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“It’s no trouble.”
Hearing the gentle words coming from the top of the stairs caused Shen Qingqiu to come to a halt, gripping the railing like it was a piece of driftwood on a raging sea and he had just been thrown overboard. His heart started to race like a prey animal who had just seen an apex predator.
Even though the voice was deeper than the last time he’d heard it (begging him to please not abandon him, to not hate him, to not throw him away—) (and he heard that voice in his nightmares each night, all that was left of his little sheep, killed by his own hands. Sure, Luo Binghe had made it out of the endless abyss alive, but he would never be the same), Shen Qingqiu would still recognize it anywhere.
[Hello. System activation successful.]
[Universal activation key: Luo Binghe.]
So this was it. This is where his second life would come to an end. This is where Shen Qingqiu’s sweet white lotus would enact his bloody revenge, and there was nothing that Shen Qingqiu could do to stop it. All his years of planning would go to waste. All the changes he tried to make to the plot, all for nothing. All he was really doing was prolonging the inevitable, and he couldn’t even do that right, as Luo Binghe was here two years early. Shen Qingqiu felt his throat grow tight with emotion.
Repress, repress, repress!
Realizing he had been paused in thought on the stairs for entirely too long, Shen Qingqiu shrugged off Gongyi Xiao’s offer of assistance and raised his gaze to meet Luo Binghe’s, ready to meet his fate, and was greeted by an unexpected sight.
Luo Binghe was just as gorgeous as Shen Qingqiu had always known him to be, even more so now that he had grown into his beauty, with smooth, jade-like skin, broad shoulders, a lithe waist, and a made of well-cared-for curly hair tied into a high ponytail, framing his face like a halo. As expected of the protagonist, truly peerless in looks!
But all of that wasn’t what had caught Shen Qingqiu’s attention.
Sitting atop Luo Binghe’s curly locks were a pair of black, fluffy dog ears, currently perked up. Hearing a thumping sound, Shen Qingqiu tore his eyes away from the ears to see a fuzzy tail peeking out of Luo Binghe’s robes, wagging so fast that it was hard to get a good look.
This was… too fucking cute! Way too fucking cute! What’s with this extreme moe? Protagonist? This was your protagonist??? Instead of the bloodthirsty demean he truly was, Luo Binghe wouldn’t look out of place as a blushing maiden in a dating simulator. A furry dating simulator. Not that Shen Qingqiu was a furry! But, well, he did have an internet access and all that!
Um… Anyways!
Shen Qingqiu was brought out of his mental screaming by Luo Binghe’s approach, stopping a short but respectable distance away from him. Luo Binghe was even more dazzling up close, with eyes that seemed to hold all of the stars in the universe and red, plush lips that looked so soft…
Mentally slapping himself, Shen Qingqiu made himself pay attention to what Luo Binghe was saying. This was an important moment! A long-last reunion between disciple and scum master! He could not get sidetracked by the protagonist’s world-shattering beauty!
“It really is Shizun,” Luo Binghe said, voice warm like the sun gently melting the ice off of a river in spring.
Shen Qingqiu wanted to pay attention, needed to keep his guard up, but the ears were so distracting! They looked so soft, just as soft as he remembered Luo Binghe’s hair to be when he used to help put it up before bed.
Without a conscious thought, Shen Qingqiu’s hand lifted on its own to give that fluffy, adorable head a pat.
Oh well! If Shen Qingqiu was going to die, it might as well be while doing what he loved: doting on Luo Binghe!
The man in question trailed off of whatever he had been saying, staring at him in shock, eyes wide and searching his face. For what, Shen Qingqiu could only guess. Maybe for how his scum master had gotten the audacity to put his hands on him and pet him like some household pet! Surely at least his hand would be cut off for this infraction!
Well, if his life was already forfeit, he might as well go all in!
Shen Qingqiu raised his other hand and started scratching at the base of Luo Binghe’s ears — the furry ones — just like he had seen in a million cute dog videos on the internet.
Luo Binghe immediately melted into him, slumping into his arms, and let out a content hum.
[Protagonist anger points -100]
Can you fuck off already??? Mute, mute, mute!
Shen Qingqiu, faced with the protagonist’s pleasure rather than rage, just kept at. He could (and would) freak out later. As long as Luo Binghe wasn’t murdering him, he would stay in this position.
Unfortunately, Shen Qingqiu had forgotten that they had an audience. Their bubble had to burst at some point.
“You lecher!” Shouted some no-name Huan Hua Palace disciple. “What do you think you’re doing, putting your hands on our shixong? I should cut your hands off myself for the transgression!”
Your shixong? Yours?? Luo Binghe may hate him now, but he was still a Qing Jing Peak disciple! He was still Shen Qingqiu’s! Young maiden, I know you must want to climb Luo Binghe like a tree, like any reasonable person would, but you can’t just casually claim the protagonist as yours!
Right as he was about to give this NPC a piece of his mind, he heard a low growl and was startled when he looked at Luo Binghe to see the young man glaring at the girl over his shoulder, baring his teeth at her. Protagonist, is this how you treat one of your future wives?
“If you would please excuse me, I must speak with my master in private about an urgent matter. Have the sower’s corpse arranged to be brought to where the Cang Qiong Sect is staying, as I’m sure Mu Qingfang would want to study it,” Luo Binghe said, grabbing Shen Qingqiu’s wrist and pulling him away from the others, down the stairs, and out of the brothel. He walked at a frantic pace, almost running, pulling a very confused Shen Qingqiu along with him.
“Where is Shizun staying?” Luo Binghe asked, and Shen Qingqiu answered without a thought, Luo Binghe guiding them efficiently to the weapons shop and up to Shen Qingqiu’s room on the second floor.
When they got there, Luo Binghe wasted no time, using his grip to gently push a baffled Shen Qingqiu down into a sitting position on the bed. Shen Qingqiu was still trying to get his bearings when, without preamble, Luo Binghe climbed into his lap.
What?
What????
Shen Qingqiu froze with an armful of Luo Binghe, not sure what to do, but the demon was having none of it and grabbed both of his hands, bringing them up to his ears again.
Shen Qingqiu felt like his brain was turning into swiss cheese. Was this how Shang Qinghua felt all the time?
But he wasn’t necessarily against the current development. In fact, petting Luo Binghe felt really nice! And the younger man sure seemed to enjoy it, if his wagging tail was any indication.
Shen Qingqiu decided that he was not going to think about it or about any of the life choices that he had made that led him to this moment.
The peak lord set about scratching the fluffy ears in front of him to his heart’s content. Ah, this really was the best! Count on the protagonist to be the cutest being in all three realms! All those Luo Binghe haters he has cyberbullied on the internet could suck it!
Caught up in the moment and his unbridled adoration of the man in front of him, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but to lean forward and press a gentle kiss on Luo Binghe’s forehead, right where he knew his demon mark to be.
“Shizun,” Luo Binghe whispered, tears in his voice. Shen Qingqiu hushed him and proceeded to press more kisses to his face; his nose, his cheeks, his eyelids.
Luo Binghe was fully crying now, tears streaming down his face like a character straight out of a Ghibli movie, and yet somehow he still looked beautiful. His red eyes and cheeks made him look like a bullied maiden, the sight making something stir in Shen Qingqiu’s chest that he really didn’t want to examine at the moment, or ever, really.
Shen Qingqiu cupped the demon’s face in his hands and used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear, giving a comforting smile.
“Honestly, crying at your age, what is this master to do with his Binghe?”
Luo Binghe stared up at him from his lap with wet eyes.
“Keep me,” he said, wrapping his arms around Shen Qingqiu. “Shizun, I just want to go back to Qing Jing peak. Even if Shizun hates this one because of his filthy blood, even if you only use me as a stepping stone, as your slave, I’ll give you everything I have, so please, please, just let me come home!”
Shen Qingqiu felt his heart break all over again. What had he done to this sweet boy? Raising him, loving him, only to push him into hell itself. Even knowing that he would survive, would come back stronger with all the power he could ever dream of, Shen Qingqiu could never justify his actions.
And why had he pushed him in the first place? To save his own life? Shen Qingqiu’s life wasn’t worth the betrayal, and a life lived without Luo Binghe was no life at all.
If Shen Qingqiu could go back and do it all over again, he would die. He was selfish and a coward and would do anything to save himself from dying a second time, but he wouldn’t do that. The System, the powers that be, the audience? They could all go to hell. What was their amusement at a dramatic story worth in the face of real people’s lives.
And they were real people. Shen Qingqiu may have started out viewing everyone in this world as a fictional character, but he had been proven wrong. Everyone in Proud Immortal Demon Way was a living, breathing person that had hopes and dreams and aspirations, and fuck whatever omnipresent voyeur wanted to see them suffer.
Shen Qingqiu looked down at the man in his arms and knew that he would do anything in his power to make him smile.
“This master— I was wrong. There is nothing disgusting or dirty about anything about Binghe, including his parentage. At the abyss, I was scared and said things that he didn’t mean, things I would take back if I could and regret every single day. I know I can never undo what was done, but I am truly sorry for all the suffering I caused. I will give Binghe anything he desires, anything he wants. My Binghe need only to say the word.”
Luo Binghe stared up at him from his lap, eyes shining brighter than the sun, managing to look bewitching even now.
“Shizun will let this one come home?”
Shen Qingqiu nodded.
“And… he will let this one move back into the bamboo house?”
“If that is what Binghe wishes, then yes,” Shen Qingqiu replied.
“And he will let his one cook for him, clean for him, and manage his household?”
“This master can’t help but feel he is taking advantage, but if that’s what Binghe wants, then on course.”
Luo Binghe bit his lip and looked up at Shen Qingqiu through his long, dark lashes.
“And if this one wishes to… to court Shizun. Will Shizun allow that too?”
…
HUH???
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Shen Qingqiu could feel his brain short circuit. He could feel his face rapidly heating up and had the fleeting thought that he must be as red as a wedding robe. Wait. Wedding robe. Romance. Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe apparently having romantic feelings towards him…
As Shen Qingqiu continued to stare open-mouthed at Luo Binghe without saying a word, the younger man looked down and began to fidget with the sleeve of his robes.
“If Shizun doesn’t want… that is to say, if Shizun wishes to reject this one’s advances, then let us speak of it no more. I only ask that you forget what this stupid disciple said and we can move on.”
Wait —
“I never said no!” Shen Qingqiu blurted out. “I mean, not that I— I just— give me a second to think! This is all very sudden!”
Shen Qingqiu abruptly realized that he was still cradling Luo Binghe’s face in his hands and moved them to cover his face instead.
He had to refuse, right? I mean, they were both men, not to mention master and disciple! Why would Luo Binghe be interested in an old man like him, not to mention his scum master? And it’s not like he had any interest in Luo Binghe in that way! Sure, he was the most peerlessly beautiful person in the world, but that was a given! He was the protagonist! Who wouldn’t think that? And of course he liked Luo Binghe’s company! The man was endlessly intelligent and charming and dependable, not to mention adorable, but everyone had to think that! Right?
Shen Qingqiu stole a glance at Luo Binghe’s hopeful face and had to look away quickly. On the other hand, no one could reject the protagonist. And he did promise Luo Binghe that he would give him anything he wanted, and he couldn’t go back on his promise. He felt a warmth growing in his chest at the thought of always being by the other man’s side. He had never considered marriage before, being too young in his original life and then far too caught up in everything in his second, but maybe with Luo Binghe it would be… nice. He stole another glance. Yes, maybe he could do this.
Shen Qingqiu straightened up and used every ounce of his willpower to suppress his thin face and fight back his blush.
“If… if that’s what Luo Binghe wants, then how can this master refuse?”
He had barely gotten the words out when he was tackled into a hug by the demon and pulled into a fierce kiss.
As far as kisses went, it was terrible. Far too much spit and tongue and teeth biting at his lips. He shoved Luo Binghe off of himself.
“Shizun? But I thought…” Luo Binghe said, trailing off.
“You thought right,” Shen Qingqiu couldn’t bear to see Luo Binghe think that he had been rejected. “Just watch your teeth. Here, this master will show you.” He put his hand on Luo Binghe’s cheek and slowly guided him closer until their lips were just barely touching in a chaste kiss, and then slowly deepened it, nipping at Luo Binghe’s plush bottom lip.
Luo Binghe, as it turned out, was a quick student and took to this as efficiently as he did all his other studies. As expected of the protagonist’s powers of seduction! Soon both of them were panting, and Luo Binghe let out a moan that sent a spark straight into Shen Qingqiu’s chest.
When they both pulled away to take a few deep breaths, Luo Binghe looked at him with stars in his eyes and a giddy smile on his face, a light blush dusted across his cheeks.
Shen Qingqiu smiled back, full and unabashed. Maybe they were still in a city beset upon by Sower demons, and maybe they would have a hell of a time reintroducing Luo Binghe to the sect after his three years of absence and untangling him from the grip of Huan Hua Palace, and maybe they had no idea what the future held, the original plot having gone completely off the rails, but they would figure it out together.
Shen Qingqiu reached down to grab the younger man’s hand. All he knew was that he would never let go of his Luo Binghe again.