What if, after the conference and the reforging of Zheng Yang and the making of the sword mound, Shen Qingqiu gets drunk? I mean, super drunk. Stumbling around drunk. Needs help getting home drunk. And since Binghe isn't around, it falls, naturally, to Ning Yingying to assist.
As she supports her shizun's drunk self back up to the bamboo house, Yingying can't help but worry. Her Shizun has never gotten drunk like this before; and though he isn't saying much, his usually stoic face is twisting in unusually open displays of emotion. It was...unsettling.
"Mm?" Shen Qingqiu turns his head to look at her. At the same time he stumbles, and Yingying has to quickly correct his balance. "Ah, careful, careful!"
Yingying feels the urge to smile. Her silly Shizun...
She smothers it.
"Yingying wonders if Shizun will do her a favor?"
The words take a visible moment to register. When they do, Yingying feels warmed that her Shizun’s first response was worry.
"Is Yingying in trouble? Is someone daring to trouble my disciple?"
Yingying nods, mustering up all her daring. "Shizun has been, yes."
She watches his face closely, waiting only long enough for his face to twist in confusion before barreling forward. "Shizun has been grieving- no, Shizun, don't deny it. I have seen it. More than that, though, Shizun has been withdrawn and will not confide in even this Yingying. What is wrong, Shizun?"
Her shizun tries to deflect, but Yingying expected that. In a way she couldn't have when her Shizun was sober, she maneuvers him into a verbal corner, waits for him to make a mistake, then stikes.
"Shizun, what happened at the conference?"
It was strange to see Shen Qingqiu so open with his emotions. She almost didn't recognize the shapes his brows took or the curve of his mouth like this.
Almost.
"....Shizun looks so miserable. Was it really that bad?"
".......worse than you could imagine," he pauses, glances to the side. Something flicks through his eyes- Surprise? Outrage? Exasperation??- before focusing back on her. ".....if you truly wish to know, then it's best we speak elsewhere."
Yingying gets the hint. They continue to the bamboo house.
Once she's settled Shizun in on a seat, she takes the seat across, not daring to make tea lest Shizun changes his mind.
"Shizun, what happened?"
He purses his lips. "Yingting must promise to speak of this with no one-...."
-and for the next half-hour Yingying hears of the conference from her Shizun's perspective. The chaos, the fighting, and also- also-
Oh, A-Luo...he must have been so scared.
Shizun seems to agree. There's this far off look in his eyes as he explains how A-Luo begged and pleaded. He spares no detail of the confrontation, telling Yingying exactly what he did. What he said. Giving himself no excuses to hide behind as his eyes mist and stare somewhere past her head.
Yingying doesn't need to hear his reasoning. She can guess why he did what he did. However, she still asks him anyway. She just...needed to know for sure.
"They would have killed him, Yingying. A Heavenly Demon, discovered at the sight of an invasion in progress?" He shakes his head. "There is nothing so hated amongst the four cultivation clans as one with his blood. The Abyss is hell, but atleast he would live and come out of it stronger. Death is not something so easily beaten."
"I only regret," He continues. "That I said such terrible things to him before pushing him in." He deflated, hunching in on himself. "Undoubtedly, Binghe hates this master now; and while I know I deserve it, it is a hard pill to swallow."
Yingying blinks, silently reeling. She's barely processed any of that before she's blurting out, "Then why say it at all? Shizun is not usually one to say what he doesn't mean."
"This Master panicked. Binghe has always been so sticky. He needed a way to cut ties, otherwise..."
Oh. Otherwise A-Luo would just come right back.
Yingying understands now. Shizun...really had tried his best for A-Luo, hadn't he?
That said, "Shizun must know that A-Luo could never hate him."
Resignation lined his entire body. "You more than anyone must know that Binghe, while a sweet child, gives back exactly what is given to him." Which...yes, that is true. But still-! "If he returns, it will be to return the harm I've done to him ten times over." Shizun sighs, "But that's alright. This Master will accept whatever he plans to do with me."
She can see that, in this, Shizun is resolute.
Except...
Except.
Does it really have to be like this? When her shidi returns, will she really have to watch the two people she loves suffer and fight?
No. "Shizun should find a way to save A-Luo."
Shen Qingqiu watches her with confused eyes, but she is sure. Determined. It...almost seems to fill him with a new light.
"Remind me of this conversation tomorrow."
A month later, they have a plan, and it's simple: Shizun will find an item or spell that will allow he and Binghe to switch bodies. While Yingying is helping A-Luo readjust to the human realm and hiding that he's taken over Shen Qingqiu's body, Shizun will navigate A-Luo's safely out of the Abyss and return it to Binghe as soon as possible! This way, all debts are paid, and A-Luo won't be left to stew in suffering in a pit designed specifically just for that!
(And while Shizun is gone, Yingying can secretly dissolve the entire misunderstanding! A win-win!)
Yes, a simple, foolproof plan. Nothing could possibly go wrong!
On his deathbed in his old age, SY transmigrates into a cultivator whose last wish was to get revenge on the $7;&!# who poisoned him!
SY: ... Okay.
Honestly, he had been perfectly content with peacefully going out after living a fulfilling life (although he never got rid of his status as Shen Patriarch thanks to his useless brothers who refused to get involved in the family business), but a second chance at life is good too... Wait, this is PIDW?!
... He takes it back.
After recovering (and learning how to use) his cultivation (for the first time), SY finally leaves the cave by blasting open the saboteur's cave-in job and strolls out to see where he was and what the situation really was. (He didn't trust the manic dying man fully.)
"S-sect Master?!? You didn't ascend?!"
Hm... so he's a the leader of a sect. It will make things difficult to investigate incognito.
SY put a finger to his lips and winked at the disciple who found him.
"There's a reason, so keep it secret for me," he whispered, startling the disciple even further. Perhaps this was all a hallucination...
Leaving the disciple who was questioning life behind him, SY trimmed his beard short and used a disguise technique to change his hair and beard from white to black before continuing on his way.
After a thorough investigation, SY is thoroughly disgusted with what he found. The whole sect was riddled with corruption, and his own damn head disciple, now the "sect master," was the worst of the bunch.
His many years as the Shen CEO had honed his abilities at reading people, and his former head disciple had the scummiest look to him... honestly, how did the former owner of this body not see the hostile takeover assassination attempt coming?
Gathering together some of the most virtuous elders, SY revealed the current "sect master's" ugly deeds, including (but not limited to) SY's "own" assassination, bribing witnesses and forging evidence to falsely incarcerate prisoners, illegal acquisitions of treasures and secret manuals that often included manufacturing "accidents" for the original owners, and lusting after his head disciple.
SY could only sigh and shake his head.
"If you had openly requested the right to pursue her and had mutual affections, this would not be a count against you," SY said. He had allowed many a department romance despite the board's concerns back in the day. "However, to abuse your position and power over her to take advantage and manipulate her... this is not love but greed!"
With all the evil deeds aired out for the world to see, SY personally reached out and broke his former head disciple's cultivation.
What, just imprison or exile this bastard? No way. This wasn't a man who would take his punishment quietly.
SY was a retired old man! Why leave a thorn in his side? Just to have drama in the future?
Besides, there was going to be a lot of reformation work needed to scrub the "muck" out of Huan Hua!
Part of SY wondered if this would be a problem in the future. After all, Luo Binghe would take over this sect... what if part of his journey was to eradicate the corruption in Huan Hua?
... Oh well. Now that SY knew how terrible this sect was, he couldn't pretend not see it and leave this liability and disaster waiting to happen. LBH can just take over a "clean" sect. It'll save him some time.
With terrifying efficiency from his decades as the Shen Corporation's CEO, SY purged and restructured Huan Hua.
Yeah, some of the mess was the fault of the original owner of this body, but SY just blamed everything on the former "sect master" acting without permission. Anyway, he didn't do it.
Everyone had audits and multiple checks and balances to insure there wouldn't be as much power abuse and embezzlement. Everyone had to pull their weight, and ill-gotten goods were confiscated and the victims compensated.
What did a cultivation sect want with all this mortal money and goods anyway?! And what was with the slves?! They're a cultivation sect, where social classes didn't matter once you took the oath for "departing" from the mortal world!
The world's setting was unfortunate enough to include slvery, and it would be difficult to correct since cultivators shouldn't meddle in mortal affairs, but their sect didn't have to participate! Hell, it was only the now crippled former sect master the slvers dealt with, so wtf?! And what was he doing with them?! Lord knows there aren't any in the sect... so what was he doing with them?! SY decided to investigate himself.
Looks like the former sect master was just a middleman for some nobles ... the details were disgusting enough that SY blinded the slver ringleader out of spite. (Ostensibly for "corrupting" his former head disciple, but let's be real, the guy was so bad he didn't need help.)
On his way back to the sect, SY spots some asshole nobles running wild on horseback through the streets, nearly killing people, before a few street urchins got entangled.
One of them threw qi... SY narrowed his eyes.
After learning what he learned at the slvers about some nobles' preferences... He saw the noble lock on to the boy.
... Nope.
SY never had children himself - no one was romantically interested in him to begin with (author's note: haha.) - but his siblings had kids and he had lots of fun being the cool uncle. He was going to stab a bitch if that noble got his hands on that kid.
Shrinking a thousand leagues into one step, SY suddenly appeared in front of the boy, preventing the noble's guards from touching him.
Although he ignored the nobles' side, looking solely at the boy, SY allowed his aura to expand, stifling and cowing the noble and his guards to silence.
Even the ill-tempered horse stood silently and shivered in his presence.
"Let me see your hand," SY said gently and took the boy's hand to poke and prod at his meridians.
"Grandmaster!" SY's entourage quickly caught up with him, causing the noble and his guards to be even more alarmed.
SY just smiled warmly at them.
"Look," he said. "I found a good seedling."
"Grandmaster..." SY's assistant sighed. "Alright, let's take him in."
"W-wait!"
SY wanted to click his tongue. SOME people just don't have any survival instincts.
The noble behind them reached out. "That is ..."
SY's assistant did click her tongue and demanded, "Who are you to question the Grandmaster of Husn Hua?! You are not this boy's guardian or master, what right do you have to prevent our Grandmaster from taking him as a disciple?!"
The noble went pale and nearly fainted.
"Now now," SY chuckled. "He did see the boy first, I suppose. But I wager that our sect will cultivate this little seedling better than a noble's house would, so please excuse my impropriety in taking him away. Unless ... you had... other plans?"
The noble quaked under the increased pressure Huan Hua's Grandmaster exerted. He was sure the Grandmaster knew his evil thoughts... but then the Grandmaster withdrew the pressure and smiled pleasantly.
"Fret not, I will not let you go empty handed. Thank you for finding this good seedling for me."
! A cultivator tool for almost nothing! Who cares about some brat?! The noble party departed with great joy despite their former fear.
SY's assistant frowned disapprovingly.
"Grandmaster," she complained, "after what we learned, we know he had no good intentions. Why would you reward him?!"
A sly, fox-like smile flitted across the Grandmaster's face.
"The tool isn't worth much, nor is it something he could use to overthrow the Emperor with. But tell me. What do you think is more dangerous, owning a powerful tool or not being strong enough to own a powerful tool?“
The assistant gaped. "You mean..."
"The ambition in those eyes is hard to hide, and a household that raised him to have such a temperament can only have a mire of enemies just waiting to drag them down. Whether they overestimate themselves and use it to attack others or others attack them to obtain it..." the Grandmaster trailed off before he chuckled. "Well, when you hear of their destruction, go get it back. We only permitted the Qius to have it, after all."
SJ stared at this bearded, white-haired man, eyes wide.
He had never respected an adult more in his life.
"Now then, let's get going and learn about this new little disciple on the way..." the Grandmaster said.
SJ snapped out of his confused daze. "W-wait-! Um... can ... can Qi-ge come too...?"
SY paused, noticing the other boy who had gotten hurt in the earlier scuffle
Ignoring his assistant's eyeroll, SY tsked tsked and picked the poor boy up, inspecting the scrapes and bruises.
SY suddenly paused and looked at his assistant. "Don't tell me I'm picking up every stray cat and dog. You take a look at his meridians too."
This other boy hadn't had his qi awakening yet, but his meridians were prime cultivation material!
The assistant gaped, then looked at one boy and then the next.
"When did cultivation monsters become as easy to pick up as cabbages on the side of the road?!" she squawked
Under SY, Huan Hua became a powerhouse among powerhouses. They were virtuous, upheld justice, and minded their impact on their surroundings. Their reputation soared with leaps and bounds.
SY's only regret was that his former head disciple's head disciple chose to withdraw from the sect.
Dammit! He had been preparing her to take over so he could retire!!! This is his brothers and the CEO position all over again!!!!
"... Why?" SY asked, preparing himself to rebut anything she said.
"... I wish to marry a demon."
... Okay, he didn't have an answer for that.
Fine, fine, have fun... at least Shen Jiu was shaping up to be promising. We'll just have to pass over SXY...
Before SXY left, she paused. "You... don't actually have any objections?"
SY could only sigh. "What good would they do? Demons who aren't automatically hostile are already so rare anyway. Just remember you have a home to come back to if you need it."
---
Long story short, when XF transmigrates over after dying of his old age, he finds that Cang Qiong has been usurped as the number one sect by Huan Hua, the OPM and LPM don't exist, Shen Jiu is Huan Hua's sect master with Yue Qi as Huan Hua's head enforcer, SXY is Empress Xi Yan of the demon realm (to disguise herself and avoid troubling Huan Hua), and LBH doesn't exist as LBH.
Oh, and his favorite hater-turned patron-turned good buddy, whose death he mourned for several years before his own, is happily tending the vegetable garden rare herbs and plants in Huan Hua's back courtyard just like he had in retirement in the modern world. After royally screwing up every inch of the plot!!!
This portrait is dedicated to the story that I read and follow (☆▽☆). Beautiful Luo Yuan. Luo Bingha older brother! Very friendly stole a fan from Shen Qingju and immensely pleased ~
theyre such friendsss~ ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
and heres a link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81829271/chapters/224195371
When the Superman fandom doesn’t know about the obscure 1966 Superman musical so you have to take matters into your own hands to get the fan edit of your dreams
theartofmadeline
annaxmalina
pixelskylines
jacobvanloon
ellievsbear
stormborns
dededos
origamiaround
