Chapter Text
Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky was a hack. Now, it’s not that Shen Yuan wasn’t already aware of this; he was well aware. So aware, in fact, that his ID was famous in the comment section for his habit of letting Airplane know just what a hack he was, and for exactly what reasons. Peerless Cucumber was truly peerless in his denigration of Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky!
So no, Airplane being a ridiculous, despicable hack was not a surprise. It wasn’t the thing that was surprising here. No, the thing that was surprising was the fact that, after dying a frankly embarrassing death in his own home, betrayed by his one true love (food), he woke up in a strange bed, with a Google Translate voice happily chirping at him that he had transmigrated into Proud Immortal Demon Way —into Shen fucking Qingqiu no less—but that there had been a severe unexpected error, and the System would be leaving to enter maintenance mode. With a cheerful whistle, the thing disappeared with this as a parting line:
[The SYSTEM hopes the valued customer will enjoy their time in the Omegaverse Version of “Proud Immortal Demon Way.” Good luck!!!]
Sorry, the what now? The what version of Proud Immortal Demon Way ? The “ Omegaverse Version ”? Excuse him, System, he would like a fucking refund! He doesn’t want to be trapped in a somehow more pornographic fanfiction version of this shitshow of a novel! He’ll pray to whatever god it takes, including Great God Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky , to be a beta. To at least be normal! At least that lecherous bastard Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t have been made an omega by any fanfic writers, surely. He’s safe from that dynamic, at least?
…
Shen Qingqiu was not, in fact, a beta. He was an alpha. Fuck.
Exactly what he needed, no? To be the exact perfect dynamic to gain a reputation for lechery. At this point, Shen Qingqiu probably already had such a reputation.
He might not have had a System telling him what he could and could not do, but even in an a/b/o fanfic, there’s no way Shen Qingqiu would get anything but a terrible ending! He’d have to hug thighs until he could find out just how bad things were, and then figure out how to fix them!
When he called for Ming Fan, perhaps the first thing he noticed about the boy was how he seemed to be carrying a multitude of faint, but strange scents. His nose identified them as human, but his transmigrator brain could only think this was all wrong for human smells! Some of the scents were perfectly mundane, but others were awful . He had no idea which was which, but fortunately the boy himself didn’t seem to have a scent himself. A beta , he thought, surprised by the feeling that he knew this was absolutely correct. Huh. At least he wouldn’t have to learn how to identify people’s secondary genders. Seems his olfactory sense still remembered how, even if his actual self had no way to have ever known this information.
“Ming Fan, bring Luo Binghe here.”
“Yes, shizun.” The boy bowed, and ran off.
A few minutes later, Ming Fan reappeared with a nervous, fluffy haired disciple in tow. The younger boy was clearly nervous, but not particularly afraid.
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t stop the grimace of disgust from marring his features. Luo Binghe’s face fell, and Shen Qingqiu quickly snapped his fan open over his face. The boy reeked . What the hell? Why did he smell so bad? His nose helpfully told him that the boy was an alpha, and it was just his natural scent, and not anything else. Why would Luo Binghe , the golden protagonist, smell disgusting to anyone? Was it just to other men, as some stupid plot device to ward them off? But no, Ming Fan looked perfectly unaffected. Were alphas repulsive to other alphas?
“This disciple greets Shizun,” both bows said and bowed in unison.
Huh. Luo Binghe didn’t act at all beaten down like he would have expected him to. Maybe it was much earlier in the story than he would have guessed? That would be good.
“Luo Binghe,” the boy’s head snapped up. “How old are you this year?”
“This disciple is fourteen, Shizun.”
Ah, yes, fourteen…FOURTEEN? Shouldn’t the boy have been very mistreated by this point? The kneeling at the gate incident, the group pummeling from other Qing Jing disciples, getting strung up and beaten, and the punishment with hard labor should all have happened already. Why did the boy look so…healthy, clean, put together, and strong, then?
Ugh, the smell is unbearable. He needs to get the child out of his house. What is something reasonable for the Qing Jing Peak Lord to call a specific disciple for?
“Luo Binghe, as the most junior disciple on the peak, you have no shidi or shimei. From your own experience as the peak’s xiao-shidi, write a report on what you think are the most important duties of a shixiong on Qing Jing Peak. Deliver it within 3 days.”
Luo Binghe quickly bowed again. “Yes, Shizun!”
“Dismissed.”
The boy skedaddled as quickly as he came, and Shen Qingqiu had to restrain himself from letting out a sigh of relief. Ming Fan, not having left yet, asked, “Is Shizun considering taking new disciples into Qing Jing Peak soon?”
Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut, and put every bit of bullshit skills he’d acquired over the years into appearing a wise and aloof immortal master.
“This master is considering it. But the environment of the peak and state of the disciples must first be analyzed before bringing in any other person.”
“Shizun is so wise!”
Hah. Success. Or is this just bootlicking?
“You are dismissed as well, Ming Fan.”
With his Shizun’s dismissal, Ming Fan bowed, and exited, leaving Shen Qingqiu alone once more.
…
Fortunately, it didn’t actually take him too long to adjust to his new life and secondary gender. He learned that everyone on the peaks, Shen Qingqiu included, took heat and rut suppressants to prevent it from occurring unexpectedly. Ruts and heats still occurred, but individuals knew when they were due to start by changes in their body, which then allowed them to go into seclusion for the next week or so and get off their suppressants to allow their body to function naturally and healthily without the hazard of unexpected heats and ruts.
He also learned that—while disciples had too low a cultivation to accomplish it, and that is why he could smell Luo Binghe and the scents of the other disciples clinging to Ming Fan—immortal cultivators could suppress their scents completely. He had been doing so unknowingly around Luo Binghe and Ming Fan (thank god).
While it was strange to be able to read people’s emotions through their scents, and did take some familiarizing himself with, as his subconscious did not remember enough detail to differentiate slight changes in emotion, it wasn’t too bad once he got used to it. That did not mean he wanted his own thoughts advertised to the world through scent, though. He was a modern man at heart! That was too much for him.
To be honest, if there was one thing he had found most disturbing about being an alpha, it was how utterly repulsive others of the same secondary gender as himself smelled. It made him want to gag. Truthfully, he felt like he could understand some of why the Scum Villain would have hated Luo Binghe so much in this setting! The boy was one of the hardest to be around. The scent made his skin crawl , and the urge to shudder with disgust was unreasonably hard to suppress. He wasn’t sure if all alphas felt this way towards other alphas, and he as a modern man he was just unused to it, but he didn’t think so. He never saw the slightest hint of such aversion in alpha disciples interacting among one another.
One thing that was particularly interesting about this a/b/o setting was how alphas, betas, and omegas didn’t have any stereotypical body type. You absolutely couldn’t tell someone’s secondary gender just by looking at them. An alpha could be dainty and delicate while an omega could be a beefcake. There were personality stereotypes though. Not much different from the basic gender roles that existed back in his own world. Alphas were expected to fit what would be “male gender roles” back in the modern world (along with alpha specific things, like being territorial and having a large knot), and omegas expected to fit modern-day “female gender roles” (again with omega specific things, like nesting and smelling sweet), while betas just got the male and female gender roles for their men and women.
Anyway, since the peak lords were all immortal masters that could completely suppress their scents, Shen Qingqiu had no earthly idea what their secondary genders were. This would be fine, if it weren’t something he absolutely should know about them since they had all once been disciples together. And the reason that it’s important is that there are rules about propriety regarding interaction among genders! If he, a known alpha, were to unknowingly visit the house of an omega, imagine the scandal it would cause! His reputation would be beyond saving then. His one saving grace was that many of them actually had secret secondary genders. Apparently there’s a form of scent blockers that adolescents can use to prevent their secondary gender from ever being scentable while they use them. They’re very expensive though, so only the rich kids whose parents sent them a constant supply could use them. Fortunately, most of the peak lords were exactly these kinds of rich kids. So hooray, secret secondary genders! Shen Qingqiu won’t look like a lecher or an idiot!
The only peak lords whose secondary gender’s he’s managed to figure out so far are Yue Qingyuan, an alpha; Shang Qinghua, a beta; Mu Qingfang, a beta; and Qi Qingqi, an alpha (and she won’t shut the fuck up about it, for god’s sake). As far as he can tell, only these four and himself have known secondary genders among the peak lords. He heard someone say there are no omegas once, but how would they even know that if the other lords’ secondary genders are unknown? People are stupid.
Speaking of peak lords, this meeting was boring as hell. Shen Qingqiu has avoided interacting with the others as much as possible, uncertain of his new position in this foreign world. He lazily fanned himself as Shang Qinghua droned on about budgets, looking as absolutely uninterested in his own words as everyone listening was. Eventually the meeting finally wrapped up, and the other immortals shuffled out of the meeting hall. Shen Qingqiu, for the first time, instead of being the first out the door, lingered behind, heading over to Yue Qingyuan.
“Zhangmen-shixiong,” he greeted.
“Qingqiu-shidi,” Yue Qingyuan offered him a genial smile. “What can this shixiong do for you?”
As much as he had liked Yue Qingyuan in the original novel, he couldn’t help but want nothing to do with him. Knowing the man was an alpha, even if he couldn’t smell him, had him tensed and bracing for a vile stench. Regardless, he had a request he needed to make.
“This shidi wishes to enter seclusion in the Lingxi Caves.”
“Ah, seeking to improve your cultivation? Yes, that is fine. When will Qingqiu-shidi be going?”
“Later today.”
Yue Qingyuan nodded. “Have a fruitful seclusion, shidi.”
Shen Qingqiu bowed, and turned and left the meeting hall, headed for Qing Jing Peak. Once there, he gathered all the supplies he thought might be necessary during his time in the caves, instructed Ming Fan what to do during his absence, then took off back to Qiong Ding Peak.
For all the time he had spent familiarizing himself with this knockoff version of PIDW, if he was going to be an immortal master here, he needed to familiarize himself with cultivation as well. There was no better place to hone his skills than in the Lingxi Caves.
Inside the caves was cool and damp, and brimming with the mountain’s natural qi, as was to be expected. Once he felt he was suitably deep into the caverns, he found an area that felt right and settled down to meditate. He should be good for a couple of months; he’d had his first rut in this new body recently (miserable. He didn’t even want to think about how disturbing the changes in his dick were), so he could be certain that he wouldn’t be straining his body too much by using suppressants through a few ruts so his meditation was unimpeded.
The feeling of qi flowing in and out of his meridians was amazing . He felt light as air, malleable as water. Okay, if there’s one thing Airplane did right, it’s the Lingxi Caves. Being in harmony with the mountain’s natural qi as he meditated and learned the feel of his meridians and qi was wonderful. With every cycle of qi, every sword form he performed, he felt himself grow more confident and sure in this new body that wasn’t always his.
He didn’t know how long he’d been in a trance when an erratic, disruptive flow of qi jarred him out of it almost painfully. It felt like chaos, like pain. What was that?
Faintly, he heard a panting sound. It sounded deeply pained, even from this distance. Was someone qi deviating? Should he go help them? He wouldn’t be doing any meditating in this disturbed environment, so he decided he might as well investigate. He was able to follow the riotous qi to its source, as the closer he got, the stronger it became. Eventually the winding path opened to another chamber. In its center was a white swathed figure, covered in blood, bowed over and kneeling on the stone. The murderous qi in the room was as overpowering as the sword glares slashing wildly over the entire space. Shen Qingqiu didn’t have even a moment to process his horror when a horrible shrieking scraping sound signaled a metal sword wrapped in tendrils of silver light wrenching itself free from the wall and flying towards Shen Qingqiu’s face.
He just managed to move his head out of the way, and the sword embedded itself in the stone wall next to his face. From so close, he could see the phoenix ornamentation and glowing incantations engraved on the blade’s hilt.
Fuck! This sword could only belong to one man: the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, the War God Liu Qingge!
He couldn’t help such a person! He’d get flayed alive! He spun around in an attempt to flee, but the sword tore free from the rock again, sending sharp shards of rock and itself towards him. Cheng Luan plunged back into the cave wall a mere hair’s breadth in front of his neck, preventing his exit. He was forced to stop his movement, but in doing so received the full force of the rock shards. They pierced the silk of his robes like it wasn’t there and embedded into his flesh. Shen Qingqiu clenched his jaw in pain. Not even a second later, there was a body rushing towards him, no sanity in the man’s eyes, only destructive rage. With nowhere to run or dodge, Shen Qingqiu met the attack head on. He put as much qi as he could behind his right hand, delivering a palm strike directly to Liu Qingge’s chest. He had little hope of it being of any use against someone as OP as Liu Qingge, but he wasn’t going to just stand there and offer his own chest!
To Shen Qingqiu’s shock, Liu Qingge was sent flying backwards, tumbling across the uneven remains of the stone floor of the cave, streaking his blood on the white stone as he went. Liu Qingge attempted to right himself, and only succeeded in achieving a kneeling position before he was doubled back over and coughing blood.
What, what? Was Shen Qingqiu already so powerful? Ah, no, it was more likely that Liu Qingge was terribly fragile in a qi deviated state. How else would the original goods have used his qi deviation as an opportunity to murder him?
The sight of Liu Qingge dripping blood from his body and his mouth, trying to stand and collapsing again, was terribly pitiful. Shen Qingqiu walked over to him.
“Just so shidi knows, this shixiong has never done this before. I can only attempt to help you. If you still die, don’t blame me.”
He reached out a hand and pressed it against Liu Qingge’s back, letting a clear stream of qi flow into his ravaged meridians, calming and stabilizing them. After some time, his qi flow settled and Shen Qingqiu withdrew his palm. Liu Qingge remained unmoving.
Had Shen Qingqiu managed to save him? The murder of Liu Qingge in the Lingxi Caves was a major plot point towards the original goods’ downfall. Liu Qingge was a revered and respected badass of a war god, both in the novel and by the readers. Though he, alongside everyone else, had always imagined him to be a rugged and manly type, Liu Qingge’s contingent of male fans would be rather disappointed to see his pretty, delicate, and princely face. Shen Qingqiu’s mental image of the man was shredded into little tiny pieces and ignited as he looked at the beautiful visage, slack with unconsciousness. Though he supposed it made sense, considering he was Liu Mingyan’s sister.
With this kind of power and beauty (and purported personality), it’s no wonder Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky killed off Bai Zhan’s peerless beauty—ahem, War God and Peak Lord—before even giving him a chance to debut. This kind of man would compete with the protagonist’s glory; he couldn’t be allowed to live in that kind of vapid trash of a stallion novel.
If Shen Qingqiu managed to prevent the man’s death, it would surely work out in his favor, somehow.
Just as he had thought so, Liu Qingge suddenly heaved awake, jerking himself upright defensively, but only succeeding in causing himself to hack out more blood.
“Aiyah, shidi, careful now.”
Liu Qingge glared up at him hatefully. “You… Shen Qingqiu, what are you planning?”
Good question, shidi. What is he planning? He really just came over to help whoever was qi deviating, but it seemed like this was the perfect chance to fix their bad relationship!
Wait. Did they even have a bad relationship in this world? Even Luo Binghe wasn't abused by anyone on Qing Jing Peak, just a bit isolated and not very well-liked. And sure, the other peak lord's he'd met (except Yue Qingyuan, who was happy to see him, and Shang Qinghua, who stared at him with a weird, unsettling intensity) openly disliked him and gave him a wide berth, with Qi Qingqi being the most vocal and even calling him "a perverted alpha, unlike her" with obvious disgust. Liu Qingge's relationship with the original goods was probably still hateful. He was looking at him with obvious dislike and distrust. But what if it was just tension between two strong willed alphas? Based on what Shen Qingqiu can glean from his personality, Liu Qingge was surely an alpha. He should go with something... safer.
“This shixiong knows that we have not… had the closest relationship in the past,”
Liu Qingge’s eyebrow twitched. Fair enough, Shen Qingqiu knows that’s not very convincing, but he’s trying his best here!
Shen Qingqiu reached out again, and Liu Qingge tensed like he was bracing for an attack. His expression grew deeply incredulous when, instead of the expected attack, all he got was another stream of comforting qi. Shen Qingqiu continued speaking.
“This shixiong only wishes to ensure Liu-shidi’s wellbeing. There is no need to look so appalled, surely you cannot think this shixiong would leave you to cough blood until you start coughing up pieces of your lungs with it?”
Liu Qingge’s expression was truly horrible as he stared at Shen Qingqiu. Seeming to not find whatever he was looking for, he scowled and said “Go away.”
“Liu-shidi should leave the caves to get his wounds treated–”
Liu Qingge shoved him away. The force was far stronger than it should have been from a wounded man, so it could only have been a qi-enhanced action. In doing so, Liu Qingge managed to upset his already ragged meridians, and fully lost consciousness, slumping against the wall of the cave.
Shen Qingqiu stared at him. This hateful rivalry truly ran deep, it seemed! What should he do about this? This shidi of his was not in good health, clearly. Should Shen Qingqiu try and help him? How about– Eh…? What was that?
A smell began to permeate the room; it brought forth the image of a willow tree after a storm, fresh and earthy, with a sweeter, berry-like smell alongside it. Certainly masculine, but this scent was like…Liu Qingge was an omega?
For real?! Bai Zhan’s War God, pinnacle of badassery, was an omega in this fucking fanfic? Shen Qingqiu wanted to have words with whatever imbecile wrote this garbage! This was without a doubt the single most ridiculous thing he had come across in this damned omegaverse yet; it made him want to spit blood and qi deviate! There’s no way he can just do whatever to Liu Qingge now, even if it’s only to help!
Ah… but don’t omegas like to be comfortable? Can he leave Liu Qingge like this in good conscience?
He reached out for the man’s wrist to check his qi flow once more, but the second he made contact, jerked his hand away in shock. Why was Liu Qingge so cold ? That couldn’t be healthy! Of course, he’s clearly unwell, just look at him, but this was concerning! Should he cover the man up? He doesn’t have any blankets, but he does have an outer robe.
Just as he’s going to take off his outer robe, he suddenly had a thought. Should he…get him something that isn’t bloodstained? Omega’s like cleanliness, right? There probably wouldn’t be any point though, considering Liu Qingge is leaking blood himself. Whatever Shen Qingqiu gave him would end up bloodstained either way. Part of him wanted to help with the man’s wounds, but Shen Qingqiu barely knew how to even do that, and even if he did know, there’s no way he’s about to undress an unconscious omega for something that isn’t life-threatening. He could feel that Liu Qingge’s external injuries were superficial; most of the damage was internal, and treating the man’s scrambled organs was definitely above Shen Qingqiu’s paygrade. Besides, Liu Qingge had explicitly told him to go away. What would the man think if he woke up, having unknowingly been leaking omega pheromones, and an alpha he had told to leave was still around him like a creep? The original goods' reputation around omegas was already abysmal! Was that why Liu Qingge hated Shen Qingqiu in this fucked up version of PIDW? Because he was secretly an omega and Shen Qingqiu was an alpha that preyed on them?
Decision made, Shen Qingqiu shrugged off his outer robe—a deep forest green, not one of his favorites, thankfully—and carefully covered his unconscious shidi with it. He left some warding talismans on the two entrances to the chamber as he left to ensure no one would be able to come in and find Liu Qingge unconscious and vulnerable while leaking pheromones. Unfortunately, in this kind of world, it’s exactly the kind of situation that an alpha would take advantage of to assault a helpless person.
When he got back to his own meditation chamber, he quickly shrugged off the rest of his robes save for his pants. He was not looking forward to digging rocks out of his back. He also wasn’t certain he could even get them all out. What would he even do if he couldn’t?
No use dwelling on it. He sat down and began teasing out the shards he could reach. It fucking hurt, actually, to pull rough and sharp stones out of his flesh. And the number that he confidently could reach was few and far between. By the time he’d done all he could, his hands were slick and smeared with red, and hot streams of blood trickled down his back, soaking the waistband of his trousers. He wiped his hands with his torn up inner robes. The blood was quickly turning tacky between his fingers. He fished a roll of bandages he had thankfully with him brought out from his qiankun pouch, and wound it around the entirety of his torso. Gotta cover all the bases right? He had no idea what he’s doing.
Would he get an infection from this? There were probably little rock bits and dirt still stuck in those wounds. Do immortal masters even get infections from things like that? Or did their improved healing factor allow their body to flush it out without issue? Ugh, he guessed he was going to find out the hard way.
His past self was on to something when he decided to pack spare robes. He fetched a set from his qiankun pouch and got redressed, also switching his bloody pants for a fresh pair. Perfect. Looking aloof and untouchable as ever. He wanted to flick his hair like a schoolgirl. He could go to get his wounds addressed once he finished the meditation he had been planning to do. No more sword forms, but he wanted to at least make a little more of his seclusion!
When he felt satisfied, though he again had no idea how long it had been, he stood and stretched, wincing when he disturbed the unhealing wounds on his back. He walked over towards the path to Liu Qingge’s part of the cavern. Though the warding talismans made it impossible for Shen Qingqiu to know if he was still there, since he had not felt the man actually leave, he still called out, “This shixiong is leaving seclusion; he hopes shidi is still well.”
He received no reply, unsurprisingly. It hardly bothered him, and he made his way out of the caves.
Outside of the caves was chaos. Damn, how could he have forgotten about this? Shortly after Liu Qingge’s death was the demoness and wife-to-be Sha Hualing’s invasion of Qiong Ding Peak!
The disciples were running everywhere like they were recently-beheaded chickens. Good grief, did not one of these brats have a lick of sense? Fire and smoke and screams rose from all over. As soon as a disciple caught sight of him emerging from the caves, they cried out, “Shen-shibo! Demons have invaded Qiong Ding Peak!”
Ah, is that so? He couldn’t have guessed.
“Where is Yue-shixiong?”
“Yue-shibo left for business! And the demons have broken the Rainbow Bridges connecting Qiong Ding to the rest of Cang Qiong!”
“I see,” Shen Qingqiu replied. “Then, Cang Qiong will address the issue with the resources we have present. You,” he grabbed hold of a Qiong Ding senior disciple, “Can you send a messenger talisman?”
“Y-yes, Shen-shibo.”
“Good. Send one into the caves in search of Liu-shidi. Make noise. Do whatever you need to call him out, but don’t waste your time searching for him yourself. Understood? Call him out; do not go into the caves.”
“Understood, Shen-shibo!”
Shen Qingqiu nodded. “The rest of you, follow this master. We will address the demons ourselves.”
With a calm and collected master handing out orders, the panicked disciples quickly fell into line behind him like a bunch of ducklings, collecting more and more of the scattered children as they ascended the peak. By the time they had reached Qiong Ding’s main hall, where the demons had gathered, a small army of fledgling cultivators had amassed behind the Peak Lord.
The demons’ army must have numbered over a hundred, led by a teenage girl haphazardly wrapped in red scarves and adorned with silver bell bracelets.
Far removed from the behavior of powerful humans, Sha Hualing was blatantly advertising her omega status, her scent carrying across the open platform poignantly. It was a point of pride for her, since demons revered their omegas. This cultural trait came from demon’s historically low fertility rates, so a demon omega of a noble bloodline was considered a rare blessing. The demon saintess had every reason to flaunt it.
Shen Qingqiu’s arrival seemed to take the terror out of the disciples who had been alone in the courtyard. But for as much as it reassured the humans present, it did not do so for the demons. Sha Hualing wasn’t stupid (at least not so early in the story). She knew her luck had changed, and she would need to change tactics with it.
“This must be the Xiu Ya Sword, Immortal Elder Shen Qingqiu, coming to greet this Sha Hualing.”
Putting on a face of an ingenue, she stuck out her lip and twirled her hair, letting her scent turn coy. She was cunning, she was trying to use her omega scent to sway the known alpha Shen Qingqiu, who had a reputation of being overly, nay, questionably partial to omegas. Unfortunately for her, this Shen Qingqiu was not the original goods, and could not be so easily swayed!
Apparently some of the alpha disciples, “knotheads” as he had heard the type called, were that easily swayed. How does this kind of stupidity even survive in this cutthroat world?!
Sha Hualing continued, “My family and I are here not to fight, but to spar and learn from the great talents of Cang Qiong Mountain! This Ling-er hopes that, if she has unintentionally offended you, that Senior Shen may be forgiving of her errors.”
“Errors? Coming to Qiong Ding Peak while the Sect Leader is away, and severing the connection to other peaks by destroying the Rainbow Bridges? Sha-guniang calls these mere ‘errors’?”
“Ling-er is inexperienced,” Sha Hualing pouted.
Shen Qingqiu waved his fan idly. “Is that so?” he asked. “Then, has Sha-guniang received sufficient ‘learning’ from her time in Cang Qiong?”
“How could I? My family is at a disadvantage due to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s greater numbers. How could any conclusion be made?”
Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes at her. “Then how does Sha-guniang wish to come to a conclusion?”
Sha Hualing’s eyes curved into demure crescents as she smiled. “We ought to have three sparring matches, showcasing three representatives from each of our groups.”
It was a smart thing to suggest. The realms liked to play at peace, even if everyone knew it was only an illusion. If Cang Qiong were to kill Sha Hualing, it may spark a fuse that ignites a war. However, Cang QIong could not let them go easily without appearing that outsiders can simply attack and come and go as they please. This way, both sides could soothe their itch for combat while saving some amount of face, while the uneven number of matches ensured there would be a clear winner overall.
The first demon to step forward was a large, dark purple demon called Elder Du Bi, or “One Arm.” Fitting, since the demon had only one arm. Truly, an early showcasing of Great God Airplane’s immense creativity.
Shen Qingqiu stepped forward to compete, to the cheers of the disciples.
“With only one arm,” Shen Qingqiu mused, “would my defeat of you not be due to an unfair advantage?”
Sha Hualing piped up, “If Senior Shen seeks fairness, he could cut off one of his arms?”
The angry shouts of the disciples were silenced as quickly as they began when Shen Qingqiu said, “I will simply use neither arm. That way, no one can say I pressed an unreasonable advantage.”
The shouts started up again at his words. This display of arrogance would make even the original goods pleased as a cat with cream, but Shen Qingqiu knew both this demon’s strength and his own. It was a fight he could win.
The demon’s amputee status in no way hindered his use of his sword. Shen Qingqiu, however, was a cultivator that did not even need to touch his sword to wield it. With his hands resting behind his back, Shen Qingqiu fought and defeated the demon elder to the captivated eyes of the audience, all while without ever moving from his original location. Shen Qingqiu finally realized why the original goods crafted his image so carefully. The sense of satisfaction he gained from the awed gazes of hundreds of disciples could not be compared to anything he had felt before. The only thing detracting from the glory of the moment was the stinging pain in Shen Qingqiu’s back. He knew he'd reopened the wounds, and could only hope that the blood would not soak through the bandages and through his pale teal robes. Not only would it be a terrible humiliation, it would weaken the face of Cang Qiong and return courage to Sha Hualing.
For the next fight, Sha Hualing herself came forward. When Shen Qingqiu asked for volunteers, Liu Qingge’s younger sister, the veiled Liu Mingyan of Xian Shu Peak (a young alpha girl), answered the summons. Their fight was strange and elegant, more like a dance than a spar, but the ending was already foretold. Liu Mingyan lost gracefully.
Yet for the third match, Sha Hualing sent forward a massive demon, covered head to toe in armor covered in vicious spikes. “This match will decide the champion of our competition. Master Shen ought to choose wisely, Elder Tian Chui’s armor is coated with a poison that, to humans, has no cure!”
That hack Airplane’s naming abilities debut once more, with the infamous Without-A-Cure poison, brilliantly named for its lack of any cure (except, of course, heavenly demon dick, as was the case with everything else in PIDW).
As soon as the demoness mentioned “poison,” outraged cries started up.
“How can you think it unfair?” Sha Hualing crossed her arms. “The poison was not kept secret. If you don’t want to compete in the last match, you are welcome to forfeit!”
The cries of outrage only got louder, until Shen Qingqiu interrupted the shouting, voice hard as steel. "No. That is unacceptable.”
Sha Hualing’s smile froze on her face. “Why does Master Shen say so? Could it be that he is too doubtful of Cang Qiong Mountain’s abilities?”
“You expect this master to send a child to fight an adult demon?" he sneered. "And a demon elder, no less. You think there's any victory in a centuries-old elder beating a child? How pathetic."
The demons all bristled.
"And you seek to use poison that will cripple, maim, or kill one of my sect’s disciples, after coming here and already causing damages which you have begged forgiveness for. We have offered you that forgiveness, and not sought to end the lives of any of your contingent. But you think this master will subject his disciples to your whims? It will not happen, Sha-guniang. If you are sending an elder into combat, this master will do so as well. And since the only elder available is himself, you will simply have to deal with the fact that this master will compete twice. And do not think you can change this by sending any other one of your subordinates instead. Again, they are adult demons, which this master will not send a child to fight. At present, the only adult present to represent Cang Qiong is still myself."
Sha Hualing visibly ground her teeth together. Then her expression suddenly cleared, and she smiled beatifically.
"Oh, but Immortal Master Shen. This Ling-er is not an adult. And if it is acceptable for the leader of Cang Qiong's contingent to compete twice, then surely the same can be said for mine? And surely, if this Ling-er competes again, Immortal Master Shen won't have an adult fight a child ?"
This little bitch. She wanted to ensure her victory by competing again against another disciple that won't hope to defeat her? Did Shen Qingqiu look like he was playing her game? She couldn’t afford provoking him into fighting again, after the thorough defeat the first elder suffered at his hands. Shen Qingqiu was not so restrained.
"Ah, but Sha-guniang, how can this master be certain that is so?" he drawled.
"Whatever does Master Shen mean?"
"Naturally, this master means that, considering the current circumstances, he cannot be certain that Sha-guniang is even a child."
"What?! What kind of nonsense is that?" Sha Hualing exclaims, indignant. "Master Shen had no questions about this Ling-er's age in the last fight."
"It's not nonsense, Sha-guniang. It is a well-known and undeniable fact that demons can change shape. This master does not know Sha-guniang. He had never met her before today. She even had to introduce herself, such is how unknown she was. Humans cannot change shape. Sha-guniang and all of her 'family' can be certain that this master is an adult, and that the disciples are children. However, now that the question of age has been posed, this master and these disciples cannot be certain of the same regarding Sha-guniang."
At the end of his speech, Sha Hualing was practically leaking steam out of her ears.
Heh. Get wrecked, you shitty brat.
"This master can offer a solution that ought to be palatable to everyone," he said casually.
Sha Hualing, through gritted teeth, replied, "And what solution does Master Shen propose?"
Shen Qingqiu waved his fan lazily.
"It is clear we have reached an impasse. However, we have each won a single match with our own leading representatives. Sha-guniang's ‘family’ has had the chance to learn from us, and no one has been shamed. Now is a perfectly acceptable time for Sha-guniang to leave Cang Qiong Mountain Sect in peace."
Unfortunately, as reasonable as the suggestion was, it seemed to not, in fact, be palatable for everyone. Cries of outrage rose up from both sides, the disciples about the outrageousness of letting the demons go, the demons about the audacity of the immortal cultivator. Shen Qingqiu was on the fact track to getting a headache when a massive blast of qi tore through the makeshift arena, cracking the stone floor and sending Sha Hualing careening across the expanse, tumbling against the ground in a way that looked rather painful before she was able to bring herself to stop.
Liu Qingge, in all his War God glory, had arrived.
“Get lost.” he said, before he raised Cheng Luan again.
The demons were quick to move then. Shen Qingqiu had never seen a group of people in such a panicked rush to GTFO, and he’d seen the openings of both major comic cons and videos of people panicked in a building fire. Great Master Liu’s appearance really had them running with their literal and metaphorical tails between their legs!
Once the demons had fully disappeared to Liu Qingge’s sword glares and the sound of jeers from the disciples, Shen Qingqiu turned to Liu Qingge. “Liu-shidi looks well.” He smiled from behind his fan.
He received a scowl in return. Ah, well, couldn’t expect to fix a hateful relationship in only a day…
A bit awkwardly, he turned away from Liu Qingge to address the mess of disciples stranded on Qiong Ding Peak. Many were injured, and they couldn’t be walked to Qian Cao nor could Qian Cao disciples be easily summoned due to the lack of the Rainbow Bridges. Now that the demons had gone, the atmosphere had quieted and become uncertain again. The children looked to their peak lords for direction, and with how reticent a man Liu Qingge was, he certainly wasn’t going to be much help directing clean up.
“Any disciples present that have claimed their spirit swords and mastered sword flight, come forward. The injured will need to be taken to Qian Cao posthaste, and this master and Liu-shidi will not be able to take several dozen of you at once. If you’re injured and can stand, pair yourself with someone capable of flight and get lost. If you are uninjured, help get the injured that cannot stand to a disciple that can fly. Anyone with critical injuries needs to be brought to this master and Liu-shidi, now . Hurry up, get moving, all of you!”
Given clear instruction, the disciples jumped into action once more. The flight-capable disciples quickly separated and took off with an injured martial sibling, while a small gaggle brought over five unconscious and bleeding disciples. Without any prompting, Liu Qingge joined him in assessing each of them. Fortunately, three of them only had minor head injuries. The other two were in critical condition and needed to be stabilized on the way to Qian Cao.
“You three,” Shen Qingqiu called to the three closest of the flight capable group. “Here, now.”
They rushed over, and Shen Qingqiu directed their uninjured assistants to carefully hand over the three who were not actually critical. “These shixiongdi of yours have head injuries. Keep them steady as you fly. Once you get to Qian Cao, take yourself and any other fliers or runners you can get ahold of and go inform the ten other peaks of the situation. Get An Ding over here as soon as possible, along with anyone Qian Cao can spare. The rubble needs to be cleared and the mountain searched in case of any trapped or injured. As for the rest of you,” he turned and called out to the disciples who had nothing to do, “Get moving across Qiong Ding. Search for any trapped or injured; put out the fires! And get any injured to this main hall for Qian Cao to intercept!”
Children moving again into productivity, Shen Qingqiu carefully scooped one of the critically injured—a Qiong Ding boy with a vicious gash in his abdomen—out of the arms of the disciple carrying him, and turned back to Liu Qingge. The other man nodded, and took the other critical injury, this time a Xian Shu girl with a laceration in her upper arm that was deep enough to expose the bone. They climbed onto their swords and sped through the air towards the medical peak, transferring qi to the kids to keep them from bleeding to death on the way. With their greater speed as immortal elders, they eclipsed all the other fliers and arrived on Qian Cao at the infirmary just ahead of the rest of the group. A nearby Qian Cao disciple stared at them in mild horror (well, they were covered in blood, just not their own, and carrying unconscious bloody children).
“Go get Mu Qingfang! Qiong Ding was attacked—there are dozens, maybe hundreds of injuries!” he shouted.
The disciples turned white as a sheet before sprinting off screaming, “Shizun! An attack on Qiong Ding, countless injuries!”
A few moments later, Mu Qingfang burst out of the infirmary, expression grave. Just as he did so, the fastest disciple fliers were touching down behind Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge.
“Mu-shidi, these two are the most serious apparent injuries.”
Mu Qingfang nodded. “Follow me.”
They were led to the nearest open room and Mu Qingfang grabbed a senior disciple by the arm. “We’ve got many injured incoming, varying severities. Get everyone on sight, and send Ma Jiayi to me.” The boy turned and ran, and Mu Qingfang turned back to them. “Put them down. What are their injuries?”
“Abdominal laceration on this one, upper left arm laceration on the girl, to the bone.” Shen Qingqiu informed him as they laid the children on the beds.
“And the incoming? What am I going to be looking at?”
“Three unconscious with seemingly minor head injuries. I didn’t inspect any others; many can still stand, all others were still conscious when they left Qiong Ding.”
“Alright. Keep stabilizing the girl until my head disciple gets here and can take over. Put a tourniquet on her arm if you know how to use one. They're in the third drawer from the top on the far left.”
Liu Qingge grabbed it from the directed drawer, and said to Shen Qingqiu, “Hold her arm up and steady.”
Shen Qingqiu did as directed while keeping a hand on the girl’s wrist to continue transferring qi. Once Liu Qingge secured the tourniquet, he carefully propped her arm up on a cushion. A few moments later, Mu Qingfang’s head disciple, Ma Jiayi, burst into the room.
"The Xian Shu girl, Jiayi.”
“Yes, Shizun!”
Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge backed off for Ma Jiayi to take over.
“Please leave, shixiongs. Go where your help is needed. Qian Cao can take it from here.” Mu Qingfang dismissed them. They didn’t need to be told twice, and departed without question. As soon as they were outside, Liu Qingge stepped up on Cheng Luan.
“Bai Zhan can help with labor,” he explained.
Shen Qingqiu nodded. “This shixiong will return to Qiong Ding to begin returning the stranded disciples to their peaks.”
Liu Qingge gave him a nod in return, then flew off towards his peak.
Once Shen Qingqiu was back at the scene of the disaster, it was clear that the disciples had operated well under his instruction. There were no more fires with smoke trailing up into the sky, An Ding senior disciples were on sight clearing rubble, and disciples were returning to the main hall in droves with their injured martial siblings, that were quickly inspected by a group of half a dozen senior Qian Cao disciples, then sent off with a flier. The disaster was winding down.
Shen Qingqiu located his disciples (clumped together and wearing light teal green), and dropped down next to them. He’d gotten himself soaked in enough blood from the boy he carried that probably it would go unnoticed if he bled through his robes, but he didn't want to risk it; he still needed to be a beacon of support for these kids.
“Ming Fan.”
“Shizun!”
“Are you all well?”
A little chorus of “Yes, Shizun!”’s answered his inquiry.
“Will you all be able to manage walking back to Qing Jing Peak via the stairs?” It would be a clear sign that he needed to increase their training if anyone said no.
Fortunately, none did, and they went on their way back to Qing Jing the long and slow way. Shen Qingqiu made his way to each group of disciples in turn, and all agreed they could walk themselves back to their peaks, and proceeded to do so once dismissed.
He had done all he could now, no? Seeing no further need for his presence, Shen Qingqiu flew back to Qing Jing to nurse his own reopened wounds.
He’d not even through the doorway and into his Bamboo House when he felt a rush of qi behind him. He turned around.
“Liu-shidi?”
Liu Qingge glared at him.
What did he want? This transmigrator was done for the day! He needed to go stop bleeding!
“Does Liu-shidi… want to come in?”
“Yes.”
Well, score? This was kind of not the best time, Shidi.
He finished walking through his doorway and moved over to his sitting room for greeting guests. Liu Qingge followed him, looking around surreptitiously. With how his relationship had been with the original goods, he’d probably never been in the Bamboo House, no?
“Please sit, Shidi. Today has been quite eventful; this shixiong will go prepare tea.”
“No need.”
“Perhaps it is not a need, but it is still a want. This shixiong will only be a moment.”
Shen Qingqiu swept out of the sitting room and into his small kitchen. He ladled water into a teapot and inputted some qi to heat it to a boil. While the tea leaves steeped, he shrugged off his outer robe. It was covered in blood, but thankfully none of his own had seeped into it; it would be suspicious to change it for seemingly no reason (it wasn’t like Liu Qingge wasn’t covered in a disciple's blood too!), but he should be safe for whatever Liu Qingge is here to talk about.
He pulled his outer robe back on, pulled the leaves out of the tea, and returned to the low kneeling table. Thankfully, Liu Qingge had taken a seat. He set out the tea set and poured a cup for each of them, settling on his own cushion across from him. Liu Qingge sipped his tea and stared at Shen Qingqiu. He started to sweat under the intensity of the scrutiny. What… what did he want? Say something, shidi!
“What can this shixiong do for Liu-shidi?” he prompted.
"You're injured." Liu Qingge said bluntly.
Eh?
Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan open. "Why does Liu-shidi think tha–"
"I injured you."
Shen Qingqiu looked away guilty. Deflecting didn't really work when the man actually remembered what happened during his qi deviation!
"Why did you not go to Mu Qingfang.”
…It was definitely a question, but it wasn't spoken like one. Would it kill you to use a little inflection in your voice, Liu-shidi? Spare this master some face; don't look like he's such a disappointment to whatever inconceivable expectations you might have had!
"Ah... this shixiong... thought it would be best to let Mu-shidi first address all the injuries sustained from the demons. This shixiong can seek him out later."
He hated doctors! He didn't want to be half naked around one!
"I'll do it."
"What."
Now it was his turn to ask a question so deadpan it sounded like a demand! What did you mean, 'you'll do it'? Liu-shidi!
"Your injury. I'll treat it."
"Eh? My injuries? What about Shidi's injuries?"
"They healed."
"Then why do you assume this shixiong's did not?!"
"Your cultivation is weaker. You are masking pain."
Merciless, truly merciless! This cruel shidi wasn't leaving him a speck of face!
“Liu-shidi, this shixiong appreciates the offer, but it truly isn’t necessary.”
Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes into a glare. “You treated mine.”
“Yes…” So what?
“You expect me to ignore an injury I inflicted on you.” The glare got more intense.
“Shidi has no reason to feel obligated… this shixiong does not blame him, and it’s not like I won’t get it taken care of…” Please just take no for an answer!
“You would rather have Mu Qingfang do it? Fine. Let’s go.” Liu Qingge stood up, already moving towards him, presumably with the intention of dragging him to Qian Cao Peak.
“Fine!” Shen Qingqiu exclaimed, exasperated. “Fine, you win, Shidi. This shixiong will accept your offer.” He didn’t want to go to Qian Cao!
Liu Qingge grunted in lieu of a reply, and sat down directly next to him, looking expectant.
…Okay, even though he agreed, it didn't mean he wanted to actually go through with this! Liu Qingge stuck him between a rock and a hard place!
Shen Qingqiu looked away, uncomfortable. He obligingly began removing the robes on his upper body. He’d only gotten the first layer off when Liu Qingge interrupted, “You’re bleeding.”
“...This shixiong is aware, shidi.”
“Should have taken care of it sooner.”
Thank you, shidi, very helpful!
He peeled off the rest of his layers, leaving himself in nothing but his pants. He gathered up his hair and brought it over his shoulder. With a bit of help from the man behind him, he was able to remove the torso bandages. They stuck to all the bloody holes in his back, the cloth fibers making him wince unseen as they were teased out of the scabs and clotting blood. His back was finally bared, and Shen Qingqiu felt terribly exposed. The barely audible intake of breath behind him did not help the feeling.
“This…” Liu Qingge trailed off, fingertips brushing the undamaged skin of his shoulder.
“This shixiong rather wanted to keep his head attached to his body,” Shen Qingqiu chuckled halfheartedly. “But avoiding Cheng Luan unfortunately left me in the path of the bits of the cave wall it flung at me. Still greatly preferable to your sword, though.”
“...My apologies.”
“No need, no need,” Shen Qingqiu waved him off. “It’s only troublesome because this shixiong can’t reach his back well enough to remove all the shards.”
“I have a field medic kit. No painkillers. Will you be fine?”
“Of course, shidi. Hardly the most troublesome medical procedure I’ve required.”
Liu Qingge went silent. After a moment, the sound of him rifling through his ears signaled he was getting with the program. Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath. This was happening then.
“I will cut as little as possible. All the shards must be removed for you to heal.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded, holding himself perfectly still even as he felt the first touch of a thin blade on his back.
It hardly cut at all. Just enough to break open the scab. A pair of tweezers then replaced the blade and began teasing out the bits of stone, large and small. After a bit of poking around, Shen Qingqiu felt a foreign rush of qi flow through the area. Probably inspecting it to make sure it was fully cleaned out, and attempting to accelerate the clotting process. Trails of blood had leaked down his back from the extraction, and Liu Qingge manifested a damp cloth from somewhere to wipe them away.
This process continued for some time, at certain points more painful than others, until Liu Qingge deemed his work complete. Shen Qingqiu was pleasantly surprised. It hadn't hurt near as much as he’d expected it to! That’s not to say it wasn’t painful—it was—he’d just had to deal with far worse in his last life.
“Should probably still bandage it,” Liu Qingge muttered. He proceeded to assist Shen Qingqiu with rewrapping his torso with fresh bandages. Afterwards, Shen Qingqiu fished another set of spare robes from his qiankun pouch and redressed himself. Liu Qingge had backed out of his space once the bandaging was completed, and now sat a bit to his side, putting away his medical supplies.
“This shixiong thanks Shidi for his assistance.”
“Mn.”
They lapsed back into silence. Shen Qingqiu returned to sipping his tea. The silence was almost companionable.
Once Liu Qingge had drained his cup, he set it down firmly. He did not face Shen Qingqiu, but his expression was set in a hard mask when he spoke next.
"You know." he said.
"Hm…? Know what?"
Liu Qingge gave him a look . "You know ." he repeated.
What did he know? Was he unknowingly in possession of some great secret of the Bai Zhan War God? What could he possibly– Ah. That. Liu Qingge's dynamic.
He hadn't been able to suppress his scent after he passed out fully. He surely was aware that he had been leaking pheromones while unconscious, since he no doubt woke up to the chamber full of his own scent. It didn't take a genius to figure out Shen Qingqiu must have smelled him, since he'd been there when Liu Qingge passed out, and had even left warding talismans on the chamber’s entrances. Truly this man’s dynamic was the prime example of the foolishness of judging a book by its cover. Was Liu Qingge angry? Suspicious?
"Oh... yes, well,” he started, hiding the lower half of his face behind his fan. “Liu-shidi need not worry; this shixiong will not share his personal business."
"...Hm."
Liu Qingge closed his eyes. His kneeling posture remained perfect, and for all appearances it seemed that he had suddenly fallen into meditation. After nearly an incense time in silence, eyes still closed, he said, “You’d best not.”
Liu Qingge opened his eyes, gave Shen Qingqiu another glance, then stood and walked out of the Bamboo House without another word.
That was… certainly something.
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t shake the feeling of strangeness the interaction left in him. Even days later, he was still unsettled, with little to take his mind off it. It wasn’t until the next peak lord meeting (discussing the demons’ invasion, naturally), with Shang Qinghua giving him more intense stares and Liu Qingge pretending there was no one else in the room, that something finally happened.
Soon after he left the meeting hall, a voice called out to him from behind.
“Shen-shixiong.”
He turned, and found Shang Qinghua standing behind him, expression strangely grave.
“Shang-shidi.”
Shang Qinghua offered him a bow. “This shidi was wondering if Shen-shixiong could spare some time to review Qing Jing’s budget plans.”
This slimy traitor Shang Qinghua (if he was even still a traitor in this world?) was the lord of An Ding Peak, and under normal circumstances this kind of request would be perfectly normal. Everything about the man’s expression and demeanor said this was not normal circumstances. The budget review was merely a cover for whatever the man actually wanted to discuss.
Shen Qingqiu scrutinized Shang Qinghua from over his fan. He returned the look unfalteringly.
“Shang-shidi should accompany this master to his Bamboo House.”
“Thanking Shen-shixiong for his assistance.”
They mounted their swords and flew to Qing Jing Peak. It wasn’t but a moment after the door to the Bamboo House closed behind Shang Qinghua that he said, “Who are you?”
“...Pardon?”
“You aren’t Shen Qingqiu. Which leaves two options.” Shang Qinghua held up two fingers. “You're either a demon, which is unlikely, or… you’re a transmigrator.”
What??
“So, which is it, ‘ Shen-shixiong’ ?”
This Shang Qinghua… was also a transmigrator?
Shen Qingqiu closed his fan. “It takes one to know one. Why else ask such a question, when Shang-shidi is well aware I am no demon?”
‘Shang Qinghua’ leaned back against the closed door and crossed his arms. “I have to leave room for plausible deniability, Shixiong.”
“Who are you, then?”
Shang Qinghua glared at him. “I asked you first. If you want that information, you had better be prepared to offer it yourself first.”
The atmosphere had grown tense. Was it worth it to tell him? What consequences could it have?
…Shen Qingqiu didn’t know.
“Peerless Cucumber.” he said.
And just like that, the tense atmosphere evaporated. Shang Qinghua grinned.
“Ah Peerless Cucumber, Cucumber-bro! Who better than my greatest anti-fan to end up in my a/b/o rendition of my life’s work?”
“You– You’re Airplane Shootings Towards The Sky?! ”
“The one and only! Welcome to villainhood! Did your System also shrivel up and die immediately after bringing you here?”
“...Yes.”
“This poor author couldn’t have asked for a greater blessing. This world only ended up so different because I haven’t had to follow the plot! And you, too! You must have managed to save Liu-ge in the Spirit Caves! Truly an impressive feat; I didn’t make any effort to do it myself. I didn’t want to get flayed alive! Liu-ge is truly OP! Very few can compare!”
“It’s not like I went there with the intention to save him. I just ran into him.”
“No matter, you did a good thing for your own future fate. Hey, Cucumber-bro, how are you liking my omegaverse rendition of PIDW? Great, hm? I didn’t even add in all the a/b/o porn tropes that people like you would grill me for!”
Wait a motherfucking second.
“ You wrote this a/b/o universe?! You wrote fanfiction of your own fucking novel? ”
Shang Qinghua, Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky threw his head back and laughed.
“I sure did! And you’ll never guess why. It wasn’t for shameless porn or for money!”
What the actual fuck?
Shen Qingqiu felt like his head would combust with all the information he was being bombarded with. Not only was Great Master Airplane also living in this world, and had changed the plot in who knows what ways, he was also the author of this somehow even more fucked version of his already abysmally terrible novel.
This is why he hates this man.