Chapter Text
[ Special System Announcement!
Muted and Story Complete Setting Overridden! ]
Not for the first time, Shen Qingqiu pondered if he could in some manner successfully unleash Luo Binghe on the System. Binghe would do it. He’d absolutely do it. Gleefully. In fact it had taken the System screeching bloody murder right in Shen Qingqiu’s eardrums to make him not give in to the teary puppy dog eyes his husband got when he had finally, finally achieved the ability to shut the thing down and just enjoy his life and had revealed it all to the man he loved. To his understanding Mobei-jun and Shang Qinghua had gone through a similar experience.
Groaning, he sat up to blink blurrily at the room around him. Beside him, Binghe yawned. “A-yuan?”
God fucking… The notification had to wake him up early enough that Binghe was still asleep?
At his annoyed grunt, his loving and doting husband frowned. Immediately he was sitting up and wrapping his arms around Shen Qingqiu’s waist. For his part the man just held up his hand. “Hold on, the System is being… itself.”
The low growl against his back was soothing. “Whatever Shizun needs or wants.”
[ Special Announcement: System Security Upgrade is ready!
Installation and Update will begin momentarily!
System Features may be offline during this upgrade.
Thank you for your continued Subscription! ]
He breathed out, the tension easing from his shoulders. “Apparently it’s doing some kind of “Security Upgrade” and will be offline for a few.” He went ahead with the air quotations. Binghe had become somewhat aware of what the motion meant although he seemed to still have to think about it. That, or he just watched with a soft smile because he really did mean it when he called Shen Yuan’s mannerisms showing through adorable.
Content, behind the palace walls and surrounded by the life they had built, Shen Qingqiu leaned back with a faint smile. “You know… since we’re both up…”
[ Warning! Warning! Warning!
Error has occurred ]
He hissed at the ringing of alarms, sitting up to clench at his head. Immediately Binghe was there, though he couldn’t make out what he was saying. He felt his knees start to give, Binghe guiding him to the floor as more and more red boxes filled his vision.
“Oh… you fucking bitch. Don’t you… god damn it! ...” Shen Qingqiu’s breath sucked in at the oh so soft tone that cut through everything else. Like someone speaking quietly above a video game. No! No, this was real! This was real! His Binghe was real! He could feel the tears starting to streak down his face, the room losing focus at an alarming rate.
Then it was gone. The room was gone, the touch was gone, his husband muttering soothing but unheard words was gone. There was no heat, no cold, no anything.
There was a shaky sigh in that same soft but distant tone, and then a groan. He knew that groan. In himself it was usually accompanied by running his hands down his face. “That's it. That’s just… I’m gonna kill him. I’m going to turn him back into a mortal and I’m going to fucking kill him. Hey! You! Yeah you, you fucker. What did I say huh! What did I say about not touching this one! Get over here!”
Well… at least there was a god or system admin on his side. Were they kind of the same thing to a transmigrator with a system? Maybe they were just straight up both? Bit of an odd job choice for a god but whatever he guessed. Either way, good otherworldly being, can Shen Yuan have a turn? Just… just a little discussion. You know… just long enough to get Binghe involved. It’ll be great! As a system admin you can just add his arms back on right? Plus, would it count as workplace violence? Surely it wouldn’t be as obvious as doing it yourself!
Shen Yuan didn’t know how long he stayed in… wherever he was. A loading screen? Certainly it was a bit like things simply hadn't been rendered. At most…eventually… there was another tired sight. “Alright… let’s see just how much fucking damage there was. Corrupted save. Corrupted save. Corrupted save. Fucking hell.” There was a long groan. “I am so sorry, Qingqiu. Gods this is going to be a while, but I can’t just leave him in purgatory. Can I load Binghe in maybe? No… maybe… ah but a pocket dimension might corrupt too because someone chose to fuck around with the reality access privileges. Oh, there’s a backup save! Special Quicksave Event Due to Perilous Conditions? Wonder why that one survived…”
Relief washed through Shen Yuan. Yes! Yes! Send him back to his precious husband. It was fine if he rewound a little bit in time! Just…please…
“Come on baby load…”
Reality snapped back into place around him, Shen Qingqiu immediately dropping to his knees to feel the honestly kind of dirty wood floor under him. He flinched, scrambling back and up against a bed as notifications rang off, though for some reason the tone quieted with each one.
[ Special Quicksave Event Due to Perilous Conditions loaded!
It appears you have failed current mission, penalty wi- ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Mission Failure Penalty waved by [Admin] ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Temporary Status Acquired: Heavenly Blessing
Effects Include: Temporary “Immunity to Danger”, 200% increase to all stats, temporary immunity to status effects, AOE effects, and environmental effects
Please use responsibly!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Security Patch ]
He breathed in, letting his head hang a bit. Thank you, thank you. If he knew the admin’s name he’d definitely light incense for them! Though, of course, it was the System’s fault that any of this had happened in the first place… the system and whoever had apparently initiated the update when they weren’t supposed to.
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations
Character profile manual override initiated!
All System Related Achievements have been uploaded from last known status!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Security Patch ]
The somewhat muted fanfare that he had last seen when he completed the main storyline went off. It still made him flinch, heart now pounding louder than the notifications and had the color changed too? It didn’t seem like the blue was as harsh and unnatural now.
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations
Main Storyline has been marked Complete!
Please be sure to leave a review! ]
At that one his heart sank a little bit. Marked… complete? Sure, he had completed the storyline when he ran off with Binghe, had seen the notification as they retired to their bridal bed. Did that mean… did that mean he wasn’t married to Binghe currently? No, no, no, no!
Frantically he looked around the room. Where was he? When was he? How far back had that stupid admin sent him? Where was his Binghe!?
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Security Patch ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Security Patch ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Fucking Security Patch ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Because for some reason there’s a limit of 999 ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: I will do this as many times as needed until I feel he has a sufficient amount to deal with your bullshit ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Fuck You ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Fuck whoever made this a required field ]
[ Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!
Good things must be said 3 times!
+999 B Points!
Authorized by [Admin]
Reason Given: Damn it all… apparently it was me who made it required ]
Okay, maybe the admin had handled the situation decently enough to not warrant the rant Shen Yuan was getting ready to go into. Certainly the notifications kept going off. Though… where had this guy been when he was actually dealing with the plot huh? He could have used some of these overrides!
Now that the system notifications were… almost nice in volume and contrast, he got to his feet. Physically he felt… a little light but overall roughly the same. Pulling up his stats showed that most of the points grinding he had been working on had remained and far as mental and cultivation status went. Then that left… figuring out when and where.
He got all of two steps before there was a knock on the door. Vaguely familiar, but it would be. “Come in!” He looked presentable right? At a glance down he had the acceptable number of layers for the… hotel room? … in place. A pot of tea sat on the table along with a lantern that had clearly been going for a while. How late at night was it? Who in the world would be knocking on his door this late?
The moment the door slid open he felt any and all remaining tension leak out. “Binghe… thank the heavens.”
Of course it would be Binghe this late although it was a bit unusual for him to knock. Whatever… He smiled, already crossing the room to soak in his husband’s embrace. So what if it was unusually forward of him for this time period. It had always been his own thin face slowing them down, his own lack of trust that his husband loved him. “Gods, the system did something absolutely…”
His voice faded away as he came to a stop. Something… something was wrong. Binghe had come into the room, looking bemused and he hadn’t opened his arms to embrace Shen Qingqiu. Instead he was just… staring out of such dark eyes, a coiling miasma of red in the depths that beckoned one in. “Shizun is so welcoming to this Binghe.”
The sweet tone had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He knew that tone… he hated that tone. Slowly, his eyes slid over Binghe’s shoulder to the sword he carried on his back. Oh fuck…
Binghe had Xin Mo… Binghe was dressed in his early demon warlord glory with Xin Mo on his back as he strode into Shen Qingqiu’s rooms late at night. Shen Qingqiu looked around the room again, swallowing. “Jinlan City…” They were… he had been sent all the way to Jinlan City… He was going to be sick. “No… no…” It was a little bit of a desperate sound, one that managed to break Binghe’s smug smile. Not that Shen Qingqiu cared a whole lot. Well… he cared in so much as he always cared about Binghe’s expression but…
He raked back the sleeve covering his hand, the lantern light showing the splash of splotchy red. “Gods damn it.” It was definitely Sower’s Rash, which put him in a timeframe of a few hours though… he already knew that. Groaning, he ran his hands down his face. Perilous Conditions Quicksave… gods I might have actually died the first time around… Even with the amount of trust and years of growing to understand each other his husband could turn a little feral if they decided to play cat and mouse. A feat which usually took a lot of convincing to get Binghe to do at all. No wonder!
His body betrayed him, not tensing in the slightest and instead going along when Binghe lunged forward and caught his hand. “Shizun was infected?”
He snapped out his other hand, covering Binghe’s mouth and teeth. “Nope!” Ah that was… Yeah, he somewhat deserved the blindsided look in Binghe’s eyes. It had been an action of habit, since his husband was prone to both deploying the hurt puppy eyes if he tried to shake his sticky husband as well as immediately biting himself to draw on his cure all Heavenly Demon Blood any time Shen Qingqiu so much as hinted at being compromised. “That is…uh…” Maybe he shouldn’t have stuck his hand so close to a currently mildly unstable Binghe’s mouth. Well… Binghe always had a mild streak of instability but mostly it was geared towards swinging into lust or devotion at the slightest hint he could get away with it. With his husband this young there might be some anger or fear involved which didn’t tend to go well.
Right on cue. Binghe’s eyes fell, seeming almost half lidded. Somewhere distantly he wondered if Binghe had momentarily forgotten about the Sower’s Rash since he let go. Probably not, even if he had brought his hand up to the one Shen Qingqiu had pressed over his mouth. And there’s the tongue and the bedroom eyes. Dear gods, how did I miss that the first time around?
Feeling his face heat at both the actions of his shameless… not yet husband and his own body’s immediate interest and reaction, he coughed. “Binghe…” He wanted to snap half a dozen things, he wanted to get past this teasing, he wanted… he wanted… But his poor not yet husband had just gotten out of the Endless Abyss. He was hurting, and confused, his maiden heart crushed and pieces of it snatched away by Xin Mo and the Old Palace Master to be used against him and this was definitely not helping. His other hand rose, brushing Binghe’s hair back. “Binghe, look at me.”
Immediately those eyes were on his, shining faintly red even through the human facade. Binghe relented enough to slide his lips along Shen Qingqiu’s wrist. “Hm… Shizun is giving this disciple such mixed messages.”
He knew. He knew so, so deeply that it felt like one of Mobei-jun’s ice spears was growing in his heart. “I know.” He didn’t want to do all that again. He… he couldn’t! He wouldn’t! He absolutely refused and wouldn’t and… and didn’t have to.
“Shizun-?” He hadn’t even realized that his grip had shifted. One hand remained lax in Binghe’s hold, the other patting at his hair. A moment longer and he would have started trying to draw Binghe into an embrace. That might be a little too much. Binghe would still be angry and confused. If Shen Qingqiu hugged him now he’d either break down crying or throw them onto the bed… with a not impossible chance of doing both. Granted, he wasn’t entirely sure that it wouldn’t help Binghe’s current mental state and make him overall feel much more secure but it could also have the exact opposite effect, and to be quite honest Shen Qingqiu didn’t want to deal with the bitiness and general rushed instinctual nature of an early Binghe while the man was also crying in such a way that Shen Qingqiu would give him absolutely anything he wanted. There was also Xin Mo to consider and just… He drew in a deep breath. They had worked so hard on understanding each other and all of that had been reset. Well… not all of it. His eyes opened, hand patting at Binghe’s hair.
“This master doesn’t mean to. He doesn’t mean to be so cruel and confusing.” He had all of his stats and achievements. The admin had flagged his main story plotline as complete… He had all of his memories… had years of experience learning who he really was with Binghe welcoming him at every step, who had been so understanding any time he slid back. His Binghe who had always been ready to embrace him, who had only ever wanted Shen Qingqiu to want to. He had spent years accepting himself and working on his ability to actually talk to his husband.
He was shaking slightly when he looked back at Binghe who looked… concerned. Trying to fight the smile a little bit, since Shen Qingqiu of this area usually hid his smile, he lightly tugged his hand free while doing his best to make it obvious he wasn’t going anywhere. A feat mostly achieved by drawing Binghe’s hand closer to him until Binghe took the initiative to tentatively place it on his cheek. “My poor Binghe.”
Binghe’s eyebrows shot up. “Shizun?”
“This master was so cold to Binghe earlier… he’s sorry. It came as a surprise to see Binghe again so soon.”
Suspicion crossed over his sweet husband’s face. Still, like a moth to flame he came forward. He braced but managed to hold still as Shen Qingqiu raised his hands to the face that was so familiar, even if there were still a few changes left to take place. “Binghe…” The demon lord let him cup his cheeks, went with the gentle pressure to bend his head down.
Even if it was hidden, Shen Qingqiu knew where the demon mark was. Binghe shook as he pressed his lips to it. His poor husband… who had needed years of reassurance via small acts like this, who had needed them constantly in the beginning. “My sweet Binghe… this master isn’t disgusted. He doesn’t hate demons.” He pressed another kiss to the shaking form that was slowly sliding down to his knees. Ah, he could feel tears over his thumbs. “This master doesn’t hate Binghe.”
“Then why?” It’s soft, a bit cracked. This close though Shen Qingqiu can feel the pulse from Xin Mo, can hear as the anger coiled into Luo Binghe’s voice. “Liar.”
He didn’t fight Binghe standing up, didn’t make any effort to block the shove backwards. It was a decent reminder of his husband's strength, even when he was this young. “You aren’t Shizun!”
Shen Qingqiu winced, but held out his hand. “Test this one then.” Binghe’s eyes widened, his stalking step forward faltering. “Anything Binghe would like this master to do that proves it is him, in his rightful mind.”
Binghe’s fists clenched and unclenched. “How did Shizun escape the Skinner?”
He blinked. That was the verification Binghe chose? He supposed it was a bit far-fetched if you weren’t there to see it but honestly things like that happened so often around the protagonist that it was just par for the course. “Lightning struck the beam above the Skinner’s head. When it fell, it also freed Binghe who freed this master.”
“How did Shizun know lightning would strike?”
His lips twitched. He hadn’t. “Binghe doesn’t know that answer, how could he use it to verify this one is who he says he is?” He breathed, holding out his hand again even as Binghe’s face curled into a snarl.
“That day… Shizun said he would protect this one, protect this disciple so that he wouldn’t be harmed!” Ah… Binghe had confessed to him a few years into their marriage that the event had left a deep mark on him. It had been Shen Qingqiu’s chronic obliviousness that he assumed Binghe meant in terms of it being his sexual awakening and not thinking about any other pieces beyond his own embarrassment. It seemed there was a scar there too he had never managed to see. “Shizun threw this Binghe away!”
“I did and… I’m sorry.” Binghe missed a step. “This master regretted it… so much, and he always will.”
Had this been the first time around for Shen Qingqiu he was sure the grip would have been far too harsh. As it was… he only felt grief well up at the memory of Binghe holding that tightly to his hips the night before. Husband… He… even with Binghe standing in front of him he had lost that husband.
His head tilted down, breath shuttering in and out. He couldn’t cry. Not right now. His Binghe was hurting, his husband needed him. “Shi-shizun?”
Fuck it. The Admin had granted him temporary immunity to danger right? And even if he didn’t have that… he knew his husband. Binghe had never wanted him dead, had just become prone to lashing out with violence and anger when his heart was threatened again and again. Shen Qingqiu wrapped his arms around Binghe, pulling him close. It was fine… Binghe was here. Things would always work out if Binghe was there, and this time… Shen Qingqiu would be too.
The arms that wrapped around him were hesitant. “Shizun?”
“This one is sorry. So, so sorry. This one failed. Not only did he not protect his precious Binghe, this master was the one who… This master never wanted to hurt Binghe, never wanted to cause Binghe such pain. He couldn’t.. He couldn’t explain before but now…” He drew back, setting his hands on Binghe’s cheeks as he gave him a watery smile. “Now this master can explain many things.” Because the story was done. The System was quietly ringing off satisfaction points off in the corner but it was soft and could be ignored. There were no alarm bells, no dire warnings or threats.
Binghe looked a bit stunned and there was some edge rising and falling in the depths of his eyes, but nodded. Shen Qingqiu pressed his lips to the hidden mark again before carefully stepping back. Okay, he could do this. He’d done it once already… or sort of. He had the practice anyway, and years and years of slowly building up his face and the ability to truly relax around Binghe. There was a flash of doubt on if Binghe would accept who he really was under the guise of Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu but it was an old worry. Binghe had assured him time and again that it was those little glimpses under the mask during his disciple days that had made him fall in love. He had even laughed the first time he had coaxed Shen Qingqiu into enough of a rage to drop the polished aloof cultivator image and go into a full Peerless Cucumber style rant about a specific scene in a new book.
Shen Qingqiu gestured towards the bed rather than the chair by habit. He could feel his face flushing red but didn’t correct it. “Binghe should make himself comfortable. This isn’t as secure as this master would prefer for a full in depth discussion, nor would there really be time but it will hopefully settle Binghe’s mind a bit. Ah…” When Binghe turned slightly, he pointed at Xin Mo. “Put that somewhere else.”
Binghe’s eyebrows crept up, the too sweet smile dancing over his face. “Shizun would have this disciple unarmed?”
Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, catching hold of Binghe’s hand. “This master is fully aware that Binghe has no need of a sword to be dangerous.” He… might have spent a lot of time playing with his husbands hands. Especially when the man was asleep or more often pretending to be asleep. The little tap of qi might have been too much for the still young Binghe. In the future such a thing would readily extend the normally retractable claw on that finger. As it was… it extended all of them. Huh… Binghe sweetheart… you really did rush your leveling in the Endless Abyss too much.
The demon lord sat, looking with wide stunned eyes at where Shen Qingqiu continued to hold his hand. After a moment, Shen Qingqiu tapped the other’s wrist to show he was done and stepped back, only realizing when Binghe leaned forward slightly that it wasn’t a known gesture. He turned, looking for his fan and adding dismissively. “If Binghe feels more comfortable with a sword, he can borrow Xiu Ya for a bit. He just can’t have that cursed thing on him.” It was highly unusual for them to borrow each other’s swords but it wasn’t unheard of. It happened more in the heat of battle, the other taking command of both swords while the other was down. Xiu Ya had always been comfortable with it, steadying the frantic edge’s of his husband’s control with the steady reassurance that the sword was there, that Shen Qingqiu was there.
It only occurred to him that he might have done something uncharacteristically intimate when Binghe sucked in a breath that sounded downright painful. When he glanced back, the poor boy’s eyes were as round as saucers. “Shizun would… Xiu Ya?”
Ah, yeah. He’d definitely offered something ridiculously intimate. Oh, there was his fan. He had liked this one before it wore out. “Binghe doesn’t have to-”
“This disciple accepts!” He nearly let the fond smile escape as his little blackened lotus shown through. He immediately started undoing Xin Mo’s harness. Shen Qingqiu unfurled the fan to hide where he was definitely failing at hiding the smile. His other hand reached out, calling for his own sword. He actually swayed slightly as his qi which he had grown so used to running so cleanly through him clogged and stagnated. “Oh for…”
He drew in a slow breath, waving Binghe back down from where he had started to rise. “This master is fine. He just forgot about Without-A-Cure.” Hey, hey Admin, you couldn’t have removed that too? The System couldn’t have even bothered to helpfully remind him that he was in the middle of a flare up?
Whatever, he’d save his rant for later. Rubbing his temple he strode across to manually retrieve the sword while Binghe stared at him. “Shizun… forgot?”
He knew his hum of acknowledgement sounded grumpy. Idly he wondered if Binghe could read the pout in it yet. The poor boy was staring at him way too hard as he handed the sword over. Xin Mo was immediately banished, seething in a dark aura, to the corner.
He sat on the bed beside Binghe, folding up his legs and settling his hands. Binghe shifted enough to face him, hands clenched on the sword. Actually seated, facing his darkened lotus… he felt a bit nervous. Binghe would believe him right?
Shen Qingqiu drew in a slightly deeper breath. “This master will do his best to explain briefly due to the time and location. Because of that he’s going to compare things in such a way that it isn’t quite accurate but may be easier for Binghe to understand quickly okay?”
Binghe’s eyes narrowed, before he glanced down at the sword. After a moment he looked back. “Very well, but Shizun will explain in depth later?”
“Yes.”
Binghe nodded, and after a moment drew himself up like a disciple preparing for a lecture. “This Binghe is ready.”
Okay, he could do this. He could absolutely do this. Binghe might even be a bit more reserved this time which would be… nice. “This master does ask that Binghe be willing to believe him as well. There are… many aspects that might be very hard to grasp and which sound like fantasy.” It got him a narrowed gaze but a short nod. “Firstly… Firstly…” Where did he start? He closed his eyes, considering. “Okay, this master is going to list off the revelations, and asks that Binghe not interrupt until they are done, alright?”
For a long moment Binghe stared at him, then nodded.
“Okay…” He drew in a deep breath, mentally reviewing. “I think… 7 points.” He held up his hands to illustrate, counting down for each one.
“This master’s personal name is Shen Yuan.” Binghe’s eyes flashed, and Shen Qingqiu could see both how his lips thinned like he was biting his own cheek and how his hands tightened on the sword. He didn’t interrupt however, and rather than face what was sure to be a fascinating display of little tells and emotions, Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes. He couldn’t afford to get distracted and not get all of this out. He could already feel his resolve giving out under him.
“This master knew, the entire time, that Binghe was half Heavenly Demon.”
“This master is… not quite a seer. He’s a transmigrater but for now Binghe can think of it like being a seer. This one has seen a fut- oh… I guess it’s two now. Has seen two futures revolving around Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe. They are not set in stone by any means and this master only sees them as a single instance so he does not know how any changed action will affect that future.”
“The first future made this one so angry and heartbroken for the frankly unnecessary pain and loneliness that Luo Binghe faced that when a… being… offered this one a chance to fix it, he accepted.”
“That deal allowed this Shen Yuan to become Shen Qingqiu, but also came with a price. That price being that the being, calling itself System, has set tasks and goals. Some of them there is room to maneuver… others which it deems important are unavoidable.”
“Binghe entering the Endless Abyss was one such and one of the only that had no room for debate or significant change though this master desperately tried.”
“This master is telling Binghe all of this now because he finally can, and in an effort to avoid many of the misunderstandings and pain in the second future.”
For a moment he considered, before sighing. Opening his eyes he was faced with a white knuckled Binghe who was staring at him intently. Somewhat distantly, perhaps because of Without-A-Cure, he could feel the steady hum of Xiu Ya, knew that it’s energy was curling up and around Binghe’s fingers. It really was such a wonderful sword. “It’s much too simple… but this master hopes that Binghe can accept such an explanation. Where does he wish for more clarity?”
Binghe nodded, closing his eyes and he breathed in and out as all of the disciples were taught to enter meditation. At the question he held up his hand. Shen Qingqiu remained silent, watching as Binghe put his own thoughts in order. Shen Qingqiu took the chance to glance towards Xin Mo which was nearly oozing discontent. He rather wished that there was a way to call Zheng Yang. The poor thing had a habit of becoming overexcited any time Shen Qingqiu touched it, sometimes nearly managing to actual rattle in it’s eagerness to serve. Not dissimilar to the man who was bonded to it.
“This… System… is a being that Shizun can speak to? For it to give him orders?”
“Not… exactly. There is a sort of mental connection. It doesn’t have a physical form and this one is not so sure it could be removed even if there was a physical form without also killing this master.” It was the argument that had finally brought his husband down from wanting to march out on the warpath.
Binghe opened his eyes, considering him carefully. “This being is who Shizun is speaking to when he goes away mentally?”
He blinked, then reared back. “Wait, you can see that?” He had always thought he was good at hiding it, or that the System paused time to hide itself or something. No one had ever mentioned it! Literally no one had ever mentioned it! Husband!
Binghe winced. “It is very brief. All of the disciples noticed but thought it was a lingering effect of Shizun’s qi deviation.”
He sighed, rubbing his temple. “I suppose in a way it was… is? Ah, this back and forth messes with tenses.”
“The second future that Shizun saw… he received that vision between when this Binghe saw him earlier today and now?”
“Hm, more or less. To anyone else it would seem that way, yes.”
“But not to Shizun?”
He raised his shoulder in a slight shrug, looking away. “To this master, between the time Binghe stood before the body of a Sower and the time Binghe knocked on this master’s door… he li-saw decades. It makes time frames a bit hard to place.”
Binghe gave him the odd look, too many emotions in it for him to really read. “And during those decades… Shizun saw the cure for Without-A-Cure.”
He felt himself flush slightly red. “Ah… this master actually… that is…”
The demon’s eyes narrowed. “No… Shizun had already known what the cure was. He dismissed the flower because he had already seen in the first future that it wouldn’t work.”
He sighed, wondering vaguely if Mu Qingfang might have a mild truth serum on him. Would that make it easier or would he just add way too much on his already overloaded husband. “Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Um… that is… this master would rather not reveal such a thing since it might influence Binghe’s actions and…”
“Shizun.” He eased at the hands on his knees, Binghe leaning forward. “Shizun instantly relaxed the moment he saw this disciple tonight. He doesn’t pull away. He actively touches this Binghe. He allowed this Binghe to hold Xin Ya, which has been attempting to connect, to ground this Binghe despite Shizun’s current flare-up. Shizun knows this Binghe would do anything for him, yet he hesitates, which tells this one that it directly involves him. If it’s pain, this one doesn’t care. He’ll give Shizun anything.”
He drew in a breath. Come on. It was practically a nightly act and he was exceptionally open about his interest starting way too early! Plus… the way his mind is turning he’s going to do something extreme in an attempt to guess. “Dual Cultivation, with a heavenly demon.”
“Oh.” Binghe stared at him, hard. “In the future Shizun saw, he was cured. Cured for long enough that he forgot it would affect him when he went back.”
He coughed, inching the fan up to cover the blush. “That is…”
“Will Shizun be cultivation partners with this one? Will he accept courtship from a demon lord? This disciple apologies for being unskilled but will endeavor to-” Said demon lord had managed to scooch forward, nearly filling Shen Qingqiu’s lap and his face was much too close.
“Binghe!” He snapped, the fan snapping shut to bop off the fluffy head. “This is exactly why this master didn’t want to tell you!”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. It has been this one’s dream for many years. Shizun admitting the future cure is just confirmation that this one might actually achieve such a dream.”
He sighed, “This master knows… a little too well this time around.”
“Then Shizun agrees?” Binghe surged forward slightly, seeming to catch himself at only the last moment before the sword could tumble out of his lap. “Shizun should be cured as quickly as possible.”
He flipped the fan, waving the guard with threat close to Binghe’s nose. It sent a pang through him that the man looked properly chastised rather than batting it away and kissing him. “This master does not have the proper items, nor is Binghe near as good at silencing arrays as he is going to shamelessly claim to be.”
Ah, there it was. He leaned forward, catching the fan to press his lips to the folded edge. “So if A-yuan has the items… and the privacy?”
He let out a dramatic sigh. How had this boy already narrowed in on his weak points? Whatever… he groaned, pulling back his fan. “Fine, fine this master agrees for when those things are arranged but it will be in a bed and watch the teeth!” He was going to have to deal with Binghe learning how to be good in bed all over again… although at least this time one of the two knew the proper order of things. Hopefully they could avoid the whole papapa to save the world thing too. Speaking of which, his eyes cast to the side, narrowing on Xin Mo. “Binghe should ask Mobei-jun about learning teleportation magic, and lock that thing away.”
Binghe nodded immediately. “What are Shizun’s suggestions? What works in the future.”
He blinked, then titled his head. “Uh… I don’t actually know. Xin Mo was destroyed during… certain events that hopefully won’t come to pass.”
Binghe’s hand on his knee tightened. “Destroyed?”
Why was Binghe so alarmed by… Oh. He sucked in a breath, rushing forward to put his hands on the cheeks. “Binghe survived! He survived and while it took a long time for both this master and him to recover there were many happy years and the last moments this master… that this master saw was waking up beside Luo Binghe in the demon realm. And the day before he made those little slices of meat this master likes so much so he could… because he knew… because… if he did…because Binghe is always there, he’s always fine.”
“Shizun,” He didn’t even realize that tears had overflowed until Binghe had reversed their hands, his thumbs rubbing the streaks of wet away. “Oh A-Yuan… it wasn’t just a vision for A-Yuan was it?”
He found himself drawn forward, tucked up against Binghe’s chest with Xiu Ya uncomfortably squished between them. He didn’t move it yet though, shivering in Binghe’s hug. So tight… like he always did when Shen Qingqiu got nightmares. Like Shen Qingqiu did in return. “It’s okay. It may take this disciple a while to catch up… but he’s here. This Binghe is here.”
That was right. Binghe was there. He might be fresh out of the Abyss, still jagged and rough and needing reassurance but he was there, and so was Shen Qingqiu this time. “Will Binghe clear this one’s meridians?”
He felt Binghe tense slightly, and then nod. “Of course, A-yuan.” The flow of qi wasn’t quite as steady or controlled as Binghe would achieve in a few years. It also didn’t have that delicate edge that he had gained during… during the time he repaired Shen Qingqiu’s blown out meridians but it was still Binghe’s. Shen Qingqiu leaned into the solid chest, listening to the heart that was a little fast, a little worked up.
“It’s probably a bad time to bother Mu Qingfang huh…” He heaved a sigh, Binghe carefully moving his hands to a better hold. “Tomorrow’s going to be so an-” He sat up, Binghe making a slight hurt noise. “Shit! Tomorrow!”
Binghe caught him, pulling him back down. “Shizun… please sit still. What happens tomorrow that’s so alarming?”
“Oh everything goes wrong. All kinds of accusations to destroy this master’s reputation, a fight nearly breaks out between Cang Qiong and Huan Hua, and this master ends up in the water prison awaiting… wait… wait none of that has to happen.” Binghe’s grip turned firm again when he started to turn, holding him in place with more force than he was really expecting as the qi continued to tug at the knots in his system.
“Binghe is here now… he should get his things from Huan Hua tonight and come back.”
He felt the slight twitch of Binghe’s fingers. “Yes, Shizun.”
“So Huan Hua can’t use Binghe’s change in alliance against this master… what else did they ramble on about… uh… oh! Zhuzhi-lang convinced one of the sowers to try and accuse me of helping set up the plague… not sure how to avoid that one yet. The Old Palace Master brought in Qiu Haitang to accuse this one of murdering the Qiu household which… to be fair… Shen Jiu did actually do but honestly… kind of justified plus he was more or less brainwashed at the time. I think the whole brothel thing came up? Oh, right, right. The sower rash thing.”
“A-yuan, A-yuan, slow down. This Binghe will take care of the sowers and Qiu Haitang.”
“No murdering her.” He caught the edge of Binghe opening his mouth to say something. “Or torturing her. Or revealing you’re a demon to her.”
“A-yuan has so many quick objections…”
He turned his head to give Binghe a look. “This master is fully aware that Xin Mo encourages darker thoughts and that currently Binghe might be a little impulsive.”
“Shizun! This disciple has been doing very well controlling himself!” His grip tightened a touch. “Even if getting to actually see A-yuan is making it exceptionally hard.”
He huffed. “This master supposes that’s true. He hasn’t been bitten yet.”
Binghe groaned, setting his forehead against Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder, the whine clear. “A-yuan tells me now that he expected it…”
“Not expected, but wouldn’t have been surprised.”
“Is A-yuan sure he’d rather have his meridian’s cleared than just cure his ailment outright?”
He snorted. “This master needs his meridians cleared if he’s going to cast a silencing array.”
For a moment Binghe was quiet, and then the tugging at the knots got noticeably more intense. Shen Qingqiu just huffed. “Be aware, if Binghe bites, this master might bite back.”
“A-yuan is just torturing this one now…” Binghe groaned.
He didn’t quite hold back the breath of laughter. Still, he raised his hand. “Oh, and no curing the sower rash. Not unless Binghe thinks he can get his blood mites to replicate its appearance.”
The flow of qi shivered before the man managed to bring it back under control. “Shizun would let this Binghe… he would let this Binghe’s blood be in him?”
“Didn’t this one just say he’s probably going to bite Binghe?”
He found himself hauled backwards until he was fully flush against the demon, arms wrapped around him and head burning in his neck. “This one doesn’t need any of his belongings from Huan Hua… they can keep them. He’ll just stay right here.”
Shen Qingqiu snorted. “Not a chance. This master knows there’s at least one other rare or sacred treasure Binghe’s using entirely incorrectly because he happened to pick it up in the abyss that needs to not be in the hands of children. Plus, this master has a pretty good idea of just how slimy and manipulative the Old Palace Master actually is. If he can hold Binghe for even a moment more he’s going to try and he might get nasty about it.” But he knew full well that if his husband had a distinct incentive to be quick about something he wouldn’t hesitate to turn the charm up to 110% and somehow leave everyone in the dust but also distinctly unruffled.
For a moment Binghe seemed to debate. “Will Shizun be upset if this lord is nasty right back?” Well, the charm or the intimidation. Either way really…
His lips twitched. “If Binghe has to be, but it would be better to let him take a public fall. Especially if the Little Palace Mistress can fall with him. Huan Hua Palace would be much better with Gongyi Xiao in charge.”
“This one noticed earlier that Shizun seemed to favor Gongyi Xiao. He makes a good leader then?”
“Favored… oh… yes when this master was surprised and off his footing Gongyi Xiao was very upstanding wasn’t he?” Faintly he felt the pulse of Xin Mo. Reaching up he wove his fingers into the fluffy hair he had grown so used to touching whenever he wanted. “There is no reason for Binghe to be jealous. Gongyi Xiao is a promising youth and if this master can convince Zhuzhi-lang to not kill him, then he will make a renowned cultivator someday. He is not however, and never will be, Binghe.”
The hold relaxed slightly. “Zhuzhi-lang kills him?”
“Unfortunately, although this master isn’t sure if setting things up to so that he doesn’t end up in the water prison will change that outcome anyway. In the second timeline Gongyi Xiao helped this master escape the water prison only a little bit before Zhuzhi-lang made his own attempt to kidnap this master. He killed many members of Huan Hua on his way in and out.”
For a long moment Binghe was silent, though Shen Qingqiu knew better than to think he was just concentrating on a particularly annoying knot he had doubled back for. Eventually Binghe tilted his head. “Shizun… how do you know Zhuzhi-lang? What did Shizun do to personally offend him?”
“Ah…. offend isn’t the right word. Believe it or not he’s trying to help in his own way.”
“Help?”
“Hmmm. He has this… idea in his head.” The arms around him tightened, Shen Qingqiu shifted to scratch at just that point behind Binghe’s ear. Rather predictably he all but melted against Shen Qingqiu’s back with a faint sound of surprise and pleasure. Shen Qingqiu let up slightly, tilting his head though Binghe remained stubbornly buried in his shoulder. “Ah… will Binghe be able to concentrate if this master is doing that?” His husband of many years could but he had ample practice and many hours of lying in Shen Qingqiu’s lap while the older read and absently rubbed that same spot.
“This one is listening.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded slightly, resuming the pressure. Binghe shuttered but didn’t make another sound. “During the time Binghe was away, this master happened to meet Zhuzhi-lang by accident. This master didn’t know who he was at the time, and in fact hadn’t found out yet in the second timeline. While on a trip to pick up a rare mushroom that was in Huan Hua territory, this master happened across what he thought was a harmless and injured snake demon. He stopped Gongyi Xiao from killing it, retrieved the mushroom and went on his way. It wasn’t until after Zhuzhi-lang tracked this master down a few weeks into the future from tonight that this master found out the snake demon he saved was Zhuzhi-lang and that he has a whole belief about ‘a drop of kindness should be repaid by a flood’.”
Binghe drew in a deep breath. “Zhuzhi-lang believes that having a sower accuse Shizun of causing the plague, kidnapping him from prison while killing many members guarding the prison, and… and hunting him down? Are all acts of kindness?”
“He’s a little confused. Because Tainlang-jun is kind of on the warpath to either destroy the sects or merge the two realms Zhuzhi-lang is attempting to break this master’s ties to the human realm and get him somewhere he considers safe as repayment. Oh, and to keep Binghe from torturing this master with blood mites.”
Binghe groaned. “Shizun….” After a long moment he sighed, an action that moved them both. “This one understands the situation now, and thanks Shizun for warning him.”
Did he? Ah, trust the protagonist IQ to come through that nicely. “Binghe doesn’t have to worry about that tonight.” Or possibly at all. Zhuzhi-lang was half Heavenly Demon himself and notably older than Binghe but Binghe had always seemed to stand above him in terms of power and prestige. “Though he is slippery and pretty good at switching positions in the heat of the moment. Hopefully it’ll never come to it, but please understand that if this master runs off and drags Zhuzhi-lang behind him he definitely meant to grab Binghe.”
“Hopefully Shizun and this one have the chance in the near future for Shizun to recount everything in detail.”
He nodded slightly. “Soon. Though… it would be better to have many days after.” In the second timeline the conversation had taken place over a week in the safety of their hidden away woodside cabin and Binghe had cried… a lot… and actually refused papapa to make it a point that he was not the blackened stallion protagonist who only thought about revenge and sex. He had also been a bit prone to bursting into tears and heartfelt reassurances about how he would never harm Shen Qingqiu’s arms or legs.
Shen Qingqiu felt himself starting to blush as memories of certain discoveries they had made about exactly how Binghe felt about Shen Qingqiu’s limbs came to mind. It had been at that time after all.
“Shizun?”
He coughed, knowing full well it hid nothing of his blush. “It’s better this master doesn’t say. It would only be teasing and would rile Binghe up further.”
Binghe huffed, and shifted. “Yes, Shizun.” Shen Qingqiu tensed as he felt lips brush his shoulder, his neck just above the collar of his robes. His traitorous body and habits had him tilting his head to the side, knowing full well that they didn’t have the supplies or time right that moment.
The last knot was freed and Shen Qingqiu felt the qi flood through him. Immediately he was pushing himself standing. Resolutely he ignored the oh so faint whine. It had been an… interesting… conversation to find out that his husband hadn’t even been aware that he actually made the sound out loud. He had unfortunately then weaponized it. “Not yet. Binghe needs to fetch his things, Xin Mo has to be dealt with, this master has to draw a silencing array and find… and find supplies.” He scrubbed his hands down his face, considering. “Take Xin Mo for right now. This master would prefer if you had Zheng Yang but it’s still on the peak and with Zhuzhi-lang possibly around Binghe should be armed. Liu Qingge might also be a bit… upset if you run into him and it’d be better to keep pretending that he’s a powerful opponent to Binghe.”
Binghe’s eyebrows rose. “Pretend? Shizun believes this Binghe to be more powerful than Liu-shizhu currently?”
Shen Qingqiu paused, looking at the young man before him and actually considering. “Hmmm… well… Binghe must be. It was only a few weeks from this point that he must have fought off a very upset Liu-shidi while also still recovering from a nasty Xin Mo backlash. This master wasn’t able to see it but for later events to happen as they did it must be true. Ah though… if you can avoid a fight that would be better.”
Binghe nodded, before eying the sword carefully. “Shizun said that this Binghe suffers backlash from Xin Mo in the near future. What causes it?”
“Ah… that is…” He could feel the red creeping up. “This master might have done a few stupid things. He’s… aware… of what his actions may cause this time.”
Binghe raised an eyebrow at him, then his eyes narrowed. In quick strides he was across the room and oh so carefully tracing his knuckles down Shen Qingqiu’s face. “Hm…”
“Binghe?”
He wasn’t expecting to be tossed. He landed in an ungraceful yelp on the bed, legs automatically falling to either side. Immediately Binghe was there, bracketing him in and leaning far too close with his dark eyes searching. Shen Qingqiu huffed, smacking him with the fan. “Binghe! Not yet!” What had brought that on? Jealousy? Binghe did tend to be a bit more grabby when Liu QIngge was around. No, there had been too much delay.
“Kiss me.”
He blinked up at the man, and immediately shoved the fan between them, pressing it to those lips. “Binghe, if this one kisses you now, nothing else will get done tonight.”
Binghe made some noise, leaning forward as he shifted his weight to move the fan to the side. Shen Qingqiu took the chance, hooking his leg around Binghe’s waist. In a movement that at least for him was practiced though given Binghe’s instinctive tuck it was weighted a bit differently. Still, it was with relative grace that they ended up reversed, Shen Qingqiu setting his entire weight down on Binghe’s hips. Heat and static raced through him as it brought him into intimate contact with the half hard bulge Binghe robes were valiantly trying to hide. Setting a hand on the other’s chest Shen Qingqiu let his head fall to hide his expression. It definitely wouldn’t help if Binghe could see how hard he was fighting not to move. Just a little bit. Just a little bit of grinding. Shen Qingqiu shook, his hand curling into a claw as he fought the desire. It wouldn’t be a little bit.
He shuddered as Binghe moved. Binghe would be fully hard in moments and Shen Qingqiu wasn’t far behind. “Stop that!”
Shen Qingqiu hadn’t meant it to be quite that harsh. It worked, Binghe going completely and utterly still. For a moment Shen Qingqiu just breathed. “Has it occurred to Binghe… that this master might also be fighting for control himself?”
Binghe’s hands settled on his hips as a slightly strangled whine came up. “Shizun… is?”
“Yes, now if you would- don’t grind your hips up like that!” He would have smacked Binghe’s chest but he suspected that it would either encourage him or he’d fracture a little mentally under the rejection. Instead he settled on locking his legs nice and tight and catching Binghe’s chin in his hand. “Binghe, we do not have the supplies right this moment so we wouldn’t be able to go all the way. We would have to play around, and do some things, and then stop and go get the supplies, then come back and finish. Except that’s a bad idea, because this master is going to be furious if he is interrupted. Does Binghe understand?”
His little blackened lotus was staring up at him like he had hung the moon. Ah right… Normally Binghe led when they were in the bedroom. Shen Qingqiu had been too embarrassed and shy at first and then later far too happy to relax and let Binghe move him as the demon pleased or to be pampered. Binghe however would absolutely fall apart whenever Shen Qingqiu did take command. They had even recently gotten into a bit of the roleplays or situations that his husband had fantasized about when he was young. Shen Qingqiu taking him, Shen Qingqiu showing anger or annoyance, mock taking it out on Binghe. It had been a careful thing to step into, since while his husband was absolutely a masochist he was also deeply scarred and it was a thin line before it sparked off some fear of abandonment or sense of failure. Not at all helped by Shen Qingqiu’s raging guilt over the cruelty of both himself and Shen Jiu.
The man below him wasn’t as scarred. Oh, Shen Qingqiu was under no illusions that there were plenty of issues that needed to be dealt with but relatively speaking they were fresh. They hadn’t been set to fester for five years before being broken again, and again, always with Xin Mo in the background. And he never would bear that pain.
He wasn’t sure what the look on his face was. It was enough for Binghe to be carefully still under him, watching with some level of awe or amazement as Shen Qingqiu took his hand. Bringing it up, Shen Qingqiu encouraged it flat so he could run his fingertips over the flesh. He had long grown familiar with the scar on his husband's hand, every intricate detail as known to him as the calluses. The skin under his fingers now was unblemished. “Binghe keeps everything this master gives him.”
Binghe shivered, staring at him wide eyed as he let go of the hand, reaching instead to the collar of his robes. Pushing them aside he traced fingers over the also familiar scar above the demon lord’s heart. “It took this master years to convince Binghe, to make him swear that he wouldn’t let any wound this master inflicted scar ever again.”
He caught Binghe’s chin again, tilting his head slightly to the side as he leaned down. “Keep this one. Let it remind Binghe that this master cares for him, trusts him… So that any time he has doubts about if this master meant it, if he was sincere, Binghe can remember this master gave him this mark, and all it implies, willingly.” He pulled the collar to the side. The edges of it might be visible when Binghe wore some of the honestly outrageous demonic fashions like Mobei-jun favored but otherwise it’d be hidden. For a wild moment he did debate on moving higher, but he knew his husband would absolutely show off what he was about to do if he could get away with it.
He might be resigning himself to the torture that was Binghe displaying his chest any time he was holding demonic court. It took conscious effort not to curl his fingers, to not knead the muscle he could feel through layers of cloth.
“Does Binghe acce-”
He knew the answer already, Binghe giving a loud and desperate whine. “Yes! Yes! Please A-yuan. Please.”
Setting his teeth against the skin, he drew in a deep breath. He could do this. Yes, it would scar, and it would mark Binghe as his. No doubt before the night was done he’d wear a matching one. Warmth pooled in him at the thought, comforting him as he sank his teeth down as hard as he could. Shen Qingqiu didn’t have demonic fangs after all.
Binghe arched under him, Shen Qingqiu briefly reevaluating how pent up the poor man was even as the metallic taste filled his mouth. Fighting the urge to spit it out, he swallowed while Binghe turned boneless under him.
Letting go, he swung his leg over. Binghe managed to rouse himself, rolling over to reach for Shen Qingqiu as the man stood. “A-yuan…” The whine of it almost made Shen Qingqiu double back. Binghe, after something like that do you really think I’d just walk away?
“Give this master a moment, Binghe. He isn’t going anywhere.”
He plucked a cloth from his bags, considering it for a long moment. He didn’t recall anything significant about it, so he figured it was fine. The second one seemed just as mundane. Sitting at the edge of the bed he set one hand on Binghe’s hair and with the other wiped the blood from first his mouth and then Binghe’s shoulder. He somehow convinced a exceedingly sticky Binghe to hold pressure to the bite while he took the other cloth and started cleaning elsewhere. “Forgiveness, this master didn’t realize how close to the edge Binghe was.”
“This one loved it. A-yuan can do that any time.”
He snorted. “Only one scar. Heal any other marks right away.” He had no desire to go over the argument of letting the claw marks across the other’s shoulders heal again.
Binghe shivered. Yup, trust a Heavenly Demon to start recovering already. “Yes, yes Shizun. This one promises so long as A-yuan will do that again.”
He huffed, but honestly this was probably as clean as he was going to get Binghe without taking off pieces of clothing. Mostly satisfied, Shen Qingqiu let Binghe tuck himself into his lap for a few more moments. It let him carefully pat the too perfect hair. Maybe I should have given in when Binghe asked for a bite mark like that the first time. He had always refused, hating the idea of scaring the man more. To have a reassuring one though… to have a mark that clearly said whoever had made it knew the blood they were about to willingly take in. Binghe has it now. And Shen Qingqiu knew that the moment it scarred over there was nothing that could be done to remove it. After all, he had never successfully found a way to remove the scar on his hand and that was with Binghe’s grudging fought tooth and nail and lost agreement to even try.
For a few minutes both just sat, Shen Qingqiu mentally reviewing where his husband had been when they first truly embraced each other, debating on what would apply currently, what boundaries he would need to set for himself.
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t say he was particularly surprised when Binghe’s head turned slightly, when he felt a hot mouth press to his thigh. Shen Qingqiu lifted his hand rather than tug on the too soft hair. He knew perfectly well that Binghe loved his hair being yanked. The harder the better. “Binghe.”
Ah, he used the wrong tone. Binghe shivered slightly at the disapproving teacher voice. “This Binghe felt so good, he wants to repay Shizun.”
“Incentive for Binghe to hurry back for his things.”
“This one wouldn’t dare leave Shizun uncomfortable for that long.” The opened mouth kisses crept closer. Then Binghe whined, Shen Qingqiu sliding from his grip. The fan unfurled, Shen Qingqiu moving across the room to rummage through his bags. He had grown used to Binghe packing everything any time they went somewhere, it was going to take him a moment to figure out where he had thrown the talismans. Did he have them at all? Wait…
Binghe whined, but pulled himself off the bed. Shen Qingqiu paused, leaning back at the embrace and realizing only after Binghe stiffened that it was another habit. He breathed out a sigh while Binghe tightened his hold. “This one will be back as quickly as he can.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded. “This master will prepare in the meantime.”
The entire room felt a touch lighter as Binghe exited, taking Xin Mo with him. For a long moment Shen Qingqiu stared at the door. Then he turned, pulling up the System interface to see if maybe the thought that crossed his mind wasn’t as insane after all.
Admin had given him a lot of B-Points. His eyebrows rose as he read off the number along with a few other notes that had piled up while he ignored the System. Apparently the Admin had taken the opportunity to make a few other changes as well. Things like giving Shen Qingqiu control over the System’s interface theme as well as its volume. At least in most cases.
A small gray message icon was hopping up and down when he reached the bottom of the notifications. Raising an eyebrow, he popped it open.
[ System Notification: PM Request sent by [Admin]
Mark as Spam? / Accept
Caution: Host has no current connection to [Admin] ]
Was he going to be able to talk to the Admin? He clicked accept, the System fussing with it a bit and making him confirm at least two more times before it actually brought up the message.
Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan)
Please accept our sincerest apologies regarding the System Error you encountered. The world has been stabilized at this time and compensation for what was surely a traumatic experience added to your account. Please respond to this message and let us know if there are notable errors in the world reality and/or any other thoughts and criticisms. Please be aware that there is a character limit of 5,000 in the response field but multiple responses can be entered.
Regards
[Admin]
He stared at it for way too long, caught between the urge to absolutely make use of the whole multiple response thing… and a bit stunned that someone who was essentially a complete stranger would care enough or know him well enough to not only think of receiving a rant in reply but to subtly make it acceptable.
It warranted him thinking long and hard on the reply. Closing the message for now, he called up the System purchase page. Really… the available balance was a bit impressive. He might actually be able to afford one of the rare and unheard of treasures that were occasionally mockingly offered to him.
As it was he bought silencing talismans and to the System great joy, lube. Stashing a few of the talismans away into his inventory he found himself staring at the items from a lifetime ago. More than a lifetime ago for some. He must have been staring for a long time, since there was a quiet knock on the door.
“Come in.” He didn’t need to turn and look. He knew it was Binghe by the way he moved, the sounds of the sword being unbuckled.
“Shizun?” The man was cautious for some reason. Shaking himself fully back into the moment, he glanced back at Binghe who was stashing Xin Mo back into its corner. “Was Shizun speaking with System?”
“In a sense.” Feeling a little bit odd about the fact that apparently Binghe could not quite see that he had the screen pulled up but could tell something was off he looked back to it. “There are some benefits to the System. One of those being the ability to function similarly to a Qiankun pouch or a storage ring for items important enough to warrant it. This master stumbled across what he had been keeping there from this time while he was convincing it to let him purchase a few things.”
Binghe approached cautiously enough that he took a look at the man. Really, he wasn’t some delicate or fragile thing, Binghe didn’t need to approach like he would bolt. “What did Shizun pay with that he could purchase something?”
He blinked, then winced. “Eh… They’re called B-Points. It’s… a bit hard to explain but they’re rewarded for certain tasks or accomplishments.” He waved his hand dismissively. “The whole second future thing gave this master a lot of them so it’s fine to spend them on a few small things.”
This time his gesture included the talismans ready to be activated. Binghe raised his eyebrow, tracing careful fingers over the masterfully done characters. They weren’t quite what Shen Qingqiu had envisioned when searching. These ones were distinctly impressive, but it did save him quite a bit of work. “Luckily the System did have some, especially since it seems to be in a bit of a mood.”
Binghe eyed him curiously. “The System was able to provide the other items Shizun wanted or will those need to be fetched.”
“That item it always has.” He started to reach into his sleeve, a habit to hide the little flick of power before realizing he didn’t have to. Actually… it might be to his advantage to show it. Keeping the hand in sight he flicked it a bit like one would a magic trick. The jar settled comfortable in his hand with a distinct flicker of blue light. He ignored the unhappy ping from the system. It had lifted the restrictions on saying anything about it when the main plot was marked as complete. It could hardly argue this. “Though it is better to not use points quite that freely as to supply it all the time.”
Binghe took the jar, lifting the lid of it. He took the smallest amount, rubbing it between his fingers with an ever increasing look of amazement. “Oh…”
Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, looking away from the distinctly hungry look Binghe gave him. “This master has something else to give Binghe. This wasn’t bought… but kept in the safest place this master knew of so it would be safe.” Drawing his hand up, he flicked his fingers even as the necklace flared into life. The fake jade pendant dropped lightly to the end, catching in the lantern light. “So that this master might be able to return it someday.”
Binghe breath caught, the jar quickly set aside. Then he was taking the pendant, tracing his fingers over it while the system took the chance to get a little more attention by ringing off satisfaction points. “Shizun had this?”
“Mn.”
He was somewhat braced for the kiss, desperate as it was. He wasn’t quite ready to be picked up, though he adjusted quickly, looping his arms over Binghe’s shoulders. His husband didn’t quite have the grace Shen Qingqiu was used to. The steps were a bit heavy as he turned to deposit Shen Qingqiu onto the bed. Not that he was about to let go, instead dragging Binghe down with him as he directed the gnawing kiss. Not actually as bad as he feared it might be though it was desperate and needy and full of Binghe trying to press all of his emotion into it.
Binghe was the one to break the kiss, panting against Shen Qingqiu’s mouth. “Shi-”
He nipped, not too hard but enough to be reprimand. “Not in bed.”
Binghe shuttered, lying more weight on him. “A-yuan.” Binghe’s hands were already roaming, working their way under the trailing layers of cloth to feel out Shen Qingqiu’s thighs. “A-yuan has privacy wards. He has supplies. This Binghe has fetched his things. He’s seen to the Sowers and the Qiu woman. He can create the illusion of the sowers rash so please A-yuan, can we… can we?”
He hooked his leg around Binghe’s waist, bringing him in close and giving thanks that he had worked so hard on being able to actually say what he wanted. “Yes. Yes.”