Chapter Text
It had to be understood that Shen Qingqiu never put himself into these situations on purpose.
That should be obvious, since his entire existence in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way was not by choice, but he still wanted to emphasize it. Because from an outside view it might look like Shen Qingqiu got into so many of these dangerous plots that he was seeking them out.
But he wasn’t!
The Skinner, the demon invasion, getting inflicted with Without a Cure… the list goes on, but he most certainly wasn’t trying to get involved more than he was forced to. All he wanted was to survive! And maybe see his students learning properly so they could grow up strong and happy (or at least happier than before Shen Yuan had come to occupy Shen Qingqiu’s body). He also wanted to sleep in, eat Binghe’s delicious food, look at cool beasts (preferably ones that wouldn’t eat him), and maybe try out some cool cultivation techniques if he was feeling particularly daring. Was that asking too much?
So why, when there were so many enjoyable and non life-threatening things to be doing, was he stuck surrounded by a group of bandits, unarmed, and willingly being taken hostage?
How did things get to this point?
Well, it had started with a standard assignment.
There had been rumours of a rare artifact being found a couple hours away from the base of Cang Qiong mountain, which was related to an abnormal amount of disappearances from the locals there. Some villagers had come begging them for help, which Yue Qingyuan had easily agreed to provide.
Okay yes, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been forced to take the assignment, but Ning Yingying had been asking for more field missions recently, and it had sounded like a good learning experience. People disappearing wasn’t good but there’d been no reported deaths or injuries so Shen Qingqiu had figured it couldn’t be too dangerous.
Yue Qingyuan had been a little tentative over sending just Shen Qingqiu and a handful of Qing Jing Peak disciples, but Shen Qingqiu was a peak lord! He should be enough to handle a single artifact. And maybe if things went smoothly, some of the hovering his fellow peak lords had been doing would ease up a bit.
So with a plethora of promises to be careful and to return if anything too dangerous came up, Shen Qingqiu had finally been allowed to head the mission.
And after a week of preparation, including organizing lessons for his peak, and making sure those accompanying him on the mission were prepared, Shen Qingqiu set off.
Even the ride to the mountain-base village had been smooth sailing. Shen Qingqiu had almost fallen asleep in his carriage on the way down. He probably would have if his entourage of excited students hadn’t been so chatty. But even so, the conversation had been pleasant, with Ning Yingying leading the front on asking questions regarding the artifact, and others like Binghe piping up as well. Shen Qingqiu had been able to answer questions easily, despite having no recollection of this plot point in the original novel.
But he’d figured if the ‘Soul Extraction Prison’ artifact hadn’t received any major importance in the original, then it clearly didn’t hold enough importance to cause an issue.
And he’d been right! For the most part at least…
The mission itself had gone off without a hitch. They’d collected the artifact easily and Shen Qingqiu went through a preliminary inspection of the thing with his disciples, before determining it would have to be brought back to Cang Qiong and analyzed properly. The whole missing persons part hadn’t been solved, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the ‘Soul Extraction Prison’ may have trapped them somehow.
So all in all, Shen Qingqiu had been feeling pretty good about himself. The eight disciples he’d brought had learned a lot, both critical thinking-wise and in their comportment and representation of their sect. It had made Shen Qingqiu proud, and he’d told them so.
Maybe it was because of this that Shen Qingqiu had lowered his guard somewhat on their return trip.
“Shizun, do you think we’ll reach Qing Jing Peak before nightfall?” a curious Ning Yingying asked from where she rode her horse alongside Shen Qingqiu’s carriage.
With a single glance at the sun only just visible behind the mountain, Shen Qingqiu knew the answer.
“No, but this master does not think it will be an issue. There should be enough light remaining to get us to Cang Qiong’s base, and from there navigation will be simple, even by moonlight,” Shen Qingqiu assured.
“Yes Shizun!” echoed the group. Shen Qingqiu raised his fan to hide his smile.
His students were cute, okay? How anyone could stay stern with their excited voices, he had no idea.
The sky was filled with oranges and purples that Shen Qingqiu admired from the carriage. The mountain range in the near-distance seemed to glow under the halo of the sun, highlighting each ridge and rock formation.
The clopping of hooves and spinning of wheels filled the surroundings, but the sounds were steady in the evening air.
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe said as he rode his own horse closer to the carriage window.
“Yes Binghe?”
“This disciple was wondering how Shizun was feeling?” Binghe asked, voice polite but eyes inquisitive.
Ah, his sticky disciple never changes. He should probably be irritated that his little disciple felt the need to check up on him (he got enough of that from his martial siblings), but what he felt was closer to fond exasperation.
“This master is fine and does not require Binghe’s concern,” Shen Qingqiu assured. “Now focus on the road ahead.”
Binghe smiled and gave a determined, “yes Shizun,” before joining the rest of the formation.
The rhythmic bumps of the road along with the further fading of the bright sun brought a newfound heaviness to Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. Sure, it hadn’t been a particularly tiring mission, but staying in Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu mode all the time brought about its own kind of exhaustion. It was tough spouting knowledge when you had no idea what you were doing!
Maybe on a different day, Shen Qingqiu could have fended off his heavy eyelids for the remainder of the trip, but everything was so peaceful and calming. Perhaps the peace should have been the first sign that something was going to happen.
As soon as Shen Qingqiu let his head rest against his palm with closed eyes, he was startled to alertness as the calm ride home came to an abrupt halt.
A loud cry from the bushes ahead of them panicked the horses who came to a jolting stop, causing the carriage to shake violently.
“Bandits!” was all Shen Qingqiu heard an older disciple yell before an arrow ripped through the walls of the carriage, much closer to his head then would be comfortable.
Shen Qingqiu was jumping out of the carriage and unsheathing Xiu Ya before he had time to fully grasp the situation. He may be bitter about being stuck in the Original Good’s body, but the guy’s reflexes were top notch.
The sight that came into view had him hissing tensely.
A group of over three dozen bandits, all dressed in leather strapped armour, surrounded their group. Torches carried by several of the bandits seemed to have spooked the horses, leaving his disciples to defend themselves on foot, having dismounted already. A few disciples, namely Ning Yingying, Luo Binghe, and a fearful yet determined looking Ming Fan, had already begun engaging the ambush, while the others looked around uncertainly.
“Everyone, to me!” Shen Qingqiu called with much more confidence than he felt.
He then took Xiu Ya in hand and begun dispatching the bandits closest to him. None of them seemed overly powerful, most only able to block a strike or two before being overpowered, but Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but fight his own hesitation.
These were humans, robbers or not. They weren’t mindless beasts that roamed this world only to be beat up and allow the protagonist to level up. So Shen Qingqiu did his best to avoid any fatal blows, sweeping his blows to disarm when possible.
This thought immediately went out the window as Shen Qingqiu noticed the archer at the back of the group take direct aim at Binghe, who was still engaged with two bandits of his own. Sending Xiu Ya flying, the sword pierced cleanly through the archer’s hand and into his shoulder, making the man cry out.
Shen Qingqiu internally winced at the cry of pain. He still loathed violence at his core, but these people were trying to hurt his students, and that was something Shen Qingqiu could not stand for.
“Will your leader not step forward and face me directly? This master does not take kindly to those who attack his students,” Shen Qingqiu asserted loudly, with a glare that had several bandits hesitating where they stood. “Surely it would be more practical to give up now before more blood is spilt.”
Half of the bandits paused at the words, allowing most of his disciples to retreat toward him. Some of the braver ones stood by his side while others took shelter behind him.
The majority of the disciple group, having found their way to their master, gripped their blades with white knuckles and a fearful tension that would serve no good in remembering the sword stances they had gone through so many times.
Qing Jing was a scholarly peak after all, and while all his students learned cultivation and swordplay, his disciples’ confidence were still lacking in those aspects.
“There is nothing to fear. Stay close to this master and remember your teachings. You are all members of Qing Jing Peak, no harm will come to you,” Shen Qingqiu assured, hoping to ease any potential trauma these kids were going to go through.
“My, my, a teacher should not lie to his students you know,” a gravelly voice rang out from the crowd.
Shen Qingqiu turned to the voice, displeasure clear on his face as his eyes met the man in question. The man wore dark-brown robes which didn’t quite cover the black tattoo on his neck. It was clear from a glance that this man held the authority over their attackers.
“This one assures you that he speaks only the truth. No harm will come to my students. Your group on the other hand I cannot speak for. But perhaps if you were to explain yourselves rather than blindly attack us, the harm could be kept to a minimum,” Shen Qingqiu threatened.
His eyes darted around, taking count of where everyone was. Only Binghe, who had several bandits at his feet, and Ming Fan, who similarly had already defeated a larger bandit, were still engaged in combat. Everyone else was stationed next to Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu moved to help them but paused when more bandits approached their group. He cursed under his breath. If he’d been alone, taking care of these lackeys wouldn’t be an issue, but there were more of them every time Shen Qingqiu looked, and he couldn’t risk any of his students getting hurt.
Amassing his spiritual energy into a collection of leaves, Shen Qingqiu began sending the small leaves hurtling toward the bandits now charging their way. Each leaf that hit sent the corresponding bandit flying with ease. But instead of looking discouraged, the idiots just kept coming.
Or at least they did until a yell from the tattooed man had them stopping all movement.
“FREEZE!”
The bandits did indeed stop, but held their weapons at the ready.
“The Immortal Master is correct, we should state our business like civilized people,” the head-bandit drawled, tone mocking.
Shen Qingqiu hesitated. On one hand, an attack from him now could deal massive damage to the bandits’ numbers. On the other, finishing this dispute peacefully would be ideal.
His decision was made when Shen Qingqiu noticed Ming Fan and Luo Binghe still much too far and in far too much danger to risk causing another uproar. Binghe would be fine with his protagonist halo intact, but the same couldn’t be said for his head disciple. For all of Ming Fan’s faults, the boy had improved his behaviour a lot, and Shen Qingqiu still cared for him.
“Go on,” Shen Qingqiu said shortly.
The manic grin he got in return almost made him reconsider.
“How gracious of you. If your generosity would extend to handing over the artifact in your possession, then we would be happy to leave peacefully.”
Shen Qingqiu frowned. What an unoriginal plot… however, handing over the artifact meant potentially handing over all the villagers who had disappeared. Not to mention the future dangers something called the Soul Extraction Prison could cause after being sold off by bandits. They probably didn’t even know what they were asking for.
“I’m afraid the artifact will be returning to Cang Qiong,” Shen Qingqiu stated, gauging the bandits’ reaction to the refusal. “But perhaps a compromise could be reached?”
If it was really money the bandits wanted, then throwing a little their way wouldn’t be an issue. He felt like a scrawny kid paying off his bully in a pathetic way. Actually it was more like he was a parent paying off his kids’ bullies to leave them alone.
Somehow that sounded even more pathetic.
The head-bandit’s gaze was cutting but Shen Qingqiu held it easily. Pretending to be in control of a situation was sort of his specialty these days after all.
The students at Shen Qingqiu’s side were clearly drawing some confidence from their master’s façade, but still couldn’t mask the fear they felt. Shen Qingqiu could feel the slight tug on one of his sleeves, searching out some comfort.
There was a minute of tense waiting, the head-bandit revelling in the situation. Whether that was from the fear he was instilling in the highly regarded Cang Qiong sect members or just the general attention was unclear. Then the bandit finally broke the silence with a huffing laugh.
“For all the remarks earlier, I would have thought the lives of these children would be of more importance,” the bandit said with a wicked grin.
Shen Qingqiu sneered at the threatening words, but before he could raise his sword to resume the battle, the tattooed bandit snapped his fingers.
With the snap of those fingers, all nearby bandits charged. But they didn’t charge Shen Qingqiu’s group.
Luo Binghe and Ming Fan were quickly surrounded, looking both surprised and infuriated. But against the sheer numbers the two stumbled, uncertain where to point their blades.
“Binghe! Ming Fan! Look out!” Shen Qingqiu yelled instinctively, but far too late.
He aimed Xiu Ya their way, blocking several attacks but not nearly enough before both disciples were caught in strong grips with blades to their throats.
“Shizun!” Ming Fan yelped in fright.
“Apologies Shizun,” Binghe gritted out, looking more ashamed then scared.
The head-bandit stepped forward, laughing again.
“I suggest you lay down your weapon oh great Immortal Master,” the man mocked.
Shen Qingqiu clenched his jaw.
“Don’t do it Shizun!” Binghe urged, but winced as the blade pushed further into his skin.
Xiu Ya fell to the ground despite Binghe’s cries. Shen Qingqiu purposefully avoided the pained look in his disciples’ eyes.
Couldn’t Shen Qingqiu get one win? Bandits were the lowest level enemies in any form of media, and yet here Shen Qingqiu was, abandoning his weapon and at the mercy of his attackers. Was this his punishment for being the scum villain? But even the original goods had managed to look cool on missions when he wasn’t abusing his disciples and being a total creep, right? This was such bullshit.
When they got out of this, Shen Qingqiu was spending the rest of the night ranting to the system.
“Now if you would be so gracious as to present the artifact to me,” the bandit prompted, holding out a hand expectantly.
Shen Qingqiu sighed. He reached into his sleeve and retrieved the qiankun pouch that held the artifact. He displayed it to the group as a show of goodwill (or as much as he could to freaking bandits that threatened his students), before placing it back in his sleeve.
“Release my students first,” Shen Qingqiu demanded.
The bandit clicked his tongue.
“It would appear to this one that you are in no position to make demands. Give us the artifact and the boys will be spared.”
“Not to offend, but this master holds little confidence in the word of ambushers and bandits,” Shen Qingqiu retorted.
The bandit did not seem offended at least. Instead, his grin widened.
“Perhaps if Immortal Master were to play hostage instead, then this one could release his children before accepting the artifact? This one remembers talk of compromise after all.”
Who the hell was this unnamed villain to talk to him this way? He definitely would have remembered someone as scummy as this!
But Ming Fan was holding back tears, and the words made Binghe look fearful as well. And as much as Shen Qingqiu wasn’t a particularly brave person (hell, he lived in fear every day of his future as a human stick) he also couldn’t leave his students like this.
He was their Shizun after all.
So Shen Qingqiu stepped forward, arms outstretched in a display of surrender.
“NO SHIZUN!” Binghe cried in distress, squirming in his captor’s arms.
The students behind Shen Qingqiu also yelled in protest.
“Shizun, we can fight!” Ning Yingying said, but the tears in her eyes made her words translucent.
“There must be another way,” another suggested weakly.
“Quiet!” Shen Qingqiu yelled, effectively silencing the group. “This master knows what he is doing and does not need his disciples questioning his decisions.”
In reality, Shen Qingqiu did not know what he was doing. But if he couldn’t look cool fighting off bandits, he supposed playing the self-sacrificing card was his second-best bet.
“Now, release my students,” Shen Qingqiu directed his words to the bandit, ignoring the new protests from his disciples.
The bandit seemed genuinely surprised at Shen Qingqiu’s decision, but gestured to two of his lackeys who moved to apprehend Shen Qingqiu.
Then, with a dirtied blade now to his throat, and another pulling his hair harshly with a cruel hand, Shen Qingqiu demanded again.
“Release my students or this artifact will never see itself into your hands.”
The head-bandit smiled disgustingly, tapping his chin in mockery. How many average bandits got their hands on one of the illustrious immortals of Cang Qiong after all? He even had the nerve to get up in Shen Qingqiu’s face before finally speaking.
“Release the children,” he said, eyes still on Shen Qingqiu as he spoke.
Shen Qingqiu watched as Ming Fan and Luo Binghe were shoved towards the rest of his students, looking rattled. Binghe had tears streaming down his face, making Shen Qingqiu want to roll his eyes. This boy would be the ruler of the demon realm one day, and here he was letting some bandits make him cry.
Getting taken hostage was scary though, and Binghe was still young after all.
At least these bandits were the below 40 IQ kind that Shen Qingqiu had been hoping for. Otherwise there’s no way they would have actually let the boys go.
Shen Qingqiu’s thoughts were interrupted when a tight tug on his hair forced the sword on his throat deep enough to lightly draw blood.
“Now, hand over the artifact,” the head-bandit said, taking a small step away from Shen Qingqiu. The money this guy steals should go toward a bath because he smelled disgusting.
No, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about how the gross bandit had been standing close enough to smell, it was time to make a plan and fast. Shen Qingqiu should be able to outsmart some dumb as a rock bandits, right?
…right?
“Let Shizun go!” Binghe demanded again, only being held back from launching an assault by the blade pressed to Shen Qingqiu’s throat.
Oh Binghe. His perfect white lotus. Shen Qingqiu would cry at the loyalty being shown, knowing in a few years it would be Binghe’s sword piercing his skin.
Well, if Shen Qingqiu got out of this alive that is.
“Shut up brats, unless you wanna die despite your poor master’s efforts,” a different bandit snickered.
Binghe looked stricken but stayed quiet.
The head-bandit, looking unimpressed by the interruption chimed in. “The artifact?” he said as a not-so-subtle reminder.
Man, this guy was pushier than Liu Qingge when he wanted to check Shen Qingqiu’s meridians.
Shen Qingqiu slowly moved to reach for the qiankun pouch in his sleeve. However, the motion was apparently too much for the bandit holding him, who panicked and tugged his hair further.
Was their real goal to make him go bald?
“Don’t move!” his captor warned, a bit jittery.
Maybe they should have picked a more assured bandit to hold onto their one hostage.
“If I do not move, I cannot retrieve your precious artifact,” Shen Qingqiu retorted factually.
The head-bandit had the nerve to look annoyed at his underling, sending a glare his way.
In response Shen Qingqiu’s captor shivered slightly, simultaneously grabbing more of Shen Qingqiu’s hair and loosening his hold on his blade.
“Sorry boss,” the bandit muttered.
“Now go ahead,” the bandit leader nodded Shen Qingqiu’s way.
Shen Qingqiu moved toward his sleeve in a slow motion. This was the time to make a move, if any. He took stock of his surroundings.
His disciples still looked like a group of lost ducklings, with eyes glued to Shen Qingqiu like he held the answers to the universe. But at least they were together, and the bandits had more or less abandoned them in favour of circling closer to their leader. That meant for the time being, they were safe.
Xiu Ya was on the ground a couple metres away, forgotten by the bandits (more proof of the whole less than 40 IQ thing). The path between Shen Qingqiu and his sword was relatively clear, meaning if he summoned it now, it would be at his side in less than a second, faster than any of the bandits could move, aside from the one holding Shen Qingqiu.
This meant the only thing standing in Shen Qingqiu’s way was a blade to his throat and a firm grip on his hair. The hand in his hair wasn’t even that close to his skull, holding closer to his neck leaving enough room if Shen Qingqiu were to…
That was it!
“Hurry up!” the head-bandit growled, patience wearing thin.
Shen Qingqiu, plan in mind, reached a hand into his sleeve. However, he did not reach for his qiankun pouch.
Harnessing his spiritual energy in the fingers hidden in his sleeve, Shen Qingqiu directed his power directly into Xiu Ya. He took a steadying breath, feeling grateful that these brutes hadn’t noticed anything. This move was going to have to be precise or he’d be losing his head before he got the chance to ever lose his limbs.
This trope was overused as hell, but Yona and Sakura had looked badass doing it so there was that. And if it got him out of this mess then that was really all that mattered.
With a held breath and a flick of his wrist, Xiu Ya came flying toward him. With his other hand Shen Qingqiu quickly grabbed the blade held at his throat to stop it from slicing him open. It stung and Shen Qingqiu winced as the blade cut through his palm, but he still pushed the blade far enough away to gain some movement.
There was shouting from the bandits and a snarl from the man holding him, but there was no time for anyone to even move before it happened.
Xiu Ya’s sharp edge cut cleanly through the gap between the bandit’s hand and Shen Qingqiu’s head, severing the hair and freeing him from the man.
The world seemed to freeze as the long locks fell to the ground, a wave of disbelief and shock overwhelming everyone in the vicinity. Well, everyone but Shen Qingqiu.
Being free from the bandit’s grip, Shen Qingqiu maneuvered under the arms that reached out to grab him again. Then with a clean slice of Xiu Ya, Shen Qingqiu made a cut through the man’s leg, causing him to shriek in pain and fall to the ground.
Shen Qingqiu spun to face the bandit group who were collecting themselves from the shocking escape and running back in for the attack. Sending Xiu Ya to play protector around his huddled students, and also keep them from joining the fray (yes Binghe, your master can see you trying to rush over and help), Shen Qingqiu grabbed the fan in his belt instead.
The object was painful in his hand, rubbing uncomfortably against the laceration, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
With a wide sweep of his fan, Shen Qingqiu sent dozens of bandits flying with a wave of spiritual energy. A few of them slammed into nearby trees, while others hit the ground and rolled in various directions.
“Shit!” cursed their leader, whose smug persona had all but vanished.
To his credit, while his followers were quickly retreating, the head-bandit gripped his sword and attempted a final charge at Shen Qingqiu. But with a dodge of the desperate swing, Shen Qingqiu caught the hilt of the enemy’s sword with his fan and twisted it out of the bandit’s hand.
With a stunned look, the bandit fell to his knees in defeat.
Another day Shen Qingqiu might have interrogated the man, but he was feeling angry and tired. So with a quick jab to a specific pressure point the bandit passed out, falling the rest of the way to the ground below.
Releasing a breath, Shen Qingqiu put Xiu Ya back in its scabbard.
That was… SO EASY! Shen Qingqiu mentally wept at just how stupidly easy that had been. One swing of a fan and they’d all gone running like there was a Black Friday sale.
Why did Shen Qingqiu have to struggle through a beginner’s encounter with level one enemies? Truly his luck stat must be the absolute worst. Now he wasn’t going to be able to leave the mountain without an escort for another year!
“Shizun!” multiple voices cried his way, and then before he could even fully turn around, Shen Qingqiu was being tackled by his disciples. The only reason he stayed upright was the fact that he was being hugged from all directions.
The wetness soaking into his robes informed him that his disciples were still crying.
“Shizun, are you okay?”
“Shizun, you were amazing!”
“Are the bandits all gone?”
“Shizun this disciple apologizes for their uselessness.”
With a fond huff, Shen Qingqiu shushed the group.
“This master said he would be fine, didn’t he? Now, no more tears, the bandits will not be returning. Without the element of surprise, they wouldn’t attempt to attack us again,” Shen Qingqiu assured. “You all did well and reacted quickly to the ambush. This master is proud.”
They squeezed him harder at that. Man, Shen Qingqiu was so soft, the original must be rolling in his grave.
“Really, dry your faces, we still have a return trip to make,” Shen Qingqiu continued, patting his disciples of the shoulders before pushing them lightly away from him.
Begrudgingly the students backed off, giving Shen Qingqiu a clearer look at their wobbling faces. Some of them had wiped their eyes dry, while others continued to sniffle.
At the forefront of this (to the surprise of absolutely no one) was Luo Binghe.
“Shizun…” Binghe choked on the word. “Shizun… your hair…”
The faces of the group fell further at that, like they’d all been ignoring that detail until now.
Everyone except Shen Qingqiu, who may or may not have forgotten all about it.
Reaching up to take the ends that fell just above his shoulder in his hand, Shen Qingqiu realized he should probably feel devastated at the loss. Long hair here was an important symbol of one’s respect to their ancestors and could further be seen as a status symbol. It was unheard of for self-respecting cultivators to be without long flowing hair.
But honestly, internally Shen Qingqiu was doing a little happy dance.
Maintaining long hair was such a pain. How many hours did he spend brushing, oiling, and tying up his hair? The answer was too many! And it even felt lighter now! He’d gotten so used to it that Shen Qingqiu hadn’t noticed how heavy his hair had been.
He probably looked a mess and would need to even out the nest on his head, which might be hard with a knife or sword, but he’d manage.
“Shizun, it is all this one’s fault! This useless one requests punishment!” Ming Fan stepped forward, before kneeling before Shen Qingqiu.
“This one is even more useless, Shizun! No punishment would be harsh enough for the loss of Shizun’s precious hair!” Binghe knelt beside Ming Fan, hiccupping through his tears.
“This disciple should have defeated more bandits and has performed shamefully!” Ning Yingying cried.
“This disciple should have been stronger,” another joined in.
And before Shen Qingqiu had time to react, all eight disciples were on their knees begging for punishment and crying over Shen Qingqiu’s hair.
“If this disciple hadn’t been caught so easily, Shizun would not have had to save this worthless one again. This disciple will offer his life in compensation,” Binghe said.
Okay, these kids needed to calm down! It was just hair, no one needed to die! And Binghe, this isn’t the time to try and one up your friends!
“Everyone to their feet,” Shen Qingqiu ordered.
The miserable disciples complied.
“Now, this master does not desire compensation of any kind for the loss of his hair. After all, it was this master’s choice to cut it.”
“But Shizun, if I hadn’t—” Binghe started, but Shen Qingqiu cut him off.
“Binghe, do not interrupt,” Shen Qingqiu chastised, effectively shutting up the crying boy, even if his eyes were screaming in protest.
“This master does not blame any of you for what happened, nor does he regret his actions. If losing my hair allowed me to keep you all safe, then this master would do it as many times as needed. You are all my important disciples after all.”
There, hopefully that would stop the tears and requests for unnecessary punishment… right?
The fresh wave of tears on his disciples’ faces informed Shen Qingqiu that this was not the case. Reassurance wasn’t his strong-suit he supposed.
“A t-thousand thanks for your kindness, Shizun,” Binghe sobbed.
The other disciples thanked him as well, prostrating with watery smiles.
Ahh, too many emotions! Shen Qingqiu simply nodded, not knowing what to do with all the gratitude (he was just doing his job?). On the bright side he must have looked at least somewhat heroic, despite the whole getting taken hostage thing, right? He’ll take his disciples’ tears as a yes.
Looking down at the still unconscious bandit, Shen Qingqiu tapped his chin. What the hell was he supposed to do with this guy? He didn’t really want to cart him back to Cang Qiong… but taking him to the nearest village would mean backtracking and Shen Qingqiu’s bed was calling for him.
Well, he could always bring the guy along to question him about the artifact later.
“Ming Fan if you would assist me in securing our new guest, as we will be bringing him with us for questioning,” Shen Qingqiu ordered.
“Yes, Shizun!” Ming Fan chirped after a quick wipe of his face.
“Everyone else, collect any remaining supplies and take count of how many horses we have. If too many have run off, we may need to make the remainder of our trip on foot.”
The disciples all agreed and ran off to their duties.
With the bandit secured, he was thrown onto one of the horses along with one of the older disciples who assured Shen Qingqiu he would watch over the man.
As Shen Qingqiu had assumed, they’d lost about half the horses and the carriage had been destroyed beyond repair. On the bright side, if they doubled-up, there would be enough space for everyone on a horse. He mentioned this to his students who seemed amenable to the idea, no doubt exhausted from today’s ordeal and willing to go along with anything that would speed up the journey.
Shen Qingqiu would know, he was feeling the same way.
As he began to pair his disciples up and point them towards their horses, his eyes found Luo Binghe and he came up with an idea.
Don’t say your Shizun never did anything for you Binghe!
“Binghe, perhaps you and Ning Yingying can share your horse?”
Shen Qingqiu swore he saw a deflated look on his disciple’s face, but that didn’t make sense. He must be really tired.
“Actually Shizun, this Yingying was going to share with her Shixiong,” Ning Yingying spoke up, pointing to a blushing Ming Fan. “Sorry A-Luo.”
Then she seemed to wink Luo Binghe’s way (ouch Ning Yingying, no need to wink after you reject the guy) and began strapping some of the bags onto her horse.
“Well, then Binghe will have to ride with this master,” Shen Qingqiu said, earning him the brightest eyes he’d ever seen. They were a little swollen from all the crying, but they shone nonetheless.
The poor boy must still be feeling guilty if he could look this happy after being rejected by his future-wife. Shen Qingqiu honestly shouldn’t expect anything less from his sticky disciple. It was cute though, and he had no fan to hide the way he smiled at his adorable student.
“This disciple thanks Shizun!” Binghe said with a large smile, scurrying over to get the horse set up.
With everyone set to travel, they all mounted their horses and resumed the trek up the mountain. It felt long, and darkness had taken hold soon after they’d started moving.
But even then, the group managed their way back to the peak without any further hiccups. Thank goodness for that. If something else had shown up to interrupt their journey Shen Qingqiu would have flipped his shit.
Shen Qingqiu caught his disciples staring at him, or more specifically at his ruined hair, several times during the remainder of their journey, even in the dark. He sent them reproachful looks but said nothing.
When they finally set foot on Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu felt like he could cry of relief. He ordered three of the disciples to take the horses to the stables. Ming Fan was put in charge of taking the head-bandit to Qiong Ding Peak and telling Yue Qingyuan of their return. Shen Qingqiu knew he’d have to deliver his report of the events, but that was a problem for tomorrow’s Shen Qingqiu.
With that taken care of, Shen Qingqiu made his way to his bamboo house, Binghe trailing at his heels.
Ah there was nothing quite like being home. Missions and travelling were overrated. Why had he ever wanted to leave in the first place? Clearly transmigrating had made him forget the glories of being a shut-in.
“Shizun?” Binghe’s voice called out to him as Shen Qingqiu made his way toward his bedroom.
“Yes Binghe?”
Luo Binghe looked up at him almost shyly.
“Thank you for saving this disciple again. Next time this disciple will be strong enough to help Shizun properly. This Luo Binghe swears he will not let harm come to Shizun ever again!”
Shen Qingqiu sighed at the pure determination on Binghe’s face. Still, he felt a sort of happiness at the words, even if the promise would mean nothing after the future events set up for the two of them. He still appreciated them, and the boy behind them.
“This master hopes there will not be a next time, but he appreciates Binghe’s words,” Shen Qingqiu said simply.
He couldn’t handle any more heart-to-hearts tonight, but luckily Binghe nodded at his words and bid him a good night.
Shen Qingqiu hummed in acknowledgement and entered his room, lighting some candles despite the urge to fall onto his bed and sleep immediately.
Catching his reflection in the mirror, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but wince. Whatever he’d thought his hair would look like, it looked a thousand times worse. Uneven strands stuck up in every which way, with the right-side having hair far longer than the left. The hair crown at the top of his head was still in place, and as Shen Qingqiu gently removed it, allowing more hair to fall, the mess only got worse.
The combination of full-length and terribly cut shorter pieces made him look like a kid who had gotten into the scissors and experimented for the first time.
It was a travesty, especially compared to the well-groomed shiny locks he’d had only hours before. But still, something about the imperfection and utter un-Shen Qingqiu-ness of it felt relieving. It was like seeing the internal mess of Shen Yuan under the perfectly sculpted immortal he’d gotten so used to seeing in the mirror. Shen Yuan had always preferred his hair short anyways.
Retrieving a brush and a dagger, Shen Qingqiu settled himself in front of the mirror, because as tired as he was, no way was he waiting until the morning to fix this.
And as he sliced the dark locks into one semi-even length, Shen Qingqiu found the person in the mirror had a small smile on their face.