Chapter Text
After hearing that the mountain had been invaded by a group of demons led by a young demoness, Shen Qingqiu felt a little panicked, but to not frighten the disciples even more, he kept up a calm facade and gave them the sign to walk ahead. As they reached the plaza before Qiong Ding Hall, the tension in the air was overwhelming. Dozens of disciples, including a couple from other peaks, stood across from a far greater number of demons, their swords in their hands and fear in their eyes. The second they saw Shen Qingqiu arrive, an immense wave of relief flooded the young people's faces.
It was almost immediately evident how annoyed the horde of demons was at his arrival. Especially the young female demon, dressed in flimsy red garments, showed an expression almost akin to a youth having been bothered by their parents while playing a game.
Stepping through the crowd, Shen Qingqiu kept his head held high. His face calm as a lake and his eyes shining with authority. In passing, he shoved his cat into Shen Yuan's hands, regarding Princess with a glance that told her to be good as he stepped before the demoness.
"To whom does our humble sect owe the pleasure of meeting?" Shen Qingqiu asked, looking at the young demon. Judging by her demeanor, she was very obviously the leader of this group of 'visitors'.
"Sha Hualing," the young woman replied with an arrogant smile, "Demon saintress." She enunciated every syllable of this title as if she had just presented the entirety of her wealth to him and expected him to gasp in recognition, but all she got was the sound of a fan snapping open and the man before her leisurely fanning himself.
"Miss Sha, I do not recall that you have been invited here. Have you come to stir up trouble with our sect," Shen Qingqiu asked.
Sha Hualing, crossed her arms. "Of course not..." she viewed his uniform and drew a conclusion, "Senior Shen. This lowly one merely visited for a friendly sparring session, nothing more. We initially intended on sending up a messenger, but then we found your barrier inexplicably damaged, so we went to...investigate the issue to see if our human friends may have fallen into the fangs of danger."
"And the Rainbow bridges?" Shen Qingqiu asked, casting a glance over to the remnants of said bridges that had visibly been recently destroyed, "Were they too damaged before you arrived to... aid us?"
"Oh, those." Sha Hualing looked lazily over, obviously not caring much, "As we were frantically searching for a higher ranked sect member, we wished to visit the other peaks, but your bridges seem not to be powerful enough to support the weight of so many people."
It was more than obvious that she was lying and Shen Qingqiu had little interest in playing into her lies, but he could not outright start a dispute despite her obvious offenses. Firstly that would endanger the sect and secondly this could pose a threat to his goal of laying by this seemingly unending war between the human and demon race. If he were able to get these demons to be on his side, that may just be the first step to peace...
"Even so," Shen Qingqiu said, giving the demoness something that was supposed to resemble a small smile, but which ended up just looking like his usual cold expression, "It would have been a little more appropriate to send one scout instead of just arriving with a full...group. Is it not natural for us to assume the presence of aggression?"
"Surely," Sha Hualing replied, "This lowly one deeply apologizes for causing such discomfort to the Immortal Master."
"Is there a reason that Miss Sha decided that this... friendly sparring match should be held today?" Shen Qingqiu asked, ignoring the obviously insincere apology. He knew that Yue Qingyuan was currently visiting Zhao Hua Monastery and he was sure at this point that these demons too were aware of that fact, choosing this point in time in particular to strike as seemingly the sect was defenseless.
"Is now no good time?" Sha Hualing asked innocently.
"Cang Qiong Mountain is capable of taking on a challenge at any time, yet we value holding fair competitions against sincere competitors, so Miss Sha has to forgive me for wishing to make sure that this is indeed the case," Shen Qingqiu replied in a calm manner. He was surely not going to let any sliver of weakness show in front of this demon saintress. Prepared or unprepared, he would fight for his sect if he had to and he would come out victorious at any cost.
"Of course that is the case!" Sha Hualing said, playing offended. She started twirling a stray strand of her curly, black hair around her finger as if she was a young girl trying to persuade her father to buy her something she wanted, "Does the renowned Xiu Ya sword really judge people so easily? Is it because Ling'er is a demoness that you are so full of prejudice."
"This Shen could not care less about you being a demon or whatever. Yet I have to keep this sect safe in the absence of the sect leader, so I am wary of any uninvited guest. If you took offense to that, I do apologize," Shen Qingqiu said nonchalantly.
Sha Hualing flashed him a fake smile. "Oh really, Immortal Master Shen really is not affected by prejudices against demons?" she asked, leaning her head to one side, purposefully baring her neck as she pretended to rub it. Shen Qingqiu assumed that this young demoness thought him to be some foolish man easily swayed by the charm of a young woman.
"Miss Sha, how about you relax your posture a little. If you intend to convince me of your innocence, such...gestures," he motioned with his fan towards her lip that she was currently biting flirtatiously, "Will not be capable of swaying me, so they are merely wasted on me."
Being called out, Sha Hualing decided to double down, choosing a more aggressive approach. "Oh, but the Immortal Master is such a well-looking man and Ling'er is young," she said, smiling sweetly, "You have to forgive her for this. It was merely subconscious."
"Then let me be a little more clear, Miss Sha," Shen Qingqiu said, leaning down to her like one would to a small child to lecture it, "You are wasting your efforts on a married man. Additionally you are choosing to invade this sect to do so during the absence of his husband. It seems that Miss Sha is not all too informed about the sect she wishes to 'have a friendly spar with'."
Sha Hualing at first looked a little confused, then embarrassment spread on her face. "Th...that...O-ofcourse we were informed about that. Like I said, I am you. I am yet to learn to control such subconscious actions," she stammered, trying to keep up her lie as well as possible without losing face completely as she saw not only the disciples on the plaza, but even her own subordinates laugh at her. She wondered if any of them had been aware of this and had dared not to tell her. If she were to find out that any of them did, then she would execute them on the spot. She was not going to let them undermine her authority. Not so soon after having gained it.
Shen Qingqiu didn't look like he believed a word she said, but he did not point it out that he didn't. "So you wish to spar to reach what goal?" he simply asked.
"To gain experience," Sha Hualing replied, eager to move on from this embarrassment, "A spar can improve one's abilities better than simple training, do you not agree? Do you wish to pass up such an opportunity of gaining experience yourself?"
"And surely you also have something in mind you would like to receive should you win, is that not the case?" Shen Qingqiu asked, not bothering to answer the question.
"Oh, if the Immortal Master asks like this... That name plate above Qiong Ding Hall does look quite decorative. It would look nice above Ling'er's bed," Sha Hualing said, willing not to let that opportunity pass by.
Shen Qingqiu scoffed, but he did say anything further to voice his disdain. "And what do you offer us, should we win this...friendly sparring session?" he asked.
"Whatever you wish for," the demoness replied, confident in the victory of her people.
This time, Shen Qingqiu actually did present the girl with a smile and he leaned forward once more, this time though to say something to her without anyone else hearing it.
Hearing his request at first Sha Hualing was first confused and then outraged. "Did you not just say–"
"Not for such a thing," Shen Qingqiu interrupted before she would be able to hint at what he had requested of her, "Do you agree to these terms, Miss Sha? If not, we will have to ask for your departure."
Sha Hualing thought for a while, gritting her teeth before spitting out a not too friendly, "Deal, Senior Shen."
"Three rounds," Shen Qingqiu said, "Pick your first contestant."
"Shen-shibo, may this junior take on this challenge?"
Shen Qingqiu turned around to the voice and faced a young woman who somehow looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Mostly because he was more used to not seeing half of this youth's face, but since she bore a striking resemblance to her brother, he was able to recognize her nonetheless.
"Liu-shizhi, are you certain that you feel ready for this challenge?" he asked just to be safe. He had never been able to witness her fighting, but since she was the Bai Zhan peaklord's sister, he was not worried.
"I am certain," she replied, displaying the same amount of pride her brother would have if asked the same question, yet not the same amount of rage he might have faced.
"Then I shall not stand in your way, Shizhi. I do place trust in your shizun to have taught you well," Shen Qingqiu said, gesturing for her to step into the clearing that had slowly begun to form between the two groups.
Liu Mingyan was like a swallow as she gracefully walked up to her opponent, a large demon, probably twice her size. He was missing one of his arms, but this did not seem to have an impact on the demon's strength, else he would not have been chosen for this. Either that or Sha Hualing truly was too confident. As if regarding a withered leaf which had fallen upon the ground, Liu Mingyan turned her gaze towards the giant saber that the demon was holding in his remaining hand.
"Elder Dubi," the demon introduced himself, not even caring much. Shen Qingqiu assumed him saying his name was merely to make him be remembered and less for them to actually have some sort of friendly social interaction.
Liu Mingyan knew too, but she did still play along, stating her name for the demon to remember as well. "Liu Minyan, disciple of Xian Shu peak," she said, loud and clear.
Up to now Sha Hualing had merely been playing with one of the bells at her wrist, making it chime with a flick of her finger, but hearing that surname piqued her interest. Looking up though she almost fainted. The woman standing across from the demon elder was probably the most beautiful woman to ever have existed. Her eyes shone clear and calm, her brows were straight and thick, her lips full, but just to the right degree. A dark mole under her left eye was like a small speck on her otherwise flawless porcelain skin, yet it did not manage to take any of her beauty. This birthmark which she shared with her brother only changed her face from being nothing more than beautiful to also being interesting to look at. And look at this face Sha Hualing did plenty. She was almost incapable of tearing her eyes away. She was unsure if this was jealousy she felt when regarding this woman's features or something else, but what she did know was that she felt an itch in her hand that almost grew unbearable. Either to tear apart this woman's face or to caress it, maybe to make sure that something like this could really exist.
The demon elder too seemed to finally have spared the attention to look down at his opponent whom until now he had regarded as a mere ant that he could crush underneath his foot. Now he was faced with what could only be a goddess if she was real. He was so occupied by this beauty that he missed when Shen Qingqiu gave the signal for the match to begin. He even saw how Liu Mingyan drew her sword, flying through the air like she was already a proper immortal and rushing towards him, but he only realized what was going on when the young woman had almost reached him.
At the last moment Elder Dubi blocked off the sword, exchanging a few blows with Liu Mingyan before he had to take a step back. He was way too distracted to pay attention to the fight, causing Liu Mingyan to get more and more agitated until her attacks grew more and more vicious. When the demon failed to attack her at all, she simply stopped attacking him.
"Were you not here to fight?" she asked him with anger apparent in her eyes. She was not willing to accept a victory if it was attained because her opponent could not control himself enough. In the end everyone would accuse her of having fought an unfair fight, of only having won because she had been too distracting, but why was it her fault if her opponent had no dignity and could get distracted so easily? A cultivator should be able to fight a woman even if she was entirely unclothed and should not even feel ashamed. A cultivator should not judge their opponent by their appearance or size either. "I want a strong opponent and not a weak one without any control over himself. Is this truly a demon elder that your race looks up to? Someone who can not even fight when there is a pretty woman as his opponent. This is laughable."
A couple other Xian Shu disciples gasped hearing this from their shijie. The youth had always been calm and collected, rarely lashing out at anyone, but this time it was different. They could hardly have known that over the last couple months the subject of her face being apparently distracting had become a major trigger for her. She could hardly count the times she had practically folded disciples from other peaks verbally into little cubes if they dared to use this as an excuse that they had slipped up during training just because she had passed by. She could also not count the times they had continued justifying themselves until she had gone to their masters. Their disregard for this was even greater. They had laughed at her, called her 'a silly young girl that will one day understand the way of the world'.
This had gone so far that she had decided a month ago that enough was enough and had gone straight to the sect leader. Yue Qingyuan had been a bit surprised to see his shizhi suddenly come to his study, but when she voiced her issue, his expression had immediately darkened. Hardly noticeable due to his many years of learning to control his expression, but not too subtle either. Liu Mingyan did not know what the sect leader had said to those seniors, but she had never heard any such excuses ever again and the disciples were actually properly punished for getting distracted during their training. What had puzzled her most was that one of those masters had the audacity to hypocritically say: 'If you wish to be an Immortal Master nothing should distract you. And treat your disciple sister with respect and not like a strange mythical beast.'
But whatever the deal was with these seniors of his, she had the sect leader on her side with this, so she was not going to let this demon elder dishonor her with such behavior. And her words seemed to actually have an effect. Having basically been called weak, the demon's face contorted with anger and he straightened his back. He would not have this woman look down on him. He would not let a woman, much less a human trample on his name like that.
His saber in hand, he threw himself at Liu Mingyan, planning on slicing off that cursed face that had caused him this endeavor. Liu Mingyan had not expected Elder Dubi to react so furiously so quickly, so she was momentarily taken aback by the attack, but this did not stop her from quickly dodging it and spinning around for a follow up attack, but to her surprise the demon elder was unexpectedly agile despite his size, already having swung his saber at her. This time it was her who was unable to land another attack, having to parry and dodge her opponents attacks instead. Despite being pushed into a corner like this, Liu Mingyan's anger started to subside and she felt a strong fighting spirit rise in her. Her blocks started growing in precision and she managed landing a couple hits of her own, though she hardly managed injuring the demon elder's tough leathery skin.
Yet, despite her resilience and talent, she was still not in the possession of a personal sword yet and her opponents size and experience was way above hers, causing her sword to end up being thrown out of her hand after having to block another heavy attack. The sword flew through the air, landing right at Sha Hualing's feet. Despite having won already, Elder Dubi seemingly had not enough yet, taking another swing at Liu Mingyan, just for his saber to be blocked by another, more delicately designed blade.
"Elder Dubi has already secured a victory, does he really wish to embarrass his saintress by losing his temper like this?" Shen Qingqiu asked, effortlessly pushing the large demon back into his spot.
Elder Dubi gritted his teeth, grumbling something under his breath as he turned to the other demons with a prideful expression as if he at least expected some recognition for his fight, but instead of looking at him, they avoided meeting his eyes. Not out of embarrassment, but more as a punishment for him having embarrassed himself. And even the humans did not seem bothered by the loss at all, looking at Liu Mingyan in admiration for being brave enough to stand in combat against someone obviously way stronger than her and standing her ground for this long. Scoffing, Elder Dubi slipped into the group of demons.
"Shen-shibo..." Liu Mingyan bowed deeply to Shen Qingqiu as the man sheathed his sword, "This junior has lost. She awaits whatever punishment her senior sees fit for her failure and dishonoring the mountain."
Liu Mingyan kept her head lowered like this until a gentle hand was laid on her shoulder. When she looked back up, Shen Qingqiu had a calm expression with not a trace of harshness to be seen. "Straighten you back, Shizhi," Shen Qingqiu said, waiting until she could look him in the eyes properly, "A loss does not dishonor this sect. There was an obvious disadvantage in power and experience and yet you wished to fight a fair match with your opponent giving their all. A noble trait that a cultivator of this sect should possess. With a few more years of training and a proper sword I can see you standing as one of the strongest pillars holding up this sect."
Shen Qingqiu was one who rarely praised others, this was known all throughout the sect. Even if he did praise someone, it was not always directly obvious, hidden beneath his words, but this time he had very clearly complimented her. Not knowing how else to deal with the situation, Liu Mingyan merely bowed before Shen Qingqiu once more. "Thank you, Shibo," she said before straightening once more and turning around to collect her sword.
Sha Hualing was still standing right beside the sword, not moving an inch as Liu Mingyan approached her. From up close the young woman was even more beautiful than from a distance, Sha Hualing thought to herself as she forced herself to stand even taller. Before kneeling down to retrieve her sword, Liu Mingyan took a second to muster the demon saintress standing before her. She looked rather young just like herself, but she used a lot of powder and lipstick to make herself appear a little older, perhaps to gain more respect. Nevertheless there were some childish accessories mixed into her otherwise a little age inappropriate looking clothes. Small braided bands, decorated with shiny gemstones and silver bells wrapped around both her ankles and wrists, chiming at every step she took. Her hair was dark and braided into many little braids, joined into a complicated but rather beautiful hairstyle. Her clothes were awfully revealing. Merely a few pieces of fabric, held together by nothing but the onlookers hope that this young woman would not expose herself even more. At least this was the case for Liu Mingyan.
This Sha Hualing seemed to possess the wish to be recognized and respected, but she could not give up her own playfulness, hiding it in small details as these little bells. Liu Mingyan wondered what type of pressure this young demon saintress might be feeling that had brought her to do this. Or to lay siege on their sect just to make a name of herself. Slowly Liu Mingyan picked up her sword, moving right back to her disciple sibling after she had done so.
Sha Hualing followed her with her gaze as a thought pushed itself to the surface against her will. 'She also smells quite lovely,' she thought, 'Like flowers and tea and mountain air...' Quickly she shook off that thought. 'Don't be stupid Ling'er, she is a human. And a woman on top of that! You are behaving like... But she looks strong and proud. And when she looked at me, there was no disdain, no envy, no false obedience or friendliness to please me. She just looked at me like...at a normal person.'
She got torn from her thoughts as Shen Qingqiu called into the crowd of disciples, so she quickly picked out the next person who should fight. "Tianchui!"
"Binghe, come here," Shen Qingqiu commanded.
As a giant demon, even bigger than Elder Dubi and clad in heavy armor covered in spikes, stepped out from amongst the group of demons, Luo Binghe carefully came before his master. Shen Qingqiu looked at Luo Binghe for a few moments. The child looked scared, but he had personally trained this child. He was definitely ready for such a fight and this was a way to have his name be known all throughout the sect. Shen Qingqiu laid his hand on Luo Binghe's shoulder, nodding at him before stepping over to the sidelines, expression calm as a lake.
As Luo Binghe looked from his teacher up to the huge mountain of muscles before him, he felt like he was definitely going to be crushed by that giant hammer of the demon, but he could not bail. His shizun trusted in him and Shen Yuan was watching too.
"Well then," Shen Qingqiu said, tearing the youth from his thoughts, "Get ready and..."
"Wait! Just a moment..." Sha Hualing interrupted, clearing her throat before regaining her composure. Putting on her usual arrogant expression, she continued, "Since we wish for a fair competition, I do have to mention...Elder Tianchui's armor is spiked with iron spikes covered in poison. This poison is called Without a Cure, so if your disciple gets pricked, he might not be around you much more."
"So this is what you define as a fair competition? Using tricks to make it even less unevenly powered?" Shen Qingqiu asked, his tone accusatory.
"I did not have to warn you," Sha Hualing defended herself as if she had done them a favor by pointing out these deadly spikes to them, "Besides, this poison is merely deadly to humans, so it slipped my mind that Elder Tianchui was using it, since we do not have to pay attention."
At that Shen Qingqiu listened up. "Only deadly to humans, you say? Demons are completely unaffected?" he asked, pretending to only want to confirm that fact.
"That's correct," Sha Hualing replied, "A demon's blood easily absorbs the poison before it can pose any threat to neither our qi nor our body. Humans may just be a bit too weak to withstand it."
Shen Qingqiu nodded, making a gesture for Luo Binghe to come closer once more as he shielded them from everyone else with his fan, so he could talk to his disciple without being overheard. "Binghe, you trust this master, do you not?" he asked the child.
"Of course!" Luo Binghe said quickly, flinching the moment he realized he had replied a bit too loudly, "Of course this disciple trusts Shizun."
"Alright then. Do not get discouraged by these spikes. This master promises, they can not hurt you, understood?" Luo Binghe was confused, but he weakly nodded in understanding, not wanting to make his master doubt his belief in him or his loyalty. "Good. Then go. Make me proud, my little lamb."
A little flustered by that nickname, Luo Binghe stumbled back before the demon elder, halting only narrowly before almost colliding with his spiked armor. The demon elder grinned down at the kid as if he'd been hoping that he would actually gracefully offer himself up on his armor and put a premature end to their match. Luo Binghe carefully took a couple steps back nervously. Having been reassured by Shen Qingqiu had helped a little, but that didn't make his opponent any less scary.
Shen Qingqiu cleared his throat to gain the attention of everyone, before speaking up, "If you are ready? Begin."
Luo Binghe was immediately forced to dodge an attack from the demon. He did not even have time to draw his sword completely before the giant hammer swished past his head once more. What unfolded afterwards was what could only be called a wild goose chase around the plaza consisting of Luo Binghe running, dodging and occasionally getting hit and the demon elder running after him with a grin as if he was a cat, playing with its food. Shen Qingqiu followed with his eyes as Luo Binghe basically got thrown from one end of the plaza to the other like a ball and jumped up a second later just like one.
"Luo Binghe! Focus already!" Shan Qingqiu called over to his disciple, feeling slightly ashamed of the poor performance his disciple was putting up. When he had been in this kid's age... He shook his head. Not everyone would be able to take on a horde of guards at once with no experience in fighting or any cultivation.
Luo Binghe turned around the second his name was called and even before Shen Qingqiu could finish speaking, a huge hammer collided with his small body, throwing him into the air. He only managed to see Shen Qingqiu hide his face behind his fan, perhaps out of shame and shaking his head before he lost the ground underneath his feet. Immediately he felt a stab in his heart that was even worse than that of his body after having been beaten so much.
'I've...I've disappointed him...I've disappointed Shizun,' he thought as he felt the urge to cry, 'And that although he trusted in me...If I lose then they will get that nameplate and we will lose our honor, all because of me!' A wave of determination rushed through him and he finally decided to pull himself together. He could not lose, he will not lose. Not when the honor of the sect was on the line. When he reached the highest point in the air, Luo Binghe spun around, sword in hand as he lunged at the clueless Elder Tianchui, laughing as if he had already secured his victory. Instead of stabbing the demon through the top of his head though, Luo Binghe realized at the last moment that he was not supposed to kill this demon. He quickly formed a seal, hitting the demon with a strong sword glare instead of the actual blade, not only ripping the huge demon to the ground, but also causing a pressure wave big enough to make everyone on the plaza pull up their arms to shield their eyes from any dust and stones that could have been thrown their way.
Before the demon elder could figure out what was going on and get back up, Luo Binghe had already gracefully landed beside the demon shaped hole in the ground and just when Elder Tianchui opened his eyes, there was already the tip of a sword at his throat, an exhausted and roughed up, but proud youth standing tall above him, emitting the aura of a young lord. Knowing he had lost, even the last shred of arrogance disappeared from the demon's face. With a fearful glimmer in his eyes, he turned his head towards Sha Hualing, but the demoness merely averted her gaze with a stern expression.
Sha Hualing was pissed. She had taken that fight as a sure win. She had not expected that young boy with the pretty face to turn the tide like that. If she was not so angry, she would have spared the kid a second glance and not only admired his strength, but also the already apparent handsomeness of his face, but it just was that she was in fact that angry. "We will deal with this once we get back," she said, her crisp voice barely hiding the dagger in it that she would like to take to cut open her subordinate's throat right on the spot.
Shen Qingqiu on the other hand proudly pet Luo Binghe's head, a gentle smile curling his lips hardly noticeable, but noticeable enough for Luo Binghe's chest to swell with pride. "I knew you could do it," Shen Qingqiu said, "As long as you don't let yourself get taken over by fear, you can take on even such strong enemies."
Luo Binghe nodded and happily walked back to Shen Yuan who nodded to him approvingly. For the second time in a few seconds the kid's satisfaction points almost skyrocketed and his reputation points gained an even bigger addition. All around them disciples praised and congratulated Luo Binghe for this victory as if he had just won a whole war, but Luo Binghe only seemed to have eyes for the calm smile on Shen Yuan's lips and didn't even notice Ning Yingying and Ming Fan both were sticking to him, hugging him tightly as if they were proud parents.
Elder Tianchui slowly got off the ground, slowly moving back to his spot where he stood full of shame next to Elder Dubi. Elder Tianchui looked over at his comrade with a conspicuous look as Sha Hualing went to the middle of the plaza to take the next battle on herself. Elder Dubi was not too obvious about it, but he too was not thrilled, only giving the slightest of affirmative nods he could give.
Sha Hualing had initially not thought that she would have to fight, only considering doing so to boost her reputation a little, but now that there was actually a chance to lose she was determined to get into the ring herself to bring home that nameplate successfully. She thought that Shen Qingqiu would likely send another disciple to fight, but she did not expect the man himself to step in instead.
"Immortal Master Shen, do you not believe this to be a little unfair?" she asked, actually being a little nervous having to face off against this man. She may be a little overconfident and arrogant, but she was not dumb and she knew that it might be hard to actually defeat this man. "I am just a young girl without even a sword and you are already an immortal martial arts master."
"How so, Miss Sha? Do you not believe yourself to be on par with a mere human cultivator?" Shen Qingqiu asked, co*cking his head to the side, "I think you should not worry yourself too much. I know very well how much power a demon possesses even at the time of their birth and a demon saintress at that... How could I let one of my juniors take the risk of getting hurt by you? But if you truly believe to be no match for me, simply because you lack a sword, I do not mind not using it."
Sha Hualing was just about to say something when she heard the boy from earlier suddenly pipe up as he ran over to his master. "Shizun, you can't fight! You just came out of seclusion and pa– Shibo said your meri–"
"Binghe, quiet," Shen Qingqiu commanded. He felt slightly unnerved by the kid's loose mouth. "It appears that after you have properly learned your calculus the next lesson you will get is on what and what not to say in front of an opponent," he said, trying to sound patient, but because he was so unnerved, Shen Qingqiu sounded both annoyed and cold.
Sha Hualing meanwhile seemed very curious. Shen Qingqiu had issues with his meridians? Maybe there was a good chance to win this after all and if that man placed himself on a silver platter like that, she would be stupid to refuse. But just to make it seem like she still would not have an easy fight she decided to just pull another excuse out of her sleeve. "Oh, but if the immortal master's meridians are in a bad state, it would probably be better if he did not use his qi to put less of a strain on them. This would also make the fight more fair for me, don't you think?"
Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath. He had not been intending to use his powers much anyway and he did not doubt that such a thing would be able to cost his win. If it did, he would have to dress up very nicely and present himself on the bed to explain to Yue Qingyuan why the name plate of Qiong Ding Hall was missing. Somehow he had a feeling though that that might not be too awful of a situation for him. But losing the name plate in general may not be too good, so he had to decide wisely.
Shen Qingqiu did not wish to risk this, but declining would be an admission to inferiority. "If that would be all requests you have, Miss Sha?" he asked, keeping his face calm to not let her see the doubt he was starting to feel. At a simple shrug and smile of the demoness, Shen Qingqiu turned to Luo Binghe. "Binghe, bring me some immortal binding cables. We do not want to be accused of cheating now, do we?"
Sha Hualing was surprised that the man was going this far to prove his sincerity. Simply saying he wouldn't would have been enough, but now he actually forced himself not to use any of his spiritual powers. 'Hmpf, the arrogance of humans...' she thought into herself.
"I...have some with me. From the last mission still," Luo Binghe said, pulling out the cables he had cut from Shen Yuan and Ning Yingying. Shen Qingqiu merely extended his arms without saying anything and Luo Binghe started wrapping one of the cables around his teacher's wrists.
"Separately, Binghe" Shen Qingqiu said, smiling slightly in amusem*nt, "We do not want to handicap me too much, now do we?"
Once each of his wrists had been adorned with one red band each and Luo Binghe had finished the last little ribbon, Shen Qingqiu turned to Sha Hualing, presenting his arms. "Is this acceptable for Miss Sha?" he asked.
"Acceptable," Sha Hualing just replied, unable to understand how this man could still look so calm after having basically given up any chance of victory just like that.
"Good then. I am ready when you are," Shen Qingqiu said, turning his back to Sha Hualing to get to his spot.
Sha Hualing just smiled. "I'm ready," she said even before Shen Qingqiu was in position and threw herself forward. The man should really not have been this arrogant to give her the choice on when to begin. Now she was going to teach him a lesson about modesty.
Sha Hualing was fast. Her nails as sharp as a freshly polished sword darted forward towards Shen Qingqiu's back. The man seemed oblivious, carelessly still walking into position, but shortly before the robes on his back should have been turned to shreds and even before a disciple could call a warning out to him, he suddenly disappeared and Sha Hualing's attack hit empty air. Meanwhile Shen Qingqiu slowed his steps a distance away, calmly fanning himself after having dodged the attack. If he was being honest, he had already assumed that Sha Hualing would try something like this, so he had already readied himself, but this did not take from this impressive display of footwork and speed.
Sha Hualing was a little puzzled. She turned around looking at the man who had just disappeared in front of her like a shadow in the light and when she saw how relaxed the man was, she immediately got angry. Right away she went to attack him once more, this time determined not to take her eyes off him even once. Not even to blink!
Shen Qingqiu was calm. His heart had been beating wildly at the thought of maybe losing this, but now he felt none of that. His movements were precise and quick, flowing like a river as he leaned and stepped aside to avoid Sha Hualing's hands. He watched as the young demoness grew more and more frustrated at not being able to land even one hit and he felt a little amused. This young lady really needed to learn a few things about combat.
"One should not so easily be brought to unrest lest you make yourself a target," he said as he stepped to one side, using his foot to kick against the back of Sha Hualing's leg, causing her to lose her footing for a moment. But instead of stumbling to the ground like a bag of rice, she gracefully rolled off the ground, just to jump up again like a wild tiger. Now she was really furious. Not only had she been treated like a child, she had also been lectured like one and she hated this more than anything. This time she was so angry that her attacks became strong enough for Shen Qingqiu to actually be forced to parry them.
Throwing his fan into the air, Shen Qingqiu's hands moved quick as lightning as he seemingly felt where she was going to hit next even before she had moved her hand into the general direction of that area. The disciples watching gasped in admiration at this flawless execution of the chishou skill. They had rarely seen any of the peak lords engaging in combat, so this was truly an opportunity hard to come by. Shen Qingqiu was not oblivious to these reactions, but he did not let any of the possible pride cloud his attention. If this had been half a year ago, he would have probably bathed in the attention like an arrogant fool, but that was not the thing he cared about anymore.
With a precise hit against Sha Hualing's chest, he sent her flying backwards, just in time to catch his fan as it fell back down. He waited patiently for Sha Hualing to regain her footing as he fanned himself calmly. Sha Hualing did not understand how this man could treat this like he was taking a stroll along a riverbench instead of like a fight as he should. Enough was enough. She had wanted to prove that she did not need her qi either to win, that she was better than this human, but now she was done.
Shen Qingqiu grew a little nervous as he saw the black, demonic qi collect around the demon saintress hands, but he did not let any of that show in his features as he readied himself. The attacks this time were even more ferocious than last time as if anger was truly the way for this demoness to unlock a new strength and Shen Qingqiu had trouble dodging this all. At one point he even got forced to leave close combat because she was getting too close. He collected his strength and jumped over her to the other side of the fighting area. He only narrowly made the jump, being not used to not being able to use his spiritual energy to reinforce his jumps.
This certainly was a flaw he quickly had to fix. What martial artist was incapable of doing the same moves just because he didn't have any qi. That was embarrassing. Luckily he got yet another chance to practice as Sha Hualing had already decided to jump him once more. This time his jump was way higher and more graceful than the last and at the third he could even control the direction he went midair, which he used to confuse Sha Hualing to get the opportunity to go into offense. Closing his fan with a sharp snap as he landed, Shen Qingqiu got ready and the second his foot had a firm halt on the ground behind the demoness, he used the tip of it to seal one of her acupoints with a precise hit.
Immediately a shock ran through Sha Hualing's nerves and she noticed way too late how Shen Qingqiu hit another acupoint that made her legs lose their feel and sent her to the ground. Unable to move her limbs, she was left to grit her teeth on the ground in anger until Shen Qingqiu unsealed her acupoint. By now her clothes had–for some unknown reason–completely torn apart, revealing the few parts of her that she had managed to cover with those thin pieces of fabric and not only her whole body but also her face were full of dirt.
Shen Qingqiu threw a glare behind himself, but to his surprise most of the male and even the female disciples had turned around and those who hadn't, received a slap on the back of the head by the nearest person. The only person who did not look away was Liu Mingyan. She was even coming closer, but Shen Qingqiu quickly realized why. Sha Hualing was dusting herself off when suddenly she was offered a purple and white outer robe by the other youth. The surprise was enough to cause her anger to disappear for a moment and without even thinking, she accepted it, even letting Liu Mingyan put the robe around her shoulders.
Shen Qingqiu cleared his throat to get the attention of the young demoness as she seemed to be completely fixated on the actions of the Xian Shu peak disciple. "I believe this last match has decided the victor of this friendly sparring session?" he asked once she looked at him properly.
Sha Hualing took a step away from Liu Mingyan and smoothed down the robe she had been dressed in to regain her composure. "It appears to be so, Senior Shen," she replied, "Ling'er truly should have expected this outcome. Even with his qi tied, a martial arts master will stay a martial arts master. She is only disappointed that her subordinates failed to gain the same amount of expertise even after having lived for hundreds of years." She threw a glare at Elder Tianchui as she said this, making the demon elder's eyes take on a strangely dark shade.
Shen Qingqiu wanted to say something in reply, but at that moment Luo Binghe had already come running over, excitedly fluttering around his master with bug eyes. "Shizun you were amazing!" he said with admiration, "I've never seen anything so– Shizun, watch out!"
Even before his disciple had screamed the warning, Shen Qingqiu had caught the two demon elders jumping out of the crowd. How could he not when the ground literally shook under their steps. The target of their attack seemed to be rather the two disciples next to him instead of himself, but naturally they would not mind the collateral damage. Drawing his sword, Shen Qingqiu blocked Elder Dubi's saber before it could collide with Liu Mingyan's skull. Right next to him, Luo Binghe tried to avoid Elder Tianchui's spiked belly as the demon seemingly threw himself at the kid.
For a moment, Shen Qingqiu panicked, but he could not use his qi to blast his opponent off quickly enough to reach his disciple. He threw a glance at Liu Mingyan, hoping she understood and quickly the girl jumped into action, attacking alongside him until he could get to Luo Binghe, but it was too late. The child had already been forced to use his arm to block off the demon and now streams of blood flowed loose from the wounds the spikes have ripped into his flesh.
For a moment Shen Qingqiu felt his head go blank and he forgot about this child's blood lineage. All that was on his mind was that Luo Binghe might die as he kicked the grinning Elder Tianchui off of his disciple. Luo Binghe immediately fell against his teacher, fear imminent in his wide eyes.
"Shizun, will I die?" the kid asked quietly.
Shen Qingqiu vehemently shook his head as he held him close. With one hand he fumbled free one of the immortal binding cables from around his wrist and bound it tightly around Luo Binghe's arm. From behind him he heard three very worried disciples rush to them and he didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, but that was not important. He could also hear that some disciples had drawn their swords against the other demons.
"Everyone put your weapons down at once!" he ordered, not wanting even more wounded than necessary. To his surprise, Sha Hualing barked the same order at her subordinates.
Shen Qingqiu could only guess that she was shocked herself at this development and had definitely not ordered anyone to attack them. The only thing both her and Shen Qingqiu were focused on now was that this got solved without any more violence. Or at least without anyone else being dragged into this but those who already were, because seeing Luo Binghe in this much pain made Shen Qingqiu momentarily forget that he should keep his composure and even though he knew that the child would survive, he was furious at the two demon elders. Giving Luo Binghe into the care of his friends, Shen Qingqiu undid the second immortal binding cable from his arm and slowly drew his sword. He only spared one glance to see if he would end up causing a war with the thing he was about to do, but Sha Hualing merely turned away as if saying that anything that she did not see would be free for him to do.
Having received the permission from her, Shen Qingqiu walked straight up to the demon that was currently surrounded by a couple disciples, so he wouldn't try anything. When Shen Qingqiu sent them away, the demon merely gave him a co*cky smirk.
"What do you think you're doing now, human?" he asked, mockingly, "Even if you kill me now, your disciple will die."
Shen Qingqiu let his cold smile speak for itself as he channeled his qi into his blade. Xiu Ya started vibrating and glowing in anticipation and then, within a second a bright might erupted, tearing the demon elder in two as if his armor was nothing but cheap cloth. The upper half of the demon elder was still breathing when Shen Qingqiu walked up to it. He watched coldly as his breathing grew shallow and he started spewing curses at him in an ever weakening voice. When his voice was nought but a whisper, Shen Qingqiu slowly leaned down to the demon, whispering something into his ear that made him cease talking. His eyes widened as his gaze slowly went to Luo Binghe and he only had the strength to mouth something before the lights in his eyes flickered out: 'May the lord have mercy on me.'
What Shen Qingqiu had said? A simple truth the demon would take to his grave and that would haunt his soul.
"Your effort was in vain. This disciple of mine is Tianlang-jun's son. He will not die. But you will. A meaningless death."
When Shen Qingqiu sheathed his sword again, Sha Hualing turned back around a little confused and maybe even disappointed. "Only him?" she asked.
"We need not take any more lives than necessary," Shen Qingqiu replied, as he walked back to his disciple, "Even that one was more than I should have taken."
"Oh humans are always so righteous," Sha Hualing groaned, rolling her eyes, "Once we return, Elder Dubi will be executed anyway. And he knows that. You might as well take your anger out on him as well."
She would really love to see this man completely lose his composure, but Shen Qingqiu could no longer be moved to get angry. All he did was look after his precious disciple who still looked incredibly pitiful.
"Fine, if you do not want to..." Sha Hualing made a gesture to have Elder Dubi kneel down before she gave another demon a signal, pointing at her neck with the tip of her thumb then turning her hand to the side. She did not even look when the demon she had called swung his cleaver through the air and drew it through Elder Dubi's neck. When she heard the body slump to the ground she simply smiled at the expressionless Shen Qingqiu with a, "Never liked him anyway."
Shen Qingqiu didn't exactly care about how the demons cleared their internal affairs and if it was their tradition to handle things this bloody, but he would have been happier had they not decided to sully the plaza in front of his and Yue Qingyuan's home even more. He only checked with Luo Binghe to make sure that Ning Yingying had properly bandaged his arm to stop the bleeding.
"Ming Fan, you go and get Mu Qingfang to Qiong Ding Hall as soon as possible, "Yingying, please get Liu Qingge to come out of seclusion. He–"
"Already here," a voice said from beside Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu quickly turned his head to see his shidi standing there with crossed arms, visibly not pleased with the presence of the demons.
"Why are there demons here and why are they not dead yet?" Liu Qingge asked in a tone as if he was asking why there was still a spot on his robes after they had been washed.
"They are here for a friendly sparring match. Two of them just couldn't take their loss and lashed out, but everything is under control, Liu Qingge. There is no reason for anyone to be killed," Shen Qingqiu said, "If you ask nicely, I'm sure Miss Sha can spare a couple subordinates for you to beat up too, just don't kill them."
Liu Qingge looked doubtful, but hearing the possibility of beating up someone he had never gotten the chance to beat up before got him listening. He looked at the young demoness he was indicated to and waited for her answer. Sha Hualing just rolled her eyes. "Take whomever, I don't care anymore."
"After this situation has been cleared up. Miss Sha, if you would follow me to Qiong Ding Hall?" Shen Qingqiu asked as he picked up Luo Binghe. The child immediately held onto Shen Qingqiu's shoulder and wrapped his legs around the man's waist as if the man had carried him like this countless times and Shen Qingqiu had to stifle a smile.
"What? Why should I do that?" Sha Hualing asked, feeling a little suspicious.
"We had an agreement, remember? And now that my disciple is wounded you at least owe me a conversation," Shen Qingqiu replied. After a moment of hesitation Sha Hualing agreed reluctantly. "Liu Qingge, you take care that no fight breaks out. Any disciple that starts anything you can punish as you see fit and the demons who try the same you can beat up."
"So beat up anyone who fights. Noted," Liu Qingge said.
"Y...yes," Shen Qingqiu agreed. What else did he expect?
Shaking his head, he led Sha hualing to the grand hall and once inside, he sat his disciple down on a chair in the meeting hall. Sha Hualing stood off to the side, watching as Shen Qingqiu checked on Luo Binghe's arm with an unexpectedly calm expression.
"Senior Shen, there... Elder Tianchui did not lie, it's really too late for this child," she said, "The Without a Cure poison is really not just a joke. He will either die or end up with a cripled cultivation."
"He will not," Shen Qingqiu disagreed.
Sha Hualing looked to the ground. She believed his words to come from him being in denial. Probably he did not want to believe that he would lose his beloved disciple. Somehow this made her feel both sympathetic and sour. This cultivator was more of a parent to a child he didn't even share blood with than her own father had ever been. And she didn't care if she got told, "The demonic race is strong. We do not need feelings of affection. They make us weak." She also wanted someone to worry about her wellbeing if she got hurt. Someone who would carry her to a chair and would not tell her to walk herself since her legs were not broken in too many places to make it impossible.
"Hmpf, if you want to believe that then I can't help you," Sha Hualing said, not feeling like explaining anymore.
"Miss Sha, this is not a case of me not wanting to hear the truth. I know that the poison is not an issue for him," Shen Qingqiu replied, "If you may, please come closer."
Luo Binghe was a bit nervous. He did not understand how he could be unaffected by that poison if it was supposedly this bad, but he trusted Shen Qingqiu, so he did not think about asking or saying anything that would show his doubts.
Sha Hualing on the other hand was rather skeptical, but she was also a little curious, so she did come closer as asked of her. Shen Qingqiu made a gesture, indicating that he would like to take Sha Hualing's hand. She did pull a face, but she did not scratch out his eyes for it. She let her hand be guided to Luo Binghe's forehead where Shen Qingqiu let go of her wrist.
"Use your demonic qi and check him," Shen Qingqiu encouraged, watching as Sha Hualing confusedly sent a stream of dark qi into the scared kid. After a long while she frowned before letting out a surprised noise. "I see you've come to understand. It is frustrating that I personally could not check that properly, but another demon is different. This is where I need your help, Miss Sha. You need to help me unlock this little part of his."
"Senior Shen, you...Why are you allowing him to be here? He..." Sha Hualing was so shocked that she forgot that she was supposed to act a bit more distanced and aloof than this.
"Where else should he go? And he is still my responsibility. I couldn't care less about anything else," Shen Qingqiu replied. He pet Luo Binghe's head with a calm smile to calm down the boy. Luo Binghe looked even more uncertain after hearing all this cryptic talk. Shen Qingqiu was afraid that he might become even more distraught when he would find out the truth. He just hoped he would stay this sweet and trustful towards him.
"The Immortal Master is quite curious," Sha Hualing commented as she closed her eyes to go on search for whatever was blocking the kid's demonic powers. She was trying her best, but this blockage was just not budging. "Senior Shen, I fear there is nothing that I can do here. This... Whatever caused his powers to be sealed, you will need someone with more power than I possess."
"Shi...zun...?" Luo Binghe asked fearfully. He didn't know what was going on and the things Shen Qingqiu and Sha Hualing were talking about were confusing him a lot.
Shen Qingqiu knew that although it had not worked this time, it must be obvious to Luo Binghe now that there was something abnormal about him and he now had to tell the child the truth. He just did not know if the child would be able to face the truth. He quickly came closer, embracing his disciple in hopes that what he said next would not completely crush all his beliefs and make him afraid. "Binghe, I always ask you if you trust me and you always say you do, I hope telling you this now will not change that."
"O-ofcourse not!" Luo Binghe said quickly, "How could this disciple ever not trust Shizun? Shizun is wise. Shizun makes decisions that Binghe might not understand, but he always takes care that I will not get hurt. I trust Shizun more than anyone!"
Shen Qingqiu sighed, pressing Luo binghe's head even tighter to his chest. so tightly that Luo Binghe was able to hear how fast his heart was actually beating despite his calm expression. Luo Binghe had not thought that his teacher could ever be anxious, but maybe he was just hiding it too well. He listened attentively when Shen Qingqiu finally started speaking, but what he said made his head go empty for a moment.
"The blood of a demon is running through your veins, Binghe," Shen Qingqiu said finally, "I've been looking for the right moment to tell you. I knew for a while now, but there is never a perfect moment for this. This moment though at least was the right one."
"Shizun, you... Are you... You are trying to fool this disciple, right? Binghe doesn't think this is funny," Luo Binghe said quietly, his voice full of denial, but his eyes had already started leaking tears, "Shizun...Binghe does not want to leave, please..."
"Who said anything about leaving?" Shen Qingqiu asked, taking Luo Binghe by his shoulders, "You are my disciple. I chose to become your master and I chose to keep you even when I found out about this. This master does not care about what you are or if your father was human or Tianlang-jun. And if you dare run away because you think you are no longer welcome then this master will drag you back by your fluffy little ponytail, understood?"
Hearing that name, Luo Binghe looked even more miserable, but he tried to be brave and wipe away his tears. Sha Hualing on the other hand looked shocked. Without a moment's hesitation she threw herself to her knees, bowing low.
"M- my lord!" she said, as if she was scared the crying boy would punish her for not recognizing this
Luo Binghe became even more uncertain, hiding his head deeply in Shen Qingqiu's chest. Sha Hualing was still kneeling on the ground, unsure of what to do. Luo Binghe did not seem angry at her, but he actually should be, should he not. And then there was the fact that Shen Qingqiu did not seem to have an issue hugging the kid. She felt very awkward, seeing a human act in such a way with another demon. Did humans not hate everything to do with demons? That's at least what she'd been taught.
Suddenly the door to Qiong Ding hall opened and a very heavily breathing Mu-Qingfang entered.
"Mu-shidi, at last you have come," Shen Qingqiu said, stepping aside immediately for the other man to look at Luo Binghe's arm.
"Took a bit longer because of the rainbow bridges, but I came as quickly as I could when I heard what had happened. I can not believe he is still conscious after having been poisoned by that demonic poison. Normally he should..." Mu Qingfang trailed off when he checked for Luo binghe's condition, "You...are you sure that he was poisoned?"
Shen Qingqiu felt a bit awkward. He had hoped that Mu Qingfang would first look at the wound and could be distracted or that there would at least be traces of Luo Binghe being impaired by the poison, but he had not expected that there would be nothing. Was Luo Binghe's blood really so powerful that the poison could be absorbed this quickly without any harm coming to his human side or his spiritual qi? He was about to just drop an excuse like: 'Maybe he caught a spike that had no poison or on it, weird...' but Luo Binghe immediately started weeping again.
"Shizun, I'm a monster!" he cried, sniffling once more though he had just stopped crying. Just hearing that the poison that could have killed any person was just gone from his body made him feel so incredibly abnormal.
"Binghe, be quiet," Shen Qingqiu hissed quietly, but Mu Qingfang had already grown suspicious. This poison not being in this child's system could only have two possibilities. Either he was never poisoned or...
"Shixiong...This disciple of yours," Mu Qingfang said, taking a pause to closely watch Shen Qingqiu's reaction, "There is no trace of poison in him. But he has very clearly been wounded by those spikes. Do you want to explain that to me or should I just not ask?"
Shen Qingqiu was surprised the man would suggest not asking all by himself, but something gave him the feeling that he still wanted an explanation. "Shidi, I think we already understand one another about what the case here is. I do not deny this and I do not deny having had knowledge of this for a while. But I wanted to give this a little time until informing the other peak lords. I do not wish to risk him facing anything just because they approach this with prejudice."
Mu Qingfang sighed. "I will listen to your explanation once you think it's the right time. But this thing needs to be dealt with...internally," he took a look at Sha Hualing and Luo Binghe when saying that, "I trust Zhangmen-shixiong is informed?"
"Yes. We have already talked about this. He did voice concerns, but when I explained my thoughts on this matter he chose to trust me," Shen Qingqiu replied, "We discussed this in a more professional manner, should you have concerns about his judgment."
"I did not question that," Mu Qingfang said. "Do you wish for me to think of something to explain why the poison had no effect on him?"
"It would be better, but please leave it as close to the truth as possible. This should not become a case of breaking trust," Shen Qingqiu advised, "Could you do me a favor now and bring Binghe to his room, Shidi? There is something else I wish to discuss with Miss Sha alone. If you don't mind, of course."
"Of course I don't mind," Mu Qingfang said with a smile that looked like he was really not thrilled about having to play the babysitter now when he would rather go back to his own peak to do something productive.
"Binghe, you will wait in your room. I will come to talk with you," Shen Qingqiu ordered before the child went out with Mu Qingfang.
"They seem to trust a lot in you, Senior Shen," Sha Hualing commented once they were alone.
"Who specifically?"
"All of them. From what I've seen. It's not normal for something like this to simply be let slide."
"Hm, it would be bad if there was no trust between sect members. It would even be dangerous. We are not working on a good climate between everyone for nothing," Shen Qingqiu replied calmly as he took a seat, "Come, sit with me. Would you like tea?"
"Urm...no thanks," Sha Hualing said, sitting down across from Shen Qingqiu.
"Miss Sha, I think we don't have to beat around the bush anymore now. I am aware that you were not here for a simple friendly sparring session, but since we were able to solve this peacefully I do not wish to let you or anyone else face any consequences for this. In my opinion there has been enough bloodshed already. And I am not just talking about today."
"Would Senior Shem please elaborate what he means to tell me with this?" Sha Hualing asked. She felt a bit strange having this man talk eye to eye with her like this. She was absolutely not used to this. Normally either people kissed up to her or talked completely down on her. No in between.
"I mean to say that I no longer wish to tolerate the enmity between our races," Shen Qingqiu said bluntly, "I am planning on shaping this sect so that there will no longer be anything as hatred based on such nonsensical things as difference of blood. We are cultivators who swore to serve justice, but we slaughter people without even a reason other than them being demons. I do not want to be afraid that my disciple will be sent out of the sect just because of who his parents were."
Sha Hualing was quiet for a moment. She had not thought to ever hear such a thing from a human, honestly and it all sounded way too good to be true. She suspected that there might be a catch, but Shen Qingqiu did not look mischievous in any way.
Seeing the hesitation on Sha Hualing's face, Shen Qingqiu changed his sitting position a little, so he would not look too stern and a little more relaxed instead. "I know that sounds a bit unbelievable and I have to admit that for a very long time I too would not have wanted to even think about peace, but it's as they say, once you are affected yourself, you are more willing to think about it it now that Binghe is under my care, I do want to provide him with an environment that will not judge him for what he is. And I have to be honest, would it not be way smarter to go into friendly relations with the demonic race instead? There is just so much potential for trade and cultural exchanges. We could learn from each other instead of killing one another senselessly over what? Differences in looks and behavior? This whole war has lost its meaning so long ago already..."
"And what does Senior Shen expect me to do? I am not a lord, just a saintress. I command an army, but that's it and my father would never agree to something like this even if you convinced me," Sha Hualing said. She felt like Shen Qingqiu expected her to speak for the whole demonic race. She could hardly do this.
"When has there ever been a great figure in history who was powerful from birth? History gets written by those who are willing to take the risk and oppose those who are for an unjust cause," Shen Qingqiu argued, "Miss Sha, even if you walk out of this hall today and are still unwilling to assist, I will not give up this cause. Even if it's just my sect finally being willing to seek peace or the whole of the human realm, I will be glad to fight for whatever little I can get. Because this is what it means to uphold justice."
Sha Hualing closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. She was absolutely not the type of person to have such a conversation. She rather cleared up situations with her fists than her tongue, but what Shen Qingqiu said sounded quite good. She could make her name known in both the human and the demonic realm, not as the general who led armies to conquer lands, but as the wise demon saintress who helped bring peace upon the lands. And there was still Luo Binghe. Even though he was still just a kid, he was still obviously related to his lordship Tianlang-jun and demons took such lineages very seriously.
"How would that sound, Miss Sha? Ambassador Sha," Shen Qingqiu asked, saying the title with the most respect he was able to put into his voice. Your name would be in people's mouths for centuries to come and you would be respected by humans and demons alike.
At the title Sha Hualing was unable to stop the corners of her mouth from going upwards for a moment, causing her to reveal too early that she actually thought that this sounded quite nice. But she didn't know how to go about that. Find followers and have negotiation talks? But she could hardly do that without her father noticing and if Jiuzhong-jun found out then he would certainly not be lenient just because she was his daughter.
"What safety can you give me that I will not be executed for betraying my own race in a few months?" she asked, "IF I agree, that is."
"I will be honest to you, Miss Sha. I don't know. Of course I could try to organize someone to stay with you and protect you, but that would still be a human. I can only ensure that when traveling through the human realm you will not be attacked, but anything else would be out of my control. I do understand if you can't accept that risk. I do not expect anything of you after all, I am just reaching for any help I can get."
"Hm..." Sha Hualing thought for a moment. "Say, Immortal Master, the young Lord...Binghe? What is his relationship with our late lord?"
"Luo Binghe is his son," Shen Qingqiu replied, "His mother was a Huan Hua palace disciple."
"His lordship's son? And half human at that... Mister Shen, I believe that simply because of that there would be demons willing to fight for your cause. I don't know if you are familiar with our hierarchy?"
"I have always had a strong interest in demons and their culture, so I am familiar. I was hoping that exactly this would be the case. It is good to hear that you think the same. But his bloodline is also the thing which makes me believe that humans and demons can truly coexist. I do not believe what people say that Tianlang-jun had manipulated Miss Su to be on his side or to trust him. With what I have heard of her, she was way too strong for that."
"I heard that his lordship was always fascinated by humans. Traveling around, playing music, reading poems or watching opera in the human realm. It is said that during his time, he always insisted that we hold our feet still and coexist. Some demons make fun of him behind closed doors because of this, but there are some people who actually believe in what he said. I think that if I were to help you, that would be in the wish of his lordship. And it would help the young lord too..." Sha Hualing said. She did l not like having to admit it, but she was starting to play with the thought of actually joining Shen Qingqiu's cause, "Senior Shen, you plan on teaching the young lord, correct? Will he also be educated to use his demonic powers?"
"Naturally, but I have to say, my knowledge is limited. If only there was a loyal subject from the demon realm willing to assist me in teaching him properly, that would certainly be of help," Shen Qingqiu replied. He smiled when Sha Hualing raised her eyebrow, obviously knowing what he was playing at.
"Ambassador you said?" she asked, flicking against one of the bells on her wrist as she thought, "I'm sure an ambassador will be paid, right? I've heard the human realm has nice food and trinkets..."
"Oh, I'm sure I can convince my husband to divert a few sect funds towards the cause of peace," Shen Qingqiu said, stretching out his hand.
Sha Hualing pretended to be a little reluctant, but eventually she took his hand to seal the deal. "The Immortal Master truly has a privilege that he can manage the sect's affairs without even consulting the sect leader first," Sha Hualing commented,
"I am still the Qing Jing peaklord, which makes me capable of deciding things when he is not there. We agree on most things anyway," Shen Qingqiu replied.
"If I walk around the human realm, I am going to need someone to tour me. You said I would get someone to protect me. May I pick someone?" Sha Hualing asked. She had to admit that since the sparring she had been a little entranced, but she did not really get why. She thought that maybe if she spent time with that person she could figure it out. Plus, that woman looked rather strong and she would like to see if she didn't hide any more of her strength.
"Well, I can ask my Qi-shimei if her disciple is free to do that," Shen Qingqiu replied. When Sha Hualing's carefree expression faltered momentarily, he had to laugh, "What? You have been looking intently at her ever since she had fought with your subordinate. And you have been looking down on her outer robe the whole time too. You seem... fascinated by her."
"Pft...she is just interesting. For a human," Sha Hualing said, but the little chime of the bells at her ankles gave away that she was a little happy about it with how her feet swung back and forth.
"Yes, of course," Shen Qingqiu replied, swallowing the 'I think my husband is very interesting too' because he did not want to embarrass the young demoness even further, "Let me take you outside, Miss Sha."
When they left Qiong Ding Hall, they partially expected half the people outside to lay in a corner, beaten by Liu Qingge, but surprisingly there was not even a little bit of ruckus on the plaza. It was actually rather peaceful and although the groups mostly stuck to themselves there were instances where some disciples were holding a conversation with some of Sha Hualings people.
"It appears that there are already some candidates for us," Shen Qingqiu said to Sha Hualing, nodding into the direction where a large demon stood there with his head lowered letting one of Yue Qingyuan's disciples place a little flower behind his ear while smiling peacefully. Shen Qingqiu smiled too when he recognized the girl. He had finally come around to asking Yue Qingyuan her name after having felt ashamed that he had not asked her months ago, but when finding out her name, he had thought that it fit quite well. Zhao Yan. She was always on her feet and in a good mood, fluttering around her friends like a little swallow.
Sha Hualing just looked over, a little puzzled about how easy her task suddenly seemed. The demon had just straightened his back again when he saw that Sha Hualing was back. Quickly he tried to look angry and turned his head, so she could not see the flower, but Sha Hualing just made a gesture as if she didn't care. She gave a quick whistle, to gain the attention of everyone before gesturing towards the gate. Before leaving, Sha Hualing gave a short bow to Shen Qingqiu to say good-bye and then she walked out of the gate, her head held high.
Shen Qingqiu waited until she was gone before checking with Liu Qingge about what had happened when he had been busy. The answers were short as ever, but he could figure out that Liu Qingge had only been forced to intervene with some people three times and he seemed a little disappointed about it. He also told Shen Qingqiu that he had been in a way too long discussion about who got rid of the corpses that lay in the middle of the plaza, because they were not members of their sect and the demons did not want them since they had died without honor. Now someone had decided to just push them into a corner and throw a cloth over them until it was decided what to do with them.
"Just take them and bury them in my bamboo grove, we have been having issues with it not sprouting properly anyway. Just deep enough. And get Tianchui's armor to Mu-shidi. He might want to take a look at the poison on it," Shen Qingqiu said.
"The weapons?"
"Fight with Wei-shidi over them, I don't care."
With that Shen Qingqiu started walking towards the disciple rooms, so he could talk to Luo Binghe. When he entered the kid's room, Luo Binghe was sitting on his bed, dongling his feet as he looked down on his pendant, lost in thought. The second he noticed his teacher though, he quickly attempted to get up, but Shen Qingqiu just held up his hand, coming to sit beside his disciple.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at Luo Binghe's troubled face.
"I...I was just thinking about my late mother. My adoptive mother," Luo Binghe replied quietly, "Do you think she would have picked me up if she had known...?"
"Of course she would. From what I've heard she was a very nice person. If she took in a child despite having almost no money for herself then she would not care what blood flows through this child's veins," Shen Qingqiu replied reassuringly.
"How long has Shizun known?" Luo Binghe asked. He would really like to call him baba right now, but he was still extremely uncertain.
"A little while now," Shen Qingqiu replied calmly, "Maybe a month or so after I took you in."
"Did you think about...throwing me out?"
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. He had had worse worries on Luo Binghe than just him being half demon. For example the fact that this child was supposed to kill his husband and him in another life, but he would never tell Luo Binghe about this. This child was just so innocent and he knew very well that there were some things that could make you lose trust in everything while also hating everyone else. He had been there. Maybe not to such an extent, but at least a variation of it.
"Where should you go if I were to send you away? You would just get hurt and end up starving somewhere. No, you will stay nicely with us," Shen Qingqiu said.
"How did Shizun know that this disciple is a demon?" Luo Binghe asked curiously.
"Your papa has met your parents before and you do look a lot like your mother, he says," Shen Qingqiu explained.
"My parents?" Luo Binghe's eyes grew wide for a moment. He had always wanted to know what his parents were like or who they were, but he never would have thought that he would ever find out. Shen Qingqiu had already said something about his father, but Luo Binghe had not yet been able to ask about that.
"Your mother was a disciple from Huan Hua palace. Her name was Su Xiyan. I heard she was a very strong and intelligent woman. Rather distanced though, but that is hard to say for someone who did not know her personally," Shen Qingqiu said, "And your father was the demon lord Tianlang-jun. It seems like he liked poetry and arts from the human realm. I'm certain that he would like the idea of his son being on Qing Jing peak."
"But Tianlang-jun...Was he not evil? I heard he planned to destroy the whole of the cultivation world," Luo Binghe said. He was unhappy that such a person was supposed to be his real father.
"This master does doubt that a little. The person claiming this was the Palace Master of Huan Hua Palace, your mother's teacher. I do not think that this man is a good person and if it is to his own gain, he would lie about something like this. Your baba is currently talking to Zhao Hua Monastery, trying to find out a little more about this."
Luo Binghe looked a bit hesitant, but then he nodded, trying to accept what he had heard. Shen Qingqiu had to smile. He slowly pet the kid's hair.
"This master will not let you become unhappy in this sect. He will teach you and you will learn to use both of your powers well. And no one will look at you oddly, I promise," Shen Qingqiu said, "And your heritage will not have any impact on you either. One day this master's name will be forgotten among the stories of countless greater heroes, but yours... I'm sure yours will shine as brightly even millennia after your passing. And it will shine a golden shine, not one tainted in red."
Luo Binghe looked a little unhappy. "Shizun will not be forgotten!" he protested, "He is the strongest and smartest person there is. This disciple could never compare!"
"Nono, my little lamb is special. This master may be smart, but that is not enough to make your name known," Shen Qingqiu laughed
"Shizunnn..." Luo Binghe said, almost sounding like he was complaining. When Shen Qingqiu looked, the kid's face was completely red. "Why are you calling this disciple little lamb?" he asked, sounding very embarrassed.
"Oh, you just remind me of a lamb. Small and innocent. And your hair...well," Shen Qingqiu smiled slightly, "If you mind it, this master will not call you that anymore."
Luo Binghe quickly shook his head. "This disciple does not mind. It's just that...I didn't expect to get a nickname like that," he said.
"It is a little unusual for me to give out a nickname, but when I find a fitting one I will give it to someone. Even if it's a disciple. But you call me something special too, don't you?"
"Hmhm, baba..." Luo Binghe replied quietly.
"I already thought you did not want to say that anymore now that you know your real father," Shen Qingqiu said, pretending to feel hurt.
Luo Binghe immediately believed that he had actually offended his master, so he quickly hugged the man. "Binghe has a baba and a papa, he does not care about any other father," he said determinedly as he snuggled into Shen Qingqiu.
"Hm, I like to think so," Shen Qingqiu said, "Let's see if you still want to stick to your baba once I put you through the real training I have prepared for once I tell you about your heritage."
"The what–?"
