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Shang Qinghua sighed heavily, slumping over the table in as dignified a manner as he could afford. The end result was severely lacking, but one never knew when someone was ready to barge into his office with no prior warning. It had to be some kind of tragedy that even on An Ding did the An Ding Peak Lord fail to have some kind of private space for himself. He bet Shen Qingqiu never had to deal with this sort of thing!
To Shang Qinghua's ever-present displeasure, his leisure house was not a place many on the peaks respected, outside of his own disciples of course (though even they weren’t a guarantee).
It meant he couldn't be surprised when the doors were suddenly pushed aside, forcing him to raise his head for the Nth time that day. A cold wind rushed in and swept some of the papers and scrolls off his desk, leaving a mess in his office. He had just finished sorting those!
"Who-?!"
The sect leader stared at the papers with a barely noticeable wince hidden in the layers under his genial smile, a hand resting comfortably over one of his spare swords. His hair was still wind ruffled and his cheeks red from the flight over. Unfortunately, despite Shang Qinghua’s annoyance with him, it didn't make Yue Qingyuan any less attractive.
"Apologies Shang-shidi. This shixiong hadn't intended to make a mess of your office."
He reached down to pick up the papers alongside his unusually quiet shidi, who'd looked away from Yue Qingyuan as soon as he caught himself staring at his chiseled face for much too long to be socially acceptable. It didn’t stop his shixiong from noticing his staring, polite enough to mask his interest for the time being.
Shang Qinghua gave himself a mental pat on the back, glad to have made so many of his characters this attractive. Though his type usually ran a little closer to callous beauties who could and probably would punt him into the atmosphere, he couldn’t deny Yue Qingyuan often had that same effect with his occasionally imposing presence.
The sect leader met Shang Qinghua’s eyes as soon as they swiveled back to him again, raising one thick but shapely brow in silent question. He seemed quietly smug to have caught Shang Qinghua staring—in fact, Shang Qinghua could almost be tricked into believing he had enjoyed witnessing such a thing.
He forced out a quick, if flustered reply, "No worries, Yue-shixiong. The same would have occurred had it been one of my disciples."
To accommodate his mountains of paperwork, Shang Qinghua's desk was a custom-ordered massive beast of lacquered wood. Embarrassingly enough, this wouldn't be the first time he'd had to crawl beneath it to reach something he dropped and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
To avoid his shixiong’s wandering eyes, he ducked beneath it, reaching for one of the last scrolls still gathering dust along the floor.
There was an urgency to get out as quickly as possible when the sect leader was in the room. As it stood, Shang Qinghua barely had a shred of dignity to stand on! He didn't need the rest of it taken away through a simple accident.
"Still, this shixiong should have known better than to come in without warning you."
He placed another fallen scroll onto the table, likely much more neatly than Shang Qinghua would have done.
Shang Qinghua's reply came out a bit muffled, as he was still attempting to reach the tumbled scroll that had landed precariously close to one of his secret caches of legendary items.
To let Yue-shixiong find one was unspeakable! He had no explanation ready as to why he had so many undiscovered items, many of which had only been stories up until they miraculously resurfaced in his hands. Obtaining them had been no easy feat—each journey felt like it had taken years off his life!
It was extremely suspicious of him to be hiding them himself rather than handing them over to the sect leader for safekeeping. He was doomed if Yue Qingyuan caught sight of them!
"It's alright, really. You're already doing a lot more than others have, so in my eyes, all is forgiven!"
His hands swiped at the edge of the scroll, but he failed to meet his target in his hastiness, only succeeding in pushing the scroll farther away. Shang Qinghua inched a little closer. The desk above him felt suffocating.
"Ah, just give me another second shixiong," Shang Qinghua's voice came out strangled as he continued chatting like nothing was amiss, "Then we can discuss what you came here for. It's about the textile merchants settled at the foot of Qian Cao right?"
Yue Qingyuan ascertained that was the case, continuing to collect all manner of documents until the only scroll that was left was the one Shang Qinghua had yet to retrieve.
Shang Qinghua wiggled under the desk a little farther. With enough wiggling, his head nearly popped out of the other side, his arm extending just far enough to grab the scroll.
'Yes! Now to get out of here!'
To his immense disappointment, however, Shang Qinghua pushed back and was met with immediate and significant resistance. More than one of his robes caught against a piece of wood, sure to rip if he pulled any more than he already had.
Seeing the An Ding Peak Lord stop wiggling, Yue Qingyuan inched forward, crouching beside his shidi. In consideration of the fact that this would be a lengthy visit, the sect leader had already removed his swords, placing them on the table beside the precarious piles of documents that remained on the desk. He was free to move as he liked.
"Shang Qinghua? Are you alright?"
The man in question swallowed heavily, anxiety thrumming beneath his skin.
Of course not Yue-shixiong! He was stuck beneath a table so heavy there was no hope of lifting it on his own, at least not from this position. Even if he asked Yue Qingyuan for help, there was no guarantee his robes wouldn't drag him up with it or that his secret storage would remain hidden. This was a lose-lose situation!
He laughed, voice laced with a near-madness as he figured out the best course of action.
"Nothing to worry about shixiong. My robes just seem to have gotten caught on an edge of the table. I hate to ask this of you, but would you be able to pull me out?"
The silence seemed to drag on for an eternity before Yue Qingyuan, who had caught himself staring at Shang Qinghua's generous form sticking out of the table, answered in affirmative.
“Of course.”
To any onlooker that might have been watching, he simply slipped his gaze away, mind and soul equally at peace and certainly not turning back to catch another uninterrupted glimpse.
Shang Qinghua felt two large hands encapsulate the small of his waist, grip almost hard enough to bruise.
A different kind of energy began to hum beneath his skin. Yue Qingyuan couldn’t deny that he was feeling it too, enjoying the soft give of the flesh beneath his fingers.
Shang Qinghua would have finger-shaped bruises around his waist for days. If the sect leader didn't hurry up and pull him out, he was sure to have a different kind of problem on his hands!
Yue Qingyuan was about to pull, rough hands firmly held around his waist and knees bracketing Shang Qinghua's thighs, when the doors slammed open once again.
Shang Qinghua nearly wailed. Who the hell was on his peak this time?!
The sect leader raised his head slightly, the automatic smile on his face tense as he met another of his shidi’s eyes.
At the door stood Shen Qingqiu, exuding the exact energy of a cat who had managed to snatch something they weren’t supposed to have.
A mirthful smile quickly and expertly hid behind his fan. The An Ding head disciple, Song Xia, rushed up behind him, despairing at the fact that she had been too late to stop her Shibo from opening the door. Her despair was quick to disappear, however, as Song Xia's eyes locked onto the pair by the floor.
Her voice cracked for the first time in the last several years.
"Sh-shizun?"
Shang Qinghua squawked in fright, frantically trying to crawl out from beneath the table to no avail.
Such a thing was an endless amusement to Shen Qingqiu, whose eyes sharpened at the unexpected scene. Yue Qingyuan had yet to move from where he hovered above Shang Qinghua, looking to be in a very suggestive position, to poor Song Xia’s embarrassment.
In her head, this was the equivalent of finding one’s parents in a compromising position…she would have preferred to be blind at the moment.
Yue Qingyuan scrambled to let go of him, but it was obvious where his hands had been.
Shen Qingqiu stepped forward, humming in interest as he peeked beneath the table where Shang Qinghua's head lay.
The An Ding Peak Lord peered up at him pitifully, cheeks red with exertion. Even his hair looked a proper mess, half of it hanging out of its bun and sticking to his cheeks. There was no denying that it looked as if they were busy doing something else before the pair barged in.
“Xiao-jiu ah…”
Before Yue Qingyuan could even begin to explain enough for the two of them, Shen Qingqiu interrupted him with a huff. Yue Qingyuan only managed to get a single word out, not daring to talk over his precious Xiao Jiu, much less when the mortification had practically sealed his mouth shut.
"No need for excuses. We'll be out of your way soon enough."
Yue Qingyuan closed his eyes, pretending that the color that had risen to his face was owed to something else.
Despite hearing Shang Qinghua's protests from beneath the table, Shen Qingqiu soldiered on, ignoring him altogether as he delighted in their matching expressions of shame.
Shang Qinghua wanted to feel slighted, but it was impossible to do so when the one doing the slighting was his favorite scum villain. Aiyo, please be nicer to this poor father of yours!
"Don’t look at me like that! I will be leaving a copy of Qing Jing's quarterly reports here so do your absolute best not to lose them, Shang-shidi, or you’ll be the one rewriting them.”
Why did Shen Qingqiu even come to deliver the forms himself?! Any Qing Jing disciple could have done the same. Did his shixiong really come all this way just to watch him cower beneath his gaze? He could have just handed the forms over to his head disciple damn it!
Shen Qingqiu’s voice then took on a note of glee, showing his thorough enjoyment of the matter before him. Shang Qinghua didn't even need to see him to confirm it. He’d been on the receiving end of such a thing to know what it sounded like by this point.
"Enjoy yourselves—I doubt this matter will remain private for much longer." He glanced pointedly at the An Ding disciple beside him, who looked away in shame rather than to deny the claim.
Shang Qinghua resisted the urge to bang his head against the floor. He knew Shen Qingqiu wasn't lying! His disciples were a rowdy bunch of gossiping aunties and not even the sect leader's silent disappointment was enough to deter them. He mentally bid the last of his dignity farewell, falling limp against the wood grain.
Song Xia looked hesitantly between her Shizun and Peak Lord Shen as he readied himself to leave. Even now, despite the accusation from Shen Qingqiu, she seemed to show no signs of guilt. Shang Qinghua could practically taste his own doom. He would never hear the end of it from the Hall Masters of An Ding!
"Come, Song Xia, leave your Shizun and Shibo to their business. I will return later this evening when Shang Qinghua is no longer indisposed."
Shen Qingqiu strode out not long after, the click of his boots reverberating with every step. Song Xia was hot on his heels, mumbling out a quiet apology as she shut the doors behind her.
True to word, Song Xia was already crafting a story for her martial siblings, comparable to even Shang Qinghua’s storytelling on the best of days. There was no doubt that this gossip would even reach the ears of other sects!
(Much later, Shang Qinghua would realize that the gossip would in fact, extend far beyond their sect, but that fallout was more Yue Qingyuan’s problem to deal with rather than his. As expected, the An Ding Peak Lord would only have to suffer the harsh blow dealt to his dignity, though that in itself, was its own problem.)
Shang Qinghua felt every step of their leave with his cheek against the floor, sighing in momentary relief when the floor no longer vibrated from their departure.
How the hell was he supposed to clear this up later?! Shen Qingqiu was no gossip on the mountain, but things changed once he was visiting his lady friends down in the brothels. News of the sect leader’s suggestive encounter with one of his peak lords would spread so quickly that Shang Qinghua wouldn't even have a chance to refute it. Not that anyone was likely to believe him when even his own head disciple had decided to turn her back on him!
Loyalty meant nothing these days!
The two fell into stiff silence once more, Yue Qingyuan's hands still hovering over his shidi’s waist as if the act itself would burn him. Shang Qinghua himself knew that his office was a revolving door. No doubt, Yue Qingyuan expected another uninvited guest!
Yue Qingyuan knew well that the danger had passed and there was no harm in touching him now, but the damage had already been done.
Both the Sect Leader and Shang Qinghua were too embarrassed to break the tense atmosphere despite the continued urgency of the situation. The merchants at the base of Qian Cao would wait for no one, least of all two peak lords who couldn’t get over themselves after a bit of embarrassment.
That didn’t make it sting any less though! Shang Qinghua could practically see his reputation slipping down the drain at this point.
Worst of all, it was all rumors! He’d be getting none of the benefits of this so-called entanglement with his sect leader. At this rate, he could handle a bit of bad gossip if it meant at least some of it was true.
In the end, his discomfort from being trapped under a heavy table won out. His head was starting to hurt from where the remains of his bun were being pressed up against the wood.
Shang Qinghua wiggled in one last desperate attempt to pull himself out, to no avail, before calling out to his shixiong.
"Erm, Zhangmen-shixiong, this shidi would still appreciate your help in getting out of here."
Yue Qingyuan responded quickly, though he sounded much more flustered than he did before Shen Qingqiu had left. Shang Qinghua couldn't blame him. He felt the same way when he realized his head disciple had also been in the room, witness to everything her young eyes never should have seen. Apologies, Song Xia!
The sect leader was desperate to save face on behalf of Shang Qinghua, always one to place unneeded blame on his shoulders. He didn’t stop to think that perhaps there was a better way to resolve the issue; Yue Qingyuan had enough strength as to simply suggest he lift the table.
"Apologies shidi, let me just-"
Without even a word of warning, Shang Qinghua felt something grip his waist as Yue Qingyuan tore him out with a terrifying display of strength.
Holy shit! Shang Qinghua felt almost ashamed to say that the act had managed to tick off two boxes at once. Who knew something like this could be both frightening and arousing all at once?
The An Ding Peak Lord felt the cool air on his body as the expensive fabric of his outermost robes and belt ripped apart. He silently lamented the loss of one of his favorite robes, knowing it had been a rare gift from Mobei Jun that he was unlikely to receive again.
The remains of his sunny-yellow outer robe hung off his figure with an obscenity that seemed shameful even to Shang Qinghua, despite his more modern sensibilities. It was his own fault though, as Shang Qinghua often wore fewer layers than he should have out of pure laziness. His tattered outer robes slipped off his shoulders, pooling below him.
Worse still, his thin inner robes were now splayed open, revealing tantalizing slivers of skin that would have left more than one mouth dry. In fact, Yue Qingyuan was suffering from the aforementioned affliction at that very moment, face impassive but hands shaking slightly from what he’d just done.
Yue Qingyuan's eyes seemed to widen at the result, hands hovering over Shang Qinghua’s body with uncertainty, just as he had earlier. Somehow the added state of undress made this result seem worse than the last.
It seemed the Sect Leader’s brain hadn’t booted up all the way yet because rather than to suggest that Shang Qinghua cover-up, conveniently being in his own home, Yue Qingyuan stood up and began to undo his belt with haste. What the hell?!
Shang Qinghua turned around in panic, eyes bulging as he watched the Sect Leader strip away his own clothes.
“Zhangmen-shixiong, what are you doing?!”
Yue Qingyuan let it drop to the floor with no care, shrugging off his outer robe in much the same manner.
“Apologies for my hastiness, shidi. You shouldn’t have to suffer for my sake.”
He was just pulling his last arm out of its sleeve when another knock sounded at the door, this one more aggressive than the last.
The one responsible decided not to wait for a response and once again, this is where the problems continued. Liu Qingge burst into the room with all the confidence of a man who knew he couldn’t be barred from entering.
Shang Qinghua had the displeasure of making direct eye contact with him as he stepped inside, the War God freezing in his tracks, feeling like prey for the first time in his life. Whatever he had meant to say slipped away from Liu Qingge in an instant, cheeks reddening to an almost unprecedented degree.
It was starting to feel like all these incidents were starting to desensitize Shang Qinghua to any embarrassment that could be thrown at him. He’d already had to deal with a handful of other incidents today. What more could another one do?
“You, why are you, with Zhangmen-shixiong…”
“Need any help there, shidi? It sounds like you don’t even know why you’re here.”
Honestly, it sounded a bit harsh, even to Shang Qinghua, but he was tired! This was his leisure house so why did everyone feel the need to barge in like it was their own home? Even Zhangmeng-shixiong wasn’t exempt from that!
"You-!"
Liu Qingge looked ready to leap forward with a near-murderous look in his eyes, in Shang Qinghua’s humble opinion. He braced himself for impact, even willing to slide back under the table if it meant avoiding the War God’s wrath.
But beside Shang Qinghua, Yue Qingyuan spoke up with a reprimanding tone, all too ready to avoid adding yet another issue to his plate.
"Liu-shidi, in the future, please refrain from entering one of our martial siblings' abodes before obtaining permission."
Liu Qingge stopped in his tracks and nodded numbly, mumbling his agreement under his breath but not daring to look down at them any longer. For just a moment the Bai Zhan Peak Lord had forgotten what scene he’d walked into; Yue Qingyuan had no issues with reminding him.
Good thing too! Shang Qinghua was still lounging around with fewer layers than he was comfortable with.
To his absolute despair, there was nothing to cover himself with. Yue Qingyuan's robe was still tightly fisted in his own hand, forgetting his original intention in the face of yet another embarrassment the two of them had to face.
Shang Qinghua didn't dare ask for the article of clothing. He also didn't dare to mention that Shen Qingqiu and his head disciple had entered much the same only moments before and Yue Qingyuan hadn't reprimanded them. Sect Leader sure liked to play favorites, didn't he?
Yue Qingyuan didn't seem to notice the discomfort from either of his martial siblings', simply continuing to mildly reprimand Liu Qingge as the other two desperately tried to phase through the walls.
Finally, amid Shang Qinghua reliving his initial embarrassment every time he made eye contact with a red-faced Liu Qingge, he decided enough was enough!
He clapped his hands, bringing all of the attention back to him. It didn’t even make him feel cool! Shang Qinghua felt like a teacher rounding up their students!
"Yes, well, I'm sure we all have places to be and things to do so let's cut this short and agree to never do this again. Is that alright with you Liu-shidi?"
His stare bore into Liu Qingge's soul as if daring him to refuse, but the War God only gave a strangled apology, forcing himself to give one final look towards the pair as he did so.
All's well that ends well!
Or at least things would have ended that way if Yue Qingyuan hadn't insisted on staying behind after Liu Qingge had rushed out of the leisure house like he was being chased. Shang Qinghua didn't even get a chance to ask him what he wanted.
He made a mental reminder to send his head disciple to the peak later, as punishment for whatever she was sure to do later that night. With Song Xia, it was always a guarantee, never just a suspicion.
Shang Qinghua led him to the door, intent on seeing him out.
"Aha, Zhangmen-shixiong, I had been hoping to postpone our meeting until tomorrow morning if possible. We can send a message to the merchants that no one will be available to resolve the dispute until tomorrow evening. It's been a long day and I'm sure the two of us have other things to get to..."
Yue Qingyuan nodded and stepped forward until they were nearly toe to toe. Shang Qinghua flinched in preparation for a hit as the sect leader's hand raised toward him, but he was shocked when he felt a weight drop over his shoulders instead.
"Of course, it's been a long evening for the two of us." He chuckled politely but it was obvious that today's encounters had frazzled the man—in more ways than one.
Now that everyone was gone, Shang Qinghua finally noticed just how intimate the scene had become. Both of them were in a state of undress, huddled much closer together than he’d ever been with anyone else (save perhaps Mobei Jun).
Yue Qingyuan was close enough that it felt like Shang Qinghua was being suffocated. He was a commanding presence and it was impossible to forget that. His shixiong’s breath felt hot over skin as he leaned in to speak to him in a way that felt much more appropriate between lovers than between simple coworkers.
"I hope it wouldn't be much trouble for you to join me for an early breakfast tomorrow.”
There was a drop in Yue Qingyuan's voice and Shang Qinghua felt sorely affected, “We can go over the details of tomorrow’s meeting. I’m confident we can make time for other things as well."
Though the request was politely worded, Shang Qinghua could hear the appeal for what it was. He had no hopes of turning it down even if he wanted to. Which, to clarify, he very much didn't.
For a moment it seemed as if the sect leader wanted to touch him but Yue Qingyuan pulled away just as Shang Qinghua was preparing himself for the inevitable.
He refused to acknowledge the stark sense of disappointment aching in his chest, but he had nothing to worry about because once again, his mouth found a way to speak before he’d ever got his mind running.
“Or I could change my mind and Zhangmeng-shixiong can do me the favor of staying a little longer?”
The electricity that ran between them went wild and Shang Qinghua couldn’t stop his brain from running alight with inappropriate thoughts of the night to come.
Yue Qingyuan seemed surprised at the suggestion, but no less pleased by the invitation. He stepped back inside, closing the doors behind him.
“Of course, how could I as Sect Leader, deny my shidi anything?”
Shang Qinghua grinned for the first real time that day as he reached up to grab a hold of his shixiong’s strong shoulders, finally feeling like things were going just the way he wanted them to. All was well—and Shang Qinghua really did mean it this time.