Chapter Text
Zhan Shen Yuan
The route to the ancillary courtyards of the Chen Estate was second nature to Shen Yuan. The front entrance was grand, Master Chen was a very wealthy merchant and his estate was larger than most. Shen Yuan had no use for it, however, and made his way to the back part of the estate that opened up to two private living quarters which centered a large courtyard full of wild slipper and ghost orchids, weaved with blooms of magnolia.
This was where the concubines were housed. He assumed Master Chen had two of them, but he was only there to see Zhi-jie so he didn’t really care to think about anyone else. As he flew into the courtyard proper on Xin Shi he saw Zhi-jie sitting on stone bench, expectantly as if she’d been waiting there for him.
There was a tug and a twist in his chest on seeing her—she looked too young for a moment, but once he’d gotten his feet on the ground he could see the faintest lines at her eyes and sporadic threads of silver in her wound up hair.
“Jiejie,” Shen Yuan, her Zhan Yuan, said grinning.
“Yuan-er,” Zhi-jie chided, with no heat, but with an almost painful pinch to his cheek. “You can’t keep sneaking out to see me.”
“I don’t have to sneak; I’m a senior disciple,” Shen Yuan said. He glanced down and saw the pale teal and green of Qing Jing Peak robes. Right, he was a Qing Jing disciple, like—
“Where’s your shadow, eh?” Zhi-jie asked.
Shen Yuan glanced back and saw Luo Binghe flying in on Zheng Yang. He found himself smiling automatically. Even though they’d flown in together, it felt like he hadn’t seen him in years—it could only have been a few minutes.
Luo Binghe landed much more gracefully than Shen Yuan, of course. He cupped his hands and bowed to Zhi-jie, who snorted dismissively. “Hello, little shadow.”
Luo Binghe smiled, shyly. “Thanking you for inviting this one into your home.”
Zhi-jie shook her head and gestured for them to sit. There wasn’t much room on the bench so Shen Yuan settled on the tiled floor next to it. He leaned against Zhi-jie’s leg and felt a sense of calm, but also there was a raw sort of ache for some reason. He needed to visit her more. The scent of incenses still clung to her hanfu—she must’ve brought some from the brothel when she moved here. The familiarity of it made him almost desperate to lie his head in her lap, but that would be—he was too old for that.
“How is it the Head Disciple can skip his duties to visit me?” Zhi-jie asked, flicking Shen Yuan’s ear a little meanly.
It didn’t hurt, but his eyes teared up. It must have be allergies. “You mean Binghe, right?”
Zhi-jie looked at him curiously and Luo Binghe gave him a similar look.
Shen Yuan blinked a few times. The long forgotten feeling of needing his glasses overcame him for a moment before his vision settled again. When it did Luo Binghe wasn’t wearing Qing Jing teal but a softer shade of Bai Zhan blue. “Oh, we’re both Head Disciples.”
“Of course, Yuan-ge,” Luo Binghe said, smiling brightly. Was that a real smile?
Did he—well if he wasn’t assigned to Qing Jing Peak then he was probably fine. As much as Shen Yuan didn’t understand Liu Qingge’s teaching methods, the beatings seemed consensual and oddly academic.
Luo Binghe’s smile was blinding even if it wasn't sincere. “We’re on our way to take care of a herd of Sapphire Muskoxen that was reported in the south.”
Shen Yuan brightened. “Right!” He looked up at Zhi-jie. “Did you know the male Sapphire Muskoxen have such a bad temperament that if they don’t have anything to turn it towards they’ll charge thick trees to calm themselves down?”
“Of course, I didn’t know that,” Zhi-jie said, dryly. “I don’t spend so much time reading that there’s ink on my face.” She licked her thumb and rubbed roughly on his chin where he’d apparently smudged some ink. That happened occasionally if he fell asleep on a book. He’d… thought he’d outgrown that. The tutors at the brothel were unwavering about keeping a clean appearance when practicing the arts.
Or, no. That didn’t seem right, maybe he meant Qing Jing Peak. Shen Qingqiu was a tyrant after all. Shen Yuan wasn't sure how he’d impressed him enough to be head disciple. Why was the thought making him angry?
Shen Yuan shook his head. “Well, our mission is to thin the herd a bit since they’re flattening an area that can’t do with losing so many trees. If there aren't enough trees to keep it from being overly dry in the summer, it's easier for wildfires to erupt.”
“Fascinating,” Zhi-jie said dryly.
Shen Yuan gave in to the urge to lean his head against her lap, not fully in it. He wasn’t a baby. Her hand automatically came to stroke his hair, tugging a little at the ends. The smell of mixed incenses was cloying and he hated it normally but now it was—
“Oh,” Shen Yuan said, realizing and then remembering. “I’m dreaming.” He looked over at Luo Binghe who was frowning thoughtfully. “Bai Zhan doesn’t have a Head Disciple. Qingge isn’t there long enough to pick one. Believe me I’ve hassled him about it.”
“Qingge,” Luo Binghe said, very carefully.
“It’d be Liu-shishu or… Shizun, but you wouldn’t… Binghe what is this?”
“Isn’t it what you wanted?” Luo Binghe asked. His face was more drawn than it had been a moment ago.
“Of course it was,” Shen Yuan said, “but it didn’t happen.” He glanced up at Zhi-jie still smiling down at him. “You also made her too nice.” He blinked a few times. “And I would’ve wanted us to be at the same peak. Not Qing Jing. Maybe Meng Shou.”
Luo Binghe’s lower lip quivered slightly and he moved forward, his hand reaching out to grasp at Shen Yuan’s robes. They were burgundy and black now… along with Luo Binghe’s. “I wanted that too.”
Shen Yuan stared at Luo Binghe's hand still on his robes. It was small, like the tiny bun that used to curl up next to him at the Merry Lotus Blossom. When he looked up again, that small sheep was there, looking moments away from crying.
Shen Yuan reached out automatically and drew him into a hug. Luo Binghe’s size didn’t change, but his grip was intense and felt much stronger than it had been as a malnourished eleven year old.
“It was a nice dream,” Shen Yuan reassured him, rubbing Luo Binghe’s back. His fingers dug in harder to Shen Yuan’s back, almost like claws. Shen Yuan felt the edges of vision fade away into an empty floating space as he sank deeper into sleep.
***
Shen Yuan cracked his eyes open in a squint to fight against the light coming in from the bedroom window that was open for some reason. He blinked a few times, disoriented in the waking hours and felt a little off. He tried to remember what he’d been dreaming about, but couldn’t quite recall. There was a murky feeling surrounding it.
The bed was also empty of a warm body that should’ve been trying to sleep in with him. He found that very rude since he’d fallen asleep wrapped around it. Shen Yuan dragged himself out of bed and yawned. He put on enough layers to be presentable in the middle of the forest (which wasn’t a lot).
Liu Qingge was outside, of course. Shen Yuan could see him training from the window in the kitchen. He snorted as he watched Ghibli, his strange black furred creature, now the size of a Great Pyrenees, trying to get in the way of the complex martial moves Liu Qingge was practicing, only to get hoisted up and thrown a certain distance. It was absolutely doing it on purpose.
Shen Yuan started a pot of tea and pulled together what food appeared the most edible under stasis charm for breakfast. Cultivator hearing must’ve been in use, because the moment that was all on the table. Liu Qingge swung the door open, the morning light accentuating his handsome features like a brave hero from some movie Shen Yuan’s meimei would’ve dragged him to.
“Was the sun even up when you started?” Shen Yuan asked, a sleepy husk in his voice. He felt the current hour was a little too early, but presumably Liu Qingge had been up for even longer.
Liu Qingge shrugged one shoulder and a fond smile stretched over half his face as he looked down at Shen Yuan. “You look like you slept well.”
“Mn, I guess,” Shen Yuan still felt tired, but he usually did when he woke up this early.
Liu Qingge came to sit near him and smoothed some of the mess of hair that had come loose from his sleep braid, tucking it behind his ear. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yeah, I—weird dreams, I think,” Shen Yuan said, every time he tried to remember, it floated away from him. It didn’t seem important as he soaked in the feeling of Liu Qingge’s thumb stroking against his cheek.
Shen Yuan leaned fully into his hand and Liu Qingge lowly hummed in approval, moving even closer into his space and reaching his other hand across Shen Yuan’s waist. His hand rested lightly on Shen Yuan’s hip.
The warmth of it was what he was craving when he woke up. He leaned against Liu Qingge and tried not to make it too obvious that he was taking a deep breath to take in the scent he’d missed the last few months. Musky with wooden undertones and a hint of sea somehow.
“Breakfast,” Liu Qingge murmured, lips pressed against Shen Yuan’s hairline. He was making no effort to actually untangle them.
Shen Yuan made some kind of noise of sleepy agreement and nuzzled further into Liu Qingge’s neck. There was a warming talisman on the tea and the food wouldn’t go bad if he indulged himself for a few more minutes.
A pop, followed by a spark, caught his attention and Liu Qingge straightened up—still cradling Shen Yuan’s head to keep him from falling. There was a symbol floating in the air above their breakfast on the table.
Liu Qingge actually growled at it.
Given that Shen Yuan had worked directly with several high level Huan Hua Palace cultivators to create the protective arrays around his little house (and Liu Qingge had double checked), he assumed it was a harmless beacon talisman.
“What does that symbol mean?” Shen Yuan asked.
“The Sect Leader is calling me back,” Liu Qingge said, shortly, the fingers that were on Shen Yuan’s hip and had shifted to his thigh in the movement, tightened.
Shen Yuan sighed, resigning himself. “Immediately back, I’m guessing?”
Liu Qingge nodded once, frowning. “I checked in before I left. It hasn’t even been a full day.”
Shen Yuan pulled back a little to sit up properly. Then picked up a youtiao off the table and pushed it into Liu Qingge’s mouth, his own lips twitching at the indignant look he got. “If they’re recalling the War God, I assume it’s an emergency.”
Liu Qingge chewed angrily. “It better be,” he said after a swallow.
There was a bit of powered sugar on his lip. Shen Yuan swiped his thumb across it and then popped it in his own mouth to taste. Liu Qingge stared at him and his frown deepened. He reached for Shen Yuan’s wrist and failed to catch it before it was back at Shen Yuan’s side.
“They’re fine,” Shen Yuan said, speaking of his broken spiritual veins and clogged meridians.
“We didn’t dual cultivate yet,” Liu Qingge said, annoyance turning to concern which… honestly looked the same a lot of the time.
Shen Yuan shrugged, with a false ease. “I hadn’t seen you in a while, it was too distracting to think about doing it properly.”
He could still feel his robes fluttering against the outside of his thighs as Liu Qingge had tugged him higher in his grip. Shen Yuan had squeezed his legs, folded around Liu Qingge’s waist tighter in a bid for friction and thoughts of qi channelling had disappeared.
“Let me—”
Shen Yuan put his hand over Liu Qingge’s mouth. “I am not dying,” he said.
He wasn’t. He was uncomfortable and exhausted, but it was livable. He would have to stop being picky and get his meridians cleared today though. He’d been putting it off too long, purely because he liked when Qingge did it more.
Liu Qingge glared over his hand.
Shen Yuan moved it from his mouth to his jaw and took a moment to enjoy the feel of it. It was so sharp. How was he this pretty? Maybe both Lius should wear veils.
“Go beat up something dangerous.”
Liu Qingge sighed, glancing briefly to where the faint trace of the symbol was still burned into the air. He grunted and then leaned over to plant a kiss on Shen Yuan’s forehead before standing. “I’ll be back soon.”
“You better,” Shen Yuan said, smiling. He waited until the door had been kicked open and then closed. Then he gave into the urge to pretty much pout.
Shen Yuan listened to the faint sound of Liu Qingge hopping on Cheng Luan and taking off again and then reached over to grab another youtiao before shoving the whole thing in his mouth. He crunched down, irritated and knowing he should probably feel bad about that. Missing out on spending time with Liu Qingge wasn’t really comparable to whatever dangerous emergency was probably endangering lives.
He sighed and decided to get the day started. If he went to the brothel early enough, someone at the Twin Dahlia Garden could clear his meridians that actually knew how to do it. He loved teaching, but he didn’t particularly like being a test dummy. That would happen if he suggested it during one of his classes.
***
Shen Yuan felt better and more awake once his spiritual veins had been smoothed out a little more. He really should’ve had someone else do them sooner, but he didn’t think Liu Qingge was going to be gone for as long as he was.
He hadn’t even gotten to ask what had been keeping him so long. Liu Qingge didn’t really write letters. The singular one Shen Yuan had gotten in the last four months literally said: “Don’t worry. Still alive. See you soon.”
He hadn’t even had a chance to give him shit about that yet.
Shen Yuan noticed some of the herbs stores were low, especially the abortifacients. He decided he might as well restock.
It really would’ve been convenient if he hadn’t literally been too horny to remember to dual cultivate last night. As it was, he had to fly low and slow on Xin Shi out of precaution which added an extra hour for his trip to the Borderlands.
The human village he arrived at was pretty much a metaphorical ghost town, but there was a small traverse gate to its opposite on the Demon Realm which was a literal one. Shen Yuan was enough of a familiar face that most demons, hybrids, and reckless humans who lived there didn’t seem wary.
“Master Zhan,” purred the herbalist, Shadow Tooth, whom he went to the most frequently.
“Stop it,” Shen Yuan said. “I am definitely not a master.”
Shadow Tooth was a female leopard demon, so of course in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way she looked like a normal human woman with just enough animal features to gently brush against a furry kink. It meant he could see the way her lips curled up around her fangs more easily. One of them of course, had a dull black mark giving the impression of a shadow.
“As Shadow Tooth continues to tell Master Zhan… succubi are very respected in this realm.” She tilted her head. “If Master Zhan wishes to live somewhere where he is given the respect due, I have a cousin—“
Shen Yuan held up his hand. “Still involved with the scary righteous cultivator. I can bring him by if that helps you remember.”
She, as per usual, shut up her matchmaking after that. He hoped she never called him on his bluff, since Liu Qingge wasn’t aware of these errand runs. It wasn’t that Shen Yuan was lying about them, but the Bai Zhan War God’s understanding of nuances in demonic cultures was about as developed as his understanding of ancient poetry.
He restocked on herbs and packed them away, again wishing he had dual cultivated before Liu Qingge left. His energy was already flagging and he still had to fly back. Mostly that meant he couldn’t linger and window-shop, which was not the end of the world, but made him want to sulk.
Shen Yuan got back to the human part of the Borderlands with no incident. There was a tavern that wasn’t absolutely horrible and he figured if ate something first it might be an easier flight. He immediately regretted the impulse as he stepped inside and noticed familiar pale teal robes.
Shen Yuan ignored the jump scare, realizing pretty quickly it wasn’t Shen Qingqiu. It did look like Ming Fan, but he doubted he’d recognize Zhan Yuan and if he did, it wasn’t like he’d scurry off to tattle to Liu Qingge.
Unfortunately, Ming Fan was not alone. Next to him were two more cultivators wearing robes signifying Qian Cao and Meng Shou Peak. He didn’t know who the one from the Beast Peak was, but Geng Lim in his dark grey and cyan robes would absolutely rat him out to Mu Qingfang.
He steeled himself and slapped on his best customer service smile as he approached their table. “Surprised to see three Cang Qiong Mountain Sect disciples this far out.”
Ming Fan looked at him suspiciously, but with not a lot of recognition. Geng Lim gave him a bored once over and scoffed. “Transparent,” he noted. He glanced at Ming Fan and took a somehow both condescending and reassuring tone, “Zhan Yuan isn’t a threat. Just nosy, because Tang Yu is here and he probably thinks there’s some interesting creature we’re hunting.”
“Hey,” Shen Yuan objected. “I was merely being polite since we crossed paths.”
Geng Lim gave him a disbelieving look—which okay was fair, because yes Shen Yuan had considered the fact that three disciples, including one from Meng Shou were probably here to look at something cool.
“Zhan Yuan,” Ming Fan said, his face slowly working its way through memory stores to try and remember where he knew Zhan Yuan from. Shen Yuan assumed he’d hit his mark once Ming Fan’s face turned red.
“Greetings, Sanren,” Tang Yu said, after noticing Shen Yuan’s sword. He was very polite about it. Apparently the Beast Peak taught manners.
Ming Fan scoffed. “He’s not a wandering cultivator, he’s a whore.”
For a brief petty moment, Shen Yuan pictured fire ants.
“Don’t be a dick, Shixiong,” Tang Yu said, interrupting Shen Yuan’s violent daydream and cementing himself as the least annoying person at the table.
“Yes, it’s more accurate to say he’s a pimp,” Geng Lim said with a pleasant smile. If they had been at Qian Cao that would’ve been less irritating, right here it didn’t feel like well-meaning but ignorant teasing.
Based on Ming Fan’s nasty responding smile, Geng Lim seemed to get the brain cells to recognize that. He paled a little and muttered out an apology before clearing his throat. “We’re not tracking anything interesting, Zhan Yuan, but would appreciate if you knew of any medicinal herbs in the area? I know that’s a hobby of yours.”
His eyes were basically pleading Shen Yuan not to tattle on him to Mu Qingfang.
Shen Yuan was too tired to deal with this. “Nothing of note, but if you come by the Twin Dahlia Garden, we can part with a few things harder for Qian Cao to acquire.”
The relief on Geng Lim’s face and tension dropping out of his shoulders at the unspoken forgiveness for his bitchiness was almost funny. He nodded his thanks and Shen Yuan didn’t waste any more time at their table.
He ordered his food, but ended up only picking at it as his mind was caught up with the trail of Ming Fan’s fate to how many years it had been since the Immortal Alliance Conference. Shouldn’t Binghe be at Huan Hua Palace by now?
Shen Yuan finished his food and had a second wind that had him flying back a bit more quickly to the brothel.
***
Shen Yuan restocked the herbs and made his rounds more slowly, eavesdropping on Huan Hua Palace cultivators that were still using the lounge as their ‘third space’ to get away from the sect. There seemed to be a lot of annoying duties forced onto cultivators that involved showing bored rich nobles cool stuff, but other than that, the gossip was too hyper specific for Shen Yuan to get anything useful.
He decided to make his way to find the person who would definitely know if there’d been an extremely notable new cultivator making his way up the Huan Hua Palace ranks recently.
Lai Wen was lounging in the private gardens, boredly plucking at her pipa rather than practicing. Fu Wei must’ve gotten on her case about keeping her high value skills up. She glanced up at him as he approached. “If Shifu would play the floor more, no one would care about me covering.”
“You don’t have to do it that often,” Shen Yuan pointed out, settling on the bench next to her. Looking out into the courtyard he noticed some slipper orchids and had a weird feeling before he shook it off.
“Yes, but it takes time away from what I want to do,” Lai Wen whined.
Shen Yuan resisted the urge to make fun of her, because he needed to bait her into gossip. “Which is?”
Lai Wen leaned forward, putting her pipa down in a manner that had Shen Yuan cringing a little. “Enjoy myself.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Tormenting the Huan Hua virgins is pretty fun, but I have to schedule it, Shifu.”
“You’re there to consult not torment,” Shen Yuan said. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone and steal her next shift.
“It’s good for them,” Lai Wen argued. “They’re too wound up. Especially the ones too cowardly to come here.”
“Some people are more modest about that kind of thing,” Shen Yuan said. He certainly hadn’t enjoyed the way his thin face had been thickened by force. He still didn’t like discussing things in a certain way that others (Lai Wen) often did.
“Repressed,” Lai Wen corrected.
“I think I’ll go to Huan Hua Palace tomorrow,” Shen Yuan said, deciding that was the best route. If he randomly brought up anything about Luo Binghe, he might tip her off too much. Lai Wen was like a bloodhound when she caught onto a scent of good gossip.
“Shifu!” Lai Wen whined. “The morning is when the most awkward show up.”
“Exactly,” Shen Yuan said. He’d be saving some poor cultivators from her teasing even if nothing turned up.
He wasn’t certain anything would. It had been almost six years since the Immortal Alliance Conference. Shen Yuan had definitely picked up on some discontent in the demon realm over the last year based on how often Liu Qingge was gone and gossip in the Borderlands town, but nothing specific enough to confirm anything.
Maybe Binghe’d be at Huan Hua Palace now. What Shen Yuan was going to do with that, he still wasn’t sure.
***
Fu Wei insisted on Shen Yuan wearing his hair nicer, but didn’t fight him on overdoing his look in robes. He dressed up a little but was still really enjoying his acquired wandering cultivator vibe over a more traditional courtesan one. He would’ve argued that he needed to look like an owner if she had fought him (but she usually only did for obnoxious Huan Hua rich people events).
Shen Yuan really enjoyed the younger cultivators and thought he might steal more consultation visits if he found out Lai Wen hadn’t been kidding about tormenting them. Their relationship with Huan Hua Palace was the only reason they were still offering ‘consultations’ since the ‘dual cultivation wing’ of their medical facilities wasn’t exactly the replacement of the brothel they were hoping for. Shen Yuan and Fu Wei had talked them down to twice a week, with one monthly seminar if needed.
Mu Qingfang thought the problem was their focus on purely dual cultivation without the yin/yang energy sharing that came with sexual acts. Shen Yuan agreed, but had no interest in trying to convince the Old Palace Master to start an entire subset of cultivation devoted to the kama sutra. He’d shuddered even thinking that joke.
The morning class was very young, so there wasn’t much minus a few early education safe sex tips he’d adapted from his last life. Shen Yuan spent most of the consult explaining the different plants they might run into and ways that weren’t dual cultivating that could fix it (for the few that worked for). He had to be an untouchable professor type when he was consulting so he resisted the urge to pinch their cheeks.
He may have patted a few heads that morning. If Lai Wen found out he was never going to hear the end of it.
Shen Yuan had about half a shichen between sessions so he wandered the grounds a bit. Huan Hua Palace was very large, so much so that there were travel arrays built in to specific courtyards if a cultivator wanted to get across the city-sized sect quickly. It wasn’t really zoned for this many cultivators flying their swords to class, he supposed.
He kept an eye and an ear out and did overhear one conversation talking about the Little Palace Mistress and Gongyi Xiao ending their engagement the month previous. He tried to subtly follow the cultivators who were speaking on it, but they turned to a section he would’ve had trouble explaining he was in so he missed the tail end of it.
Shen Yuan tried to temper his expectations, but if the Little Palace Mistress and Gongyi Xiao had called off their engagement then that meant Luo Binghe was here.
His breath caught for a brief moment as he caught sight of a certain figure, but then as it always did quickly resolved itself to being Gongyi Xiao. He had been by the Twin Dahlia Garden a lot more over the last year or so and Shen Yuan still wasn’t used to the brief second he’d think he was someone else. It was why he had no problem with Fu Wei handling the interactions.
Usually.
Today, however, maybe Gongyi Xiao was who he wanted to see.
Shen Yuan made his way across the gleaming pathways and carefully manicured accents, until he reached Gongyi Xiao who was finishing up a discussion with a younger cultivator.
“Zhan Yuan,” Gongyi Xiao said, smiling politely.
Shen Yuan returned the greeting, then buffered slightly realizing he’d never really talked to Gongyi Xiao and struggled to come up with something that would sound natural.
He couldn’t mention that he’d heard about the broken engagement. That was clearly going to be a sore point. They didn’t have a personal rapport. Business then.
“Ah, I was wondering actually, have you had any concerns with the consults we sent? Especially with the younger cultivators.”
Gongyi Xiao smiled and shook his head. “No. Everyone sent has been knowledgable and appropriate.”
“Even Lai Wen?” Shen Yuan asked, skeptically.
Gongyi Xiao laughed very softly. “She… tends to tease the older classes, but I don’t think they mind.”
She must’ve been messing with him then. “That’s good to hear.” He took a steeling breath. “Do you have enough sessions scheduled? I know that there have been some newer cultivators joining the sect recently.”
The problem with avoiding Gongyi Xiao because he looked a little like Luo Binghe (from a certain angle) was that Shen Yuan had no idea how to read the slight pause and pleasant expression on his face.
“We have new cultivators join the sect all year. There are admission dates, but generally speaking there are always circumstances around that or relatives of officials who request exceptions.”
Anyone wash up on the Luo River recently? Shen Yuan did not ask. “Right. Well, let us know if you… need more.” He cleared his throat and offered a smile. “I won’t take up more of your time. The next session is starting soon.”
Shen Yuan had no luck on the way back to the cultivation wing either. Maybe Luo Binghe wasn’t here quite yet. He would be. He had to be. Shen Yuan knew that much.
***
“I heard that Gongyi Xiao and the Little Palace Mistress ended their engagement,” Shen Yuan said over dinner with Fu Wei and Lai Wen.
Fu Wei choked on the bite she was taking and then coughed into a napkin as Lai Wen patted her on the back.
“Apologies, it went down the wrong way.”
“Manners are for paying clients,” Lai Wen said, consolingly. She cocked an eyebrow at Shen Yuan. “You just heard about this? They broke up weeks ago.”
“Did you hear why?” Fu Wei asked, taking a careful sip of her tea before she returned to her food again.
“No,” Shen Yuan said and glanced at Lai Wen.
Lai Wen shrugged. “Apparently they were on the rocks for months, but recently there were ‘strains from affection shared outside’ of each other.”
“Truly?” Fu Wei said, mutely. She picked up another piece of meat, tentative this time.
“On her side, right?” Shen Yuan asked. “I heard that there was a handsome new cultivator that captured her interest.”
“Not one I’ve seen,” Lai Wen said. “I’ll keep an eye out. Rong-er was complaining about her sister being gooey eyed over someone, but Wanyue is like that every other week.”
Shen Yuan nodded. “Mn, yeah just… you know let me know if you hear anything.”
“Are you and Master Liu having problems?” Fu Wei asked, concerned.
“What?” Shen Yuan balked. “No.”
Lai Wen rudely pointed her chopstick at him. “Don’t mess that up, Shifu.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” Shen Yuan said, peevishly, wondering how this got turned around on him. He was just trying to ask for information about Binghe! It wasn’t like he could say how he knew he’d be at Huan Hua Palace. If he wasn’t there and Shen Yuan name dropped him, it could mess up Luo Binghe’s whole plan.
Shen Yuan wouldn’t mind messing up a little of his plan, but Luo Binghe deserved to at least have his rise in Huan Hua Palace.
***
Shen Yuan got home very late, unsurprised but disappointed not to see Liu Qingge there. An emergency requiring the War God was likely to take more than a few days. He hoped it didn’t take weeks.
He lured Ghibli into the house so he could have something to snuggle with, sacrificing an old trinket he didn’t use anymore to its hidden mouth buried under that odd feeling black fur. Shen Yuan indulged himself for a while, snuggling up to Ghibli and pulling out a horrible book Mingyan had sent him. She had horrendous taste in literature, but he couldn’t stop reading it—there was always a small hope it would turn around and get better.
An hour later and it still hadn’t. His candles were burning down and he was getting tired again, so Shen Yuan gave in and was about to get ready for bed when there was a soft knock at his door.
Ghibli softly snoozed on the pillows he’d thrown on the floor and none of Shen Yuan’s alert arrays had been set off. Shen Yuan still made sure he had his sword at hand before he went to open it. It was pretty late for—
A youth wearing black, shouldering a modest, unadorned longsword, his complexion as clear as jade, his eyes like two deep pools of cold starlight stood there.
“Yuan-ge,” Luo Binghe said, smiling. “Hello.”