So you guys know I love kiddies, right? And a lot of times I use Plot Device trees to smooth the wheels and stuff. Picture this:
A plot device baby-tree in which it has to absorb qi from two different cultivators at two different times in order to make a baby. And then when said baby is ready, it *poofs* the newborn straight over to the second parent.
No warnings, just BABY!
Now, imagine if you will a bloody and exhausted Shen Jiu staggering away from the Qiu mansion after burning it the fuck down. He's supposed to meet Wu Yanzi somewhere nearby, but like, he gets lost in the woods along the way.
(What?! it's dark, and raining, probably!)
So Shen Jiu makes his way through this dark and creepy ass forrest, trying not to get eaten or whatnot. He keeps having to lean on tree trunks to stay upright, but halfway through the night he collapses against one and spends the rest of the night there.
In the morning he wakes to mist and fog. He's *cold*, and tries to circulate his qi. He's so drained from the uh, murder, and at this time he's not so well read that he even knows these baby making trees exist.
Anyhoodles, SJ keeps going, eventually meeting up with Wu Yanzi.
SMASHCUT! To ten yers later, when Liu Qingge is hunting some great beast in a dark and creepy forrest. He's been a peak lord for maaaybee a year, tops. He spends a lot of time away from the sect, filling his qiankun pouches with all sorts of beasts and plants and herbs he finds along the way.
Well, even the War God of Bai Zhan has to rest eventually. He's not a high maintenance person, and doesn't bother searching for an inn. No, he just leaps lightly high up into a sturdy tree and sleeps up there.
In the morning, he circulates his qi to warm up.
(You guys get what 'm throwing down, right?)
Naturally, this is the same tree that Shen Jiu accidentally infused with qi all those years ago.
So, nearly a year later, Liu Qingge wakes up in his house on Bai Zhan peak one morning with a baby lying next to him in the bed. The faint crying wakes him up, and Liu Qingge takes one look at the infant (still swaddled in leaves) and falls right off the side of the bed!
He stands up, taking a second look. No, that...that really *is* a baby! But what in the world is it doing HERE and how did it even get here? Is it a demon trying to infiltrate the sect with this innocent presentation?
He should probably just slaughter it.
But the baby opens its eyes. They're clear green.
A deep, familiar green.
The same green of his hateful Shixiong's eyes.
No, Liu Qingge thinks. There's no way...is there? He calls a message array into his palm. "Mu Shidi," he says. "I need you to come to my house immediately. There's a...situation." He releases the array and it reforms into a Golden Eagle, spreading large wings and swooping off through the wall.
Gingerly, he sits on the side of the bed, looking down at the infant. It's...not really crying. It's just looking around. Liu Qingge sighs, then reaches out, stopping the baby up into his arms.
When Mingyan was little like this, he used to hold her. He hasn't forgotten how. The waxy dark leaves rub against the baby's skin and the infant frowns. Liu Qingge snorts. First the eyes, and now this unsightly glare. This child really does remind him of Shen Qingqiu.