Chapter Text
The next day, Ming Fan woke up feeling well rested. He had forgotten just how much Shen Qing Qiu meant to him truly. To the point that when the man went missing, Ming Fan lost his safe space. He had been exhausted for a long time and he hadn’t even registered it.
Now that Shen Qing Qiu was safe, Ming Fan managed to sleep from the evening to the afternoon of the next day and turns out, he had been koala hugging Shen Qing Qiu just as he used to do in his younger years.
This belated realization made Ming Fan’s face turn red and the colour deepened when he noticed that the man from yesterday was also sitting nearby. He tried to let Shen Qing Qiu go so that he could talk to the stranger before his Shizun woke up but before he could do that, his Shizun hugged him a bit tighter and simply mumbled,”Go to sleep Ming Fan, Baba’s here. I’ll keep you safe from the monsters.”
And well, would you look at that? His Shizun seems to have defaulted to the responses he used to give to a small Ming Fan when the little boy was unable to sleep and used to sneak into his Baba’s bed. A muffled chuckle came from behind him and Ming Fan just wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. But since he hadn’t yet mastered the art of controlling the elements, he simply decided to bury his head into his Baba’s arms and hope that this was all a dream.
Initially, he just wanted to escape the embarrassment of the situation but then…his Shizun was just so…warm, and he was here and…and he was finally safe and just…so warm. Ming Fan drifted back to sleep although he did want to talk to the strange man and he would just get back to it soon enough and he also had to send a message to the sect, and he had to write a report and…
The last thought in Ming Fan’s mind was: warm and safe.
Shen Yuan watched the boy snuggle with his younger brother, both of them had the same sleeping expressions on their faces and, he couldn’t help but smile. He should probably let them rest a while longer, they looked exhausted. So, he headed out for the time being.
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Liu Qing Ge was about to pull all the hair on his head or maybe all the ones on Gong Yi Xiao’s head. He had searched every part of the yellow robed bastard’s sect and he had ‘questioned’ the Old Palace Master but Shen Qing Qiu was nowhere to be found.
He did find traces of dried blood on the dungeon floor and, he wasn’t sure if it belonged to Shen Qing Qiu or someone else. And that discovery simply put Liu Qing Ge into a whole another level of overdrive.
There were too many emotions in his body, no rest since god know when and an intense rage against everything in the world, including himself.
“What’s the use of showing care now? You never cared when he was right there in front of you. And how chivalrous of you lord Liu, to show care after knowing someone is your soul mate. Shen Qing Qiu would surely appreciate it.” This thought had been echoing in his mind for a long time. He knew he had screwed up and he had no idea how (if) he was ever going to be able to fix it but he owed his life to Shen Qing Qiu. That, he hoped he could repay.
He could mope around and beat himself up later, right now, Shen Qing Qiu was his highest priority.
The only solace in all of this mess was that the soul mark hadn’t darkened any further and since it still had colour, he knew that Shen Qing Qiu was at least still alive.
After searching the entire sect for the fifth time and still finding no Shen Qing Qiu, he decided to go back to Cang Qiong. Staying here would be a waste of time, time that he did not have.
He rushed to Cang Qiong hoping that they found something.
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Shen Qing Qiu slept very deeply. In fact, his body had relaxed to a degree that he wasn’t aware of his surroundings at all until he woke up and found his child snuggled up with him.
He knew that it should bother him that he had relaxed so much specially when his ‘brother’ was still in the room. Shen Qing Qiu, never relaxed unless he was sure that all his safety measures were working at full capacity but, the full body rest had made him a little sluggish and he couldn’t focus on anything other than the dark circles under Ming Fan’s eyes. This child…he took after Shen Qing Qiu a bit too much.
Shen Qing Qiu lightly stroked the sleeping boy’s hair as he maneuvered the sleeping teenager in such a manner that his sleep wouldn’t be disturbed but Shen Qing Qiu would still be able to talk to this so called ‘brother’ of his.
Once he was sure that Ming Fan wouldn’t be uncomfortable, he shifted his attention to the man sitting across him.
“I believe that even though we were briefly introduced in the dungeon, a formal introduction is required.” The man said as soon as he noticed Shen Qing Qiu’s eyes on him. “My name is Shen Yuan and I am your elder brother.”
“What do you want?”
The man smiled “I don’t want anything, honestly. I am just glad that I finally got to see you again.”
“I don’t remember you.”
“Well that’s just natural, you were a baby when all of that happened. And-“ the man sighed “Look, I know it feels strange to suddenly have a family, when all of your life there has never been anyone and, I will fully understand if you do not trust me right now but, can you please just let me stay by your side? You are the only family I have left.”
“I think you have mistaken me for someone else. I don’t have a family. I have never had any. Ever.” The man did not get angry at Shen Qing Qiu. He had a hurt look in his eyes but he didn’t look angry.
“No. Shen Qing Qiu, I haven’t mistaken you for someone else. I can prove it to you.” This statement intrigued Shen Qing Qiu.
“Your soul mark, it activated after coming in contact with your soul mate and it projected your memories into each other’s heads. Didn’t it?”
“How are you so sure that my soul mark is activated? How do you even know if I have a soul mark?” Shen Qing Qiu had foolishly trusted this man in the dungeon but he wasn’t about to repeat the same thing again. Not with a child in his arms.
“I wouldn’t know that. But, I saw it when I was helping the ladies move you here and since, I didn’t know them and couldn’t entrust your safety to strangers, I kept watch over you as they settled you here.”
“You do realise that you are the stranger here?” Shen Qing Qiu did not like how comforting this man’s presence was, comfort was simply a luxury that wasn’t written in people like Shen Qing Qiu’s fate and hoping for that had gotten him near death many times.
“Yes, I do realise that and I am prepared to do anything that you want me to do to prove that I am here to be a part of your family.” The man sat on the floor near the bed “Please, let me prove that. I’m ready to make a blood oath even.”
Shen Qing Qiu looked at Ming Fan’s sleeping face, the man’s eyes were too earnest and he couldn’t allow himself to trust anyone again. So, he told the man “Okay, do it then. Make the blood oath.”
Shen Qing Qiu knew what would come next, he braced himself for another disappointment. The man would walk away and Shen Qing Qiu wouldn’t have to let himself hope.
“Okay! I’ll do that! I hope you can trust me after this!” The man sounded extremely happy.
“Why?” Shen Qing Qiu couldn’t help but ask. Why did this ‘brother’ of his want to reconcile with him so badly? Why couldn’t he just leave right now? It would save both of them so much headache.
“Because you are my brother. We’re family and family does anything to keep each other safe. So, if this blood oath will make you feel a bit more comfortable being around me then, I’ll do it! In fact, had you told to me to give my life up for you? I’d do it in a heartbeat!”
“How do you know if I deserve all of this? You just met me. I could be a really bad person, I could be a demonic cultivator, I could be a prostitute for all you know.”
“Still doesn’t change the fact that you are my younger brother. And if you were a horrible person, I’d try to get you back to the right path, that’s what older siblings do. They look after you when you can’t do so yourself…Besides, the child in your arms tells me you aren’t as bad of a person.” The man (His brother?) smiled as he looked at Ming Fan.
“What if I still can’t trust you? You saved my life, wouldn’t you be angry at that?”
“Then don’t! You don’t owe me trust. It has to be earned and well, I’m sure I’ll eventually prove my worth to you.”
“uhhhh, What’s your name?” Shen Qing Qiu felt awkward asking that after all the long rounds of questioning but he couldn’t keep addressing the man as “the man” in his head.
“Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself in all my excitement while talking to you!” The man straightened up a bit before introducing himself “Hello, My name is Shen Yuan. You can call me Yuan-Ge.” Shen Yuan smiled cheekily.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”
“You can’t blame me for trying.” Shen Yuan shrugged. “Anyways, let me tell you about my life and I’d like to know about yours!”
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Cang Qiong Mountain Sect was in a frenzy, a few minutes ago, the demon lord had arrived at their doorstep claiming that he was Shen Qing Qiu’s brother’s soul mate and that the Qing Jing Peak Lord was in the warm red pavilion, safe and sound.
Liu Qing Ge heard this as soon as his feet landed on Cang Qiong’s soil and while he knew that he should send some disciple to check this intel, demons can’t be trusted after all but, his brain wasn’t exactly functioning at full capacity so, he rushed off to check this claim’s authenticity himself.
He had a lot to make up for and he’d like to ensure that Shen Qing Qiu was there with his own eyes, what happened after that? That, he would see later.