He lies down on the bed in the dormitory, and in a way, it all feels like a dream. He really made it to a powerful sect, and the people seem friendly too!
Sure, he hasn't spoken with many people, but Shijie, as Ning Yingying earlier told him to address her, was very kind. Shìzūn not only takes care of students but also has a pet, so he must be a responsible person.
Shixiong seemed upset with Luo Binghe, but it's very possible that he has just offended him in some way. He had been yelled at when he started to address people by name as usual.
Titles are apparently really important in a sect, and Luo Binghe has only learned the basics. While his mother tried to teach him as much as she could, Luo Binghe knows that his manners aren't nearly as good as expected from a scholar.
But despite his ignorance, Shìzūn still took him as a disciple. Luo Binghe's mother would be proud for sure, to see him accepted into Qing Jing Peak. It might feel like a dream or a delusion, but it really happened, and he's here.
He made it to the dormitories by following some shixiong whose name he doesn't know. Binghe tried to follow Ming-shixiong at first, but he must've made some mistake since Shixiong told Luo Binghe to get out of his sight.
He is a bit worried about how he'll be able to keep up with the other disciples since he can't read. Well, Luo Binghe recognizes a few characters that a nice old man in his village had taught him before passing away one winter. But reading and knowing a character or two are two entirely different things.
The bed is so soft. All the time traveling here, starved and cold, were worth it. Binghe slowly doesn't even remember closing his eyes, but he falls into a deep slumber, not even having pulled a blanket on top of himself or taking off the outer layers of his robes.
-
Ming Fan starts to laugh a little as he stares down at the street rat that Shìzūn had graciously brought onto the peak. Ning shimei seemed to be fine with the filth living at their sect. Shimei shouldn't be in cahoots with someone like this. This rat doesn't deserve Shìzūn's teaching.
This rat should've just known its place and gone home as soon as possible, but even by nightfall, it's still here. Should they see how long it takes this scrap eating animal to scurry home?
With a grin on his lips, Ming Fan signals for one of his friends to pour the basin of ice-cold water on the rat. They do so gladly, with a small laugh. The water pours down on the rat, and it quickly wakes up from its rest. Big, wide eyes full of surprise and confusion meet Ming Fan's.
It takes a moment for the rat to take things in, and Ming Fan decides to put it in its place meanwhile. "Listen, I don't know why you're here, why Shìzūn or Shimei would ever let you stay here, but just so you know, you're not like the rest of us. You're like a pest living among humans here, so why should we have to deal with you?"
The rat just sits still on the bed with wide eyes and an expression that he couldn't read. After a moment though, it bows its head slightly. "I'm sorry shixiongs, I've been ignorant." Somehow, it brings both satisfaction and frustration to Ming Fan when it bows its head.
-
Shixiongs end up storming out of the room, with his fellow disciples hurrying after him. Luo Binghe sits on the bed, shivering. He's unsure what to do, since all his bedding is wet and so are his clothes. What should he do? He needs to be his best self so he can't get sick now. Shìzūn will surely think that he's careless.
He should change out of the wet robes. If he continues sitting around like this, he'll surely get sick. Luo Binghe crawled out of bed and took off the first layer of his robes before hearing a sound, something hitting the ground behind him.
He turns around quickly to see a bag on the ground and a brown cat with a light underbelly and piercing gaze looking down at him. Shìzūn's cat, Jing, if he correctly remembers, is sitting on the open window. Since when had the window been open?
Jing quickly jumps out once he makes eye contact with it, disappearing from sight. He approaches the bag with both interest and caution, and what he finds inside is a clean and dry set of disciple robes. How did Shìzūn's cat know to bring this? It seems both intellectually and physically difficult for a cat.
Did Shìzūn perhaps send Jing to bring this to him? But how could Shìzūn know either? No, he shouldn't doubt Shìzūn's abilities. He must have known that Luo Binghe would be in trouble and sent Jing to give these robes to him so he doesn't have to spend the night in cold and wet ones.
He doesn't even notice the grin on his face as he looks up at the open window. Shìzūn truly is caring. He upset his shixiongs, and Shìzūn was still so kind to send this to him. Should he thank Shìzūn the next time he sees him?
-
He is quite proud of himself, both for saving Luo Binghe from some anguish and for being able to control his qi well enough to conceal the fact that he is a monster, hiding the white fur and red eyes under moonlight.
For some reason, hiding those features under moonlight is way harder than changing into an entirely diffrent animal. That makes no fucking sense.
What connection do these mooncoon beasts have to the moon anyways? They're the crazed descendants of a huli jing and some Japanese cat spirit. How on earth does that link them to the moon?
Shen Yuan makes quick work of running from the male disciples' dormitory to the bamboo house. He left while Jiu-ge is sleeping, since that is probably the only time that he can do this.
Jiu-ge was never a big fan of Luo Binghe in the novel, so he assumes that Jiu-ge wouldn't be too happy about Shen Yuan helping him.
He takes a step inside, closing the door behind him. It's actually a bit difficult while being a fluffy monster. He creeps deeper into the house, not making a sound due to his weight and fluffy paws in this form.
Shen Yuan jumps up on the bed where he had previously left Jiu-ge sleeping. It's like a scene from a horror movie when he finds the bed empty, and he hears the sound of Jiu-ge clearing his throat from behind him.
Jiu-ge has his sword in hand, and damn, an angry Jiu-ge in the dark is a scary sight. Shen Yuan goes still as Jiu-ge pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh that sounds both relieved and irritated.
"Do I have to put you on a leash or something? You just seem to have a habit of constantly sneaking away," he says, crossing his arms while gazing down at Shen Yuan.
It doesn't take long for Jiu-ge to grab a set of inner robes from a shelf and toss them to Shen Yuan, a silent sign for him to change shape and a clear mark that he'll be listening to a lecture that'll probably carry on into the next day.
He takes the form of a human once again. Honestly, he misses his old face in a way. He can't even remember what it looked like, and that's why it got all jumbled up with Jiu-ge's face always.
There are still things in his face that he knows are from his original one, but no one could deny the resemblance between Jiu-ge and him.
What excuse could he make for his nightly visit? What could he say to save himself from the ten-year-old scolding coming his way? Shen Yuan tries to think about it while putting on the robes.
"So, would you like to tell me what on earth you were doing out there in the middle of the night?" There comes the million-dollar question, and Shen Yuan thinks that he actually might have a solid excuse made up.
"I just need to do something that makes me feel a bit more free. I know that I'm not like the rest of my kind, but sometimes I just feel the need to run in the wild for once," he lies through his teeth and avoids eye contact with Jiu-ge. Will this work?
"The first time you snuck out was into a library, according to Ming Fan. Is that what you call wild and free?" Jiu-ge tilts his head, not in confusion, but maybe more in a challenging way as he asks.
Oh, fuck. He hadn't thought that far back. It's been well over a month now. How the hell does Jiu-ge just remember that? "I got curious back then. I was exploring the bamboo forest before that," he decides to look up at Jiu-ge, and he can see why his gaze is called intense.
Jiu-ge stays quiet for a while before sighing deeply. "This is a sect full of cultivators. I can't protect you if you wander around like some dumb thing. At least tell me if you want to go play in the forest."
Shen Yuan feels relieved that the explanation worked, but the way Jiu-ge words it makes him sound like some toddler. Shen Yuan is trying to save perhaps the whole Qing Jing peak from being burnt to the ground, and this is the thanks he gets?
Jiu-ge still seems to get super cautious when he's more than ten meters away, but they seem to be building up some trust over the months of cohabitation. If Shen Yuan can work on it, maybe he can lessen or prevent altogether the abuse and try to get Jiu-ge out of the situation alive as well?
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So this has been getting a lot more attention than I ever thought it would and I'd just like to thank you all! I took a small breather frlm this and wrote a few more chapters to my other fic but I'm trying to do good while writing this:3 I also broke trough 10k views on AO3 which is something to celebrate to say the least.