Chapter Text
"Xiao-Jiu"
Shen Jiu turns his head to face where the sound came from, his practice sword dropping to his side. He's greeted by the face of Yue Qi, who since he had explained himself, had been visiting more often.
"Qi-ge." Shen Jiu responds, his tail flicking behind him. Something seems off about the older boy, but Shen Jiu can't place what is off. He looks nervous, guilty.
Shen Jiu wants to bristle up.
"Your shizun has asked me to take you to Qian Cao for a.. checkup." Yue Qi says, watching Shen Jiu with guilt. Shen Jiu glares at Yue Qi. "I had a checkup when I first joined Qing Jing. Why do I need another?" He says, ears tilting back slightly.
"They just want to check up on your spiritual pathways, see how they are handing your new cultivation style." Yue Qi lies, and Shen Jiu believes him. Tugging Xuan Su off his waist, Yue Qi smiles at Shen Jiu. Shen Jiu knows something is off with his smile, it seems forced. Shen Jiu steps onto Xuan Su, Yue Qi wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him, and takes off towards Qian Cao.
Shen Jiu is non the wiser of what is about to happen.
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"This shidi greets Yue-shixiong and Shen-shixiong" Mu Fang says, letting both Shen Jiu and Yue Qi into one of the medical rooms on Qian Cao. Shen Jiu recognises Mu Fang's name from that of the list of head disciples across the peaks, and while he had never met him, Shen Jiu had heard that he was a medical prodigy.
Still, he is not a trusted person, and so Shen Jiu stays on gaurd.
"I'll prepare some tea." Mu Fang says as he wanders into the backroom area of the clinic room. Shen Jiu turns to look at Yue Qi, who is looking even more uncomfortable and off. "Why is he making tea if it's just a checkup?" Shen Jiu hisses, already on high alert.
Yue Qi turns, but doesn't meet his eyes, "Xiao-Jiu is more comfortable when he's drinking tea." He says but doesn't elaborate further. Shen Jiu grumbles something.
When Mu Fang walks back out, he is holding a tray with three cups of tea on. Shen Jiu notices that one of the cups have a slight difference, it's a obviously different shade of white. He's slightly put off when that cup is placed infront of him.
Only after Mu Fang and Yue Qi take sips of their tea does Shen Jiu take a sip of his, instantly noticing the odd pang to the tea. He wonders if it's just a new blend he hasn't tried before. He drains the cup as to not offend Mu Fang.
"How has Shen-Shixiong been feeling regarding his qi and cultivation?" Mu Fang asks. Shen Jiu is easily lulled into the conversation, responding to any question that Mu Fang asks him about his cultivation. It's only once he's lulled into the false sense of security and has let down his gaurd that he begins to feel weak, tired and slow, struggling to keep up with the conversation.
Suddenly, Shen Jiu feels a sharp prick in his side and he spins around quickly to face Yue Qi, who is holding a now empty syringe in his hand. Instantly, Shen Jiu is back on gaurd, realising that he'd been drugged with something, and in his panic he stands up and attempts to leave, but his limbs won't keep up with his mind and he ends up tumbling.
Yue Qi catches him, but Shen Jiu no longer trusts him, so he hisses and snarls and bites and scratches- He closes his eyes, he's so tired and they feel so heavy-
"Hold him still-" Mu Fang says from somewhere around Shen Jiu, who begins to lash around more, panic coursing through his body. He can feel a hand in his hair, a second one restraining his hands in front of him. Shen Jiu panics further once he feels rope being tied around his body, and bites into Yue Qi's arm, who doesn't make a sound of pain, just soothing Shen Jiu.
Eventually Shen Jiu is tied up enough that he can't move his arms or legs, and he's moved into a position where he's sprawled across Yue Qi's lap. Shen Jiu drags his eyes open, and his eyes catch the glint of metallic objects, scalpels, tweezers, amongst other things. Shen Jiu wants to throw up, he knows what's about to happen.
When he had been with Qiu Jianluo and with Wu Yanzi they had always threatened to declaw him. To take away his defences and leave him even more crippled. Neither men ever went through with it though, but now, in the one place he felt comfortable enough in, it's happening. He's going to be mutilated and the boy he trusts the most is letting, helping this happen.
Shen Jiu let's his head fall back against Yue Qi's shoulder, who looks down at him and gives him a guilty smile. "Qi-ge is sorry, this is for your own good-" He says, hand petting Shen Jiu's ears absentmindedly. Shen Jiu feels something get tightened around his foot, presumably to cut off the circulation. Then, a sharp nip as he's injected with something.
Mu Fang's hand at his ankle rubs it soothingly, "I've cut off circulation and injected the foot with numbing solution. It shouldn't hurt Shen-shixiong." Shen Jiu just whines, his words not working. Bile rises in his throat as he hears the clanking if metal against eachother as something is picked up.
"Yue-shixiong I'm going to ask you to keep Shen-shixiong as still as possible incase he begins to try move around." Mu Fang says, and then suddenly there is a sharp pain in his foot as Mu Fang presses down to expose his claw, before clippers latch onto his claw and pulls at it.
Shen Jiu's vision goes white from pain and he feels like he's choking on his own tongue. All he can hear is Yue Qi telling him that he's alright- but he's not- it hurts. So much. The numbing stuff clearly wasn't working. Unknown to Shen Jiu, he begins to cry. It hurts. He feels something burning the skin back together to close the wound up.
He opens his eyes and looks towards Mu Fang. His hands are covered in blood, the floor is covered, and so is his toe, which is being wrapped up in a bandage.
One down. Nineteen to go.
Shen Jiu let's out a shakey breath. "It's alright, you're alright" Yue Qi says, and Shen Jiu just snarls. Shen Jiu's foot aches as he stares at the claw that Mu Fang puts into a small jar. He watches as Mu Fang presses down on his next toe, pressing the claw out before grabbing at it with the clippers and pulling yet again-
Shen Jiu cries out from the pain and watches as his second claw is pulled from his foot. He watches as blood pours out. He watches how Mu Fang burns the flesh closed and wraps the wound. Shen Jiu feels sick.
He feels betrayed and scared- and he wants to claw and fight but he can't because he's restrained. When the next claw is pulled out, Shen Jiu bites at Yue Qi's arm, the taste of metallic blood filling his mouth.
Shen Jiu passes out at the fouth claw being removed.
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When he comes to again, he's still extremely weak and can feel pain in both his feet and his left hand. It seems only his right hand is left to mutilate now.
"Ah. Shen-shixiong is awake again." Mu Fang says, and Shen Jiu weakly turns his head from where it had been cradled to Yue Qi's chest to look at his foot. Blood seeps past the bandages and he sees the jar of claws, his claws, covered in his blood, just as the floor is, just as Mu Fang's hands are. His hand feels numb yet so fucking painful at the same time.
Yue Qi's hand continues to comb through his hair as Shen Jiu loses another claw. The pain yet again making his vision go white. Shen Jiu whines yet again, attempting to lash around, but he's tired and weak so just ends up flopping forwards. Yue Qi repositions him and holds him tightly, his hand leaving Shen Jiu's hair to hold him in place.
The last four claws go painfully, and unfortunately for Shen Jiu, his final claw puts up a challenge at getting taken out. It takes far too much force and too much pain for it to come out. Shen Jiu is sure that it's not supposed to be bleeding that much.
The smell of burning flesh and blood fill linger in the air as Mu Fang finishes bandaging the last finger. "Has shibo requested for his teeth to be filed?" Mu Fang asks, eying up the multiple bite wounds on Yue Qi's arm. Yue Qi shakes his head, watching Shen Jiu cry silently from the pain, his eyes empty as he stares at the jar of his claws.
Before either Mu Fang or Yue Qi can move the door to the clinic is flung open and the Qing Jing peak lord storms in, staring in horror at the state of her disciple.
"Shigu-!" The two boys call out in surprise. She looks furious.
"You've mutilated my diciple without my permission?-!" She practically yells. Both Mu Fang and Yue Qi look sheepish at her yells. She walks forwards and takes Shen Jiu from Yue Qi's arms, the younger boy making a pained sound as he is forced onto his painful feet before he's lifted up by his shizun.
"I expect you both, and your shizuns to visit me tomorrow to discuss this. You can let them know that I am truly unhappy."
"Shizun told me to do this-" Yue Qi says, "I just wanted Xiao-Jiu to stay in the sect and shizun told me this was the only way to do so-" Yue Qi defends but is cut off by the Qing Jing peak lord.
"Declawing is always the last option. And it's not your decision to make." She yells, but stops when she hears Shen Jiu whine. "Remember, I expect to see you both and your shizuns tomorrow or there will be hell to pay for all of you."
And like that, she leaves, cradling Shen Jiu.
A Shen Jiu who now needs to relearn how to defend himself, to walk, to write. To do anything normally again, with as little pain as possible.
Shen Jiu cries as his shizun holds him, because he doesn't know what else to do.