Chapter Text
Yue Qingyuan's secondary gender has never presented itself, assigning him as a beta, which was rather unusual for someone who was in the lead of the righteous Sect. On the other hand his childhood friend and lover… partner… Shen Qingqiu presented as an alpha early in his life, sadly in the time period when Yue Qingyuan wasn’t around. Shen Qingqiu wasn’t very fond of sharing these memories with him whenever Yie Qingyuan would try to touch the subject ever so slightly. Yue Qingyuan knew just the necessary bits.
Once they became Peak lords some of the outsiders from other Sects liked to theorize about how Yue Qingyuan was able to snatch such a high position even without the need of presenting his secondary gender. For most of them, he was just a beta.
Betas were common in their society, nothing interesting about them, usually just following the crowd mentality and formed the majority of it. It should be alphas who should be in the lead of their lives with omegas as their designated partners. With that people always liked to gossip about Cang Qiong Mountain not having enough competent alphas if a beta was in the lead.
Omega cultivators were rather an unusual occurrence because most of the alphas didn’t want to allow them to pursue their cultivation once they got mated. They were already in smaller numbers than even alphas and being a cultivator was a dangerous profession. If someone was allowed to pursue Immortality as an omega, it was seen as a big gesture from the side of the alpha.
It was hard to break down stereotypes that were there with them for centuries but Shen Qingqiu couldn’t care less about this type of bullshit. It certainly helped him to induce these views that he was abused with pheromones at an early age. He had to endure in the Qiu’s manor.
Yue Qingyuan knew this much after Shen Qingqiu got a panic attack during the annual assembly when an unmated omega went into heat next to him. It was a rather humiliating experience for Shen Qingqiu when others saw his usually cold mask break in distress over something like that. That’s why his Peak was strictly for alphas and betas only after he ascended. That’s also why Yue Qingyuan was an ideal partner for him as a beta.
Together they managed to properly talk things out after the pheromone incident and Yue Qingyuan ended up admitting his feelings toward Shen Qingqiu. Since then the alpha wasn’t snappy anymore when they met and their head disciple meetings greatly improved because they were no longer influenced by the angry and dark mood Shen Qingqiu always radiated. Soon after that they also secretly pursued their relationship which then they later on openly shared with others when the former Peak lords stepped down.
Yue Qingyuan rubbed his temple and stood there in front of Shen Qingqiu’s bamboo house situated on Qing Jing peak before he finally entered. He couldn’t feel the thick and heavy scent of Shen Qingqiu's pheromones, only when he walked into the open room he noticed his shidi seemed rather feverish. The alpha's face was red and sweat beaded on his forehead, eyes unfocused and hazy.
“Qingyuan.” Shen Qingqiu managed to choke out, he was panting, twisting on the canopy bed, dressed still in his Peak lord robes and biting down on his lip.
“You are in rut.” Stated Yue Qingyuan with a slight panic in his voice. “Let me call for Mu-shidi.” He wanted to turn around but Shen Qingqiu snapped at him.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” The alpha huffed harshly and proceeded to get up, there was a wet spot on his robes that made Yue Qingyuan swallow thickly. He spent only two ruts with Shen Qingqiu already and knew very well that he wouldn’t leave this room for the next seven days if he didn’t go fetch Mu Qingfang now.
“Shidi, you need suppressants…” Yue Qingyuan tried to argue with him but a simple look into the younger male’s green eyes convinced even him that it was too late for some herbal teas from Mu Qingfang. His pupils were narrowed and looked like they belonged to a snake if he should compare it to something. His breathing was uneven and when he grabbed Yue Qingyuan’s hand, his skin was so hot it almost burnt the other man. Yue Qingyuan had to stop himself from pushing away Shen Qingqiu’s hand.
“It’s too late for that. I miscalculated and didn’t prevent this.” Shen Qingqiu admitted, his every word was gritted through his teeth as he was hardly suppressing his urges. It was always the worst first three days.
“I have to… just let me push all my responsibilities onto my Head Disciple if I should be of assistance for you.” Yue Qingyuan bit his bottom lip down and carefully pulled his hand away from Shen Qingqiu who just stared at him.
“F-fine. But do it quickly.” Yue Qingyuan nodded and quickly stepped out of the room, so he could leave the bamboo house.
“Fuck,” Shen Qingqiu cursed after the man left and tried to calm himself down. He was a stupid idiot for miscalculating the days of his rut. He was wrong by exactly seven days. A stupid seven days! He was barely holding his thoughts together. He threw a quick gaze over to the door and frowned before gripping his hard dick under all the layers of his robes.
How long before Yue Qingyuan would come back?
He left barely minutes ago.
It already felt like an eternity to him. The feelings and need to fuck someone loose until they both couldn’t think were becoming stronger with every second. He leaned into the wooden column of his canopy bed huffing. His legs trembling with the effort to support his body.
“Qingyuan…” Shen Qingqiu whined needily before he slid down onto the ground and pushed his robes open. His pants will definitely need a proper washing with that big wet spot on them. He pulled them down enough to feel the cold air on his painfully aroused member and wrapped quickly fingers around it. He tilted his head back and softly moaned, imagining that it was Yue Qingyuan’s hand.
Just stroking himself into completion never seemed to really help him. He needed to knot someone, pin them in place.
He needed to breed someone.
Funny given his fear of omega pheromones. He could probably never accept his fated pair even if his mate would appear in front of him and exude the most delicious smell on the earth. He preferred Yue Qingyuan, his calming scent of cherries. It was faint, almost unnoticeable but whenever Shen Qingqiu bit his neck, he could smell it stronger.
“Ah!” He tilted his head back with the final drag of his hand over the aching cock, knot swelling in his palm.
******
Yue Qingyuan found Shen Qingqiu right after he finished jerking himself off with his soft cock in his hands and cum all over his fingers and clothes. It seemed that he calmed a little bit but his gaze was now pretty much distant and he did not acknowledge the Yue Qingyuan when he walked into the room.
The Sect leader quickly put some essential things onto the cupboard near the bed. Mainly towels and a bamboo bottle full of water. He informed the Qing Jing peak disciples of an exceptional situation, so Ming Fan would have to take care of the peak during the time period Shen Qingqiu wasn’t able to attend to his duties.
Even as a beta Yue Qingyuan now felt the scent of sweets and cinnamon which would be probably overwhelming to him if he was an omega. He liked that smell. It reminded him of the candies he always bought for his partner.
“Shidi…” Yue Qingyuan finally turned his attention to Shen Qingqiu who was already hard once more, his cock trembling in his hand once again. Yue Qingyuan sighed and removed the headpiece out of his hair, leaving them all free, the weight falling onto his back. He felt bad for Shen Qingqiu. Usually calm, collected, and elegant man versus his animalistic desires which Shen Qingqiu couldn’t really suppress, only temporarily. Yue Qingyuan removed his outer robe and carefully folded it, then he did the same with his top piece. After that, he brought a bowl with water to Shen Qingqiu but the man knocked it out of his hand, water spilling all over the floor.
“Bed. Now!” Yue Qingyuan didn’t even get the time to put the bowl away, as he was thrown onto the mattress by Shen Qingqiu’s inhumane power. The man was scary but Yue Qingyuan was never more aroused when he saw that predatory look with which the younger male stared at him.
“Shidi…” Yue Qingyuan breathed out and stretched out his arms, so he could wrap them around Shen Qingqiu. He didn’t expect the man to properly think at this point, so he also took the liberty to prepare himself. Taking his partner dry when he couldn’t produce any slick… He wasn’t very fond of that…
During Shen Qingqiu’s first rut, the alpha lost himself in his instincts of just wanting to take Yue Qingyuan. That ended up backfiring and he really hurt Yue Qingyuan at that time. So Yue Qingyuan tried to avoid that this time.
Yue Qingyuan felt the younger man removing his black pants, he wasn’t properly excited yet and it seemed to displease the alpha because he clicked the tongue in annoyance.
Shen Qingqiu's fingers probed Yue Qingyuan’s entrance, smearing all the excess oil all around. He even took some of it onto his fingers and tasted it, staring into Yue Qingyuan’s eyes when he sucked on his own fingers.
“You are not hard… but are wet as fuck?” Yue Qingyuan heard him say and gulped. His face felt hot now.
“I am wet only for you.” Yue Qingyaun managed to whisper and then yelped when Shen Qingqiu prodded his walls to feel how relaxed his hole was. The few thrusts of his fingers felt like electricity inside of him.
“All slicked up like a good omega.” Shen Qingqiu purred with a smile now, his gaze pinning Yue Qingyuan to the bed under him. The older male spread his legs wider in an inviting manner and then proceeded to wrap them around Shen Qingqiu’s waist, yanking him closer.
“Take me.”
Yue Qingyuan didn’t have to say twice, because Shen Qingqiu quickly discarded his already ruined pants and pressed the hot head of his leaking cock against Yue Qingyuan’s welcoming entrance. He was all too eager to thrust into the tight heat.
Yue Qingyuan tensed under him. It was quite some time since his shidi last held him and he wasn’t used much to that intrusion. Much less to the feeling of being full immediately when his shidi just slammed into him, groaning with pleasure. Yue Qingyuan pulled Shen Qingqiu down to kiss him but the younger male avoided his mouth, only to attempt to properly smell his non-existent scent. He slightly moved with his hips, pulling a soft moan out of Yue Qingyuan.
“Good…” Shen Qingqiu said in a low voice. “You smell like me…” He rubbed his nose into Yue Qingyuan’s nape.
For omegas and alphas, this was a really intimate gesture. An omega’s neck could be touched only by his relatives or the chosen alpha who marked him. He alone was also marked.
The one spot on Yue Qingyuan's neck was scarred by Shen Qingqiu’s sharp canines that it almost looked like a real mating mark by now. Yue Qingyuan let out a quiet moan when he felt Shen Qingqiu’s tongue flicking over the disfigured skin and slightly flinched when his sharp canine teeth brushed over it. “Mine…”
When Shen Qinqiu said that his teeth once again sank into the soft flesh of Yue Qingyuan’s throat together with the very first thrust and the man couldn’t help himself but cry out in pain and pleasure at the same time.
“Xiao Jiu…” Yue Qingyuan gasped when the alpha set a brutal pace, chasing his own pleasure, still deeply with his teeth in Yue Qingyuan’s neck. When Shen Qinqiu finally let go the injury was stinging once he started licking the blood away, almost absentmindedly. Usually, the mark would heal immediately if it was for mating but he wasn’t an omega. He was just a beta.
Yue Qingyuan had to bear the consequences of their matings.
By now his entire body was shaking from Shen Qingqiu’s rough fucking while Shen Qingqiu's mouth was still hovering over the new bite mark he made on his neck. Their bodies were slapping against each other, making the obscene sounds echoing through Shen Qingqiu’s room which was overwhelmingly full of sweet scents with a very faint hint of cherries the longer they were at it.
Yue Qingyuan slowly dragged his hand down into his groin, so he could grip his own length, working on it with practiced motions. He closed his dark eyes and turned head more into the side, which bared his bitten neck even more to his alpha. He bit his bottom lip down.
Yeah, Shen Qingqiu was his alpha.
Yue Qingyuan kept pleasuring himself trying to match the movements of his palm with his shidi’s thrusts, slowly he felt the pleasure building up in his groin. He was close and given Shen Qingqiu’s harsh uneven breathing and his stuttering hips the man seemed to be close to his own climax too.
The younger male pulled away from Yue Qingyuan’s neck only to grab his chin, so he could look into his dark eyes. His gaze was somehow distant but he still stared at Yue Qingyuan, which made the Sect leader shiver. “Say it.” Shen Qingqiu rasped in a low voice and Yue Qingyuan’s face turned deep red.
“Qingyuan, please. Say it…” Shen Qingqiu needed his consent, even in the crazed state of his mind, he still knew this was wrong without approval. “I need you to say it…” Now he sounded desperate when he felt the tight walls clenching around him as the Sect leader finally cummed under him. “Hah…” He dug his nails into Yue Qingyuan’s chin who trembled with effort and pleasure. Sweat shined on his forehead now too.
“Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan finally breathed out and lifted his free hand to his face, so he could tuck some of his hair away from his face. Then he pulled him down enough to peck his lips, gently dragging a wet line over the seam of Shen Qingqiu's mouth. He then let go and locked his eyes with that burning green gaze. “Knot me.”
This tipped Shen Qingqiu over the edge and he roared into Yue Qingyuan’s mouth, pleasure washing over his whole body intensively as his knot started to swell inside of his shixiong. Yue Qingyuan painfully whined when his ass was being stretched over its limits with a slight burning sensation to it.
The alpha on top of him collapsed on his body, burying his head into the crook of Yue Qingyuan’s hurt neck. Shen Qingqiu placed a chaste kiss onto that bite, his own consciousness coming slowly back to him as he was temporarily sated by the feeling of successfully knotting his partner. It would keep them in place for a few minutes and Yue Qingyuan didn’t seem to protest when he carefully tried to shift on top of him, so his weight wouldn’t be too much for him.
“It’s okay.” The older male murmured and tightly pressed his shidi against his broad chest once again. Shen Qingqiu was slightly smaller than average alphas when it came to his body and given Yue Qingyuan’s build, it was expected for him to present as one too. His hand found its way into Shen Qingqiu’s still-fixed hair and Yue Qingyuan carefully pulled the headpiece out of them. It spilled all like a black curtain over Shen Qingqiu's shoulders, some of them falling on Yue Qingyuan’s chest.
“It would be good if you’d drink a bit of water when your knot deflates.” Yue Qingyuan then said but Shen Qingqiu seemed to be more interested in his chest. Groping his pecs, causing the older male to blush.
“Listen to me! You animal!” Yue Qingyuan scolded him lightly, jokingly and Shen Qingqiu gave him only a questioning look with tongue stuck out because he wanted to suck on his nipple. “Give me a rest.” Yue Qingyuan pushed his head away with a small laugh and Shen Qingqiu smiled at him.
“I am sorry.” Shen Qingqiu murmured and placed his head in the middle of Yue Qingyuan’s chest. “I know it’s not easy for you to spend my ruts with me. I don’t understand what went wrong with my calculations.” He rocked his hips gently, just the thought of Yue Qingyuan’s hole stretching around his member with the knot keeping all the cum in place, made him almost go feral again. The older male under him softly moaned with that movement.
"Mn,"
******
Yue Qingyuan should count himself lucky that he was able to stand after an intensive week full of sex marathons with his alpha partner. He leaned into the door frame to finally feel something else than just air filled with sweat of their bodies, sex, and cum. He was sore but it was nothing his cultivation wouldn’t quickly help. He turned back to check on his sleeping shidi and then walk to open a window in his room to properly air it.
Shen Qingqiu’s eyes fluttered and then opened when he noticed Yue Qingyuan who was slowly putting the room back into its usual order. There was an apologetic smile on Shen Qingqiu's lips when he watched the Sect leader tidying up the mess.
“You are up.” Yue Qingyuan commented without turning to him because he was busy throwing away destroyed pieces of cum stained sheets. Shen Qingqiu only hummed from his place on the bed and still watched his partner diligently work.
“I could do it. You don’t have to.” Shen Qingqiu's voice was hoarse. He didn’t remember much from his rut haze. Just bits and pieces whenever he came back to himself after sating the need to breed.
“You still have a small fever, you have to rest after your rut. I already tasked your Head Disciple to bring Mu-shidi later on, so he could give you proper medication.” Yue Qingyuan finally turned to him and softly smiled. “I’m not angry at you.” He let go of the shredded fabric and walked over to the bed. He gently stroked Shen Qingqiu’s face and the younger male leaned into the touch, closing his eyes. Shen Qingqiu felt conflicted, like he was imposing too much on Yue Qingyuan’s goodwill.
“I’m sorry.” Shen Qingqiu murmured anyway and moved closer to the older male who was now sitting at the edge of the bed. “I remember biting your neck so many times, it must be sore.” His green eyes shot upwards to meet Yue Qingyuan’s dark ones. “It’s inexcusable for me to miscalculate my rut. I could endanger you…”
They were both fully aware that betas weren’t made the same way as omegas and most likely shouldn’t accompany the alphas during the rut. That was in the case of common beta but Yue Qingyuan was a trained cultivator. Still, it must have taken a big toll on Yue Qingyuan even though he was now just smiling and caressing Shen Qingqiu's cheek with a patient smile as always.
“I chose you as my partner and with that comes the responsibility to help you with your needs.” Yue Qingyuan's cheeks slightly flushed. “I asked the disciples to draw a bath for you. It should be ready by now if you want me to help you…” Shen Qingqiu only shook his head and slowly sat up. He stretched his arms upwards until something cracked in his back and then proceeded to get out of the bed. He was naked but couldn’t care less about his dignity and like that walked over to the bathroom which was in his bamboo house.
Yue Qingyuan went back to his work to make the bamboo house room a living space again. Once he was done with that, he tasked some more of Qing Jing peak’s disciples to prepare food for them. With that he leaned against the door frame once again, just watching over the beautiful scenery of the scholar peak with hands crossed over his chest. He probably reeked of Shen Qingqiu’s pheromones given the subtle stares he was getting from the alpha disciples.
Shidi liked to scent him and he liked to be scented.
“Zhangmen-shixiong,” a calm voice pulled him out of his thoughts and the older male looked at Mu Qingfang who bowed his head in greeting with hands put together. Yue Qingyuan smiled at him and greeted him back.
“I’m sorry but Shen-shidi seems to be still in the bath.” Mu Qingfang simply nodded and Yue Qingyuan moved out of the way so the man could walk into the house. Mu Qingfang immediately pulled a handkerchief out of his sleeve and put it over his nose.
“That bad, huh?” Yue Qingyuan commented with light amusement and Mu Qingfang gave him only a short glance. Yue Qingyuan couldn’t really tell how thick the smell of Shen Qingqiu’s pheromones was in the air.
Mu Qingfang was trained for any situation as the healer and leader of medical Peak, so he had to be always ready to encounter any situation. He was probably the best trained out of all the alphas Yue Qingyuan knew, knowing restraint when young omegas first presented with their heat and needed medical assistance or help to soothe the burning fever.
“If zhangmen-shixiong will allow me, I would first check on him then?” Mu Qingfang said after he managed to lay down all his tools and sat down in front of the low table. Yue Qingyuan blushed slightly but nodded.
“Uhm, of course.” Yue Qingyuan agreed and quickly walked over to him and carefully pushed the collars of his robes away to reveal his pretty much-bruised neck. Mu Qingfang just slightly sighed and took into his hands the vial and clean cloth. He poured a clear liquid onto the fabric. When Yue Qingyuan sat down he started cleaning the wounds on his neck, all of them were bites left by Shen Qingqiu in his crazed state. Usually, his cultivation would take care of it but he barely got out of bed during the whole week. So there was really no time for him to heal it himself.
“With all due respect did zhangmen-shixiong ever consider using protection tools?” Mu Qingfang asked him in a calm tone and gently rubbed the cleaning solution into the wounds, Yue Qingyuan flinched with each move of his hand and hissed with pain. “If you feel like collars are uncomfortable for you, maybe you could use a muzzle or just covers for your partner’s canines.” Now he was placing bandages around his neck. His face was perfectly stoic.
“My partner is not an animal to use a muzzle on him.” Yue Qingyuan said in an offended tone and Mu Qingfang just pressed his lips tightly together.
“Of course.” Mu Qingfang murmured and gently straightened the cloth around Yue Qingyuan’s neck. “It was just a suggestion. For your safety more or less.” Yue Qingyuan adjusted his collars back as they were before, almost perfectly hiding the white fabric around his neck.
By the time they were done, Shen Qingqiu came back into the room looking refreshed but his face was still flushed red and eyes hazy. Mu Qingfang ducked his head in greeting and Yue Qingyuan turned to his partner with a soft smile. “Shidi.” He stood up and took in the sight which was presented to him.
Shen Qingqiu’s usually free hair with a headpiece was pulled in a high ponytail, showing off the beautiful line of his neck. Yue Qingyuan gulped. Now he probably understood the alpha’s need to bite the neck. (He didn’t.) Shen Qingqiu had just pants on with a light outer robe draped over his shoulders. Shen Qingqiu nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded to sit down on the edge of the bed.
“I have just a slight fever after my rut, nothing serious for Mu-shidi to come look at.” Shen Qingqiu said but let the man properly check him.
“Better safe than sorry.” Yue Qingyuan chimed in when patiently waiting. Shen Qingqiu didn’t know about the state he left his shixiong’s neck and it was better that way because then he would just feel bad.
“Listen to zhangmen-shixiong, Shen-shixiong.” Mu Qingfang said still in his calm tone when he gently touched his wrist first, then his forehead. After that he turned to his tools, only to take a prepared bowl with herbal tea into his hands and offered it to Shen Qingqiu who accepted it with a bitter expression.
“Make sure to drink this for at least a week. I’ll leave you the herbs here, so you can make them yourself.” Mu Qingfang then said and took the bowl away. “Also don’t overextend yourself for another week. Take things easy. The same applies to zhangmen-shixiong.” He gave Yue Qingyuan a rather important look and the Sect leader just warmly smiled at him. It’s not like he could oppose the healer of their Sect.
“In fact, I think zhangmen-shixiong should stay in bed for another week.” His expression was now strict, not allowing any compromises and Shen Qingqiu looked over to his partner, slightly panicked.
Did he hurt him that much during his rut?
“That’s alright shidi,” Yue Qingyuan immediately lifted up his arms in a defensive gesture. “You didn’t do anything out of the line. Mu-shidi is just being a-”
“It’s not alright, zhangmen-shixiong.” Mu Qingfang cut right in. “You are a beta, your body is not made to accommodate the ruts of your partner.” Now the man was frowning and Shen Qingqiu was biting the soft skin on his thumbnail, a nervous bad habit which he picked up during his hard studies under the previous Peak lord.
Shen Qingqiu was angry at himself! At being stupid, endangering Yue Qingyuan once again because he couldn’t properly count the stupid days in the month!
Mu Qingfang started gathering his things, putting them back into a bag while Shen Qingqiu just distantly watched his figure moving. Yue Qingyuan sat next to his psrtner and placed a hand onto his thigh, pulling him out of thoughts with a flinch.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not!” Shen Qingqiu shot back at him and lightly hit his shoulder, he used to do that when he wanted to scold him. It earned him a disapproving click of Mu Qingfang’s tongue. Shen Qingqiu bit the inside of his cheek and looked at his shidi who finally finished up collecting all his things.
“Then I will take my leave.” The other two Peak lords nodded and bid him farewell.
Shen Qingqiu turned his attention back to Yue Qingyuan. “You fucking dumbass!” He snarled now. “You should have said something! Or tie me up to the column of my bed and run away! It’s not like I cannot handle my rut alone!” He was angry, annoyed but more just scared.
“I wanted to help.” Yue Qingyuan took Shen Qingqiu’s hands into his, so Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t attempt to hit him with them.
“But I hurt you.”
“It’s okay.” Yue Qingyuan leaned over to him, to kiss him on his still red swollen lips. “It’s not your fault, that’s something you cannot control.” He heard the angry hiss but then Shen Qingqiu didn’t say anything. Instead, his hands tightly grasped onto Yue Qingyuan’s. “Why you just couldn’t present, you dumbass.”
Yue Qingyuan only laughed that off. Yes, why couldn't he present as an omega for his Xiao Jiu? He would gladly throw away his Sect leader position if it meant to be forever with him. (Would he really?) Maybe Xiao Jiu would be generous enough to allow him to continue pursuing his career. Have… family with him. “Because I don’t need to. We are happy like this too.”
Shen Qingqiu sighed and gently pulled his hands away from Yue Qingyuan’s, only to bring him closer to hug him. The Sect leader gladly complied and put down his head onto Shen Qingqiu’s naked chest. Shen Qingqiu's skin was still burning hot but Yue Qingyuan didn’t care for it when the man started massaging his scalp in gentle circling motions. They were silent like this and Yue Qingyuan found himself dozing off with Shen Jiu pressing him tightly against his body.
Yue Qingyuan knew that their happiness could be only temporary and he was fully aware of that. Even with Shen Qingqiu’s trauma from Qiu’s manor he still believed that if a fated pair arrived, his natural instincts would help him to overcome the bad things which happened to him. Meaning Yue Qingyuan would have to let go of him.
He was only a beta after all.
If he was Shen Qingqiu's mated omega that would be a different story.
But for now, he would enjoy the time they had.
******
Yue Qingyuan yawned and rubbed his eyes then he smacked his cheeks, trying to put himself back together so he could continue writing down the list of things his own Peak needed the most to purchase. Such as new disciple clothes mainly. He didn’t keep his consciousness very long, he was exhausted. Maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to help out others with their work because sometimes it seemed that they rather abused his goodness.
The brush slipped out of his grip just like his head slid down from his open palm onto the table. Ink spread over the half-finished list and the tip of the brush ended up smearing some of the black color over Yue Qingyuan’s face. He had fallen asleep.
Shen Qingqiu found him like this and just smiled with fondness when he let the door into his office open behind him. He wanted to offer help with Yue Qingyuan’s work but instead, the man was just sleeping there with black all over his left cheek. Qing Jing Peak lord carefully took the brush away from him and gently put it back into its place. He would deal with it later.
“Qingyuan,” he tried in a soft voice but the Sect leader didn’t react and Shen Qingqiu just chuckled. “I’ll take you to your room. It’s not healthy for you to sleep there.” He murmured and pulled a handkerchief out of his sleeve to rub some of the ink away. It didn’t help much.
Shen Qingqiu then bent down, so he could hook his arm under Yue Qingyuan’s knees and put the other one around his upper body. With effort and heavy grunt he lifted the Sect leader into the bridal carry and kissed him onto the forehead. He may be smaller than average alphas but his strength was still respectable and he carried the other man into his chambers with ease.
It was already quiet everywhere as all the other people were asleep for a few hours now. In fact, Shen Qingqiu should have been sleeping too but he couldn’t help himself but check on his partner because they were both busy with their work and on top of that they already had to start preparing for the Immortal Alliance Conference which was still pretty far away.
They still had a few years until then.
Although, it was always better to get ready early. Especially making sure that the monsters they chose for it, wouldn’t really be too dangerous to attending disciples, causing deaths. They had to come to an agreement with others who would take care of preparing them for the event.
Yue Qingyuan softly smacked his lips in his sleep and Shen Qingqiu only smiled. He started undressing the other man and left him only in underwear. He properly folded his clothes and left them near the low table which was in Yue Qingyuan’s room. That was probably the only piece of the furniture there aside from the bed, even though Shen Qingqiu pestered Yue Qingyuan to have a proper sleeping schedule and to stop taking work from other Peak lords who just abused that.
Shen Qingqiu left for a while and came back with a bucket that was full of lukewarm water. He then started washing Yue Qingyuan's body at least this way. He began with his face and carefully stroked his cheeks with the wet cloth, then he moved down onto his neck which was full of healed bites but some of them were so deep that they scarred the skin. Shen Qingqiu cleaned those with a heavy sigh, fingers lingering on these bites for a short while, before he moved away.
Maybe he should come up with an idea of how Yue Qingyuan could mark him…
Shen Qingqiu now rubbed his pectoral muscles with the wet fabric and had to bite down a soft moan. Oh, how much he wished to fuck these tits but he never brought it with Yue Qingyuan if he would be up to that. It would be so cute…
And fucking hot.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head to get rid of these thoughts. He shouldn’t lust over his sleeping partner. He could do that when they were in meetings. He lifted Yue Qingyuan’s arm and gently washed them too. He stopped by his wrist looking at it thinking. Maybe he should tell him to try and mark him on the wrist just like a proper omega would. He looked on his own which had a really faded scar on it.
Yue Qingyuan couldn’t see it with his eyes but others, meaning alphas, noticed that. It was good that omega marks never meant something if the alpha didn’t return the favor. The same way it worked with alphas too. They couldn’t just one sidedly-claim their partner and abuse that against him. They both needed to mark their partner to be really bonded for life. It had to be consensual. But even that could be always abused and Shen Qingqiu was a living proof of people trying to bond him against his will.
When Shen Qinqiu finished cleaning Yue Qingyuan, he tucked him into the bed properly and made sure that everything was alright before leaving the room. Then he came back into Yue Qingyuan’s office and started cleaning the mess caused by the wet paper which he threw away. He then properly looked over the pile of the documents and pulled out the most urgent ones which needed some serious attention now.
Shen Qinqiu sighed and placed some of the documents onto the separate pile. When he finished cleaning the room, he left with papers and bamboo scrolls in his hands. He would have to school Yue Qingyuan again to not take more than he could really finish in time.
It was nice of him, trying to help the other Peak lords. But some of them - Liu Qingge - left for days, without anyone really running the Peak and bastard disciples just going wild and bullying Shen Qingqiu's own Peak. Liu Qingge should take care of his fucking records himself, not to dump them on his beta.
Shen Qingqiu furrowed his eyebrows.
Yes, Qi-Ge was his beta. They didn’t need a stupid mark to make it official.
But it would be…
...nice.
******
Shen Qingqiu wasn’t very impressed with the newcomer’s digging the holes. He fanned himself bored and not really interested in taking anyone new. Behind him stood Liu Qingge with hands crossed over his chest and next to him was Yue Qingyuan with his usual polite small smile.
“Is there anyone who caught your eye, shidi?” Yue Qingyuan first asked Shen Qingqiu who snapped his fan closed.
“Not really.” Shen Qingqiu murmured and pressed the wood of his fan against his pursued mouth. There was one of them who stood out, all dirty and malnourished but still tried his best. However, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t really in the mood of taking someone in. Until Liu Qingge spoke behind him and pointed over to the boy, Shen Qingqiu was eyeing too.
“This one seems probably the best and formidable out of the bunch.” Yue Qingyuan turned to him.
“Would Liu-shidi like to take him in?” The Sect leader asked, still smiling.
“Bah, if he wants to, he will come to the gates of Bai Zhan peak.” Shen Qingqiu only rolled his eyes.
“I’ll take him.” Shen Qingqiu proceeded to say and slowly passed the other kids to the boy who didn’t stop working until Shen Qingqiu towered over him, an air of cold elegance around him. He lifted the boy's dirty chin with the fan, just scanning him with a neutral expression.
“Come, from now on you belong under Qing Jing peak.” The boy was dumbfounded at first but then quickly clasped his hands together and ducked his head. By the time he did all that, Shen Qingqiu had already turned away from him and walked back to the other gathered Peak lords.
“I think I have enough to work with.” Shen Qingqiu said and bid his farewell to everybody, leading the boy to his own Peak. The child behind him just silently followed him and didn’t talk unless asked something.
Good at least he didn’t pick any of the whiny ones.
“What is your name?” Shen Qingqiu stopped, so the boy could catch up with him.
“Ah, uh, Luo Binghe.” The boy ducked his head once again, bowing with his body. Shen Qingqiu acknowledged that with a nod. Together they walked onto his Peak and were surprised by an excited Ning Yingying.
“Did Shizun bring me a new shidi?” She asked him all excited and the man softly smiled at her, gently patting her in the hair. She was his favorite after all and he absolutely adored her and with that, he gave her an unfair advantage whenever she did something wrong. Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t really punish her. Just lightly scold her.
“Yes, bring Ming Fan and tell him to take care of him. By the evening I want to have my tea prepared.”
“Of course, Shizun!” She smiled at him brightly and took Luo Binghe’s thin wrist. “Come, shixiong is in the kitchen right now. What is your name?” She literally dragged the boy away with enthusiasm and Shen Qingqiu chuckled before he could answer her.
Shen Qingqiu walked into the bamboo house and sighed. He really didn’t want to take anyone new in but Liu Qingge saying that he had some potential made him act on autopilot, a poor decision really. He was annoyed, he didn’t want to see yet another Bai Zhan brute, so snatching him away from Liu Qingge was possibly the best option, right?
Shen Qingqiu scratched his head and proceeded to sit down by the low table. He put the fan down and looked around. He was pretty much finished with his own reports, for now, so maybe he could indulge himself with some poetry for the time being?