Archive of Our Own

As Luo Binghe stumbled back into his own palace, in his own world where everything made sense, he could not help glancing back, just for one last glimpse of that strange, kind version of his Shizun. But the portal was already closed before he could see anything more of that messed up world. 

He stormed back to his own bed chambers, ignoring the several wives and servants who tried to stop him and question what had just happened, and ask about that crybaby imposter. But Luo Binghe had no interest in explaining the situation to them, so he just continued charging straight ahead. He may not surround himself with the brightest people, but they were all at least smart enough to leave him alone when he was clearly in such a mood.

Or at least, he had assumed that they would all be smart enough. He was not expecting to get to his room and find someone waiting in the hall for him, as if gossip didn’t spread like a fire in this place. In his current mood, it took a moment for Luo Binghe to recognize the woman standing there. She’d joined the harem a few months back, but there was nothing of much interest about her. He could barely even recall how she’d caught his attention in the first place. 

She smiled when she saw him, despite the fact that he was surely emitting a terribly dark aura at the moment. “My lord,” she greeted politely, bowing to him with an appropriate level of respect. “I have a gift for you.”

“This lord is not in the mood,” he got out through gritted teeth. 

She did not back down. “Trust me, this is something you will want.” 

Luo Binghe reached past her to push open the door to his room, but did not stop her from following him in. If anything, at least this might provide some kind of distraction to make up for how strangely hollow, and yet too heavy, he felt inside right now. “What is it?” he demanded, once he’d shrugged off his outer coat and dropped it carelessly onto the floor.

She approached with no fear, which was fair considering that everyone knew how far Luo Binghe would go for his wives; he would never do anything to harm them. Even when they started fights or caused trouble, he generally only needed to talk to them for them to fall back into line. 

She reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a plain little piece of bamboo. “This is a magical item, quite rare. If you make a wish, and then are able to break this branch in half, your wish will come true, no matter what it is.”

When she held it out, Luo Binghe snatched the branch from her, and turned it over his hands. “This lord cannot sense anything magical about it,” he told her with a frown.

She shrugged. “It is up to you whether you believe it or not. Just know that you will only get one single chance to make a wish. So make sure it is the right one.” 

Even if this silly little thing did somehow contain such powerful magic, “This lord has no need for any wishes.” He was at a point in his life where he had anything he could possibly desire.

“As my lord says,” she demurred, though there was a pointed look in her eyes that made it seem like she was far more aware of Luo Binghe’s thoughts than she should be. “As it is a gift, you may hold onto it until you deem fit, or throw it away, or give it to someone else.” Then she bowed again and took her leave without another word.

That night, Luo Binghe went to bed, and found himself seeking out Shen Qingqiu’s dreamscape without intending to. But of course, the Shen Qingqiu of this world was already long gone, and besides, had been such a bastard that Luo Binghe didn’t want anything to do with him anyways. His dreams ended up being dark, and empty. Despite having so many wives to call on, Luo Binghe found his thoughts constantly drifting back to that strangely kind Shizun. 

He woke up with one hand clutched around the delicate braid in his hair. Luo Binghe slowly got up and looked around, though of course nothing in his room had changed since the previous day. It was only Luo Binghe who felt different, and it was all the fault of that sickening couple.

Luo Binghe’s eyes were drawn to that piece of bamboo that he’d left lying on his desk. In the light of a fresh morning, it looked even less magical than before, if that was somehow possible. He snorted to himself at the thought of being able to get a wish. He knew that such a thing was impossible. Everything he’d ever wanted in this life, Luo Binghe had been forced to fight for, tooth and claw. A wish that could magically fix someone’s life was the kind of thing that children who had no other hope would rely on. Luo Binghe knew better than that.

Still, he found himself picking the branch up, and looking at it again. No matter how much he investigated, it never seemed to get any more magical, and he’d certainly never heard of such a powerful item before. If it could supposedly grant any wish, it would need to be able to potentially rewrite all of reality.

If only so that it wouldn’t keep lingering over him with the false hope promised by his wife, Luo Binghe decided to just throw it away. But he found himself gripping it with both hands instead. He thought of the soft affection shown to him for those few hours where his identity had been mistaken, and he thought of how that Shizun and that crybaby had clung to each other so tenderly, despite all of the bad memories between them. He thought of what he’d seen in Shen Qingqiu’s memories; about how that crybaby had not married anyone except that Shen Qingqiu, and yet somehow seemed more content than Luo Binghe had ever been.

Luo Binghe was too old and wise to the ways of the world to be foolish enough to think that something like ‘true love’ could ever be real. He had hundreds of wives proclaiming their love to him on any given day, and yet he knew that it was not real. Not in the way that it seemed to be between those two in that other world.

His lips moved before he could stop them, whispering out a wish that had always been pushed so deep down inside of himself that he’d never even dared to think it before, let alone say it aloud. “I wish that there was someone who would love me the most, more than anyone else in the entire world,” he whispered before snapping the branch in half with ease. Despite himself, he looked around as though he expected someone to teleport into his room. But of course nothing happened. The broken pieces in his hands were nothing more than garbage, given to him by someone who perhaps had kind intentions, or perhaps did not. Either way, it didn’t matter anymore.

Luo Binghe tossed the broken halves of bamboo aside, determined to move on with his life. What difference did it make to him if Shen Qingqiu and that crybaby were going to live happily ever after together? Luo Binghe had more money, power, land, and wives than anyone else could ever hope to have. He did not need anything else. He didn’t. 

,,,

Luo Binghe was fast asleep the next night when he felt the wards alert him of an intruder. He immediately jolted upright and out of bed while simultaneously summoning Xin Mo into his hand. He ignored the faint sense of intrigue he could feel from Meng Mo at the thought of someone being able to get past Luo Binghe’s wards.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked around the dark room suspiciously, unable to immediately notice anything amiss. Even with his years of training, plus heightened senses from his demonic heritage, he still found himself taken aback when someone peeled themself out of the most shadowed corner of the room.

Luo Binghe’s grip around Xin Mo tightened, and he could feel the sword calling for blood as he stared into a set of dark eyes that he had once plucked from that all-too familiar face. “Shen Qingqiu-” he started, wondering what kind of nightmare this was that his dead abuser could somehow be back and in one piece.

But the man in front of him looked much more composed than the corpse that Luo Binghe had last laid eyes upon. He was wearing one of his typical outfits, his hair was done up in a neat little crown, and there was no signs of the years of torture Luo Binghe had put him through. 

The man moved forward with his typical graceful gate. “Binghe,” he said. And just that one word, that one little utterance of his name, and Luo Binghe knew without a doubt that this was not the evil Shen Qingqiu of his own world, but rather the kind one from that crybaby’s world. 

Luo Binghe narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here?” Hadn’t he already done enough, rejecting Luo Binghe despite him having so much more to offer than that imposter did? 

“I’m sorry.”

Luo Binghe stared at the man in shock, unsure if he’d even heard that correctly. He knew from everything he’d seen in this man’s memories that he really was terribly different from the version Luo Binghe had known growing up, but that didn’t make it any less strange to hear words that he had never thought would be uttered from those lips. “What?”

Shen Qingqiu took a few steps closer, and he looked at Luo Binghe with those dark, intense eyes. “I’m sorry. The way I treated you before- it wasn’t fair of me. In the end, you are still a Luo Binghe, even if you are not technically the one that I married.”

“So you came all this way, traveled between worlds, just to apologize?” Luo Binghe asked in disbelief.

One corner of Shen Qingqiu’s mouth quirked up in a faint smile before he pulled out a fan and snapped it open, covering the little expression. “No. I came here because-” he cut himself off for a moment, eyebrows trembling slightly before his expression smoothed out and he continued. “Ever since your arrival in our world, things have been… less than ideal.”

Luo Binghe lowered Xin Mo, but did not make any moves closer to Shen Qingqiu. “In what way?”

Shen Qingqiu sighed. “My husband’s behavior has become unpredictable. He blames me for not being able to notice that you were a different person. He accuses me of infidelity. He keeps a constant eye on me out of fear that I will realize the truth.”

“The truth?” Luo Binghe prompted when Shen Qingqiu did not immediately continue.

“He’s so afraid that I would notice that between the two of you… you are the one who is superior.”

Of course Luo Binghe also believed that to be true, but to hear it stated so plainly out loud, by the person who’d been so enamored with that crybaby before… It felt strange. Wrong, almost. Was Shen Qingqiu’s loyalty really that fickle? “I’m surprised to hear you admit that,” he finally said after too long of a pause. 

As Shen Qingqiu took another step closer, Luo Binghe glanced away, and his eyes landed on the discarded pieces of bamboo on the floor. He opened his mouth to say something about it, but Shen Qingqiu spoke first. “You’re the one I always cheered for,” he said earnestly. “You’re the version of Luo Binghe that I read about and admired so much. You’re the Luo Binghe. You’re the one who suffered through so many trials to come out a stronger man, you’re the one who won over hundreds of ladies, you’re the one who’s taken what you deserved and gotten ten fold revenge against those who wronged you. You are the Binghe I’ve always pictured.”

The more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he sounded, and Luo Binghe could not help loosening his grip on Xin Mo entirely, and had to sheathe the blade before it could fall to the floor. “You really feel that way?” he asked in a small voice that was not befitting an all-powerful demon lord. He just didn’t know what he would do if this was all just some elaborate joke or trick of some kind. 

Shen Qingqiu lowered his fan so that Luo Binghe could see his full face, to read the determination written across it. “Yes,” he said firmly, so that there could be no mistaking his meaning. Then he added, “I’ve actually felt this way for a while, after realizing how my Binghe was a lot softer than he was supposed to be. But I didn’t know that there was an alternative. I didn’t know that the real version of you was out there somewhere. But now that I know… I want to be here.”

Luo Binghe crossed his arms over his chest. “You made it quite clear before that you had absolutely no interest in me. Not when that crybaby imposter was there.”

A shuddered look crossed Shen Qingqiu’s face for a moment, before a look of realization came over him. “I was just confused, before. I’d found out that a stranger had snuck into my bed under false pretenses. Anyone would be alarmed.” 

Personally, Luo Binghe had been in far too many situations where he’d woken up with strangers in his bed for him to find the prospect all that alarming. But he supposed that for a weaker being, he could understand where one might sense danger in that kind of circumstance. “And now you’ve come here. To stay,” Luo Binghe said, still expecting this whole thing to be pulled out from underneath him like a stolen rug. If he wasn’t such an expert on dreamscapes, he would think that he must surely be dreaming right now for this to be happening.

Shen Qingqiu nodded. “Yes, I want to stay here with you. If you’ll have me.” 

Luo Binghe gave the man a long look. “Fine. You may stay,” he graciously declared.

The way that Shen Qingqiu smiled softly up at him filled Luo Binghe’s stomach with warmth in a way that he could not recall truly feeling since back when his poor washer-woman mother had still been alive. 

Even with that resolution, Luo Binghe didn’t expect Shen Qingqiu to practically throw himself towards Luo Binghe, wrapping his arms around the back of Luo Binghe’s neck so that he could tug him down into a kiss. Luo Binghe had kissed many, many, many people in his life, and this was just like any of those times. Some small part of him couldn’t help feeling almost disappointed, like he’d expected it to be different if it was with this kind version of Shizun. But in the end, a kiss was a kiss, and Luo Binghe could still enjoy it for who it was with, regardless of whether it felt like anything special. 

His eyes were closed and he found himself pressing closer to Shen Qingqiu, greedily running his hands everywhere within reach, now that he had permission to do so. Luo Binghe did not expect for solid hands to press against his chest and abruptly shove him back- spiritual energy laced in the action enough to actually make Luo Binghe move back slightly.

Luo Binghe’s eyes snapped open, and he stared down in alarm at Shen Qingqiu, who was standing there with wide eyes wildly looking around everywhere. “What the fuck?” he gasped out, somehow the curse sounding more foreign from his mouth than anything else he’d said before. “What the actual fuck am I-?”

Ice started creeping into Luo Binghe’s heart as he realized that he’d been right to think that this was too good to be true- this had all just been some kind of set up and Shen Qingqiu wasn’t really-

Before the thoughts could spiral too far out of his control, Shen Qingqiu abruptly got control of his own features again, and he let out a sheepish little laugh. “Aha, I’m sorry about that, Binghe. I think I just got a little overwhelmed. Maybe we’re moving a little too fast.”

Luo Binghe stared at Shen Qingqiu, who was looking back at him calmly. “You- do you want to leave?”

Shen Qingqiu immediately shook his head. “No! I want to stay here with you.” He reached out to grab hold of one of Luo Binghe’s sleeves, clinging to it with the kind of cutesy expression that Luo Binghe might have expected to see on Ning Yingying’s face, but never on this man’s. Either version of him. “Are you going to force me to leave? Just the thought of having to go back there, to him- it makes me sick.” 

“No, you can stay,” Luo Binghe said, waiting cautiously for any further outbursts. “I’ll have a servant prepare a room for you.”

Shen Qingqiu furrowed his eyebrows. “I can’t stay with you?”

Luo Binghe blinked once. “I thought you said-”

Shen Qingqiu cut him off with a soft laugh. “Just to sleep, silly!” 

Thinking back, Luo Binghe couldn’t recall a single time where any of his wives had wanted to spend the night with him just to sleep. He felt that warmness building in the pit of his stomach again, and he nodded before he could overthink it. “Of course.” He led Shen Qingqiu over to the bed.

Shen Qingqiu started to pull off his robes, then paused and let out another sheepish laugh. “I was in such a hurry to come here that I didn’t bother to pack anything.”

A frisson of unease ran down Luo Binghe’s spine, but it was quickly replaced with smug satisfaction at the thought that Shen Qingqiu had been so eager to come here, to be with the real Luo Binghe. “I’ll make sure you get whatever you need,” Luo Binghe promised. “In the meanwhile, you can borrow some spare robes from me.”

He grabbed an extra set from the cupboard, and then watched as Shen Qingqiu shamelessly stripped down right in the middle of the room, completely visible even in the dark thanks to Luo Binghe’s Heavenly Demon eyes. He left his entire outfit, including his inner robes, in a wrinkled pile on the floor, then reached out to accept Luo Binghe’s offered robes, pulling it on but not bothering to tie it shut tightly before climbing into bed.

From everything he’d previously seen of this man’s memories, Luo Binghe was amazed that Shen Qingqiu’s normally thin face didn’t burst into flames at such behavior. Maybe he just hadn’t felt comfortable being intimate with that imposter. When Shen Qingqiu wriggled closer under the blanket so that his head could rest on Luo Binghe’s chest, Luo Binghe found himself unwilling to question it further. Satisfied enough with the answer he’d provided for himself, Luo Binghe allowed himself to fall back asleep.

He searched for Shen Qingqiu’s dreamscape, but despite being as physically close as they were now, he found it strangely difficult to enter. Still, Luo Binghe was the last of the Heavenly Demons and had been training under Meng Mo for years, so he was able to eventually push his way through.

Inside Shen Qingqiu’s dreamscape, things were strange. There was a thick black, shadowy miasma that was clinging to the edges of everything, including the floor, and it felt like Luo Binghe was trudging through a pit of mud to make it to the center of the small room, where there was a figure lying motionless on a raised bed.

Luo Binghe stared down at the unfamiliar young man lying there, who had his eyes wide open and was staring blankly up at the barely defined ceiling. Though most people dreamt about themselves, not everyone did, so it wasn’t entirely unusual to find a person’s dreamscape without them noticeably in it. But Luo Binghe had no idea who the man lying there was supposed to be. Someone from Shen Qingqiu’s colorful past? Or an entirely made up figure?

The way he was lying there, motionless aside from the rise and fall of his chest, was somewhat unnerving even to someone with as hardy a constitution as Luo Binghe. Or perhaps it was just their surroundings that made this feel so off. 

Luo Binghe leaned far enough over the bed that his hair dangled down and brushed across the stranger’s chest, but he still did not react in any way to Luo Binghe’s presence. Luo Binghe reached out, ready to shake the man out of his daze, but as soon as he laid his hand on the other man’s shoulder, the man opened his mouth and started screaming.

The sudden sound from the otherwise quiet room startled Luo Binghe enough that he not only fell out of Shen Qingqiu’s dreamscape, but ended up waking himself up as well. As soon as he was awake, he felt eyes on him, and he turned his head slightly to see Shen Qingqiu staring up at him from where his head was resting on Luo Binghe’s stomach. “Did I wake you?” Luo Binghe asked after taking a moment to calm down from that disturbing dream. 

Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “It’s hard to sleep in a new place. But watching you is… soothing.” 

Without thinking, Luo Binghe wrapped his arm around Shen Qingqiu and pulled him a little closer to him. “I can help you sleep,” he suggested.

Shen Qingqiu scrunched his nose in an utterly endearing expression that Luo Binghe had never seen on him before. “Thank you, but that’s alright. I’ve never been a fan of taking anything to sleep, I’m more of a ‘stay up until I crash’ kind of guy.” A mischievous grin lit up his face, and he sat up slightly so that he could reposition himself to be kneeling over Luo Binghe. “Although maybe there’s an easy way to tire me out…” 

Luo Binghe reached up to grab Shen Yuan by the waist. This was certainly something he could do to help.

,,,

As the next few days passed without any sign that this gift was going to be taken from him, Luo Binghe couldn’t help relaxing, and feeling happier than he could recall in a long time. Shen Qingqiu was not perfect, but he seemed to fit into Luo Binghe’s life here without trouble. 

He accompanied Luo Binghe to listen to petitions from the common people, and offered good advice on how to resolve some of the situations that came from conflicts between humans and demons. He was a strong enough cultivator to be able to spar with Luo Binghe, and even offered some pointers, proving how much better of a teacher he was than the Shen Qingqiu that Luo Binghe had known in this life. And of course the nights they spent together were passionate and fun, even for someone as experienced as Luo Binghe. 

When Luo Binghe cooked for Shen Qingqiu for the first time, Shen Qingqiu’s whole face lit up. “Oh, I missed this!” But even with as excited as he looked, he made sure to carefully put all of the best looking pieces into Luo Binghe’s bowl before he would take anything for himself, and it made Luo Binghe feel warm. In fact, Luo Binghe was starting to wonder if that warm feeling would ever fade away around Shen Qingqiu. He certainly hoped that it would not.

There was a brief lull in their lunchtime conversation, when Shen Qingqiu curiously asked, “Are you happy, being an emperor?” 

“Of course,” Luo Binghe answered gruffly. 

Shen Qingqiu tilted his head. “There was never anything else you wanted to be?” 

Luo Binghe slowly set down his chopsticks, and gave Shen Qingqiu a long, searching look. But of course there was nothing but sincerity and genuine curiosity there. Luo Binghe took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. “You’ll think it’s silly.”

Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “I won’t, I promise.” He reached across the table to gently rest his hand on top of Luo Binghe’s. 

“When I was younger, I was taken in by a kind washer-woman. She was so good to me, but she struggled to get by, so sometimes I would help her with the laundry. I remember telling her that I wanted to grow up to be just like her.”

The smile on Shen Qingqiu’s face was sweet, and there was no hint of amusement in his eyes. “I think you would be amazing at anything you put your mind to, including washing laundry.” 

The moment was unfortunately interrupted by a servant entering the room, immediately bowing nervously when she saw the look on Luo Binghe’s face. “My lord, this lowly one greatly apologizes, but Lady Ning needs to speak with you.”

Though they had grown somewhat further apart over the years, Luo Binghe knew that he would always make time for his first and most loyal wife. She was the only one who had cared about him long before he was able to prove himself to have any worth, and he treasured his friendship with her, even if she was a constant reminder of the weak little beast he’d once been. 

Luo Binghe nodded to the servant. “Tell her I will see her.”

It was only when he went to take another quick bite of his lunch that he noticed the strange look on Shen Qingqiu’s face. “What is it? Are you nervous to meet Yingying? I can assure you that she will understand that you are not the scum who mistreated her in our youth. She is certainly bright enough.” 

The strange look only seemed to grow worse at that. “You really don’t mind her interrupting like this?”

“She would not ask if it were not something important. Perhaps it will even be something you could assist with,” Luo Binghe offered.

Shen Qingqiu frowned, and abruptly stood up. “What’s the point? Clearly you’d rather spend time with your wife than with me. It’s not as though I left behind my entire world and everyone I knew just to be here with you. What does any of it matter now, though?” His voice raised almost loudly enough to be considered a yell. “And here I thought we were having such a nice lunch!” 

He turned to walk away, so Luo Binghe hurried to stand as well, and quickly caught up, grabbing Shen Qingqiu by the arm. “I have many wives, all of whom are important to me. That doesn’t change-”

“You don’t even care about me,” Shen Qingqiu accused. “I love you, and you don’t even care-”

Luo Binghe couldn’t help cutting Shen Qingqiu off, something breathless in his voice as he asked, “You love me?”

“Well, it’s hard to remember why when you’re acting like this,” Shen Qingqiu responded grumpily before he added with an almost resigned sigh, “But yes, of course I love you. How could I not? You’re Luo Binghe.” 

Luo Binghe had heard more than a few love confessions in his life, but they had always come right after he’d saved someone’s life, or offered them a position in his harem that would provide them with wealth and food and a roof over their head, or they needed him to do a favor for them. No one had ever told him they love him, just for being himself. He couldn’t possibly have stopped himself from pushing Shen Qingqiu down to the floor at that moment, covering him in hungry kisses. Whatever Ning Yingying had wanted would just have to wait. 

,,,

Once again, Luo Binghe was met with that strange dreamscape when he sought out Shen Qingqiu, although the strange black blurriness of it seemed to be spreading more into the center of the room. He stomped over to the bed with the stranger lying eerily still. “Who are you, and why are you haunting Shizun?” he demanded to know, though of course there was no response. 

He hesitated before reaching out to touch the man, but steeled himself. He was a demon lord and ruler of the three realms; he was not scared of some stranger’s scream. This time, though, there was no response when Luo Binghe’s hand made contact with the other man. He gave an aggressive shove, but there was still no response.

He turned away, only for a spindly hand to abruptly shoot out and grab Luo Binghe by the wrist. He looked back, but the man was still just staring blankly up at the ceiling like before. Luo Binghe had Xin Mo in his hand in an instant, thanks to this being a dream, and he stared down at the strange man. He seemed to speak, although his mouth did not open at all this time. “Binghe… where’s my Binghe…” he murmured so quietly that any kind of noise would have made it difficult for even Luo Binghe to hear him.

Luo Binghe frowned and yanked his hand free. “Who’s your Binghe?” he bit out. When there was no response, he ended the dream.

When he woke up, it took a moment for him to realize that he was alone in his bed. Something that used to be perfectly normal, but now felt quite odd. It was strange how quickly one could get used to a new way of doing things. He rolled over and patted the space next to him, frowning when he realized that it wasn’t even warm. Shen Qingqiu must have gotten up a while ago.

“Shizun?” he asked somewhat lazily, not really expecting an answer. If Shen Qingqiu had gotten out of bed, perhaps because he was having trouble sleeping, then he had probably already wandered off. Luo Binghe wasn’t actually sure where exactly Shen Qingqiu would go, though, since so far he hadn’t really left Luo Binghe’s side since coming to this world.

Of course it was easy enough to find out, focusing on his blood in Shen Qingqiu. It hadn’t technically come from him, but rather from the imposter, but it still reacted the same way when Luo Binghe wanted to utilize it. Thinking on it, though, he decided that he was going to see if Shen Qingqiu would be willing to take some blood directly from him.

As he focused on the drops that were inside Shen Qingqiu, it only took a moment for Luo Binghe to realize that it felt like Shen Qingqiu was right in front of him. Luo Binghe looked around the room, and only noticed a slight movement in that darkest corner when he really focused. “Shizun?”

There was the soft sound of shuffling feet, and Shen Qingqiu moved into a spot where he could be seen in the dim light of the candle on the wall. “Yes?” he asked, not sounding remotely tired.

“What are you doing over there in the dark?” Even with his heightened senses, Luo Binghe preferred to have some light source when he was working. And a human, even a talented cultivator, didn’t have senses anywhere close to what a demon had.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Shen Qingqiu explained. “And you just looked so cute laying there… I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“How long were you standing there?” Luo Binghe asked, concerned that Shen Qingqiu might really need some intervention if he was having so much trouble sleeping.

Shen Qingqiu shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Luo Binghe tossed back the blanket and patted the space next to him. “Why don’t you try coming back to bed? I know you said you wouldn’t prefer it, but if you don’t want any medications, I could just ease you to sleep in your dreamscape.”

“No, that’s alright.”

“It can’t be comfortable just standing there all night,” Luo Binghe tried again.

“I said no!” Shen Qingqiu snapped, face dark, before the mood suddenly lightened and he laughed awkwardly. “Ah, sorry, I know you’re only worried about me, right?” When Luo Binghe didn’t respond immediately, Shen Qingqiu hurried towards the bed, his body movements strange and stilted looking. “Right?” he asked again, in a more demanding tone.

Luo Binghe quickly nodded. “Of course I’m worried about you.” He reached out to pull Shen Qingqiu into a hug, with the side purpose of yanking him down onto the bed. “Don’t you know that out of everyone in this entire palace, you’re the one I care about the most?”

Shen Qingqiu shifted around so that his face was pressed into Luo Binghe’s shoulder, making it impossible to see his expression. “But you still have all of them anyways.” 

“Well-”

“The one thing that I miss most about that other Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu cut him off. “Was that he was all mine.”

Luo Binghe rolled his eyes and pushed Shen Qingqiu away, back onto the empty side of the bed. It was irritating to be reminded of that annoying crybaby imposter, especially after Luo Binghe had already won. “I have obligations to all of my wives. What would you have me do, divorce them all and destabilize the entire realm?” 

“Would you?” Shen Qingqiu asked wistfully, as though he didn’t understand that it had been a rhetorical question. 

This wasn’t exactly an uncommon issue. Many of Luo Binghe’s wives and various dalliances had gone through a brief phase of thinking that they would be able to win Luo Binghe over enough for him to cut loose everyone else. But even for someone as special as Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe couldn’t just go and break all of the promises he’d made. Not to mention that he did actually enjoy spending time with a great deal of his wives. He’d married them all for a reason, after all. 

In these cases, what usually helped most was getting the newest wife to make friends within the harem, so that they wouldn’t be so stuck solely on Luo Binghe. For reasons that he couldn’t really put into words, Luo Binghe didn’t quite enjoy the idea of Shen Qingqiu befriending all of those women. But other than that, the only solution was typically when Luo Binghe came home with a new conquest. But Luo Binghe was far from bored of Shen Qingqiu yet, so he didn’t want to resort to anything so drastic just yet. He could only hope that Shen Qingqiu would get past this little jealousy phase on his own.

,,,

“A-Luo,” Ning Yingying started with a pout. “It was so mean of you to ignore me the other day. What if something really important was going on?”

If one was looking as closely as Luo Binghe was, they could see the exact moment that Shen Qingqiu decided to offer up a charming little smile. “I’m afraid the fault is entirely mine. I dragged your poor husband into helping out with something that ended up taking a lot of time.”

Ning Yingying let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I can forgive you this once, if only because you remind me so much of Shizun.” Then she turned back to Luo Binghe. “But you’re going to have to make it up to me! I’m having a tea party tomorrow night. You have to be there. Please, please, please?” 

“We’d be happy to go,” Shen Qingqiu said before Luo Binghe even had the chance to respond. 

Ning Yingying gave Shen Qingqiu the briefest look of confusion, before the look faded and her usual endearing pout returned. “Well, good!” Then she turned and bounced away. 

,,,

“If I’m going to make it back in time for Yingying’s party, I will need to head out now to deal with some minor business,” Luo Binghe said once he and Shen Qingqiu were up and dressed in the morning. 

“I can go with you,” Shen Qingqiu immediately volunteered.

Even though he knew that Shen Qingqiu was a fully experienced cultivator, good enough to be the second highest ranking peak lord of Cang Qiong, he couldn’t help feeling a swoop in his stomach at the thought of something happening to him. If Shen Qingqiu got injured in some pointless little excursion, Luo Binghe wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle it. “It’ll be quicker if I go on my own,” he said, not wanting Shen Qingqiu to feel like he was being talked down to.

Shen Qingqiu tilted his head to the side, almost reminding Luo Binghe of a puppy. “Are you sure? I can help.”

“I’ll be fine,” Luo Binghe assured him.

Shen Qingqiu blinked once. “Okay. I’ll just wait here then.”

Luo Binghe nodded, then swiped Xin Mo through the air to open a portal. He just had to take care of an annoying little issue of someone’s rice fields being attacked by a ‘giant winged creature’. There was no point in doing any research; whatever kind of creature it was, Luo Binghe knew that it wouldn’t stand a chance against Xin Mo and him.

The creature in question ended up being something that Luo Binghe had never seen before- it looked like a giant turtle with many big horns sticking out in a line along the top of its dark blue shell, along with large draping leaves that could easily be mistaken for wings. Without any specific knowledge of its weak points, Luo Binghe just charged at it, and after hacking away for long enough, was able to cut through the creature’s neck. Overall, it was a success, though with the amount of blood spurting out into the fields, he could only hope that there were no poisonous properties to it.

Luo Binghe triumphantly returned to the palace with the creature’s head for a trophy. With Xin Mo’s blood lust sated, Luo Binghe was riding high on his win, right up until he opened the door to his room and was greeted by a sour odor. He saw Shen Qingqiu standing there, right by the door, the front of his robes covered in sick. 

Luo Binghe frowned and set the bloody head down. “Shizun? Are you feeling okay? What happened?”

Shen Qingqiu blinked like he was coming out of a daze, and then moved forward as though to hug Luo Binghe. Despite having dealt with all manner of bodily fluids in his life, Luo Binghe still naturally flinched away, not wanting to get that mess all over himself. Shen Qingqiu blinked again, then took a few awkward steps back. “Oh, I’m so sorry about the mess. I’ll go clean it up,” he promised. 

“No need,” Luo Binghe told him. “That’s what servants are for.” 

“I really am so sorry,” Shen Qingqiu told him earnestly, before his gaze landed on the severed head. His eyes widened for a moment. “That’s- that’s a Seven-Horned Tea Turtle. They’re incredibly rare and peaceful creatures. Why would you-? How could you-?” Tears started to build up in his eyes, and Luo Binghe just stood there, no idea where he’d gone wrong. “How could you do something so awful?” 

Luo Binghe scowled. “This creature was terrorizing an innocent farm.” 

“You could have easily lured it away!” Shen Qingqiu shouted before swinging his arm through the air. It almost seemed like he was going to slap Luo Binghe in the face, but then he paused and let out another one of those awkward little laughs. “Sorry, you know how I am about nature preservation. But of course you did an amazing job taking care of the problem!” Somehow, despite the utter lack of sarcasm in Shen Qingqiu’s voice, it still sounded like Luo Binghe was being censured. “I’m just going to go clean up, okay? Then we can both get ready for Ning Yingying’s party.” 

Shen Qingqiu started to wander towards the private bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. A servant would be able to deliver some fresh hot water within minutes so that Shen Qingqiu could bathe. But as he watched Shen Qingqiu move, Luo Binghe couldn’t help feeling that the entire encounter was just… wrong. “If you aren’t feeling well, then perhaps you should stay here and rest,” Luo Binghe started to suggest.

Shen Qingqiu froze in the middle of untying his dirtied robes. “You don’t want me to go with you?”

“It’s not that,” Luo Binghe hurried to assure him. “I just would feel more comfortable knowing that you are resting and healing up from whatever afflicted you today.” 

Shen Qingqiu’s hands clenched tighter around the ties of his robes, making his knuckles go white. “So you’d rather go to that party with Ning Yingying and all your other wives, but not me? Am I understanding this right?” 

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Luo Binghe snapped. “Do not forget that I am your lord and I get the final say in all things that happen in this palace.”

More tears welled up in Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. “This is just as bad as the other Binghe. It’s like you don’t even care about me at all,” he blubbered.

Luo Binghe sighed and made his way over to Shen Qingqiu, careful to step over the mess on the carpet. “I do care about you, very much so. And I do want you to go to the party with me.”

“But you just said you don’t,” Shen Qingqiu immediately argued.
“No, I do, I promise,” Luo Binghe said, wondering when a man in his position had started to sound so subservient. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be just as bad as that crybaby soon enough. 

Shen Qingqiu gave him a long look, then nodded sharply. “Good. Then we’re going.” Then he retreated into the bathroom while Luo Binghe called for servants to fill the bath and clean up the vomit from the floor.

By the time Shen Qingqiu emerged from the bath, he looked good as new, as put together as ever. His robes were a pale green, and his hair was neatly brushed out with a small bun at the top. His cheeks flushed a fetching pink when he noticed Luo Binghe looking at him. “Would you like me to do your hair?” he offered.

Luo Binghe was almost embarrassed by how eagerly he accepted, perching on the edge of the bed so that his head would be low enough down for Shen Qingqiu to work with. But as Shen Qingqiu brushed and oiled Luo Binghe’s hair, there was something ever so slightly off that Luo Binghe couldn’t properly put into words. It just didn’t feel quite the same as when this very same man had added that precious little braid, back in the imposter’s world. So when Shen Qingqiu reached that braid and was about to undo it, Luo Binghe reached up without thinking to grab Shen Qingqiu’s arm. “Leave it,” he said gruffly. 

“But I can make a new one,” Shen Qingqiu said softly.

Luo Binghe shook his head. “It’s fine as it is. And we should get going before we’re late.” 

Shen Qingqiu’s lips quivered, but then he put on a smile and nodded, looping elbows with Luo Binghe as they walked through the palace together to get to the little courtyard where Ning Yingying usually held these kinds of events. 

It wasn’t terribly crowded, perhaps ten of Luo Binghe’s wives sitting around, sipping tea and chatting with each other. It was always nice to see them getting along, since it meant a lot less work for Luo Binghe if he didn’t have to worry about the kinds of petty issues that tended to pop up among the harem. 

Ning Yingying looked up with a bright grin when she saw Luo Binghe, though it faltered for just a moment at the sight of Shen Qingqiu clinging to the demon lord. But she, more than anyone else married to Luo Binghe, understood that there was always going to be someone new taking up Luo Binghe’s attention. But she also knew that he would never forget about how much he valued his relationship with her specifically.

“A-Luo, A-Qiu, come sit!” she waved them over and gestured to the empty bench across from her, only a small table in between them. 

Shen Qingqiu raised one eyebrow. “I didn’t realize we were so familiar,” he murmured, quietly enough that he could at least pretend he wasn’t trying to be heard by every demon and cultivator in the courtyard. Then he pulled Luo Binghe over to the bench. It was spacious enough for two grown men, but Shen Qingqiu pressed himself right up against Luo Binghe’s side. 

After making sure that fresh tea had been poured for both of them, Ning Yingying explained, “We were just about to start a game of dares. It’s to help A-Hun, who’s still getting to know everyone here. The way it works is that we wrote a bunch of dares down on slips of paper and put them in this jar. We go around the group and one person at a time pulls out a dare. If they aren’t willing to do it, then they have to have a sip of this!” She produced a jar of expensive looking wine from her sleeve. Then she leaned forward to tell Luo Binghe in a stage whisper, “Of course to be fair, you’ll have to have much more than one sip!”

Luo Binghe smirked. “This lord is not afraid of fulfilling any dare.” 

Several of the women present tittered as they thought of various little challenges that Luo Binghe had been more than up to the task of fulfilling. The first few dares were easy enough; one involved a wife sitting on another wife’s lap, one required a wife to boldly list the people she’d been intimate with before marrying Luo Binghe, one instructed a wife to borrow someone else’s sword to fly a lap up above the courtyard.

The woman sitting next to Ning Yingying ended up drawing a dare that simply required her to swap seats with someone else. She looked around the group thoughtfully before announcing, “I will swap with Lord Luo.” 

When Luo Binghe gamely stood up, he had to pull away from Shen Qingqiu’s tightened grip with more strength than expected. He sat next to Ning Yingying, and the other wife sat next to Shen Qingqiu, leaving a respectful distance between them. Though she did lean closer to speak to Shen Qingqiu in a soft voice, asking how he was enjoying the palace so far. Shen Qingqiu stiffly answered that it was ‘fine’ and then seemed intent on ignoring his new seatmate. 

Luo Binghe frowned, but his attention was drawn away from that interaction by Ning Yingying. “It’s your turn, A-Luo!” When the jar of dares reached Luo Binghe, he made a big show of swirling his hand through the little slips of paper before finally grabbing one and pulling it out, sending a saucy grin around the circle of wives.

He unfolded the paper and started to read it out loud, a sinking feeling in his gut with each word that came out. “‘Kiss the person sitting to your left.’” He raised one eyebrow and looked at Ning Yingying with mock scolding. “Are you saying you are encouraging my wives to find pleasure with someone other than me?”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t dare!” she said, in direct contradiction to what she had written in this game.

Still, there was no reason to refuse. Luo Binghe laughed, then started to lean towards Ning Yingying.

He had closed his eyes, but they snapped open again at the sound of someone shouting, “Hey!” 

Luo Binghe looked up to see that Shen Qingqiu had gotten up, rudely jostling the woman sitting next to him as he stood. He glared at Ning Yingying, and nobody knew what to do other than watch in silence as he stomped over to that bench, and squeezed himself down into the minute space between Luo Binghe and Ning Yingying. There really wasn’t enough space for three adults, and it looked like it took some real effort for Ning Yingying to free herself enough to stand up. “What is your problem?” she demanded.

Shen Qingqiu completely ignored her, having eyes only for Luo Binghe. “I’m sitting to your left,” he pointed out.

Compared to some of the in-fighting he’d seen amongst his wives in the past, this was nothing. Nobody had even been maimed. So Luo Binghe gamely leaned over to kiss Shen Qingqiu, taking just as much enjoyment out of it as he always did. Ning Yingying grumbled in discontent, but she wasn’t going to blatantly disapprove when Luo Binghe didn’t mind the little display. 

As he reached up to cup the back of Shen Qingqiu’s head, the other man suddenly jerked back with enough force that he tumbled off the bench before scrambling to his feet. His robes were mussed and his usual disgrace seemed to be missing. His eyes darted back and forth across the courtyard wildly, and he was panting for breath. “That- that wasn’t me,” he said just barely audibly. “That’s not me,” he repeated, a little more loudly. 

Luo Binghe stood up, holding his hands out like he was approaching a wild animal. “Shizun-”

Shen Qingqiu slapped Luo Binghe’s hand away and then scrambled back, almost tripping over his original bench in the process. “That’s not me, that’s not me, that’s not me!” His voice echoed through the courtyard, and everyone just stared. 

“Lord Luo, I think he’s having a qi deviation!” someone finally said. 

“No, I’m not, I’m not, I’m-” Shen Qingqiu’s voice grew more shrill until he finally cut himself off. Before anyone could react, he dove towards the sword that was still lying on the table from one of the previous dares. 

Luo Binghe didn’t know if Shen Qingqiu was going to hurt himself or someone else, but either way, this was going too far. This kind of severe qi deviation needed immediate treatment. Luo Binghe used his blood inside of Shen Qingqiu to halt the man’s movements, freezing him in place.

He moved forward to scoop Shen Qingqiu up into his arms. “It will be alright, Shizun.” He used Xin Mo to take them both straight back to Luo Binghe’s room, then immediately summoned a doctor. One of the benefits of his position was that Luo Binghe had access to only the best care. It was rare that Luo Binghe’s blood alone wasn’t enough to fix a problem, but it did happen on occasion, which is why he had palace doctors on standby. 

Shen Qingqiu was still frozen in place when the doctor arrived, and she requested that Luo Binghe release his hold. Luo Binghe obliged, but was ready to interfere again if Shen Qingqiu’s qi deviation continued to rage on. 

Once he could move on his own again, Shen Qingqiu’s limbs relaxed, and he sighed. “I’m so sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.”

The doctor checked Shen Qingqiu’s meridians, frown increasing as she went. Luo Binghe couldn’t help feeling nervous. “What is it?” he finally demanded to know. “Can you help him?”

“It’s just that if you hadn’t told me he’d had a qi deviation, I wouldn’t have been able to guess it. All of his pathways seem clear and normal. Particularly healthy in the way I expect to see from your partners.”

“There’s no way that what happened earlier was a sign of good health,” Luo Binghe insisted.

The doctor held up her hand. “I believe you,” she assured him. “But this may be a more complex case.” She directed her next question to Shen Qingqiu. “How do you feel right now?”

“I feel fine,” Shen Qingqiu said as he sat up. “Really, I don’t need so much fuss over me.” 

“Do you remember what happened a few minutes ago?” she asked.

Shen Qingqiu paused for just one tiny moment before nodding. “Yes. I got jealous over a silly little game. I think it’s because I had too much to drink.”

Luo Binghe narrowed his eyes. “You only drank tea.”

“I may have indulged a little while you were out earlier,” Shen Qingqiu admitted.

“That’s why you were sick? Why would you drink so much?”
Shen Qingqiu blinked up at him, then shrugged. “Pre-gaming,” he said, as if that in any way made sense as an answer.

The doctor didn’t seem entirely mollified, but some of the tension eased on her face. “Even talented cultivators can act foolish under the influence of too much alcohol. Still, I will read up on this, just to make sure that there were no other factors involved.”

Once she was gone, Luo Binghe turned to face Shen Qingqiu, who was just staring up at him sheepishly. “Sorry for all the commotion.” His robes were still messed up from when he’d fallen, and even though he was smiling, Luo Binghe felt like something was missing. “I’ll be back,” he announced, turning towards the door.

“Okay,” Shen Qingqiu said in a small voice. “I’m sorry.” 

,,,

Luo Binghe needed a break, so he left the palace to take care of several minor requests that had been piling up. It took hardly any effort to resolve these kinds of issues, and Luo Binghe felt satisfied that he was fulfilling his promises as the emperor of the combined realms.

He felt much lighter inside as he returned, but it still wasn’t that late, so he decided to head to the library. He paused as he walked down one aisle, and spotted the wife who had gifted him the wishing bamboo in the first place. After a moment’s consideration, Luo Binghe approached her. 

“The gift you gave me- where did you get such a thing?” Something powerful enough to convince a person to travel to a whole new world could not be taken lightly.

She looked up from the books she’d been running her fingers along the spines of. “There’s no more, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Luo Binghe was a man very much used to keeping his own council, but this whole situation was getting strange enough that he thought it worth reaching out. “No, it’s not that. My wish was wonderful at first, everything I could have wanted. But now it’s just getting strange.”

She tilted her head. “So you want to know if you can undo it?”

Luo Binghe immediately shook his head, thinking about the many carefree days he had spent with this Shen Qingqiu, attending to petitions and sparring and spending the nights together, and everything else they’d done that had filled Luo Binghe with an almost unbearable warmth. “No. I just wonder if there is perhaps some way to adjust it, slightly.” 

She gave him a long look, eyes seeming to pierce right through him, before she responded. “No. As far as I know, such a thing is not possible.”

Luo Binghe opened his mouth, almost asking if it was real, if Shen Qingqiu truly loved him, but he could not bring himself to voice the words. How pathetic would that sound, coming from a man in his position? And in the end, did it even matter? It was just as unreal with his other wives, and everyone was aware of it, but as long as they all got something out of it, it’s not as though anyone was being harmed.

Even without him saying the words out loud, she added, “Even undoing it is not possible, not unless the one who made the wish were to die. And we all know how long-lived a man like you will be.” Then she shrugged one shoulder. “But of course, it’s up to you how you want to deal with it. It was your wish.” She pulled a book off the shelf, seemingly at random, then wandered away.

No longer in the mood to read, Luo Binghe reluctantly decided to retire for the remainder of the night. It was already late enough that there were only a few hours left until dawn anyways. His earlier restored mood had already been somewhat burst, but he did not want it to be lowered even further, so he was more wary than he should have been to enter his own rooms. He just didn’t want to walk into another scene like earlier. For Shen Qingqiu, a man usually in very strict control of himself, to drink to the point of making himself sick, it was just too bizarre.

Luo Binghe took a deep breath, then stepped inside. The room was dark, but it only took a brief check of his blood to know that Shen Qingqiu was not in bed. Instead, the man was sitting in the dark on the little daybed. He looked up. “Where were you?” he immediately asked in a far too demanding tone.

“This lord had business to attend to,” Luo Binghe answered sharply. “And you should be asleep.”

“At my level of cultivation, I don’t need to sleep every night,” Shen Qingqiu pointed out. He narrowed his eyes as he stared up at Luo Binghe. “Were you with one of your wives?”

Luo Binghe crossed his arms over his chest. “No. But if I had been, it would be this lord’s right to do so.” From the offended look on Shen Qingqiu’s face, Luo Binghe knew that the man was going to argue with him, and Luo Binghe just was not inclined to get into a fight at the moment. Not when he’d just worked so hard to boost his mood today. “As a matter of fact, this lord shall be spending the rest of the night elsewhere.”

That seemed to work Shen Qingqiu right up. He launched himself to his feet and reached out to grab the front of Luo Binghe’s robe. “I gave up everything to come here, to be with you, and now you just want to leave to go hang out with one of those whores who don’t even care about you? They don’t love you! Not like I do!”

Luo Binghe reached up to grab Shen Qingqiu’s hand and ripped it off of him. “You chose to come here, you knew what the circumstances would be; you cannot keep holding them against me!”

Shen Qingqiu stared up at him, only the light from the hallway illuminating his face, which left him in mostly shadow since Luo Binghe’s wider frame was blocking the door. “Okay,” he said in a reasonable tone, the abruptness of it throwing Luo Binghe off when they had both just been yelling. Shen Qingqiu dropped his hand, and took a small step back. “You can go spend the night with whoever you want.”

“Good-” Luo Binghe started.

He was cut off by Shen Qingqiu, who continued in that easy tone. “Just know that I might not be here when you get back. I came here for you, I was made for you, but if you don’t want me, then I have no reason to stay.”

“You’re giving me an ultimatum?” Luo Binghe asked in disbelief. He couldn’t help thinking about the fact that Shen Qingqiu would have never pulled something like this with that imposter. 

Shen Qingqiu smiled, but in the darkness of the room, his eyes continued to look like empty little pits. “I wonder how long it would take for me to purge your blood from me.”

Luo Binghe furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? It’s already a part of your body now. I could probably remove it, but with the constant danger my spouses face, it is smartest to-”

Shen Qingqiu laughed a little, and shook his head. “I don’t need you to do it, silly. There’s plenty of swords and knives around here. I can figure it out on my own. I’ll have all night to work at it, after all. Drop by drop, we’ll see exactly how long it takes for the parasites to be removed. Depending on how late you get back in the morning, I might already be so, so cold.” Even while saying such sickening things, Shen Qingqiu’s voice remained calm and level. That was perhaps the most unnerving part.

Luo Binghe reached out to roughly grab Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders. “What is wrong with you!? Do you want to die?”

Shen Qingqiu reached up to pat one of Luo Binghe’s hands. “I just don’t want to be without you,” he said gently, as if there was anything at all acceptable about what he was saying. 

“Until this bout of madness is over, I can force you to sleep,” Luo Binghe decided.

“Are you sure?” Shen Qingqiu asked. “I haven’t felt particularly… sleepy lately.”

Anxiety curdled in Luo Binghe’s stomach, unlike anything he had felt since he was a child watching his mother waste away. “What is wrong with you?” he asked again, much quieter.

Shen Qingqiu tilted his head to the side, and stared up into Luo Binghe’s eyes like he didn’t understand the question. “I just want to be with you.” 

“Why?”
“Because I love you, of course.”

Luo Binghe frowned. The more times he heard Shen Qingqiu’s declarations of love, the more he couldn’t help thinking that it actually felt pretty much the same as hearing it from any of his other wives. 

He had not been able to say anything to the one who’d put him in this situation to begin with, but at least the one who was involved, Luo Binghe found himself able to ask, “What do you love about me?”

Shen Qingqiu blinked a couple of times, looking somewhat confused. “You’re Luo Binghe. What’s not to love?”

“But what specifically?”

“I just love you,” Shen Qingqiu answered, still sounding puzzled, like he couldn’t even comprehend why Luo Binghe would ask such a thing. “I love you so, so, so, so very much. I’d have to be a complete fool to not love you as much as I do.” He stared up at Luo Binghe with an earnest expression that still didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes.

For all of his power, Luo Binghe found it difficult to argue further when Shen Qingqiu was clearly in such a delicate state of mind. He ended up curled up in bed with Shen Qingqiu, who drifted off rather quickly for someone who supposedly didn’t need sleep. Luo Binghe found it harder, though. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to attempt seeing Shen Qingqiu’s dreamscape again.

He wasn’t sure how long he was lying there, wide awake, when he felt the presence of his own blood getting a little stronger, meaning that someone with his blood in them was approaching. Luo Binghe very carefully climbed out of bed, not wanting to disturb Shen Qingqiu.

He thought that he had succeeded, only to hear a soft murmur from the bed. “Binghe…” Luo Binghe looked back, like a guilty spouse caught sneaking around even though he’d done nothing wrong, but he saw that Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were closed and he seemed to still be asleep. But before Luo Binghe could take another step, Shen Qingqiu spoke again, though his mouth remained closed, just like the mystery man in Shen Qingqiu’s dreams. “Binghe, please, he isn’t me. You have to fix this before he can do anything else. Please, just end this… Kill me…” 

Luo Binghe clenched his jaw, but made sure to speak in an equally soft voice to avoid waking Shen Qingqiu fully. “Is that crybaby really so much better than me? Being with me is so awful?” Luo Binghe always made sure to treat his wives well. Even when things got stale and he eventually moved on to the next one, those in his harem wanted for nothing. Luo Binghe was more wealthy and powerful than that imposter could ever be; he could offer Shen Qingqiu far more.

“Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu pleaded, as a single tear ran down his cheek.

Luo Binghe turned away from the bed, and left the room. He found Ning Yingying waiting out in the hallway. “Isn’t it a little late for a visit?” he asked.

“A-Luo, we need to talk.” Ning Yingying led Luo Binghe away from his bedroom, and off to a random empty corridor. She dismissed the guards on duty, and Luo Binghe nodded to give his permission for them to leave. “A-Luo, I- I have some good news.”

Luo Binghe raised one eyebrow, curious about what kind of news couldn’t at least wait until morning. “What is it?”

She reached out to take one of Luo Binghe’s hands, and pressed it gently against her stomach. “I’m pregnant!”

Ning Yingying would not be the first of Luo Binghe’s wives to have a child with him, but he couldn’t help feeling more excited than he had with any of the others. “Truly?”

She nodded. “Yes! I wanted to tell you at my party, but,” she wilted a little as she trailed off, thinking of Shen Qingqiu’s outlandish behavior. “A-Luo, I can’t help thinking that things have gotten so strange around here since you brought home that version of Shen Qingqiu. I just think that maybe he wasn’t cut out for life in a harem like this. And I worry that he’s just using you to get back at that other Luo Binghe. I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” she finished in a soft voice. 

Luo Binghe wanted to say something to reassure her, but then he abruptly felt the sensation of some of his blood rapidly charging closer. He was able to grab Ning Yingying and whirl her behind him just in time to avoid a sword going right through her neck. Instead, the blade slashed across Luo Binghe’s back, but he was able to easily ignore the pain after a lifetime of experience.

He turned around, drawing Xin Mo, and found himself facing off against Shen Qingqiu. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

“I can’t believe you’re choosing her over me!” He charged forward again, clearly trying to get around Luo Binghe so that he could attack Ning Yingying again, and he did not seem interested in pulling his blows. Ning Yingying drew her own sword, but she had never been the most accomplished cultivator. So she made the tactical decision to turn and run down the hall.

Luo Binghe did not want to leave anything to chance, so he grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s sword to hold it steady, ignoring the way it cut into his palm, and then he used Xin Mo to bring them both far from the palace. It was not uncommon for his wives to go after each other, but they generally attempted to employ at least some amount of subtlety. And it was almost a non-existent occurrence for them to go after one of his highest ranking wives. 

Without the object of his ire right in his sight, Shen Qingqiu seemed to calm down slightly, but he was still holding on tightly to the sword he’d found. “How could you choose her?” Shen Qingqiu asked, sounding heart broken.

“I didn’t-”

“Why can’t you love me?” Shen Qingqiu cried out. “I just love you so much!”

Luo Binghe felt anger rising up in him at the audacity of that question. “You can’t even say what you like about me, you hypocrite!”

“I love everything about you!” Shen Qingqiu countered. “Just tell me what would make you happy, and that’s what I’ll say, that’s what I’ll do! I’d do anything for you!” 

Luo Binghe stared down at the distraught man in front of him, and he thought of his wish. “It didn’t even have to be him,” he bit out. Sure, that other Shen Qingqiu had been on his mind, but Luo Binghe had not wished for that man specifically. He had only wished for ‘someone’. If he’d known that his wish would really come true, he would have specified someone who wasn’t insane. “But why is it you? Can’t you just be more like Shen Qingqiu? If you really want to make me happy, then can’t you just be him?”

Tears rolled down Shen Qingqiu’s face. “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” He sank down to his knees, still crying. 

“Then what’s the point of you?” Luo Binghe roared. “What’s the point of saying you love me when it means just as little as everyone else who’s ever told me that? Less than, even. What’s the point of you being here at all?”

Apparently Shen Qingqiu didn’t have a good answer for that, because he just continued to cry, and mumbled over and over again about how much he loved Luo Binghe. 

Neither of them were expecting to hear the sound of a portal tearing open, followed by that annoyingly familiar voice crying out, “Shizun!”

Luo Binghe turned to see the imposter standing there, wielding his own Xin Mo, though the blade was lined with delicate cracks, scars from where the blade had once been broken and then reforged. “What are you doing here?” Luo Binghe asked, not bothering to hide his irritation. “This has nothing to do with you.”

The imposter stared at him in disbelief. “Nothing to do with me? You kidnapped my husband!” he snarled back. 

“He left you of his own volition!” Luo Binghe snapped. “It was your fault for being too much!” Though there was an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach as he wondered whether Shen Qingqiu had lied to him from the very start. 

The imposter’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?” 

“It’s okay,” Shen Qingqiu said from where he was still kneeling on the floor. “I know how to fix this.” The two Luo Binghe’s mostly ignored him as their attention remained locked on one another. 

There was a sharp snapping noise, like a stick breaking in half. That warmth that had been building up more and more in Luo Binghe each day he’d had Shen Qingqiu flared up into an inferno raging inside of him. This entire argument was so stupid. That imposter did not matter; all that mattered was that Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu had each other, and loved each other.

He was only vaguely aware of the sound of Xin Mo dropping to the ground as he hurried over to Shen Qingqiu, pulling him up to his feet so that they could gaze into each other’s eyes. “It’s you,” he whispered. “It’s only ever been you.”

The smile that stretched across Shen Qingqiu’s face was the most beautiful thing Luo Binghe had ever seen, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward for a kiss. The moment their lips touched, it was like fireworks had gone off, and there was a burning in Luo Binghe’s stomach.

It was only when they finally pulled apart that he realized the burning had not been metaphorical. He could see the fear on Shen Qingqiu’s face as Xin Mo was yanked out of Luo Binghe, and he collapsed to the ground, suddenly unable to hold himself up. “No, no, no, what have you done?” Shen Qingqiu dropped down hard enough that his knees cracked against the ground, cradling Luo Binghe, filling him with warmth. He could already feel his body starting to repair itself, but then out of the corner of his eye he saw a glint of metal moving towards him. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from Shen Qingqiu long enough to see what was coming at him, and then- 

Nothing.

,,,

Shen Qingqiu was beyond devastated. The person he loved most, the person who meant everything to him, was dead in his arms, head lying on the ground several feet away. What was even the point in being alive if Binghe wasn’t here with him?

He started to reach for the sword he’d stolen from a guard, but then he heard someone call out in a desperate voice, “Shizun!”

Shen Qingqiu glanced up, then did a double take when he saw that beloved face, full of tears and emotion that the original Luo Binghe was rarely willing to show. Shen Qingqiu shoved the body off of his lap, then leaned forward and puked up his guts.

Binghe dove down to kneel next to him, pulling him close. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured. “It’s all going to be okay.” 

Shen Qingqiu stared at the headless body in front of him, then forced himself to turn and hide his face against Binghe’s chest instead. “Binghe?”

“Yes, Shizun?” Binghe asked immediately, eager as always to do anything he could to help. 

Shen Qingqiu breathed out a heavy sigh. “Let’s go home.” 

Binghe nodded. “Yes. Let’s go home.”