultivator. Shen Yuán would get everything he would ever need whether it may be.

While he started to plan out what plot of land would be perfect, he tuned back into a conversation between Shen Yuán and his old Shizun. It was far too casual for his taste especially with their hushed words.

“I mean, I’ve already been kicked out of a sect. If you end up coming, you need a disguise. Like a full disguise that will make your identity a hundred percent.”

“How would I do that?” Shang Qinghua asked.

Shen Yuán clapped his hands together. “Reverse Mulan. Genderbend yourself.”

“That was way too quick of an answer.” Shang Qinghua narrowed his eyes at the other. “Have you been sitting on that disguise idea for a while?”

Shen Yuán blinked. “I’m not going to grace that with an answer.”

Shang Qinghua shrugged. “Won’t Huan Hua be suspicious of two random cultivators appearing every now and again?”

“Not if we are actually sneaking in. If they see us on the road, yeah we’re fucked. But if I can convince Gongyi Xiao that it’s just me researching with a pal.” Shen Yuán explained. Zhuzhi-Lang listened more intently when he said the Huan Hua head disciple’s name. “I’m sure he can do something to help with suspicions. Only if we need his help though. I don’t want to drag him too far into our mess.”

Shen Yuán turned his gaze to him with those eyes piercing into him. “Does the plan sound satisfactory?”

“Yes. I will repay my growing debt to you. I owe you endless kindness.”

He ignored the murmur from Shang Qinghua about him also being there in favor of watching Shen Yuán.

“Now that you have the truth.” Shen Yuán's pleasant expression tightened at the corner of his eyes as he clasped his hands together. “This cultivator would like the truth as well from you, Little Jade.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuán was staring at the giant snake curled up in his front room. The tea cup pieces were shattered somewhere behind the demon along with the puddles of tea and stew.

‘Are you shitting me?’ Shen Yuán thought to himself. This happens right when he thought he could relax after being banished away with Luo Binghe deep in the abyss, starting his cool protagonist journey.

Now he was staring at the demon snake general of Binghe’s father. And, not only that, he recognized that reptilian face and those honey eyes from elsewhere. That was the same secret character he saved before!

‘System, why didn’t you tell me about Zhuzhi-Lang being the secret character?’ Shen Yuán searched his brain for the blue screen entity.

The entity appeared before his face with an apologetic emoticon. [( ‘-‘ )This Navi told the user about being modest.]

‘When did—?’ Shen Yuán froze as he racked through his brain for the memory. He did remember his system reminding him of that when he was going to the bath. ‘You knew! You could have told me!’

Wait, modesty? Was that when—?!

‘Oh my god, he saw me strip naked!’ Shen Yuán put his hands up to his cheeks to quell down the warmth that was rushing to the thin skin on his face. Ah, how embarrassing! ‘And I always get naked in my bedroom which means Zhuzhi-Lang saw me naked multiple times! And he said nothing?!‘

[This Navi apologizes for the miscommunication trope. This system did not have a name registered to the secret character because of the lack of introduction. Therefore, this system had no way to tell the user except through helpful hints. >_<. 50 B-points will be added to User Shen Yuán’s account in reparations.]

Shen Yuán scowled the blue screen. ‘Does this count as hush money?’

[This Navi will neither confirm nor deny. ^_^]

“Hello, my cultivator.”

Shen Yuán panicked at the sound of the other’s voice. His cheeks felt hot at the reminder that this giant snake demon man saw him naked and—oh no, he kissed him! Is Zhuzhi-Lang offended that he would do such casual things with him?

“I don’t want to die!”

Ah right, that shitty author is still here making things worst for himself.

Shen Yuán snapped out of his overthinking to slap at his friend’s arm. It was too late to hide anything from little—Zhuzhi-Lang considering he heard them talk so casually about the situation regarding Su Xiyan. “Airplane, we should tell him. His uncle is involved in this after all.”

From there, he tried his best to help Shang Qinghua explain the whole story. How he discovered a hint of Su Xiyan in Huán Hua. How it evolved into an investigation that he and Shang Qinghua kept secret from mostly everybody.

And now, Zhuzhi-Lang looked angry and Shang Qinghua was hiding in his bedroom like a wall could protect him from an enraged snake demon.

Zhuzhi-Lang yelled something about his Junshang, his family, suffering for nothing.

“The only reason he suffers is due to the plan orchestrated by the Palace Master.” Shen Yuán said, hoping to calm down the growing rage he could see in those familiar yellow eyes. Those unfocused eyes dilated when they landed on him again. The sharp fangs covered in venom retracted before a drip could land on his rug.

When he heard an unnecessary yelp from inside his bedroom, he frowned and yelled past the doorway. “Calm your tits, Airplane. Nothing about you panicking will help in this situation.”

“Why?”

Shen Yuán turned back to see Zhuzhi-Lang frozen where he was. His eyebrows drew together in concern when the snake demon looked upset. Those yellow eyes looked like they were trembling yet that gaze traveled to him without a single blink.

“Junshang had done nothing wrong. He had just fallen in love. That was it.” Shen Yuán was as upset as he was when he heard of the tragic love story that Shang Qinghua didn’t even end up writing into the main plot of his harem story. He knew that Zhuzhi-Lang was more upset than he could be at the injustice of it all since he was the one who lived through it. “And he has spent so many years in turmoil because his love betrayed him! Yet that was all a lie!”

He bit down on his lip as he thought about the other’s position in all of this. He was probably feeling as betrayed as Tianlang-Jun when all of it went down. And the whole story he has conjured up in his head is crumbling to pieces.

“His body is growing weaker every year.” Zhuzhi-Lang looked pitiful. But he stared into the snake-like eyes of the demon in front of him. “This one fears that this weak nephew can do nothing to help him gain his body back.”

Suddenly, Shang Qinghua decided that he wasn’t a coward anymore from the way he popped his head out with a yell. “If you need a body, we can get you one!”

“What?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked with a very confused expression.

This shitty— “What.”

Was he offering a plant that he knew would not work well with demonic qi? If the seeds don’t work, then Zhuzhi-Lang will be even more upset by the falsity of your words, Airplane! I can’t stop him from killing you then!

“The Sun and Moon Dew Flower seeds.” Shang Qinghua said with a smile. “Maybe we can use that to make him a new body.”

“Isn’t that the one we—“

“Yes, the very same.” Shang Qinghua interrupted him. Rude. “Although I’m not sure if it will work on his demonic qi. It is made for spiritual qi, so I’m not sure what will happen when it is strengthened with demonic energy.” Shang Qinghua looked past him at Zhuzhi-Lang. “If anything, your uncle can use it temporarily while you find a more permanent solution.”

Ah, a temporary body is a better solution than what he thought the shitty writer was offering. But what is supposed to be his permanent body?! As far as he can remember both in modern and this world, he hasn’t heard of a plant that does the same but with demonic qi. Can you suddenly make one Airplane before Zhuzhi-Lang attempts to end you? Hah? Can you?

“The only solution would be for Junshang’s body to heal while he occupies the plant replacement body.” Zhuzhi-Lang said. The little hisses in his words were kind of cool the more he listened to them. “But this one is not sure how this could happen.”

Oh. Wait. Maybe...

Zhuzhi-Lang started to explain what kind of situation his uncle was currently under. His body pinned underneath the mountain with a bunch of seals holding his power down.

If they get Tianlang-Jun out of the mountain, he could use his heavenly demon powers to heal himself from the years of damage the mountain crushing his body did to him. And maybe if Zhuzhi-Lang explained what actually happened, then Tianlang-Jun won’t become the big boss like Shang Qinghua wrote him to be.

If that’s the case, maybe he can do something about it. Ah, but that would mean he would possibly need to use his musical cultivation. It was stronger than it was before but...

No! If this is the best option, he would need to get over the overall cringe he gets from hearing himself.

“What if we try to help him out of the seals under the mountain?” Shen Yuán offered. He could already see Shang Qinghua looking at him like he just announced he killed his parents.

Zhuzhi-Lang looked stunned at his suggestion. “What?”

Shang Qinghua scooted closer to him and talked out of the side of his mouth. “Dude, we can not be strong enough for those seals.”

“I’m sure if we work on one at a time with both of us.” Shen Yuán waved at the air between him and his friend. “We can both chip away at it until all if not most of the seals are gone. If we could at least get a few off, it would still be helping.”

“And how will we get there without being recognized?” Shang Qinghua whispered with a harsh tone in his lower voice. He batted away at his hands that was waving between them.

“I mean, I’ve already been kicked out of a sect.” Shen Yuán leaned back, thinking about the situation. He was just a single disciple from An Ding that got kicked out. Huan Hua surely wouldn’t know his face that well. “I can pass myself off as a rogue cultivator since not many there would recognize me.”

“Although...” Shen Yuán stared at Shang Qinghua and his mousy form wearing his signature peak lord robes. Even if he took off the robes, someone at Huan Hua Might recognized that freckled cheek face especially if he starts to hide or pretend to be dead like he usually does to keep himself alive. “If you end up coming, you need a disguise. Like a full disguise that will keep your identity secret.”

“How would I do that?” Shang Qinghua asked.

A beard? No. That was his backup plan. Well, they can both wear fake mustaches and beards. Ah, but that could easily be pulled off if they suspect them. He was fine, but Shang Qinghua really needed to find something that wouldn’t come off so easily.

Wait. Makeup doesn’t come off easily.

He would know from watching his mother put on her makeup for everyday with even heavier makeup for business events she had to attend. He has seen his sister scrub at her faces with wipes when she decided to glam herself up once and a while.

“Reverse Mulan. Genderbend yourself.” Shen Yuán clapped his hands together. “Do it, pussy.”

“That was way too quick of an answer.” Shang Qinghua narrowed his eyes at the other. “Have you been sitting on that disguise idea for a while?”

Shen Yuán blinked. “I’m not going to grace that with an answer.”

Shang Qinghua shrugged. “Won’t Huan Hua be suspicious of two random cultivators appearing every now and again?”

“Not if we are actually sneaking in. If they see us on the road, yeah we’re fucked. But if I can convince Gongyi Xiao that it’s just me researching with a pal.” Shen Yuán explained. He could write. A letter that he would be in the area with a friend to make sure they aren’t technically sneaking in without notice. “I’m sure he can do something to help with suspicions. Only if we need his help though. I don’t want to drag him too far into our mess.”

Shen Yuán turned his gaze back to Zhuzhi-Lang who was steadily staring at him. “Does the plan sound satisfactory?”

“Yes.” Zhuzhi-Lang bent his head forward, his shiny hair eclipsing part of his face when he did so. “I will repay my growing debt to you. I owe you endless kindness.”

“I mean, I’ll also be there. But sure, just give your thanks, Cucumber-bro.” Shang Qinghua started to complain under his breath beside him. It was so low, he wasn’t sure Zhuzhi-Lang even heard it or if he was just ignoring it. “It’s not like I offered the plant body in the first place.”

“Now that you have the truth.” Shen Yuán's pleasant expression tightened at the corner of his eyes as he clasped his hands together. If Zhuzhi-Lang got his answers, he needed his own given the fact he has been caring for him for so many days without the snake demon ever introducing himself. “This cultivator would like the truth as well from you... Little Jade.”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked properly chastised as he moved back, shrinking away to a point where his snake-like body looked hunched in like a teenager being reprimanded.

“Why did you never properly introduce yourself to this one?” Shen Yuán asked, stepping forward while Zhuzhi-Lang slid back. “It has been many days since you have stayed by my side. Yet I feel blindsided by your lies.”

“This lowly one did not mean to. This disgusting snake was only waiting for the right moment to tell Shen Yuán about his condition and true self.” Zhuzhi-Lang said. His whole body language looked nervous like he was waiting for a flying projectile to hit him at any moment. “This one wanted a proper reveal to introduce himself to his friend.”

Shen Yuán stepped back to not let his reptilian guest feel cornered, but it only made the demon general cower more. “How long were you waiting for?”

“This one was preparing to say the truth on a truly positive day. But this one sees that he should have come clean with Shen Yuan sooner than this lowly one wanted.” Zhuzhi-Lang bowed his head low to the ground, his body slumping down onto the wooden floors. The mess of hair spilling out across the floor like that girl who crawls out of the television screen. “For that, this little Jade is sorry.”

“How did you end up here anyway?” Shen Yuán asked.

The huge snake before him raised their head. The motion made him finally notice the heavenly demon sight on his forehead, a lighter shade of green than his scales. It was the same as Binghe’s mark that he saw briefly before he disappeared over the edge of the abyss...

He didn’t remember seeing such a symbol on his smaller form.

“You helped me when we first met. Shen Yuán helped this disgusting one with his wounds.” Zhuzhi-Lang answered honestly. “For that, I wanted to repay my debt to you.”

“This one wanted to stay close to you and I got a bit too close.” Shen Yuán watched as the snake shuffled a little in their coil like he was embarrassed. “I apologize. The one only meant to keep a safe distance just in case you needed help.”

“Do you have multiple forms?” Shang Qinghua interrupted. He slowly turned his head to face the peak lord and from a glance, he could tell Zhuzhi-Lang was looking at him in annoyance. “I have only heard of this form and a giant snake form.”

“En.” Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. “This one has multiple forms that he can take on. It all depends on the amount of demonic qi this one has in his body.”

The answer was given in a monotone voice that was punctuated by extended hisses.

“Interesting.” Shang Qinghua muttered. He could swear he heard the gears turning in the author’s head to see if he remembered writing something like that in the writing document he had for his original outline.

“Shen Yuán.” He turned his head once he heard little Jade—Zhuzhi-Lang call his name. His eyes landed on the giant snake demon again with his gaze landing on those fangs peeking out from behind his lips. “This one was waiting to ask about the portrait of the man by the door. Who is this Binghe?”

Oh shit. He almost forgot that part.

“Ah, I almost forgot that part. Binghe is Tianlang-Jun’s son with Su Xiyan.”

Zhuzhi-Lang was a snake. And as far as he knew about snakes, they did not do well with cold. Yet the demon in front of him looked frozen to the spot.

If Zhuzhi-Lang could blink right now, he would properly do so now out of the disbelief and shock written across his face. “Pardon?”

‘Aiya. How could I leave that out?’ Shen Yuán berated himself in his thoughts. He replied, “Luo Binghe isn’t dead! At least, we don’t think he is. His seal broke during the Immortal Alliance Conference and he got pushed into the Endless Abyss.”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked more relaxed at his words. “If he has his heavenly demon powers, he should survive the trial that is the Endless Abyss.” The snake demon paused and sighed. “Ah, this one has much to tell Junshang.”

“It seems you do.”

There was an awkward pause once he said that. So awkward that Shang Qinghua slowly tiptoed back into his room to get away from them.

“When this one leaves to visit Junshang, is this one welcome to come back?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked, his pupils expanded in hope inside the yellow color of his eyes.

“Yes.” Shen Yuán answered as a reflex. But it was not a lie. “This one might need a day to get used to this new situation.” “But after you explain everything to your uncle, this one’s home will be open to... Zhuzhi-Lang.”

Even though he didn’t have shoulders, he noticed enough in his reaction to know that if he had the shoulders would drop by now in disappointment. Not little Jade?”

“Little Jade, Zhuxhi—Zhushi.” Why is he stumbling so much? “Zhuzhi-Lang is always welcome back. Apologies, this one is having trouble with pronunciation.”

“Never apologize.” ZhuzhixLang said with a sliver of a smile. “Whatever Shen Yuan wishes to call me, I will accept.”

“Aiya.” Shen Yuán waved off the comment. “Don’t say that. What if I call you something weird?”

The snake demon continued, This one will respond to your call in any way. This lowly one adores the name that Shen Yuan has bestowed upon them.”

“Ah, this one is too thin faced for such words.” He scrubbed at his cheeks with his sleeve which he knew only made the blush even more red. He sighed, letting his gaze rest on the big form of his little snake guest. “Little Jade is welcome to come back once their journey is finished.”

“Many thanks to Shen Yuan,” Little Jade said with more of a hiss as they slowly transformed into a better form for their travels. “This one will take his leave.”

“Have a safe journey.” Shen Yuán said as the form melted into a medium sized snake like the size of a couch. “Shang Qinghua and I will focus on making a plan to free your uncle.”

Zhuzhi Lang in his snake form turned to face him one last time as a silent farewell, his forced tongue sticking out into the air. Then, he silently left into the afternoon sky that was steadily fading into deep, warm colors.

The somewhat nice goodbye was ruined when a grating voice interrupted the peaceful air.

“Dude, how are we supposed to free the old demon lord?”

Shen Yuán almost won the battle of resisting to roll his eyes, but alas, he lost. “Look, we can make counter spell seals ahead of time with our spiritual energy, right?”

“Yes. But we need special paper and ink which you do not have,” Shang Qinghua said pointedly at the new stack of stationary he got from the town.

He sighed, pressing his fingers between the space of his eyebrows, “Then send me some, so I can start work on it.”

“Alright,” Shang Qinghua agreed easily. “I’m sure I can sneak some away without them knowing. How soon are we planning on doing this?”

“I’m not sure.” He wasn’t sure if Zhuzhi-Lang wanted to do this immediately. But he assumed that the demon general wanted to free his uncle as soon as he could. Which means they would need to get ready as fast as possible in case for any situation, so they both would be prepared. “What do you remember from what you wrote about his mountain prison?”

“Fuck. Okay,” Shang Qinghua breathed in. The author closed his eyes and squinted, folding his hands together like a prayer then pressed it to his lips as he thought hard. It was like his brain was working overtime to see any little detail he might hav added in the backstory. “It’s near the Huan Hua territory. There should be at least more than 30 strong seals restricting his demonic power. Five for each limb he has, his torso and his head.”

“Damn.”

He knew his cultivation improved, but it wouldn’t be enough to take out this seals in a few sessions. This could last for months even if they joined powers.

Shang Qinghua groaned, “I know. If I knew I would need to get rid of them, I would have created an easier way for us.”

“What were you planning when you wanted him to be the big boss who escaped?”

“That would have happened when the world merged. Which means that he would have broken out with his own power and faced against Luo Binghe for the control of Xin Mo.” Shang Qinghua groaned again louder this time as he dug the palms of his hands over his eyes. “But, like I told you, he was too OP. So I stopped thinking about that plotline too hard.”

“Dumbass.”

“I know, anti-fan.” Shang Qinghua retorted. He eyebrows furrowed as he hands types on an imaginary computer in the air, he can only guess trying to imitate him. It was made clear when the peak lord starting talking in a whiny voice with comments that he made before. Then he said, “Why did you drop such good plot lines for useless porn that paid your bills and rent? I am outraged.”

“Firstly, I don’t sound like that. Secondly, I am.” Shen Yuán punched the writer in the arm, making them shrink back from their terrible teasing impression. “But we have to deal with this together either way.”

“Looks like we do.”

...

“So what kind of dress are you going to wear for your disguise?”

“Shut the hell up.”

Chapter Text

Zhuzhi-Lang slithered quickly to where his uncle was located under the Bai Lu mountain. Each time, he passed through as many bodies of water as he could to hide his form from any Huan Hua disciples that adventured off the line of their territory to patrol.

It was easier to do during the night since the training cultivators were either on night hunts or sleeping. So that means he would have no trouble slipping by to sneak into the opening of the mountain. Silencing talismans and containment talismans decorated the entrance to warn any who walked too close to the mountain.

It had taken so long to travel from Shen Yuán’s humble home. It had easily taken him more than two days of almost nonstop slithering to make it to the mountain with even more time hiding himself during the daylight before anyone could notice his demonic energy.

With a deep breath, Zhuzhi-Lang pushed his way through the hole into the dark cave where his uncle was pinned down.

“Junshang?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked out loud, his snake tongue extending the noise of the ‘sh’.

“Ah, there is my nephew!” Tianlang-Jun called out in relief. He could barely see those eyes that stared at him in the dark of the mountain cavern. “I was wondering if you had gotten trapped somewhere I could not reach you. It has been many moons since I have seen you.” Tianlang-Jun tried to shift under his mountain prison and wincing when he didn’t move. Nevertheless, the cheerful tone in his voice was still present. “Were you on a journey to find a story to share?”

Zhuzhi-Lang tried his best to straight up in the tight cavern. His uncle was looking at him expectantly, waiting for a story to make up for the days he wasn’t present by his side. “I have a story for you that has been proven true by many pieces of evidence shown to this one personally.”

“Oh? What kind of juicy details do you have to tell me?” Tianlang-Jun looked very interested in the promise of a story based in truth instead of the fiction romances Zhuzhi-Lang got most of the time. “A noble falling in love with a courtesan and stealing her away in the midst of the night before her contract is up? A demon and human tryst?”

“Junshang, it is about Mistress Su and...” Tianlang-Jun choked in surprise at his answer. “...your son.”

“Nephew,” Tianlang-Jun called out in confusion with an undertone of impatient anger. “What are you talking about?”

“This lowly one has so much to tell his Junshang.” Zhuzhi-Lang said quickly before his uncle could dismiss away the truth he needed to tell him. “Junshang, all that we know has been ripped apart in front of my eyes! I have seen evidence through papers and records and heard the stories told.”

Tianlang-Jun took a deep breath in, the rumbling of his chest made itself known in the emptiness of the cave around them. Then, the heavenly demon sighed, “Go on then.”

Zhuzhi-Lang took a deep breath and started explaining.

He thought it would be easy since he remembered each detail that was relayed to him. But it was harder than he thought with his uncle listening to him, watching him as he fumbled over words to deliver the most accurate retelling he could say.

The Old Palace Master’s perverted plan for his head disciple. How Su Xiyan wanted to leave but got captured and locked away in the Huan Hua prison. He had to stop himself from adding details as he tried to pull it all together in a timeline.

The look on his Uncle’s face when he told the details of the letter that they received was forged and how Shen Yuán had found the real one. And how the real one had endless points where Su Xiyan was trying to warn him and tell him of her love.

And he ended it with him recounting how Su Xiyan saved their child and telling his Junshang that his son, Luo Binghe, was in the Endless Abyss now.

Zhuzhi-Lang watched his uncle’s expression throughout his retelling of the event. Junshang’s face went from patient listening to disbelief to hope and then to sorrow. His expressions melted together through the five stages of grief as he talked about how the story they believed for so long was fake.

If he was thrown off by the truth when he first heard it, he can only imagine the sheer amount of disbelief and heartbreak his uncle must be going through right now.

Once the truth was revealed fully, he explained that he was forming a plan to free him with the cultivator he befriended helping him. And the happiness in his tone could not be hidden for long as he talked about how his uncle would be free of his pain soon.

When Zhuzhi-Lang finished, the cave was silent apart from the sound of water dripping somewhere. He tasted the air with his forked tongue as his uncle remained silent.

“Junshang, how do you feel?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked into the empty air of the cave. A shuddering breath answered him as his uncle sighed.

“How do you think I feel, nephew?” His uncle responded, sounding angry for a moment before relenting into something more melancholy. “The love of my life never betrayed me at all. I have a son that has been raised without me in his life.” His uncle sounded choked up when he started to repeat the facts he had learned from him. “I never got to experience the kind of life I have been dreaming of with my Xiyan.”

His uncle took in a deep breath, wincing again at the weight looming over him. Zhuzhi-Lang brushed back his curly band’s, allowing his tail to brush away the burning tears running down his dirty cheeks.

Tianlang-Jun looked up at him in the darkness around them. “But you have brought me some hope. Maybe I can reconnect with my son and see what I have missed out on. And we can find my love’s body and give her the proper burial she deserves.”

“And if this little plan of yours works, I can look forward to the future,” his uncle said.

“Yes, the future.” Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. He hoped the plan would start soon, so his uncle can be given enough time for his new body to form. And enough time to free his original body from under his mountain. That reminds him... “Oh. What will you accomplish first when you get your body?”

“The first thing I’m doing is going after the Palace Master.” Tianlang-Jun answered quickly like nothing else was on his mind. Understandable given the fact that he was the main person responsible for all of this taking place. “You can count on that. After that, I will find my Xiyan and then my son. Or my son and then Xiyan. It depends on what I stumble across first.”

Is that it? Wouldn’t his Junshang want to take back his place in the demon world? He hasn’t been there for so long because of the unruly state it is in. Which means it would be a good time for his uncle to start planning on gaining back his control. “Do you want me to gather troops to conquer your place back in the demon world?”

“Ehh.” His uncle hesitated, clicking his tongue. “Let’s put that on the side for now.” Okay, he will need to make that as a note for later to remind his uncle. He can always start gaining back their connections with allies beforehand to prepare for his Junshang’s comeback.

“I want to explore the world like I wanted to two decades ago.With this chance of escape, I might get the ability to do so.” His uncle replied, making him shrink back from his thoughts.

Maybe Junshang needs more of a vacation before he takes back over his rightful palace in the demon world. They have been without him for twenty years already. If he took twice as many years for vacation and traveling, it would be fine since he is still the strongest out of everyone.

When he claimed his spot, there would be no one to hold him back.

And when that happened, he would make sure that Shen Yuán had a place by their side to remain safe. A place on their territory possibly away from the castle, so he could keep his privacy. And he could also have a small manor in the main castle property to recognize his importance and status.

Yes. And Zhuzhi-Lang would need to make sure that he gathers the best books, materials, and take demonic animals and plants for Shen Yuán to enjoy.

“But I would like to know something.” Junshang interrupted his thoughts of making a cottage in the grasslands of the Infinity Misty Isles.

He shook himself out of his future plans. “What is it?”

“How’s that cultivator of yours? Shen Yuán?” Oh no. Is he going to— “It seems like he would be a good son-in-law from how willing he is to do this. Or would the term be nephew-in-law?”

“Junshang. This one is merely indebted to Shen Yuán.” Zhuzhi-Lang replied. “This lowly one wishes to repay his kindness by taking responsibility for his protection in the near future.”

“In what way do you wish to take responsibility? Hopefully with you both dressed in red when he accepts you.” Tianlang-Jun sounded way too happy when he started to interrogate him about his friend. “Would you compare the romance to ‘Melancholy Under the Plum Blossoms’ or ‘Heaven Found by the Red River.”

“Junshang.”

“Nephew~.”

“Hah.” Zhuzhi-Lang sighed. “This one will fetch some water for Junshang.”

*

The journey back to the cottage took three days in his form with barely any sleep in between rest breaks because of how many cultivators and humans he almost ran into. He had to hide away for hours just because of a group of confident disciples trying to pinpoint his demonic qi and wouldn’t give up until it was dusk.

But now he was back at the cottage in the middle of the tamest trees and climbing vines. And the soft, soft grass. It was so soft that he could sleep on such feather like greenery if Shen Yuán wasn’t opposed to seeing his unconscious body outside his door.

Luckily, he didn’t pass out since Shen Yuán opened the door and spotted him before he collapsed in exhaustion. The cultivator clicked his tongue before ushering the tired demon inside for some energy lifting tea. Zhuzhi-Lang slowly licked at it since he was stuck in his original form.

Shen Yuán was calm as he helped him inside, softly saying he would prepare some tea and refreshment for him. The cottage was mostly silent as Shen Yuán worked in the kitchen area. Zhuzhi-Lang waited, staring up at the ceiling as the water boiled for the tea.

“My—“ Zhuzhi-Lang called out. His cultivator turned to him when he called out to him with an open expression. “Shen Yuán, can you forgive this lowly one for my past mistakes?”

Shen Yuán bit down on his lip. “It will take some getting used to the new adjustment.” He shrugged, leaning his hip against the table then a smile grew on his face. “But I will forgive you since I reflected on how awkward the situation must have been on your end by waiting for the moment to tell me.”

A small laugh escaped his mouth which made a calmness rush through Zhuzhi-Lang’s body. “I can imagine that you were hesitant given the amount of time that passed. Once I pictured myself in your shoes, I would have been waiting for a good day to do so.”

Zhuzhi-Lang relaxed against the floorboards of the cottage, hearing the water started to bubble and boil. “This lowly one is thankful that Shen Yuán is merciful towards this one’s actions.”

Shen Yuán picked up the pot from the fire and began prepping for the tea. “Little—I mean.”

“No, continue.” Shen Yuán glanced back at him when he interjected. “This one will come to Shen Yuán whenever this one is needed or wanted. It does not matter what name you choose to call this lowly demon..”

“Well,... Xizhi.” Xizhi? That was a new name. Despite the confusion upon hearing it, it made his chest fill up with warmth at the new familiar name addressed to him. “This one has formed an official plan with this one’s friend, Shang Qinghua, when you left the other day. If you are agreeable, we will start the quest soon, so we will reach our destination within a week.”

“This one is agreeable.” Zhuzhi-Lang said as Shen yuan came closer to him with two hot cups of tea and a small plate of desserts. “Can this one hear more about the plan?”

“This quest will mean sneaking into Huan Hua territory, not just the outskirts like the mountain where your uncle is being kept. We will be retrieving the mushrooms we need, starting the process of growing the body and then sneaking under the mountain to slowly start the process of freeing your uncle’s body from his prison.” Shen Yuán explained while gesturing with his hands. “All while avoiding everyone. I’m guessing that’s why it took you about a week to come back, right?”

He nodded at Shen Yuán’s question. It did take some time to get there and come back within a reasonable time. Maybe they could cut time by allowing his cultivator to ride him.

The thought of the warmth of Shen Yuán’s body so close to his scales caused him to look away from the cultivator as he talked about the route they were going to take.

A long route that ensured them a place to rest each night as long as everything went smoothly. Along with meeting up with Shang Qinghua halfway there after the peak lord finished their paperwork for the trading within the peaks. And they would continue from there.

When the tea cups were empty and the plate only had crumbs left, Shen Yuán gestured to the bedroom. His cultivator suggested rest for him because of the long journey he was on.

Zhuzhi-Lang followed after him to the room he was so used to seeing especially on his nest by Shen Yuán’s bed and the other by the window.

Except now his attention was drawn to the raised nest by Shen Yuán’s bed. The nest was drowned with comfortable looking fabrics and clothes that he could feel warmth radiating from. And the one thing he could pinpoint was Shen Yuán’s scent from the muted colors that matched his bed.

“What is this?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked, slithering closer to the nest. He dugs his face him to taste the scent permeating through the nest, nuzzling deep into the warmth.

Now that he was looking at the giant nest, Shen Yuán’s bed looked smaller. Like he took apart parts of his resting place to make him more comfortable.

“Well, you couldn’t fit into your bed anymore unless you shrank back down each time. So I made you a separate bed nest thing.” Shen Yuán responded. He pulled up some of the bigger clothes to show off the hastily sewn in talismans that was the source of what he was feeling. “I sewed some warming talismans in there too, but I’m not a good with sewing so be careful when climbing in and out or else they might fall out.”

“But your little Jade bed is still next to the window like usual if you prefer that spot. It just depends on whatever you feel better with.” Shen Yuán gestured wildly as he shuffled on his feet a bit awkwardly. Zhuzhi-Lang slithered into the nest, coiled up and laid his head down in front of Shen Yuán. “Will you be more comfortable in this form or in your little Jade form?”

“I can converse with you in this form more than I can in my more snake-like forms that you call Little Jade.” Zhuzhi-Lang answered, allowing his head to rest on the outer ring of the nest. His hair flopping out of the nest’s wall. “I have a more human-like appearance and naga form that will allow me to talk more comfortably. But this form doesn’t take up my demonic qi as the other two forms do.”

A long time ago, he couldn’t even talk in his human-like head-snake body form. It had taken many lessons with his uncle and spent time with him as he talked with other humans. But it was still harder to do so because of his snake-like traits affecting his mouth’s ability for speech.

His speech impediments were clearly present in his naga and human form. But in this form it was doubled with a lisp that made itself present very often.

Yet Shen Yuán didn’t comment on it or draw any unnecessary attention to his speech. Neither today nor the day he found out about his true form.

And now he sees that Shen Yuán is even kinder than he thought. He went out of his way to make a comfortable place for him. This must mean that he must go even further for his repayment!

Zhuzhi-Lang raised his head to stare into Shen Yuán’s calming eyes. “You made this one a place to rest by your side?”

Somehow this nest felt so much different than the nest he had in his smaller snake form.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Shen Yuán answered like it was the most obvious thing to do. His cultivator said, “I couldn’t just leave you in the other room. Plus, you were already resting closer to me in your little Jade form.”

...

‘Shen Yuán, I will make sure that every kindness you show this one is returned tenfold. My cultivator, when the world ends, the lowly one will make sure you remain your happiest at the safest place I can find and protect you.’

“Thank you for your kindness towards me once again,” Zhuzhi-Lang bowed his head into the nest to his cultivator. “I wish for you to have a good rest tonight.”

“Thank you. Sleep well, Xizhi,” Shen Yuán replied.

Chapter Text

After Zhuzhi-Lang had left, Shen Yuán made a fully thought out plan for Tianlang-jun with Shang Qinghua which he sincerely hoped worked out well. Because a majority of the journey will be cutting through forests without any marked trails. And the fact he needed to make several powerful talismans to break through the restraints holding the demon lord back.

He was really upset at the lack of true direction until Shang Qinghua revealed how there was cultivation sects, big and small, on the way to the Bai Lu forest, especially the Huan Hua Palace since it was so close.

Shang Qinghua looked at him blankly, “Cucumber bro, you legit cannot be spotted by any nearby cultivation sects because of the whole thing with the scum villain.” The author continued. “A reputation of trying to harm a peak lord is as good as yelling ‘hey, an attempted murderer is near the sect!’.

“But that was barely an attack. I don’t think it should count,” Shen Yuán defended himself. That attempt he made back at the conference was not as strong as Shen Qingqiu said. If anybody would know, it should be the author who was present at the scene. “You were there for it!”

“And I was hiding, bro! My main goal is surviving, why would I get in the middle of a fight with the scum villain, the protagonist and Mobei-Jun?!” Shang Qinghua spread out his arms and waved them in multiple gestures as he explained. “That’s like a ‘choose your own death’ event!”

“Your death flag is further in the future though.” Shen Yuán countered with a frown. Shang Qinghua wasn’t supposed to die until Luo Binghe convinced Mobei Jun the spy was better dead. That wasn’t until at least eight years in the future. “So he shouldn’t kill you yet.”

“Wow. Gee,” Shang Qinghua started off with sarcasm dripping from his lips like sour honey. “I never thought of it that way before! It’s not like a character can kill you faster because things aren’t the same as the story I wrote!”

“Okay!” Shen Yuán waved away the author’s words with a grimace to get back on the topic of planning. “You make a good point. Let’s just work on this plan for Zhuzhi-Lang.”

“Speaking of...” Shang Qinghua sat back, extending his arms to lay back casually even though his expression only showed how confused he was. “How did you not know that was Zhuzhi-Lang?”

Shen Yuán glared at him. “He was introduced to me as a hidden character by my good old Navi.”

“Navi? Your system?” Shang Qinghua’s eyebrows shot up beneath his messy brown bangs. “You named them?!”

“Yes?” Shen Yuán said, making a ‘so what?’ gesture with his hands.

The An Ding peak lord did not let it go with that simple nonchalant gesture. “Why?”

Shen Yuán replied, “They deserved a fitting name.”

[^ _ ^]

“Okay. I’m moving on from that.” Shang Qinghua breathed out, bringing his hands together like he was praying before resting his chin on the tips of his joined hands. “You remember about the original plot I told you about, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” Shen Yuán scoffed. “I can’t believe someone like him dies offscreen.”

He felt a burn in the lower part of his throat when he imagined the small snake curled up by his bedside bleeding out in their bigger form somewhere in the world, forgotten by anyone who walked by until they shriveled up or was picked apart by ravenous demonic creatures. And the reminder that Tianlang-Jun would have been stuck under the Bai Lu mountain, never seeing Zhuzhi-Lang again until the afterlife.

Shang Qinghua blinked at him, staring at him blankly before tilting his head. His eyebrows furrowed as the An Ding peak lord suddenly pointed at his old disciple. “You’re defending someone who basically broke into your house.”

“It—“

It was a bit hard to fully forgive Zhuzhi-Lang in the moment even when the giant snake demon had left. He had gotten used to the small snake wrapped around his neck only to find out it was the hidden character he had saved weeks ago.

If he wanted to repay his loyalty or whatever the stated reward was, why did he wait so long to say anything? Why couldn’t he have just come clean the next day and explain that he wanted to help him or befriend him? Everything could have been so much easier.

Shen Yuán peeked at the blank blue screen that appeared by his side like they knew he was going to call on them. “Navi, can I get stats on Xizhi-Lang?”

[...Does User Shen Yuán mean Zhuzhi-Lang?]

“Yes?” Shen Yuán said, confused as to why the system needed a confirmation. He just said his name, didn’t he? “What did I say?”

“I think you said—wait did you nickname, Zhuzhi-Lang, a feared demon general, after that jelly from back home?” Shang Qinghua questioned, a smile spreading across his face, a huff of laughter already escaping from his lips.

He blinked. Then blinked again as his own words circled inside his head. “Oh shit. I think I did.”

The jelly was lemon lime flavored after all, it kind of fits because of his whole color scheme and how close his name was to the name of the drink.

[Does User Shen Yuán want to purchase the ability to see the hidden character’s statistics? It will cost 100 B-points.”

Shen Yuán clicked the ‘yes’ button without a second thought. He had enough culminated from his side quest missions he gathered.

[Loading...]

[
Hidden/Secret Character
Name: Zhuzhi-Lang
Race: Half Heavenly Demon, Half Snake Demon
Occupation: Tianlang-Jun’s second-in-command
Relatives:
Tianlang-Jun’s unnamed sister (Mother)
Unnamed Snake Demon (Father)
Tianlang-Jun (Uncle)
Luo Binghe (Cousin)
Abilities:
Shifting to different sizes of snake
*Unlocked*
—
+Points Available to view+
*Click Here to Turn On Points for Character*
]

“What does it say?” Shang Qinghua asked while watching Shen Yuán flick the screen to scroll down the page of data.

“It mostly has information we already know, but it is organized neatly.” The system chirped with a little happy emoticon appearing in the corner. “And there’s points available?”

“I think that’s where the anger, sadness and other points go.” Shang Qinghua hummed. Shen Yuán watched the author’s hand flick in the air like he was checking his own system. “I made sure I can see the points I gain from certain people like the other peak lords, especially my king.”

“Does it help?” Shen Yuán hovered over the ‘Show Point’s’ button.

“It really helps.” Shang Qinghua answered easily. “If it’s not already on, turn it on. It will be a massive help on how you should phrase certain things.”

“Okay.” Shen Yuán activated the points, but soon got developed by notifications of earlier points. Little messages of happiness, sadness, anger all got totaled together as the system automatically counted each of the points. The last he could clearly see the happiness, sadness and anger points all gathered at the bottom with something titled ‘A’ sitting right underneath it

“You still have that look on your face.”

Shen Yuán looked up from the screen to see the author looking at him with this indescribable expression between pity, sympathy and something else. “What look?”

“Bro, if you need to rant, just rant.” Shang Qinghua stated, throwing his hands out to him like he was about to plead with him. “It’s not like you’ll do anything different when we get back to talking about the story I’m writing. So just do it. I’ll listen to you.”

Shen Yuán was about to argue that he didn’t need to until a thump in his chest reminded him of the weird, twisted feeling he had about this whole situation.

He took a deep breath and started to talk. He started from the moment he got the hidden character quest until he got to the side quest that happened not so long ago. He made sure he got every detail of how much he talked about how he talked about the modern world, got naked for baths in front of him, geeked out about flora and fauna right to the demon, and more.

When he finally reached the end, he felt like he was out of breath. Shang Qinghua breathed out at the end, “Wow.”

Shen Yuán dragged a hand down his face, feeling the stubborn pieces of his long hair falling down near his ears. “I just don’t know why it was so hard for him to just say or like to use his tail to scribble down that we already met. That he was this demon general that wanted to repay me in a nice way.”

“Hmm. Maybe view it in another way? Like what if you were in his shoes—well his scales.” Shang Qinghua shrugged as he offered the advice like he wasn’t even sure about it himself. “That’s how I usually write dialogue, so it could work with this.”

Shang Qinghua’s dialogue was alright compared to his other writing decisions.

Although the dialogue really slacked in the papapa scenes with Binghe’s wives just repeating his name over and over, moaning and yelling that it was too big or ‘ahhh~’.

“If I was him and wanted to repay you, I would try to find out what you wanted instead of just giving a ‘thank you’ basket. He is not the type to just hand a gift over and call it a day.” Shang Qinghua replies. “I should know, I wrote to him.”

Right, Shang Qinghua should know his actions better than he would since he characterized him despite abandoning the plot point altogether.

“Zhuzhi-Lang operates in a specific way.” Shang Qinghua leaned forward when he sat. He said his words slowly like he was trying to remember how he wrote the demon general that Tianlang-Jun, his uncle, trusted the most. “If you hurt him, he will deliver it onto you even worse. If you help him or show him kindness, he will basically drown you in kindness to repay you.”

That sounded simple enough. If he was nice to him, he would be treated nicely in return.

“If I was him and I somehow got stuck in the house, I would want to show myself as soon as you were comfortable with my presence.” Shang Qinghua emphasizes the ‘as soon as’ in his sentence. “Zhuzhi-Lang’s appearance was written to throw people off. So I’m sure he was expecting you to react strongly if the demon you saved just showed up at your house.”

That made a little... sense. Although he thought his scales were more cool than ugly. But that might be because he is really into dragons.

God, he really needed to think about this.

“Think about that kind of stuff for a while.” Shang Qinghua cleared his throat and shakily stood on his feet. “I think it’s my cue to leave. I need to get some paperwork started if we are going on this journey so soon.” The author turned to him and dug his hand into his pouch and pulled out a number of coins. Shen Yuán allowed the other man to grab his hand and allow the coins to fall into his palm. “Take these coins. They’re from my personal fund.“

“For the journey?” Shen Yuán questioned, cupping the coins in his hand and string down at the different metal coins.

Shang Qinghua responded, “Yeah. You’re taking the scenic route, so you need some money just in case.”

“Thanks,” Shen Yuán said, letting the coins slip into his own pouch nearby as his friend started to walk back to the front door.

The cultivator said goodbye to the peak lord as the man clutched onto their spiritual sword and took off into the sky with a yelp.

*

As soon as Shang Qinghua left, he decided to think more about Zhuzhi-Lang's actions.

If he had ended up in someone’s home while in a smaller form, it would be kind of awkward to reveal yourself especially if the other person is so familiar like he was acting with Zhuzhi-Lang.

It would be more and more awkward as time passed, and he doesn’t think there was ever a good time to show himself. And he remembered the kind of condition that the other was in when he found him in that forest, wounded from what he can assume was an interaction with humans. The forest was fairly close to a human town after all.

But he helped him, so why would he hide? Maybe it was just instinct that made him hide his form for so long?

... Well, he wouldn’t need to hide any longer when he came back.

“Navi, what’s the best way to make a nest for a... snake demon?”

[Loading...]

[How to Build a Nest Perfect for a Snake Demon in Under Ten Steps!]

Chapter Text

Shen Yuán made him a nest.

Shen Yuán, his cultivator, had made him a nest. Shen Yuán made him a nest out of the most comfortable materials with enough layers that it satisfied his urge to dig deep into the above ground nest.

He must know what it means to a snake demon to do such an act. Shen Yuán knew a lot about the habits of creatures both heavenly and demonic, so he must mean this gift truly. Shen Yuán has not only forgiven him for his past actions, but he also welcomed him back into his home by making a nest for him.

In snake demon traditions, making a nest in one’s home can mean welcoming the other fully into one’s home. It is only meant for the ones with close bonds. Like with family, friends who have been close since their first hatch, or... mates.

Shen Yuán must have meant that he accepted him fully into his home despite his actions or at least made this as an invitation into a closer bond between the two of them.

Zhuzhi-Lang dug past the layers of cloth to snuggle directly into the sewn talisman to feel the warmth still radiating through the painted character’s Shen Yuán must be repaid with not only a flood but a tsunami of kindness to make up for everything that the other has done.

“Zhuzhi-Lang, are you awake?” His cultivator voice called out to the,. Their voice sounded weaker than it had the night before. He sounded tired. Did he not get a good night’s sleep? “Little snake?”

“This lowly one is awake,” Zhuzhi-Lang answered, poking his head out from the blankets.

His cultivator had eye-bags underneath their kind, dark eyes.

“I’ve already done some packing for the journey.” Shen Yuán replied. “I got some pre-made talismans, food rations, and Shang Qinghua gave me some money for the road too.”

He couldn’t leave this alone. His cultivator friend looked exhausted. If his friend needed assistance, he would like to know. “Why does Shen Yuán look like he has not slept?”

“Trust me I did. But when you have to put a lot of spiritual energy into talismans, it kind of drains you.” Shen Yuán answered with a weak smile. He scratched at the back of his neck with a smile. “But it should have enough power to break at least a couple seals on your uncle.”

He made a handful of talismans for him, exhausting himself. And Shen Yuán has already made talismans for his nest. They must be made of string power limit considering the size of the nest. Shen Yuán was pushing himself for his sake?

“This lowly one does not want Shen Yuán to exhaust himself!” Zhuzhi-Lang hurriedly reassured, bowing his head down into his underserved nest. “Forgive this one.”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Xishi-Lang,” Shen Yuán yawned, waving away at his concerned expression. His cultivator’s hands trailed down the scales over his head, tickling over his ugly skin with such care. “I was planning on walking most of the journey anyway to save up as much energy as I can if we have to fight anything or anyone on the way there.”

When Shen Yuán’s fingers left him, Zhuzhi-Lang lifted his head to see his cultivator opening a folded map they retrieved from their robe’s sleeve. He waited as the map unfolded to show one dotted line that guided them from the forest to the Bai Lu mountain. “See this path? This is the route we are taking there to avoid any unnecessary eyes.”

Zhuzhi-Lang leaned towards the map to see the dotted line going through lines of trees and at least two rivers, and something he could to quite pinpoint from the drawn details. “Why are we taking this route specifically?”

“Shang Qinghua brought up a good point. Even though you can disguise yourself in your smaller form, there could be a cultivator who can sense your demonic energy.” Shen Yuán explained. He felt like crawling back into his nest because he was the reason their path was so treacherous until his cultivator opened his mouth again. “But the main reason is I got kicked out of my sect, so other cultivation sects might find me suspicious if I pass by or enter their territory. Plus, it would help in general in case we run into any cultivators in the towns.”

“And through this scenic path, we won’t have to worry about any attention or suspicions on us.” Shen Yuán continued, trailing his finger along the dotted line.

“Ah.” Zhuzhi-Lang said. He didn’t know what to respond with, so instead he asked, “When is the scheduled time we will depart?”

“I figured we can start the journey today. We can eat a big meal before we head off, so I can regain some energy and we won’t start the journey on an empty stomach.” “Or we can start it tomorrow morning if you want that instead.”

Zhuzhi-Lang hesitated in his answer. It was better to get there as quickly as they could, but it might be beneficial to wait a day. But the journey would be a long one...

It would be better to start today. And he will make sure to carry his cultivator through most of it if his legs ever grew tired. Zhuzhi-slang nodded, “We can leave today. That sounds lovely.”

“Okay!” Shen Yuán straightened up and tucked the map back into his sleeve. He smiled at him and said, “I’ll make something easy for lunch then we can leave.”

“Can this one do anything to help?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked, raising up further out of his nest

“Hmm.” Shen Yuán hummed, glancing out the door of the bedroom. He made a considered sound. He responded, “If you can help clean up the house that would be nice. I kind of rummaged all over to make sure I got everything we needed for the journey. So things are a bit... messy.”

Zhuzhi-Lang hummed. He slithered out of the nest, letting his tail nudge Shen Yuán near his leg as he made his way out of the room.

Shen Yuán was only exaggerating when he said that the house was messy. Sure papers were askew and things had fallen over, but it wasn’t too much of a mess. He had seen the aftermaths of the parties his uncle used to throw back at the palace. He would be cleaning up blood, wine and other liquids from the walls, floors and ceilings.

Zhuzhi-Lang took his time using his tail to maneuver things back into place and clean up. Shen Yuán was making lunch in the kitchen, talking to himself about how much he should add to the pot and more. Zhuzhi-Lang glanced back at the cultivator to see him debating over whether to make rice as well before ultimately starting to clean the rice in preparation.

He kept picking up fallen decor and rearranging the items as best as he could with his memory of how it used to look like. Was the scroll hanging over the dotted leaves plant or the painted pottery of a duck?

He only stopped when Shen Yuán called him over for lunch about an hour later. There was rice, diced fruit, and a main meal of roasted meat and vegetables.

“Does it taste okay?”

The rice was a bit overdone and the roasted meal was a bit burnt, but it was made with care. It was obvious how much he cared about making a good meal to start off their journey from the many curses he heard that made him stifle his own laughter when he was cleaning.

“I like it,” Zhuzhi-Lang said, leaning down to take bit by bit of his meal into his mouth. He wished he had his more human form to utilize limbs, but he was glad that once again, his kind cultivator wasn’t making any insult about it.

Shen Yuán wiped off his mouth. “There should be a few towns on the way, so we can stop there to refill on supplies and rest when we need it.”

“En.” Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. His hair got in his face so he had to throw his head to the side so the strands would fall away from his face. “Thank you again for helping this one to free his uncle.”

“You have no need to thank me for this. You just want to save your uncle from suffering.” Shen Yuán smiled. “And I’m glad to offer my services to help.”

Zhuzhi-Lang helped Shen Yuán clean up in the kitchen while the cultivator mainly double checked everything he packed away.

“Okay, talismans, food, canteen, and money. I got some potions and creams in case one of us gets hurt. I have an emergency spare pair of robes. And my sword is by the door,” Shen Yuán talked out loud to himself. He frowned and opened up his bag to add a few small bottles both empty and filled inside the bag. “Perfect. Are you ready, Xishi-Lang?”

“En,” Zhuzhi-Lang hummed. He followed Shen Yuán out the door as he strapped the sword to his side. He watched the cultivator form as their arms reached above their head and stretched out in the daylight. The sunlight beaming down on the other’s hair forming a halo around them.

Zhuzhi-Lang looked away from the sight and silently followed after his cultivator friend who was humming as they led the way.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuán yawned in the middle of humming that annoying lollipops and rainbows song that his sister sang when she was bored.

He was glad that he made sure the map was readable to his eyes since he was way too used to the electronic GPS. Although, it also didn’t hurt that Navi was helping him out with the location marked on a digital map similar to the one he had drawn out. Except this time, he can see a river he had missed that was close to the mountain valley. But the map says it had a bridge that crossed the water so everything should be fine with that.

Other than that unexpected river bridge, the journey was starting off well. His sword was sheathed by his leg, his pack was filled with everything he could possibly need for this long of a trip, and his feet weren’t tired yet.

Yet he was still feeling a bit tired. He might have been lying a bit to Zhuzhi-Lang when he asked how well he was feeling that morning.

Because no one had told him just how much spiritual energy goes into making a talisman. Whenever he read about cultivators hurriedly drawing up a talisman to ward off a demon or such, they never seemed this winded.

[The reason for the prolonged lack of energy is the user’s lack of cultivation practice. User has been slacking in his musical cultivation practice therefore making him weaker in strength.]

So he needs to practice his musical skills as well on this journey? ‘I didn’t bring my instrument with me,’ Shen Yuán thought to himself. Dammit, just when he thought he had everything.

[This Navi can provide a quest to user to receive—]

‘It’s okay.’ He mentally put up his hands to stop his system from suggesting something that will make their journey longer than necessary. ‘No need for an additional quest. I can just buy a small flute or something on the way there from town.’

[User could also use his more vocal instrument.]

His eyes widened in panic. ‘Singing? No. No way! That would mean singing in front of someone. I don’t want Zhuzhi-Lang to hear my awful voice or anywhere for that matter!’

[... This Navi reminds the user that Shang Qinghua, Shen Qingqiu, and the protagonist, Luo Binghe, have heard him sing.]

‘Those first two were accidents and you know it!’

[This Navi will like to remind User Shen Yuán that singing a lullaby to Luo Binghe—]

‘That one doesn’t count. The little white sheep was already asleep!’

[The protagonist was not asleep during the encounter.]

‘What?! Dammit— Is that why I received satisfaction points from it?’ He briefly remembered the number of points he got and how Binghe’s body snuggled up closer to him. Nice to know that the boy was not sleeping and just saving him the embarrassment.

[User Shen Yuán is correct!]

“—Yuán?”

Oh! He must have been too busy talking with his system that he didn’t notice Zhuzhi-Lang trying to get his attention for some time now. “What is it, Xishi-Lang?”

“Are you alright? This low—“ Zhuzhi-Lang cut himself off with a hiss then started again. “This one noticed that you were slowing down in your stride. This one was about offering a ride to cultivator Shen.”

“Ah. There is no need for that, especially this early on in the trip.” He answered with a smile, waving off the snake demon’s concern. “This one was just lost in his thoughts for a moment.”

“Hm.” His snake friend looked like he didn’t believe him, but he remained silent and turned his attention back on the way in front of them.

Shen Yuán walked beside Zhuzhi-Lang until they reached the line of trees of a heavy forest. The trail they were taking was covered in vines, grass, broken rocks and overgrown tree roots to the point where he had to keep looking down to avoid tripping on himself.

And he wasn’t the only one having a rough time. Zhuzhi-Lang was slithering behind him on the other side of the trees he was passing by. He could see flashes of his scales shining in the sunlight that was peeking through the towering trees’ leaves.

It took a few moments of rustling through the leaves before he attempted to start a conversation. Shen Yuán cleared his throat. “Hey, is this way through the forest around the same as the one you take to visit your uncle?”

“Similar.” Zhuzhi-Lang replied. He could hear their giant snake body twist through the overgrown mess of green around them. “It is different since this one mostly avoids the rougher grounds by taking a longer, zigzag route through this kind of terrain.”

Shen Yuán bit down on his lip. Ah, he must be uncomfortable going through this way. “Would you like me to find a different way through the—“

“This one is alright—” Zhuzhi-Lang responded even as it was cut short by a particularly gnarly tree root. Shen Yuán paused in his tracks as Zhuzhi-Lang slammed his large scaled body and broke the obstacle with ease. He kept walking when the other started to slither through the broken wood without a splinter visible on him. “The path is tougher where you travel than the side where I currently slither. Cultivator Shen might prefer to walk on this ground.”

Shen Yuán shook his head and responded to say that he was alright when his eyes caught on a clearer side of the path further beyond. There were no more unruly roots or vines and bushes clogging his view of the dark dirt ground. “It’s already leading up further down the way near those stones. Hey, you think we can find a cave down this way?”

“It could be possible.” Zhuzhi-Lang spoke with more ‘s’ trailing off his last word.

“Alright!” Shen Yuán cheered as his feet landed on the smoother terrain of the path they were taking. Zhuzhi-Lang slid behind him as they started to approach a rocky, gray stone area. It looks like the side of a mountain in the middle of the forest. Ooh, maybe it was a secret cave!

He checked the map as he walked. Hmm, it looked like this was the beginning of the Flaming Swallowed Star Mountain Hill. The hill’s rocks extended like a starburst with rocks trailing off into the forest in curls. He didn’t notice they would have to cross one of the points of it. “Hey This ground is better already, it looks like its shining with all of this stone.”

He glanced down from his map once his feet started to crunch on leaves despite the hard stony path. He frowned as he noticed more and more dead leaves on top of the rocks. Leaves on rocks? Is it because the fall colors help with the star imagery. No, that’s red and orange moss on the rocks underneath the leaves...

He felt his friend tense behind him as a hiss started to rumble through their chest. “What’s with the—“

“Wait, cu—my cultivator watch out!”

Shen Yuán heard Zhuzhi-Lang’s yell behind him right before his feet landed through the leaves right into the air. He fell with an indignant yelp that he would deny ever coming out of his mouth while Zhuzhi-Lang dove after him with startling accuracy.

The snake demon’s body coiled around him like a safety rope to break his fall from wherever they were headed.

The hole he fell into was silent as the wind rushed past him as flashes of bright orange against gray blurred his vision. It was so dark, but those colors stood out against the dark like they were neon glow-in-the-dark stars. The ones he used to have in his childhood bedroom.

Although the colors reminded him more of the carnivorous cavern flowers he had studied before in the first year he woke up in An Ding. It looked like a hybrid between the Blooming Orange Heaven and the Fallen Night Rose. Both are highly dangerous. And both beautiful art specimens in his notebook.

The coil slowly came loose despite Zhuzhi-Lang's attempt to keep him in his tight hold. It all came to an abrupt stop as he and Zhuzhi-Lang fell right into a sticky net.

Almost immediately after they were caught in the net, he felt the net tremble as Zhuzhi-Lang tried to escape, but he watched as the more the demon struggled, more of his scaled body got stuck onto the sticky rope net.

He blinked and looked to his sides where his arms were stuck in a close position to his torso. He tried to lift his hands from the net only for his eyes to trial off towards the spots of sunset colors he had seen before.

Except they weren’t the plastic stars or carnivorous flowers he thought they were. Because these flowers were moving with multiple legs towards the sticky net.

No, this wasn’t a specially crafted sticky net. This was a giant spider web.

Shen Yuán lifted his head and saw the glimmering webbing of the sunset sunrise spider inside multiple parts of the cave around then. The giant web they fell onto looked like it was at an angle. And from the horrid, decaying smell from below him, he could guess that this was the net they used for their food source.

And from the way he could see the spiders gathering, it looked like they were on the menu. He tried to turn his head only to notice just how many spots of orange and sunset colors were coming closer to where they laid like a pliant buffet for their horde.

“Xishi-Lang, stop struggling. You are getting even more stuck,” Shen Yuán whispered harshly when he noticed that he and Zhuzhi-Lang were getting even more stuck to the spider web due to his companion’s consistent wriggling.

Zhuzhi-Lang hissed in response. “If I stop, the spiders will get to you quicker than I can stop them. How will this one reward Shen Yuán kindness if he allows his cultivator to be hurt in such a way?”

Shen Yuán stared at him with what he hoped was an indescribable look that portrayed the amount of confusion and horror he was feeling. No way was he going to let Zhuzhi-Lang do that. And no way was he just going to lay there and not come up with a plan.

‘System? Is there anything in my inventory I can use for this?’

The mass of spiders was growing bigger by the second. Many appearing from dark corners to pile together into one giant collage of colors like a modern art piece.

[This Navi will list the system’s current inventory! 9,575 B-Points. Fake Jade Necklace. Repaired Broken Wooden Fan.]

[There are currently no items that will help User Shen Yuán escape inside this system’s inventory.]

‘Dammit.’ Shen Yuán looked down at his hip where his sword was sheathed. Maybe if he could just nudge it out of its sheath it can cut through the web at the right angle. He whispered, “I’ll try to reach my—“

Suddenly, the mass of spiders started to part with a muted clicking sound gathering his attention to bigger spiders in the midst of the horde. One of the bigger spiders broke off from the group and started to crawl towards where they were trapped.

“Wait, something’s happening.” Shen Yuán muttered to Zhuzhi-Lang who thankfully didn’t thrash in response, instead watching like a predator as the spider came closer.

Shen Yuán stared at the sunset colors of the bigger spider until his attention was drawn towards the pearl-like shimmer coming from something attached to the spider’s back. The small amount of light raining down on them from the giant hole above them made that pearlescent green stand out.

“I recognize that—“ Shen Yuán cut himself off as he remembered the spider that did a trade with. His old Jade hairpin glittering off their back in jagged edges likes parts of it was broken. “Hey, that’s my old hairpin. Hello!”

The spider stood on his hairy back legs and raised one of their legs to wave at him from the ground. The image of those little fangs gnashing together while those eyes recognized his voice was a little adorable considering the deadly circumstances they were in.

The big spider turned around to face the horde and clicked along the ground. Parts of the horde buzzing and tapping their legs against the ground to communicate.

Then, everything went silent as the three bigger spiders on the other side of the horde bowed.

[Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Good things must be said three times. User Shen Yuán avoided certain death by helping out the spider prince find a mate during this mating season. The spider prince is returning this favor by sparing your lives.]

‘Thanks for translating, Navi.’

Wait, the spider prince?! Huh. It’s not everyday he meets some kind of royalty. Wait, wasn’t Zhuzhi-Lang kind of royalty too since his uncle was the demon emperor at one point.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a low hiss from Zhuzhi-Lang that was accompanied by the varying clicks from the spiders.

Shen Yuán turned to his traveling companion in relief only to see that snake-like face go stone cold in what he assumed was preparing for a fight as a line of spiders started to crawl on the walls around them. He called out to the demon snake. “Zhuzhi-Lang, I think they are letting us go, so don’t try to attack them.”

It helped that the spiders cut the web right to let them land into a pile of bones right as he finished his sentence. It also helped that they all backed away from them to give them a wide berth. Although he could have done without landing in a particularly wet spot in the bones with a dried blood puddle right near his feet.

Zhuzhi-Lang was still hesitant. Shen Yuán gave him a look that he hoped was enough to deter him only to have them slowly look away with a honest-to-the-heavens pout. “... I won’t.”

He sighed in relief and smiled, placing his hand on Zhuzhi-Lang’s chest who kept looking away from him like it was his life’s mission.

His eyes then trailed to the spider prince and back up to the three spiders that he assumed was their family. He slipped his hand away from Zhuzhi-Lang and bowed his head to the spider who helped both of them. “Thank you. I’m glad to see you again.”

The spider raised up their leg again and turned their body towards a wall of webs. How did he not see them before?... Actually, it might have been the fear of being eaten that he didn’t notice the walls of webs over little holes in the stone walls.

The venomous spider did a motion with their body to show off the hairpin latched on their back that perfectly matched some shiny shards of something that decorated one of the bigger webs.

Shen Yuán couldn’t believe his eyes. The web inside the jar he has at home doesn’t compare to the intricate lace-licks detailing of the web in front of him. He stepped forward to get even closer to see just how many tiny shards of his hairpin were decorating the ends and very center of the web.

If he didn’t know any better, it looked like he was looking at a dress design for a gala because of how stunning it truly was. Shen Yuán smiled as he complimented the beautiful work of the web. “Oh, is that your nest? It looks beautiful with the shards of Jade.” He kept his voice lower because it looked too fragile for a word above a whisper. Then, he could see a darker colored spider hiding behind the web with a big roll of white silk. Ah, mating season. He almost forgot about that. Nevertheless, he commented, “How lovely. I wish you happiness.”

The spider prince took his swords well with how their legs were bouncing on the ground.

Shen Yuán looked back to Zhuzhi-Lang whose body was tightly curled against the trap area as he watched the horde of spiders slowly traveling away from him.
“We must be going.” Shen Yuán turned his attention back to the spider prince who had not moved from their spot on the cavern’s ground. “Do you know where we can go that won’t harm anything with your webs?”

The helpful prince yet again helped by pointing one of their legs towards a very, alarmingly short archway off to the side. It looked like Shen Yuán would have to crawl his way through. “That way?” He asked for confirmation to receive a little body shake from the prince which he could only take as a yes. “Okay, Thank you.”

With that, he walked back to his companion to deliver the news to him with a gesture towards the exit he had been pointed to. And from the look on Zhuzhi-Lang’s face, he didn’t look quite happy about the small exit point either. “Zhuzhi-Lang, you might want to go into little Jade form for now.”

“That would be a wise decision, my cultivator,” Zhuzhi-Lang sighed, hanging his head right above Shen Yuán’s shoulder, so close that he could feel his breath right before his big form got compacted into the form he knows the most.

Shen Yuán smiled as the familiar feel of scales traced over his collar into his little friend was draped around his neck.

With a smile, he thanked the spiders once again for letting them go before slowly making his way down to the ground. The hard cavern stone dug into his skin but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as kneeling in the punishment hall from Can Qiong Peak.

So he took it as a win as the system’s voice came back on in his head to guide him through the cavern detour with the minimal help it could provide.

However in the middle of attempting to guide him past the little bits of webbing and random spiders along the walls, his system interrupted itself to remind him of his current state.

[This Navi advises User Shen Yuán to cultivate with his singing to gather more spiritual energy and strength for tomorrow.]

‘I haven’t even made it out of here yet!’ Shen Yuan thought back in response before sighing at the silence he received. ‘I’ll try to make time tonight then.’

[This Navi will add it to the user’s list!]

He sighed again then winced as he did his best to slide past a very crystallized part of the cavern which dug into the soft skin of his hands and covered knees. He coughed once he made his way through the rocky section and back to the not-so-smooth stone.

Even though this way was darker than the way he intended to go, the feeling of Xishi-Lang’s scales sliding across his skin kept him grounded.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t long before they were back on the road again with Zhuzhi-Lang leading the way and Shen Yuán following behind him with the map.

“I can’t have my friend falling into any more traps.” Zhuzhi-Lang hissed at the end. His tail pushed Shen Yuán behind him at his side instead of allowing him to walk in front. “This one will prevent harm from befalling you.”

With those words, Zhuzhi-Lang-Lang has been leading the way ever since Shen Yuán had gotten them out of the cavern. Thankfully, the exit led them directly back into the forest, but now Shen Yuán was guiding them forward with the intent on trying to find any kind of landmark.

Well, Zhuzhi-Lang-Lang was guiding, Shen Yuan was shouting directions based on where he thought they were. So far, it was going well.

The closest landmarks he could see on the map that they had the possibility of running into was Serenity Winding Valley and the Dripping Honey Blooms Of Dreams.

He was secretly hoping it was the valley since the latter would prove to be more difficult. The Dripping Honey Blooms Of Dreams was home to super tall flowers that were a combination of the flowers from wonderland with the sentience and no talking and the house-like flowers from that B***ie fairy movie he watched with his sister.

But it wasn’t the flowers he was worried about. It was the honey that was said to be dripping from every petal and pooling around the surroundings of the flowery land.

The honey was a special type of honey that could be aphrodisiacs for humans, but cultivators will be more affected in a different way. But he forgot what exactly it meant for him!

He was a cultivator but he was nowhere near as strong as a peak lord. But he wasn’t fully human either because of the cultivation core he has grown so far. Dammit. How were cultivators affected by it again? It was either stronger than normal or weaker than what it is intended to be.

Do demons get affected by it? Wait. Zhuzhi-Lang shouldn’t be affected because of his heavenly demon bloodline because of how often Luo Binghe was able to brave this kind of stuff in PIDW. The only times he was affected was because it was made specifically for heavenly demons or it was a wife plot situation where he was helping some woman that was affected by the papapa poison.

God, he just really hopes it’s the valley way. The valley would be long with a bunch of plants blocking the road, but it had no real hard obstacles in their way. It made up for obstacles and danger by being PIDW’s third longest valley in the world. The first longest valley that he vaguely remembers was nearly 30 chapters long with three wives being added to the harem when Luo Binghe made his way out.

Still! The valley might be better than taking chances with—

“My cultivator, I have found one of the landmarks.”

Shen Yuán looked up to find Zhuzhi-Lang resting a few steps ahead of him surrounded by bell shaped flowers that were slowly dripping a tantalizing gold honey from its petals. He quickly looked behind him and found that he was so distracted with the system that he ended up walking right into the honeyed flowery path by accident.

“Shit.” This was bad. The honey he was trying to avoid was everywhere! Shen Yuán shook his head as he scoured the map in his hands like the crudely drawn flowers would give any indication about how big the area was. “Let’s try to go around them.”

“Cultivator Shen, I am sure this land of flowers stretched more wide rather than deep.”

“You could be right.” Shen Yuán sighed as he looked at the towering flowers that both dropped low with curled petals and stood with straight petals stretching towards the sky. “But the honey—“

“I am somewhat familiar with it.” Zhuzhi-Lang admitted, gazing at the golden color like it was nothing more than one would put in their tea on a casual day “It should not be effective to you unless you come into direct contact with it or ingest it.”

Shen Yuán raised an eyebrow and stared down at the ground where most of the lush grass was nowhere to be seen underneath the multiple puddles of honey. The ground was more honey and fallen petals than dirt.

He made a pointed gesture towards the predicament in front of them.

“Hmm.” Zhuzhi-Lang let out a hiss in the back of his throat as he slid forward and used his tail to yank a few petals from the ground. He laid a few down on the puddle of honey and turned back to him. “We could place the dried petals on top of the honey puddles as a precaution and then aim for any grassy spots as needed. I’ll take care of forming our path then. Follow after me, Cultivator Shen.”

Zhuzhi-Lang nodded to him and demonstrated his petal technique. The large petals sunk into the honey with ease, but due to the layered petals it didn’t render the flower bridge useless.

With all of the grace that he suspected came from being a former demon general, Zhuzhi-Lang raised his tail up like it was a gloved hand of a prince waiting for a lady to escape a carriage.

Except this situation wasn’t anything like that!

Once he stepped on the petals, it felt like he was experiencing a waterbed made of jello through a thin piece of paper. It felt so weird to try and balance himself as he walked over the honey.

He grabbed onto Zhuzhi-Lang’s tail as he jumped from the last bit of the petal since that edge was sinking into the honey way too much.

The next impromptu petal bridges got progressively... sketchy. The last one was a medium sized petal with dead ones used for the sides which ended up breaking under Zhuzhi-Lang’s weight.

“Xizhi-Lang!”

The snake demon moved like a whip to get back to the ground on the other side of the huge amount of honey.

“It’s okay. This honey affects cultivators and humans more than it does demons.” Zhuzhi-Lang started, trying to wipe off the honey on his body onto a flower’s stem. Shen Yuán lifted his foot but quickly realized he would have to jump onto the petal and hoped it didn’t sink from his harsh movement on it.

With a deep breath, Shen Yuán stepped back and launched himself forward like he was back in physical education class again.

“Cultivator Shen—!”

Then again, he was always on the non-athletic side in that class. He thought about his past life as he kneeled there on the petal after failing to jump onto the middle. The way he was kneeled in the petal in the surrounding honey he was sinking into was eerily similar to how he rested to regain his breath after they ran laps.

He could hear himself breathing in his ears, the thumping of the noise was way too familiar. He could picture his coach now saying that they told him so and that he should have known his constitution was too weak to play around with the other kids.

“Cultivator Shen!” Zhuzhi-Lang’s voice interrupted him from his reminiscing. He looked up to see Zhuzhi-Lang stretching his tail tip to him and telling him something about wrapping his hand around something.

He’s talking about his tail, right? How else was he supposed to get out of this situation without a little help with his friend?

Shen Yuán reached out to grab onto him and held back a help as he was yanked before the petal could sink into the honey.

From the moment his flesh met his tail, he felt stickiness coat his entire palm. When he was yanked from the puddle and landed on the ground, he could feel a tingle going up his arms. Then, all he could feel was his brain starting to get fuzzy.

It felt like he was on drugs at the hospital. Well, more like the time at the dentist when they had to take out his wisdom teeth. Er-ge laughed at the video that Da-ge filmed so much that Da-ge had to make a copy of the whole 30 minutes he had filmed just for Er-ge to enjoy.

He felt a giggle bubble up in his chest as the honey sent a warmth through his body he couldn’t really explain.

“Hey, Xizhi~” Shen Yuán laughed as he felt the warmth of the honey travel down his throat. It felt dizzying like the first when he was old enough to have alcohol and his older brothers’ got him drunk that very night. Yet it was making him feel way warmer than the alcohol did that night.

The sweet taste lingered in his mouth yet he was still craving its embrace. He licked his lips to make sure he was not missing a single drop of this ambrosia. He looked down and smiled at his hand still encased in honey. He looked up at his snake demon friend who was moving his lips but he couldn’t hear what he was saying clearly.

Slowly, he brought his hand up to his mouth to lick a stripe up his palm to eat more of the liquid gold. Then he looked up into his friend’s eyes which reflected that same shade of gold. Hmm, his eyes looked like honey, Shen Yuán thought to himself as he stumbled forward to the stunned snake demon.

“Hey, Xizhi honey,” Shen Yuán greeted with warmth dripping from his lips.

*

Zhuzhi-Lang didn’t know what to make of the sweet honey that had an added scent of spice lying beneath the sugary smell.

It was just supposed to be a simple path they had to pass through on the map. But then they ended up in a spider’s lair that ended with Shen Yuán saving his life, both of their lives, due to a past interaction with the prince.

And once they got out, he wanted to make sure nothing harmed him as they continued on their way. And he succeeded. Nothing living or unliking had physically harmed his friend. He had made sure of that by surveying the area and letting out hisses when he heard something move bushes’ leaves.

But then they were confronted with the honey covered land of flowers. He was too preoccupied by finding a way through the tall flowers safely that he forgot just how unexpectedly strong the honey truly was.

Zhuzhi-Lang should have known when he smelled the sugary notes in the air that drew him in like a freshly opened bottle of wine straight from the Eastern lands that he was always impartial to drink from whenever his uncle had a ball.

He only drank when he knew that his uncle could take care of it mostly on his own. He could not fathom getting drunk and then trying to help his uncle when he was impaired. Zhuzhi-Lang banished the mere thought of it from his mind oh so long ago.

That signature aged wine had a taste Zhuzhi-Lang almost forgot about, but the honey was reminding him of that unique experience he hadn’t tasted in less than twenty years.

Those eastern demons had said something about dripping honey at the time, didn’t they? Maybe they gathered it from the human realms from here or had a similar plant in their guarded lands.

Even though Zhuzhi-Lang knew the smell was enticing, he was secure in his thoughts that he would not be affected. He was only proven right when the honey coated his scales and he felt his heavenly demon blood batting away the intoxicating influence.

He swiped his tail at anything not in his cultivator friend’s path so Shen Yuán could walk freely after he stepped off the quickly made petal bridge. When Zhuzhi-Lang was halfway clean of the honey with only the thinnest layer still covering his scales tail, he looked up to find Shen Yuán was kneeling down and breathing quite heavily in the middle of the giant petal.

The giant petal that was dangerously sinking slowly into the glittering honey.

“Cultivator Shen!” Zhuzhi-Lang called out in concern. The cultivator wasn’t moving even as the petal’s edges were sinking into the soft yellow.

He cursed himself for not paying more attention. He extended his tail so that it still had a sheen of honey stuck on its scales. Zhuzhi-Lang yelled out to his cultivator friend to try and get his eyes and ears on him. “Quickly, wrap your hand around your sleeve. My tail might not be completely clean of honey!”

His words did shake Shen Yuán enough out of whatever concentration he was under but not enough apparently since the cultivator reached out and clutched onto his tail without any material to cover his bare skin.

“No, no!” Zhuzhi-Lang said under his breath even as he plucked Shen Yuán out of the honey.

“Cultivator Shen. Why would you do such a thing?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked as Shen Yuán slowly blinked at both of his hands. Then a slow smile grew on his face with a giggling bubbling up past his lips. “Cul—my cultivator?”

“Hey, Xizhi~” His cultivator drawled.

“Cultivator Shen, please wipe your hands or I can find a way to wash them for you,” he tried to offer to the cultivator who instead brought his hand up to lick off the honey gathered in his palm. “No!”

Shen Yuán looked up at him under his lashes in a way that made his chest feel warm. Is the honey getting to him as well?

He had no time to think as the cultivator stumbled his way to him and grabbed his ugly face with both of his honey covered hands

“Hey, Xizhi honey~” Shen Yuán practically purred as he leaned forward, drips of honey falling from his lips like a shiny, golden colored rouge.

...To—too close!

Right. No. Yes. He needs to find some water to start rinsing Shen Yuán of the honey and start making him drink it to flush the effect out of his system.

He shook his head out of Shen Yuán’s hold to get his mind back on track from the situation.

He twirled his body to yank Shen Yuán onto his back who clutched onto him with a cheerful laugh. Zhuzhi-Lang did his best to dodge the tempting piles of honey and the fresh drips of honey from the huge flower. He had lost count of how many times he had to pull off moves he had only used in combat to stop Shen Yuán from leaning over and drinking the honey straight from the drooping petals.

He slithered through the rest of the flowers with his eyes focused ahead of him to try and find any source of water he could use to wipe off the honey.

It took what felt like a whole day to navigate his way through the flowers and the honey. It was like a maze. Zhuzhi-Lang breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he saw a thin stream of water with crusted honey blocking the edges of the river bank.

The flowers around him looked drier than the ones he had seen before since the large petals weren’t dripping honey. Everything including the flowers around the water did not have fresh honey anywhere. The only thing resembling honey was the dried, gold crust surrounding the river.

Maybe it had something to do with the river...

...If that’s the reason, it would be way too convenient. Zhuzhi-Lang scowled as he turned to his side to let Shen Yuán gently fall off his back to the ground.

He dragged the cultivator with his tail to the river who only laughed and clutched onto his tail like a child. Zhuzhi-Lang casted a glance at the cultivator who did not let go of his tail even when he tried to shake him off.

Zhuzhi-Lang took a deep breath and looked down at the water in front of him. “Cultivator Shen, I hope you forgive me when you come to your senses.“

He was glad that his cultivator had an extra set of clothes as he dunked the cultivator into the water with his tail.

‘Forgive me, my cultivator,’ Zhuzhi-Lang thought to himself as he heard Shen Yuán yelp from the water.

*

“I apologize,” Zhuzhi-Lang apologized for the hundredth time as the demon wiped at Shen Yuán’s face with a worried expression.

“It’s fine. I have an extra set of robes for this kind of situation. I should be apologizing to you,” Shen Yuán answered, showing off his dry, white robe’s sleeves. He was busy combing out the tangles in his wet hair as Zhuzhi-Lang used a wet part of his normal robes to wipe off his tail.

“There is no need for that,” Zhuzhi-Lang answered, peeling off the dripping robes from his tail.

Yeah, they are going to need somewhere to hang up his robes to dry after dunking it in water again to make sure all that honey is completely gone. It would probably be somewhere inside or outside the flower they were inside.

Somehow when he rose up from the water dripping wet with 25 experience points from the system reining in his ears, one of the ginormous flowers had dropped down to the ground. The petals had opened up to reveal a plushy inside free of honey. It looked more like one of those really soft circle beds...

Yep, this was a wife plot with Luo Binghe and wife 374? No, it was 479! One of the human wives who got caught up in sex pollen, got the cure from the heavenly sky pillar, and became one of the countless wives in the harem that never got attention again. Wow, he thinks he only remembered her because her hair and eyes were described at the same color as the honey.

Although the way it opened up reminded him again of that B***ie movie he watched with his sister.

It wasn’t long until his robe was hanging out from the flower’s stem. And Zhuzhi-Lang and him were both inside the flower petals. A small amount of moonlight shined down from the middle of the petals’ tips that illuminated both of them in soft blue light.

Zhuzhi-Lang had long since fallen asleep under Shen Yuán’s reassurances that he would keep watch for the first few hours. And the fact that his system has been pinging him with the same message three times in one hour.

[This Navi wants to remind User Shen Yuán of his current cultivation level.]

‘I heard you for the first time, Navi. I was just making sure that Zhuzhi-Lang was asleep’

Shen Yuán glanced at the snake demon whose chest was rising and falling softly under his watch. He breathed out. “Okay, here goes nothing...”

He tried to keep his voice low in order to not wake up the sleeping snake demon behind him. He rose to a kneeling position with the moonlight seeming to shine down on him like a spotlight.

He cleared his throat and started to sing one of the songs he actually liked from the countless movies he had watched with his sister.

“I need to know these answers, I need to find my way...” Shen Yuán sang as softly as he could, the chorus flowing out of him easily as he reflected on him and his step rewatching some movies just to sing offkey karaoke with the songs. “... can’t tell what’s waiting but still I need to go. I need to know...”

[User Shen Yuán has gained back some cultivation energy! But he must continue if he wants his full power back.]

‘On it. More B***ie movie songs coming up.’ Shen Yuán answered back in his head as he hummed through a part of the song he forgot.

Mei-Mei, I hope you’re happy wherever you are.

“Seize my tomorrow, learn my yesterday...”

You did keep your promise of having these catchy songs stuck in your Yuan-ge’s head.

“I need to know…”

I love you, little sister.

Chapter Text

Zhuzhi-Lang shifted, relaxing back on his coil as the sun started to rise and its beams started to peek into the top of the flower petals. Shen Yuán had woken up in a flurry of movement from one piercing sunbeam aimed directly into his eyesight.

Somewhere during the night he was awoken from his dream of a kind siren enchanting him with a song to Shen Yuán singing yet another song during his watch. Zhuzhi-Lang forced himself to keep laying down until the cultivator finally stopped singing and shook his shoulder to wake him up. He quickly took over the duty once he saw how exhausted Shen Yuán was especially with how raspy his voice had become.

He had ushered his kind cultivator to rest after making him take a generous swig of the water they had packed. With his friend asleep, Zhuzhi-Lang had taken over the watch to look for any threats.

But now it was morning and they had to start to move again.

“Ugh, my head... what time is it?” His cultivator asked, his voice barely above a mumble as he started to lean up to sit. He leaned back on his hand while he yawned, rubbing at his eyes.

Zhuzhi-Lang looked up to the bit of sunlight peeking out from the tiny opening at the top of the flower’s bloom. Hm. It was hard to tell, but he could make a guess from the amount of light making the petals’ colors lighter. “It appears to be late morning from what I can see from the sun’s position, Cultivator Shen.”

“Ah, we should get moving then.” Cultivator Shen said, rolling himself to his knees and pushing himself up into a standing position. Then he froze suddenly like he was suddenly covered with ice even though the winter season wasn’t upon them. “Hey, did you hear anything last night while I was on guard?”

“No. I was asleep when you held watch,” Zhuzhi-Lang lied through his finger teeth, letting out a low hiss as his cultivator visibly sighed with relief.

“Okay, good. That’s good to hear.” His friend smiled at him, placing their hands at their hips. “Well, let’s get out of this flower bed and head out.” Shen Yuán secured his bag to himself again and adjusted his spiritual sword that glowed with renewed energy. “Maybe we can see if we can reach one of the small towns on our map to stay the night.”

Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. “Hmm.” It was wise to keep their supplies filled instead of waiting until they were dangerously close to depleting. “That’s a wise decision.”

*

The town was nothing like Zhuzhi-Lang expected it to be. Any regular town filled him with dread since he had to hide away from every human eye due to his ugly, demonic appearance. Every time he got close to a town, he had to prepare himself to slither away at any moment due to one child or adult panicking at the slightest sight of him.

That’s why he should have known something was off as they got closer. Shen Yuán frowned. “It's so quiet. It’s around midday, so there should be people out and about in the market and the streets.”

Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. It was indeed strange. Although there were towns that did most of their business at night, it's possible that this small village could be like that. But his gut told him differently.

And he was right.

There was something wrong.

There were no people.

Zhuzhi-Lang followed Shen Yuán who was alarmingly quiet as they observed the ghost town. Empty houses with walls torn open and doors laying on the ground in pieces with plants growing over the forgotten wood. Rotten food pierced his nose with a putrid odor from where there disgusting pieces of food were laying on the grass. Old, maroon bloodstains splattered on the outside of the broken buildings, human bones were half buried under the mud.

“This is supposed to be a town. A small one, but a town nonetheless.” Shen Yuán said, his voice hauntingly broken like he had never seen such carnage before. Zhuzhi-Lang watched his friend stumble as he walked to a broken wall where a stained cloth doll was lying face up. “Why?”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked around shortly, slithering his way to a sizable indent in a broken house’s roof where claw marks were visible. “Demon attack.”

He could hear Shen Yuán click his tongue. He looked over to see his friend pick up the forgotten doll to brush off dirt on the cloth dress. Shen Yuán was silent as he walked behind the house. Zhuzhi-Lang followed him and watched his friend start to dig at the earth with the heel of his shoe.

“You are sure it’s a demon attack?” Shen Yuán asked, his gaze not leaving the freshly dug ground. His leg moving back and forth as he carved up the dirt for a shallow hole.

Zhuzhi-Lang answered. “Either a demon or demonic creature. Nothing else could make those claw marks.”

Shen Yuán’s mouth pursed yet he remained silent as he dug the hole deeper and deeper. At one point, he had unsheathed his word. A sword meant to cut down injustice was turned upside down so its handle could be used as a dull shovel.

“Does this...” Zhuzhi-Lang said before he cut himself off. He sullenly watched as the children’s doll was placed inside the earth. “Does seeing this make you upset?”

“Yes! I—“ Shen Yuán cut himself off as his voice cracked. Zhuzhi-Lang stiffened at the sound of his friend starting to sniffle before his human cultivator wiped at his face. “I would understand if maybe the humans attacked a demon creature and it got revenge. Maybe it was revenge.” His friend scowled down at the ground, swiping the dirt over the doll and patting it with his hands like he was simply tucking the toy into bed.

His friend had his fingers coated in dirt yet made no move to clean his hands in the grass. Those calming eyes brushed with anger as he gazed down at the newly made grave. “Or it could have been just for no reason other than boredom for them.”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked down at the clenched fists of Shen Yuán then backed up at the unreadable expression he was making. “Is this the first time you have seen something like this?”

“...No.” Shen Yuán replied as quietly as a whisper.

“I have been on a few missions back in An Ding when I wasn’t doing work on the peak.” Shen Yuán said, his eyes downcast as his dirty hands rested over the doll’s grave. “We encountered a village that was currently under attack by a demon who wanted to destroy their town’s shrine.” The cultivator shook his head. “It was different then since there were still people I could save. But this...”

Shen Yuán looked up at him with tears visible in his eyes with one drop dripping down his cheek. “It just makes me feel... horrible.”

“You couldn’t have known about them or that they needed help,” Zhuzhi-Lang replied uneasily, he could only hope his words were enough to reassure him if only a little so the burden he carried would be lighter.

“Does that matter?” Shen Yuán asked with a bitter laugh escaping him while another tear trailed down his face. “I know it’s not my fault that this happened. But I still feel like—like I could have been able to do something if I had known about it sooner.” His friend’s hand wiped at his face with fury. “Maybe if I went exploring earlier I could have helped them. Or—“

“Cultivator Shen,” Zhuzhi-Lang interrupted him. “It’s no use to dwell on the past. It is better to move forward but remember it to make a better path for yourself in the future.”

“Hmm. Those are some wise words.” Shen Yuán smiled despite his tear filled eyes. When another tear trailed down his cheek which he hoped was the last one, Zhuzhi-Lang swiped at it with the tip of his tail. Shen Yuán laughed at the action then gazed up at him. “Mind if I know where you learned that saying?”

“It’s my own.” At Shen Yuán’s curious expression, he explained. “I use it to remind myself whenever I need to remember to focus on future plans instead of what could have been done to change the past.”

“Hmm. That’s a good lesson to live by.”

Zhuzhi-Lang gazed down at his friend who was kneeling beside him. He let out in an involuntary hiss. “May I ask you a question?”

Shen Yuán hummed in response. “You may.”

“Does...” Zhuzhi-Lang swallowed back the feeling of a heavy rock clinging to his throat. “From all of your years as a cultivator, what is your opinion on demons?”

Shen Yuán looked at him confused which made him choke on his next words, letting the explanation spill from his fanged mouth. “I know you are helping me and my uncle and for that you are very kind. But I understand if you have a more negative view on them based on past experiences which are much like this one.”

Shen Yuán was silent for a moment. There was no sound passed between them but both of their breathing and the faraway chirping of birds from within the forest nearby. “I wouldn’t say that I completely hate demons.”

“I know that some demons are bad and cruel, but I also know there are evil and disgusting humans. Demons can be bad and humans can be bad. Demons can be genuinely good just like other humans.” Shen Yuán looked at him so earnestly with such honesty dripping from his words.

His eyes glittered when they looked at him like the snake demon, once a feared general of the demon world, was nothing else but a hero. “And, Zhuzhi-Lang, I don’t think you are a bad demon. Neither you or your uncle deserve the reputation and punishment you are suffering from.”

Zhuzhi-Lang whipped his head away so his friend wouldn’t stare so long at his ugly face. That was the only reason he couldn’t handle looking at him for too long. Nothing else. “This lowly one has such a kind friend.”

*

After burying the doll, the two walked around the town to find anything that could be salvaged or at least paid respects to. Zhuzhi-Lang helped the cultivator find any memorabilia that could be buried while cursing himself for not finding any food that they could have.

“It looks like we have to gather berries in the forest before we go any further, if only as a precaution.” Shen Yuán huffed, glancing back at the ransacked town as they walked away into the forest. “We should be fine for two days with the rations we have. Although we will need to fill up the canteen.”

“En.” Zhuzhi-Lang nodded. “Do you feel better... with your spiritual energy?”

“Yeah,” Shen Yuán replied. “I plan to keep practicing my cultivation to hoard as much energy as I can, so I’m strong enough to take down the seals holding back your uncle.”

“I give you my thanks again.” Zhuzhi-Lang declared. He slithered alongside the cultivator who observed the map with a pout visible on his lips. “Not many would be willing to push themselves to do such a thing as freeing a demon lord.”

“Well, I’m not like most people then?” Shen Yuán joked, his eyes looking up from the map to him with a grin. Then the expression froze on his face as he hurriedly looked back at his map and covered his face with it. “Eww. Why did I say that? Some cliche pick—”

And here he goes again with the languages that Zhuzhi-Lang can’t understand although he could hear the frustration clearly in the unrecognized words.

“What is it?” He asked only for his friend to shake their head, lowering the map from their face.

“Nothing.” Shen Yuán mumbled. “Let’s just head to the mountain bridge. We might be able to get water from the river underneath it.”

Zhuzhi-Lang nodded then lowered his body down in front of Shen Yuán in a silent offer for his friend to ride on top of his back. He has done the same for his uncle before when he went on dates with Mistress Su. Shen Yuán watched him for a moment before she verbalized his suggestion which his friend took up hesitantly after asking if he would be comfortable with it.

Zhuzhi-Lang slithered based on his friend's directions, pushing himself up elevated land and following the sound of water rushing. Yet the usher they went, the farther away the water seemed to be. Shen Yuán noticed this but assured him that the bridge was depicted to go over the water so it would make sense for the water to be further down below.

He was skeptical but the explanation was quickly proved to be true. The bridge was just like the map depicted on the map. However, the map should have been more honest with how far up and just how long the bridge is.

The demon and human duo watched with gaping mouths as they stared at the long, narrow bridge stretching across the two mountainous cliffs. The river below could be heard even when they were thousands of feet above the rushing water. If there was even another mountain on the other side since he couldn’t see anything but the wisps of clouds acting as a blanket.

“This is the bridge?! No! That can’t be!” Shen Yuán stared at the bridge before them like it was a death trap which Zhuzhi-Lang couldn’t exactly argue. He knew he had the exact same expression on his scaled face. “Why is it so high up? And it looks too weak to be safe!”

“We will need to find another way across,” Zhuzhi-Lang replied, slithering forward a few inches to peer his head over the cliff at the water below them. “We can go down to the water level.”

“The rapids of the river will be too strong for us to cross,” Shen Yuán argued back.

Zhuzhi-Lang scowled down at the rapids. There must be somewhere around the bottom level they could use. “There must be stepping stones within the water for us to walk on.”

Shen Yuán whipped his head to him in disbelief. “I’m not sure how good of a swimmer you think you are, but we will both be dragged along the rocky bottom if we are not careful and slip on these supposed rocks.”

His friend waved his hands in the air like he was calling a surrender on their position as he walked backwards away from the cliff. He casted a glance at the bridge where clouds were passing by above and below the rickety path. “I’ll just fly on my sword with you in your little Jade form.”

“There is no need to waste your energy on this endeavor.” Zhuzhi-Lang countered immediately. He wanted to do more to protect his cultivator. In just the past day, he had failed to save Shen Yuán. His friend was the one who got them out of the spider’s lair and he failed to repay that during the honey situation.

The snake demon continued, “The gap might be wide, but this bridge should be strong enough. Besides, you will need all your spiritual energy for any future danger we might face.” He looked at the lousy bridge that swayed slightly to the right as he was looking at it. “We should take a chance on this bridge first before making another decision.”

“Zhuzhi-Lang—“

He spelled himself while he slowly slithered onto the first plank, not going past the cliff’s edge yet. “I will go first to test the strength of the bridge for you.”

Shen Yuán looked ready to drag him back by his tail from the amount of concern on his face. “No, you can just get small and I can walk us across if you want to test the bridge first. If anything happens, then I’ll have to sword.”

Zhuzhi-Lang turned to watch Shen Yuán for a moment. “I don’t want to rely on my small form when I can protect you better like this.”

Shen Yuán saved his life once and then again. And despite his attempts, he doesn’t feel like he is anywhere close to repaying him for his kindness. It felt like his friend was the one guiding a tsunami towards him while he only had trickle. Testing a bridge’s capability was nothing more than a drip in comparison, but it would be a small ounce of repayment nevertheless.

With a deep breath, the snake demon slithered onto the bridge quickly until all of their body was resting on the bridge.

The bridge let out a low creaking sound as he continued to slither forward, yet he did it hear anything too worrying. Many bridges both over land and water in the demon realm gave off squeaks as heavy feet, arms, tentacles, and tails thumped against the wood or metal beneath them.

It was only until he approached the middle of the bridge that something got his attention. A quick snap.

Zhuzhi-Lang suddenly feels the bridge holding his weight tilt to the side. That’s when he started to hear something heavy like rope hitting the wood like the bridge was... unraveling?

He didn’t wait to move as the demon whipped around and started slithering at a fast pace towards his cultivator who was shouting in worry when he suddenly changed directions.

Snap!

Right when Zhuzhi-Lang could see the form of his friend, the entire left side of the bridge swung down to face the waters below. He heard Shen Yuán shout as he hurriedly twisted his scaled body around the remaining ropes of the bridge.

However, when he went to continue moving to safety, the familiar sound started up again, yet this time it was one his friend’s side. Shen Yuán immediately noticed and clutched onto the rope, tried to the wooden pole and held on for dear life.

Yet his friend started chanting ‘no’ as the rope continued to unravel under his desperate grip. “Xizhi! Xizhi-Lang! I can’t—!”

The ropes unravel causing the bridge to slacken further and a second hadn’t passed until Zhuzhi-Lang was swinging down with the bridge. The movement swaying him waters the side of the opposing mountains with the worried screams of his cultivator filling his ears along with the rushing of wind.

Zhuzhi-Lang braced himself for the hit, curling tight into a coil with the straining rope to take the impact.

He squeezed his eyes tight right as he heard a whipping sound behind him and a pair of arms wrapped around his giant coil.

He opened his eyes just in time to get a glance of his cultivator with his sword underneath their feet right as the rest of the bridge fell apart. The two of them shouted as they fell towards the river with his friend trying desperately to hold onto him.

“-ick!”

He could barely hear his friend now with the rushing of the air while he released his coil around the bridge to hold on as best as he could to his cultivator. If they were to fall, he would do his best to protect him.

“—Jade! Jade form!” Shen Yuán yelled to him, slapping his hands against his scales with urgency as they quickly fell towards the rapids.

Zhuzhi-Lang wanted to refuse yet he couldn’t. Not when the plea in his cultivator’s words was clear.

He willed his body to shrink, desperately trying to make the process fast when he felt the mist from the river hit his scales. He felt those warm arms around him become even bigger like a god descended from heaven just for him right as both Zhuzhi-Lang and his god fell into water.

Chapter Text

The last thing he remembered was reaching out to Zhuzhi-Lang as they both fell towards the rapids below them. So he could not contain his surprise and confusion when he had woken up inside a cavern. He could still hear the rushing waves of water but the sound was muddled.

Shen Yuán pushed himself up on his arms with a groan, resting on his elbows to survey his surroundings. With a grimace, he pulled off a talisman paper that was resting on his chest. It was dark from what he could see of the shadowy area that had not been lit up by what he could only assume was bioluminescent moss that creeped over the walls like a glowing vein.

In the dim blue light of the moss, he could spot the coil of his scaled friend a good distance away from him. He reached out with his arm to pat at the ground beside him that didn’t feel as damp.

“I...” Shen Yuán tried to say, surprised that his throat wasn’t as dry as he expected.

“Cultivator Shen, you are awake!” Zhuzhi-Lang gasped, hissing out in surprise. The snake demon started to uncoil before their entire body flinched and started to circle back into a ball of intertwined scales. “Ah, this one must apologize.” Zhuzhi-Lang hung his head low, his yellow eye stood out in the glowing light of the cave yet it seemed so dim “If this lowly one wasn’t so hasty, then Cultivator Shen wouldn’t have gotten hurt because of this one. Forgive this one’s thoughtless actions.”

“Hey, what’s the need to be so formal?” Shen Yuán tried to make the mood lighter since the other man seemed so withdrawn and depressed. “And I’m not hurt?”

“Cultivator Shen is incorrect.” Zhuzhi-Lang’s sunlight colored eyes landed on him in a soft gaze. “This one caused many wounds to Cultivator Shen’s body.”

“We had fallen into the water and Cultivator Shen was cut by the rocks underneath the rapids. And this one was not able to stop Cultivator Shen from hitting his head against a rock.” Something in the snake demon’s voice broke mid sentence.

“If this one hadn’t...” Zhuzhi-Lang took in a shuddering breath, a soft hiss leaving past his lips. “This one was able to get us to this cave. Cultivator Shen had been asleep for many hours. This one tried to relieve his pain and give him as much comfort as this one could.”

Shen Yuán looked around the cave and noticed his warming talismans posted on the walls closest to him. His eyes trailed to his bag that was laying on its side open with the waterskin lying closest to him. He looked down at the discarded talisman he pulled off of him only to discover it was a warming talisman. Maybe that’s why his clothes were soft and dry despite the fact they had fallen into water.

Shen Yuán relaxed, slumping onto the cavern ground. “Oh.”

“This one cannot stand that h-he was the one who caused his friend harm,” Zhuzhi-Lang replied.

‘Navi, what happened? I feel like I’m missing something.’

[The fall into the river caused User Shen Yuán harm which made Zhuzhi-Lang’s sadness level rise due to guilt. Current Sadness points: 250.]

[User Shen Yuán can make Zhuzhi-Lang happier by giving him comfort!]

‘Okay, I’m not that great at talking but I can try.’ Shen Yuán breathed out, turning his head just in time to see his scaled friend shudder in the limited light of the cave.

“Look, the bridge thing was just a small mistake.” Shen Yuán waved his hand in the air casually like the mistake was nothing. “It didn’t throw us off our tracks that much. We can just get out with my sword and float to a nearby town if need be.”

“Due to this mistake, we have lost a day of progress.” Zhuzhi-Lang corrected him with a strict tone. “Cultivator Shen has not awakened for... a long time.” Zhuzhi-Lang looked up at him, his yellow eyes glistening in the light. “This one was very concerned.”

“Oh shit.” Shen Yuán mumbled, watching the coil grow tighter like the other was afraid that he was somehow mad at him. “Hey, don’t curl up and start growing mushrooms over there!” Zhuzhi-Lang raised his head slightly to glance at him. “So what if we miss a day? We can just make up for it when we get back on the journey.”

Zhuzhi-Lang didn’t respond verbally. But he could hear a hissing sigh escape from his lips.

Shen Yuán huffed. “Look, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I made mistakes that got myself hurt or put others in danger. That’s what it meant to be a disciple at a cultivation peak.”

That tight coil loosened upon his words. He continued, “You already know I worked at An Ding Peak, right? And if you thought that most of my work was paperwork, you would be correct.”

A muffled, raspy laugh made him smile.

“But the other half of being a cultivator, no matter which peak, is the missions that disciples take on.” Shen Yuán shook his head with a pitiful laugh thinking about all the useless missions that outweighed the interesting ones. “I can’t count the number of times that my team and I had barely escaped with our lives on some missions.”

Most of the missions he went on were more boring than not. Although it did provide good chances for cultivating points with Navi and getting samples from the flora around. However, he won’t forget the sex pollen collecting ones that Mu Qingfang often gave out so he could make antidotes and medicines to relieve the symptoms. He could count the number of times he had to stop other students from getting too close.

“And other missions... Well, they didn’t go as well as the others.”

Only a small portion of the missions he went on actually had a sense of danger. One mission, however, still haunted his mind to this day.

Disciple Yu was a younger disciple that reminded him so much of his younger sister. Even her perished screams matched the same of his sister’s when she had woken up from nightmares and needed her brother, needed him, to come in and rescue her.

The only difference is that he didn’t have the chance to comfort or save Yu before she got dragged into a tar pit by a vicious Sharp Beaked Tar Vulture. And now, he was the one suffering from nightmares that left him screaming for comfort from his sister, a sister he would probably never see again.

Shen Yuán sighed. “What I’m trying to say is that you should not let this mistake ruin the journey. You have to keep pushing forward no matter what.”

“But Cultivator Shen got injured because of—“

Shen Yuán interrupted before Zhuzhi-Lang could continue. “I got injured because I couldn’t help the situation as well as I thought I could!” Zhuzhi-Lang looked at him with a tilted head like he was still doubting his sword. “I can blame myself for getting myself hurt due to me not being strong enough or quick enough to deal with the situation.”

Zhuzhi-Lang looked pained. “Cultivator Shen, that wasn’t your fault.”

“And it wasn’t yours either!” The snake demon flinched back at the strong tone of his voice. He opened his mouth to say something, his fangs glimmering in the dim light. “Ah, ah! No buts!”

Zhuzhi-Lang’s mouth closed with a sad pop then he couldn’t help but notice a full body shudder down the scaled tail. He squinted, watching the demon shiver in the dark.

[Current Sadness Points: 240! Keep going, User Shen Yuán!]

“Ha,” Shen Yuán breathed out, surveying the shaking snake demon. He looked like he was freezing. “Why are you shaking?”

“Th-this one used the warming tali-talismans on Cultivator Sh-Shen to keep him from getting sick.” That one ‘sick’ had its ‘s’ extended far longer.

“No need for the formalness.” Shen Yuán corrected with a mumble, paying more attention to the way his voice was starting to noticeably shake. “Zhuzhi-Lang, don’t you think you need these talismans more?”

“T-this one—“

Shen Yuán frowned as the snake demon continued to shiver under his gaze and the absence of warmth. “Better yet, if you are freezing, why aren’t you closer to where all the warmth is?” He made a gesture to the immediate area around him.

“This—I slept in a circle around Cultivator Ss-Shen to keep him warm. This one s-s-slithered over here when he showed s-signs of waking.”

“Then come back.” Shen Yuán started. The snake demon froze where he was coiled, backing away with a low, sad hiss. “Oh for crying out loud.” Shen Yuán muttered under his breath, pushing himself up to finally sit up in the cavern. “Xizhi-Lang, come here.”

Zhuzhi-Lang still looked hesitant, shaking his head back and forth. His long hair looked disheveled the more he looked at it, like the demon had pulled at it sometime when he wasn’t paying attention. Did he worry himself too much when he was asleep? Ah, that doesn’t matter right now. He can’t continue this journey with a frozen snake!

“Come here. Now.” Shen Yuán ordered, wincing when Zhuzhi-Lang perked up.

[Current Sadness Points: 200! Keep going, User Shen Yuán!]

‘Why did he become less sad when being ordered? Did he find comfort in that?’

Softly, he tacked on, “Please.”

Slowly, Zhuzhi-Lang uncoiled, trembling on the ground as he slithered over to the warm spot tucked away amongst the rocky surroundings. Once the demon slithered his head inside, Shen Yuán could see a noticeable difference in the way the demon carried himself if that sigh of relief passing through their lips wasn’t enough indication.

“There. That’s better.” Shen Yuán reached out to swipe his hand over Zhuzhi-Lang’s hair. The snake demon froze under his touch yet leaned into it for just a moment, a brief moment which ended quickly with Zhuzhi-Lang pulling away quickly with a whispered apology.

[Current Sadness Points: 175! Keep going, User Shen Yuán!]

Shen Yuán waved it off and gestured to the area around them. “It's a little bare but this might as well be our bed for the night.”

Zhuzhi-Lang hissed harshly, his yellow eyes widening as he stared at him. “O-our?!”

[0.0 Current Sadness Points: 175! Keep going, User Shen Yuán!]

“Just relax, Xizhi-Lang.”Shen Yuán tried to reassure the demon who started to loosely coil around the area. Yet he frowned when he noticed how stiff the snake demon looked.

“Ah, you’re still shivering.” Was he still cold? Maybe the area wasn’t warm enough? Shen Yuán hummed, rubbing his chin in thought for a few moments. Then, he had an idea when he stared down at his robes. He replied, “Xizhi-Lang, maybe you can change into your small form? I think I can keep you warm like that.”

“How?” The snake demon asked.

“Body heat.” Zhuzhi-Lang gasped so quietly yet with such a high pitch that he thought he was transmigrated into a harem anime where he was about to be slapped by a girl who mistaken him for a pervert. Because that’s exactly how his gasp sounded. “Xizhi-Lang, you are way too cold to function. I have all the warming talismans up, but they are clearly making a dent on the cold rock beneath us because you wouldn’t still be shivering if it worked. So this is the best answer I have.”

[Current Sadness Points: 120! Keep going, User Shen Yuán! Give Zhuzhi-Lang more comfort!]

“I’m—this one is not shh—“ The other tried to protest.

“If not, I have to use the talismans on my other robe so you could use that as bedding for a nest.” There was that gasp again which sounded dramatically scandalized with the voice crack in the middle.

“Zhuzhi-Lang?” Shen Yuán raised an eyebrow at how the other was reacting. Was the idea of using a spare robe that bad? He didn’t have any better bedding, Xizhi!

Zhuzhi-Lang gently slithered to him, his scaled body circle around him. He watched as the snake lowered his head to him. “This one w-will do what is best to continue forward.”

Then, in a slow blink of an eye, Zhuzhi-Lang had shrunk down into his smaller snake form. Shen Yuán bit down on a smile at the familiar sight of little Jade.

“Alright. Looks like it's back to our situation in the beginning, huh?” He lowered his hand to softly pet his scales. He allowed Little Jade to slither into his hand and laid back down on the cavern floor.

[Current Sadness Points: 100!]

With a sigh, he grabbed at his bag that was stuck in a corner to pull out his spare robes. He fluffed them up and arranged it beside his head.

It took a few minutes to get both of them comfortable with Zhuzhi-Lang settled in the bedding made of his robes with him resting his head right next to it. Yet despite his attempt at making the nest, his snake friend couldn’t keep still. “Hmm? Are you not comfortable?”

His snake friend stopped moving and apparently curled up in a coil out of spite just from his words. Yet that spiteful coil ends up unraveling almost immediately.

“Did you want me to do something?” Shen Yuán asked which made his friend look up at him, almost longingly. “Yes?”

“What is it?” Zhuzhi-Lang bobbed his head. Shen Yuán took a moment to start questioning his friend who used their entire scaled body to communicate. “Petting? No. Did you need my outer robe too to make it—No. Okay. Talking?... Yes?” He almost laughed at how quickly his friend was bobbing their head. “Okay, I guess I can talk about something.”

“Um, I have more sect stories since I did live there for several years before I got kicked out. I can focus on those.” Shen Yuán hummed, moving his hands to cross them underneath his head for cushion. He said, “Oh, I can tell you how I ended up having musical lessons on Qing Jing peak after Shen-Shibo discovered I had musical cultivation.” He grinned mischievously at his snake friend who had slithered closer to him. “He always made comments on how Shang Qinghua, my Shizun at the time, should have set the lessons up sooner.”

Slowly, he started to relay the story to his snake friend who coiled beside him. He was somewhere near the part where Shen Qingqiu showed up at An Ding peak when he felt a presence drawing closer to him. He glanced to see Zhuzhi-Lang slithering to situate himself in the bend of his arm and part of his robe sleeve.

[Current Sadness Points: 75!]

He smiled as he continued talking, detailing how confused he was that he had to take classes each week at the Qing aging peak when he wasn’t busy with work or mission. With each word, it felt like Zhuzhi-Lang grew closer to him. It eventually got to the point where he was describing how he accidentally made an instrument when he interrupted himself with a laugh when his snake friend slithered to his chest and coiled up there.

“Are you warm yet?” He asked his snake friend who hissed softly in response.

“Good,” Shen Yuán mumbled. He pulled his arm away from behind his head to tug at his outer robes. He gently laid part of his robe over Zhuzhi-Lang as far as he could. And, almost like it was instinct for him, Zhuzhi-Lang dug his nose into his clothed chest with his snout.

[Current Sadness Points: 50!]

He chuckled, muttering under his breath. “Silly, Little Jade. Hm? Silly, Xizhi-Lang.”

Slowly, he trailed off from his story as he started to fall asleep. He heard the system beep with satisfaction B-points as he started to fall into a deep slumber. Nothing but the distant sounds of water and a low hum of hisses drifting him away to dreams.

Chapter Text

Pure hell.

That's what it was like inside the torrent of never ending suffering and torment known as the Endless Abyss. A place where only the most monstrous and dangerous flora and fauna were known to live.

And yet here he was with a weapon he made out of sharpened bone and the quankin pouch that his shixiong had given to him all those months ago.

Luo Binghe was not expecting to end up in this hellish land when demons attacked the Immortal Alliance Conference. He couldn’t say he was surprised when his Shizun threw him down here with the most distasteful scorn on his face, but it still hurt to know that even after he worked so hard, he was pushed into hell like he was a monster.

And shixiong...

Oh, his kind shixiong was sweet enough to give him a pouch filled with rations and spices for his time in that long event. He still remembered the gentle look on his shixiong’s face when he said that he was betting on him to win because he knew how strong he was.

Oh shixiong, if only you knew that the pouch would not be opened until he reached the bottom of the abyss. If only he knew just how much he had cried at the gentle love and care placed on the package with all of the things inside. The amount of times he had clutched onto the pouch with desperation as the last of his faint scent faded from the fabric.

There was a small carving knife that he had used for all the wrong purposes to defend himself against the dangers of the abyss. There was a very small empty manual that he began to fill with entries on the animals and plants he had seen, hoping that one day he could give his shixiong the manual full of details of the Endless Abyss.

However, Luo Binghe was still surprised that the food had lasted as long as it did along with the canteens of water shoved inside the bottomless pouch. He still had a lot of the spices that he used consistently with the food he was able to cook from the ingredients he was able to scavenge or hunt down.

And he had no problem finding meat to hunt down since many animals in the abyss kept attacking him whenever he was nearby. Which led to many preserved meats being placed inside the pouch for later after he dried them the best that he could.

It was also why he had a lot of trouble resting. With the constant fighting, he was unable to find a place to rest for more than a few hours before he was back on his feet and running to avoid an Acid Flinging Vulture.

But for the last hour, it had been mostly quiet in the area he was roaming. He tried not to keep his hopes up as he surveyed his surroundings for a cave or shelter of any kind.

If he could, if Meng Mo can help him with this, maybe he could reach out to his shixiong through his dream if he was asleep. Many times he tried to reach out via the dreamscape and either had to wake up because of nearby danger or escape back into his own dreams of his shixiong when it was clear that Shen-shixiong was not resting at the same time he was.

But maybe this time, he could stay asleep and finally see the face that oh so often presented itself in his dreams. Dreams of him coming back to Cang Qiong and his shixiong being there to run away with him after stealing him away from the An Ding peak. Other dreams of his shixiong swooping in pro the abyss and rescuing him like a dashing cultivator in one of those romance novels that he caught Ning-Shijie reading one time.

Luo Binghe’s eyes traveled to an opening in the rocky wall of the abyss that looked like it was just big enough to sit up in. And what was even more perfect was a carcass of a mature sized Fire Horned Abyssal Lion. The animal’s carcass was large enough that its scent would be able to hide on its own.

It was a perfect place to rest. Luo Binghe rushed forward through the reddish fog, ignoring the stench of the dead animal nearby that invaded his very senses.

He allowed himself to breathe when he was tucked inside the hole, pulling in his feet to avoid another encounter with a random passing demon or creature dragging him out.

With a heavy sigh, he fell back against the rough ground with a wince, previous injuries that scattered across his back sang out in painful harmony. Luo Binghe closed his eyes shut and pushed himself into the dreamscape, ignoring the pain of his reality.

When he opened his eyes, it was back inside his mind filled with a gray fog and the dream demon floating before him. Luo Binghe gave the other a short nod. “Meng Mo.”

“You know you could call me Shizun by now since yours is such a pice of work.” Meng Mo suggested.

“Be quiet.” Luo Binghe replied, glaring hard at the dream demon. The demon has taught him demonic cultivation throughout the years since the invasion on the peaks, but he had never once considered him a teacher worthy of his respect. Because how can he give Meng Mo respect when he knows that the demon is just doing this for his own benefit of having a host.

This was not a teacher student relationship. At best, this was a mutually beneficial mentorship. At worst, it was something parasitic on both sides that will no doubt end terribly if one or the other makes a wrong move.

Luo Binghe shook his head to clear those kinds of thoughts before they reached the dreamscape in some kind of manifestation. “Can you reach Shen-shixiong from here?”

“Ugh. Yeah, sure let me see if I can find his dreamscape.” Meng Mo mumbled, turning away with a hand coming up to rub at his bearded chin. The dream demon swiftly turned around with a hum. “Huh. Kid, you’re in luck.” Meng Mo gestured with his hand towards a swirling mess of fog behind him. “You’re precious shixiong is peacefully sleeping.”

Finally. Finally! He can have a good, real dream after all of these days and nights of keeping up with a facade of his shixiong based on his memories.

Luo Binghe couldn’t contain his anticipation and excitement as was evident by the way Meng Mo snorted at the expression he was making which in turn caused him to glare at the demon. He stepped towards the swirling fog with his hand outstretched like he could grab onto his shixiong from where he stood. “Bring me to that dream. I wish to see him. I want Shen Yuán’s dream.”

Meng Mo cursed something under his breath before Luo Binghe pulled on the dream to jump inside the dreamscape.

*

Shen Yuán's dream world had an abundance of plants and animals inside a lush forest. However, that was just on the very edges of the world where tall metal and glass buildings seemed to tower over the green like a threatening cage.

Luo Binghe had to keep walking until he reached the center where an image of Qing Jing was waiting for him. He tensed at the sight of his old peak until he realized that Shen Yuán was sitting below a tree in a familiar scene he remembered quite fondly.

‘Let’s go in the garden... you’ll find something waiting.’ Shen Yuán’s heavenly voice filled his ears as he crept forward silently. He pressed his back against the bark of the tree that his shixiong was sitting against.

It was just like he remembered. He peeked over to see his past self’s legs laying out in the grass with his bundle of curls laying in his shixiong’s lap.

‘Right there where you left it.’

Almost everything was perfect except for the fact that this dream’s self looked to be actually resting. Luo Binghe smiled. He always wondered if his shixiong knew he wasn’t asleep, and now he had his answer.

‘When you finally find it...’

Luo Binghe sighed, letting himself fall to the grassy ground with nothing more than a crunch in the green blades of grass behind his shixiong.

‘The other side looks lighter...’

He placed a hand on his chest where the little lump of jade his mother had gotten him rested. He closed his eyes as he listened to Shen Yuán to continue to sing to his past and his present. And if he holds onto the memory hard enough, it will be there with him all through the future.

‘Everything stays~ right where you left it’ Shen Yuán sang.

Luo Binghe shifted to lay on his back with his arms folded behind his head to act as a pillow, imagining the softness of his shixiong’s lap. Maybe next time he can jump into the dream at the right time as his past self to reenact the scene more closely.

‘—But it’s still growing. Ever so slightly...’

Shen Yuan. Even if only the tiniest part of your dreams can feel me or my presence... I am still here waiting for you right where I was left behind.

‘Daily and nightly’

And I’ll crawl my way home to you

‘In other ways... where everything stays.’

And I’ll carry you away while it all burns to the ground.

Luo Binghe felt himself being pulled away so he opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of his shixiong, even if it was just the back of a memory’s head. He twisted his head to find the long, dark hair twisted into that loose braid his younger self attempted to do.

He smiled again, the vision of his shixiong becoming more clear to him. However, that grin dropped when he saw something move within the neckline of Shen Yuán’s robe.

A bug? No. But he didn’t remember Shen Yuán swatting away a bug or even a critter of a little animal. Then what was moving in his shixiong’s memory?

He didn’t get his answer as he was dragged out of the world by clawing wisps of fog. He cursed up a storm as he reached for the memory of his shixiong with his sharpened nails like he could drag Shen Yuán back with him.

When Luo Binghe could focus again, he was back with Meng Mo. he turned a furious glare towards the demon that stuck themselves to him years ago. “What was that?”

Meng Mo didn’t bother to hide the fact he rolled his eyes at him. “Your precious shixiong was waking up, so I had to pull you out of there before he could notice you.”

“Dammit.” Luo Binghe cursed under his breath. Then he was suddenly pushed out of his dreamscape with a loud cry from that cursed dream demon. When Luo Binghe was awake, he could sense the bloodthirsty aura of another animal nearby that was clawing at the cave’s entrance that he was in.

With a loud sigh, Luo Binghe resigned himself to the fact he couldn’t jump back into the dreamscape until after he fought. He prowled forward with a growl growing in his throat as he aimed his ire at the sensitive underside of the monstrous claws. “Damn you!”

His peaceful serenity officially ended with the screech of the monster, signaling the beginning of one of the countless battles he has to fight. Hopefully this overgrown bird tastes more like chicken than putrid death when he cooks it

Chapter Text

Qing Jing peak has always been the peak with the most beautiful scenery with its bamboo forest and the calming shades of green that complimented the light wooden pavilions and buildings. The almost white stone decorations that could be found near the musical pavilions where the melodies played by the qin could be heard.

It was beautiful compared to the boring and restless environment of An Ding peak. The almost empty feeling, rich surroundings of Qiong Ding. Or the plain Bai Zhan peak which was only decorated with debris, broken sword practice dummies, and the unconquerable bodies of the disciples when Liu Qingge sparred against them.

His Shizun has always wanted him to appreciate all of the surroundings of the peak. All he enjoyed at the time was the quiet, secret area he had found in the library when he wanted to study without being bullied by his shixiongs.

And all these years later, he still craves that secret place he could call his own, an area where no one can bother him. As the current peak lord, he wanted this house to be his safe place like his Shizun promised him it would become. However, his house was basically a cage in a prison where anyone could barge in without a notice and start bugging him.

Liu Qingge would barge in with demands to fight that will always end with him being defeated and ridiculed by the damn brute. His rude disciples would come to he door in their whining voices that gridded against his nerves in the worst ways or just welcome themselves into his home and cover it up with a barely sincere ‘apology’.

Speaking of insincerity, Yue Qingyuan always came in his tacky gifts and ridiculously weak apologies. This one was a bit different because he was the current Sect Leader meaning he would have allowed him in until he couldn’t take his pity anymore. Which often comes during a begrudging conversation over tea where Sect Leader Yue would, yet again, believe rumors and someone else other than his own words.

The long looks of regret and pity lingered in that faux smile that Sect Leader Yue always wore. Even when he slammed the door in his face, that expression still haunted him, hunting him down in his dreams with taunting images of the other abandoning him over and over.

Those visits often ended in a minor Qi deviation when his heart demons especially couldn’t stand it.

So instead of a safe place in the library or the suffocating space of his house, Shen Qingqiu had decided to do his work in the opening of the yard behind the bamboo house. A place that he tried his hardest to replicate the safe space inside the library. It often worked to deter his disciples, but the other leak lords could find him more often than he would have liked.

It was a simple patch of land behind the house. A small garden of herbs blocked off by stones traced the exterior wall. A koi pond lay waiting underneath the towering stalks of bamboo trees. And there he lay in the middle upon a dried bamboo mat with a small serving tray of tea and snacks on one side and a stack of lengthy paperwork on his other.

Shen Qingqiu breathed out a long sigh of relief, grateful that the brute had gone off on another quest. However, he was not looking forward to his return. Not that he wanted the brute dead because he wouldn’t have saved that lunatic from a Qi deviation if he did. But that thick skulled idiot keeps bringing him animal corpses that only dirties up his paths with blood and stink up the air around his abode.

‘The meat is good for cultivation!’ Shen Qingqiu mocked Liu Qingge’s voice in his head. Fuck off, brute. He doesn’t need that brute’s pity.

Somehow that brute has it in his head that he needs to repay a life debt to him because of what happened in the Lingxi caves.

Shen Qingqiu snorted into his tea then placed the cup down to grab at one of the cakes. He bit into it and looked up at the sky to view the clouds slowly passing by. The peaks were already so high that the clouds were like mist, but the highest clouds were still visible even if there were not many.

As he was looking up in the sky, he saw a frantic An Ding peak lord flying by.

Now, it was hard to pinpoint the peak lord’s from so far away normally. But each peak lord had a distinct way of flying that he could mostly point out. And Shang Qinghua always had a way of flying so nervously that made him a very obvious outlier from everyone else’s graceful sword flight.

Shen Qingqiu watched the nervous peak lord fly by with bundles of colorful fabric in his arms. A few pieces of fabric dropped from his grip, floating and dancing in the air as it drifted below to the ground.

That reminds him he should have received a package that morning from An Ding peak.

Hm. Shen Qingqiu stood up from the mat to head towards the front entrance. He gathered himself as he walked towards the door then sliding it open an inch to peek out at the empty porch with a lone package sitting on the floor with a piece of paper that needed his signature hastily tied to the wrapping. That’s strange. Shen Yuán should have just knocked if he needed a signature for the form. He had no need to—

Oh.

...

That’s right.

How could he have forgotten?

‘You always do,’ his inner mind whispered to him harshly. The memory of that one, lone disciple stuck out to him more than any of the other peak’s disciples.

The boy who had a determined expression on his face that first day came with a delivery. The teenager who had started late yet was making steady progress in their musical cultivation ever since he started having lessons on his peak. The looks of awe and admiration when they rambled about the type of flora and fauna they would want to study when they got the chance to. The steady gaze in his eyes that would not back down from any fight that Shen Qingqiu threw at him.

The very same one who looked so lost and confused during the Endless Abyss opening. The one who ran at him in tears on that day after that beast fell into the hellish landscape fit for demons like him.

The disciple who looked utterly blank as Shen Qingqiu recounted the moment to the others, allowing the decision to fall on the result of Shen Yuán being banished from Cang Qiong.

‘It was better than being dead,’ he rationalized with himself as he picked up the package that laid outside his door. ‘Now he can go study all the things he wants. And go on as many adventures as that wanderlust was going on about during the aftermath of his lessons. While I remain stuck here in this prison made of bamboo stalks and air made of whispered rumors.’

Shen Qingqiu sighed as he set the package down, walking back to his little space in the back to continue his work in the cool air. He clicked his tongue, sending a few leaves to attack the ants that were making their way on his tray.

Disgusting, dirty beings trying to crawl their way to a piece of his spoils. Hah. Despicable.

He merely took one sip of the remainder of his tea before dumping the cold liquid all over the grass. It was steaming a mere minute ago yet it was as cold as snow now. He groaned, ignoring his manners to stuff an entire small cake into his mouth as he roughly grabbed a piece of paperwork to get started on.

If he got this work done before sunset, he could treat himself to a night with his sisters at the brothel. Maybe Li-Jie finally mastered the chorus of Peach Blossoms Under Rain compared to the last time he visited.

*

God, how was he supposed to do this?!

He thought this would be smooth sailing. He had pulled an all nighter and done all the work he needed to do at the moment. Well, at least all the work that needed to be done as soon as he could. Both the peak paperwork and the contracts he had to handwrite for his king.

He thought it would be easy to dress up as a woman. He bought so many clothes it was like a small wardrobe of options he could wear even though he only needed two at the very most. Getting it on was no issue, it’s the rest of the image he was struggling with.

He was flat as a sheet of paper except for the one part that NEEDED to be flat and no part of his face looked as feminine as he needed it to! And the several attempts he made to put on makeup ended up with him either looking like a clown or just...too much like himself.

For the umpteenth time, he scrubbed at his face to rid his skin of the pale powder caked upon it. He groaned in the privacy of his office, praying under his breath that his kind did not call upon him in this stressful time.

“Why don’t you gender-bend yourself?” Shang Qinghua sarcastically snarked to himself, mimicking the easygoing tone of Shen Yuán that day. “Yeah, right, like something could be so easy. I’d like to see him try and do this.”

He sighed, running his hands over the open makeup products he spent his personal budget on. Makeup. Makeup! He spent his personal money on makeup he will barely use! He could have bought so many bowls of noodles from the stall in town. Agh!

He dropped his head down on his desk with a loud thump, some pieces of his completed paperwork pile drifted to the ground at his movement. Where would he find someone who could either put the makeup on him or teach him how to put it on?

...

...

A brothel takes all kinds of customers, so maybe they won’t mind as long as he pays them for their help—NO! He can’t!

The scum villain, Shen Qingqiu, will be there! He doesn’t need that scholar to see him there and dig deeper into his life, he was pretty sure the other knew about his double spy life by now! What was taking him so long to reveal it! Who knows?

Well, he does. But still! Things are changing in the novel, so the scum villain might get a chance to reveal his status earlier than he predicts that will rid him of all his progress!

But if he keeps going on like this, there is no way he win’s look suspicious in his disguise when he goes to meet up with Shen Yuán! The entire mission could go up in flames! Ahh! What is he to do?

[User 001 can purchase a hint for what to do!]

Shang Qinghua snorted at the cheerful electronic tone of the system’s notification. “Not interested.”

[...]

[Loading mission...]

“What—? Now?!” Shang Qinghua jumped in his seat, jerking back in his chair to press against the back of his chair. “Are you kidding me?”

[Brothel Beauties Beautiful Makeover! User must go down to the Warm Red Pavilion to get prepared for the ongoing mission: (Free the Demon Lord!!)! Reward: +5 relationship points with Shen Qingqiu and 200 B points. Punishment: -50 relationship points with Shen Qingqiu and poor reputation with the beauties and workers of the Warm Red Pavilion.]

“...so it looks like I don’t have much of a choice like always.” Shang Qinghua sighed. He silently trailed his eyes over the makeup products and started to close them one by one to prepare them for the short trip. “So I guess it’s off to the brothel. Hopefully they have some good plum wine.”

Please, please, please let this be one of the nights that Shen Qingqiu is too busy, so he won’t be at the brothel as well. There might be a chance that his reward and punishment can happen even with the man not being present.

Shang Qinghua kept chanting, pleading within his mind for some kind of mercy from the gods in this world. (He counted as one, right? If so, why can’t he grant his own wishes and prayers!) Either way, nobody seemed to be on his side since when he walked in the brothel, he could already tell that the Qing Jing peak lord was already there.

He remembered a few details of what he made the pavilion look like when Shen Jiu was off being A-Jiu in the comfort of his friends. The lady musicians who were meant to be entertaining the lobby room of customers were gone. There was a certain feel in the air especially with the way that one certain brothel lady was watching him, more specifically his robes.

He was wearing a disguise robe but he supposed he did look suspicious. Wait, was he still wearing his hair crown?! Shit. Maybe they won’t look too hard!

Well, hopefully, Shen Jiu has already taken his place in a room inside the brothel for his night’s sleep. He wouldn’t have to worry about him hanging out in the private lobby since he rarely does—fuck!

His eyes narrowed in at the sight of a pose hand cradling a hand right outside a set of sheer red and pink privacy curtains. Okay, just breathe. He will be distracted by the daily stories and music from his lovely sister figures. There was no way that he could get noticed as long as he didn’t cause a scene.

[Activating scene pusher scenario!]

MOTHERFUCKER!

Of course the system has to ruin everything by making him lose his balance and spill his makeup products everywhere. He tried not to curse too loudly as some traveling eyes glanced over to him. Shang Qinghua scrambled on the wooden ground, crawling over carpet and fabric to collect his items.

“What is the An Ding Peak Lord doing in this establishment?”

“He he...” Just act natural and cool. He’s not there to drag Shen Qingqiu back and he has never been here before for that reason. Yet the glare he was looking up at was so fierce it felt like he should just choke up and die by breathing near him in his safe place. “Hi?”

Shen Qingqiu stared down at him like he was a bottom feeder trying to relish in some treasure that wasn’t his.

“I, uh...” Shang Qinghua trailed off, slowly looking down as one of his makeup jars rolled straight into a brothel woman’s foot.

He sat up straight in the kneeling position then bent down further almost into a submissive bow. If he looked more pitiful or vulnerable, he might be able to get help faster. “I need some help.”

*

Shen Jiu sneered. This place should have been his private area yet here is one of his martial brothers surrounded by two of his sisters who were fretting over his appearance. It helped that it was not actually his private room, but it was close enough to it that the fact made him slightly uncomfortable.

He was not surprised at hearing that the makeup spilled out on the floor and the robes he saw earlier today were for a mission. He didn’t take the An Ding peak lord as someone who would explore their identity or sense of style in such a way. He would be supportive if that was the case, yet there was a feeling that there was something more to his ‘innocent’ request.

Well, it’s not like his sisters would be working for free, so that’s the only bright side to this solution. His sisters would get an easy job for the night that didn’t involve disgusting men.

“Why do you want to look like a woman?” San-Jie asked, gently brushing back that untamed dull brown hair away from that man’s face.

Shang Qinghua looked like he had a pout on his face even with his eyes squeezed tight as one of the younger girls patted his face with white face powder. “Like I said before, it's simply for a private meeting.”

“Ohh~!”

“Not like that!” Shang Qinghua protested before coughing as a puff of powder got sucked into his mouth by accident. His sisters laughed at his distress momentarily before continuing to help him through the steps.

He rolled his eyes, focusing more on his sisters trying to gently instruct Shang Qinghua on how to use the products.

“I know you said it’s not like that. But~ You want it to turn out like that, don’t you?” One of his sisters interrupted, resulting in his martial brother choking again. Was it the powder or the embarrassment? Whatever. It didn’t matter to him in the long run. “Well, you’re in luck. I’ll make sure you look cute for your little meet-up.”

Shang Qinghua loudly sighed before being demanded to not move as much since someone was working on his eyes. “I’m sure I’m giving you a bit to work with because I’m not much to look at.”

Shen Jiu curled up further on his older sister’s lap as she started to run her fingers through his hair back just like he was a child. The background noise was not as peaceful as a Qin playing or a soft song, but it was somewhat relaxing...when he didn’t pay attention to the whining tone of Shang Qinghua’s voice.

“Oh, I’m sure I can make you into a very cute girl!”

“Really?”

...

“...Well!” Someone else interrupted after a long pause. “Everybody has a type.”

“Hey!” Shang Qinghua protested half-heartedly which made him stifle a chuckle from escaping, a fact that had his older sister smiling at him.

It didn’t take long after that for the makeover to end. Shen Jiu sat up to see the result only to view his sisters’ best efforts.

And it was their best indeed.

Somehow his Shidi had turned into a nice looking woman. His brown hair was brushed out and braided back away from his face. His sisters had painted his face in sunset colors with a muted red lip that matched the faded color painted on his nails. His freckled skin was covered with a light dusting of powder which made his face appear more soft and paler than it was before.

“Wow. You are miracle workers.” Shang Qinghua commented with his breath taken away by what he saw in the mirror. He heard him breath in sharply before saying, “Oh, payment! Yes!” Some of the girls giggled as the man patted down his robes for his money pouch. Shen Jiu peeked an eye open to see the man giving the ladies a respectable amount of coins, enough to pay for a room overnight. “Here you go. I hope this amount suffices.”

“It does!” San-Jie said. “If you would like, you can rest for the night in a separate room as well.”

Shang Qinghua awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, his red lips quivering up into a shaky smile. “Ah, I might take up on that offer for a few hours, but I will have to leave soon to take care of the mission.”

He turned away from his martial brother at the gentle touch on his cheek. Shen Jiu gazed up at his sister who was watching him with a gentle expression on her face painted with light pinks to accentuate her rounded eyes.

“Your room should already be prepared. I’ll meet you there with my Qin.” His older sister told him in a soft whisper. With one last smile, she got up from her kneeling position to walk gracefully to his regular private room.

When she left, the others began to follow her with smiles on their faces yet groans that were hidden underneath their breaths. There was one single moment when they were left behind in the room. Just him and Shang Qinghua.

His martial brother didn’t notice at first with his attention on the small reflection. With one last twirl of his hair, Shang Qinghua slowly turned around to survey the room. He jumped up when he realized there was no other person in the room except the two of them.

When Shang Qinghua was about to exit with his new look, he coughed trying to get the rat’s attention before he exited the door. Shang Qinghua looked back to find him staring, his eyes were wide with panic. Already? He hasn’t even done anything yet.

He could see that Shang Qinghua steeled himself before twisting around to face him. “Yes, Shen-shixiong?”

His mind popped up with the image of that disciple once again as he stared into Shang Qinghua’s faux calm face. “Has your wayward disciple gotten himself killed yet?”

“This one doesn’t suppose you mean Shen Yuán?” He narrowed his gaze at the other who answered so casually with his guess. The corner of that rat’s lip quirked up. “If shixiong is asking about his health, he is doing quite well as a rogue cultivator from what I heard. It seems like he has been to many places since he left the peak.”

“Hm.” He let out a noncommittal hum at the information given.

Good. It would have been a waste if Shen Yuán talked nonstop about traveling and exploring only to wither away somewhere unseen.

“This one is thankful that his old disciple is doing fine. This one also heard he is doing an adventure with a little partner by his side,” Shang Qinghua lowered his voice as he grinned quite happily for someone talking about a banished disciple.

“Hm?” He raised an eyebrow at the other’s tone. A partner? What does Shang Qinghua know that his tone went up in pitch like that? “Who?”

That rat grinned at him under the warm red lighting of the private room. The shadows in his perfectly painted face somehow became deeper like he was sharing a secret. “A little pet snake that he picked up on the way if sources are correct.”

Chapter Text

When Shen Yuán woke up, he was a bit startled that the presence on his chest was gone and instead had been replaced by a long body curled around him. He slowly turned his head in order to not disturb his traveling partner as he took in the sight. The serpentine body was curled around him tightly like he was that special rock under a heat lamp.

The image of it made him giggle which unfortunately woke up the snake demon who seemed to jump when he woke up. The sight of the snake demon slowly opening their eyes and immediately reacting like a cat does when they see a cucumber made him laugh so hard.

When he was calming down from his giggles, Zhuzhi-Lang immediately went to work preparing things for their leave. And he couldn’t help but relax when Navi informed him of the drop in sadness points.

His friend tore down the talismans with his teeth and packed the well-used enchanted papers back into the travel bag. His tail poked the items into the bag like it was a butter knife scraping inside a jar of jelly to spread the contents on the sandwich.

Shen Yuán clutched his sword to him as he shakily stood up in what seemed like a week based on how much he stumbled. Either that or it was because the ground he was laying on was uneven.

“Cultivator Shen. Are you feeling alright to continue our journey?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked. The demon slithered right up next to his side with his bag balanced on his head. Shen Yuán took the bag and tightened it to him while Zhuzhi-Lang continued, “If not, I’m sure a message can be sent to extend your recovery.”

“I’m okay, Xizhi-Lang.” Shen Yuán waved off the other’s worries with one hand as the other held his spiritual sword. Peerless shined in his grip which made the cave walls brighten up a little in the area around them. “The way to the town shouldn’t take us long.” It should take a quarter of the day at most if they walked the rest of the way. But if they used his sword, it would be way quicker. “Shang Qinghua should be there already waiting for us.”

Speaking of the journey, where exactly were they? He remembered that Zhuzhi-Lang said he got us to the cave but he never said how far. He could hear the rushing water, so they should still be close. “So you got us to this cave, but where exactly are we?”

“We are back on the side we came from near the bottom of the mountain.” Zhuzhi-Lang answered with a low hiss. His eyes trailed over the opening of the cave in bored distaste. “It was the closest shelter this one could travel to with the current pushing us along. This one could have found something better suited for Cultivator Shen, but—“

“I was hurt so finding any kind of shelter was more important than being picky with the placement.” Shen Yuán looked down at Peerless then gazed out the cave where the rapids were waiting for them. “I can get us out of this place on my sword, but you will have to shrink back.”

Zhuzhi-Lang answered as low as a whisper. “Yes.”

Shen Yuán waited for his friend to transform and bent down to the ground to gently pick up little Jade and place him on his shoulders. He breathed in and prepared Peerless for the flight by tipping it over and making it float right at the middle of his calf.

He hopped onto Peerless and started to gain speed until he was off like he was on a high speed hoverboard in a Sci-Fi movie. Shen Yuán bit his lip as he started to sail past the wide gap of the rapid waves in the river below. He tried to reassure himself mentally while his hands went up to his neck to make sure Zhuzhi-Lang did not move. Don’t fall, don’t slip—and safe!

He let out a breath of relief once Peerless flew past the river, he kept going until he could no longer hear the rushing water. When it was mostly silent except for the other sounds of nature, Shen Yuán slowed down to a stop and hopped off his sword.

“Alright, that was easy. Now—hey!” Suddenly, the comfortable weight on his shoulders grew heavier until a boa sized snake slumped to the ground. Shen Yuán watched as Zhuzhi-Lang grew into his normal size. His serpentine-like face stared at him imploringly with a familiar sparkle in his eyes. “What is it?”

“This one knows the rest of the journey is mostly on flat land from now. Therefore, this one offers Cultivator Shen to ride on his back.” Zhuzhi-Lang started before bending his head down to him. Ah, that’s what that sparkle was. Determination.

He had seen that kind of look in Luo Binghe’s face before when he worked on his poems whenever Shen Yuán came to visit him near the woodshed. He also knew that determination could easily turn into a begging plea whenever it came to editing the poem.

Shen Yuán tried to dissuade the other. He really didn’t need the ride since he felt healthy enough to ride his sword. “You don’t have to do that.”

Zhuzhi-Lang inched closer, his yellow gaze growing instantly more determined and stubborn. “This one insists.”

“I can walk!” Shen Yuán tried to defend himself as he backed away from the large snake. Zhuzhi-Lang inched closer in response. He watched as his snake friend stopped, took in a deep breath and looked up like he was bracing himself with—no!—now his eyes have taken on the begging look. He can’t give in! He won’t! “E-everything’s fine!”

“This one sincerely insists.” Ah, dammit now he has his lower lip peeking over the edge of the top one. Ah, it was like looking at a sad puppy but it was a snake demon instead of a pet you find at a shelter. Zhuzhi-Lang’s yellow eyes looked hurt which made something in his chest tinge at the sight. “This one does not want his friend to be hurt again, not when he can stop it.”

...

Now Shen Yuán knows a lot about the Proud Immortal Demon Way universe. However, he was not prepared to find out just how stubborn a snake demon can be.

Shen Yuán got that lesson when he swept off his feet once he begrudgingly agreed to the ride on the condition that they stop before they hit the town or when they hit another obstacle. The snake demon was adamant about his offer of travel with his big snake form. And Zhuzhi-Lang was way too happy about this considering his current sadness points were reduced to zero and his happiness points when up 10 once he agreed!

So Shen Yuán was quick to relax on Zhuzhi-Lang’s back as his gigantic snake form slithered through the grass and winding between trees.

Thankfully, the rest of the journey was short.

They had left when the sun had risen in the sky and got to the very outskirts of the town a little past a sichen. Or at least what felt like it. Maybe three hours? He doesn’t know. He kind of zoned out while he hung on to Zhuzhi-Lang, rambling about the animals he has yet to see.

“—but that one is found on a specific day of the season that I can’t pinpoint yet! And...” Shen Yuán trailed off from where he was talking about a rare flower that petals flew off like porcupine needles. He gazed down at the sight of the small town in front of them. “Oh. We’re here.”

Zhuzhi-Lang hissed and shifted into a slightly smaller form to talk, his hiss extended to his answer. “Seems like we have, Cultivator Shen.”

“Wait. I should change my look a little.” Shen Yuán said. He frowned as he turned to search through the quankin bag strapped to his side. He must have something in here that could be useful. He did pack a disguise, right? “The last thing we need is for me to be caught right at the last stretch.”

He kept rustling around until his hand landed on the wide brim of a hat. He smiled as he drew out his prize from the bag. A plain veiled straw hat! Such a simple hat with a veil can do wonders on hiding someone’s identity!

“There.” He fixed the hat on his head and dug his hand through the bag again for something he hoped was still inside. He had only used it once at a village since he got it as a joke award that Navi gave him. “Along with this!”

“...is that a faux mustache?” Zhuzhi-Lang asked with a tone he had not heard before but he could recognize the tiredness strewn through his answer. He must be tried from carrying him all the way! What did he try to tell him at the beginning?!

“Yep!” Shen Yuan ignored Zhuzhi-Lang’s raised eyebrow as he placed the wispy mustache onto his upper lip. He brushed the ends to the sides of his mouth with a giddy grin. “The perfect disguise.”

Unless people thought Mu Qingfang had a Qi deviation that made him younger yet it kept his mustache. That didn't happen though, right? Even this dumpster fire of a novel never had that amount of dumb plots... at least with the side male characters.

Shen Yuán shook his thoughts away from the trash novel to focus his attention back on the mission. He glanced over to Zhuzhi-Lang who was watching the town in silence. “Well, time to blend in. Keep an eye out for Shang Qinghua.”

“En.” Zhuzhi-Lang answered.

With that, they both entered the town. The town was special due to its proximity near the Huan Hua Sect. The stone paths reeked of prosperity from the way it somehow shined in the afternoon sky. The buildings were nothing like the excess of gold that existed within the cultivation sect wall yet it still stood tall and mighty.

Once they slipped away into an alley hidden away from wandering eyes, Zhuzhi-Lang transformed into his little Jade form that could hang around his shoulders and hide underneath his hair and the veil.

“Alright,” Shen Yuán peeked his head around the corner to view the crowd of people standing near the market stalls.

“What?” He whispered when his eyes landed on a few lower disciples from Huan Hua walking around the town like they were mere guards and not cultivators in training. Were they patrolling? Why? Maybe there were small missions somewhere in the city of the outskirts for them to focus on.

Phew! Thank goodness, he had on his disguise. Shen Yuán preened, stroking his mustache down with two of his fingers until he reached the wispy ends. He felt Zhuzhi-Lang bump against his neck once he finished the movement.

“He should be here somewhere.” Shen Yuán pursed his lips, trying to hunt down the hidden An Ding Peak lord. Did he actually take the suggestion and dress up like a girl?

Just then, he saw a girl pop out on the other side of the crowd with a hand clutched to her chest like she was running from something. She stumbled away to a building where she took heavy, deep breaths in.

“Wow.”

The girl was not his type at all.

However, she was pretty in a plain way. Brown hair was pinned back in a low bun with a simple flower comb. Clothes of sunset colors flared out with a yellow, orange and soft pink color palette and a patterned outer robe with a peony flower design.

The makeup was somewhat smudged around the eyes like she had slept in the look. He watched as the girl smoothed down her robes and retrieved a small lip color from a hidden pouch.

Again, he felt Zhuzhi-Lang poking at his side.

“Hm. What is it?” He whispered, glancing down at his neck where his friend’s head was peeking out from the strands of his dark hair. Pfft. He bit down on his lip. Zhuzhi-Lang, or little Jade, looked a little silly when he did that.

He looked back up to see the girl they were spying on had shoved and entire hand down the front of her robes—!

He was about to look away when he saw the hand pull out an apple from where the woman’s breast should be.

...

Shen Yuan stood there with a gaping mouth as the girl leaned against the wall and chewed on the apple casually, blatantly showing off how one of her breasts went from round to flat in a matter of seconds.

Was the girl flat-chested or— “Wait a damn second.”

Zhuzhi-Lang was bumping into him to tell him something and he had a good feeling about what he was trying to say. Shen Yuán stiffly walked out from the alleyway and nonchalantly approached the ‘woman’ who had quickly found his gaze and was staring him down while he walked up to her.

Shen Yuán watched the woman, who had her lips painted kind of lopsided with one side higher than the other. “Airplane?”

All at once, the tense body language relaxed with a deep sigh of relief. Shang Qinghua threw up his arms, “Finally!” His familiar voice cut through the air. “What happened to you? I was looking for you last night, but you never showed up.” Shang Qinghua shifted, letting the other hidden apple fall to the ground. “I’m glad I was able to stay the night at one of the cheaper places.”

Yeah, the river incident... Shen Yuán placed a hand on his neck to pet at the scales of Zhuzhi-Lang who was twisting himself into his clothes at the mention. “Sorry. We got a little sidetracked. I almost died but it’s all good now—“

Shang Qinghua’s thinned eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “You what?!”

Shen Yuán continued on like his friend had never interrupted. “—And everything can go according to plan when we find those damned seeds.”

Shang Qinghua took a moment to blink at him before their faces twisted. Shen Yuán looked to the side and back to his friend who was now looking at him up and down in a vaguely disappointed expression.

“What?” Shen Yuán asked at the third time Shang Qinghua’s gaze drifted to his veiled hat. He pulled down at the brim of the hat with a scowl as the peak lord struggled to find words to say.

“That’s your disguise?” Shang Qinghua questioned, gesturing from the top of his head to where the veil ended.

“Yeah?” Shen Yuán looked down at himself. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Everything about it screams disguise.”

“No, it doesn’t!”

“Yes it does! By the way, your mustache is falling off.”

“Ah!” Shen Yuán tried to fix the mustache only for it to completely fall off his face. Shang Qinghua snorted at his dilemma which made him send a scowl towards the peak lord. ”Shut up. Don’t laugh.”

“Okay! Okay.” Shang Qinghua held up his hands which looked well and cured all things considered. Were the nails painted too? Wow, he really did go full out. “It's just funny how I go all out on my disguise and yours looks like... that. Someone might be able to recognize you.”

“ANYWAY.” Shen Yuán turned away from Shang Qinghua who choked at his sudden pivot in conversation. He started to walk away from the market stalls with Shang Qinghua towards the edge of town.

All they had to do was get into the forest and figure it out from there. The seeds they were looking for we're somewhere in a cave where the sun and moon could reach it. And then we could start on those talismans holding Tianlang-jun back. Do we do the lord first than the seeds? Ah, they’ll figure it out when they get there. “So what time should we start looking for the mushrooms? Before or after we free the—“

“Oh? Shen Yuan?”

Both of their eyes widened before whipping their head towards the voice which led to them staring right at the curious and somewhat confused face of Gongyi Xiao.

“Hi— Oh!” Shen Yuán tried to hide his face away for one last ditch effort of trying to cover his identity. If only just to prove that his disguise was not stupid, Airplane! ”This one greets Huan Hua’s head disciple, Gongyi Xiao.”

Zhuzhi-Lang, you better be hiding every trace of your demonic Qi in your little Jade form! Because this is the real test! If Gongyi Xiao can sense you, this plan could all be blown out of proportion!

Gongyi Xiao leaned closer with a chuckle. “There’s no need to hide, Shen Yuán. You won’t get into trouble on my watch.”

“See? Told you so.” Airplane whispered to him in a somewhat higher pitched voice than he normally uses.

“Shut up.” Shen Yuán threw a glare at the other before gazing at the head disciple who was looking between the two of them with a slight pout on his lips.

The head disciple cleared his throat. “Why are you here?“

Shen Yuán glanced at Shang Qinghua again and tried to ignore the way Zhuzhi-Lang slithered around his neck like he was forming a loose necklace with his body. “Ah, my friend and I wanted to do some research on the sun and moon dew mushroom. And they are only located near this area by the mountains so—“

“Ah. This one understands. This head disciple can guide you on your way if you need it.” Gongyi Xiao said while patting his chest with a happy smile like he had nothing better to do than be a tour guide.

Ah, Gongyi Xiao. Shen Yuán wants to tell him about the entire situation so badly because he knows him well enough to know that Gongyi will understand at least a little. But Shen Yuán can’t do it. Not yet. Especially not in this very public area.

Maybe they can look for the plant with him, find it, send him off for a bit, contact Tianlang-jun and then talk to him about the whole situation a little. Enough for him to know to raise his guard. If not now, then eventually since they would have to keep coming to this area if they wanted to free the demon lord.

“That sounds delightful.” Shen Yuán replied, then gestured over to the disguised peak lord who was doing his best to naturally stand in a pose. Safe to say, he was doing as terrible as his first drafts were. “Me and my friend, Sh— Sha Hua...” He ignored how Shang Qinghua stiffened right next to him and slowly turned to look at him. “...would love your help and expertise. She is a rogue cultivator just like I am now.

“Of course.” Gongyi Xiao, like a good man, bowed politely in greeting with a gentle smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, dude,” Shang Qinghua mumbled with a smile on his lopsided painted lips.

“Well, then.” Gongyi Xiao straightened up so swiftly little curly flyaways from his ponytail jumped up with him. The head disciple smiled as he gestured with a hand towards the forest where the two most important things were waiting for them. “Please follow after me closely. The forest surrounding our territory can be quite confusing to navigate at times.”

Shen Yuán felt a flicker of a certain snake demon’s tongue against his neck, tasting the air as he walked with Shang Qinghua to follow after the Huan Hua disciple.

Nothing can—nope! ‘Mental note, Navi! Never let me say that phrase out loud or in my thoughts!’

‘Yes, User Shen Yuán! Nothing can go wrong and will be added to Navi’s special penalty box!’

‘That’s not what I meant, but okay...’

Chapter Text

Walking through the forest of the Huan Hua territory with the setting sun as their only light was a bit unnerving to say the least. It was completely nerve wracking, however, to balance between trying to help Shang Qinghua keep his identity hidden and for him to hide the fact that Zhuzhi-Lang was wrapped around his neck.

Now he couldn’t recognize his demonic energy as a snake. Yet Shang Qinghua realized it was him. So what if Gongyi Xiao could sense out his demonic Qi? Gongyi Xiao was able to recognize him even though his disguise hid him pretty well!

“So what has Shen Yuán been doing since his last letter?” Gongyi Xiao asked. His warm brown eyes practically invited him in from that relaxed gaze. Ah, it made him feel so bad that he was using his friend for such a thing without him knowing the full story.

‘He will know eventually,’ Shen Yuán tried to reassure and calm himself inside his mind. When he knew that there was no chance that the Huan Hua Palace master was watching him, he would spill all the beans about what was going on.

Shen Yuán awkwardly laughed then answered, “Ah. This one has been continuing work on his bestiary, but with more breaks of time in between animal and research.”

“That is good to hear.” Gongyi Xiao hummed. Those eyes glanced at him again as he cut through hanging leaves that blocked their way. The head disciple cleared his throat then brought his fist up to his mouth like he was trying to silence the grumble. “This one was worried about Shen Yuán's health when he had first heard about the beginning of your research.”

Worried? Shen Yuán furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why would Gongyi Xiao be worried?”

Huan Hua Palace’s head disciple sighed, his lips pushing out into a slight pout. “It seemed like Shen Yuán had lost a piece of himself after the Immortal Alliance Conference all of those years ago.”

Shen Yuán looked at Gongyi Xiao, to Shang Qinghua and back to the head disciple walking beside him. “This one was kicked out of his sect,” he replied.

“This one acknowledges that. But this disciple was referring to the bestiary work he was doing after the banishment. It seemed that Shen Yuán was overworking himself.” Gongyi Xiao responded. The head disciple looked like he was reminiscing from the way his gaze focused on something off in the distance. Then that stare landed on him with a guilty looking grin. “This one was about to leave Huan Hua Palace territory to visit Shen Yuán to watch over him.”

“There was no need for that kind of attention.” Shen Yuán waved off his concerns. He wasn’t that bad back then! He was just excited to get all the information he wanted for years! “This one was fine even back then.”

“No, you weren’t,” Shang Qinghua muttered under his breath.

‘Shut the fuck up, Airplane,’ Shen Yuán mentally yelled since he could not do it verbally in their company without breaking the peak lord’s identity in more than one way.

“This one must agree with Cultivator Hua. This disciple was concerned about the details given to him via letters.” Gongyi Xiao responded. “But this one was relieved when the contents improved over time.” The brunette’s voice was so kind as he addressed him. “Shen Yuán feels and looks the happiest he has been since that event. And for that, this disciple is thankful for whatever made Shen Yuán’s days brighten.”

“Thank you...” Shen Yuán answered, feeling Zhuhai-Lang slither up his neck. He tried to keep the movement from catching the head disciple’s eyes, but his attempt was in vain because those warm brown eyes landed on his neck

“Hm?” He froze at the hum. Shen Yuán raised a hand to his neckline as Gongyi Xiao peered closer, trying to hide his scaled friend. “Shen Yuán, do you have a pet around your shoulders?”

“Ah... Ah! Yes! Yes, I do.” He confirmed. It was too late to lie about it since his friend had noticed Zhuzhi-Lang already. Hopefully he did not notice any demonic energy about him. He couldn’t sense anything leaking, so it should be fine. Shen Yuán moved his hair out of the way which made both of his friends flinch at the movement as he revealed the snake wrapped close to his bare neck. “This is little Jade.”

“Oh, so this must be the reason.” Reasons for what? What is he talking about? And why does he seem so relieved?! “Hello there.” The head disciple greeted Zhuzhi-Lang with a kind smile like he was addressing one of the younger disciples. “This one is Gongyi Xiao.”

Zhuzhi-Lang stuck out his tongue then retreated back into the waves of his hair. Shen Yuán cradled him in his hand and gently pushed his friend back to hide him around his neck. He let out an awkward chuckle. “Sorry. He is shy around others.”

“No need to apologize.” Gongyi Xiao laughed then his gaze went over to the third person on the journey who had stayed mostly out of the conversation until now. “So, are you ready to venture deeper into the forest? Cultivator Hua?”

“Yes? Yes!” Shang Qinghua cleared his throat to reply more high pitched. “This lowly one can’t wait to see the flower!”

Shen Yuán’s eye’s found Shang Qinghua’s while Gongyi Xiao walked in front of them. He gave him a judgmental look while his friend shrugged at him in response.

It took forever to navigate their way through the dense forest especially with the fading light. It got so dark that Shang Qinghua had to pull out a talisman enchanted lantern to emit enough of a glow to guide them through the shrubs, vines, grass and trees.

The dark green colors mixed with the purple and red from the local flora was all they could see. There were glimpses of small animals that disappeared under bushes or up the trunks of the trees that towered over them.

By the time the moonlight combined with the lantern, they had finally found it past a small lake that was dotted with floating white flowers and weirdly shaped lily pads.

The Sun and Moon Dew Flowers were laid out on the ground of a cave that was lit up from the moonbeams that shone down on the shimmering petals.

“There they are!” Shang Qinghua yelled out, forgoing his female voice for that brief moment of excitement. He rushed towards the flowers while Shen Yuán followed after him with Gongyi Xiao falling into step beside him. Zhuzhi-Lang voices his happiness through low hisses that sounded like humming near his ears.

Gongyi Xiao helped him navigate over a wet muddy area to get to ‘Sha Hua’ who was not wasting any time in digging and safely plucking out seeds from the plants. Once he got close, he plucked one of the flowers from the ground and made sure the roots were still connected to the stem.

Silently, Shang Qinghua and him both worked together to get all they could need from the plant. Shen Yuán made sure to tuck away the amount needed for Tianlang-Jun into his quankin pouch. He made a mental tally of how much seeds they were gathering. There was some for the heavenly demon ruler and more than enough for both of them in case something in this world goes wrong.

“How long will it take to grow?” Shen Yuán whispered as she trailed his finger down one of the soft petals.

“It will take years.” Shang Qinghua mumbled under his breath as she tucked away the seeds into his pouch. He hummed in consideration and looked into the ground like he was about to summon an answer from the dirt. “I can grow them faster with a special treatment.” Shang Qinghua offered.

“Hm.” It was a tempting offer. But he knew better to trust the offer at first. It sounded great, but he had no idea how things would turn out in the end. It was better to tread carefully with things in this world. Shen Yuán suggested, “Maybe you can do half of the plants with the treatment and grow half of them without?”

He nodded with a considering look in his eyes like he was weighing the possible outcomes. “Got it.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their whispered conversation. As if in cue, they both simultaneously turned towards Gongyi Xiao who was patiently standing there and waiting to be acknowledged.

“Thank you, sir.” Sha Hua put on his disguised voice again to address the head disciple. “You must be heading off now back to your head disciple duties, hmm?”

Shen Yuán slugged his friend on his shoulder, ignoring the yelp that erupted from the other’s mouth. “Sha—!”

“That is correct.” Gongyi Xiao replied with ease. The head disciple shifted on his feet as he tightened the sword sheath at his hip. “Although this one would like to stay longer, it would be better of me to return before there is a search party gathered because of my absence.”

Gongyi Xiao looked up from his sheath with a hopeful expression. “Shen Yuán?”

“Yes?” He said.

“If it’s possible, will you be available tomorrow?” Gongyi Xiao asked. “I would like to spend time with you during my free hour before you head back to your abode.”

“Ah.” Shen Yuán hesitated to answer for a moment. He had been saving up his energy for the first attempt at freeing the demon emperor, so he would most likely be depleted by tomorrow morning. Well, he could always cultivate from singing if he had the time to do so if it ended up being a night hunt or something similar. “That should be fine with my schedule.”

“Excellent.” Gongyi Xiao visibly brightened at his reply. His brown eyes shined in the moonlight, barely containing the excitement hidden in the pupils. “Then I will see you tomorrow, Shen Yuán.” He looked away briefly to bow his head towards the disguised peak lord. “Cultivator Sha.”

“Yes, Yes.” Sha Hua waved him away like a haughty court lady would. “Now hurry back to Huan Hua Palace. Thank you for your help.”

Gongyi Xiao smiled and turned on his heel. Shen Yuán watched his friend walk away with a smile. He called out, “See you soon, Gongyi...”

He kept waving until he could not see the loose brown waves of his old friend. His hand lowered back to his side right as Zhuzhi-Lang started to poke his head through his curtain of black hair.

Silent as a mouse, Shang Qinghua creeped up to his side and lowered his voice to a whisper. “He was totally making goo-goo eyes at you.”

“What? He was not!” Shen Yuán shoved a smirking Shang Qinghua away from him. He gestured in the direction where Gongyi Xiao had disappeared into the forest. “That was the look of someone who missed me. Not like you would not do anything about that.”

Shang Qinghua rolled his eyes. “Yes, because I’m treated to your ugly mug hidden behind a fan whenever I come visit your lonely ass.”

“Shut up, Airplane!” Shen Yuán retorted loudly as he started to follow his friend who was already making his way past the cave and towards the mountain.

*

Safe to say, Zhuzhi-Lang had to start guiding them halfway to the mountain to guide them directly to the spot where Tianlang-Jun was waiting. It helped that the mountain wasn’t being patrolled nearly as much as it was years upon years ago. And it also helped that Zhuzhi-Lang could safely turn into his bigger form since no cultivators were close by to track down his demonic energy.

Soon, the giant snake in front of them stopped and coiled up in a ball. Both cultivators kept walking forward until they saw what exactly Zhuzhi-Lang was in front of. Right outside a small cave opening was a messy circle of talismans. Wax covered twine winded up and twisted around talisman papers with black and red ink that had dropped down the white paper. Dried blood was splattered around the cultivation circle with drops of wax scattered around. And there were thick, metal chains that looped around the nearby trees like anchors.

“This is it.” Shen Yuán did not know how to describe the mess of combined spells that held the demon emperor back.

“Wow.” Shang Qingua said. Luckily, the creator of the world knew exactly how to detail what was in front of them. “This looks fucked...”

“Airplane!”

“What? I'm just saying it like I see it.” Shang Qinghua winced as he delicately moved around the talisman maze. Shen Yuán followed after him so they could get to the cavern without disturbing the circle yet. “They went overboard with the amount of... actually—“

“Airplane, there is no time to decide if the cultivators from two decades ago did a good enough job to hold down a heavenly demon.” Shen Yuán said. He started pushing his hands into his pouch to receive the prepared talismans he had for this purpose. “Just tell me where to put my talismans.”

“I’ll tell you after we meet the guy in charge.” Shang Qinghua said, putting a hand over his arm to stop him from pulling out his papers. His friend tilted his head towards the cave opening behind them. “It would be better to talk with him before we start poking around at his chains.”

“Good idea.” Shen Yuán relented, pulling his hands out of the endless pouch. He looked up at his snake friend who was already shrinking down to more of a boa sized snake. “Xizhi-Lang? I think it’s time for introductions.”

His friend hissed and slithered between their legs to enter into the cave. Shen Yuán didn’t wait before kneeling down on the ground and crawling after Zhuzhi-Lang. Shang Qinghua cursed behind him before stumbling onto the ground behind him based on the scared yelp he heard.

Shang Qinghua lit one of the light talismans which provided a limited amount of illumination in the cave. Once the warm source of light was provided, Shen Yuán heard a hiss accompanied by a surprised hum.

“Nephew? Is that you?” A deep male voice echoed through the cave. Shen Yuán froze for a moment before continuing to crawl forward after Zhuzhi-Lang.

He kept going until he finally saw Tianlang-Jun. His body was pinned under the mountain with rocks piled at his waist. His curly brown hair was dirty, dusty and oily from the sheen he could see in the limited light he could get in this cave.

His heart dropped in his chest. Luo Binghe. His father looked almost exactly like him even in bloody and broken condition.

Oh, you brought guests.” Tianlang-Jun noticed immediately. His red eyes looked out at them with an amused expression. That curious gaze landed on him almost immediately as he crusty lips opened once more to ask, “Which cultivator are you courting?”

Huh?

...

Huh?!

Chapter Text

“Uncle!” Zhuzhi-Lan protested. “Pleassse be quiet.”

The snake demon hurriedly turned to them with an apologetic look on his scaly face.

“Please excuse what he said,” Zhuzhi-Lang said, more like begging given the tone of his words, to them. He glanced over to Shang Qinghua who met his glance with a knowing look. Shen Yuán squinted at the other’s expression before the peak lord looked away in a hurry. Why did you look like that, Airplane? What do you know?

“So which one is your friend?” Tianlang-Jun continued on like there was nothing better to entertain... which is most likely true since the cave was empty besides the four of them. Unless the bugs crawling and the scraggly plants growing were far more entertaining than he thought they would be. “Is it the one with the hat or the one with the lumpy chest?”

“Ah.” Zhuzhi-Lang paused, looking between the two of them awkwardly. He slithered up to his uncle to coil right near the demon emperor trapped under the mountain. “He wears the veiled hat, Junshang.”

“Of course.” The demon emperor said with a weird twist to his voice like he was trying to tease or poke at his nephew. “I knew that’s the one I thought you were into.”

“Junshang!” Zhuzhi-Lang whined in embarrassment. Ah, he totally gets it. When he talked about any friend he made, his parents were always poking around with their words like that to see if he was interested in them like ‘that’.

“Relax. Relax, Nephew. I’m just having a bit of fun.” His uncle said in a less than reassuring tone. His limp head turned more towards them with dirty locks of hair sticking to his skin. Those red eyes stared into his soul with what felt like a calculating dagger even though that smirk on his lips was the exact opposite. “Now, you must be Shen Yuán. I’ve heard much about you.”

“Ah, Yes.” Shen Yuán cleared his throat when he heard the nervous squeak in his voice. Shang qinghua snickered at him which made him thwack his arm away from him. “This one is honored to meet Emperor Tianlang-Jun.”

Then it was Shang Qinghua's turn to be nervous as the emperor’s gaze landed on him. Ah, it could be a mix of his author’s guilt and the same feeling he had from Tianlang-Jun’s mere presence. “And you are?”

“Sh-Shang Qinghua.” His friend stuttered over his words.

“Hm. Hello.” The Heavenly Demon tilted his head from where he was laid out on the dirty, stone covered ground. “Well, we all know what we are here for, so let’s begin the conversation we are all here for. Shall we?”

Zhuzhi-Lang moved the hair out of Tianlang-Jun’s face as Shang Qinghua stumbled over his feet to make sure the cave was well-lit. Shen Yuán’s mouth twisted when he saw just how daunting this task would be.

Stone walls were alight with the yellow and orange colors of Airplane’s talisman’s. And now he does see a few books stacked up in the corner but Tianlang-Jun wouldn’t be able to read them in the position he is in. Oh, Zhuzhi-Lang must read to him when he normally visits.

The light also perfectly showed off how deep the imprisonment extended. There were talismans extending into the cave with the same waxy string and spells attached to them, connecting to the edge of the mountain where Tianlang-Jun was trapped under.

There were complex tied strings right above Tianlang-Jun’s trapped body with sigils clearing painting out an entrapment spell. Wow. Shang Qinghua’s description of it did not come close to the real thing. There were so many talismans it looked like just a wall of good luck charms one would see at a temple.

It looked like it would take a long time to fully free the demon emperor’s body from the chains bounding him to the mountain.

“Right, right.” Shang Qinghua mumbled. “Well, I’m sure Zhuzhi-Lang filled you in on the summary of it all.”

“Yes, he did.” Tianlang-Jun smiled, his sharp fangs peeled out from beneath his chopper lips. “Although I would love to hear a more detailed plan on what you’re planning to do.”

“Our best plan is to do this slowly.” Shen Yuán cut in. He paused when those red eyes went back to him in a single second. He knew he shouldn’t be this afraid especially since the heavenly demon was pinned down by an entire mountain but something in his gut twisted.

He should not let his guard down around Zhuzhi-Lang’s uncle even though his attitude seemed laidback. And from what Shang Qinghua told him about in the first draft, Tianlang-Jun was even stronger than Luo Binghe who was supposed to be the strongest in the world in the universe of Proud Immortal Demon Way.

Shen Yuán swallowed down his nerves to gaze at the trapped heavenly demon directly. “We both don’t have enough qi or energy to undo every single talisman in one go. We can do some of the work but we shouldn’t attempt to bite off too much in one go or else it might cause a disturbance that could alert Huan Hua Palace.”

“That’s understandable yet disappointing.” Tianlang-Jun dropped down an octave with a completely different tone than the lighthearted one he was trying to keep up. That smile returned with a dagger-like edge. “So how slowly will things progress?”

Shang Qinghua jumped in. “Slow enough for us to make our way through the talismans without alarming any lingering disciple patrolling the area or any security arrays they may have set up.”

“We might be able to get headway by using Qi to power up counter spells to undo the chaining spells that are keeping you like this.” Shen Yuán continued, gesturing to the cave around them where some arrays were very visible. “I might be able to go on a trip every month to check in. Although he might not be here each time because of his work schedule.”

“Yeah, being a peak lord isn’t easy,” Shang Qinghua sighed.

“Ah, my nephew did mention that you were someone in such a high position.” Tianlang-Jun looked him up and down with a doubtful twist to his mouth. “However...”

“Yeah, Yeah. I know I’m pretty weak.” Shang Qinghua rubbed at the back of his neck. “I deal with the logistics of the sect which is mostly paperwork.”

Tianlang-Jun did not say anything for several moments. There was a moment of silence that went on for a minute too long as the former emperor seemed to quietly judge Shang Qinghua. Shang Qinghua interrupted the silence with his shrill, nervous voice. “ANYWAY! Let’s move on.”

Shen Yuán moved on quickly. “We can do our first round of dislodging the spells tonight with the talismans we have prepared.”

“Oh, go on!” Tianlang-Jun was very quick to agree. Then his tone became a bit more sarcastic. “I’ll be right here waiting to feel your progress.”

“Right,” Shen Yuán replied. That tone he heard means that they should start on undoing the arrays right away. He glanced at Zhuzhi-Lang before nudging Shang Qinghua at his side. They could tackle the ones in the cave first. “Come on, Airplane.”

Shen Yuán did not waste any time on getting the other man to follow the wrings tracing back to the array outside. He looked at each string, trying to see which one lined up with the ones outside to the anchors above Tianlang-Jun. It was such a complicated spider web that he regretted that none of the sunset sunrise spiders followed him. Maybe they could have made more sense of this tangled mess.

They made their way slowly through the cave when they quickly saw a perfect starting point with a chain from the outside linking to a complex circular structure of strings and melted wax.

“Can you make sense of this?” Shen Yuán whistled. He threw a glance at Airplane who looked just as confused as he felt. Airplane, you’re the author! Can you not make sense of the magic made by someone you created holding back another character you made?

“I think I can.” Shang Qinghua said slowly. His eyes looked over the lines of strings until something in his eyes seemed to light up like a lightbulb appeared above his head. “The outside array is like the big anchor of this entire spell so think of it as a weighted point like an... outlet! Think of it as an outlet and the strings around us are the cord leading back to the main item being charged.”

“That sounds...”

“It’s a bit more complicated than what I am trying to explain.” Gee, you think? Airplane continued to explain. “The only way to explain is that our best chance would be loosening the power in the middle point of the strings that are aimed towards the power control.”

“Why the power control?” Shen Yuán asked.

“Because it’s the strings that are holding back the demonic Qi from Tianlang-Jun. If we can weaken and completely get rid of them, Tianlang-Jun will have a better chance of healing himself and freeing his body from underneath the mountain without us having to break many of the other spells.

That sounds like a good plan. But.... “We will still use the mushroom body though, right?” Shen Yuán asked.

“Oh definitely. But that’s more of a backup plan in case this process ends up taking longer than we thought or the suspicions start to raise too high for us to continue safely or... actually there are a bunch of reasons. But let’s not focus on that!” Shang Qinghua awkwardly laughed and gestured up to the mess above them. “Let’s work on these ones with the stray wax drips on them.”

Both of them started to work on the assigned enchanted strings. Shen Yuán used talisman after talisman on one after another until he could visibly see the slack in the tension. It was enough to undo a structure of strings that connected to two aerial circles of talismans all braided together above their heads. When all of his talismans were gone, he looked over to see Shang Qinghua who was using his last two against the main cord that looked thicker than the rest.

“That’s all I had.” Shen Yuán admitted. Now he knew he had to start saving up energy to make talismans each day.

Shang Qinghua nodded, making a show of opening his quakin bag to show off the lack of talisman papers inside. “Same here.”

They casted one long look at the work they did with a judgmental gaze. All those talismans could only do that much damage to the hold they had on the demon prisoner.

By the time they had returned, Tianlang-Jun’s eyebrows were pinched together like he was trying to evaluate what had changed. Then after a moment, he hummed. “Hm.”

“What is it?”

“It feels like a bit of the tension has been cut, but the force keeping me pinned is still there.” Tianlang-Jun looked like he wanted to shift around to test it but he physically couldn’t. “It seems like your work has lessened the power slightly.”

Shang Qinghua replied, “This is going to take way longer than I thought if those talismans we brought could only do this much damage.”

“We just have to store more Qi to make more talismans for this.” Shen Yuán sighed heavily. He was going to need to start working on a better plan to get here faster with Zhuzhi-Lang if this is the case

“Easy for you to say.” Shang Qinghua mumbled. He raised his voice to communicate more of his plan. “Next time, we might have to start chipping away at the outside ones whenever we can because I’m pretty sure those are acting as the main anchors to the chains holding Tianlang-Jun down.”

“This one has noticed that you two seem quite friendly with each other especially given the history of a disciple and the peak lord,” Tianlang-Jun summarized with a very specific stare. Shen Yuán could not pinpoint what it could mean but it sent a weird feeling down his spine.

Shen Yuán explained before Shang Qinghua could say anything. The last thing they need was for Airplane to over explain or stumble through something weird that he came up with on the spot. “We came from the same hometown, so it was easier to find common interests with each other despite our age difference.”

“Hm.” Tianlang-Jun hummed like he was disappointed in the answer. What was he expecting? “Here this one thought it was because of a failed forbidden romance—“

“EW!” Both him and Airplane shuddered in disgust from the heavenly demon’s assumption. Shen Yuán casted a look over the hamster-like man. No. Never. He wasn’t even gay, but if he was then he knew that the other wasn’t even close to his type.

“Oh. I see this genre is not appreciated in this space.” Tianlang-Jun cleared his throat as he watched the two cultivators try to get over what he said. He rose an eyebrow when Shang Qinghua wretched. The demon sighed. “Well then, what is next for this? I hope you two won’t leave so soon. Surely we have more to talk about.”

“Yeah.” Shang Qinghua paused after he said that, looking at the rocky wall of the cave. It looked like he was visibly searching through his brain. Was he talking to the system? Then, the weak peak lord shot up straighter. “Wait. Yes!” Shang Qinghua clapped his hands in a sharp movement. “Did you tell your uncle about the situation with...Su...?”

“Yes, this one did.” Zhuzhi-Lang responded with a low hiss. His shifted his coiled body to settle better on the dirty, rocky floor beneath them.

“Well then you should know the basics we have already discussed together.” Shang Qinghua said. He adjusted the collar of his disguise robes with a frown. “As far as right now, not much has changed. However, Shen Yuán is going on a date with Gongyi Xiao so he could ask—“

“It’s not a date!” Shen Yuán argued back. Just because he was hanging out with a friend does not immediately make it a date.

“Agree to disagree.” Shang Qinghua waved off her defense with ease. He gestured his hand towards him while addressing the trapped heavenly demon. “He could ask him then to see if anything else has come up and to see if he could dig into it more. He might have found something else by now.”

Shen Yuán thought back to the head disciple who had quickly left before any suspicion could arise from him being gone too long. “Or he might be holding off so the palace master wouldn’t suspect him.”

“Ah, right. That is true.” Shang Qinghua responded.

“Well, either way you’ll get some more information tomorrow. I’ll be looking forward to it.” Tianlang-Jun tilted his head to lay his head down on the ground to face Shang Qinghua as best as he could in his position. “For now, I would love to talk with you specifically.”

“W-What?” The peak lord stuttered from the heavenly demon’s attention. “Why me?“

“From what I heard from you from my nephew,” Tianlang-Jun borderline purred with a combination of curiosity and anticipation. “You’re an author...”

Oh god. Don’t tell me they have similar tastes?

Shen Yuán raised his head and Zhuzhi-Lang met his eyes and sighed, slumping over in his coil and shaking his head.

Oh god...

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua ended up leaving early with a few notes taken about what kind of romances that the demon emperor would love to see made. He shared a look with him on the way out like he was trying to convey ‘help me, bitch’ with his eyes only.

Shen Yuán only waves him off towards the town in a hurry since he had to mentally and physically prepare himself to meet up with Gongyi Xiao. Agh. Why did he agree to this anyway?

[Navi reminds User Shen Yuán about the potential information character Gongyi Xiao holds that is pivotal to the ongoing plot!]

“Right...” Shen Yuán mumbled. He straightened up and shook off his nerves. Why should he even be worried about this? Gongyi Xiao has proven himself to be trustworthy and he will be able to tell him what he needs to know. Plus, he has been wanting to hangout with his friend for months now! This was the perfect opportunity!

So this friendly hangout is not a thing to be worried about.

“Are you leaving so soon?” The old demon emperor asked. His face was, thankfully, cleaned recently from the majority of the dirt and grime. The sight of it was so heartbreakingly familiar that Shen Yuán had to look away.

Those eyes. They felt so different now that his face was mostly cleaned. It reminded him so much of his friend, the protagonist, that was trapped down there in that—

‘Stop thinking about it. Don’t dwell on it. He’ll be fine. He’ll come out stronger than ever before,’ Shen Yuán thought to himself as he took in deep breaths to calm himself down.

The words that Gongyi Xiao said before came up briefly in his mind.

‘It seemed like Shen Yuán had lost a piece of himself after the Immortal Alliance Conference all of those years ago.’

‘It seemed that Shen Yuán was overworking himself.’

No, no. He was fine. He was still fine!

There was nothing wrong with jumping into bestiary work once he got the opportunity. Sometimes he got a little carried away. But so what? How else would he get to see everything he ever wanted to see and know about. He always wanted to know more and see more about this world that was squandered from the original story! How else would the shrine he made for Binghe get the rare Never Fading Flowers of Eckle? Those flowers would never wilt even when he forgot the water!

He just needs to focus on the task at hand and—oh. How long has he been quiet?

Shen Yuán rushed to answer the heavenly demon. “Yeah!“ He cringed at his voice cracking then cleared his throat before he continued to respond. “If I remember correctly, his free hour should be sometime before lunch. So I should head out now so I can meet him in the outskirts of town.” Shen Yuán kept his gaze floating around Tianlang-Jun so he wouldn’t look deep into those eyes once again. “Hopefully no one is following him.”

Tianlang-Jun snickered from his place on the ground. “Because the old bastard won’t like a cultivator such as you?”

“Well, when you try to attack a peak lord, you get a reputation you can’t really shake off.” Shen Yuán replied with a shrug.

That got the heavenly demon’s attention right away. Tianlang-Jun’s eyes widened immediately at the juicy bit of information. “Ooh! You must tell me that story when you come back.”

Shen Yuán waved off that suggestion. “It’s nothing to write home about, but if you want I can tell you that one eventually.”

“I’ll be waiting for that then.” Tianlang-Jun responded with an airy tone to his words. “Don’t think I’ll forget it!”

Shen Yuán chuckled as he agreed to the demon. Then, he brushed off his traveling robes and downed his veiled hat once again. He had prepared everything already for their meeting so he just needed to leave now to avoid having Gongyi wait that long for him. “Well, I’m heading out.”

“Be safe,” Zhuzhi-Lang spoke out before he stepped any farther away. The snake demon leaned forward with his words like he was trying to get closer at least for a moment longer.

Shen Yuán brushed back the veil obscuring his face to offer a genuine smile towards his companion. “I will.”

With a final wave, he headed out into the forest surrounding Bailu Mountain. It was as dense as he remembered but it felt even more silent than before. Maybe that was because he wasn’t chatting with Shang Qinghua this time.

He trekked all the way to the outskirts of the town just enough out of reach where no one could spot him but he could still see the edges of the buildings. Then, he finally reached an old tree that stood taller than the rest nearby. Hopefully he wasn’t too early.

Sticks snapped underneath his feet as he shifted in his place. He winced at the sound until a familiar sound greeted him a few feet away. He turned his head to see the swishing movement of brown waves.

“Gongyi Xiao! I’m here!” Shen Yuán greeted.

“You made it. This one is so glad to see you.” Gongyi Xiao dropped some of the pretense of formality between them. His honey brown eyes shined with his grin. He beckoned Shen Yuán closer. “Come with me. This one bought some food that we can eat away from the city.”

Shen Yuán walked closer to Gongyi Xiao until he was standing next to him. Once they were next to each other, his friend started the pace which he gladly followed. He briefly looked over his shoulder where the edge of town was disappearing from his sight. ““Did you manage to get away from the other Huan Hua disciples?”

Gongyi Xiao shook his head. “No one has been tracking this one that closely.”

“Good.” Shen Yuán replied. “Now we get to spend time talking... unless you have a mission to gather some herbs in the meantime...” Shen Yuán trailed off, meeting the mischievous gaze of Gongyi Xiao. “I would be happy to help you with that if that is the case.”

“This one thanks Shen Yuán for his offer.” His friend laughed cheerfully. “However, I do not have any missions to focus on as of now.“

[Gained Gongyi Xiao +10 ‘friendship’ points!]

‘Navi? Navi! What’s with those little quotation marks?’ Shen Yuán asked the system as he followed after his friend who had begun to hum under his breath as they moved under the trees.

[ ;-) ]

‘Navi!’

*

Zhuzhi-Lang slithered around the cave, busying himself with taking care of the insects that dare to make themselves far more comfortable than they are allowed. He sent off his snake allies to get rid of both the big and small critters that occupy the cave while his uncle was busy providing his humming as background noise.

“Nephew, how was the journey?” His uncle asked offhandedly. His tone was more casual than it had been before even when he was discussing yellow novels with the An Ding peak lord. “It took a little longer for you to reach me compared to previous times.”

“Thisss one had to take a longer path.” Zhuzhi-Lang answered.

“Ah, it must have something to do with that cultivator friend of yours. My author friend told me that he was banished from his sect for some reason.” Tianlang-Jun said. His long bangs shifted when the demon lord moved his head to get a better look at him. “But even then, you could have arrived sooner.”

“We started a bit late in the day and encountered... obstacles on the way here.” In all honesty, it was mostly due to the unfortunate mishaps. But they could plan ahead now for the future trips they would need to take.

“Any fun obstacles?” His uncle questioned, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively in the low light of the cave.

Zhuzhi-Lang looked away from the hinted implication. “Uncle!”

Tianlang-Jun laughed at his nephew’s shyness. “What? Can’t an old emperor ask his general about his sexcapades?”

“There was nothing of the sssort!” Zhuzhi-Lang defended fiercely.

“Aw. Boo.” Tianlang-Jun pouted. It genuinely looked disappointed that no sex pollen had sprung up on the trip. Well, that honey incident was relatively close but thankfully there was water nearby.

Either way, his uncle really needed to venture out into other genres in human literature. Maybe he should get more adventure type stories. He seemed to like those too. “Well, did anything interesting happen at least?”

Zhuzhi-Lang sighed then started to provide the details of their trip starting with the near death experience with the spiders. Then the honeyed flowers—which made his uncle raise his eyebrows in interest before laughing at the fact that it was all washed away rather quickly with water.

He kept talking in hushed tones to his uncle until he got to the one part of their journey that he regretted the most.

“And this one... he caused cultivator Shen to get hurt.” Zhuzhi-Lang admitted
He still remembered each moment of the fall towards the rapids and the sound of his heart beating around his head like a drum. “I... wasn’t sure if he would wake up.”

“I see...” Tianlang-Jun finally said after he was done explaining. “If you were worried, couldn’t you have taken care of it?”

Zhuzhi-Lang tilted his head at his uncle’s words. “This one was taking care of Cultivator Shen the best he could with the limited abilities and items he had.”

“No. Not that.” Tianlang-Jun gave him a knowing look before a smirk grew on his face. “Didn’t you give him your heavenly demon blood? That would have taken care of it all.”

Zhuzhi-Lang froze at the question that fell from his uncle’s lips.

“Did you give him your heavenly demon blood?”

*

The memories of the cave flooded into his mind.

The panic in his slither as he made it into the cave and the restless search of the quankin pouch to find exactly what he needed. Time blended together as he rushed to get Shen Yuán settled into the warmth quickly before any sickness could claim him.

He still remembered how cold it became in the cave when he noticed how the Cultivator was barely moving except for his shallow breathing. The rise and fall of his chest was steady but almost faint.

It remained like that for some time until—

It started to slow down to a glacial pace like the cultivator’s soul was going to slip away at any moment.

Zhuzhi-Lang doesn’t remember how quickly he moved to Shen Yuán’s side and stared at his soft face that had stopped tensing up in his slumber. He had curled himself around the body in the midst of all of the artificial warmth. He remembered the soul crushing moment of pressing his head to the cultivator’s chest and not being able to feel the pulse.

The uncomfortable feeling of tears on his scaled cheeks that trailed down to his chin. Then the small amount of relief that rushed through him when he could still see his chest rising even though it was slow.

But the worst of all was the waiting.

Zhuzhi-Lang described himself as patient most of the time. He had dealt with many concerns in demon territories that required a lot of patience. He had vanquished enemies that dared to rise against his uncle by waiting patiently for them to slip up.

Yet as he waited for his cultivator to show any signs of waking up, it felt like all of the years of patiently waiting were disappearing with each second.

Cultivator Shen showed no signs of waking for most of the day. As time passed, Zhuzhi-Lang only grew more worried. Would the talismans keep up? What happens if they run out of energy? What could he use to keep Shen Yuán warm?

He could continue to use his body, but it wouldn’t provide the amount of warmth that his friend needed so desperately.

The passing time was driving him mad.

Zhuzhi-Lang curled up tighter around Shen Yuán, trying to provide some sort of comfort even though he was lost inside his dreams with no sign of escaping from them.

...

Would he be okay?

...

...

...

It happened again.

It happened way too suddenly. The color of his lips looked so pale even in the cave with the warm light of the talismans. Zhuzhi-Lang checked over the cultivator, moving fast with his tail to pinpoint the issues. His chest had failed to rise during his entire check up, and no matter how hard he tried even with his head pressed against Shen Yuán’s chest, he couldn’t hear or feel his heartbeat thumping against him.

It was just the stress. It was because he was worried. That's why everything felt like it was going wrong. He just needed to calm down. If he calms down, everything will be alright. If he just breathes, then his cultivator will match that rhythm. Everything was fine. Shen Yuán is alive. Everything was fine. Shen Yuán is alive. Everything was fine. Shen Yuán was alive.

...

The comforting words couldn’t string together an ounce of reassurance.

Shen Yuán did not look good and everything he did was not making a big difference. His cultivator looked like he was close to becoming much more than just sick.

But he should have his cultivation to rely on. Why wasn’t it helping? What was happening inside Shen Yuán’s body right now? And why couldn’t he help him?

He would never get to repay the debt he owed him. Zhuzhi-Lang would never lie in his nest next to Shen Yuán again. If he didn’t wake up, he would never get to share any more experiences with Shen Yuán. No more adventures or quests. No more domestic life in their home. He wouldn’t—

...

But there was a way to help him.

Zhuzhi-Lang stilled at the answer reading its head inside his mind. The thing he need was inside of him all along. It was rushing through his veins, biting at the chance to be let out for once in years.

Zhuzhi-Lang shook his head. No. Shen Yuán wouldn’t forgive him if he did that.

‘He would if it meant his life would continue on...’

...Shen Yuán wouldn’t get to finish his bestiary if he perished right now. The mission to save his uncle would start to crack at the seams—

‘It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.’

But... but...

He shouldn’t have to do this in the first place.

‘Which means you owe him this. ‘Repay a drop of kindness with a flood’. That was what you always said after all.’

‘Isn’t he worth it?’

Zhuzhi-Lang hissed, turning his head away from his cultivator to stare at his scaled body. His eyes lingered in the spot that Shen Yuán had healed all those months ago.

‘It’s better this way.’

A drop of kindness...

‘It’s easier this way.’

...it must be repaid.

And Shen Yuán deserves every ounce of kindness he could gather for him no matter how long it took him.

And he couldn’t do that if his cultivator left him behind like this.

‘It won’t be as uncomfortable since he is asleep...’

Zhuzhi-Lang looked back at Shen Yuán who was still resting with minimal movement.

‘I have to do it.’

He lifted the tip of his tail and pierced through the scales with his own fangs, not allowing himself to heal yet. Blood dripped from his scaled tail as he stared at the liquid in the dim light.

He slithered closer to the resting man, his eyes lingering on the gentle expression on Shen Yuán’s face.

‘Please forgive me for this, Shen Yuán. I’ll tell you the truth as soon as you awaken. This lowly one promises,’ Zhuzhi-Lang prayed that his cultivator would forgive him. Nothing would be the same if this instance changed the dynamic between them. He resided his tail over Shen Yuán’s mouth, dangerously close to those pale lips that were slightly parted.

Just one drop was all he needed to heal him, to free him from this purgatory they were both in.

Then, before a drop of his blood could fall, Shen Yuán took in a breath.

A breath so deep and sudden that it shocked Zhuzhi-Lang away from him. He leaned in closer, part in relief and part in concern. And slowly but surely, his cultivator’s eyes started to twitch underneath his stare.

And as quickly and carefully as he could, he positioned himself away from Shen Yuán, focusing on healing his cut before any blood dropped onto the cavern ground.

He didn’t need to know, did he? There wasn’t any need for the use of blood mites after all.

But... Would Shen Yuán hate him if he knew what he tried to do?

That thought made him coil tighter into himself, ducking his head in the circle made by his body. He pushed himself closer to the cold wall and farther away from the warmth his cultivator rested in. The despair crept in with each passing moment as his cultivator started to wake up.

He shouldn’t be around him. He caused this in the first place due to his impulsive actions. Shen Yuán wouldn’t have been hurt if he had listened to him in the first place instead of his immature move for his repayment. Shen Yuán wouldn’t have been this sick if he didn’t fall in the first place. He almost—

Zhuzhi-Lang pressed himself against the rocky wall, shivering from the cold on his scales. He didn’t deserve the warmth from the energy of the talismans or from his cultivator.

*

No.

“No.” Zhuzhi-Lang replied quietly. His answer echoed back to him in the small cave. There was a moment of silence between the two demons. “I haven’t.”

Tianlang-Jun hummed knowingly. “Yet you hesitated for such a long pause. I know you, Nephew.” A wicked grin spread across his face. The dirt had been cleaned off but the utter smugness could not be wiped off from his expression. “You thought about it for so long, didn’t you?”

Zhuzhi-Lang glared at his uncle. “He has no blood parasites running through his veins. That is the only thing you need to know.”

“For now, you mean.” Zhuzhi-Lang hissed at his uncle’s indication which made Tianlang-Jun laugh loudly at his reaction. He turned away from his entertained uncle. “Hah! Don’t worry, Nephew.” His voice lowered like he was delivering a saucy bit of gossip. “Readers tend to love the possessive love interests.”

“Uncle.”

“What? I’m only joking around with my only nephew!”

*

Shen Yuán held a hand over his mouth after he was done wiping the crumbs off his face. Gongyi Xiao was already packing away the cups and dutifully folding away the stained papers that used to hold the meat bun and vegetable skewers they had snacked on.

The only thing left behind were the half eaten sweets that Shen Yuán was still eating.

It felt like a good shichen or two had passed since they had begun talking. The conversation bounced between what Shen Yuán was doing now and what Gongyi Xiao had planned for that week. He had rambled for a good majority of the meetup once Gongyi Xiao asked for advice on some creatures related to quests that either he or other Huan Hua disciples would face.

And of course, he had to trade some information and medicinal herbs with his friend after the skewers were gone. He wanted to make sure Gongyi Xiao lived after all! And once he finds a good town to run away to, he is telling Gongyi Xiao to make sure his friend is protected from the plot.

But once they had gotten to the last of the food, Shen Yuán decided to shift the talk into the important topic at hand.

“Ah, no more pleasantries.” Shen Yuán said before stuffing what remained of a custard dessert into his mouth. He chewed like a maniac while Gongyi Xiao patiently waited and watched. He swallowed. “Is it time we shift the topic to that then?”

Gongyi Xiao opened his mouth then closed it, hesitating. His brows furrowed as he surveyed the view of the forest ahead of them. His eyes trailed their surroundings. Shen Yuán felt a sudden pulse of qi from the head disciple.

Shen Yuán waited until his friend relaxed before opening his mouth to ask. “What else did you find related to the previous Head Disciple?”

Gongyi Xiao turned to him with a serious expression. “This one found information about Su Xiyan’s body.”

“Yes?” Shen Yuán replied back, confused. Wasn’t that what Shang Qinghua said? He couldn’t have been mistaken. “Uh, my friend told me that they found out where she is buried from the man who helped her.”

“That piece of information is outdated. That’s where the former head Disciple used to be buried.” His friend answered. ““It seems like your friend has not found everything yet.”

“Then where are her remains now?”

“I...” Gongyi Xiao cleared his throat. “This one took it upon myself to borrow a relic from the artifact room from within the palace. This one followed the trail along the Luo River.” His honest brown eyes stared at him with such weight that it pinned him in place. “But she was nowhere near the banks of the river.”

... If she wasn’t there, then where was she?

“Shen Yuán, her body is preserved in a cave on Huan Hua territory.” Gongyi Xiao’s expression says a lot more than what his words could. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to him. “The amount of enchantments and charm surrounding the walls had a large amount of power that only a high ranking lord could have...“

The conclusion hit Shen Yuán harder than the first time that the hack author himself told him about the origin story of Luo Binghe’s parents.

The words remained unsaid in the air between them.

Su Xiyan did not escape from her master’s clutches after all, even in death.

Chapter Text

“Shen Yuán‘s mind had been floating away for quite a while now.”

Gongyi Xiao’s voice was tinged with humor. Shen Yuán startled from images of a curly brown haired woman reminiscent of Luo Binghe stuck in an amber crystal underground. “Yes! Sorry about that.” Shen Yuán rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “This one did not particularly like the rather unpleasant implication that appeared in his mind.”

Shen Yuán looked back up to see Gongyi Xiao looking stunned for a moment before quickly snapping out of him from the weight of his gaze. “Ah. This one apologizes.”

“There is no need for my friend to do so.” He waved off his friend’s apology. He continued to reassure Gongyi Xiao that it was not his fault at all. “The information was upsetting and I should have been more aware of that fact. It merely took this one by surprise. That is all that is.”

“Hm.” Gongyi Xiao didn’t seem entirely happy to move past it so quickly. Then he sighed and aimed a small smile straight at him. Oof! A genuine white lab-like smile was aimed right at his heart! “Is there anything else you would like to know?”

“Do you...” Dammit. What was it he wanted to ask? Does he ask about what he knows of the mountain prison? Wait. Nope. That’s a terrible idea. It might cause his eyes to travel towards it more closely. Shen Yuán blanked on what he wanted to ask about until a blurry image of a mushroom body appeared in his head... Or more specifically, appeared in a green, pixelated image on Navi’s screen. “Do you happen to know any plants that might help the Sun and Moon Dew Mushrooms grow faster yet remain stable?”

Gongyi Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Indeed. I have a few ideas about which ones would make a good fertilizer that won't harm the growth.” Gongyi Xiao looked up towards the sky then frowned and looked towards the town. “However, if you wish for a personal guide to them, I’m afraid that you will have to wait for another day. My break will be over soon.”

“That is alright with me.” Shen Yuán waved off his friend‘s worries and pushed down the mild disappointment. He didn’t get to see him often except through their letters. But he would try to find it with Zhuzhi-Lang.

...Or maybe he could wait until the next time he worked on the talismans holding Tianlang-Jun to reach out to Gongyi Xiao. “I won’t be opposed to meeting with you once again and having an outing like this one.”

“This one agrees with that sentiment.” Gongyi Xiao’s brown eyes warmed as they looked at him. The sunlight made his kind pupils look as warm as honey. He stood up first and reached a hand down to where Shen Yuán was still sitting.

Shen Yuán smiled and grabbed his hand to guide himself back on his feet. Gongyi Xiao grinned then said, “Send word to this one whenever Shen Yuán wants to see them. This one would be happy to show his friend anything he desires.”

“I will. That’s a promise,” Shen Yuán replied with a smile.

*

Shen Yuán parted ways with Gongyi Xiao soon after that. He made sure he spent time lightly telling Gongyi Xiao to be careful and remain safe in the Huan Hua sect. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to have the same kind of ending as in the original story where he is written off and killed offscreen.

He had a lot of hopes for his friend. Shen Yuán didn’t want him to fall for the Old Master’s schemes, get driven away when Luo Binghe comes back, or get killed before he can help him escape.

Ugh, he should start searching for a place for Gongyi Xiao to stay when Luo Binghe pushes him from the head disciple position. His friend is tough and strong but he never knew what he died from so it will be tricky to find a place where he is guaranteed to be safe. Hopefully Airplane has an idea of what Gongyi Xiao died from so he could place him in the opposite direction.

Speaking of directions, thanks to his friend, Shen Yuán had a good idea of where Su Xiyan actually lies now. Good news, Gongyi Xiao was able to make some semblance of a map for him to use. Bad news, it is deeper in Huan Hua territory than he thought.

So that means there needs to be a lot of planning involved to free her.

Shen Yuán did some mental rearranging in his head over what to focus on first. The first thing he would focus on is freeing Tianlang-jun because having a full bloodied heavenly demon out of his mountain prison is a major advantage. Then, they would free Su Xiyan. And hopefully by then, Luo Binghe would only be a few years away from getting out of the Endless Abyss.

He could start gaining info from Gongyi Xiao and tracking Huan Hua during his attempt to free Tianlang-Jun. That way things can fall easily into place when things start coming together. He would need to talk with the others and make a list and timeline of this plan. It would take a lot of time and planning to free both of Luo Binghe’s parents without setting off any alarms in the cultivation world.

One wrong move and his core can get ripped out of him before being tossed into prison to rot alone. Shang Qinghua might be able to get away with Mobei Jun if his cultivation sect doesn’t track him down. Hell, maybe he could escape with Zhuzhi-Lang if he was lucky.

Hopefully it doesn’t have to get to that point if they plan it out well instead of rushing into things like the low IQ villains that Shang Qinghua has cooked up before.

And luckily, if it does come to that, theyw puldhave their back up bodies for when they die very gruesome death! So if worse comes to worse, they could easily escape via dying and moving far away with their back up bodies.

Bah! He should stop thinking of the worst outcomes for now. That was for his nightmares to take care of.

Shen Yuán waved away the negative thoughts of death and torture to focus on sneaking his way back towards the mountain prison where Zhuzhi-Lang and Tianlang-Jun was waiting.

Once the cave opening was back in sight, he made sure to hurry inside with his eyes fixed on the skies to make sure there were no cultivators flying overhead. He maneuvered past the talismans and slipped inside the cave.

“Xizhi-Lang?” Shen Yuán called out as he practically crawled inside. He stumbled his way through the dim way through the mountain cave

“Ooh, what a cute little pet name.” Tianlang-Jun commented with a delighted tone.

“Cultivator Shen! You’re back.” Zhuzhi-Lang completely ignored his uncle as he slithered up to him. His snake-like mouth titled up into a crooked smile as his unruly black hair fell over his eyes. Yet those eyes were trained on him. “I’m glad you are safe.”

Shen Yuán took a moment to push back Zhuzhi-Lang’s hair absentmindedly as his snake froze at his gentle touch. He heard Tianlang-Jun let out a suspicious sounding hum somewhere in the background.

He pulled his hand away although Zhuzhi-Lang’s face seemed to follow his palm. Shen Yuán sighed and looked towards the heavenly demon trapped on the ground. “There’s something you should know.”

He began to spill all the details he could remember from Gongyi Xiao about how her body was preserved somewhere on the Huan Hua territory. He felt Zhuzhi-Lang creep closer and stay near his side as they both watched Tianlang-Jun’s reaction to the news.

Safe to say, he wasn’t happy at all.

“He WHAT?!” Tianlang-Jun’s voice echoed off the cave walls. Shen Yuán flinched at the pure ferocity and venom in his tone. “That motherless perverted monster still dares to harp on my dear Xiyan?!” The heavenly demon made eye contact with him, those burning red eyes burrowing into his very soul.

“Shen Yuán, how long will it take to get me out of here again?” Tianlang-Jun’s mere tone commanded him to answer.

Yet Shen Yuán was merely a nervous man against this powerful heavenly demon. He admitted, “I’m not sure how long it will take.”

“Urgh!” Tianlang-Jun groaned in frustration. He could tell that if his clawed hands were free, he would be raking them through his curly hair. “I will follow your request in making a plan. However, I must implore you to put this in motion quickly. Because now that I know that my beloved’s body has been preserved in such a way—even though I’m not happy about who did it—it means that I have a chance to bring her back.”

“In the Holy Mausoleum?” Shen Yuán asked.

Ah shit. Both pairs of eyes stared at him in confusion and curiosity. “Hm. How would you know about something like that?

[Host! Think quickly! I believe in you! ^_^]

‘You’re not helping!’ Shen Yuán whispered-shouted inside his mind. Then, he used the first excuse he could think of. “I read about it in a book once. It was such a throwaway sentence though, so I was just guessing.”

“Care to share what title it was?” Tianlang-Jun asked with a tilt in his voice like they were just chatting normally. But Shen Yuán could practically feel the underlying threat in his words. And he was not the only one if the fact that Zhuzhi-Lang slithered closed meant anything.

“I’ve read so much by now that I’ve lost track of them with all the bestiaries and rather disappointing romances I have read.” Shen Yuán answered with all the confidence he could muster in his voice. “I’m sure it was somewhere in the library back at the cultivation sect.”

“Hm. Disappointing,” Tianlang-Jun replied. His stare did not move from his person. “Do you know much about the Holy Mausoleum?”

Shen Yuán waved his hand in the air to cement the fact that his information was useless. He couldn’t spill all he knew from his reader’s knowledge. But he could give the gist without saying too much, right? “It was merely a sentence about a place that is very dangerous but could bring someone to life. I don’t know many details about it.”

“Well, I will say that that place could be used to bring back my love if everything falls into place. It would be too dangerous for a cultivator like you though.” The heavenly demon explained. His gaze drifted to his snake nephew. “Dear nephew, can you imagine? My wife and I and you and your cultivator all together just a few years from now.“

“Uncle! Ssstop, this lowly one begs,” Zhuzhi-Lang replied.

“Fine, fine.” Tianlang-Jun said. “Well, I’m sure that we’ve come to a stopping point as far as I can tell.” He directed his full attention to Shen Yuán with a more calm gaze. “For now, rest your power for the night and you can leave in the morning. I would offer refreshments but sadly this cave only has insects to snack on.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Shen Yuán let out a chuckle.

“However, I must ask for one favor from my dear nephew since it will be some time before I see you both again.” Tianlang-Jun ended his statement with a shit-eating grin.

“What is— oh.” Whatever it was, Zhuzhi-Lang could tell just by his tone of voice. Shen Yuán looked at him in confusion as his snake friend sighed heavily.

Then he watched as his friend slithered away to a meager pile of books. Books?! How come he didn’t see them before? They must have been hidden behind one of the cave spikes or wall edges.

“I’ve been waiting for you to finish the next volume of The Heart of the Night Blossom Guard.” Tianlang-Jun cheerfully said as Zhuzhi-Lang sullenly picked up the next volume by pushing it off the pile with his tail and curling around it.

The heavenly demon turned to him with an excited smile that befit a young child about to get candy. “Oh, Cultivator Shen! You can voice the love interest. Unless your prefer the position the main character is in.”