hiiii welcome back to my shen jiu luo binghe roleswap. i wrote this today, and i think i might have to delete it, buuuuut i still like it, so: here you are.
There was a child kneeling obediently on the ground before him. His name was Shen Jiuyu.
Luo Qingling wondered about that name. 九雨. Take a character off, and the boy would be Jiu, lucky number nine in a long line of dirty children tied to the belts of cruel men scavenging through the streets. Luo Qingling still remembered what that was like. Sometimes too well, it seemed. Wasn't it a terrible thing, looking at a promising young disciple's face and only seeing how many coins they'd sell for?
Hey, do you know why everyone calls you Zero? It's because you're not even worth --
Sometimes, Luo Qingling hated children.
It wasn't nice. It wasn't fair. It wasn't good. Luo Qingling did his best not to think about it. An honorable, righteous cultivator couldn't hate children, and even if they did, they certainly weren't allowed to act on it.
The idea of it was there, nonetheless.
"Why did you come to Cang Qiong?" Luo Qingling asked steadily.
Even at first glance, it was obvious that Shen Jiuyu didn't need to. He might have worn the dust of the streets, but he was too polished to pass as any random throwaway urchin. His walk was too smooth, his manners too perfect. When he poured tea, he did so with the grace of a well-trained servant.
A well-trained servant of this young age, especially one that showed signs of literacy, was valuable. Certainly worth more than little Luo Ling. With enough time and ambition, it wasn't impossible for him to become the steward of some rich household and in that way, live a good life.
