Thread by @akasooju

i had a #tianjiu idea where tlj found out abt sxy "betrayal" too early and he did what the cultivation world expected him to – invade and bring everyone under his rule

sxy still dies and her issue was never cleared up, so now tlj is stuck with a baby born from the woman he loved and hated

tlj cradles little binghe, walking across the platform while the sect heads of four great sects bows down to him

he is cruel as he looks at them, only softened by binghe's coo but nonetheless terrifying

"i am owed a head disciple," he says, voice low. "bring them to me."

and who are they to disobey?

so every head disciple from the four great sects lined up in front of tianlang-jun, ruler of three realms, shaking in their robes and wishing they do not attract the eyes of the heavenly demon

whether they are frightened or not does not matter to tlj, he only wants someone to control, someone to leave his son with, someone he could humiliate the whole cultivation world by having them held hostage

he walks slowly, inspecting each and every disciple known to be "righteous, compassionate, strong-hearted" and found them too weak and frivolous that he almost laughed in its absurdity

for all the boasting the cultivation world did, none of them produced a disciple worthy of their merits

until...

he stops at the section of cang qiong mountain's head disciples. they were silent but they did not bow; especially not the scholar in green robes, nor the warrior in blue robes, nor the flower in purple robes. their eyes are clear and unyielding,

daring him to be bold and take anyone from them, for they would surely fight back, world be damned.

he smiles, amused. but he did not pay attention to them.

no. his attention was caught by the amiable man (boy? he looks still too young) in black robes, a large sword on his hip

emitting a powerful aura.

he motions to zhuzhi-lang, pointing towards the boy. "take him," he commands, "he shall be a fine addition to my palace."

every single disciple of cqm stiffened. there were protests bubbling from their lips, swords already halfway unsheathed.

"a single complaint and i will end all of your lives," tlj said nonchalantly, looking at the rest of them as if bored. "and after that, i will end his, too."

his former threat was wholly ignored, but his latter threat seemed to have a real impact, as the warrior in blue robes seemed to falter in his place.

pleased, he gave an act of benevolence, mercy if you will, to his new subjects.

"i will spare his life, if one of you volunteers to take his place."

silence fell over them as the other sects retreated to the back, blatant in their refusal to step forward.

the disciples of cqm had complicated expressions as tlj expected – every single one of them wants to save the man in black robes, but none are willing to sacrifice

each of them are the same, he thought cruelly. humans, mortal or not, are selfish beings.

he motioned again for zhuzhi-lang to take the boy.

"i volunteer," he suddenly hears. the voice was sharp and crisp, clearly enunciated like an actor reciting the lines from a script.

he turns his body towards to voice, seeing a splash of green in his periphery.

the scholar in green robes with eyes glimmering like emeralds, fan gripped tightly in hand as though it might break, stepped forward and kowtowed to him.

"junshang of the three realms," the scholar spoke from his bowed body, "i wish to take his place, if you would allow."

there were a series of gasps. tianlangjun noted how most of them are of shock, like they couldn't believe /he/ would volunteer.

they boy in black robes rushed towards the scholar in a panic, willing him to stand. "xiao jiu, xiao jiu, get up. don't do this."

still kowtowing, the scholar (now known as xiao jiu) managed to glare at the boy. "shut up and get back in the line."

"no no no" the boy wailed. he crumbled to his knees beside xiao jiu. "no xiao jiu. i will not allow this."

"that is not your decision to make," tlj interjected.

the amiable boy lifted his eyes from xiao jiu's bowed body to him, hands hovering over his sword but still hesitating.

"i won't do that if i were you," he tuts, snapping his fingers. in an instant, zhuzhi-lang transformed into a huge snake, immediately wrapping himself around

the black-robed boy.

the scholar lifted his head for a moment. there was a flash of distress in his eyes but his face showed no emotion. tianlangjun was intrigued.

humans are inherently selfish beings and yet, these boys are proving it to be untrue. one is willing to exchange places with the other, and one refuses to let the other use themselves as a bargaining chip to get their freedom.

how peculiar.

the scholar kowtowed three times, "this disciple will do everything junshang wants." his voice was neutral, but tlj can sense the panic seeping into it, "this disciples implores junshang to show mercy to his fellow disciple."

"indeed," tlj muses. but he doesn't tell zhuzhi-lang to let go. instead, he motions to xiao jiu. "come."

xiao jiu stands quickly, moving towards tianlangjun. he gasps as he is lifted into junshang's arms, now eye to eye with the heavenly demon.

"how lucky cang qiong mountain sect is, to have a disciple this loyal towards a martial brother," he smiles with all sharp teeth. "pledge your loyalty to me." he demands.

xiao jiu gulps as he looks back at the black-robed boy, eyes filled with grief, regret, and nostalgia. it all disappeared when he looked back at him; xiao jiu's eyes as empty as the bottomless pit of the endless abyss.

"i, shen jiu of qing jing peak, pledges my loyalty to the lord of three realms, as long as he may reign."

/end