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Yue Qingyuan stands across the battlefield from Tianlang-jun, Xuan Su held steady in front of him. He has never been more powerful than he is, in this moment, his bond with Xuan Su stronger than ever before.
It’s not enough.
The earth beneath his feet runs red with the blood of cultivators and demons alike. Yue Qingyuan himself can feel his numerous wounds oozing blood, his focus too divided to fully stop the blood flow. Sweat drips into his eyes, but he refuses to blink it away; a single moment of inattention could cost him everything.
Tianlang-jun stands, unharmed, a lazy smile on his face and a crazed look in his eyes. He seems to be waiting for Yue Qingyuan to make a move, unbothered with the carnage and chaos surrounding them.
A sinking feeling in his stomach.
Hopelessness.
All of Cang Qiong Mountain stands at his back. All of the cultivation world and all of the secular realm. United to fight back against the Demon Emperor.
And, most importantly, Shen Qingqiu. Qingqiu. His Qingqiu.
And Yue Qingyuan is the only one who can even cross blades with the madman in front of him without immediately perishing.
Shen Qingqiu had wanted to come with him, had insisted that, as the sect’s tactician and second in the sect’s seniority, it was his duty to accompany their sect leader to the end. But Yue Qingyuan had refused. As tactician, Yue Qingyuan had countered, in rare defiance of Shen Qingqiu’s words, it was his duty to watch over the entirety of the battlefield. To organize their forces against the might of a unified demonic realm.
Shen Qingqiu had raged against him, more furious than anyone had seen him in years, but, for once, Yue Qingyuan had remained unmoved. And Shen Qingqiu had had no choice but to stay behind.
Yue Qingyuan hasn't seen Shen Qingqiu in weeks, the man lost to an endless stream of logistics and tactics and information on the armed forces, along with secretive talks with Shang Qinghua, when both of them think Yue Qingyuan is unaware.
Now, Yue Qingyuan regrets. How he wishes that Shen Qingqiu might be at his side in his final moments. How he wishes he might have been able to spend more time with Shen Qingqiu.
Years ago, the cultivation world had laid a trap for Tianlang-jun and Yue Qingyuan had faced a distraught and desperate man. Today, with the full might of his empire behind him and with nothing to lose, this Tianlang-jun is an entirely different opponent.
Demonic energy gathers in Tianlang-jun’s hand, Xin Mo an endless hungering void intent on devouring everything around it.
Yue Qingyuan thinks of Shen Qingqiu, somewhere at the back of their gathered forces, desperately trying to organize cultivators into a united front. They are safe, for now. But for how much longer? Once the front lines fall, it will only be a matter of time before the assembled demonic forces make it to the back.
There must be something he can do.
Perhaps…
He takes a deep breath, adjust his grip on Xuan Su, and launches himself at Tianlang-jun. The madman laughs, meeting each of his strikes with deep relish.
"Yue-zhangmen!" Tianlang-jun shouts. "How forward of you! This lord is a taken man, you know? Hm, but I am quite sure my dear would be open to you joining our bed. Yue-zhangmen is quite handsome, after all. What say you, honored sect leader?"
Yue Qingyuan ignores his taunts and keeps swinging Xuan Su, keeping a close eye on Xin Mo.
"Are you perhaps taken as well, Yue-zhangmen?" Tianlang-jun grins, a lascivious look in his eyes. "This lord has heard a great many things of Yue-zhangmen's many accomplishments! Shen Qingqiu, isn't it?"
At these words, Yue Qingyuan cannot resist the twitch in his brows. His next strikes come faster and harsher than before, near reckless.
"That is quite alright," Tianlang-jun continues, unbothered, "Peak Lord Shen is a great beauty as well and is more than welcome to join us. My Xi—" His grin freezes on his face and turns dark. "Ah, no matter."
He stops talking, now entirely focused on driving Yue Qingyuan back.
Yue Qingyuan tries to rein himself in; he just needs one moment. A single strike. A voice inside his head, one that sounds exactly like Shen Qingqiu's, warns him to not be reckless. To think before he acts.
'Sorry, Qingqiu.' He thinks to himself, guilt rising, ever present.
There.
Tianlang-jun stabs Xin Mo forward, a wild un-calculated swing of his sword. Yue Qingyuan stands his ground, Xuan Su at the ready.
Xin Mo sinks into his flank and he holds the blade tight to himself, trapping it in his own flesh. His qi runs wild, lashing out at the demonic qi infecting his body. A scorching heat. Searing pain. But he holds firm and stabs Xuan Su straight into Tianlang-jun's heart.
The battlefield fades in the background, the only sensations left, the wild pounding of his heart and the warm viscous ooze of blood against his hand.
"Hah…!" Tianlang-jun chuckles, voice low and raspy. "Well-played, Yue-zhangmen."
Demonic qi explodes between them – Yue Qingyuan can almost see dark red threads lashing out wildly around Tianlang-jun's body.
"But not enough."
All at once, the demonic qi throws Yue Qingyuan backwards and he collapses onto the muddy ground. Desperate, he manages to keep a tight grip on Xin Mo, dragging the blade out of its owner's slick grip and keeping it firmly embedded in his flesh. If nothing else, he can ensure that Tianlang-jun is disarmed.
"A stubborn man." Yue Qingyuan hears, the voice fading into the distance. "I actually quite like you, Yue-zhangmen." Echoing footsteps. "Such a pity."
He can just barely make out a dark shape above him, staring at his prone figure. It raises its hand, dark energy concentrating around it.
"YUE QINGYUAN!"
Xiao-Jiu's voice.
Everything fades.
***
"Useless imbecile. How long are you planning to make me wait?"
"Qi-ge has always been unreliable. It's no surprise."
A familiar voice, Shen Qingqiu's voice, coming from different directions. A warm body plastered against his back. His naked back. He can feel the soft silk of Shen Qingqiu's robes against his skin. He can't see anything, lost to a pitch-black abyss. Are his eyes even open? He isn't sure, his body feels like it is floating in this void, non-existent.
"Perhaps he might be more useful as a toy."
Yue Qingyuan gasps loudly and thrashes as sharp nails dig into his sensitive shaft. He kicks out with his legs, but long-fingered hands wrap around his ankles and hold him in place. At his back. someone wraps their arms around Yue Qingyuan's chest, keeping him still even as another's hands roam all over his body, nails digging without mercy into his most sensitive spots.
"Stop moving." Shen Qingqiu's voice comes again, from right next to his ear.
"Qingqiu…?" He moans and turns his head to look, but there is nothing.
Sharp teeth bite down hard on his ear lobe and he feel flesh tear, a gush of blood. He cries out in pain, trying to pull away, but it's as if all strength has left him.
"Pathetic."
The voice comes from above him this time and a hand brushes against his cheek, fingers slipping between his parted lips and reaching deep into Yue Qingyuan. Much too deep. Deeper than should be possible.
Yue Qingyuan chokes on the sudden intrusion and tries to pull away, but there are now hands wrapped around his head, tilting his face up and forcing him to take it. He can feel himself tearing up, his throat working desperately around the fingers, trying to push them out. Trembling all over, unable to breathe, he struggles weakly against the numerous hands holding him down.
A light puff of breath against his ravaged ear and Shen Qingqiu is talking again:
"Qi-ge will take it." He whispers, every word burrowing themselves into Yue Qingyuan's brain. "After all, what else is Qi-ge good for? What has Qi-ge ever done right?"
Yue Qingyuan tries to shake his head, tries to stop listening. But Shen Qingqiu doesn't stop.
"Always late, always too weak, too soft, too uselessly pathetic. Qi-ge should just lay down and let me take what I want from his body instead."
He can only make helpless little pleading sounds as fingers prod against the tight furl of his ass and he tries to screams around the intrusion in his throat as the fingers bully their way in. One turns to two turns to three and, in no time at all, four oddly elongated fingers are working themselves in and out of Yue Qingyuan's ass.
He tries to pull away, tries to keep at bay the mounting desire in his core, but he can't move, can't run away from the precum leaking down the side of his dick. From the thought of Qingqiu, kneeling between his legs and stuffing him full with his fingers. Staring up at him and spitting vitriol in his face even as he runs soft fingers over his thighs.
A hand wraps around Yue Qingyuan's dick like a vice and the fingers are dragged out of his mouth and ass. He pants and tries to speak, but only faint rasping sounds escape his abused throat. His body lays limp in Shen Qingqiu's grasp.
Something thick prods at his loose opening and Yue Qingyuan stiffens, immediately redoubling on his struggling. Hands pry his jaw open and another thick shaft brushes against his lower lip, dipping in the slightest bit – the faint taste of precum lingers on his tongue.
"No…" He moans softly, pushing himself back against the Shen Qingqiu at his back, their bodies flush together. "Please. Qingqiu…"
And then, a new voice. Colder. More severe. Furious.
"Is this what Qi-ge gets up to when this Qingqiu's back is turned?" The voice shatters the silence of the dark abyss swirling around him and a figure appears in the distance.
Haughty. Dressed in elegant spring green silks that swirl around him with every step. An expression that spells doom for Yue Qingyuan on his face. Shen Qingqiu. With every step he takes, the darkness fades around them. The hands that had been holding Yue Qingyuan still vanish and he sags against the ground in this pure white space.
Shen Qingqiu looms over Yue Qingyuan's naked body, glaring down at him over the edge of a fan.
"Qingqiu—" Shen Qingqiu's boot on Yue Qingyuan's erect cock cuts him off.
"Did I say you could speak?"
Shen Qingqiu's tone is freezing. He puts more pressure on Yue Qingyuan's dick, ignoring Yue Qingyuan's pained writhing. Yue Qingyuan's hands twitch, unable to decide whether to grab onto Shen Qingqiu's ankle and hold him there or claw at it to make the pain stop.
"Isn't this what you wanted Qi-ge? Your darkest desires, brought to light by Xin Mo."
His eyes are filled with contempt, even as he finally pulls his foot back slightly, releasing some of the pressure. Broken moans, loud and wanton, fill the space, and Shen Qingqiu's contempt turns to disgust.
"Pathetic." His foot slams back down against Yue Qingyuan's dick, grinding against it without mercy.
"Qingqiu! Wait, please—" Yue Qingyuan screams, his back arching off the floor, hips convulsing desperately against Shen Qingqiu's foot. "Please, please, please…!"
Shen Qingqiu lifts his foot, sneering at Yue Qingyuan's pleas: "You dare make demands?"
Gaze hazy and lost, Yue Qingyuan keeps blindly reaching for Shen Qingqiu, repeating the same words again and again. He doesn't seem fully aware, in this moment. His eyes are teary, red and puffy from all the crying, his face is a blotchy unattractive red, drool pools under his cheek.
Their great sect leader, reduced to this.
Something itches in Shen Qingqiu's chest and he finds a mean-spirited smile pulling at the corners of his lips.
"Disgusting." He mutters, somewhat fond. He runs the tip of his boot over the length of Yue Qingyuan's dick, the touch barely there. "Is this what you want, Yue Qingyuan?"
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, please! Please, Qingqiu, please." Yue Qingyuan's hips twitch, his cock making a valiant effort at standing taller.
"Hm. And why should this master do all the work when Yue Qingyuan is the one who wants it?" Shen Qingqiu places his foot against Yue Qingyuan, close enough to touch, but not enough to provide any pressure. "Shouldn't Yue Qingyuan take care of himself?"
There is a long pause as Yue Qingyuan stares up and slightly to the left of Shen Qingqiu, eyes vacant. Seemingly unable to process Shen Qingqiu's words. Shen Qingqiu clicks his tongue and gives the slightest amount of pressure.
Yue Qingyuan's hips jump to meet Shen Qingqiu's boot, grinding up against the rough surface of the sole. He groans at the sensation, humping like a wild animal, entirely lost to instinct in this strange dream space.
Before long, his hips stutter and he gives a short ragged shout as he comes, spend shooting out the tip of his dick and onto his chest. And Shen Qingqiu's boot.
Shen Qingqiu glares at the mess. Dream clothes these may be, he refuses to allow such disgusting fluids to sully his clothes. He nudges Yue Qingyuan's mouth with the tip of his boot and says:
"Clean it. Disgusting beast."
Yue Qingyuan's mouth drops open and his tongue sticks out. Without hesitation, he flattens his tongue against the surface of Shen Qingqiu's boot. His eyes, still hazy, finally find Shen Qingqiu's, as he goes to work on cleaning the boot.
"Yue Qingyuan." Shen Qingqiu finds himself saying, staring absentmindedly at Yue Qingyuan, devoted as he is to his task.
All around them, the space begins to blur and fade.
"I'm going to kill you when you wake up."
With these words, they both vanish into the void of the dream space.
***
"Wake up, Yue Qingyuan."
There is a sharp jab to his ribs and Yue Qingyuan drags his eyes open with a slight flinch, awareness returning to him little by little. His surroundings slowly focus into an all too familiar ward on Qian Cao Peak.
Memories of his dream return to him in a flash. He feels a sudden rush of light-headedness as his blood is torn between rushing to his head and rushing to his dick. Thankfully, his head seems to win out and he can feel himself flushing a bright red.
Was that…? That was his Qingqiu at the end?
The whack of a fan on the back of his head brings him out of his thoughts and he glances up at Shen Qingqiu, hesitant. His eyes meets Shen Qingqiu's and he immediately becomes aware of how much trouble he is in.
"Qingqiu—"
"This master," Shen Qingqiu interrupts, "has heard that Zhangmen-shixiong deliberately took Xin Mo to his guts in order to strike an ultimately failed blow at Tianlang-jun, is that true?"
"I—"
"This master," Shen Qingqiu continues, "has also been told that Zhangmen-shixiong fought recklessly, not sticking to pre-established plans or waiting for reinforcement or further information from the strategic forces at his back, is that also true?"
"Shidi, pl—"
"Furthermore," Shen Qingqiu hisses out, brows drawn tight with fury, "this master was also forced to intervene in Zhangmen-shixiong's twisted Xin Mo-afflicted dreams as Zhangmen-shixiong seemed unable to break out of them himself." He glares down at Yue Qingyuan. "Were the dreams so much more pleasant than the reality?"
There is a thin thread of hurt in Shen Qingqiu's eyes.
"No!" Yue Qingyuan pushes himself to sitting and grabs Shen Qingqiu's hand. "Never. Qingqiu, this one would never choose those dreams over you. I— I was weak. I didn't realize." He presses his lips to Shen Qingqiu's hand and blinks back tears. "I failed you again, Qingqiu."
"Idiot." Shen Qingqiu yanks his hand away, but Yue Qingyuan can see the light blush dusting his cheekbones. "If you ever do something like this again, so help me gods, I will confine you to the bamboo house."
Yue Qingyuan reaches out for Shen Qingqiu's hand once more and Shen Qingqiu's reluctantly lets him.
"Of course. Qingqiu can do whatever he wants with me, this Qingyuan will accept it all. Always."
Shen Qingqiu, still staring off to the side, glares at him out of the corner of his eyes, but does not say anything.
They stay together like this for a moment and Yue Qingyuan breathes a sigh of relief. They are alive. Shen Qingqiu is still here, by his side. Everything will be fine.
The door slams open.
Mu Qingfang nearly saunters in, a wide grin on his face, and Yue Qingyuan feels his stomach sink.
Oh no.
"Zhangmen-shixiong! This Shidi has incredible news for you."
Shen Qingqiu's hand turns into a claw in Yue Qingyuan's grasp, nails digging into soft flesh. Yue Qingyuan winces, but does not move. This… may be well-deserved retribution.
"Zhangmen-shixiong is with child once more! Incredible, isn't it? It seems like, in neutralizing the demonic qi that flowed inside you from Xin Mo, your qi is attempting to expel the excess qi it is unable to neutralize! And that qi is being expelled in the form of a child!"
Shen Qingqiu's figure looms over Yue Qingyuan, his presence heavy and threatening.
"A demon blade child, Zhangmen-shixiong, can you believe this?" Mu Qingfang exclaims, much too enthusiastic about the topic.
Shen Qingqiu, at his side, has a white-knuckled grip on Xiu Ya's hilt. Mu Qingfang notices it out of the corner of his eyes and starts muttering to himself, lost in his own world.
"I do have to wonder what would happen if Xiu Ya were to stab Zhangmen-shixiong while he is in this state." There is an ominous glint in his eyes.
All of the ire directed at Yue Qingyuan immediately turns on its new target and, without any hesitation, Shen Qingqiu whirls around, swinging Xiu Ya at the healer. Mu Qingfang dodges the blade and Xiu Ya embeds itself into the wooden floor with a sharp blast of qi.
"If Shidi would like to know, he is more than welcome to have the first taste of Xiu Ya's blade." Shen Qingqiu says, yanking the blade back out and advancing on Mu Qingfang, a beast stalking its prey.
Mu Qingfang, wiser than most of their martial siblings, in spite of his unusual hobbies, immediately flees the room, Shen Qingqiu hot on his heels.
"Wait, what happened to the war?" Yue Qingyuan remembers belatedly.
Unfortunately, no one is left to answer him.