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Chapter Text

“Binghe!” screamed the man with the long black hair. Green robes flew around him. Binghe could smell blood and ash. He felt his body sinking down, his head at an unfortunate angle. Pain exploded before it died down. He couldn't see the person's face, as darkness grew around the edges. He heard the person crying, nearly screaming after him.

It hurt so much. And at the same time Binghe felt glad.

Rather him than…

“Binghe!” screamed his mother, waking him up. “You will be late for school!”

Binghe sat up, finding himself gasping for breath and sweat building on his back. He groaned and tried to get his bearings.

He's had such dreams for as long as he could remember. Most of the time he was only hurt (sometimes even losing a limb), but this was the first time he seemed to have died . When he remembered correctly, it seemed like somebody had cut off his head.

He really shouldn't read anymore horror books late at night.

Today was the first day of school after summer break was over. Binghe got up fast and cleaned himself swiftly before coming to the kitchen.

He and his adoptive mother lived in a small rented apartment. He only knew her his whole life. Apparently he was the child of a dear friend who died giving birth to him. He had pictures of her, but to him the woman before him was his only mother. Her smile was all he needed. 

They didn't have much, but it was enough. 

A decade ago a demonic beast attack had brought chaos to the borders. The cultivation society helped to protect humans and later, repaired any damages. With the additional funds, commoners who lacked essentials received shelter and food. Binghe’s mother had been one of the single mothers who got food stamps and other resources to survive.

Today the city was not well off, but way better.

Binghe ate his breakfast quickly and then went to school. On his way he saw some demonic birds fly over the city again. 

His city was on the edge of the demon realm. There had been a period once where demons and humans fought against one another for centuries - but an emperor and an empress had put a stop to it. Peace followed, marking a shift between human and demon realm.

Small attacks from demons still happened, but the sects of cultivators helped. Society grew and techniques advanced. Today it was normal to have some mixed blood, as Binghe did. Only his eyes would become red in color if he became really angry, and bruises fade faster for him. But that's about it, he was nothing special. One girl in his class could make flowers bloom! That was handy on birthdays.

Once Binghe arrived at his school gate, he found the ground under him rumbling. It was stronger than yesterday, making him and the other students wince.

Since their city was near a big lake where a demonic beast slept, earthquakes were common. Only, they did seem to be changing in frequency over the last weeks.

But since Binghe was still late he couldn't spend much thought on it, as he ran up to his classroom.

***

Since it was only the beginning of the new school year, classes weren't as hard as Binghe expected. He always tried his best, since the top of the class could earn some money that way if he submitted an application.

But after lunch, a visitor dropped by the classroom that Binghe had never seen before.

He was wearing cultivation clothes and had a small beauty mark on his face. He had a resting bitch face and somehow Binghe felt unknowingly annoyed seeing him. 

The teacher explained that this was a cultivator of the greatest sect, Cang Qiong Mountain. Binghe and a few others gasped at that.

The Cang Qiong Mountain Sect was the biggest sect, apparently home to a real immortal cultivator. This cultivator was the reason why their society was the way it was at the moment, mostly peaceful. Being a disciple at Cang Qiong Mountain Sect meant your life would be secure. Of course you'd have to fight demonic beasts, ghosts and other things, but who didn't dream of being a hero?

“My name is Liu Qingge,” explained the cultivator. “I’m here today to see if any of you has the potential to cultivate and join our sect.”

The students whispered. 

“I have to say first and foremost, the probability that one of you has the right groundwork for cultivation is unlikely,” said the cultivator. “Only one in 250 people are able to cultivate, and from this rare number only a few become strong enough to fight demonic beasts. So, don’t feel bad if you’re not chosen.”

This lessened the joy of the students, but nevertheless; wouldn't it be great if some of them had the potential?

One after another was called forward and had to show their hand. The cultivator took it and did something - some students gasped.

One by one, the cultivator shook his head.

Even if the chance was low, being rejected was hard.

Binghe was the last in line. He showed his hand while he admired the beautiful robes the man was wearing.

Then he felt it - something like a small stream entering his arm. He felt himself gasp.

The cultivator frowned, as Binghe felt it circulating inside him. His whole body trembled.

The cultivator took back his hand. “Luo Binghe, right?”

“Yes,” said Binghe.

“Seems to me like you have great potential,” said the cultivator. Binghe felt his mouth open but no sound coming out. “Really?” asked one of the other students.

The cultivator nodded. “First, we…” started the man before the ground shook again. It was stronger than this morning. Binghe felt dizzy for a second before the ground was stable again. The cultivator frowned.

“How long has that been going on? I hadn't seen a report about that before coming here,” said Liu Qingge.

The teacher stumbled over his words - they all knew that the head of the city didn't like to use public funds for the city, only for himself. But they didn't have any resources to tell someone about it - a city with such a sleeping demonic beast nearby, and being situated on the edge of the demon realm was already struggling enough.

Liu Qingge's face became stormy. “I will go to the lake and observe it. I will come back later.” The man then walked out of the classroom. All the students ran to the windows and saw how the man got his sword out and simply flew on it in the direction of the lake.

Students gasped, while Binghe looked at his own hand. He had potential, really?

The ground shook again, strong enough that things began to fall from the tables. The teacher started to guide the students out of the building. Other classes followed, lining up the students outside.

And then it happened. There was a sound like something breaking and in the distance someone could see how water exploded. The students screamed, as a gigantic beast emerged. Its tentacles slithered over the water, and it screamed.

The water explosion brought rain over the city. Binghe felt fear swell up inside him. This was the beast that had to be sealed away by cultivators, as nobody had been strong enough to kill it. And there was only one cultivator here right now!

They were dead!

The monster used its tentacles to bring itself closer to the city, apparently hungry after being sealed for so long. The school was at the edge of town, near the lake.

They were done for.

Despite its size the monster's tentacle was already near them.The students screamed and tried to flee, Binghe included.

A shadow darkened above them as one of the tentacles loomed ahead. Binghe felt tears in his eyes, fear in his heart. He wanted to close his eyes but couldn't look away -

And then light flashed, stopping the tentacle. The monster screamed and the tentacle seemed to lose color and slowly sank down. It would have still crushed people under it, but there was now a man standing below. Binghe saw white and green robes, and long hair. The man was holding up the tentacle with one hand while flying on his sword. He seemed to frown - not because he was sweating or anything. It was more like someone had interrupted his downtime.

Something stirred in Binghe’s heart, like he knew this cultivator. Had he seen a picture in his school books before?

With one push the tentacle went flying back to the monster in pieces, making it scream again. The cultivator - what else could he be? - put a talisman on the ground. He activated it and a gigantic bubble exploded, golden and shining around the city.

As Binghe turned away from the shield to look back at the man, he found him missing. Another student said ”Look!” and pointed to the lake. There was something small flying around and cutting down one tentacle after another, and more of those arms were left to float in the water.

“Woah!” felt Binghe himself say, as he watched. How strong was this man! That beast was level SSS! Only a group of the highest cultivators would have been able to seal it! Nobody had been able to fight it!

But this was one man, alone!

The monster screamed one last time before a light shined once, clear as day. The monster stopped, before sinking down into the lake. It didn't seem to move anymore. Was it dead?

One blink later the cultivator was back, getting down from his sword. Binghe would need a whole day on foot to cover the distance, but this man seemed to only need a second.

“Is anyone hurt?” asked the cultivator. His green eyes seemed cold, there wasn't a smile on his face. But he had saved them all, like this had just been a pastime. 

The teachers looked at the students, but gulped. “I don't think so. We were saved before anything could happen.”

Liu Qingge appeared next to the other cultivator. “Master Shen, I didn't know you were in the area.”

“It wasn't planned,” said Master Shen. “The array only covered the city, anyone outside could still be hurt by the miasma. We have to look for victims first.”

“Yes Master Shen,” said the other cultivator and got back onto his sword. Master Shen just nodded to the students and used his sword to fly away.

The students were still shocked and amazed at the same time. Binghe felt himself grin.

That had been so fucking cool!

***

“Binghe!” said his mother. Luckily she had work inside the city and had not been hurt by the miasma. Since it was an emergency situation everyone tried to gather their family and check if somebody was hurt. But other than a few people outside the city having problems with the miasma, which would now be fine after some medicine, nobody died.

It was a miracle.

Binghe felt himself crashing a bit after such a day. He had told his mother about his potential, but his mother wasn't that excited. After today she feared for her son.

As they still talked about it, somebody knocked on the door. As his mother opened it, Binghe saw the two cultivators.

***

As the three adults and Binghe sat at their small table, papers before him, he still couldn't believe his luck. 

Cultivators had the potential to be immortal - or to at least live quite long. Since Binghe’s cultivation had great potential, he would most likely fight against beasts.

But if he could save people like these men before him? Why not?

Only, the oldest of the two cultivators seemed a bit torn. He watched Binghe during the entire talk.

“At the end, Binghe has to decide,” said Master Shen. He looked to his mother. “We try to make everything possible, but since the institute is on the other side of the country it would be best if you moved with him. We have mobilized apartments ready for younger children and their parents.”

“But… I'm just a cleaning lady,” said Binghe’s mother.

Master Shen just raised his eyebrows. “And? There is more than enough to clean. We have thousands of people there after all. We always need new staff. Don’t worry about the pay. As long as Binghe is part of the school, you both don't have to pay for food or the apartment. All that you earn can be used for later. If Binghe should decide that he doesn't want to work with his cultivation, that's fine too.”

“That's possible?” asked Binghe, surprised.

“Of course,” said Master Shen. “Just because someone is able to cultivate doesn't mean his personality is right to fight against monsters. We also have staff that only teaches or tends to our herbal garden. Just because you can cultivate doesn't mean you have to fight.”

“But… I thought there are not enough cultivators that can, right?” asked Binghe.

“That was always the problem,” said Master Shen. “And it will never change. But as long as I am here nothing bad will happen.”

That sounded like a deep promise. Binghe’s mother seemed to have found a lost puzzle piece. “Oh, so Master Shen is… that Master Shen?”

Binghe blinked at that. “What do you mean?”

Binghe’s mother gulped as Master Shen only crossed his arms. “Binghe, this is Master Shen, the immortal cultivator. He is the head of the cultivation institute, and the head of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.”

“Oh,” said Binghe at that. He observed the man before him. He had heard about the headmaster; that the man was stronger than the whole institute together, had already lived for centuries and had good connections to the demon realm.

And of course that he was rich.

Seeing the man, Binghe would say the man was maybe around thirty years old. But how old was he exactly?

“Nevertheless,” said Master Shen. “Binghe would be safe, and since he is still a child I would prefer if his mother would accompany him. What will it be?”

Mother and son looked at each other. Binghe nodded.

“We will be in your care, Master Shen,” said Binghe. The cultivator nodded and the papers were signed. After that the two people in white and green left the apartment.

Luo Binghe followed them outside, only to get a shock as his breath turned to a cloud before his face. He felt himself shiver. It was the middle of summer! Why was it so cold?

Master Shen just smirked a bit. “Sorry about that. Tomorrow a row of cultivators and firms will come to clean up the mess of the beast's body.”

Binghe turned to the lake; the last rays of sunshine made the ice on it sparkle. The beast was frozen, turned into a popsicle. Binghe felt himself gasp.

“Master Shen did that?” asked Binghe as he felt his mum behind him put her hands on his shoulders.

Master Shen hummed. “To prevent rot and other beasts from coming here. I will stay till most of the beast gets transferred. I think the city will see a few more tourists for a while.”

After that the cultivators said goodbye and left on their swords. Binghe watched them go, excitement now building inside him.

He doubted he could become like Master Shen - that man was an Immortal! - but he could work to help the man that fearlessly saved a village at random. He wanted to be like him, save the people around him.

He could not wait to get started.

Chapter Text

“Binghe,” whispered a voice. It was male, sweet and near his ear. His own body was hot and heavy, sweat gathering on his back. A warm, willing body under him, long black hair smelling of jasmine. A gasp under him, finger holding onto him, the body under him shivering.

“Husband!” moaned the man under him. Binghe turned, wanting to kiss, to see his expression…

And Binghe woke up. 

He blinked, before groaning. He pushed his blanket aside and found a wet spot in his pants.

Being a Teenager sucked.

He got up and cleaned himself, before he found his mother already drinking tea as the congee got warm. She nodded to him, smiling sweetly.

They already lived a few years at the sect. Their lives had never been so peaceful before. Binghe took to cultivation like a duck to water, and since he wasn’t the only one with demon blood around the sect, he found friends fast.

His mother worked with the cleaning staff, sometimes helping in the kitchen. What Master Shen had said was true: with thousands of people living here there was more than enough to do. 

All this only worked well because of Master Shen. After moving here Binghe had gathered information, and he found out that the cultivator was treated like a god.

The man was immortal, not needing sleep or water. He worked around the clock, paid sometimes out of his own pockets for issues. He solved quests, saved villages and killed beasts. He even sometimes traveled to the demon realm. Apparently there wasn’t a demon alive that was strong enough to beat him. As the strongest warrior in the realms he was even requested by demon lords if they encountered problems they could not solve on their own.

Alone talking to Master Shen was seen as a blessing. Since the man didn’t eat and didn’t have a wife or children, he didn’t spend much time with his staff.

The only people he seemed to talk more to were Liu Qingge and Shang Qinghua. The first man was the strongest cultivator after him, so that made sense. They were seen sparring monthly. Qingge never won, but it was a spectacle every time. Everyone tried to watch the exact one hour long session if they could.

(Binghe had only missed it once, as his mother had been ill.)

Binghe didn’t understand for a while why Shang Qinghua was also close to Master Shen. The man was a cultivator, but not really strong or talented. 

Binghe did finally understand as he found out that the man had contacts to the demon realm, or was forced to spend weeks at a time in the northern palace. The demon lord there, Mobei-jun, seemed to know Master Shen for a long time. It was said that the demon visited once and Master Shen gave him Shang Qinghua and an artifact. The demon took both and vanished. People were confused, asking themselves if that was some sort of bet? Their Master Shen would never sell out somebody like that!

As Shang Qinghua came back a week later he seemed still a bit dazed, but told them that everything was fine - he was now consort of Mobei-jun?!

People still didn’t understand how that happened, but since then Mobei-jun visited more and Shang Qinghua spent weeks in the demon realm. And since they seemed happy, Master Shen now sometimes even smiling, nobody said anything about it.

Apart from that, Binghe tried to gather more information about Master Shen, but it was hard. The man had rooms nobody was allowed to walk into; nobody knew what the man did when he didn’t work (if he ever did that to begin with). 

So Binghe could only level up in his cultivation. He was already forming a golden core, even as his qi was a bit unstable at the moment. With his demonic and human qi that happened sometimes.

What should not have happened was that he felt dizzy while training. He felt the air leave his lungs and his heart beating faster. He sank down on the ground as his shidi was screaming for help.

Was he qi-deviating? But he did everything by the book! He felt his demonic qi raging in his meridians, trying to break free.

He then felt hands on his skin, making him gasp. “No… I…” tried Binghe but he couldn’t concentrate. 

“Calm down,” said a soft voice. He felt a strange qi going inside him, smothering the demonic qi and being balm on his meridians. Binghe breathed again, deep, feeling his meridians settle in him.

“Good,” praised the voice. Binghe blinked and found himself on his back. Master Shen was above him, holding his hand and feeding him qi. It was gentle and firm, calming his meridians down.

“Better?” asked Master Shen and a small frown was still on his face. He had his hair open today, robes in dark green as he was kneeling next to Binghe.

“Yes, Master Shen,” said Binghe quietly. He felt embarrassment creeping up in him. This was not how he wanted to meet Master Shen again! And despite his red cheeks, he couldn't help but feel glad to get a glance of Master Shen. The man was holding his hands after all! The immortal himself!

Master Shen huffed, putting another hand on Binghe’s forehead. “You seem kind of warm.”

“I… I was training before Master Shen!” said Binghe, trying to calm his blush down. At least other parts of his body didn’t stand to attention.

Master Shen only raised one eyebrow. “This master is old, but not dumb. There isn’t a reason to be embarrassed. Binghe has a lot of potential and a high amount of qi. Regulating it while growing up is hard work. Don't feel bad just because you failed once.”

“Yes, Master Shen,” said Binghe. Behind them one of the doctors came, a man named Mu. He took over and Binghe missed Master Shen's contact immediately. He wanted to whine but bit his lip.

Master Shen explained his doing and let the doctor take over. He nodded once to Binghe and left.

***

“Oh?” said Ming Fang. “Master Shen really helped you?” 

Binghe’s friendship with Ming Fang had a rocky start. After they brawled for real once, Binghe explained that he had no interest in Ning Yingying, he only liked men, thank you very much, they had started to trust each other more. Now Ming Fang was only one step behind Binghe; he also had great potential as a cultivator, but was only human. They tried to outrun each other in several competitions, but in a friendly way. 

“Don’t start it,” hissed Binghe. Word had gotten around. Master Shen never took any interest in disciplines before, so seeing that he helped Binghe - sprung down from a widow! - and remembering the boy's name after all these years made rumors going around.

Binghe was the most promising cultivator in his age group, so maybe that was why? After all, Master Shen had remembered Liu Qingge’s name too before the man had gotten famous.

Ning Yingying laughed. “Oh A-Luo. How was it? Did your frail maiden heart beat out of your chest?”

“Shijie!” cursed Binghe at that. Had he only never talked to her about looking more at boys than girls! But it had been the only reason she stopped trying to set him up with her friends. 

His Shijie laughed, as Ming Fang just smiled. All of them were eating in the great hall. Binghe had gotten teased remarks from a few people already.

Binghe let his head fall in his hands. He found his robe getting too short on his arms again - he just didn’t stop growing. It was lucky that they didn’t have to pay for his own clothes.

“Don’t be dramatic,” said Ning Yingying. “Master Shen was always kind, people just forgot. He got my hat out of the big tree at the northern training ground once.”

“He did?” asked Binghe. The tree there was quite old and big. They were forbidden to touch it, since qi was infused in the tree, making sure that whatever happened on the training ground didn’t destroy the buildings all around.

Ning Yingying nodded. “Yes! It was like he was flying - I thought he would use his sword. But he sprang up till he was at the same height, landed on a leaf - which didn’t move at all! - got my hat and flowed down again. He was light, like he was weighing nothing!”

Binghe listened carefully. “How come you never told us?”

She sighed. “I have lived here since I was five basically. Normally one enters the sect later, but my father died. He was a good cultivator, so they found someone to take me in. Master Shen at that time was often seen with me. He made sure that I was a child before anything else. He even played a few times with me.”

Ming Fang was now also invested. “You never told us.”

“He stopped as I started cultivating,” said Ning Yingying. “He can’t show too much favor. As strong as he is, he is also the target of many people. I heard he doesn’t eat anymore after the hundred poison attempts. I mean, he technically doesn’t need to eat, but can you imagine this? So he made sure that he was never seen with me at first, and later he stopped altogether. The most we have interacted since then was when I was performing on the flute last year.”

Binghe hummed. It was true that people tried to get their piece of Master Shen. The man was strong and a lot of higher ups, lords and such things, tried to marry their daughters to Master Shen. 

It was kind of fun, how they tried to sell their daughters like that. Sometimes, if the woman was especially mistreated, Binghe heard that the lord got excused from his place, the woman marrying their lover and a new lord was appointed.

Still, people tried. Once two years ago a demonic diplomatic mission even tried to sell off twin daughters to the man. Master Shen had never looked so unimpressed before. The demon twins were later seen in a group of succubi, since apparently they liked women instead of men.

“But he is seen with Liu Qinge,” said Ming Fang. “So, is he strong enough?”

Ning Yingying nodded. “I think so. I mean, he is not as strong as Master Shen. He is just sometimes too hasty. He works on that as far as I know. He and his sister are the strongest cultivators here after all.”

She then patted Binghe’s head. “And A-Luo will soon be there too!”

He swatted her hand away, still sulking. He wondered why Master Shen had no interest in marriage - there were women around that were strong enough. Or maybe, a small part in Binghe’s heart said, he liked men more?

“They really should stop with the whole marriage business,” said Ming Fang. “Or at least stop sending those poor women. Master Shen was married once already.”

Binghe and Ning Yingying turned to the man, blinking. “What?” both exclaimed.

Ming Fang looked at them. “I thought you guys know? It’s common knowledge that Master Shen was married once but his spouse died.”

“Oh,” said Binghe. Of course such an Immortal had been married once. And he was still hanging onto that person. Binghe didn’t know if he should feel sorry or glad.

“There are rumors about it,” said Ming Fang. “Apparently the person died in battle. Since terms were used differently then, we aren’t in the clear if it was a man or woman.

“Oh,” said Ning Yingying. “I can imagine him with a man. But only if he was stronger!”

“Please, Master Shen is strong enough to protect anyone!” said Ming Fang. Both teens brought their arguments, as Binghe looked at the rest of his food.

He had a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

Binghe hummed as walked with breakfast to their sleeping chamber. Their small home in the middle of nowhere was sweet. Nobody pestered them and their responsibilities were far away.

And nobody was hearing their screams and moans of pleasure at night.

Binghe found his husband still sleeping in their bed, his long glossy hair covering their pillows. Binghe saw only the back of his husband. He put their breakfast down, humming. He kissed the neck of his man and found him stirring awake.

“Husband, breakfast is ready,” said Binghe. They couldn’t stay here forever, but the time they did spend here would be as peaceful as possible.

“Mhh,” hummed his husband, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He turned around and looked at him with his green eyes. 

“Morning husband,” said Shen Qingqiu smiling.

Binghe woke up gasping. He blinked against the morning light and felt a yearning in his heart. Then he became deeply embarrassed.

He had these dreams for years now. Sometimes he battled monsters, other times he had sex with a man with long hair. But he had never seen the person's face before.

Now, for the first time, he saw it. And it was Master Shen’s face! It was so domestic!

Binghe groaned and hid his face in his hands. He always thought he had a big fantasy; but this? How could he look into Master Shen’s eyes when he dreamed about him like that? He had a crush on the man since he was a teenager, but it had never been like this. 

Him? A Husband?

Binghe got up and cleaned his face in the bathroom. As he looked into the mirror, he found himself looking just the same as yesterday. Red eyes as he came into his demonic lineage, small fangs and curly hair. He did grow tall, muscles filling his frame.

He was now 25 years old.

His golden core was full of qi, his swordsmanship excellent and his talisman-work strong. He had worked hard to be where he was now.

Today would be the day that he would be recruited to the elite cultivator group - the group of the strongest cultivators, working directly under Master Shen.

Maybe his dreams came from that?

But it felt so right to see this face. The Master Shen in his dreams had looked so much softer than the man he knew. 

Regardless, he had to prepare himself. Today was his big day after all.

***

Slightly nervous, Binghe waited with a few other cultivators for Master Shen to appear. Apparently they did meetings every week to make sure that everyone was up to date. Liu Qingge was next to him, crossing his arms and waiting too.

As Master Shen entered the room, he was wearing robes in white and green. It gave Binghe flashbacks to one of his strongest memories, the one he had died in. He tried to focus.

“Welcome, let’s start,” said Master Shen.

As expected, Master Shen led them through the meeting without a preamble. He ordered his men and women around; they had to investigate a strong ghoul appearance. Another group would inspect another sealed beast. There were demon bandits on the edge to another town, so that needed to be investigated too.

It wasn't like Binghe had never been on a mission before, but they had always been small, or he was just there to witness things.

Now it was his time to shine.

He formed a group with Liu Mingyan, despite her brother's protest. Master Shen had just raised his eyebrows, till Liu Qingge was silent again.

Both of them then walked away, ready to face the mission.

***

Binghe was being paired a lot with Liu Mingyan after that. Binghe had witnessed how she watched female cultivators at their training and even looked once at a really beautiful woman without blinking for a whole minute; seeing that they both were interested in the same sex helped. 

They became friends. She had a filthy mouth if she wanted to, and was pleasantly surprised that Binghe took her strength seriously and only helped her if she communicated that.

They worked well together; they finished mission after mission with little casualties. His mother, at the beginning quite worried, seemed to relax with time as he came back whole and safe after every mission.

Most of the time they reported to Master Shen directly. At the beginning the man had seemed a bit unsure about Binghe. They hadn’t interacted much in the last years after all. 

But with every mission they came back from, every monster they slayed, Master Shen seemed to relax more and more. He even smiled the last time as Binghe brought back the scales of a demonic fish.

Master Shen took the scales and looked at them against the light. They were in his official quarters, not his private one.

Binghe had witnessed the controlled chaos for a while now. Even while nobody else seemed to know where things were, Master Shen did. Binghe had the urge to clean everything up, but everybody said not to. Apparently Master Shen was really controlling about his space.

“Good quality,” said Master Shen and put the scales back in the small pouch. “I will prepare them for Binghe.”

Binghe looked up at that. “Master Shen?”

The cultivator just hummed. “They can amplify qi. If for some reason you have a qi deviation or your qi got sucked out, your partner can use them to save your life.”

“There are demons that suck out qi?” asked Liu Mingyan. Binghe was still hung up on the sentence that Master Shen would make an artifact.

For him!

“Most are not common here anymore,” said Master Shen. “But I can tell you at least 15 on the top of my head. This century is curious, since a lot of sealed beasts woke up.”

Liu Mingyan nodded to that. They had witnessed in the last decade 3 gigantic sealed beasts getting free. There was unrest in the demon realm as well.

“Regardless, good work,” said Master Shen and dismissed them.

Outside of the office Liu Mingyan punched Binghe into his side. “He likes you.”

Binghe had in the meantime managed to perfect the act of ´I don’t know what you are talking about´ to perfection. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently. 

Liu Mingyan rolled her eyes. “You don’t see it, but I do. Master Shen follows you with his eyes when you are not looking. We only know that he lost his partner a long time ago - we would all like it if he had someone new. Maybe try to seduce him?”

“Liu Mingyan!” said Binghe horrified. He looked around, but they were alone. “Don’t talk like that!” hissed Binghe.

She just huffed. “We all know that you like him. Your admiration is fine, but if you want to bed him you have to do something else instead of smiling at him like a lovesick puppy.”

Binghe huffed. “Seems like you speak from experience.”

“I’m single currently, but I had two relationships,” said Liu Mingyan. “So, if you want help, just ask.”

“You make it sound so easy,” whined Binghe. “He has more gold than I could spend in a lifetime. He doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink. How the hell should I show him my feelings?”

Liu Mingyan laughed. “Have you not seen how he reacted to the monster pelt we brought along? His main interest is his work, I’m sure you can work with that.”

Binghe hummed as he thought about that idea. 

***

Binghe was standing outside the office, unsure, nervous and he felt like his breakfast was coming back up again.

But this was the only time he could meet Master Shen without anyone interfering. Everyone else was on missions. Liu Mingyan was visiting her parents, so it was on Binghe to be on duty for the sect.

He breathed in deep and opened the door, finding Master Shen at the table. Papers were before him, books next to the table and the wall behind him still covering a map and a thousand notes.

The cultivator looked up. “Hello Binghe. Did we have a meeting?”

“Morning Master Shen,” smiled Binghe. He couldn’t help it. With time the immortal cultivator became more relaxed, even smiling a bit. 

“I just got a package from something I had commissioned,” said Binghe. He gave the package to Master Shen, who hummed and looked at it. “For me?”

“It is just something I think Master Shen will find more useful than this servant,” said Binghe. He hoped so at last.

Master Shen hummed and he slowly opened the box. Inside was a small green hairband. Intrinsic patterns were stitched on it. 

“Oh?” made Master Shen and took it out. “Silk from the evergrown spiders?”

Binghe nodded. “We helped last month to prevent demonic spores from infiltrating their caves. Their silk is sold equal to diamonds. They gave us a small share, but it was not enough to make an outfit. This silk doesn’t tear and prevents dust from settling on the person it’s wearing.”

Binghe had thought long and hard about the present. He hoped it worked.

“Binghe could use that himself,” said Master Shen then. His eyes seemed soft, but also unsure.

Binghe shook his head. “Master Shen lost two hair bands in the last weeks through tears; and without Master Shen we wouldn’t stand here today. Please take it as a small gift.”

Master Shen hummed. “Are these bamboo stitches?”

“This servant saw that Master Shen seemed to favor them,” admitted Binghe.

Master Shen huffed. “Alright. Thank you then, this was a thoughtful gift.”

“It was my pleasure,” said Binghe, his heart filling with warmth. His present was a success! 

“Now that you talk about it, I also finished the scales, wait a moment,” said Master Shen and got up. He searched in one of his pouches, till he got a chain out. Tied down on it was a scale, now gleaming in the light. It seemed like a pearl, shiny and strong at the same time. 

Master Shen gave it to Binghe, making the man gasp. “Master Shen! Is this titanium?”

“Yes, why do you ask?” asked Master Shen as if he had not given Binghe a chain worth more than ten houses!

“That is too much!” said Binghe, even as his heart was beating hard in his chest.

“Nonsense,” said Master Shen. “Believe me, I have more artefacts than I know what to do with. It wouldn’t make sense to tie the shell onto something that could tear easily. Just say thank you.”

“Thank you Master Shen,” said Binghe, bowing.

“Good, now go, I still have reports to look through,” said Master Shen.

“Can I help?” asked Binghe. “I already finished my round and my training today.”

Master Shen raised his eyebrows. “Have you lost a bet?”

“No, why?” asked Binghe bewildered.

“Then why would you,” started Master Shen and made a move with his hand, meaning the whole room, “help me?”

“Because I’m a good person?” asked Binghe cheekily. Master Shen huffed. He searched for a bundle of papers and gave them to Binghe. “Here, reports. Look them through and inform me of anything strange.”

“Yes Master Shen!” said Binghe and got to work.

***

Over the next months Binghe slowly got Master Shen used to his presence. He tried it like he wanted to tame a feral cat - slowly and patiently.

He didn’t use gifts everyday - they were a rare occurrence, and only when Binghe found something rare or precious on his travels. 

It was hard to wait, but seeing Master Shen’s eyes light up as he found the orb of a silver bear, it was worth it.

Other than that, he slowly helped Master Shen with his work.

“I can bring this to the logistics apartment, Master Shen doesn’t need to walk there himself.”

“I can inform Master Mu about the antidote, Master Shen can use the time to sort his papers.”

“I met the laundry service on the way here, so I got Master Shen’s robe with me.”

But Master Shen wasn’t dumb.

The man watched this for a few weeks, since Binghe made sure that he didn’t introduce himself too often. And he had his own missions still.

“Luo Binghe,” said Master Shen as Binghe had finished his report.

“Yes, Master Shen?” asked Binghe.

Master Shen took the report. “Do you like your work as a cultivator?”

“Of course!” said Binghe. “I’m so grateful to be able to help people like that!”

“Mhh, how peculiar,” said Master Shen. “Since Binghe seems to like playing my assistant.”

Binghe gulped. “I just…”

Master Shen sighed. “I’m not mad. I just can’t find a reason why you would do that. You earn nothing from it.”

“But Master Shen!” said Binghe there. “Of course I earn something from it! It makes Master Shen’s life easier!”

This seemed to surprise Master Shen, as his mouth was slightly open, but no words came out. He blinked and closed his mouth again.

“What?” asked Master Shen, like he hadn’t understood.

“I mean,” started Binghe and rubbed his neck. He was nervous to be put on the spot, but at least he could say his mind.

“Without Master Shen, my city would have been destroyed. Master Shen is alive for a long time and for sure is able to ascend any time he wants.” Binghe smiled at the man. 

“But he is still here, still saving people. I don’t want to imagine what this world would look like without him. But Master Shen only works. He doesn’t eat, drink or take part in any other forms of pleasure. It seemed… lonely.”

“Lonely?” asked Master Shen and his voice was kind of hollow.

“Yes,” said Binghe. “Since I was finally strong enough to work under Master Shen’s order, I saw it for myself. So, even when I can just make Master Shen’s life a little bit better or easier, that would never repay the debt. If Master Shen of course doesn’t want my help, I will stop.”

Master Shen tilted his head, looking at Binghe like a puzzle he didn’t understand.

“I don’t need help,” said Master Shen.

“This servant understands that,” said Binghe. “But there is no reason to not make life more fun, right? Or at least easier? Time doesn’t move faster either way.”

Master Shen hummed at that. His green eyes observed Binghe for a moment. “Fine,” said Master Shen then.

Binghe perked up. “Really?”

“You are an adult and can make your own decisions,” said Master Shen. “There are a few reasons why I don’t have a personal assistant. I don’t need sleep or food, so to keep up you have to work hard.”

“I understand,” said Binghe.

“My concept of time is messed up, so you have to tell me if you are hungry or tired.”

“Understood,” said Binghe.

“You may be becoming a target,” said Master Shen then. “While I try to maintain good relationships, there are always people that don’t like me. They dislike that I could dismantle a whole country or destroy a whole city. They don’t think somebody should have that power, and while I understand that, they mostly target people near to me.”

Binghe had assumed as much.

“Which means that you have to always test your food or water for poison. You would get new quarters near mine, so the protection array gives you at least peace in your own home. When I go on missions you would have to accompany me. I fight the monsters no one else can, I handle demons nobody even knows exist anymore and prevent illness from breaking out. It’s a hard job and not many people will thank you. The paperwork is dumb, but necessary. You still want that job?”

“I understand the situation and would still like to work under Master Shen,” said Binghe.

Master Shen sighed. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

***

Binghe was in heaven.

And in hell.

Master Shen hadn't been kidding when he said that it would be hard. When Binghe’s days have been long and full of work before, he now understood how much one could stuff  into an hour when working with Master Shen.

Binghe went on missions, helped with paperwork, prepared delegations in the demon realm or a festival for disciplines that formed a golden core. He still visited his mother as often as he could and as he saw the first paycheck he had nearly fainted.

“That’s way too much!” said Binghe as he confronted Master Shen about that. The man had just finished sparring with Liu Qingge, who had been staring at Binghe more now that he was Master Shen’s assistant. Binghe felt like the man didn’t trust him on some level, even as they never had fought with each other. 

“I think it’s adequate, no?” said Master Shen.

“But!” started Binghe. “With this much I could fill the bellies of a whole village for a month!”

“I don’t care what you do with it,” said Master Shen. He walked silently back to his quarters. “Maybe buy something for your mother; get her a house and a maid, so she doesn’t have to work anymore. Plan a vacation with a nice girl or boy, I don’t judge.”

“Master Shen!” whined Binghe at that. Giving his mother something was a good idea, but still. “I don’t have a girl- or boyfriend!” It was important to Binghe that Master Shen knew that.

Master Shen shrugged his shoulders. “As I said, I don’t care. And since I have the highest position here, you have nobody to rant to, what a pity.” A small smile was on the immortal’s lips.

Binghe gasped. Has Master Shen just made a joke? Really?

Master Shen, who had continued walking, looked back to Binghe. “What is it? We have an appointment with some kind of lord next. We will be late.”

Binghe ran up to Master Shen, taking his loss in the argument. At least Master Shen seemed to slowly show his true colors.

Chapter Text

Binghe felt pain in his system; it felt like his meridians were on fire. His forehead burned, while his eyes let tears fall. 

The sword over his heart, the burning was much more important. He had lied to his Shizun; his Shizun who said that demons could be as kind as humans.

And still.

His Shizun looked at him, like he was something he despised, something disgusting.

“Shizun…” whined Binghe, his heart broken. “Please.”

Shizun with his cold green eyes still pushed him. The endless abyss roared underneath him and swallowed him whole.

The last thing he saw was the anguish in Shizun’s face, like pushing him hurt him even more then what Binghe felt in that moment.

Binghe blinked awake with tears in his eyes and his heart broken.

What the hell was that?

While he had dreamed a lot of things over the last decades, seeing Master Shen pushing him down like that? That made absolutely no sense.

His dreams in the beginning had at first only showed himself fighting monsters; since they had lived near the border he had thought it was his imagination.

As he first saw Master Shen he had felt a connection, a need to be closer to the man. He had worked hard for it, and the dreams, sometimes so domestic that it hurt, only showed those emotions.

But seeing Master Shen mistreating him? Such dreams were few and far in between. They didn’t make any sense.

Or was his own brain just telling him that he should stop pursuing something that he wouldn’t get?

He was already working under Master Shen for a few years now. With time he understood the man more and more. 

Master Shen was an actor, first and foremost.

He played the part of the peerless immortal, since everyone expected that of him. People felt more secure if someone with a certain aura helped them out of trouble.

But as Binghe had the first time heard Master Shen curse (and quite colorful at that) he had first gasped and then laughed. Master Shen’s face had formed a cold sneer while he cursed.

It had been nothing too bad, but apparently the patience of Master Shen had been thin that day. 

And while the man didn’t need sleep, he surely seemed to favor laying down in only his inner robes.

As an emergency was by far larger as they predicted and they needed to inform Master Shen, Binghe was the one who had knocked on the man’s door.

Finding then Master Shen, in white inner robes only, hair open and his eyes pinched, like he had just slept, had made his heart skip a beat.

The man had only needed a moment to put one outer robe over and get his sword, before he fought a large beast like that.

And seeing Master Shen like that, beating that monster into a pulp without breaking a sweat, had fed his dreams for weeks.

Binghe was weak for a strong man after all.

What had taken the longest was him sharing food with Master Shen. The man didn’t need to eat after all. It had taken some careful planning and feeding his work group before Master Shen took a bite from a snack. Binghe had tried so hard to not react as he saw this, only later screaming in his pillow like a schoolgirl as he remembered how fond Master Shen had looked after he had taken a bite. 

And only weeks after Master Shen took another small bite of a dessert Binghe had brought along.

And a month after that Master Shen asked Binghe if he could prepare a meal for him too.

Binghe had of course been overjoyed. He made sure to cook everything in his own quarters, where nobody would be able to poison the ingredients. 

And since Master Shen had started to sometimes get himself dessert from the main hall, people saw him more. Some people even started talking to him, asking questions or just wanting to talk with their local immortal. 

While this had not been Binghe’s plan, it was nice to see how many people respected Master Shen. The man lost a bit of his cool persona, especially around the children. He didn’t have a problem playing with them, letting them braid his hair. He was never cruel to them. 

Seeing Master Shen like that had made his heartbeat rise. The man would have been such a good father. And maybe he had been, once upon a time? Or maybe he took in disciples? The man didn’t take in any personal disciples after all; but maybe he had done that in the past. 

Binghe was as near as he could to Master Shen. They spend most of their day together; working, eating, sometimes Binghe laughing at Master Shen’s snarky remarks. 

Master Shen made sure that Binghe did spend time with his friends and his mother. Somehow Master Shen had gotten to know his mother and they seemed to meet up at least once a month. 

(Binghe’s mother never told him what they talked about, regardless how much he asked.)

So, after that dream Binghe made breakfast and walked to Master Shen's chambers. The man's rooms were filled with stuff from beginning to end. Artifacts, maps, notes. But first and foremost, books. There was a whole private library in another section of the estate, filled with books Master Shen liked (or hated. The man loved to rant about some of them funnily enough.)

As Binghe opened the apartment door he found himself between two cultivators and a demon. 

Mobei-jun was standing behind Shang Qinghua, his consort. While Binghe had only seen the man a few times, he seemed to annoy Master Shen in the same pace they seemed to be best friends. At first Binghe hadn’t understood why Master Shen seemed to favor that man's proximity. But as he saw that Shang Qinghua talked to Master Shen like he was just another man, another friend, didn’t compare him to a god, he saw some truth in their friendship. Since Master Shen was the strongest being around here, nobody tried to say no to him. Shang Qinghua did, sometimes even rather rudely.

But Master Shen had just laughed and poked the man with a fan. They normally talked to each other like brothers, while Mobei-jun just watched.

But now, he apparently was disturbing a real fight. The air was tense with conflict, even as nobody had said anything as Binghe entered.

Shang Qinghua looked up. “Ah, Binghei. Is that breakfast for Master Shen?”

Binghe nodded. “Yes. Do you want some too?”

“No, don’t worry,” said Shang Qinghua. He looked to Master Shen. “This was not the last time we will talk about this.”

Master Shen had his cold mask in place. His green eyes were piercing and his lips were pale. “There is no discussion regarding this. I decided decades ago what I would do and I stayed by it.”

Shang Qinghua sighed. “Really, how can someone be so dumb?”

Master Shen just raised his eyebrows, but he said nothing. He looked at Mobei-jun. “We are done here, take your man away before we both do something stupid.”

Mobei-jun sighed, like he witnessed two kids fighting, but took his consort in his arms and left through a portal.

Master Shen seemed to lose the tenseness of his shoulders, before he turned to Binghe. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem,” said Binghe and finally put the breakfast down. “Can I ask what happened?”

“We were fighting about something,” said Master Shen. He heated up water with his qi for their tea. “Nothing noteworthy. His report about the south border to the demon realm is more important. After breakfast we will have to gather everyone who isn’t out on a mission right now.”

“Yes Master Shen,” said Binghe.

***

It seemed like a group of demon bandits at the southern border had found old artifacts, and powerful ones at that.

Since they already conquered a smaller city they couldn’t just be ignored. Since it was near the borders the local demon lord had asked for help, since such conflicts were mostly solved by cultivators, or in this case Master Shen. Binghe had never found out why the demons not only respected Master Shen, but they nearly seemed to adore him.

(But Binghe could have done without the whole marriage proposals he saw often enough. Luckily Master Shen always said no.)

Their group consisted of half of their strongest cultivators. Binghe had worked with nearly every one of them once over the last years, so he knew their strengths and weaknesses.

But what they didn’t expect was fighting the demons, killing them, while one of them activated an artifact that formed an array over the whole town.

The demon, someone with black curly horns and yellow eyes, laughed even as blood stained his lips. “What now? We searched for a long time after this! It inactivates golden cores!”

As the array included Binghe and his group, he felt like someone had pushed a hand in his belly and took something out. There was a pull, and his energy left the same way his breath did. 

Binghe stumbled and felt dizziness clouding his vision. He could dodge the attack of another demon, using his sword to pierce the attacker in the chest. As he got the now dead body down, he looked around and found his fellow cultivators struggling as well. Since Binghe still had some demon blood in him, he was less affected. He saw Liu Qingge protecting his sister who was struggling to stand. The rest formed groups to protect the ones unable to get up. As humans, without a golden core, they were like flies to these demons.

Binghe found Master Shen struggling for a moment, seeing two demons attacking him. Cold terror filled Binghe’s heart. “Master Shen!” he screamed. Such a thing couldn’t be the end. But what was even an immortal without a golden core? While Master Shen was the strongest, he could still be killed. Would it end like this, in a border town by a no-name villain?

Master Shen steadied himself, the demons attacking him stopping mid-air. A second later only a bloody mass was where those demons had been, like someone had compressed them. Blood was splattered on the ground, and the rest of the bodies were piled together. 

The blood didn’t land on Master Shen's clothes. Binghe could only see the man's back, as Master Shen took the next steps to the demon handling the artifact. The demon looked at the array and the artefact, hissing. “It should be working! Why doesn’t it work?”

Normally Master Shen preferred to not make himself dirty. He used talismans or his sword to kill his opponents. This time he made a hand-seal, and his sword was flying around, executing every demon in the area that fought them. Not even a minute later no enemies were left, their headless bodies lying around, the stench of blood filling the air.

Master Shen took the final step to stand across the demon, who had tried pushing something at the orb, fear and confusion on his face. Master Shen used his hand to grab the demon's neck. The demon let the artifact, a small golden ball, fall, trying with his hands and claws to get Master Shen from choking him. But he could have tried to scratch stone and it would have had more of an effect. 

“How dare you,” hissed Master Shen. 

Binghe had gotten up, still dizzy, following Master Shen. He had never heard him speaking like that. Cold qi filled the air, like it was sucking out the warmth of the area around him. 

Binghe felt himself shiver as his own breath became a small cloud in front of him. He had never in all these years seen or felt Master Shen’s fury like that. Even when the man was angry, he never hit the person responsible. While being the strongest cultivator in the last centuries he tried to let others make their choices. He only stepped in if they were short on manpower or the monster or demon was especially strong or poisonous. And even then Master Shen killed them shortly and without hesitation.

But now he was choking the demon, he ignored how the demon hissed and tried to free himself. The array was still activated, every golden core in the area had been shut down.

And still Binghe could feel the qi of Master Shen. While normally it was clear as water, now it felt cold and harsh, like ice. And Binghe could tell that Master Shen was still holding back despite all that.

“How?” asked the demon with the last air in his lungs. Master Shen seemed to snort and tilted his head.

“Just for your information, before you will lose that tiny life of yours,” said Master Shen and Binghe could hear the pressure on the demon's neck, starting to break bones. “The array works fine. I just have more than one golden core.”

After that the pressure in Master Shen’s hand increased and the man lost the connection between head and body. Blood coated Master Shen’s hand, dripping down from it.

Binghe didn’t know how he felt. While his body was still standing, he felt weakness in his limbs. He felt insecure and weak.

But seeing Master Shen like that, killing their opponents left and right, being able to ignore such an artifact, brought something into Binghe’s thoughts he had forgotten over the last years.

Master Shen was an immortal cultivator. Nobody knew how old he was, but the man had seen countries build up and go down. He had fought monsters that were only legends now. He had been married once, lived his life in a time nobody could even imagine. He had seen more terror and pain than any of them could even dream about.

And still.

Instead of hiding, ignoring the world’s problems, the man helped. He founded the academy, he fought monsters and tried to maintain the balance between the human and the demon realm. 

He was strong enough to put himself as emperor of the human realm. He could rule them all, and nobody would be able to stop him. He could have a harem for his personal use, he could decorate himself in the rarest jewels and gems.

But instead he let children braid his hair, laughed at Shang Qinghua’s jokes and gave away artifacts if they were more useful to the common people.

Binghe loved him, even this cold, hard side of him. Seeing that Master Shen could act like that, but chose not to, made him only more special in Binghe’s opinion.

Maser Shen in the meantime had gotten his sword back and cleaned his hand with a tissue from the blood. He then picked up the orb, who was still working. With a disgusted frown, Master Shen did something to it, which stopped the array first.

Binghe felt like he could finally breathe again, his strength coming back. Then Master Shen seemed to put pressure on the orb, as it cracked and became dust in his hand. 

After that the man simply clapped his hands together, getting rid of the dust. Binghe just gasped as Master Shen had destroyed something that was a priceless artifact, standing in the middle of their enemies corpses like it was just another afternoon. 

“Now,” said Master Shen. “Is somebody hurt?”

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu made sure that nobody else was waiting before his office door as he closed it for the evening.

After they were finished with the bandits and gathered all the artifacts, he had ordered the rest of the group to take a few days off.

Binghe of course had wanted to stay and Shen Qingqiu had needed to push him out of the office and ask Ming Fang to take the man away. Shen Qingqiu was weak to the man's tears and tried not to look at them too much.

Binghe was not his Binghe, after all. Even as the similarities seemed to gather up.

As Shen Qingqiu cleaned his desk, ready to finish work for the day, he found the air around him sizzling. He only started sensing Mobei-juns portals as he peaked at a certain stage of cultivation. Now he felt the energy and how Mobei-jun influenced the space-line. It was kind of fascinating, honestly.

The portal opened and airplane, or his reincarnation, came through. Mobei-jun followed and the portal closed.

“Cucumber!” said airplane and came around. “I heard everything went well with the bandits?”

This was the fifth reincarnation of Shang Qinghua. There were artifacts that let you remember your past life. Since airplane had already a few lives behind him, after using one artifact he remembered parts, not whole lives. His human brain wouldn’t be able to handle that. But it was enough that he remembered that he had been from another world originally and that Mobei-jun had always been his husband.

Mobei-jun had reincarnated twice; he had survived the attack like Shen Qingqiu at that time; so they had prepared everything for Shen Qingqiu to find him and reactivate his memories.

It would only work if Shen Qingqiu was still alive; without him those two wouldn’t have met again. They were at least happy every time he brought them together, so he didn’t mind.

The artifacts which gave memories back from the past lives became rare. Shen Qingqiu only had three left. New ones hadn’t been discovered in decades.

“As you can see,” said Shen Qingqiu and turned around. “I didn’t think that something like the ´golden core silencer´ still existed.”

Seeing the artifact which had played a part in the defeat of his husband at that time again had made emotions sizzling in him he had long forgotten. He had thought he was over what had happened.

But apparently he was not. He had lost his cool, nearly using his full cultivation to not only kill the demon’s body but to crush his soul to atoms, so that he would never be reborn. 

Shen Qingqiu was able to do that after all.

He had seen Binghe’s eyes after that, and while the man didn’t fear him, he had been clearly unsure how to handle Shen Qingqiu.

Some space would do them good.

“Yes,” hissed Shang Qinghua while Mobei-jun behind him walked to the shelf with the magical artifacts. That man loved some of them that made an explosion.

“But really, that should have been the last one. We destroyed every last one of them and the plans to build them. If they hadn’t searched in old ruins they wouldn’t have found them to begin with.”

Shen Qingqiu sighed and sat down at his desk. “But that’s not what you are here to talk about, right?”

Shang Qinghua hummed. “You really don’t want to see if that Binghe… is your Binghe?”

Since Luo Binghe, his husband, had died protecting him, thousands and thousands of years had passed.

Not once the man had been reborn.

Of course he could look different and have another name. Shen Qingqiu had searched for him, but after the centuries he and Binghe had worked for the peace of the realms, Binghe had become a pretty common name. And half-bloods became pretty normal as well.

He only had so many artifacts; as he asked demons with the ability to see into the future it had nearly broken his heart. They all had said the same, that he wouldn’t meet his husband again this decade. And not in the next. Or the next after that.

It had been unclear why, but Binghe’s soul had yet to enter the reincarnation cycle.

Shen Qingqiu could have killed himself then; he had entertained the idea. Only Mobei-jun had been left after all, all his fellow peak lords and friends had ascended, died or been killed.

But he was still a transmigrator. The system, silent since Binghe died, hadn't been able to answer where his soul would go.

So he tried to hold on. He tried to prepare the world, so that the next time Binghe would be born here he would hopefully live a gentler life.

Shen Qingqiu had waited and hoped. Had seen other half-bloods be born and marry, never finding the one that resembled his husband. And if he entertained the idea and used an artifact, they hadn't been his husband either. 

And after a while he gave up.

With his cultivation he didn’t need to sleep or eat anymore. He would work tirelessly to make the world a better place. And while it did help to see children grow up healthy instead of starving, going to school instead of fighting to death, he had felt hollow.

Meeting Shang Qinghua every thousand years or so had been a nice surprise. It helped to make the time move faster. 

His cultivation was strong enough that he sometimes found himself spacing off, especially at night. He could look into the sky and see the other planets move, and saw how dust could form new life. Sometimes he blinked and the night was already ending, Binghe ready with breakfast.

Memories mixed, time became meaningless. He would not be able to stay much longer in this realm and body.

But as long as he could he would try to keep it a secret to the few friends that he had. Even as he saw how Mobei-jun sometimes looked at him; the demon only said things if he needed to, but Shen Qingqiu was sure that the demon knew about his situation. So it was possible that airplane knew it too. But neither had talked to him about it, and Shen Qingqiu didn’t want to. He hoped he could hold his symptoms a secret for a little longer. 

Especially from Binghe. 

Seeing the man, who was just so much like his husband and at the same time not, didn’t help. He found himself victim to memories, moments from a long time ago. And every day seeing the man, being the source of that blinding smile, forced him to stay in the present.

It was bittersweet.

He had seen this situation more than once. And every time he did use an artefact at ´Binghe´, the man had not regained any memories of them.

After such a situation he most of the time placed ‘Binghe’ in a new position, while he could watch them from afar getting married and having children.

It hurt, but Shen Qingqiu tear ducts had long since dried.

Having this Binghe now was like torturing himself. But he never claimed to only make good choices.

Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Cucumber-bro…” said Shang Qinghua silently. “Don’t you think you deserve a happy ending?”

Shen Qingqiu felt too tired to let the mask on his face still exist. He let Shang Qinghua see the tiredness in his eyes. “I did have a happy ending, one that did take centuries. I’m just greedy. Maybe he will get reincarnated when I’m finally gone.”

Shang Qinghua didn’t say anything to that. He just watched as the man who protected the whole world while searching for his husband's soul lost any hope he had to still find him.

It seemed like Shang Qinghua had to do something about that.

***

“Yo, Luo Binghe!”

Binghe turned around, using a towel to get the sweat from his face. He saw Shang Qinghua walking up to him, Mobei-jun close behind.

After the situation with the demon bandits most of his group had been devastated by how weak they had been. Without Master Shen they would have died. So, they started training their body, so that even without a golden core they would at least be able to defend themselves. Maybe use some pre-prepared talisman. They were still figuring things out.

“Yes?” asked Binghe. He saw how Mobei-jun was not partaking in the fights, now standing next to his consort. While Binghe had never talked to the demon much, he had always been a silent presence, sometimes even snorting at Master Shen’s jokes.

“We have a few questions for you,” asked Shang Qinghua.

“Yes?” asked Binghe.

“What do you think of Master Shen?” asked the small cultivator. Binghe blinked at the question.

“What do you mean? Master Shen is Master Shen,” said Binghe.

“What Qinghua means, would you like to marry that man? Be his husband?” asked Mobei-jun. His voice was deep and calm, like he just asked about the weather.

Binghe felt torn and confused. “Why are you asking?”

While Binghe knew that Shang Qinghua was only having Master Shen’s best interest at heart, hearing this question made Binghe blush.

“You… have similarities to his husband,” said Mobei-jun. “And Master Shen is not able to stay in this plan of existence much longer. One human's lifespan at the most, then he will vanish.”

“What?” asked Binghe then, all the heat of his body turning into cold fear. “Why would you say that?” That had to be a lie.

Mobei-jun just shook his head. “You humans… you really don’t know what Master Shen is doing to stay here, despite his cultivation?”

“We know that he is the strongest,” said Binghe quietly.

Mobei-jun looked at Binghe. His deep blue eyes showed more knowledge and wisdom than Binghe expected. “Master Shen is at a point of cultivation where he transcends time and space. He could see the past, present and future at the same time. He uses it sometimes, otherwise humanity would have been lost a while ago,” explained the demon. 

“But a human body is not made for that, at least not for such a long time. The three golden cores he has are helping, but sometimes in the future he will take a step, maybe talk to someone and his cultivation will break him into the tiniest pieces a body is made of.”

Binghe had never heard Mobei-jun say so much. And every word the demon did say was like a blow in the stomach. Binghe felt how his sweat had turned cold, like ice was flowing in his veins.

Alone the thought that one day Master Shen would simply vanish was too much to bear.

“Why… why are you telling me that?” asked Binghe.

“Master Shen waited for his husband to be reincarnated,” said Shang Qinghua quietly, turning the attention back to him. His face was paler. “He has artifacts that help remember one of their past lives. He used them on mine and Mobei-juns soul frequently.”

Binghe blinked at that. “He did?”

Shang Qinghua nodded. “I don’t remember much anymore, it’s my fifth life after the one where I met Master Shen,” explained the cultivator. “But I remember his husband, and how in love they were. So I ask you, Luo Binghe,” said Shang Qinghua, “are you ready to try an artifact and see if you are the reincarnated demon lord?”

Chapter Text

Binghe felt weird with all the new information in his hands.

He followed Mobei-jun through the portal and found himself in the personal quarters of Master Shen. He had been here nearly daily, especially after he started to cook for the man. He had never seen all the rooms, but now he followed Mobei-jun, Shang Qinghua behind them. They entered a side room and as Binghe walked inside it he gasped.

He saw a painting on the wall. It was Master Shen, but he had a different hairstyle and his robes were black and golden. He looked majestic and like an emperor. 

And next to him was a tall man. A red demon sigil was glowing on his forehead, dark curly hair framing his face. His ears were a bit pointy, but he looked like a demon lord.

And his face and whole body had similarities to Binghe. They didn’t look exactly the same, but the man on this painting could be his uncle or grandfather.

Binghe turned from the painting to the room, finding it filled with shelves. Some of them had  books, others had fans. Most of them didn’t seem to be artifacts. All of them had talismans on them to prevent decay.

Were all of these mementos? 

Was he really the reincarnation of Master Shen’s husband? 

Mobei-jun had walked to one specific shelf and got a small flask out. Inside was a liquid with a dark hue. He gave it to Binghe.

“Drink,” ordered Mobei-jun.

“What will happen then?” asked Binghe as he took it. 

“You should remember your past life,” said Shang Qinghua. “There is a possibility that you remember your time with him; but maybe we are all wrong and you will just remember your past life as a worm, who knows.”

Mobei-jun snorted at that. “He is it,” said the demon. “I have no doubt.”

Binghe gulped. He didn’t know if he should trust them. For a prank it was way too complex. “Can… can someone remember things from their past life even without such an artifact? Like, in dreams?”

Shang Qinghua blinked. “I don’t know. I never did.”

“I did,” said Mobei-jun. Binge looked up to him. Shang Qinghua looked surprised at his husband. “You didn’t tell me!”

“It was not of interest,” said Mobei-jun. “Did you have dreams?”

Binghe nodded. “I did! For my whole life. At first I just thought I had a vivid imagination. But later… I saw Master Shen. And those dreams seemed so real.”

Shang Qinghua came near Binghe. “What did you dream about?”

“I guess.. Domestic things,” said Binghe. “I would cook and we lived in a small house. He liked his fans and to read books. Sometimes we would fight against monsters. Some dreams were.. More intimate.” It felt freeing to talk about those dreams. “I dreamed more often than not that I did die. Someone cut off my head.”

Mobei-jun nodded. “That’s how you died after all. Even heavenly demon blood can’t regrow a brain.”

“Damn,” cursed Shang Qinghua. “Luckily I don’t remember my death.” 

Mobei-jun huffed at that. “You died protecting me. Don’t repeat that.”

“Of course!” said Shang Qinghua.

Binghe looked at the flask and opened it. Before he could stop himself he did drink it. It tasted bitter and had a strange aftertaste.

“And now?” asked Binghe before the world became dizzy and darkness filled his vision.

***

“Shizun!” screamed Binghe as he came back from a nighthunt and a blinding smile greeted him.

“Shizun!” said Binghe as he stumbled again to feel his Master’s body heat once more.

“Shizun!” cried Binghe as the man threw him into the abyss.

“Shizun,” mumbled Binghe as the man did run away from him.

“Shizun,” cried Binghe as the man died for him the first time.

“Shizun?” asked Binghe as a man unlike his Shizun was standing before him.

“Shizun?” asked Binghe as the both stopped the merging of the realms.

“Shizun,” whispered Binghe happily as they were both wearing red.

“Shizun!” groaned Binghe as the man was under him, moaning Binghe’s name.

Shizun, Shizun, Shizun…

***

“Airplane,” hissed somebody as Binghe opened his eyes, only to close them again as the light made his head hurt even more.

“I will fucking kill you,” said Master Shen - Shizun? - as Binghe felt something soft under his head.

“Bro!” whimpered the other man. “It worked!”

“You don’t know that!” said Shizun. “Depending on how much he remembers he could go crazy!”

“Shizun?” asked Binghe, his memories still mixed up. He opened his eyes and found his Shizun, his husband, his Master Shen above him. The man had gotten Binghe’s head on his lap and was pouring qi inside him, helping to elevate the pain.

“Binghe?” whispered Shizun as he heard his name. His face was pale and his eyes big.

Binghe put one of his own hands on Shen Qingqiu. He sighed. “My head hurts. Three hundred years of memories are a lot.”

Shen Qingqiu became still, unnaturally so. “You… you really remember?” His voice was quiet, like it could be broken at any moment. Like he didn’t trust the reality they were in.

Binghe nodded slightly. “I do, I do. Did you have to wait long?”

Tears filled Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “Long enough. Couldn’t you be reborn a bit faster? This master is now really an old man.”

Binghe smiled at that. “Sounds sexy.”

Shen Qingqiu laughed at that as tears fell down his eyes. He then pulled Binghe closer to him, laughing and crying at the same time.

Binghe let him. Even with his memories a bit jumbled he could only imagine what his husband felt. He had once waited five years for Shen Qingqiu to come back. His husband had waited thousands and thousands of years.

How could he repay this? How could he even imagine what his husband had gone through? Year after year, alone, waiting for a husband that maybe never returned?

And Binghe knew that while he had demonic blood in him he was far from immortal. He would live longer than the common people, sure, but not hundreds of years like before. People still could cultivate a golden core, but it only slowed down the aging process, not stopping it entirely. 

But the time he had he would spend with his husband.

Binghe tried to hug his Shizun and the man let him. They were both sitting on the floor, hugging each other. Shen Qingqiu was even shivering a bit.

“It worked,” said Mobei-jun, in a tone like he told them so. Binghe snorted at that.

“It did,” said Binghe. He felt himself blinking as the light was still harsh to his eyes. Shang Qinghua had tears in his eyes and grinned wide.

“I said it was him!” said Shang Qinghua.

“Shut up,” said Shen Qingqiu who had his face in Binghe’s neck. Binghe looked up to the other couple. “Could you leave us alone? I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Shang Qinghua nodded. “I will tell everyone to leave you guys alone. Take your time.”

***

It took a while before Binghe and Shen Qingqiu moved from the ground up to the bed. Binghe’s headache got a bit better, but his memories were still quite mixed.

It helped that in this life Shen Qingqiu didn’t have such a big role in raising him.

Shen Qingqiu had, after his tears had dried a bit, gotten a tissue and cleaned himself up. He sat down again next to Binghe and looked at him, like he was dissecting a puzzle.

“I… still can’t believe it,” said Shen Qingqiu. 

“I can only imagine,” said Binghe. He took Shen Qingqiu’s hands in his. “I’m glad that I was able to protect you. It’s the last thing I remember.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes became colder. “So… you remember your death?”

Binghe nodded. It had been a trap, together with artifacts that stopped a golden core. Their enemies had used the husbands against each other, using every trick.

“What happened after that?” asked Binghe. “The array was still active.”

Shen Qingqiu looked to the window, his eyes far away. “It… wasn’t pretty.”

“But my husband survived,” said Binghe. 

Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes. “They laughed above your corpse,” started the man. “Shang Qinghua had helped his husband and was dying. The demon-halting arrays worked too. The demons were working together with a few old ‘friends’.”

“That does make sense,” said Binghe. After all, the trap was far too complex for such simple demons.

“They didn’t think much would happen with you dead and me hurt. I just wanted to survive. You gave your life for me after all. So… I acted like I was crying over your corpse and dug out your golden core. It burned as I pushed it inside me, but it gave me the strength to kill most of them on the spot.”

Binghe had wondered. After all normal cultivators only developed one golden core all of their life, it was unheard to have more.

“The array only worked against one golden core after all. But your golden core was still used to demonic cultivation, my body couldn’t handle it. I saved Mobei-jun and thought I would die from demonic poisoning, but the demon apparently had seen what I did and cut out Shang Qinghua’s golden core and gave me that too. After that I was stable.”

Binghe hugged his husband, feeling the cold and soft skin. “I’m sorry.”

“It is not your fault,” said Shen Qingqiu and smiled a bit. “It was a long time ago. We killed our enemies and made sure to look for your reincarnations. What are a hundred years after all for a cultivator or a demon? Shang Qinghua was reborn, but you were not. I asked demons that were able to look into the future and they all said the same - that I most likely wouldn’t meet you again.”

“They were wrong,” said Binghe. His head became a bit clearer with time and he kissed his husband's cheek. “I came back.”

Shen Qingqiu snorted. “Yeah, but it really took a long time. I even asked a lord of the underworld if your soul somehow got holed up somewhere. But they all said that you entered the reincarnation cycle. But nobody could tell me when you would be reborn. It was always ´not now´ or ´not in the next 50 years´.”

Binghe nodded to that, stroking his husband's hair behind his ear. His hair had gotten even longer, as it was now tickling the man’s knees.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” said Binghe.

“It isn’t your fault,” said Shen Qingqiu. His smile was soft. His face hadn’t changed, but Binghe could see the years in his husband's eyes. The long wait.

“Still,” said Binghe. “My husband did so much. You never took another man?” While Binghe would tear himself up over other lovers, he would have understood.

Shen Qingqiu snorted. “No. There were enough possibilities, but nobody would have been able to compare. It wouldn’t have been fair to the person either, knowing that I’m just waiting for your reincarnation.”

Binghe hummed and stroked from his husband's ear to his neck, finding a beautiful blush spreading. “So husband wasn’t even trying to seduce this Binghe? I have seen how you sometimes watched me.”

Shen Qingqiu turned his head. “How could I not? The older you got, the more similarities I could see. Your laugh, how you cook, how you fight. It… it kinda hurt.”

Binghe kissed the eyelid of his husband. “Just to explain things clearly: This Binghe, even before I regained my memories, loved you.”

Shen Qingqiu said nothing to that. 

“You must have known, I wasn’t that secretive,” said Binghe.

“Of course I have known,” sighed Shen Qingqiu. “I’ve seen your face since you were twelve. I tried to hold back, give you as many choices as I could.”

Binghe kissed those soft lips with a smile. “I know. I grew up safe and happy. My mother is still alive, I have friends and a fulfilling job. You protected me again and again. Even without my memories I would have loved you till I died.”

“You don't know that,” said Shen Qingqiu, who didn’t reciprocate the kiss. “With those memories… don’t feel obligated.”

Binghe frowned as his husband’s eyes turned a bit colder. “Obligated?”

Shen Qingqiu gulped once. “I mean… this is still a new life. You are still a young man full of promise. Just because you remember me now doesn’t mean you have to follow up with those memories.”

Binghe pushed Shen Qingqiu down on the bed, seeing how the man’s eyes widened and his breath became quicker.

“And what if I want that?” asked Binghe, now between his husband's legs. “What if I have waited decades for Master Shen to notice me? To be able to touch Master Shen’s skin and lips?”

“Binghe…” said Shen Qingqiu quietly, as Binghe bowed down, bringing their faces together.

“What if I was really happy that Master Shen always said no to any proposals? What if I wanted to call Master Shen husband, even when I would only be his second husband? What if, since I now remember everything, I can’t imagine anything better than both of us wearing red again? To call you my husband again?”

“Binghe!” gasped Shen Qingqiu at hat, his eyes slightly wet. “You want that?”

“That’s all I ever wanted, in both lifes,” said Binghe and kissed Shen Qingqiu. The man gasped in the kiss and was holding onto Binghe for dear life, slightly trembling.

“I missed you,” said Shen Qingqiu. He closed his eyes as the tears were falling again. “I missed you so much.”

“I know,” said Binghe and was letting his weight slowly fall onto Shen Qingqiu. He felt his husband's whole body heating up, still shivering. It was as if Shen Qingqiu was getting warm for the first time after decades of feeling cold.

“You can’t leave again,” whispered Shen Qingqiu. His voice was scratchy. “I don’t think I can…”

He didn’t need to speak it. Binghe understood perfectly. After all this waiting Shen Qingqiu would not survive losing his husband like that again. If Binghe decided to stay, and Binghe did want that, it would be forever.

“I’m here now,” said Binghe while he kissed the tears away. “I will not leave again. I will stay with you forever, husband. As long as my heart is beating.”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t answer that, he only kissed Binghe and gave their bodies what they needed.

***

As Binghe woke up the next day he found his husband already awake, or better still awake since Shen Qingqiu didn’t need to sleep. The man had probed himself against the pillows, Binghe curled up against him in the night.

Shen Qingqiu put away the book he had been reading and smiled down at Binghe. 

“Morning,” said Shen Qingqiu with a smile. The marks from last night's activities were still seen at his neck.

“Morning,” answered Binghe and kissed his husband good morning. “I know that Shizun doesn’t need to sleep, but seeing you awake before me is still…”

“Kind of weird?” smiled Shen Qingqiu. “I mean, I can sleep, but either I only sleep an hour or three days, there is no in between. I said my measure of time is messed up.”

“Shang Qinghua said that… Shizun’s cultivation won’t allow you to be on this plane of existence much longer,” said Binghe quietly.

Shen Qingqiu nodded to that. “I don’t know how to explain it, but… I have the highest cultivation that is possible.” He looked at his own hand. A small stream of qi assembled and gathered the dust in his palm, forming a small ball of light. “What is cultivation if not knowledge of qi and the world around us? I can change light, gravity and every other rule of this world.” The ball in his hand became dust again, became harder and resembled stone. After that he broke it again and the dust resembling sand floated through his hands and disappeared. 

He looked back to Binghe. “And qi was always used as the baseline. I mean, with three golden core’s I’m never out of qi. Not needing to sleep also means more time for cultivation and meditation. And since I remember my past life, I even remember more knowledge of this world.”

“Shizun remembers his past life? Without an artifact?” said Binghe who had sat up. Watching Shen Qingqiu form a small qi ball and how he used it had been fascinating. His husband had always been quite adept at qi-manipulation after all.

“I did after that strange qi deviation that I had,” said Shen Qingqiu. “That’s why my other memories became unclear, since they overlapped with the ones from my other life.”

Shen Qingqiu had never been able to tell Binghe about the system -  at least not directly. It hadn't been necessary, since Binghe had counted a few things together. He had known that his husband was knowing more than he should - but such things always came with a price. He hadn’t dared to ask Shen Qingqiu further.

“That kind of makes sense,” said Binghe and leaned his head on his husband's shoulder. “Was it different?”

“It was another world eternally,” said Shen Qingqiu. He looked out of the window. “It was a world without cultivation and demons. Seeing that it was possible to not be reborn in the realm we know, I could only wait till you were reborn. The chance was too high to never see you again.”

Binghe couldn’t help but kiss his husband on those lips, smiling all the while. “My husband is the best.”

Shen Qingqiu smiled in the kiss. “I doubt it, but thank you.”

“No,” said Binghe. “I mean, waiting for me to be reborn? Fighting for me? Changing the world into a better place so that even without you any child would not live through what I did?” asked Binghe. “Shizun, today you are a god to those people. Quite deserving, if I may say so.”

“I’m no god,” laughed Shen Qingqiu. “I mean, I have the power of one, but I don’t use it. I don’t think I could be human anymore if I did.”

Binghe found this sentence interesting and he wanted to ask more, but his belly made a gurgling sound, making his husband laugh. 

“Oh, is Binghe hungry?” asked Shen Qingqiu with a smile on his face.

“I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday,” answered Binghe. After his training he had followed Mobei-jun and many things had happened after.

Shen Qingqiu got up. “Then come,” said the immortal and his glossy hair was falling down in waves behind his back. “Binghe shouldn’t starve.”

“Does my husband want to eat something too?” asked Binghe as he got up from the bed and searched for an inner robe. Shen Qingqiu sometimes was too busy to eat with Binghe, but most of the time the man sat down and ate together with him.

“Sure,” said Shen Qingqiu, holding out his hand to Binghe. The younger man took it and followed his husband. He felt a pleasant warmth in his heart, seeing his husband happy and smiling at him.

Chapter Text

Happiness didn’t last forever. Binghe knew that.

Still, he tried to make the most out of the years he had with his husband.

First, they had told everyone that they were courting and to expect a wedding soon - this was simpler then to tell the people around them about Binghe’s recovered memories. They did tell Binghe’s adoptive mother, who just cried and was happy that her son found the man he had been searching and dreaming about.

“Did he have those dreams since he was a child?” asked Shen Qingqiu.

Binghe’s mother nodded. “He did. He asked where the prince was, with long black hair and green clothes. I don’t have the pictures anymore, but Binghe drew some when he was a toddler. It became less so over the years, so I thought he was something like an imaginary friend.”

Binghe felt embarrassed while Shen Qingqiu giggled. “Seems to me that your soul remembered, but your brain couldn’t handle it.”

Binghe groaned. “I mean, I did dream about someone at my side while fighting a monster. And I have had a crush on you since I was a teenager.”

Shen Qingqiu just smiled softly at that. “Seems like regardless of which life, you never change.”

The wedding that followed had been quite big. People and demons from both realms came and congratulated them. Some wanted to fight the husband of the immortal, but Shen Qingqiu made sure to kick them out before something could happen.

Still, the wedding itself was one of Binghe’s most treasured memories. He had his husband and his mother by his side, Shen Qingqiu had Shang Qinghua with Mobei-jun as a shadow behind him.

It had been beautiful, chaotic and full of life. The wedding night was memorable as well.

They lived together after that, both Binghe and Shen Qingqiu cleaning out the apartment and making room for Binghe’s stuff.

That didn’t mean that they didn’t have different opinions on things sometimes; Binghe knew that in this life he was weaker than Shen Qingqiu, but he still tried to protect the man on instinct. It led to them fighting as Binghe got hurt quite badly as they cleaned a village from raging ghosts. Shen Qingqiu had looked angry at his husband, so full of fury in fact that he had cleaned out the village from the ghost with a single snap of his fingers.

Binghe apologized later and they had a long talk about their power levels and what could hurt Shen Qingqiu.

In this world currently? Nothing.

Shen Qingqiu was stronger than the beasts in the endless abyss. He had visited the underworld searching for Binghe’s soul. He had cut down legendary beasts, destroyed artifacts that could in theory hurt him.

But now, at this moment? There should be nothing that could hurt Shen Qingqiu.

Besides from his own cultivation.

As the years flew by, Shen Qingqiu’s sense of time got even worse. It was better with Binghe next to him, but left alone the man could spend time just staring at the sky or meditating for an hour but in his mind a year had gone by.

Binghe watched this, knowing that he couldn’t prevent it. Every day, every hour he was able to spend with his husband was a blessing. He still searched for a possible cure, but nothing seemed to match the symptoms.

Humans were simply not meant to live that long. Even in the past cultivators could live to a thousand years - but even this happened quite rarely.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t tell Binghe the exact number - but Binghe expected that Shen Qingqiu was now alive for over 6000 years, maybe even more.

And Binghe himself felt himself growing older. Slowly, but surely, small wrinkles appeared when he smiled. He felt his joints becoming stiffer, muscles more prone to hurt than before.

But even with some fights, they loved each other. They had lost each other once and even when they were on very different sides of a topic, they never went to bed alone. 

But even this ended in the middle of a normal day. 

Shen Qingqiu and Binghe had just finished lunch and were back in the office to look through reports. Shen Qingqiu slowly tried to reshape the institute and the sect to work without him. Even as the thought of that hurt Binghe deeply, he understood the necessity.

Shen Qingqiu had just taken a sip from his tea as a portal opened, Shang Qinghua and Mobei-jun nearly falling inside the office.

Blood was on Mobei-jun’s left side, as the demon seemed even paler than normal. Shen Qingqiu was up instantly. The portal had closed behind them and Shang Qinghua helped Mobei-jun lay down.

“What happened?” asked Binghe as Shen Qingqiu looked through his pouch before he found something. He gave the demon a pill, before he sat down and infused the man with qi, speeding up the healing.

“It… I don’t remember that monster!” said Shang Qinghua. While the man was not the strongest, Binghe had never seen him so full of fear. His eyes were wide and he shivered.

“I was so large that I couldn’t see the sky anymore! And the village… those demons.. They just… disappeared! Like it was eating the world around them!”

Binghe had never heard about such a monster. Not even in the abyss he had witnessed such an existence.

But Binghe had seen how Shen Qingqiu got still. He finished giving Mobei-jun qi, as the demon seemed to heal. At least the wounds closed up. Shen Qingqiu pulled his hands back, looking at Mobei-jun. Sometimes Binghe forgot that those two have spent time together the last thousands years when their husbands weren't reborn.

“Is it… the world eater?” asked Shen Qingqiu the demon.

Mobei-jun did take a deep breath. “I think so.”

“Fuck,” said Shen Qingqiu and got up. He looked stressed, surprising even Binghe.

“What did you call it?” asked Shang Qinghua. He was now sitting next to his husband and helped him to sit up from the floor.

“What its name said. It eats whole worlds,” said Shen Qingqiu. The immortal got up and walked to his table, opening a drawer. “Mobei-jun, are you okay to portal again?”

Mobei-jun nodded and got up. Shen Qingqiu found what he searched for, a small pouch, before he walked back to Mobei-jun. “I will take care of the world eater, you evacuate as many people as possible.”

“Husband,” said Binghe. He felt a terrible foreshadowing. “If you say it eats the world, how can someone defeat it?”

Shen Qingqiu smiled sadly. “You can’t.”

***

They didn’t talk much after that. Mobei-jun opened a portal and what Binghe saw was made out of his worst nightmare.

It couldn't be called a beast. It was filling the sky, like it was an angry god coming down to tear down this realm. It was a mixture of black flesh, hungry mouths and red eyes. The mouths screamed so horrible even Binghe felt torn between spitting up blood and running back to his mothers arms.

Shen Qingqiu had ordered for other portals to open, so that the demons from this part of the realm could flee. Luckily the world eater had started in Mobei-jun’s territory, the northern demon realm. Mostly ice and tundra was here, meaning that there weren't many villages to begin with.

“Mobei-jun, airplane, Binghe, make sure to get the people away. I don’t know if my plan will work. If everything goes to shit use this here,” said Shen Qingqiu and gave Shang Qinghua a small wooden ball.

Shang Qinghua looked at it, confused. He had problems just standing even a few miles away from the world eater.  “What is this?”

“It will cut the demon realm from the human realm,” said Shen Qingqiu. “I had prepared it for an emergency a few centuries ago. Just a hint of qi will be enough.”

“Shizun,” said Binghe at that. He tore his eyes away from the monster before them. “What exactly are you planning?”

Shen Qingqiu looked at the world eater like he was looking at the sunset. Something that ended the day. He then opened the new pouch and pulled something out of it.

“Is that… Xin Mo?” asked Binghe wide eyed. They had destroyed that sword in his other life.

“Exactly,” said Shen Qingqiu. The sword woke up from his slumber, already starting to consume his qi.

“Either I can make Xin Mo consume the world eater, or if this doesn’t work then maybe I open a portal to a silent world and lead it there.”

“Shizun,” said Binghe. With it he meant I can’t lose you and I worry about you and I love you.

Shen Qingqiu smiled at his husband and kissed him shortly. “I don’t plan to die here. Wait for me, alright?”

Binghe could only nod. If Shen Qingqiu didn’t save them, then there wouldn't be a world to live in anymore.

Shen Qingqiu seemed to breathe deep at once, Xin Mo in his hand, before he used his other sword to fly to the world eater, which screamed deeply as light erupted.

“Now, come on!” said Shang Qinghua. “We still have to evacuate the demons around here!”

Binghe bites down on his lip before nodding. They started to run up to the village near them and Mobei-jun opened a portal.

***

Luckily for them the demons had already started to pack their belongings as they felt the world eater entered the demon realm. The theory was that the thing had started to munch through the endless abyss first - but since no reliable connection was to that realm nobody knew about it before it was too late.

Shang Qinghua portaled back to the human realm and Mobei-jun and his clan opened a portal in every section of the demon realm to evacuate.

The world eater was fast.

Binghe had not expected an entity of this mass to move that way - it moved by pulses, and after one pulse a whole mountain was just gone.

If Shen Qingqiu didn’t fight it, it likely would have already consumed the demon realm. This way they had barely enough time, as the world eater had after half a day already consumed most of the northern demon realm. What was left was not simply blank earth, but nothingness.

Blank, dark nothingness.

Of course they didn’t know if Shen Qingqiu’s plan would work. But they had no other choice. Nobody else would even be capable of standing against the world eater to begin with.

Binghe tried his best to help another family to go through the portal as the ground shook and light erupted from the world eater. The scream it let out after that was the worst till then, making everyone cry out. 

Binghe felt inside him that something was wrong. Xin Mo wasn’t able to win against something like that. Even as the sword was able to consume anything, it was that - a cursed sword. The thing before them was like a god, only twisted and turned.

Binghe had pushed the last group of this village through the portal as he felt the air behind him shift. He turned and found Shen Qingqiu before him.

The man looked worn to the bone, but his eyes blazed. Xin Mo was on his back, his robes torn.

“Shizun!” said Binghe and turned to his husband. Even knowing that seeing his husband here meant that Shen Qingqiu lost, was still better than not knowing if his husband was still alive.

“Binghe,” said Shen Qingqiu and he looked tired. “Sorry, but Xin Mo is not able to win. I could push it back a bit, but it’s still eating.”

“We noticed,” said Binghe and took his husband's hands. “Come one then, let’s get everyone out of here and close off the realm. That should work then?”

Putting every demon in the human realm meant chaos - over time those two races had gotten closer and even friendly to one another, but there still had been quite some space between them. 

How could they feed an entire race? Where should they sleep?

But that was something they could work on together.

Shen Qingqiu pulled his hand back and shook his head. “I still can try to lead it to another universe - cutting off the demon realm has only a 50/50 chance of success.”

The immortal looked into his husband's eyes. “The static of the demon realm is already compromised - the world eater has already started to eat the underground where you guys couldn’t see it. It’s unstable and could break down into nothingness. When the last demon is rescued, let Shang Qinghua activate the orb.”

“And what about you?” asked Binghe, pulling that hand back. “How will you come back?”

“After I lured it away I will use Xin Mo of course,” said Shen Qingqiu. He smiled at his husband. “I didn’t wait thousands of years only to leave you after a few decade.”

Binghe pulled his husband close to him, put a hand on Shizun's cheek and kissed him full of heat. Shen Qingqiu grabbed Binghe’s robe and let himself be manhandled. Their kiss was between the empty village and the disaster of the realm on the horizon.

Binghe still wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Shen Qingqiu pulled back, lips red from the kiss, his eyes still glowing from the use of his qi.

“Do you trust me?” asked Shen Qingqiu.

“Always,” said Binghe. 

“Then trust me when I say I will come back to you,” said Shen Qingqiu.

Binghe looked into his husband’s face, before he let him go. “Don’t make me wait too long.”

Shen Qingqiu smiled at him. “Believe it or not Binghe, I won’t let some dumb monster of the week ruin everything I have built.” Another pulse followed and the field before the village was gone, black fluid already searching for the next existence to devour.

Shen Qingqiu got Xin Mo out, before he turned his back to his husband.

“I will be back before you know it,” said Shen Qingqiu.

Binghe closed his eyes, before he opened them again, looking at his husband's back.

“Till later Shizun,” said Binghe before he took a step through the portal.

It was most likely the last time he had seen his husband. He knew what lies tasted in that mouth.