Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A murky black room, filled with the rotten smell and the taste of blood, Shen QingQiu was the only resident. He had long forgotten how it felt like to have arms and legs. Occasionally in this quiet, empty room, droplets could be heard falling down to a small puddle below. Droplets of blood from the wounds that kept getting pried open. One of his eyes, too, had been long gone.

Maybe Luo BingHe kept one of his eyes so Shen QingQiu could see the utmost enjoyment Luo Binghe has when tormenting him or the scornful eyes he has specifically use only for Shen QingQiu. Like as if driving Shen QingQiu to die from intense, utmost anger is Luo BingHe's source of joy.

Cultivators don't need to eat, Luo BingHe knows this fact well. He also took great joy in tormenting Shen QingQiu with this too.

Being in this room for so long had made Shen QingQiu think about many things, realized a couple of things as well. If only in the past, he had paid a bit more attention to that little demon scum, actually teach and raise him, maybe he wouldn't have ended up this way. Maybe if he had tricked and used him, he could even have this whole world inside the palm of his hands?

His selfishness along with his intense envy towards that little shit sure isn't small but if he had known that same little shit were to grow into a powerful demon lord that could destroy the whole world, what if he could have tricked that shit to listen to him, to blindingly follow him, know nothing but him?

These are just wishful thinking, of course, he couldn't help but laugh at himself too. He had lost to Luo BingHe in the most shameful way, lost his own dignity in the most shameful way, lost his sect in the most shameful way, now he dared to even think about 'what if's? At times like these, he could think about how he could have used Luo BingHe? How ridiculous. Being tortured and tormented had probably driven him mad.

"Shen QingQiu, I've come to visit."

Shen QingQiu didn't need his introduction to know it's Luo BingHe that walked in.

The demon lord slowly approached where he sat yet strangely didn't kick him down, didn't pull on his hair and raised him off the floor, didn't even put his finger in Shen QingQiu's mouth to pull on the already chopped off tongue, making it bleed out again. Only looked at him from above.

"Why did you treat me like that?"

Shen QingQiu couldn't help but huff out a smirk. He's the only being chopped off all limbs, continuously getting those wounds pried open, sitting in his own pool of blood and Luo BingHe is there, asking him about how Shen QingQiu treated him?

"Couldn't you have been a little kinder to me?"

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eye. He had never known the concept of "kindness", had never known the concept of being "kind" to a mixed demonic blood shithead like Luo BingHe.

"Seeing your rotting body had gotten me bored. Tomorrow there will be a demon medic come to deal with your wounds"

Then he just left. What kind of thing had gotten into his bastard's head this time? Is he setting up some kind of stupid trap? Torture and ripping his body parts now he wants to fix it? For what? So he can rip them apart again?

When the next day arrived, there really was a demon medic who came to treat his wound, his tongue first. Shen QingQiu was on high defense. When the demon opened his mouth and put its hand in, he bit down on it. Hard.

The demon screamed loudly, its voice echoed around the already echo-y room to the point that Shen QingQiu's ears were starting to hurt. Suddenly, his whole body found itself in immense pain from the inside and out yet he was unable to move. Luo BingHe just silently watch them from afar, ignoring the glare Shen QingQiu sent his way.

After its hand was let go, the demon was still forced to do its job. Its hand warily got in Shen QuingQiu's mouth again. Shen QingQiu's whole body was controlled by demon blood, even if he wanted to move, he couldn't. The demon finally could do what it needed to do.

A while after, Shen QingQiu could feel his tongue again. The weight of it on his mouth felt almost foreign. Even though it still hurts incredibly when he spoke, he at least could say a couple of things other than groaning out pitiful "Ah.. Ah.."

A couple of days later, another demon came with two legs to attach to him. Then a couple of days after came the arm.

Though because his tongue and legs were attached to the body using demonic energy, slowly killing off the spiritual one inside of him, they could only put one arm on him to slow down the energy damage.

A few days later, a cultivator was caught to give him more spiritual energy to balance out the demonic one that flows inside of him.

Shen QingQiu couldn't help but want to throw up at Luo BingHe's action. He felt disgusted yet still unsure what this demon shit's intentions were.

Occasionally Luo BingHe would use Xiu Mo sword to come and peak at what other 'Luo BingHe' and other 'Shen QingQiu' was up to. The more he looked, the more he yearned.

He is unsure whether it was because he rarely receives affection that he throws himself at every single girl that was nice to him and let them stay under his wings. He is unsure whether because he wanted to also be able to love someone so intensely that he would be willing to sacrifice for them and for them to reciprocate that make his heart hurt so much when looking at the couple with the same face as him and the scum that was once his teacher.

He faintly thought is it because Shen QingQiu also buried some kind of animus, resentment or inner pain that had turned a man into such a scumbag. He wondered if he could mend the man's humanity like how he could mend his body back together.

If he tried to be his best for him, would he also become like the other 'Shen QingQiu'?

Luo BingHe came to visit his prisoner again today. He planned to finish what he left off and give Shen QingQiu another arm once the energies are in harmony then move him to a better, cleaner room.

But when he got there, the cultivator was killed, Shen QingQiu had the cultivator's sword stabbed through his heart. A murder-suicide.

Luo BingHe looked at the mess in front of him yet unable to feel any surprise. He should have known those thoughts he had were way too innocent, way too idiotic. A human waste like Shen QingQiu, no matter how many times he mends him together, no, no matter how many time that man dies, he would always be a Scum.

In the infinite 'Luo BingHe' that exist, there is only one lucky one with that kind 'Shen QingQiu'. Life sure is unfair.

Shen QingQiu arrived at a river of fate, the river which flows into random paths, letting whoever floats on it towards where their soul wanted to be, whether it was to be reborn to redo their wrongs or move on to a whole new one. He had no idea where he wanted to go, where he wanted to be, what he wanted to do, he just closed his eyes and let the water decides.

When he opened his eyes, he had a crippling fear it would be once again a black, murky room that stinks of blood but what he saw was anything but that. The view and the smell was something he had soon forgotten or, more accurately, had no reason to remember anymore.

He was lying on a bed, a pillow and blanket were all neatly there. Outside there were gently sounds of leaves moving back forth, touching each other because of a small breeze that went by. He was back at Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, Qing Jing Peak.

He looked down at himself, he was wearing clean white clothes that he always used to wear before being captured, the outer green robe was neatly folded at the end of the bed, a paper fan is next to his pillow. Everything was how it used to be.

He slowly tried to move his limbs. His legs along with his right arm seem to be alright, a bit difficult to control but they were at least moving, unlike his left arm, which couldn't even budge. With closer inspection, it even seems a bit more bluish compared to everything else that's attached to him. His left eye is completely useless as well.

Gently, he tried sitting up. His right arm tried supporting his upper body but most of the work ended up relying on his back. With barely usable limbs and a slow, somewhat heavy body, it seemed like the injuries are all still very much present along with his own lack of movement in the last couple of years being trapped in Luo BingHe's place.

He slowly rubbed his neck, the place where Luo BingHe loves to poke in to pull out every piece of his tongue that was left inside then recently got a demon medic to mend it back. If all the injuries are present, it meant that the demon energy that needed to keep these body parts attached and usable must still be inside of him too.

With that in mind, he twirled his hand and fingers around to get used to it before picking up a brush and a paper, writing down a simple note that read: "I'll be Cultivating in seclusion." before slowly heading to the spirit caves.

Staying in one of the cave for more than two years, if he was being completely honest, a lot of his 'cultivating' was practicing walking and doing basic fighting moves then meditate to help spiritual energy easily move across his body, not letting it fully succumbs to the demonic one.

There was a couple of times he wanted to try speaking but after only being able to here short "Goh.. Ah..." from himself, he was admittedly a bit traumatized that he'd hear that again. Plus he didn't know what he'd say anyway.

There were times that he tripped during exercising or lost balance because of his 'new' legs though pain was something he's so used to feeling that he just crawled back up and continue.

Through time his body slowly become more flexible and easier to control, the only thing that he couldn't do much with was his left arm. He couldn't budge it, couldn't even feel anything when he touched it. There were many times he thought of cutting it clean off but decided not to in the end.

When he finally came out of seclusion, his spiritual power was more powerful than it has ever been. In his past life, after he had gotten the Peak Lord position, all he ever did was looked at attractive girls, taught his disciples and occasionally find joy in tormenting the creature that is Luo BingHe. No wonder he didn't go anywhere, his power was barely passable compared to his current state. The more he thought about his past life the more he wanted to slap himself in the face.

Because of his bad body condition, he made ten times the effort he ever did back in his past life, even without an arm and an eye, his speed, agility, and power were better than it had ever been. In addition, the demonic energy that flows within him needed to be controlled but not completely destroyed so it could maintain the body parts made his ability in energy controlling, both demonic and spiritual, are much better as well. He could almost control the demonic energy inside of him as well as his spiritual one.

If it was him in his past life, the mere idea of having demonic energy inside to maintain his body parts would be enough to drive him insane and cut off all his limbs, not to mention controlling and using it like what one would do with spiritual energy.

But now he isn't interested in being a useless junk. Shen QingQiu came back to this time with a mission, a goal to achieve. This time, he will slavish that little demonic Luo BingHe, covering the sky with one hand.