Capítulo 9: Everybody's Least Favourite Peak Lords
This is it. I'm going to die.
Yang Qinghui watched, frozen, as a sword swung in a deadly arc towards her neck. Her vision swam. Two images seemed to blend together: Yang Qinghui's memories, and the current moment. In both, she was about to die.
She shut her eyes, able to do that much, and braced herself.
CLANG!
A deafening ring of steel on steel sounded an inch from her face. Recoiling, her eyes snapped open. Pain erupted across her arm, but her neck was untouched.
Someone darted between her and Liu Qingge – she caught a glimpse of green-and-white robes and silky black hair.
She heard Liu Qingge snarl. Her vision was spotty, and she sank to her knees, barely stopping herself from face-planting on the rocks.
"Ugh…" she groaned, pressing a hand to her face.
The System was uselessly flashing warnings, but over its urgent alarm, Yang Qinghui could hear the clash of swords and Liu Qingge's outraged yelling.
Shaking her head, she strained her eyes, trying to focus away the fuzziness. A few feet away, Liu Qingge and the cultivator were duelling. As Yang Qinghui watched, Liu Qingge's sword was knocked out of his hand and clattered to the ground.
His opponent raised their hand, summoning qi.
"No…"
She'd seen this before.
"NO!" Yang Qinghui yelled, desperately throwing herself forward.
They were too far – she'd never make it.
"STOP!" Desperation cracked her voice, but the cultivator slammed their palm into Liu Qingge's chest.
A wave of energy surged out in every direction, knocking Yang Qinghui backwards. She stared as Liu Qingge's eyes rolled back into his head and he toppled to the ground.
He didn't move.
A strangled scream escaped Yang Qinghui's throat.
She dragged herself the last couple feet across the rocks, to Liu Qingge. She pressed a hand to his neck, holding her breath.
There! A faint, unsteady pulse hummed through her fingers.
He's alive. Relief surged through her. She sat back on her heels with a sigh. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to steady her breathing.
This memory shit is really becoming a nuisance.
Fabric rustled next to her, and she opened her eyes – her vision clear now – to see the cultivator looking down at Liu Qingge.
Shen Qingqiu
Qing Jing Peak Lord
Yang Qinghui stared. Shen Qingqiu was here? The Shen Qingqiu? A few strands of his silky black hair were falling out of their tied-back style after the scuffle just now, and his delicately woven robes were tugged slightly out of place. Yet, still, he had an elegant look about him.
At least until he opened his mouth.
"Oh, God, you don't think I accidentally killed him, do you?" he cried, dropping to the ground and poking Liu Qingge's arm. "I've never tried to cure a qi deviation before."
Yang Qinghui frowned at him.
He didn't seem to match his reputation at all. In Proud Immortal Demon Way, he'd been a nasty, resentful, malicious abuser. Now, he hugged his knees to his chest, biting his thumbnail as he studied Liu Qingge nervously.
"…It's alright, he's alive," Yang Qinghui assured him, still wary.
"He is?" Looking at her, Shen Qingqiu let out a relieved breath. "Oh, thank God. I hope it worked."
Yang Qinghui looked back at Liu Qingge. So he was qi deviating? Wait. Didn't he die in the Ling Xi Caves?
She tried to recall the events of Proud Immortal Demon Way.
Wasn't it mentioned that Shen Qingqiu killed him? He took advantage of him while he was training.
Yang Qinghui narrowed her eyes at Shen Qingqiu. He still looked worried.
"You seem… kind of different," she said, trying to gauge his reaction.
Looking up, Shen Qingqiu laughed nervously. "Uh, well… I've kind of lost most of my memories."
Yang Qinghui frowned. "I didn't realize your illness was that serious."
Shen Qingqiu shook his head "It wasn't too bad – I'm fine physically. Plus, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching since then, and I've realized… I've been a pretty horrible person."
Huh. This never happened in Proud Immortal Demon Way. Did I do something to change the timeline? Sudden worry gnawed at her gut.
"I want to redeem myself," Shen Qingqiu continued, "especially with one of my disciples, who I've treated so…" He shook his head, shame apparent.
Although… Yang Qinghui mused, maybe this is a good thing. If Shen Qingqiu is repenting, then he'll stop abusing Luo Binghe.
Yang Qinghui nodded slowly. "I get it."
"You do?"
"I haven't exactly been a model master to my disciples," Yang Qinghui admitted. "Actually, I've been pretty shitty. But I've realized that now, so I'm going to do better."
A smile spread across Shen Qingqiu's face. "Well, best of luck to you. I'm sure it'll be difficult for both of us to get past the reputations we've built up," he says with a humourless chuckle.
Yang Qinghui snorts. "Yeah. I guess we're everybody's least favourite Peak Lords, huh?" She held up a hand. "High five, man."
Shen Qingqiu stared. Too late, Yang Qinghui realized her mistake. She dropped her hand.
"'High five'?" Shen Qingqiu repeated, eyes widening.
"Ah! Uh, I mean…" Yang Qinghui scrambled for a cover-up.
With a gasp, Shen Qingqiu leaned forward earnestly. "Did you transmigrate here, too?"
"No, no, I – Wait. What?"
"You read Proud Immortal Demon Way too, right? And then you woke up here?"
"Yes! You did too?"
"Yes!"
Cheering wildly, they threw their arms around each other.
"Oh, I'm so glad I'm not alone!" Yang Qinghui cried, patting Shen Qingqiu's back.
"So am I!" Shen Qingqiu drew back, grinning giddily. "How long have you been here?"
"Uh… about forty days, maybe?"
"That's when I got here!"
"No way! Was it right after you read the last chapter of Proud Immortal Demon Way?"
"Yeah!" Shen Qingqiu wrinkled his nose in distaste. "What a shitty ending."
"Right?" Yang Qinghui laughed.
"Hang on, we must have met each other in the comments. What's your username?"
"I'm 'Banana Fritter Breakfast'."
Shen Qingqiu pressed a hand to his mouth. "I'm 'Peerless Cucumber'!"
Yang Qinghui gasped. "Cucumber-bro!"
"Banana-jie!"
They let out boisterous laughter, and high-fived enthusiastically, their hands stinging afterwards.
Together, the two of them had probably been Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky's biggest haters – and most dedicated readers. They weren't always in agreement: some of their debates had been damn near scholarly, and had lasted several days. But in the end, they were good friends.
Wiping the laughter tears from her eyes, Yang Qinghui sighed. "So how'd you end up here, anyway?"
Shen Qingqiu winced. "Choked to death on a steamed bun."
"Oooof…"
"You?"
"Fell and hit my head." Yang Qinghui tapped the back of her skull. "Hurt like hell."
"Eeesh." Shen Qingqiu made a sympathetic face.
"By the way, you've unlocked the OOC function, right?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded. "A couple weeks ago, before I came here."
"So you're treating Luo Binghe better?"
"Of course. The original guy was so horrible to him, it was a nightmare to even pretend."
"I hear ya. The original Yang Qinghui was a real piece of work. But, hey, we get to fix that now." They shared a smile. "Although, we should be careful with the disciples."
"How d'you mean?"
"Well, suddenly doing a complete one-eighty in terms of how we treat them could have some pretty detrimental effects on their psychological state. Especially if they're already vulnerable from abuse or neglect."
"…Huh?"
"Well, take Luo Binghe as an example. I don't know what his mental state is like, but he's bound to be in a somewhat fragile state after all the trauma he's been through, right? So if the guy who's been abusing him for years all of a sudden becomes nice…"
"He might get confused?" Shen Qingqiu guessed.
"Exactly. He could end up with a seriously messed-up moral compass. I was a psych major for two years," Yang Qinghui added, by way of explanation.
"Ohhh, I see. That's handy." Shen Qingqiu nodded. "So you think we should… What do you think we should do?"
Yang Qinghui considered it, but as soon as she opened her mouth to reply, her System screen appeared.
"Optional side-quest available: Befriend Luo Binghe. Do you accept the quest?"
"Befriend Luo Binghe?" Yang Qinghui repeated. "What does that mean?"
"'Befriend Luo Binghe' Side Quest requirements: reach affection level of 100 points with protagonist Luo Binghe. Time limit: six months."
Yang Qinghui met Shen Qingqiu's eyes. "What do you think?"
Withdrawing a wood-and-paper fan from his belt, Shen Qingqiu snapped it open and fanned himself slowly, thinking.
"Well, you're the psychologist," he said after a minute. "Knowing Luo Binghe better would help us prevent anything – " he shuddered – "too horrible happening."
"Oh, right…" With distaste, Yang Qinghui remembered the original Shen Qingqiu's fate: limbless, tongueless, and stuck in a pickle pot. "Yeah, good point. I don't know what happened to the original Yang Qinghui, but I doubt it was early retirement." She looked back at the System screen. "Does every character have an affection rating?"
"Affirmative."
"Is 100 points a lot?"
"That depends."
"Then what's my affection level with… I don't know… Lu Ying?"
"Lu Ying's affection level: 360 points."
"Uh-huh. And Zhuang Hao?"
"Zhuang Hao's affection level: 25 points."
Yang Qinghui winced. "Alright, I'll accept the quest."
"Side quest activated: Befriend Luo Binghe. Current affection level: 5 points."
"Hey, five points already, that's good."
Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan closed. "Oh! I just remembered – you and Liu-shidi are having a poetry contest soon, right?"
Yang Qinghui nodded. "In four weeks exactly."
They both glanced at Liu Qingge. He was still sprawled on the ground, but his chest rose and fell evenly.
"Are you going to the banquet?" Yang Qinghui asked.
"Oh, no – I've only just arrived here. I think I'll meditate for few months. But three disciples per Peak are invited, right? Why don't you bring Luo Binghe to the banquet? You could try and befriend him there."
"That's actually a great idea," Yang Qinghui agreed. "Just promise to stay aloof until I can get a sense of his mental state and talk to you, alright? Remember, he wasn't very well-adjusted in Proud Immortal Demon Way."
Shen Qingqiu snorted. "That's for sure."
"Ugh…" Liu Qingge groaned.
Their eyes snapped to the other Peak Lord, who twitched and scrunched his eyes against the sunlight. Moving quickly, Yang Qinghui slid an arm under his shoulders and hoisted him up, propping him into a sitting position with his back against the cave wall. Shen Qingqiu knelt on Liu Qingge's other side, fanning him lightly.
Two System screens popped up.
"Congratulations on changing the storyline," Shen Qingqiu's System and Yang Qinghui's System said in tandem. "200 B-points obtained."
"Oh, that's a relief." Shen Qingqiu's shoulders slumped with a sigh.
Yang Qinghui whistled. "200 B-points? Nice."
Liu Qingge groaned again. Yang Qinghui studied him in concern, feeling his forehead with the back of her hand. His skin was warm and sweaty, but he wasn't burning up.
"Hey, xiongdi," she said gently. "How are you feeling?"
Liu Qingge dragged a hand over his face and blinked. He stared around the room for a moment, until his gaze landed on Shen Qingqiu. His eyes widened.
"You – !" He dissolved into coughing, blood spilling out of his mouth.
"Ah, be careful, shidi!" Shen Qingqiu exclaimed, taking a handkerchief from his sleeve. Gently, he dabbed at the blood on Liu Qingge's lips. "Don't get agitated."
Liu Qingge seemed frozen, staring incredulously at Shen Qingqiu, who tilted his head thoughtfully.
"Huh. Your face is strangely cute," he said, half to himself.
Yang Qinghui stifled a snort.
"Wha – How dare you?!" Liu Qingge knocked Shen Qingqiu's hand away.
"Sorry, sorry!" Shen Qingqiu held his hands up in surrender.
"What happened?" Liu Qingge demanded Yang Qinghui.
"You were suffering from qi deviation and attacked me," Yang Qinghui explained. "Luckily, Shen-shixiong happened to be meditating here, too, and saved both of us."
"You did?" Liu Qingge frowned, studying Shen Qingqiu. "Why?"
"Well, shidi… " Shen Qingqiu exchanged a glance with Yang Qinghui, then explained: "I've been meditating, and I've realized that my actions in the past were wrong." Some genuine emotion filtered through his words, and he cast his eyes downwards. "I'm ashamed of what I've done."
Liu Qingge was struck speechless.
"Could we put it all behind us, shidi?" Shen Qingqiu pleaded. "Let's work together – you, me, and Yang-shimei – and all set a better example for our sect."
"Y… Are you serious?" Liu Qingge looked between Yang Qinghui and Shen Qingqiu, baffled.
"Absolutely!" Shen Qingqiu exclaimed with a bright smile. "I couldn't be more serious!"
"I agree with Shen-shixiong," Yang Qinghui said with a shrug. "We should all be friends."
"What do you say, shidi?" Shen Qingqiu asked, setting a hand on Liu Qingge's shoulder.
In response, Liu Qingge coughed up more blood.
Shen Qingqiu reached over with his handkerchief, but Liu Qingge roughly shoved him away, and he fell over with a yelp.
"Leave me alone!" Liu Qingge shouted through his coughing.
"Hey! Don't push him around," Yang Qinghui scolded. "He saved your life."
"It's okay," Shen Qingqiu said from the ground with a sigh.. "I understand. Naturally, after everything that's happened, you'll be slow to trust me." He got to his feet, brushing the dust off his robes. "That's alright – we can become friends over time."
"Get lost!" Liu Qingge shouted, grabbing a rock from the ground and hurling it at Shen Qingqiu
"Ack!" Shen Qingqiu ducked. "Alright, alright!" He dashed to the cave entrance, pausing to call over his shoulder, "Recover soon, shidi! And, shimei, please get your arm treated!"
"Oh, right." Yang Qinghui looked down at her left arm, the sleeve stained in blood. She'd forgotten about that wound entirely – it didn't even sting.
Another rock clattered into the wall beside Shen Qingqiu's head and he made a timely exit.
As soon as he had disappeared, Liu Qingge twisted around to look at Yang Qinghui. "Did I go insane from the qi deviation?"
A laugh burst out of Yang Qinghui, but she quickly stifled it. "No, no, you're fine. Shen Qingqiu did actually save you."
Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes. "He must want something. Now I owe him a favour – he's bound to call it in soon. No, actually, he'll probably drag it out, just to torture me."
"Or," Yang Qinghui interjected, "maybe he really has changed."
Liu Qingge snorted. "We'll see."
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