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rikorenby coku
Shen Qingqiu was in a rare gloomy mood, remembering how in his last life he'd been the precious darling of his entire family, including the little sister he'd cherished so well.
Thanks to his little sister's interests, he was probably a lot more familiar than most otakus with the world of girl-oriented content.
Good enough that he could say the difference between a seme and an uke.
Good enough that he could say what tastes the girls on green JJ have.
Whatever the case, what women and men looked for in trash novels was ultimately the same: Using the satisfaction of watching a beloved character be conquered to achieve your own mental and physical happiness. Following the same reasoning, the happiness one seeks when playing a dating sim RPG isn't much different at all.
Immediately after that hellish dinner ended, before Shen Qingqiu could even catch his breath, a brand new battle began.
This town didn't have all that many inns, the number small enough you could count them all on one hand. Because the little bamboo house was half-destroyed, aside from it being impossible to cook meals over the stove, where to sleep was a problem as well, to say nothing of the fact they'd have to squeeze three grown men into one room, which really wouldn't fit. The three deliberated for a long time, before deciding on a relatively pleasant-looking rest stop to check in at.
During that time, our two favorite two demon lords stood one to either side of Shen Qingqiu like a pair of Buddhist guardians, occasionally asking to be spoiled or acting a little coquettishly, making Shen Qingqiu feel wrong all over, as if he were the female protagonist of an otome game.
Too scary. Shen Qingqiu silently, secretly brushed off the goosebumps on his arm, having terrified himself with this sudden idea.
This would totally be a dream come true for a lot of girls, a romance they'd surely hope would happen to themselves, but Shen Qingqiu didn't feel the slightest bit happy at it such a fate having fallen upon his shoulders; aside from depression, all he could feel was an indescribable sense of fear.
The one he'd raised who liked to act all nice and cute was one thing - what he couldn't understand was why Bing-ge would want a piece of the action? This style of action wasn't the slightest bit like the nefariously demonic mad tyrant of the original work; it was more like he'd contracted a variant, lesser strain of Bing-mei's shoujo fever. Every time the man smiled at him, he couldn't help feeling weird about it deep down.
Once the three finally found a reasonably acceptable inn and were preparing to check in, maiden Luo suddenly approached and tugged at Shen Qingqiu's hand, gently and cautiously asking: "Will Shizun order two rooms tonight?"
The listener naturally understood that what he meant was for himself and Shen Qingqiu to share a room, while Bing-ge had the other one to himself.
Shen Qingqiu feigned calm as he overruled his disciple's request: "One room per person." No joke, he really didn't want the currently haremless and therefore unsatisfied Bing-ge to make a ruthless note in his book because he chose to sleep with Bing-mei!
Sneaking a quick look at the gold-lettered inn signboard overhead, Shen Qingqiu stepped over the threshold and walked, stiff as a ramrod, straight across the main lobby to the front desk. A chubby middle-aged man stood there; judging by his relatively noble-looking style of dress, it was highly likely he was the owner of this establishment.
Bing-ge chose this moment to come forward: "Shizun, this disciple would also like to share a room with you."
"One room per person."
Shen Qingqiu persisted in repeating his choice, only giving the coquettishly-acting Bing-ge a short glance before turning his gaze away again. That view was really too beautiful and dazzling, frightening enough to make his hair stand on end, but maybe because he'd gone through a full day's baptism, he'd gotten used to it enough to be reasonably calm, and could keep a straight face without any problems.
"How many rooms would our dear customers like to order?"
Seeing business at the door, the innkeeper behind the counter asked his question with a smile on his fat-filled face, rubbing his hands together like a particularly huge fly. Such noble guests as these were a rare thing - he needed to use any means necessary to make sure they stayed.
"Three rooms."
""Two rooms.""
Three voices sounded simultaneously. Shen Qingqiu had yet to finish being shocked at the two brats' answer before Luo Binghe and Bing-ge had already lifted their hands as if on some previously-planned agreement, pointing at each other's noses and saying in chorus: ""This little bastard can have a room to himself, Shizun you'll sleep with me.""
......
Total silence.
Shen Qingqiu suddenly had the urge to place a hand to his forehead, his face having disappointingly reddened quite a bit. The innkeeper was still smiling as before, but it had noticeably stiffened somewhat, his little eyes staring wide at the disciples, then turning to look at Shen Qingqiu (who currently wanted to disappear into a hole), his gaze filled with subtle complexity and dubiousness.
"Ahem! Don't make a scene." Shen Qingqiu forced himself to stay calm as he said: "One room per person."
The two didn't bother to hide their disapproval, two pairs of shining, watery, fake-innocent eyes staring straight at Shen Qingqiu.
Luo Binghe pathetically kneaded the edge of Shen Qingqiu's robes with his fingers: "Shizun, do you really have the heart to leave me all by myself?"
I do, I totally do! If I couldn't, the one suffering would be me!
Shen Qingqiu pretended not to see his disciple's tears, and replied: "There's nothing difficult about sleeping by yourself."
"Shizun, are you really sure you want me to sleep alone?" This time it was Bing-ge asking.
"Of—" course. Before he could say the second half of that phrase, he saw Bing-ge's tender and soft appearance and automatically cut himself off, the word and the ridiculing "You're not 3-year-old children afraid of the dark, don't tell me you need me to read you bedtime stories as well?" he'd wanted to say all getting swallowed back down on the spot.
Bing-ge continued, looking a tiny bit hurt: "If Shizun is unwilling to accept this disciple's request, then this disciple will not force his shizun. It's just that this disciple has grown used to living his days with someone by his side, so suddenly wanting this disciple to stay in a room alone...Shizun, do you truly not worry that your disciple, unable to bear his loneliness, might go looking for someone at random to sleep with?"
This attack really had quite an enormously threatening quality to it. It perfectly struck at Shen Qingqiu's misgivings.
The original work Luo Binghe had a fondness for seeking pleasure in the embrace of women; as a man he had no objections to that, there wasn't anyone who didn't like that sort of thing. Even he himself, before he'd transmigrated - though he'd never touched it - had a private folder in his computer that was filled to the brim with a collection he could never speak of aloud.
But this wasn't the original work's Proud Immortal Demon Way, and this child of his didn't plan to walk the same path, showing tremendous disdain for fickle romances like that.
As both senior and romantic partner, Shen Qingqiu felt the serious need to prevent Bing-ge from affecting his own disciple's reputation with out-of-bounds behavior—although with Luo Binghe's status as a demon lord, plus the large variety of disturbances he'd caused in the past, his reputation hadn't been a good one in a long while, but if he could keep it from getting any worse, then he might as well prevent whatever little he could. He couldn't just ignore having so much stigma forcibly poured into him the way that boy could; it always made him feel sorry for him.
So then, what was the right thing to do here? He couldn't actually go through with Bing-ge's proposal, right!? If he really did do that, his own disciple would raise a huge ruckus, and more importantly he himself would be afraid of the consequences! Remembering the dark history of how he'd almost been devoured by Bing-ge and lost his integrity just a few days ago, Shen Qingqiu felt uncontrollable goosebumps crawling all over his insides.
Having confirmed that the suggestion of one room per person had been thoroughly crossed out and abandoned, the only options left were those—Shen Qingqiu silently shed himself a manly tear for the sacrifice he was about to make in offering himself up these monsters as food, his dry throat squeezing the words out with difficulty: "One room, then."
The moment he said this, six disbelieving eyes immediately turned to focus on him, Luo Binghe especially showing a tortured face like he'd been struck by lightning, his lips trembling.
"Shizun, why does he get to share the room with us too...? Do you really like him that much!?"
Nonono, not at all! Did you not hear Bing-ge's threat, it concerned your reputation, boy! Shen Qingqiu quickly cried foul: "This teacher does not, I just feel that sharing a room will make it easier to deal with him."
"We can deal with him just fine sleeping next door!" Luo Binghe refused to accept it, anger, hate, and grief mixing in his tear-filled eyes, looking as hurt as it was possible for a person to be.
Fuck, Bing-mei, can't we talk reason here?
Shen Qingqiu felt even more depressed than before: "This teacher doesn't want to take risks..." If this Luo Binghe could be so well-behaved, there'd be no need for three grown men to be squeezing into a single room!
The one who should be hurt and crying is me, bro!
Shen Qingqiu deliberately ignored the innkeeper's look of shock and wonder, he didn't even need to guess to know what sort of crazy relationship the guy was imagining they had! As he pulled out the money to pay for their stay, he also ordered two sets of blankets and bamboo mats be sent to their room.
When Bing-ge saw there were no other issues—actually according to Shen Qingqiu's quick-witted deductions, he'd probably just had his fill of messing with the now red-eyed and shaking maiden Luo—he left in advance to take advantage of the inn's provided hot spring, saying he wanted a bath.
Thus two people were left in the average-sized room. One was maiden Luo, feeling extremely subpar, silently putting down the mats and blankets; the other was Shen Qingqiu, currently trembling with fear as he sat at the tea table drinking his tea, his mind running frenetically through a wide variety of swears. The teacher and disciple finally had some time alone together after an entire day of Bing-ge's disrupting the peace, yet the atmosphere wasn't the slightest bit joyful, the air almost seeming to have solidified, so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe.
After a long while, Shen Qingqiu was the first to be unable to bear the depressing atmosphere, weakly raising a white flag in his heart as he made to break the silence.
"Er, Binghe..."
"Shizun, do you really insist on keeping that other me by your side?"
His words were forcefully interrupted. Luo Binghe's head was lowered so you couldn't clearly see his face, but you could clearly hear dissatisfied anger and thick, vinegary jealousy in his voice.
Shen Qingqiu knew perfectly well that his disciple felt hurt and wronged; being able to withstand Bing-ge's provocations for this long without starting a fight must have taken immense self-restraint. He put down his tea, walking over to crouch in front of Luo Binghe.
"I'm sorry." He quietly and sincerely apologized: "This teacher is doing all this because I don't wish him to harm you in any way."
This apology successfully made Luo Binghe raise his head.
His charmingly attractive face was at this moment had at this moment been dyed a terrifying hue due to his anger, for some reason leading his entire body to seemingly give off a scent of danger.
Shen Qingqiu shuddered slightly; Luo Binghe's mouth opened and closed as he fumbled over what to say, his rich and magnetic voice overflowing with hidden bitterness.
"Doesn't keeping him by your side hurt me as well, in a way?"
Luo Binghe rebuked, his eyes bloodshot.
An intense pressure seemed to envelop Shen Qingqiu's body; it was clear that he was more than a little angry, to the point he was practically bursting with rage. But because of his good self-cultivation, plus his deep respect towards Shen Qingqiu, no matter how angry Luo Binghe was, it wasn't at an extreme that would bring him to raise a hand against him.
"Shizun, this disciple doesn't wish you to be taken away by another - even if that person is also me, I still won't allow him to take you."
Luo Binghe slender and well-defined fingers brushed lightly over Shen Qingqiu's cheeks, gently and carefully cupping that face which he never got tired of looking at, and longed for every second he wasn't.
The other stared back at him, not brushing off the hands on his face, looking as if he wanted very much to say something in reply - though a few moments passed without him making any sound.
Luo Binghe continued: "Does he really have to be looked after? Or do you mean to say...that deep down, Shizun actually thinks that man is more important than me, maybe even far more than me, and that's why you constantly follow along with him?"
Smack! The sound of a folded fan hitting a head sounded out inside the room.
"Luo Binghe, I won't allow you to say these sorts of things!" Shen Qingqiu yelled, eyebrows knit in a look of displeasure; having almost been overpowered by his own disciple's fanciful conjectures, he wanted nothing more now than to spit out a mouthful of blood to express his resentment and protestation against this misunderstanding.
"If I didn't care about you, what need would this teacher have to worry about the possibility of him harming you?"
Luo Binghe pursed his lips as he stared at him, the recalcitrant air about him reducing by a large amount due to those doting words, much like a kitty who'd been petted just right; but the grudging look on his face stubbornly refused to go away.
After a while he seemed to deflate, quietly lowering his head: "Then whey does Shizun understand him so well, as if you've known him for a long time?"
It was hard for Shen Qingqiu to reply to that, as his understanding of Bing-ge wasn't a truth he could simply chat about with family at the dinner table; in the past, when Luo Binghe carelessly talked about his first few years upon entering Qingjing Peak as a child, he'd always felt particularly uncomfortable, and made every attempt he get him to skip over those memories of the years when he hadn't been in Luo Binghe's life.
But now his way out was blocked so he couldn't escape answering the question—Shen Qingqiu had no other choice but to summon up the courage to resolve this current crisis.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Qingqiu finally thought of a response, and said: "Because he is also Luo Binghe, and there's no reason I wouldn't understand my own disciple." He spoke earnestly and sincerely, the statement half-true and half-false; the falsehood being that he'd gained his knowledge of Bing-ge from books, the truth being that although the two men's thought processes worked differently, some of their little actions and thoughts did in fact give one the impression that they were both undoubtedly the genuine Luo Binghe.
Luo Binghe took a great hit from this answer, his shoulders slumping as he asked in a shaky voice: "So Shizun believes this disciple and he are actually the same...?" According to his interpretation, what Shen Qingqiu has just said undoubtedly meant that the two of them were "exactly the same" person.
Shen Qingqiu hurriedly said: "You aren't." Risking his own self-respect, he reached his hands out to pull Luo Binghe's face closer, pressing his forehead lightly against the other's and continued to speak in a warm voice.
"Your fates are different, and the choices you've made are different, how could you be the same?" Even their tempers perfectly contradicted each other, one a dark avenger, one a love-addled madman—if one were to call them exactly the same person, he'd be the first to raise both hands in protest.
But even so, just as he'd thought moments earlier—
Shen Qingqiu grasped Luo Binghe's hand, leaving a gentle kiss on his fingers: "But when it comes to how you handle situations, I believe you two are similar - it's only your motives that are different."
Luo Binghe went quiet, which could be considered an approval of Shen Qingqiu's opinion.
His sullen appearance was like a cutely pathetic droopy-eared puppy; it made Shen Qingqiu want to dote on him, and he rubbed at the other man's handsome mace.
"Endure with it for a few more days, and once he's gone, this teacher will follow whatever it is you want to do."
"Really?" Glistening sparks suddenly erupted in Luo Binghe's eyes.
......
Er, why do I have a bad feeling about this? Is it too late to for takebacks!?
But considering what kind of requests this child could be capable of making, he didn't even need to ask to know: If it didn't involve tormenting this old man at night, it'd probably be begging him to play along with some humiliating new method of doing it...alright, forget it, if his poor back was going to suffer then it'd just have to go ahead and suffer, it's not like it hadn't happened before, he could handle it!
Shen Qingqiu very slowly nodded his head as he answered: "Really." Then stood back up.
He'd just been planning to head out to ask for some hot water for tea, when Luo Binghe suddenly seemed to go mad; he pounced on the too-slow-to-react Shen Qingqiu like a leopard on the hunt and pushing him down onto the blanket-cushioned bed, locking his fan-holding right hand in his grip, and looked at him with a sincere expression on his face.
"Shizun." Luo Binghe wedged one knee between his shizun's legs, looking down at Shen Qingqiu pressed beneath him, his voice low and husky: "May this disciple do as he pleases once before then? Let me properly embrace you, kiss you—this disciple misses you."
Shen Qingqiu went entirely limp under his gaze, unable to exert any sort of strength, and uneasily shifted his body slightly - only to accidentally press his lower abdomen against his disciple's hard-on.
"......" Fuck, no way...you can go into heat even at an awkward time like this!? Shen Qingqiu's face turned bright red in an instant, his body gone rigid as he was afraid to make the slightest move.
Luo Binghe lowered his head, bringing his lips up to the rigid man's ear, his warm breath sending tingles through Shen Qingqiu.
"Shizun, you'll choose me, won't you?" When compared to the other me.
Luo Binghe stuck out his tongue, lightly licking the ear of the man below him. But, as if dissatisfied with this level of intimacy, he went on and took the entire lobe into his mouth, seeming almost reproachful in the way he rubbed at the sensitive soft flesh.
Wow, how worried are you, if you think I'll run off with another man...
Shen Qingqiu almost wanted to roll his eyes. But he was afraid such an action would cause a certain demon lord to start bawling; after thinking a moment he was unable to think of any way to respond to that, which left him no choice but to keep lying there and let his insecure disciple go wild on top of him.
Luo Binghe gently mumbled: "This disciple only wants you - I won't let anyone else have you."
Shen Qingqiu kept his mouth tight-shut, refusing to let out a single moan, his unrestricted hands moving against his will to circle around under the arms of the man above him, climbing up and grabbing tightly onto that broad back - this situation looked to Luo Binghe much like he wished to reject him and yet was welcoming him instead.
Just as he was appreciating Shizun's reaction towards him, thinking to remove both their clothes, a very deliberate cough suddenly sounded behind him; Luo Binghe's expression darkened instantly, his hands stopping mid-action as he turned his head to glare.
The other Luo Binghe had apparently returned at some point unbeknownst to them, and was now leaning with his arms crossed against one of the pillars of the door, watching in this direction.
"Excuse me, I see you've finally noticed my presence." Bing-ge's mouth was all smiles, but there wasn't a hint of one in his eyes. You could tell that having the other him steal the stage and getting ignored were both things that left him rather annoyed.
Shen Qingqiu inwardly let out a sigh. As they say, arriving early can't compare to arriving right on time—that Bing-ge would make his timely arrival right when he was about to get his clothes torn off, this was a real blessing right here!
In comparison with his thankfulness at having escaped calamity, maiden Luo looked like he'd just stepped out of a sauna, darkly pushing off of Shen Qingqiu, carrying a good amount of anger with him as he walked towards the interloper who'd interrupted his important business, and roared out two words: "Get lost!"
Bing-ge said with a smile: "Li, ttle, beast, do you really think you can get away with your plans by sneaking around? Don't think you can do whatever you please just because I'm not around."
At that, Luo Binghe's entire body seemed to burst aflame: "What business is it of yours! Don't get in my way, even if I died I'd never let you have Shizun!"
The one getting yelled at wasn't to be outdone, either: "Let me? What a joke, why don't you see if Shizun will even listen to you you little bastard, you still don't have the experience to be eating Shizun!"
The two sides threw jabs back and forth, looking right about to start throwing punches instead of words, on the verge of outright war. Shen Qingqiu hurriedly readjusted his collar, stepping quickly over to the pair of childish brats and pushing them apart.
"Alright alright stop fighting!" He obstructed them as he spoke: "How old are you now, making such a racket?" Not a single other disciple on Qingjing Peak is as noisy as you two!
"If you keep arguing then we'll sleep in different rooms!"
At the threat of separate room, both demon lords - one nervous, one shocked - hurriedly clung to the man standing between them as if they'd been faced with a formidable foe.
""Shizun!""
"Protests won't have any effect."
Shen Qingqiu threw back his sleeves without a ripple of emotion on his face, having long-since built up a resistance to the two's constant pestering. He didn't panic even once realizing neither was ready to let go, standing firm with the same noble and coldly elegant figure as always.
"Sleep."
He spoke a single word.
There was no need to say any more; the two naturally understood what Shen Qingqiu meant. Luo Binghe fretfully tugged at the corner of his shizun's robes, but before he could say anything Shen Qingqiu interrupted him.
"No crying! You sleep by yourself."
Luo Binghe quickly snuffled his nose, and prevented himself from dropping any tears.
Bing-ge took in maiden Luo's entire disgraceful, immature performance and seemed pretty much unable to look straight at the scene, scornfully wondering if this guy could really be a Luo Binghe? He'd practically lost all self-respect as a demon lord!
But when he saw Shen Qingqiu so full of forgiveness and tenderness towards his other self, he could also feel an indescribable sense of unhappiness and jealousy.
Late that night.
Shen Qingqiu was completely-unsurprisingly dragged from his sleep into a dream realm created by Luo Binghe.
The scenery was still the same extremely-familiar Qingjing Peak. But unlike the usual dream realm—through the bamboo forest trail in front of him floated a fine gray snow he'd never seen before.
He opened a hand and let the snow fall onto it.
It was only upon closer inspection, that he realized it was ash.
Previous <=
Shen Qingqiu was in a rare gloomy mood, remembering how in his last life he'd been the precious darling of his entire family, including the little sister he'd cherished so well.
Thanks to his little sister's interests, he was probably a lot more familiar than most otakus with the world of girl-oriented content.
Good enough that he could say the difference between a seme and an uke.
Good enough that he could say what tastes the girls on green JJ have.
Whatever the case, what women and men looked for in trash novels was ultimately the same: Using the satisfaction of watching a beloved character be conquered to achieve your own mental and physical happiness. Following the same reasoning, the happiness one seeks when playing a dating sim RPG isn't much different at all.
Immediately after that hellish dinner ended, before Shen Qingqiu could even catch his breath, a brand new battle began.
This town didn't have all that many inns, the number small enough you could count them all on one hand. Because the little bamboo house was half-destroyed, aside from it being impossible to cook meals over the stove, where to sleep was a problem as well, to say nothing of the fact they'd have to squeeze three grown men into one room, which really wouldn't fit. The three deliberated for a long time, before deciding on a relatively pleasant-looking rest stop to check in at.
During that time, our two favorite two demon lords stood one to either side of Shen Qingqiu like a pair of Buddhist guardians, occasionally asking to be spoiled or acting a little coquettishly, making Shen Qingqiu feel wrong all over, as if he were the female protagonist of an otome game.
Too scary. Shen Qingqiu silently, secretly brushed off the goosebumps on his arm, having terrified himself with this sudden idea.
This would totally be a dream come true for a lot of girls, a romance they'd surely hope would happen to themselves, but Shen Qingqiu didn't feel the slightest bit happy at it such a fate having fallen upon his shoulders; aside from depression, all he could feel was an indescribable sense of fear.
The one he'd raised who liked to act all nice and cute was one thing - what he couldn't understand was why Bing-ge would want a piece of the action? This style of action wasn't the slightest bit like the nefariously demonic mad tyrant of the original work; it was more like he'd contracted a variant, lesser strain of Bing-mei's shoujo fever. Every time the man smiled at him, he couldn't help feeling weird about it deep down.
Once the three finally found a reasonably acceptable inn and were preparing to check in, maiden Luo suddenly approached and tugged at Shen Qingqiu's hand, gently and cautiously asking: "Will Shizun order two rooms tonight?"
The listener naturally understood that what he meant was for himself and Shen Qingqiu to share a room, while Bing-ge had the other one to himself.
Shen Qingqiu feigned calm as he overruled his disciple's request: "One room per person." No joke, he really didn't want the currently haremless and therefore unsatisfied Bing-ge to make a ruthless note in his book because he chose to sleep with Bing-mei!
Sneaking a quick look at the gold-lettered inn signboard overhead, Shen Qingqiu stepped over the threshold and walked, stiff as a ramrod, straight across the main lobby to the front desk. A chubby middle-aged man stood there; judging by his relatively noble-looking style of dress, it was highly likely he was the owner of this establishment.
Bing-ge chose this moment to come forward: "Shizun, this disciple would also like to share a room with you."
"One room per person."
Shen Qingqiu persisted in repeating his choice, only giving the coquettishly-acting Bing-ge a short glance before turning his gaze away again. That view was really too beautiful and dazzling, frightening enough to make his hair stand on end, but maybe because he'd gone through a full day's baptism, he'd gotten used to it enough to be reasonably calm, and could keep a straight face without any problems.
"How many rooms would our dear customers like to order?"
Seeing business at the door, the innkeeper behind the counter asked his question with a smile on his fat-filled face, rubbing his hands together like a particularly huge fly. Such noble guests as these were a rare thing - he needed to use any means necessary to make sure they stayed.
"Three rooms."
""Two rooms.""
Three voices sounded simultaneously. Shen Qingqiu had yet to finish being shocked at the two brats' answer before Luo Binghe and Bing-ge had already lifted their hands as if on some previously-planned agreement, pointing at each other's noses and saying in chorus: ""This little bastard can have a room to himself, Shizun you'll sleep with me.""
......
Total silence.
Shen Qingqiu suddenly had the urge to place a hand to his forehead, his face having disappointingly reddened quite a bit. The innkeeper was still smiling as before, but it had noticeably stiffened somewhat, his little eyes staring wide at the disciples, then turning to look at Shen Qingqiu (who currently wanted to disappear into a hole), his gaze filled with subtle complexity and dubiousness.
"Ahem! Don't make a scene." Shen Qingqiu forced himself to stay calm as he said: "One room per person."
The two didn't bother to hide their disapproval, two pairs of shining, watery, fake-innocent eyes staring straight at Shen Qingqiu.
Luo Binghe pathetically kneaded the edge of Shen Qingqiu's robes with his fingers: "Shizun, do you really have the heart to leave me all by myself?"
I do, I totally do! If I couldn't, the one suffering would be me!
Shen Qingqiu pretended not to see his disciple's tears, and replied: "There's nothing difficult about sleeping by yourself."
"Shizun, are you really sure you want me to sleep alone?" This time it was Bing-ge asking.
"Of—" course. Before he could say the second half of that phrase, he saw Bing-ge's tender and soft appearance and automatically cut himself off, the word and the ridiculing "You're not 3-year-old children afraid of the dark, don't tell me you need me to read you bedtime stories as well?" he'd wanted to say all getting swallowed back down on the spot.
Bing-ge continued, looking a tiny bit hurt: "If Shizun is unwilling to accept this disciple's request, then this disciple will not force his shizun. It's just that this disciple has grown used to living his days with someone by his side, so suddenly wanting this disciple to stay in a room alone...Shizun, do you truly not worry that your disciple, unable to bear his loneliness, might go looking for someone at random to sleep with?"
This attack really had quite an enormously threatening quality to it. It perfectly struck at Shen Qingqiu's misgivings.
The original work Luo Binghe had a fondness for seeking pleasure in the embrace of women; as a man he had no objections to that, there wasn't anyone who didn't like that sort of thing. Even he himself, before he'd transmigrated - though he'd never touched it - had a private folder in his computer that was filled to the brim with a collection he could never speak of aloud.
But this wasn't the original work's Proud Immortal Demon Way, and this child of his didn't plan to walk the same path, showing tremendous disdain for fickle romances like that.
As both senior and romantic partner, Shen Qingqiu felt the serious need to prevent Bing-ge from affecting his own disciple's reputation with out-of-bounds behavior—although with Luo Binghe's status as a demon lord, plus the large variety of disturbances he'd caused in the past, his reputation hadn't been a good one in a long while, but if he could keep it from getting any worse, then he might as well prevent whatever little he could. He couldn't just ignore having so much stigma forcibly poured into him the way that boy could; it always made him feel sorry for him.
So then, what was the right thing to do here? He couldn't actually go through with Bing-ge's proposal, right!? If he really did do that, his own disciple would raise a huge ruckus, and more importantly he himself would be afraid of the consequences! Remembering the dark history of how he'd almost been devoured by Bing-ge and lost his integrity just a few days ago, Shen Qingqiu felt uncontrollable goosebumps crawling all over his insides.
Having confirmed that the suggestion of one room per person had been thoroughly crossed out and abandoned, the only options left were those—Shen Qingqiu silently shed himself a manly tear for the sacrifice he was about to make in offering himself up these monsters as food, his dry throat squeezing the words out with difficulty: "One room, then."
The moment he said this, six disbelieving eyes immediately turned to focus on him, Luo Binghe especially showing a tortured face like he'd been struck by lightning, his lips trembling.
"Shizun, why does he get to share the room with us too...? Do you really like him that much!?"
Nonono, not at all! Did you not hear Bing-ge's threat, it concerned your reputation, boy! Shen Qingqiu quickly cried foul: "This teacher does not, I just feel that sharing a room will make it easier to deal with him."
"We can deal with him just fine sleeping next door!" Luo Binghe refused to accept it, anger, hate, and grief mixing in his tear-filled eyes, looking as hurt as it was possible for a person to be.
Fuck, Bing-mei, can't we talk reason here?
Shen Qingqiu felt even more depressed than before: "This teacher doesn't want to take risks..." If this Luo Binghe could be so well-behaved, there'd be no need for three grown men to be squeezing into a single room!
The one who should be hurt and crying is me, bro!
Shen Qingqiu deliberately ignored the innkeeper's look of shock and wonder, he didn't even need to guess to know what sort of crazy relationship the guy was imagining they had! As he pulled out the money to pay for their stay, he also ordered two sets of blankets and bamboo mats be sent to their room.
When Bing-ge saw there were no other issues—actually according to Shen Qingqiu's quick-witted deductions, he'd probably just had his fill of messing with the now red-eyed and shaking maiden Luo—he left in advance to take advantage of the inn's provided hot spring, saying he wanted a bath.
Thus two people were left in the average-sized room. One was maiden Luo, feeling extremely subpar, silently putting down the mats and blankets; the other was Shen Qingqiu, currently trembling with fear as he sat at the tea table drinking his tea, his mind running frenetically through a wide variety of swears. The teacher and disciple finally had some time alone together after an entire day of Bing-ge's disrupting the peace, yet the atmosphere wasn't the slightest bit joyful, the air almost seeming to have solidified, so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe.
After a long while, Shen Qingqiu was the first to be unable to bear the depressing atmosphere, weakly raising a white flag in his heart as he made to break the silence.
"Er, Binghe..."
"Shizun, do you really insist on keeping that other me by your side?"
His words were forcefully interrupted. Luo Binghe's head was lowered so you couldn't clearly see his face, but you could clearly hear dissatisfied anger and thick, vinegary jealousy in his voice.
Shen Qingqiu knew perfectly well that his disciple felt hurt and wronged; being able to withstand Bing-ge's provocations for this long without starting a fight must have taken immense self-restraint. He put down his tea, walking over to crouch in front of Luo Binghe.
"I'm sorry." He quietly and sincerely apologized: "This teacher is doing all this because I don't wish him to harm you in any way."
This apology successfully made Luo Binghe raise his head.
His charmingly attractive face was at this moment had at this moment been dyed a terrifying hue due to his anger, for some reason leading his entire body to seemingly give off a scent of danger.
Shen Qingqiu shuddered slightly; Luo Binghe's mouth opened and closed as he fumbled over what to say, his rich and magnetic voice overflowing with hidden bitterness.
"Doesn't keeping him by your side hurt me as well, in a way?"
Luo Binghe rebuked, his eyes bloodshot.
An intense pressure seemed to envelop Shen Qingqiu's body; it was clear that he was more than a little angry, to the point he was practically bursting with rage. But because of his good self-cultivation, plus his deep respect towards Shen Qingqiu, no matter how angry Luo Binghe was, it wasn't at an extreme that would bring him to raise a hand against him.
"Shizun, this disciple doesn't wish you to be taken away by another - even if that person is also me, I still won't allow him to take you."
Luo Binghe slender and well-defined fingers brushed lightly over Shen Qingqiu's cheeks, gently and carefully cupping that face which he never got tired of looking at, and longed for every second he wasn't.
The other stared back at him, not brushing off the hands on his face, looking as if he wanted very much to say something in reply - though a few moments passed without him making any sound.
Luo Binghe continued: "Does he really have to be looked after? Or do you mean to say...that deep down, Shizun actually thinks that man is more important than me, maybe even far more than me, and that's why you constantly follow along with him?"
Smack! The sound of a folded fan hitting a head sounded out inside the room.
"Luo Binghe, I won't allow you to say these sorts of things!" Shen Qingqiu yelled, eyebrows knit in a look of displeasure; having almost been overpowered by his own disciple's fanciful conjectures, he wanted nothing more now than to spit out a mouthful of blood to express his resentment and protestation against this misunderstanding.
"If I didn't care about you, what need would this teacher have to worry about the possibility of him harming you?"
Luo Binghe pursed his lips as he stared at him, the recalcitrant air about him reducing by a large amount due to those doting words, much like a kitty who'd been petted just right; but the grudging look on his face stubbornly refused to go away.
After a while he seemed to deflate, quietly lowering his head: "Then whey does Shizun understand him so well, as if you've known him for a long time?"
It was hard for Shen Qingqiu to reply to that, as his understanding of Bing-ge wasn't a truth he could simply chat about with family at the dinner table; in the past, when Luo Binghe carelessly talked about his first few years upon entering Qingjing Peak as a child, he'd always felt particularly uncomfortable, and made every attempt he get him to skip over those memories of the years when he hadn't been in Luo Binghe's life.
But now his way out was blocked so he couldn't escape answering the question—Shen Qingqiu had no other choice but to summon up the courage to resolve this current crisis.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Qingqiu finally thought of a response, and said: "Because he is also Luo Binghe, and there's no reason I wouldn't understand my own disciple." He spoke earnestly and sincerely, the statement half-true and half-false; the falsehood being that he'd gained his knowledge of Bing-ge from books, the truth being that although the two men's thought processes worked differently, some of their little actions and thoughts did in fact give one the impression that they were both undoubtedly the genuine Luo Binghe.
Luo Binghe took a great hit from this answer, his shoulders slumping as he asked in a shaky voice: "So Shizun believes this disciple and he are actually the same...?" According to his interpretation, what Shen Qingqiu has just said undoubtedly meant that the two of them were "exactly the same" person.
Shen Qingqiu hurriedly said: "You aren't." Risking his own self-respect, he reached his hands out to pull Luo Binghe's face closer, pressing his forehead lightly against the other's and continued to speak in a warm voice.
"Your fates are different, and the choices you've made are different, how could you be the same?" Even their tempers perfectly contradicted each other, one a dark avenger, one a love-addled madman—if one were to call them exactly the same person, he'd be the first to raise both hands in protest.
But even so, just as he'd thought moments earlier—
Shen Qingqiu grasped Luo Binghe's hand, leaving a gentle kiss on his fingers: "But when it comes to how you handle situations, I believe you two are similar - it's only your motives that are different."
Luo Binghe went quiet, which could be considered an approval of Shen Qingqiu's opinion.
His sullen appearance was like a cutely pathetic droopy-eared puppy; it made Shen Qingqiu want to dote on him, and he rubbed at the other man's handsome mace.
"Endure with it for a few more days, and once he's gone, this teacher will follow whatever it is you want to do."
"Really?" Glistening sparks suddenly erupted in Luo Binghe's eyes.
......
Er, why do I have a bad feeling about this? Is it too late to for takebacks!?
But considering what kind of requests this child could be capable of making, he didn't even need to ask to know: If it didn't involve tormenting this old man at night, it'd probably be begging him to play along with some humiliating new method of doing it...alright, forget it, if his poor back was going to suffer then it'd just have to go ahead and suffer, it's not like it hadn't happened before, he could handle it!
Shen Qingqiu very slowly nodded his head as he answered: "Really." Then stood back up.
He'd just been planning to head out to ask for some hot water for tea, when Luo Binghe suddenly seemed to go mad; he pounced on the too-slow-to-react Shen Qingqiu like a leopard on the hunt and pushing him down onto the blanket-cushioned bed, locking his fan-holding right hand in his grip, and looked at him with a sincere expression on his face.
"Shizun." Luo Binghe wedged one knee between his shizun's legs, looking down at Shen Qingqiu pressed beneath him, his voice low and husky: "May this disciple do as he pleases once before then? Let me properly embrace you, kiss you—this disciple misses you."
Shen Qingqiu went entirely limp under his gaze, unable to exert any sort of strength, and uneasily shifted his body slightly - only to accidentally press his lower abdomen against his disciple's hard-on.
"......" Fuck, no way...you can go into heat even at an awkward time like this!? Shen Qingqiu's face turned bright red in an instant, his body gone rigid as he was afraid to make the slightest move.
Luo Binghe lowered his head, bringing his lips up to the rigid man's ear, his warm breath sending tingles through Shen Qingqiu.
"Shizun, you'll choose me, won't you?" When compared to the other me.
Luo Binghe stuck out his tongue, lightly licking the ear of the man below him. But, as if dissatisfied with this level of intimacy, he went on and took the entire lobe into his mouth, seeming almost reproachful in the way he rubbed at the sensitive soft flesh.
Wow, how worried are you, if you think I'll run off with another man...
Shen Qingqiu almost wanted to roll his eyes. But he was afraid such an action would cause a certain demon lord to start bawling; after thinking a moment he was unable to think of any way to respond to that, which left him no choice but to keep lying there and let his insecure disciple go wild on top of him.
Luo Binghe gently mumbled: "This disciple only wants you - I won't let anyone else have you."
Shen Qingqiu kept his mouth tight-shut, refusing to let out a single moan, his unrestricted hands moving against his will to circle around under the arms of the man above him, climbing up and grabbing tightly onto that broad back - this situation looked to Luo Binghe much like he wished to reject him and yet was welcoming him instead.
Just as he was appreciating Shizun's reaction towards him, thinking to remove both their clothes, a very deliberate cough suddenly sounded behind him; Luo Binghe's expression darkened instantly, his hands stopping mid-action as he turned his head to glare.
The other Luo Binghe had apparently returned at some point unbeknownst to them, and was now leaning with his arms crossed against one of the pillars of the door, watching in this direction.
"Excuse me, I see you've finally noticed my presence." Bing-ge's mouth was all smiles, but there wasn't a hint of one in his eyes. You could tell that having the other him steal the stage and getting ignored were both things that left him rather annoyed.
Shen Qingqiu inwardly let out a sigh. As they say, arriving early can't compare to arriving right on time—that Bing-ge would make his timely arrival right when he was about to get his clothes torn off, this was a real blessing right here!
In comparison with his thankfulness at having escaped calamity, maiden Luo looked like he'd just stepped out of a sauna, darkly pushing off of Shen Qingqiu, carrying a good amount of anger with him as he walked towards the interloper who'd interrupted his important business, and roared out two words: "Get lost!"
Bing-ge said with a smile: "Li, ttle, beast, do you really think you can get away with your plans by sneaking around? Don't think you can do whatever you please just because I'm not around."
At that, Luo Binghe's entire body seemed to burst aflame: "What business is it of yours! Don't get in my way, even if I died I'd never let you have Shizun!"
The one getting yelled at wasn't to be outdone, either: "Let me? What a joke, why don't you see if Shizun will even listen to you you little bastard, you still don't have the experience to be eating Shizun!"
The two sides threw jabs back and forth, looking right about to start throwing punches instead of words, on the verge of outright war. Shen Qingqiu hurriedly readjusted his collar, stepping quickly over to the pair of childish brats and pushing them apart.
"Alright alright stop fighting!" He obstructed them as he spoke: "How old are you now, making such a racket?" Not a single other disciple on Qingjing Peak is as noisy as you two!
"If you keep arguing then we'll sleep in different rooms!"
At the threat of separate room, both demon lords - one nervous, one shocked - hurriedly clung to the man standing between them as if they'd been faced with a formidable foe.
""Shizun!""
"Protests won't have any effect."
Shen Qingqiu threw back his sleeves without a ripple of emotion on his face, having long-since built up a resistance to the two's constant pestering. He didn't panic even once realizing neither was ready to let go, standing firm with the same noble and coldly elegant figure as always.
"Sleep."
He spoke a single word.
There was no need to say any more; the two naturally understood what Shen Qingqiu meant. Luo Binghe fretfully tugged at the corner of his shizun's robes, but before he could say anything Shen Qingqiu interrupted him.
"No crying! You sleep by yourself."
Luo Binghe quickly snuffled his nose, and prevented himself from dropping any tears.
Bing-ge took in maiden Luo's entire disgraceful, immature performance and seemed pretty much unable to look straight at the scene, scornfully wondering if this guy could really be a Luo Binghe? He'd practically lost all self-respect as a demon lord!
But when he saw Shen Qingqiu so full of forgiveness and tenderness towards his other self, he could also feel an indescribable sense of unhappiness and jealousy.
Late that night.
Shen Qingqiu was completely-unsurprisingly dragged from his sleep into a dream realm created by Luo Binghe.
The scenery was still the same extremely-familiar Qingjing Peak. But unlike the usual dream realm—through the bamboo forest trail in front of him floated a fine gray snow he'd never seen before.
He opened a hand and let the snow fall onto it.
It was only upon closer inspection, that he realized it was ash.
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