Thread by @bingjiuwus

#qijiu

Sometimes Shen Jiu wished Qi-ge had never told him the truth about why he had seemingly never come back for him.

Not because he _wanted_ not to know the truth, of course not! But because Qi-ge _had_ come for him, only he had been too late because his stupid impulsiveness

https://twitter.com/snakeboycheddar/status/1571244137382383625

drew him to a sword too powerful for him to handle.

But also, because the more he thought about it, the more SJ wished the former Sect Leader of Cang Qiong was still around, so he could use _all_ the skills he had learned during his year with Wu Yanzi to break him apart, piece

by piece, bone by bone, and dissolve him in the soup of his own body.

How. Dare. He. Practically cut Yue Qingyuan's body open and then throw him inside the Lingxi Caves and not let him out until he learned to handle Xuan Su at last.

_Handle_ was just that. And then he pulled

him out - not because YQY's pleas finally got through to him, not because he _cared_ about his measly Head Disciple, who would give a shit about that! - but because the Four Great Sects had allied to defeat Tianlang-jun, and the Sect Leader needed his prized bll to show up

the Old Palace Master and show him who the real powerhouse sect was in the jianghu...!

Sometimes, SJ wondered how YQY could even stand being on Cang Qiong after all his shizun had put him through, much less act as a Sect Leader himself.

The worst Qi-ge had ever done to his own disciples was give them the "I'm disappointed" talk when they made a mess during a mission. And he never, never used seclusion as a punishment!

He was too good for this world, and unfortunately the world knew it.

Time and time again, various sects, merchants and lords and princes alike wrote to CQ begging for aid, and for YQY's help specifically. SJ read all these requests with eyes rolled to the back of his head in vexation; surely the Ba Qi Sect knew how to clear a ghost scorpion spider

infestation in their own territory without needing outside help? Surely?!

It was Xuan Su. Really, everyone in the jianghu (and some parts of the secular world too) just wanted to see Xuan Su in action.

Just seeing it unsheathed by an inch was practically a lifelong dream for a cultivator.

(If they wanted to be crushed under the heel of a superior power so badly, SJ would gladly do it to them in YQY's place...!)

Unfortunately, YQY's soul was tied inextricably with his sword.

SJ feared the connection might last even after death - that YQY might _always_ be tied to Xuan Su, so much he wouldn't even be able to reincarnate.

After his own shizun had thrown him at the last great demon lord the world had known, the last thing SJ wanted was for Qi-ge to be used as a tool even after his death.

(He had suffered for other people long enough already.)

But there was no known orthodox method to separate

YQY's connection from Xuan Su, not without severing his cultivation entirely and potentially killing him. CQ wouldn't be able to handle the loss of YQY's power; half their prestige alone weighed on his very shoulders. Forget the remnants of Tianlang-jun's court; Huan Hua alone

wouldn't hesitate to grab the power vacuum a weakened CQ left behind. And with how necessary YQY was to the jianghu's stability, there was no way he could just stay hidden on Qiong Diong for the rest of his life.

There was no known orthodox method indeed.

But there were plenty of unorthodox methods indeed...

And as much as Qi-ge might be disappointed at SJ for deceiving him, and in such a grand fashion...

Well. Qi-ge did love his Xiao Jiu in the end, didn't he?

(Somehow, he had a feeling it would work out.)

*

For more than a week YQY fell into a deep sleep and did not wake up. SJ stayed quiet, even as all the other Peak Lords panicked. He watched Mu Qingfang try to run through every potential diagnosis he had, only to come up short.

_Sorry, Mu-shidi_, he thought, not very sorry at all.

He just kept up on YQY's correspondence, refusing every superfluous request for assistance with a sharply worded _You've got plenty of talent yourself, figure it out you lazy hacks, - signed, Peak Lord Shen_ or two.

(And of course, wiping YQY's brow and giving him a sponge bath to keep him clean during the meantime. If he spent a little more time than necessary towelling his abs, then that was no one's business but his own!)

Finally, on the eighth day YQY woke up, seemingly normal - as if he had just really slept for a week straight and nothing more. He answered MQF's questions with his usual friendly patience, and assured the other PLs he was fine.

The moment they were alone, though -

"Xiao Jiu," he said. "What did you _do_?"

Oh good, he didn't sound too angry. More... astonished. SJ studied his appearance. Apart from wearing only his inner robes, YQY looked... good. Normal. Maybe a little brighter than usual?

"First," he said. "I want to know how you feel."

"Alright." YQY pursed his lips. "Well, no. I feel... _better_ than alright. I don't think I've been without pain for years. Ever since - "

Ever since he repeatedly clawed at his own skin in the Lingxi Caves, tearing and healing himself apart over and over again until he could

control himself at last - maintain his own _body_ at last -

SJ said, "Good. So it worked."

"_What_ worked?" YQY said. He stepped towards SJ, who stood his ground, undeterred. "What did you _give_ me that night..."

SJ sighed, took the big lug's hands in his own. Soft, warm,

callused. Qi-ge had had working hands for as long as they remembered; unlike the rest of him, he really couldn't pretend he was some noble born scion when it came to the state of his hands.

"It's not a perfect solution," he murmured. "But pull out Xuan Su and see what happens."

"What?" YQY paled. "Did you - " He stopped. "My connection. It's gone? No." He bit his lip. "It's still there. But it feels so much less potent now. I don't understand..." He shook his head. "How did you find a solution? How did you even know?"

For once, Wu Yanzi's revolting sense of creativity when it came to expanding his own cultivation had come in handy. SJ would never tell Qi-ge the details of it, but, well... "I know a few things," he said wryly.

"I also know this; I want to be with Qi-ge for the rest of this life and the next. Xuan Su isn't allowed to keep hanging onto you like a leech, no more than your bastard shizun was for his glory."

He smiled, knowing this next part might go badly. "Qi-ge, do you trust me?"

"Without a doubt," YQY said instantly. (Oh, thank heavens.) "Just... tell me what you did to me, please."

"I just..." SJ sighed. "Dosed your evening wine that night with an infusion of heavenly demon blood and the sap of the Soul Resonance Moon's Blood Flower. You're technically half-demon now, Qi-ge. Congratulations."

"Oh," and he added, almost as an after-thought. "I also had to help Tianlang-jun break out from Bailu so he'd give me his blood. You will not _believe_ the information I had to give him so he'd leave Cang Qiong alone and keep his revenge to Huan Hua Palace, I swear - "

YQY may not may not have passed out in shock then.

But at least, he could use SJ's thighs as a pillow while he rested. Who else could be so spoiled!! Really, he thought as he petted YQY's hair. The man was lucky to have him.

(He was lucky to have Qi-ge too.)

Serenity lasted for about a week, until Tianlang-jun, having somehow broken out of Bailu Mountain after years of imprisonment, declared war on Huan Hua Palace, killed the Old Palace Master and sent his disciples scattering to all corners of the realm...

and then promptly returned to the Demon Realm, having seemingly completed all his goals for the moment.

A flurry of aid requests went to CQ, begging YQY to give protection and advice on what to do next. Oh, CQ took in Huan Hua refugees, but had remained strangely quiet during

the whole debacle. Albeit, the inglorious fall of Huan Hua had really happened in a matter of days. And after the Old Palace Master's journals had somehow fallen into the hands of Tianyi Overlook, featuring extremely disturbing and lurid descriptions of his attachment towards

his missing disciple Su Xiyan, people weren't particularly inclined to seek revenge on his behalf, especially since he had demanded the Four Sects siege Tianlang-jun ostensibly on her behalf to begin with.

Well. None of it really mattered, in the end, since SJ was the one

reading those letters, and again, rolling his eyes and putting them in the "rejected, don't waste my fucking time again" pile.

YQY? Well, he hadn't taken to being half-heavenly demon all of a sudden _that_ well at first... but when he realised the infusion SJ had given him

had not only restrained his connection with Xuan Su so now he could draw the sword entirely without it draining his life force, but that his whole body actually felt _young_ and healthy and hale like it had never been, even as a child -

Well. He had been doing a lot of running, and punching boulders to test his strength, and bathing under waterfalls.

(A lot of it with his shirt and shoes off. Incredibly distracting, but it made him happy. If LQG made one more crack about it being unprofessional for the Sect Leader running around like a monkey, SJ was going to gouge him in the fucking eye, just watch it!)

And well... their nighttime activities were fun too.

Very, very fun. SJ pinked and kept his thoughts to himself.

Everything, as far as he was concerned, was finally going their way for once.

(And then Tianlang-jun dropped by Cang Qiong to visit his newest favourite cultivator,

a nervous young man and a dewy-eyed little toddler by his side. SJ look one scathing look at them and _both_ of TLJ's hanger-ons started shaking.

Wonderful, just wonderful. How was he going to explain THIS to Qi-ge?)

END

(Off-screen plot of SJ bargaining with TLJ to get rid of the OPM's evil ass while leaving YQY and Cang Qiong alone, accidentally leading to TLJ being charmed by this wily young cultivator who cares about his beloved at the expense of the world... unfortunately he's taken, haha!

PS TLJ managed to pick up baby Bing along the way. The little bun will be alright 🥺)