Chapter Text
There are plenty of skills one can pick up in the Endless Abyss if curious or just desperate enough. Considering how hard Luo Binghe is working to find any way to get out back to the mortal realm, he’s certainly desperate enough to follow any hint of something that might help him do that. The shape changing had been explained as being able to look like other people. This isn’t what happens when Luo Binghe tries it.
What happens is that he’s transformed into a tiny dog with masses of curly black fur. It’s not a useless form at all. Maybe his claws and teeth are small, but he’s faster and more maneuverable in this form. His lower profile means he zips past much larger beasts with ease, even between their legs just to be cheeky about it. His steps are muffled by fur, making him far more stealthy than most things down there with him. His big eyes handle low light areas better, his sense of smell is very enhanced (for better or worse). All in all, a useful form. Probably good for traveling in human spaces later.
When he catches his reflection while transformed, his first thought is, Shizun would definitely want to pet me.
His next thought is, oh shit fuck goddamnit, you stupid hot springs tentacle monster!
The first week or two once he gets out of this hellhole will need to be spent cleaning up his language again. Even if Ning Yingying and Ming Fan were the ones to teach him to swear, on purpose and by being overheard respectively. He’s been using their lessons profusely since being pushed falling into the abyss. It doesn’t make anything better, but he gets a little rebellious thrill every time. One has to take their small pleasures where they can.
The weeks and months pass by a little easier when he can retreat into the fluffy little package of his transformed state. He doesn’t even have to worry about carrying things since the spell throws everything other than his body into a temporary pocket realm until he transforms back, so it’s economical! So much less effort! Didn’t Shizun once tell him to work smarter, not harder? He definitely doesn’t prefer his dog body because it has a harder time staying sad.
By the time he finds Xin Mo, he barely ever shifts back human. There’s no relation.
Luo Binghe tells Xin Mo to take him home. What actually happens is he gets tossed in the middle of the demon realm, what Xin Mo considers home, he guesses. Whatever the reason, it’s not where Luo Binghe wants to be. He considers making the best of it anyway, maybe even conquering the place in his master’s honor, but… Would that make Shen Qingqiu welcome him back? He’s powerful now! He has control over his demon side! He can hide it all!
Maybe he should go show how good a human he can be. He could join another sect and rise in the ranks, become the most well respected cultivator of his time! If everyone said so, Shizun would have to acknowledge his humanity, right? And Luo Binghe will show him that he can live like a full blooded human, that he can be good.
But that would take a while. He’d be away from Qing Jing even longer.
The indecision halts him for days. There are so many things that can go wrong no matter what he chooses. He doesn’t even know what Shen Qingqiu might have told anyone. Would he out Luo Binghe’s heritage and set the whole cultivation world after him? He knows what a Heavenly Demon can do. Or… would Shen Qingqiu keep it secret to save his own reputation and that of Cang Qiong? Luo Binghe needs information, but that would take so very long.
Furry little feet take him towards the weakest barrier between worlds that he can sense. Just a peek, he tells himself. Just a little news about his shizun and then he’ll decide what to do next. When the air clears and the sky brightens, Luo Binghe starts running until he finds familiar terrain. The village is one he’d had a night hunt for years ago and the village girls feed him scraps as they gush over his soft fur. He even gets a bath. It would be better if Shen Qingqiu had given it to him-
Luo Binghe freezes as the girls continue toweling down his fur.
What if…
What if he became Shen Qingqiu’s dog?
Shen Qingqiu was- is always kind to animals and Luo Binghe’s dog form is small and cute and there’s no way Shen Qingqiu will be able to resist petting him. Surely, Luo Binghe can figure out how to make Shen Qingqiu let him stay!
A few hours napping near a fire is all the time Luo Binghe gives himself to rest before starting his trek towards Cang Qiong. He’s got a plan now! His tiny dog heart thuds excitedly in his chest as he races along dirt roads and through busy villages. Home, he’s almost home! And this time, Shizun will have no reason to reject him! Sure, being Shen Qingqiu’s dog means he can’t be his lover, but! It’s better than nothing! It will be enough, Luo Binghe will make it be enough!
He almost slams into the first stair up towards the sect, tripping over a rock and tumbling forward. As he rights himself, soft laughter greets him and he looks up to see a young woman. Ah, a Xian Shu disciple. Her name escapes him, but he lets her pet his head. As she starts heading up the stairs, Luo Binghe works his way up next to her. It’s difficult. The steps are steep and his legs are very short, but he perseveres. He just needs to get to Qing Jing and then he’ll charm his way to Shizun’s side!
The disciple pauses as he continues struggling, then sighs. “Do you belong to someone?”
Yes! Luo Binghe yells, which comes out as a very spirited bark, the nub of his tail wagging so hard it shakes most of his body. The disciple’s veil makes it hard to tell if she’s smiling, but he’s pretty sure that’s why the skin around her eyes is creasing.
“Very well,” she says, then scoops him up and carries him with her up the stairs. While he cares nothing for being touched by anyone who isn’t Shen Qingqiu, it gets him up the stairs far faster than he could manage without giving away the fact that he isn’t a completely normal, definitely not demonic ball of fluff.
“Did Shijie get a pet?” another disciple asks as they get to the Xian Shu outer gate.
“He seemed determined to get up the stairs,” the first says lightly. “It would be cruel to leave him to it.”
Luo Binghe agrees. He also thinks he can take it from here.
When he starts making a fuss in the disciple’s arms, she lowers him down to the ground and Luo Binghe doesn’t hesitate to bolt. He hears a few calls behind him, but he has places to go! Ground gives way to the rainbow bridge and Luo Binghe doesn’t slow at all. He dodges past every surprised cultivator he comes across, refusing to be deterred from his goal.
He’s so close! Shizun, Shizun, Shizun! Your Binghe is coming!!
Luo Binghe trips and rolls through the Qing Jing gate before he knows it, to the delight of the two disciples stationed at it. They immediately try to catch him, either to remove him from the peak or to just pet him, but Luo Binghe evades their hands. He races through bamboo and walkways alike with single minded determination. So close, so very close to seeing Shizun again, to hearing his voice, feeling his touch-
And then someone manages to catch him around the middle and hoist him up off the ground. “So you’re the one causing so much trouble!”
His heart clenches to recognize Ning Yingying and he can’t quite make himself struggle as much as before. She’s older, more settled into womanhood, and her smile still seems like a gentle hug. Her eyes size him up, but before he can figure out if she finds him worthy or not, there’s someone else nearby.
“What is that?” comes quiet but no less lovely. “Did Liu-shidi bring another beast by?”
For several heartbeats, Luo Binghe can’t breathe. Shizun! Even the softening effect of his dog brain can’t stop him from freezing up in Ning Yingying’s grip. His joy at hearing Shen Qingqiu’s voice is tempered by the words. Beast. He is, isn’t he? Nothing to do with Liu Qingge, but he… He’s here to trick them all, isn’t he? Does that make him beastly?
“This disciple doubts it. He’s too cute! Maybe he escaped from another peak?”
“Mm. Well, go check around.”
Ning Yingying is still holding him firmly enough that he isn’t able to turn his head far enough to see. He starts squirming, barely managing to keep from revealing himself when she refuses to turn him loose.
“He can stay if he doesn’t belong to anyone, right?” Ning Yingying asks, because she is the best shijie. “There’s plenty of room for a puppy so little.”
“Yingying may do as she likes.”
Then there are steps moving away and Luo Binghe redoubles his efforts to get free. Shizun is leaving! And Luo Binghe didn’t even get a chance to look at him first!!
“Be good so Shizun lets you stay,” Ning Yingying scolds. Luo Binghe doesn’t actually feel contrite, but he stops wiggling as Ning Yingying holds him more comfortably. “Now, let’s go make sure no one else can claim you, then get you primped up. We want to show Shizun your best self.”
This, he one hundred percent can get behind. It’ll be all for nothing if he can’t get Shen Qingqiu to like him.
Ning Yingying does carry him around other peaks to see if anyone knows him. Xian Shu finally lets her know that he’d been brought up from the bottom of the stairs but no one else knows anything more. Satisfied that she wasn’t stealing him from anyone, she takes Luo Binghe to clean off the dirt and debris his run here had picked up, then brushes out his fur until it shines. If Shizun brushes him later, Luo Binghe won’t mind in the least. It’s kind of meditative and he maybe dozes off a bit in the middle of it. He’s brought to full awareness when he hears a familiar and not necessarily fondly remembered voice.
“What is that?” Ming Fan asks, hands on his hips as he stares disdainfully down at the ball of black fluff Luo Binghe is right now.
“A puppy,” Ning Yingying says with another slide of the brush. “He was wandering the peak and doesn’t belong to anyone, so he’s ours now.”
Ming Fan’s face scrunches. “What use do we have with a dog that small? It probably can’t even hunt rats.”
Oh, Luo Binghe would show him hunting-
“Doesn’t his fur remind you of someone?”
What? But apparently, Ming Fan gets it. He peers at Luo Binghe with a look Luo Binghe can’t quite read. “...Are you sure about this?”
“Has anything else worked?” she replies with a particularly harsh brush stroke that Luo Binghe feels within his rights to object to. Her fingers pet over the spot to soothe him.
Lips pursed into a tight line, Ming Fan nods. “He won’t take it if I give it to him.”
“Don’t worry, I know how to get him to cooperate.”
Something about all this is making Luo Binghe’s insides twist up with unease. Ning Yingying finishes brushing him out and rubs him over with a few drops of jasmine perfume. The smell isn’t so strong that it overwhelms him thankfully, but any help he can get in making Shen Qingqiu like him is worth discomfort.
“Are you ready, Hei-er?” she asks, beaming. Or, she would seem to be beaming if anyone else were looking at her, but Luo Binghe can tell she’s at least half faking it. “Now be good and stay at my side. Let’s go meet Shizun.”
He yips in agreement and Ning Yingying sets him down. It takes everything in him not to run off ahead. Obedience is good in pets, right? He can be obedient! With a softer smile, Ning Yingying starts back toward the bamboo house with Luo Binghe at her heels. His excitement thrums through his entire body. Shizun! Your Binghe is here, Shizun!
When he makes a bee line for the door, however, Ning Yingying calls out to him. Luo Binghe pauses, confused. After so long away, she won’t let him go inside? But Ning Yingying waits until he reluctantly returns to her and then starts around to the back of the house. There’s still no Shizun, just the well kept garden and a path going towards a peaceful meditation spot they’d often used together. Ah, so Shizun must be meditating, of course. Maybe this has become part of his routine, and that’s why Ning Yingying knew not to check the house.
There’s an odd scent in the air. It smells a bit like the house, but stronger. Is that Shizun? The sour notes don’t seem like him at all, but it’s definitely not Ning Yingying and seems too human to be any of the birds and such that lived on the peak. Growing more uneasy, Luo Binghe follows along the thin trail until they get to the clearing at the end. There, knelt in the warm sunshine, is Shen Qingqiu. All at once, every bit of self control Luo Binghe has shatters and he runs straight to his master’s side, yipping eagerly to get his attention.
Shen Qingqiu startles and looks down at him. He’s still so beautiful it takes Luo Binghe’s breath away, the graceful lines of his face and the gentle curve of his mouth- But there’s something different about him. Has he lost weight? The usually softer planes have sharpened and his eyes seem a little sunken, the skin under them discolored. It takes a lot for an immortal to actually show signs of illness, how long has his shizun been suffering for Luo Binghe to see it? Did Without-A-Cure get worse in his absence?!
Wait, why is there a sword mound in the clearing now? Who has been lost that’s so important to Shizun?
“Hello,” Shen Qingqiu says politely before Luo Binghe can get close enough to read the marker, the same respect he’d give anyone not on four legs. He turns to look at Ning Yingying. “Did Yingying not find an owner?”
“No, Shizun. Hei-er seems to be a stray. But he’s so cute!”
“So he is.”
Despite his worry, Luo Binghe’s tail wags frantically as Shen Qingqiu sizes him up.
“It would be cruel to turn him out,” Ning Yingying says, shifting a little closer. “And he’s so small, he wouldn’t eat much!”
“If Yingying is asking for something, she’d better spit it out.”
Grasping Luo Binghe around the middle, Ning Yingying holds him up so she can rub her cheek against his fur as she says, “Please let this good boy stay!”
Luo Binghe does his best to be as adorable as possible. His master has always been weak against big eyes and helplessness, surely he’ll accept Luo Binghe in this form. He will be the best dog for him!
After a long pause, Shen Qingqiu just sighs and turns back to the sword mound. “Didn’t this master already say Yingying may do as she likes?”
Ning Yingying gives Luo Binghe a squeeze and then sets him down again. “Thanking Shizun, this disciple will make sure he’s well cared for!”
Shen Qingqiu idly gestures a dismissal with one hand, his attention focused elsewhere, and Ning Yingying corrals Luo Binghe back towards the house. He hates leaving his master’s side, but he has to be good and obedient if he wants to stay. Maybe if he’s good enough, Shen Qingqiu will let him stay in the bamboo house again.
As they round the house, Ning Yingying stops and then crouches down in front of him, her expression suddenly serious. “Hei-er, you haven’t been here long, but this peak will take good care of you. In return, I need a favor.”
Luo Binghe cocks his head and waits, sitting to listen. Her eyes soften.
“Hei-er must promise to listen and obey… and he must bother Shizun any time he’s at the sword mound. Okay?” The instruction is odd, why would Ning Yingying want to interrupt Shen Qingqiu showing respect for the dead? “He mustn’t be allowed to stay there so long.”
How long is she talking about? His belly squirms. Someone important enough to Shizun that he’d erect a sword mound for them here, at his own home? Did Shen Qingqiu take a lover? The very idea makes Luo Binghe want to bite, but he can’t. He has to behave (except when he’s misbehaving under Ning Yingying’s weird orders).
“Good boy,” she says, petting his head. “I hope this works.”
For the rest of the day, Luo Binghe follows Ning Yingying around. The other disciples seem enchanted with him, which is a good sign that Shizun will be, too.
A few of the hall masters greet Ning Yingying on her way, pausing to give Luo Binghe a curious look. One of them frowns at him and mutters out, “Be sure it doesn’t bother Shifu.”
“Of course,” Ning Yingying lies, and they continue on.
The sky is darkening by the time Ning Yingying heads back toward the bamboo house. Despite his fatigue, Luo Binghe perks up. Finally! He gets to see Shizun again! But there’s no light from the bamboo house, no lit candles. Had Shizun gone to sleep early? The scent of him seems… old, here. Maybe Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been back yet. Ning Yingying goes inside and sighs over an untouched tray of food before drawing herself up.
“Come, Hei-er,” she says, leaving the bamboo house and heading back towards the meditation clearing. Why? Surely Shizun isn’t still-
He is. In the same spot as before, as if he hadn’t moved a bit, is Shen Qingqiu. His hands rest on his thighs, eyes half lidded and staring at the grave marker. The sight doesn’t seem to surprise Ning Yingying at all. She just goes right to his side and calls to him. Like coming out of a daze, Shen Qignqiu blinks and seems to only now realize how dark it is.
“So late already?” he says.
“Yes, Shizun. Are there any tasks Shizun would like this disciple to do for him before she retires for the night?”
Shen Qingqiu rises to his feet. Where he’d been kneeling is packed down, as if this were a regular occurrence.
“No. Thank you, Yingying. This master can see himself to bed.” He pauses then, looking down at Luo Binghe. “Oh. Good evening.”
The yip that escapes Luo Binghe is entirely involuntary, but Shen Qingqiu doesn’t seem to mind it.
“Be sure to find him a soft place to sleep,” is all he says before he heads off toward the house.
Though Luo Binghe wants nothing but to follow him, he needs to see it first. The person Shen Qingqiu is in mourning for. He dodges Ning Yingying’s hands and goes right up to the mound. His eyes don’t see things quite how they do when he’s not a dog, but they’re plenty good enough to make out carved characters upon the plain wooden marker, made by hands unused to such work.
Luo Binghe
The grave is for him?
His sword is buried beneath the marker?
Why would Shen Qingqiu mourn a demon he’d thrown away?
None of this makes sense. When Ning Yingying picks him up, he’s too preoccupied to stop her. Luo Binghe stares over her shoulder as the sword mound grows farther and farther away. None of this makes sense, but Luo Binghe is too stubborn to give up this chance. He’s going to figure out what’s going on and become Shen Qingqiu’s much beloved dog, no matter what.