phnmnt - Tumblr blog

phnmnt · 1 year

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 24

New Roots

Ming Fan woke up to the sound of loud voices followed by a terrible screeching sound. He rubbed his eyes and clicked his tongue, annoyed that his rest was interrupted by a bunch of idiots who couldn’t keep it down after curfew.

“Shizun, we need to find an open area! The qi is hurting everyone!”

Hearing the familiar voice, Ming Fan instantly woke up, jumped out of bed, and ran to the door barefooted. He opened it, only to be washed over with an overwhelming unstable spiritual energy that made him weak in the knees. A group of people had stopped in front of his room, discussing urgently in loud voices to cover the terrible screeching coming from who knows where.

“Shen shixiong!”

One of the figures froze and turned to him with a pair of round eyes. It was Shen Yuan shixiong. He was finally back! Shen Yuan was about to open his mouth to answer when their shizun, who was accompanying him along with a varied group of people, cut right in.

“Ming Fan, stay here and make sure that nobody follows us. A-Yuan, follow me.”

Ming Fan, sensing like the situation truly was urgent, acknowledged the order with a nod and went to grab his boots by the bed in a hurry. As soon as he stepped outside, the group left immediately, leaving the space in front of the dormitory empty except for one person.

“Shimei?”

Ning Yingying smiled weakly as she watched the group disappear in the bamboo forest. Ming Fan noticed how paled she looked and went to offer his help. His shimei didn’t refuse, grabbing his arm with what little strength she had left. Some younger disciples came out of their rooms, confused and curious about what had happened. Ming Fan barked a few orders, sending them back inside, before sitting Ning Yingying on a stone bench by the moon gate at the entrance of the dormitories.

“Shixiong, don’t worry about me. I just need to catch my breath.”

Ming Fan squatted in front of her, studying her face with worry.

“What happened? What were you doing with shixiong’s group? And why are you…? Yingying, did you exchange patrol nights with someone again?”

Ning Yingying pressed a few of her chest acupoints with a frown. She gestured to give her a minute to recover before opening her mouth to explain.

“I’m sorry, shixiong. I did. I just… I missed Shen shixiong and Luo shidi so much. I wanted to be the first to greet them at the gate. And I couldn’t sleep anyway when I learned they were on their way back.”

“Yingying, that’s a whole week of patrol you just imposed on your body. How many hours did you sleep this week?”

“…Not as much as I should’ve.”

Ming Fan sighed, rubbing his eyes in exasperation.

“Shixiong, this shimei is sorry. But I promise I was fine! I was starting to feel a little tired, but nothing serious. It’s… this unstable qi. It was so strong. Even shizun didn’t look too good when he got closer to Noodle.”

Ming Fan blinked.

“Noodle?”

“Mn. Remember the last letter shixiong and A-Luo sent me? Noodle didn’t just get hurt.”

“Then, what’s happening?”

Ning Yingying looked in the direction the group had disappear.

“He’s about to become a dragon.”

“Over here!”

Shen Qingqiu had brought them to a big clearing deep in the bamboo forest, away from any form of human life. Shen Yuan ran to the middle, cradling the dusu snake that kept twisting in pain in his arms.

“Shh- It’s ok, you’re ok, you’re fine.”

Truthfully, Shen Yuan was trying to convince himself more than the poor dusu snake. He reached the middle of the soft grass field in a few long strides and knelt there. Luo Binghe followed closely, settling himself in front of him before using his spiritual energy to soothe the creature as much as he could.

The situation didn’t look promising. Shen Yuan’s sleeves were covered in small iridescent scales… and blood. He had studied dusu snakes for years without coming across any cases like this one. Very few among their species became dragons to begin with and it was near impossible to obtain a specimen about to transform. Shen Yuan felt powerless. He thought back on their trip and something finally clicked in his mind.

Noodle had cultivated too fast. They had fought so much and went to so many places full of spiritual energy…

Shen Yuan’s vision turned blurry. He wanted to apologize, but Noodle probably couldn’t hear him now. He pulled the dusu snake closer, hugging him to his chest. The latter’s current body wasn’t strong enough to undergo a dragon transformation and… he might…

Noodle suddenly went completely still. Shen Yuan looked down in panic, only to see a pair of now colorful eyes staring right back at him with complete trust. A small pitiful cry came from the creature, rooting his master to the place he had knelt.

Shen Yuan lifted his gaze to Luo Binghe who simply smiled at him calmly.

Standing at the edge of the open space, Shen Qingqiu’s patience was wearing thin. Why didn’t those two leave the snake? He himself couldn’t get close, the unstable qi made him nauseous and feel like he was going to faint. How strong did his disciples become to bear such a powerful unstable qi without flinching? Or was A-Yuan simply being unreasonable, forcing himself to stay with his pet?

“A-Yuan, you can’t stay there! A-Yuan!”

But Shen Qingqiu’s voice didn’t reach his prized disciple. The ground had started to shake, and wind enveloped the trio, creating a strong spiritual barrier in the middle of the forest glade. From it, Luo Binghe locked eyes with his shizun. Shen Qingqiu felt familiar and powerful emotions assaulting his senses, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He hated this. Why couldn’t he get close? Why was he still so weak after all those years? Leaving him weaker than this- this Luo Binghe… Why?!

Noodle’s cries suddenly turned even more heartbreaking. Shen Yuan kept him close, tears streaming down his face as he repeated words of comfort to the dusu snake. It… wasn’t going well. He could feel Noodle’s life essence rapidly going out, slipping between his fingers. But if it was to be his old and first friend last moments, he wanted to accompany him to the end. He suddenly felt a pair of strong, youthful arms encircling him. Shen Yuan smiled despite the tears. His shidi didn’t have to accompany him to this extent. But he did. And he was immensely grateful for it. A gentle warmth spread from his heart, gently soothing his mind.

“A-YUAN!”

Still sitting in the middle of the forest glade, both disciples closed their eyes in unison as a harsh white light enveloped them. The gigantic amount of unstable qi was completely washed away in an instant, leaving only a strange electric atmosphere as the light blinded everyone at the scene.

A short moment passed before the light slowly receded, absorbed by something unknown. Soon after, the palpable charged energy followed.

Shen Yuan felt the weight in his arms disappear, ripping a whimper of desperation from his throat. He opened his eyes, intending to search for Noodle. As he did so, his retina was instantly drowned in an ocean of soft iridescent colors. For a moment, everything seemed to sit completely still, and only the gentle reflections of light dancing in the air like charming little pieces of crystal created an ocean of moving colors. Amidst the different waves, a pair of large reptilian eyes greeted his own calmly, the corner lifting in fondness when Shen Yuan stared back in surprise.

“…Noodle?”

The system’s voice, which he hadn’t heard for a long time, suddenly resonated in his head.

“Carapace ability : 50% damage reduction successful! Applied to user and their companions!” “Qing Jing Peak’s favor +50pts!” “Noodle’s favor +500pts!” “Noodle’s favor [ BONUS ] +???points to •••••••” “Protagonist’s halo compatibility with [*Noodle*] successful. +1000 ally points +0 shielding points!” “Completion of master-level quest +1500pts!” “New skills now available on the user skill tree!” “Congratulations! Please continue to work hard!”

But Shen Yuan wasn’t listening. His body refused to move, remaining frozen in face of the unfamiliar creature. A dragon.

Noodle released a short and sharp breath, ruffling his master’s hair from a distance. Shen Yuan jumped, not expecting the playful attitude from Noodle right after successfully cheating death. He swallowed with difficulty, his emotions still bouncing wildly around in his exhausted mind, and raised a trembling hand, reaching for Noodle’s new fluffy tail hovering above his head. “You’re… so big now.” Shen Yuan’s voice broke on the last syllable. Fat tears quickly filled his eyes, escaping in two seemingly never-ending streams which quickly drenched the collar of his clothes. “Y-You’re- You’re alive…!” He quickly let go of the tail to stand on his knees, throwing himself at Noodle who welcomed him in his embrace. The latter leaned on his master’s sobbing form with a soothing noise, something close to both purring and a low growl. Shen Yuan hid his face on the dragon’s body, both relieved that Noodle somehow survived the painful experience of turning into a dragon and embarrassed at how little he was able to restrain his emotions. Unbeknownst to him, Noddle met another pair of eyes. Luo Binghe silently stared back. Noodle then closed his eyes, bending his neck in a graceful arch as if he was bowing to the young man. Luo Binghe’s eyebrows shot up in shock when he heard two clear words echoing in his mind. “Thank you.”

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #luo binghe #shen yuan #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #back with the au in 2023!!!#hope yall enjoy it ♥

530 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 1 year

Text

Illustration for tgcf book 3

Art by: ___anteiku

Illustration for book 1

Illustration for book 2

Book covers (1-3)

7K notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 23

Letter to Ning Yingying - On the way home [Shen Yuan & Luo Binghe’s letter]

Ning Yingying sat excitedly in front of her shixiong and shidi’s room, a thick package cradled to her chest. She had just finished cleaning the room behind her, a habit she had taken after they had both set out to travel. She opened the package in her hands quickly, grabbing at the familiar small stack of rice paper. The first page was full of ink blotches and smudges. Who knows what kind of shenanigans those two were up to when writing this letter. The first lines were refined and elegant, Ning Yingying recognized her shidi’s handwriting right away and smiled.

“Dear Ning Shijie,

This shidi greets shijie! The mid-autumn festival is fast approaching and we are currently on our way back home, just like we had promised everyone we would. We've had an amazing time on our travels, but it is time to return before shixiong misses you all too much… or does something stupid. He’s always been a bit reckless but I discovered that he truly is a danger magnet. Just the other day, he nearly fell off two cliffs... just trying to look at plants. I swear I’ve grown white hairs in the last few months.”

Ning Yingying giggled, imagining the scene. Shixiong truly had no regard for danger when he found something that interested him. She moved her eyes to the next lines that took the bottom of the page plus a good portion of the next one. The penmanship was different, this one being livelier while being just as graceful as the previous one. It was Shen shixiong’s. More ink smears could be seen, there were even a few black fingerprints staining the right side of the second page.

“Alright, I’ll admit: Shixiong does miss Yingying and the others. A long time has passed… We’ve been gone for more than a year and Binghe is already taller than I am. I fear everyone will have grown so much that they will not need shixiong anymore when I come back. Such a terrifying thought!

To tell the truth, Binghe and I were going to surprise you all by returning earlier than we originally planned, but we encountered a small “problem” during our last night hunt. In the middle of hunting a particularly annoying yao that was causing trouble in the region, Noodle entered a kind of meditating state. The problem was that it happened right in the middle of fighting the yao and Noodle got hurt. After taking care of the night hunt, we took him to a nearby sect to heal him, hence why we pushed our return back. After a full week, I was finally able to stabilize his condition and I was able to settle him in his qiankun bag before hitting the road once more. I will study his condition further when we get back. At least now, the danger seemed to have passed.

Also, don’t listen to Binghe, I was perfectly fine when I was cataloging and gathering herbs. And his head looks completely fine to me, you don’t need to worry about him.”

Ning Yingying grinned. Those two really grew close while traveling, didn’t they? But Binghe seemed set on never telling their shixiong his feelings for him. How silly. She shook her head with a smile. She would have to sit her shidi down upon his return so he doesn’t take a weird oath on his own.

Ning Yingying was also glad that Noodle wasn’t too hurt. She never felt at ease with the spiritual creature, but she knew just how much that dusu snake meant to her shixiong. The latter would be inconsolable if anything happened to his scaly friend.

The letter continued on in Luo Binghe’s handwriting.

“I am convinced shixiong enjoys seeing me worry and wouldn’t mind my whole head turning white because of it-”

A big smudge nearly masked the entirety of the last characters of the sentence. Ning Yingying could picture the smack Shen shixiong gave Luo Binghe while reading over his shoulder as the latter wrote. The message resumed on a completely different subject.

“This shidi included a perfected version of the martial technique shijie has been practicing in the package. Shixiong and I have taken your notes into consideration and adapted the technique to suit your swordstyle better. Hopefully it will be easier to blend it in now. We will soon be able to give you better pointers as we’ll be back to train all together.

We’ve made good time and are currently more or less a 4 day ride away from the sect. Shixiong and I can’t wait to see you again!”

The correspondence ended with both their signatures squeezed together at the bottom of the third page. Ning Yingying couldn’t help but let out an excited noise. Both of her favorite people were about to be back! She gathered the package they had sent her and ran to announce the good news to the other disciples.

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #luo binghe #shen yuan #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #took me a while lol #bon appetit everyone

461 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 22

Letter to Ning Yingying - Helping a borderland town [Shen Yuan’s letter]

“Dear Yingying,

Thank you for your last letter, Binghe and I really enjoy reading about everything that has happened since we left. Tell the boys to behave or shixiong will make sure they get what’s coming to them when I get back.

Joking aside, it has now been almost a year since the two of us set out to travel. We were hoping to gain more hand-on experience and familiarize ourselves with the world around us. So much time has passed already… Binghe is much taller now. He suddenly shot up like bamboo and I found myself having to look up when talking to him these days. I was afraid to not be able to adapt to the change but it feels very… natural, now that I’m experiencing it. He’s also become much more mature. He was always a sweet and smart kid, but the air around him now is calmer and more confident. It is quite hard to ignore. I know that shimei might laugh at this shixiong for writing this, but I’m certain you wouldn’t expect the change to be this big. Just wait until we are back.

We are currently staying in a town very close to the borderlands of the Demon Realm. We were on our way to visit a small sect near this same town (I heard they keep very rare books about spiritual creatures in their library), but we stumbled upon many victims of demonic attacks on our way and decided to stop and help rebuild homes, also lending our strength for anything else that they might need. I say we, but embarrassingly enough, Binghe is the one doing the most work. And the townspeople love him. Especially the kids. They always surround him, asking him to do tricks and play with them. Lu Ayi* and I always need to wrestle them away from him so we can actually get some work done. Noodle is also helping in his own way, driving off undesirables from the town and sleeping the afternoon away with the men who tend the fields. Many were scared of him at first but now they all fight so they can pet him before everyone else every morning. It’s quite adorable.

[*Auntie]

Demons still attack every few days, trying to steal what little the townspeople have left. Thankfully, they never touch the food, but anything else seems fair game to them. One of them even tried to steal Lu Ayi’s donkey. Binghe and I made sure to fend them off and the frequency of the attacks have already gone down by a lot. I’ve also mentioned this in my report but we are thinking of establishing small guard stations throughout the village to help keep them safe in the future. I’ve sent recruitment letters to the nearby sects and many of them have already replied, agreeing to lend us a hand. Hopefully, it will make the lives of the people here a little easier.

I’ve sent Binghe to meet with the sects’ representatives while I stayed here to keep an eye on the border. Before this trip, I would have been extremely worried to send him out alone like this. Though I never doubted his abilities, I still thought of him as our young and inexperienced shidi. But… I find myself relying on him more and more everyday. He continues to grow stronger and more reliable on the battlefield. He’s already a very talented cultivator. I’m very proud of him.

As I’m waiting for Binghe to return, I decided to take the opportunity to write you back and send shizun a report of everything that has happened lately, plus our plans for the next month. Binghe and I will still travel a little bit, but we are thinking of coming back before the next mid-autumn festival.

Also, you probably noticed already but I was able to find a book of the martial technique you mentioned in a previous letter. After reading it, I can tell you that it’s indeed an old and outdated style, but I agree that with a few modifications, it would perfectly match the current swordstyle you are practicing. Binghe and I compiled a few pointers after trying it out ourselves and added them at the end of the book. Do send us the results in your next letter!

Take care of yourself,

Your Shixiong, Shen Yuan

(P.S.: When we received your last correspondence, I gave the second sealed letter to Binghe like you asked. It was… very thick. This shixiong wonders what words you guys are even exchanging haha)”

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #luo binghe #shen yuan #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #heres the second letter :D

414 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 21 Letter to Ning Yingying - Night Hunting [Luo Binghe's letter]

“Dear Ning Shijie,

Thank you for your last letter, it was great to hear from you and our other martial siblings.

As you know, we took a night hunting job in the last village shixiong and I passed. According to the villagers there, the next town had trouble getting rid of an evil spirit so we immediately swapped horses and made haste after sending our last report. A few hundred li from there, we found the town. It was big, on the edge of a cliff and had very tall walls encircling it. But when we entered it, it was completely empty. It was as if everyone had just… vanished. Shixiong used his dusu snake to make sure that truly nobody lived in the town, then took us to camp on the edge of the forest outside the remparts.

As soon as he finally got the fire going, shixiong suddenly doused it. I couldn’t sense anything, but shixiong seemed to be on high alert and even sent his spiritual snake to scout the area. Together, we silently pushed the horses inside the town and came back to the campsite. You should’ve seen it, shijie. In the darkness of the night, amongst the trees, you could see small lights lazily moving right and left. It was almost magical… but odd. Eerie even. I’m ashamed of saying this, but I didn’t understand what was wrong until shixiong said “Don’t move, Binghe. Those are hungry corpses.” Those weren’t lights, they were eyes. There were so many of them. And they were attracted to our qi. But shixiong had previously taught me that those kind of low level ghosts were basically blind and used their sense of hearing and smell to navigate. It was easy to outsmart them, to trick them then leave. But shixiong didn’t seem to want to flee. After observing them, he took out his sword and declared that we had arrived too late. I finally understood. The hungry corpses that were slowly encircling us were the townspeople. They were all dead, reduced to violent husks that attacked travelers at night to feed.

We fought all night. (I was covered with filth and dust, but shixiong… shixiong was still impeccable. He looked like an ethereal being. I will never forget the sight.) When it finally stopped, we had eliminated around a thousand corpses. Men, women, elderly, children… it was a grim scene. We put them to rest with a few talismans that shixiong had brought and went back to the city to find the horses and a place to bathe and rest. But shixiong was acting weird. At that time, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off. He brushed off my concern numerous times and when we finally found an inn, he disappeared into a room, telling me to go fetch hot water for him. I didn’t want to force him so I gave up and did what I was asked. I filled the bathtub and let him wash. After quite some time, I heard a splash and a cry of pain. I had no choice: I opened the door and entered. Shixiong was sitting on the floor with barely anything to cover himself after a bath, holding his ankle. Seeing me enter, he tried to hide one of his legs, but I had already seen what he didn’t want me to see. He had a bruised ankle. I’m telling you shijie, shixiong will never change. I carried him back to the bedroom, sat him on the bed, applied medicine and bandaged the wound. And I made him promise to tell me when he is hurt next time. I’m not sure if he was still angry that I had entered without permission when he was bathing and carried him in my arms instead of letting him walk or if he had a slight fever, but his complexion went red and he stopped talking. I was afraid I would make him more angry and I went downstairs to make some food. Fortunately, there were still a lot of ingredients that could be used and I was able to prepare something decent enough to consume.

When I entered the room… Oh shijie. I didn’t know how to react. He was sitting at the table, playing around with a go piece he got from who knows where, and he was humming a song. Something that sounded so pretty, but also… foreign? It was such a beautiful scene. He stopped when he noticed me and he smiled. Glad he didn’t seem angry anymore, I sat with him, serving the dishes and he suddenly thanked me. He said, “Shidi didn’t have to help shixiong, but he did. Thank you.” I felt like I was sitting on hot charcoal. I had a hard time staying seated.

We ate and played a game of go, then went to sleep. But… I can’t sleep. That is why I’m taking this opportunity to write shijie this letter. This shidi thanks shijie for always listening to him and his many adventures and worries. I hope shijie will send this one just as many stories to share with shixiong. He always delights hearing from you.

Traveling outside the sect has been an exciting experience so far, and I am very lucky to have Shen shixiong with me. This shidi advises shijie to train as much as she can if she wants to travel outside the sect soon to help people in need. This one… discovered that it isn’t as easy to do so as we imagined. “One is never overly prepared.” Right?

Your shidi,

Luo Binghe”

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #luo binghe #shen yuan #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #Next 2 updates will also be letters!#hope you guys will enjoy them before i make yall fall into despair hahahahahhHAHAHHAHAHAHAH #yall not ready

300 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Video

making chinese lantern - bunny lantern, tiger lantern, flower lantern by 香香手工教程

4K notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 20

Shen Yuan is the first to take a step inside the gates, Luo Binghe following him closely. But the latter is distracted. Why… did he find the city so familiar? Shen Yuan slows his pace without saying a word, knowing full well what his shidi was thinking.

He looks around him, trying to remember what the original novel described about the place. Shen Yuan quickly discovers that Airplane had the imagination to create such a place, but lacked the words to describe it. The scenery was creepily realistic. Nothing like a typical dream where everything was fuzzy and lacked details. And the people were… odd. They walked around like mindless husks, their pace slow and heavy. One passes by them and Shen Yuan can feel his heart almost flying out of his ribcage. That person was faceless. No eyes, mouth or nose. And they were completely silent.

Shen Yuan can feel Luo Binghe’s own uneasiness without looking at him. “Shixiong, why do they all look like that?” His shidi’s voice is breathless and Shen Yuan grabs his hand without thinking, a strange kind of electric shock climbing his arm when Luo Binghe tightens the hold. “No one with the ability to control others’ dreams can recreate living beings with precision, especially crowds like this. It’s easy to do so with inanimate objects since they do not move, but people and animals all have different personalities. Think of it as a single actor playing the roles of all the characters present in a play, all at once. However…” Shen Yuan stops walking and turns to face his shidi. “However, I can think of one person, a demon elder, who might be powerful and talented enough to do so. He is known as Meng Mo.” Luo Binghe stares curiously at his shixiong. “Meng Mo?” Shen Yuan nods and proceeds to explain who Meng Mo is.

The demon elder used to be famous for his brillant mind and talent. But too much power often attracts divine punishment and he lost his physical body long ago, leaving only his powerful spirit to wander. Now, he lived like a parasite, absorbing his hosts' spiritual energy. Shen Yuan finishes explaining with a sigh. Just as he is about to resume walking, he sees Luo Binghe freeze with a surprised but confused look. So the fun part is finally starting…

Indeed, Luo Binghe had recognized someone in the crowd, making him forget the questions he wanted to ask his shixiong. Shen Yuan returns to his clueless side character role and asks him what’s wrong. “Shixiong, those people have faces!” Of course they have faces, they are… Luo Binghe lets go of his hand, passing by him and intending to tail the group of people with faces. Feeling somewhat complicated about being abandoned this easily, Shen Yuan follows along.

They follow the group turns after turns until they reach a small dirty alley. The next thing he knows, a small child is mercilessly getting kicked black and blue right before their eyes. The group of bullies laugh and spit, ignoring them entirely. Shen Yuan knows who the child is. He takes a peek at his shidi. Sure enough, the latter is motionless, his eyes fixed on the small and frail body. Even if Shen Yuan had predicted it, he couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. Because it wasn’t just a dream. It was Luo Binghe’s memories. “Shidi, Meng Mo is only trying to get to you-” Shen Yuan suddenly feels a boiling pressure coming from Luo Binghe, also burning him when he tries to grab his shidi’s again once more. He backs off, feeling more emotionally hurt than anything else. “Binghe! Listen to me! This is just a dream! Don’t let your emotions control you!”

But Luo Binghe wasn’t listening anymore. His eyes were rapidly turning red, making him blind to anything else but his inner demons taking root in his heart. His shidi hadn’t woken his demon blood yet and wasn’t strong enough to resist such a strong offense from the dream demon. Without warning, the alley changes into another scene. Meng Mo obviously decided to strike while the iron was hot, not sparing Luo Binghe in any way. Shen Yuan hardly has the time to process the following memory. He did know how Luo Binghe’s adoptive mother died but… Actually seeing it was a completely different thing. He can’t fathom how his shidi must be feeling now. Shen Yuan tries to call his name a few times, but Luo Binghe seems to be slowly sinking into a maelstrom of despair, not hearing him. Powerless, Shen Yuan can only watch as the scenery shifts to another.

Then another. The more Luo Binghe sees, the more Shen Yuan suffocates, barely able to stand the pressure of his shidi’s inner demons. The scene changes again. It changes to a vast natural mountain hall. One that Shen Yuan knows far too well to ever forget. This is a place where holes were dug every time Cang Qiong Mountain opened its gate to new disciples. It's where he himself dug holes for half a day before being accepted as Shen Qingqiu’s first disciple: Qing Jing Peak hall. In the memory, shadows of small kids and teenagers are scattered everywhere, frozen in digging motion. The only one actually moving is kneeling at the far back. Seeing him, Shen Yuan’s heart softens. It’s Luo Binghe, the day he was also accepted as Shen Qingqiu’s disciple. How small he was… All of a sudden, the pressure coming from his shidi goes completely still.

That’s when he hears a very familiar voice. “Shizun, this disciple agrees with shimei. Let’s give the boy a chance. I believe he has potential.” His own voice. A younger version of himself is standing next to Shen Qingqiu, holding the hand of a young Ning Yingying who is looking at the small boy with curiosity. “Shi… xiong…” Luo Binghe’s eyes flicker. Shen Yuan, knowing this was his only window to bring back his shidi, is about to answer him when everything suddenly goes dark. "Binghe! Those are your-"

Yet another scene appears and the pressure comes back even stronger than before, stopping his next words from leaving his mouth. Shen Yuan clicks his tongue. He can barely see and his whole body feels terribly heavy. He spends all his remaining strenght trying to figure out what this scene was about. Their shizun. Poisonous words. A fight. A feeling of rage is floating all around... Shen Yuan is violently thrown out of the memory. He can... he can finally breathe. But when he looks up again, he knows the situation is very far from being ideal. Luo Binghe was standing in front of shadowy figures, more illusions made by Meng Mo, looking ready to attack them. And he does. Over and over. Madly.

The next thing he knows, Shen Yuan is holding his shidi by the shoulders, preventing him from throwing himself on the illusions. “BINGHE, STOP! YOU’LL DESTROY YOUR OWN MIND!” But it’s useless. Luo Binghe’s blood is boiling and he easily slips from his shixiong’s grip, attacking left and right once more. So Shen Yuan does the only thing he can do. He shields. With his own body. He receives the blows directly to the chest and knows that if it wasn’t for the dream realm, he’d have vomited mouthfuls of blood. He gently but firmly grabs his shidi’s elbow that was still pointed at his chest, half to make physical contact with his shidi and half in an attempt to keep himself standing.

Instantly, Luo Binghe’s mind clears and he freezes, his restrained elbow still pointed at his shixiong’s chest. He stares blanky at Shen Yuan, who looks like he would fall to the ground with a single breath. In the corner of his vision, he can see the remnants of spiritual power he had used to attack. His mind finishes sobering up, the vague memory of what he just did acting like a cold shower, turning his face stark white. In panic, he goes to support his shixiong. “Shixiong! Why didn’t you hit back?!” Regret and worry could be heard in his trembling voice and fat tears were already forming in his eyes, wetting his eyelashes in a very beautiful way. Shen Yuan smiles. “Foolish child… The point was to ensure you wouldn’t be injured. And… shixiong would never hurt you in the first place.” Luo Binghe protests in between sobs. He knows his shixiong. The latter was the one who took care of him as soon as he entered the sect, teaching him and bandaging his many scratches and wounds, never losing patience with him. Since day one, His shixiong never stopped working and taking care of others, pushing himself to the limit. He already collapsed once, and, while he was supposed to be recuperating, got injured for his sake after those three matches against the Demon Realm. Now, barely a day had passed and his shixiong was hurt again. And this time by his own hand!

Seeing his shidi’s cheeks transforming into two endless rivers of tears, Shen Yuan wipes one of them soothingly, feeling as if his heart has been stabbed with a knife. (“Airplane, one day I will make you regret making Luo Binghe go through all of this.”) “Binghe, listen to me. There is absolutely no scenario where I would willingly allow you to feel pain. The day- The day you became my shidi, I vowed to myself that I would protect you. And I refuse to break this promise. You have more than potential, Binghe. You have heart and passion. And shixiong will always be there to make sure it can only keep on growing." Luo Binghe felt breathless. He couldn’t look away. He could feel a scalding current of energy coursing throught his veins, running all the way up to his heart. And something… finally clicks in his mind. A simple word finally anchors all his thoughts safely, forming a beautiful web of cherished memories and feelings, settling his previous chaotic emotions.

Love. Luo Binghe had fallen in love with his shixiong.

Shen Yuan, having no idea what kind of revelation his shidi was currently having, sees that Luo Binghe’s tears has stopped and takes a teasing tone. “Besides, shixiong can take a beating. I wouldn’t be Shen Qingqiu’s first disciple otherwise. Shidi shouldn’t blame himself. What is a scar or two if it means I protected those I cherish?” He lets his body lean on Luo Binghe, his knees threatening to give out, completely missing the odd expression at the mention of scars. “However, the ways of demons are extremely unpredictable and hard to guard against. If you don’t want to run into the same kind of trouble in the future, you must keep training to become stronger.”

Luo Binghe simply locks gazes with him. His dark, deep eyes make Shen Yuan feel like he was falling in a pool of stars, where hopes and dreams where still safely craddled… and something else. But Shen Yuan can’t put his finger on it. All he knows is that he can feel a tension in his limbs, his heart going crazy under the intense gaze. “I understand.” Luo Binghe tightens his hold on his shixiong’s body with no intention of letting go. “I definitely won’t let it happen a second time.”

But Shen Yuan already stopped listening to him. In his mind, he is holding the system by the throat, shaking it back and forth with anger. Why is he the one stuck with this script?! It makes no sense! Being hit by the protagonist beam was no joke and his poor heart couldn’t take it. Shen Yuan wanted to force feed the system the butterflies stuck in his stomach in revenge. In reality, only a beat of silence endures before he opens his mouth once more. “But shixiong thinks it’s fine if shidi doesn’t become strong. In the end, whether you achieve getting stronger or not, shixiong will stay by your side and protect you as long as it is needed.” A lifetime? Easily done if that meant he could stay alive... as his shidi’s mentor? Ally? Something like that.

Shen Yuan had no idea of the effect these word had on the young Luo Binghe. The latter silently turns his burning face away, trying to control his rapidely growing feelings and scolding himself for being innapropriate in such a situation. They were still stuck in his dream afterall.

At long last, as if feeling what Luo Binghe was thinking, Meng Mo's shadow appears in front of them. Shen Yuan can feel himself relax at once. If the demon elder was here, it meant that the scenario was about to reach its conclusion. Sure enough, hardly a few lines where exchanged that Shen Yuan was sent into a dream within the dream, completely collapsing in Luo Binghe’s arms. “Shixiong!”

While Shen Yuan was forcibly falling into another kind of dream, Meng Mo quickly (and frustratingly) discovers that most of the boy’s thoughts were linked to this very annoying and weak person Luo Binghe wouldn’t even let go of. But the boy was loyal and had a very strong resolve. Meng Mo casually reveals the presence of something remarkable hidden within Luo Binghe’s body, something linked to the demon race, thoroughly shocking him for a small moment. When Luo Binghe asks him if it’s possible to remove that mysterious hidden power, the demon elder tells him that probably nobody could do it, given how it wouldn’t even reveal itself to him, and takes the opportunity to try to recruit him as his disciple.

However, the offer of cultivating the demonic path doesn’t appeal to Luo Binghe at all. But Meng Mo is relentless, and he quickly changes tactics after looking at the person cradled in the boy’s arms. “Not only would the demonic path help you control that thing in your body, give you benefits to your cultivation that normal people can only dream of, but you could also leap a thousand steps a day and stand above the masses. You could protect him.” Meng Mo can see Luo Binghe wavering at those words. That shixiong of his was a nuisance, but if he had to keep him alive to please the boy, might as well use his existance. After all, a mere memory of him had the power to calm the boy’s mind, almost breaking the illusion completely.

To his surprise, Luo Binghe refuses once more. After a few back and forth, Meng Mo finds himself losing his grip on the negociations. The boy had more spine and brains than he initially thought… “This elder will give you time, so think through it carefully. Otherwise, I’ll trap your and your shixiong’s consciousnesses within the dream realm forever.” It was the wrong thing to say. Luo Binghe’s head snaps up, a cold and intimidating light flashing in his eyes. “If you harm shixiong, any potential agreement is void!” Meng Mo simply answers with a bellowing laughter, now pleseantly intrigued. “Boy, you really have quite the temper!” And everything returns to darkness.

Luo Binghe wakes up with a start, his body drenched with cold sweat. On the other side of the room, he hears his shixiong waking up just as abruptly with a gasp. He quickly kicks his covers, getting out of bed. “Shixiong!” He sees the latter turn to him with a green face, looking positively about to throw up. As he is making his way to him, Luo Binghe grabs a random pot by the table and hands it to him.

The system chooses this moment to ding, being appropriate as always. “Congratulations on completing the scenario ‘Meng Mo’s Barrier’! The system awards you +500pts! Please continue to work hard!” Shen Yuan sends it his signature middle finger gesture, promising himself to fight with it later. It didn’t even give him anything for taking a whole ass poisoned armor as he was protecting his shidi earlier. This dumbass system…

A few gentle pats on his back bring him back to reality. “Shixiong, do you feel unwell?” Shen Yuan offers him a small smile. “Shixiong will be fine. Just… exhausted.” Not letting his shidi fall into his white lotus habits, he quickly changes the subject. “Did that Meng Mo give you any trouble? Let this shixiong examine you.” Luo Binghe freezes, hesitant. But Shen Yuan looked as if he wouldn’t take “no” as an answer and he slowly presented his wrist to him. Thankfully, the examination didn’t reveal Meng Mo’s presence and his shixiong nods, satisfied. Inside, Shen Yuan knows that the demon elder didn’t leave, and simply checks his shidi’s general condition. Everything was normal besides a slightly faster than usual heartbeat, which could easily be explained considering what they just went through.

Luo Binghe takes back his wrist, a complicated look on his face. Shen Yuan already knows what this is about. “Shidi, is something wrong?” Luo Binghe hesitates, opening and closing his mouth many times before making up his mind. “Shixiong, demons… are they all wicked beyond redemption? Must every last one of them be exterminated like shizun said?” Shen Yuan looks down, looking as if he was pondering the question. "There are good and bad humans. So demons must also have good and evil individuals. What we see is often only a small part of the bigger picture. If we only look at how demons victimized our people, we’ll never see the cases where humans harmed innocent demons. The line seperating our two people isn’t one based on race, but rather on tolerance. Don’t think too much about it and follow your heart, en? I- Oh…"

Shen Yuan vision flashes. Damn it. His exhaustion is catching up on him. Closely watching him, Luo Binghe feels his heart sink, seeing that his shixiong was barely able to stay awake while answering his questions. “Shixiong-“ His words die in his throat when he realises that the man had already fallen asleep while sitting. After letting out a sigh, Luo Binghe gently helps him lay back down on the bed, intending to let him sleep after everything that happened.

As he is tucking the second arm under the cover, his gaze travels upward and stops on the face scar his shixiong obtained while protecting him. In a daze, he reaches for it. His fingers gently touches the warm red scarred skin and he let them slide from the upper part of it to the bottom, right next to his shixiong’s adam’s apple. His whole hand was tingling, provoking the dangerous vortex of feelings hidden inside his heart, and he can feel his whole body tipping forward. His instincts taking over, he closes his eyes. With trembling lips, Luo Binghe tentatively kisses the middle of the scar, slightly under his shixiong’s right jaw. “Shixiong…”

A second passes. Then, it hits him. Horrified by his own scandalous action, he jumps back, almost falling down the bed. His whole face is burning and panic taking over his mind. H- How could he-? Even if he feels- At that exact moment, Shen Yuan half opens his eyes, throwing Luo Binghe’s mind and heart in a state of despair. But the former simply gazes at his shidi’s face with a blank expression before dragging him in bed with him while mumbling a few words. “…Sleep. Don’t… be scared… Sleep, shixiong… will protect… you…” Shen Yuan falls right back to sleep with a contented expression. Now only able to hear the loud beating of his own frantic heart, Luo Binghe tries to slip from his shixiong’s embrace, but soon finds it to be an impossible feat. This was going to be a long night…

// CUT (IF YOU ARE 18+, I GOT A SURPRISE FOR U ♥) Shen Yuan shixiong AU - PART 20 EXTRA (CW: Underage, non-explicit sexual content) Text: >> https://privatter.net/p/9271134 << Art: >> https://privatter.net/i/6868476 << END OF CUT //

The morning after, Shen Qingqiu comes to check on his first disciple. He opens the door, never expecting to come face to face with this unlikable disciple of his instead of his prized pupil. “What are you doing here?” Luo Binghe bows with respect. He is about to answer when Shen Yuan steps out from behind the screen by his bed, presenting a refreshed and calm expression. “Shizun, I found out shidi lost his room and a younger shidi took his place not long after.” Knowing it was his shizun’s fault but didn’t wish to antagonize or humiliate him, he decides to add another sentence to spare him. “There must have been a mistake with management, so I resolved the issue right away by letting him room with me. Shizun doesn’t have to worry, I paid for the second bed with my own money.” Shen Yuan could feel his shizun’s fury meter climbing steadily and instantly shuts up.

An awkward silence follows and Shen Qingqiu closes his eyes, his tensed jaw hidden behind his opened fan, attempting to calm his anger. “… How long?” Shen Yuan blinks, confused. “Huh?” “How long has this been going on?” Shen Qingqiu spells it out slowly, barely able to keep himself from jumping on the smaller boy who was taking advantage of his first disciple. “Um… A while?” “How. LONG.” “A- About a year? Maybe more?” Both Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan can feel the whole room go cold. Under Shen Yuan’s explanations and persistance, Shen Qingqiu miraculously ends up agreeing to the situation, not without making Luo Binghe feel his killing intent.

Strangely, Luo Binghe doesn’t flinch from beginning to end, looking directly at their master with a steady gaze. Shen Yuan pushes his shizun out of the small room, wanting to prevent any sparks from creating a fire, while promising him to follow in a minute and enjoy some fresh air together. Shen Yuan closes the door behind him, letting out a sigh. “We’ll have to wait for a while before asking now…” Luo Binghe looks at the spreaded map on the table, his expression unreadable. Shen Yuan shakes his head, feeling a bit depressed. “I’m so sorry about this, Binghe. Shizun can be… well, shizun.” “Mn. This shidi knows. I can wait.” Shen Yuan folds his arms, then starts rubbing his chin in a pensive way. “Shixiong will slowly warm shizun to the idea. Shidi-“ “Will train as usual and be patient.” They both lock eyes and Luo Binghe smiles.

Reassured, Shen Yuan lets out a small laugh before waving his hand and exiting the room, leaving Luo Binghe alone in their shared space. The latter sits down in front of the map, letting out the nervous breath he had kept in since his shixiong had woken up. His eyes travel along the many black lines they had drawn lazily on the thin piece of rice paper. He could still hear his shixiong excited voice when he had circled areas he wanted to visit. Places where spiritual plants grew in abundance and rare creatures lived.

Soon, Luo Binghe would travel out of the sect, bringing his shixiong with him.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #shen yuan #luo binghe #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #so much food #i know #you guys let me know what you think!!!!

342 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 19

As soon as his shizun and shishu finally leave, Shen Yuan closes his eyes, accepting slumber with open arms. However, after a very short moment of peaceful sleep, he quickly realizes that his night is about to exhaust him even more than he originally was.

This was one of the moments he wished the system had a physical form so he could land a few kicks and punches. The system was definitely making fun of him...

He looks around and sighs. This was going to be a long night. Shen Yuan looks at the system’s screen, half pouting. Sure enough, he was dragged into Luo BInghe’s dreamscape. He had completely forgotten about this story arc. According to PIDW’s original setup, Sha Hualing pushed Luo Binghe into Meng Mo’s sphere of influence after the demon invasion. But before danger stuck, Luo Binghe instinctively sought protection and pulled the person he trusted most into the dream with him. Originally, the one stuck with the role was Ning Yingying but Shen Yuan was now obviously the "chosen one". Even as he planned for PIDW storyline in the past, he never thought HE would be the one dragged into his shidi’s dream.

After debating with himself for a moment, Shen Yuan decides to focus on feeling touched rather than embarrassed at stealing a PIDW's maiden role… Wait. He won’t have to do anything weird, right? The original Ning Yingying had taken the opportunity to cement her future role in the protagonist’s harem, declared her love, and- No. No no no no no no. System, you f-

“Shixiong?” Shen Yuan can feel his soul leaving his body out of fright and it takes all his willpower not to scream. He slowly turns to his shidi, goosebumps hidden under his sleeves. Luo Binghe, confirming his shixiong’s presence, excitedly bounces to his side, a big smile adorning his face. Embarrassed by his previous thoughts, Shen Yuan decisively averts his gaze and clears his throat a few times. Then, as he's ignoring the whole situation, something warm gently cups his left cheek, kicking his soul out of his body once more. With round eyes and his heart skipping a beat, he stares down at his shidi. “Shixiong’s scar is… missing.” Shen Yuan lets out a nervous laugh in spite of himself, pushing down his shidi’s hand. “Well, maybe you liked Shixiong’s face better this way? This is 'your' dream after all.” Luo Binghe fiddles with his hand for a moment before stepping back, looking around himself with a doubtful expression. “Mine? Why does it look like… this?”

Shen Yuan immediately understands what he means. Young people’s heart and mind are usually more “colorful” than this. For such a young person, Luo Binghe’s mindscape looked very desolate. Feeling his shidi's complicated mood, Shen Yuan decides to pretend to think aloud to distract him, acting as if he didn’t notice it. “This dream doesn’t seem ordinary. Someone must have tampered with it. It feels unstable yet very strong… And there’s the fact that I’ve been pulled in too.” Shen Yuan slightly squints while folding his arms in a pensive way and declares that he can sense demonic qi circling the space they were in, saying that only a demon could have done this. He soon has to drop his acting, not hearing a word from his shidi. He turns around, immediately confronted with a pair of eyes drilling holes in his face. “B-Binghe? What’s wrong?” Luo Binghe frowns, the shadow of anger settling under his eyebrows. “… Demons are so distasteful.” Leaving his shixiong with a half-opened mouth, Luo Binghe starts walking away in a random direction.

…This has to be what they call teenage angst, right?

Confused, Shen Yuan follows along. But the more they walked, the less they seemed to find a way to get out of the demonic trap. Worried that the dream might start affecting his shidi in ways he couldn’t predict, Shen Yuan pulls at his collar. “Shidi, I’m afraid that walking around won’t make a door magically appear. We have to find the core of the illusion and destroy it. Otherwise, no one will be able leave.” Luo Binghe freezes. He seems to finally understand how serious the situation is. He is quick to apologize, blaming himself for their current predicament. Shen Yuan pats his head out of habit and reassures him that it’s not his fault in any way, that the one trapping them inside the dream is to blame. He adds that they should hurry and find a solution so they can leave. Seeing Luo Binghe nodding obediently with his usual earnest energy, Shen Yuan smiles.

While they were making their way towards where the system was pointing, Shen Yuan was raging war against the system inside. The latter had beeped earlier, announcing that failing to shield his shidi in the scenario would result in an automatic fail and send him back to his world. Did all those points he accumulated during all those years mean nothing??? And while he was at it, he started complaining about how unfair and merciless the system was, throwing him into deadly situations one after another. Did that damned skill system even work? Reflecting attacks? And what “shield”? He was more like a glorified punching bag! The system had to be broken. (Which was denied right away, angering him further.) No bug my a**…

Then, the scenery seems to finally react to their presence. Like a kaleidoscope, different translucent pieces around then twisting and turning, rearranging themselves into a different scene. A city.

Luo Binghe stops, waiting for his shixiong’s signal. “It’s hard to know what we’ll face so let’s deal with everything in appropriate ways as we encounter them. Let’s go.”

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 -Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #shen yuan #luo binghe #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #next update should come very soon~

432 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Photo

Guess what arrived today

#e x c i t e #want

748 notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Theyre everything

#damn……#everything about this is so good

5K notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

- Alternate Reunion -

I love the idea of Hua Cheng coming across Xie Lian by chance during one of his street performances <3

#ooooh i LOVE this idea!!!!!

9K notes · View notes

phnmnt · 2 years

Text

Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 18

Mu Qingfang frowns then hands the medicine to Luo Binghe, telling him to make sure his shixiong drinks it, and exits the room in a hurry. Shen Yuan, recognizing the screaming voice as one belonging to a younger disciple, tries to get out of bed, ignoring the small bowl in his shidi’s hand. But Luo Binghe gently pushes him back in a sitting position. “Shixiong, this shidi promises to help you go investigate, but please- please drink the medicine first, alright?”

Shen Yuan stares at Luo Binghe with surprise. Never before did his shidi force him to do anything, even out of worry. Seeing Luo Binghe’s tense expression, Shen Yuan sighs then nods. Luo Binghe hands him the bowl and immediately kneels to help him put on his boots. Embarrassed but too weak to actually complain, Shen Yuan barely moves and elects to ignore the whole situation.

As he obediently brings the medicine to his lips, the whole room starts to shake violently. “AH!” Shen Yuan’s grip being too weak, the bowl slips from his fingers and shatters on the ground. His shidi grabs the remaining boot and throws an additional layer of clothing found at the end of the bed to his shixiong.

A few seconds later, they burst out of the room together, Shen Yuan leaning on Luo Binghe. “What is going o-!” He immediately closes his mouth when he realizes that he forgot a very important thing: PIDW main scenario. Suddenly feeling cold sweat rolling down his back, he quickly flips through his memories to find what plot they were facing. “Shixiong, where should we s-” “Oh no. This is bad.” Luo Binghe freezes. “Bad?” Shen Yuan swallows, very much aware that his condition has a high probability to handicap him in completing the next step in the main scenario. “Demon invasion.” He realizes too late that declaring such a thing with certainty would probably sound very weird to his shidi. But Luo Binghe’s reaction is simply to strengthen his grip on his shixiong’s waist and to ask: “Where should we start then, shixiong?”

Shen Yuan quickly instructs Luo Binghe to help him to Qiong Ding Peak’s main hall. On their way, they help a few disciples with eliminating demons that reached the deeper parts of the sect. As a demon tries to launch a sneak attack on them, Ning Yingying drops from a nearby rooftop and disposes of him. Witnessing this, Shen Yuan cannot help but cheer inside. He pats his shimei’s head and thanks her before leaning on Luo Binghe once more.

A few minutes later, they finally reach Qiong Ding Peak’s main hall, followed by Ning Yingying and the disciples they met on their way. Shen Yuan catches his shizun’s figure at the head of the group of disciples gathering in the open hall, facing a very mean looking group of demons. Shen Qingqiu locks eyes with him and frowns behind his opened fan. Shen Yuan sends him a forced smile, feeling like his shizun is somehow angry at him. What he doesn’t realize is that his shizun’s eyes stop on his face for a moment, taking in the dark circles, the drops of cold sweat and the bright red patched hinting at a fever. Shen Qingqiu frowns some more then turns away from the sight, visibly annoyed at his disciple's self-preservation skills. Shen Yuan awkwardly makes his way to his shizun’s side with his shidi’s help, resolutely keeping silent when he finally gets there.

A laugh resonates from the demon side. “Is this pretty little sick lamb lost?” Shen Yuan looks up with surprise, only to face Sha Hualing who is gazing at him with both mockery and curiosity. Luo Binghe’s hold on his waist becomes tighter. Shen Yuan doesn’t need to look to know that his shidi wants to teach the demoness a lesson. Shen Yuan shakes his head with a bitter smile as he gently removes himself from Luo Binghe’s grip, thinking that this poor girl will regret leaving a bad impression on his shidi. He takes a step forward and politely bows to Sha Hualing. “This humble disciple thanks the Demon Saintess for worrying. This one is not lost, but here to give assistance to shizun.” Obviously finding him very boring, Sha Hualing simply laughs and turns her attention to the rest of the crowd. She declares being here out of curiosity, wanting to ascend the mountain to take a look at the many talented individuals on the mountain and spar with them. Shen Qingqiu hides a mocking smile behind his fan. “So you decide to show up and exchange pointers when our Sect Leader is absent?” Acting cute, Sha Hualing promptly changes the subject. “This must be the famous Xiu Ya Sword wielder, Shen Qingqiu qianbei.”

She goes on about how “Ling-er is inexperienced” and "is still learning how to manage her subordinates", that if they offended them in any way, that she hopes they will forgive them. Shen Yuan is barely able to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

A few sentences later, the “friendly” competition that was supposed to take place in PIDW current arc is finally mentioned. But one thing worries Shen Yuan: with his current condition, he’s afraid his shizun won’t let him compete instead of throwing Luo Binghe in. He did train the protagonist from day one but… He looks up to the system’s screen highlighting his main mission “Shield Luo Binghe”. Cold sweat running down his back once more, he shivers.

Behind him, his shidi silently grabs the end of one of his sleeves, his expression darker than usual.

Shen Qingqiu and Sha Hualing decide to hold three rounds. Searching his foggy memory, Shen Yuan remembers the first match to be the one in which his shizun would participate. As if to confirm his thought, Shen Qingqiu takes a step forward, announcing himself as the first representative. Shen Yuan instinctively grabs his shizun's sleeve, stopping him from making another step. The latter turns to him, his expression unreadable.

“Sh-Shizun. This disciple…” Telling him to be careful not to use any underhanded tactics like he did in the original work would be a grave mistake, wounding SQQ’s pride in front of everyone present. “...This disciple is deeply ashamed that shizun has to go compete himself in the first match.” Shen Qingqiu raises an eyebrow slightly, softening the previous indifferent expression. “M-May shizun show them the might of righteous cultivation!” Mentally hitting his own head against a wall for saying cringy bullshit, Shen Yuan misses the small spark in his shizun’s eyes.

The next thing he knows, Shen Qingqiu lightly (and awkwardly) pats his shoulder before turning around to face the demon Elder. Everything goes so fast that Shen Yuan barely has time to process the match. Before he knows it, the demon Elder is sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Everyone’s expression is shocked, but more than this, there’s a hint of awe mixed in. Shen Qingqiu won. Without using any underhanded methods. Shen Yuan gazes towards his shizun making his way over while slowly fanning himself.

But Shen Yuan is very much aware of Shen Qingqiu’s strength and character in PIDW, and immediately sees the little drops of sweat rolling down his shizun’s temples. The system chooses this moment to ding and announce “Shen Qingqiu’s divergence path, unlocking success rate now at 45%”, startling SY. 45%?

Shen Qingqiu suddenly stops in front of him, looking down at him with his usual indifferent expression. Shen Yuan, still a bit slow from the fever, doesn’t react until a moment later, bowing to his shizun with a face full of admiration. Satisfied, Shen Qingqiu returns to his previous position. Fighting the sudden urge to laugh, Shen Yuan bites his bottom lip. What was that? Did Shen Qingqiu want to be praised?

The second round also goes by rather quickly, but proves more disappointing than what Shen Yuan expected. Liu Mingyan, Qi Qingqi’s head disciple and Liu Qingge’s younger sister, volunteers to face Sha Hualing but, not yet owning her personal sword while the other battled with saintly weapons, loses the match. She then asks Shen Qingqiu for punishment after her failure but the latter simply ignores her request and asks the now beaming Sha Hualing to decide on her last representative. Shen Yuan fights the urge to bite his nails. He subtly glances at his Shen Qingqiu, hoping that he forgot about the protagonist’s presence. Deciding to not take any chances, Shen Yuan moves to block his shizun’s view as the latter turns to choose one last representative. Luo Binghe, not knowing his shixiong’s intention of protecting him, peeks from behind Shen Yuan’s back and directly meets Shen Qingqiu’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Sha Hualing casually announces the poisonous and deadly attributes of the Elder’s armor, triggering a wave of rage in the onlookers. Shen Yuan, aware that he failed to “hide” his shidi, steps once more in front of Luo Binghe. “Shizun, please let this disciple be the last representative.” Shen Qingqiu completely ignores him, locking eyes with Luo Binghe once more. The latter quickly shots a look at his shixiong then nods. Shen Qingqiu silently fans himself before turning his back to them. “Luo Binghe, come here.” Not expecting his shizun to act this way, Shen Yuan shoots him a hurt look. “Shizun-!” “A-Yuan, you shut up.”

Before everyone at the scene knows it, Luo Binghe is making his way towards the center of the hall while a worried Shen Yuan is still desperately trying to convince his shizun to let him go instead. Inside, Shen Yuan knows the original Luo Binghe didn’t even have his current training and experience so he knows his shidi can beat Elder Sky Hammer, but he can’t help but feel very worried that this situation will make him fail his “shielding” mission.

If he's gone, what will happen to Luo Binghe?

He insists on switching with his shidi once more and that is when Shen Qingqiu’s patience reaches its limit. “Shen Yuan! You know very well I don’t make a habit of repeating myself. Shut. Up.” Shen Yuan is about to retort, feeling hurt, when a hand firmly pulls him back. Ning Yingying silently takes his hand in her own trembling one, shaking her head at him. "Shimei..."

Luo Binghe politely bow to Elder Sky Hammer and falls into his prefered fighting stance, indicating that he is ready to fight. The visual difference between the two competitors is ridiculous, the previous atmosphere of awe towards Shen Qingqiu turning into fearful respect. Then, Elder Sky Hammer finally swings at Luo Binghe. Minutes pass and, surprisingly, none of the demon’s hits land. Luo Binghe also couldn’t land any, but as far as anyone was concerned, staying alive was already exceeding everyone's expectations. Even Ming Fan was slowly turning blue from holding his breath. “This is becoming a battle of endurance. The brat will lose at this pace.” “He won’t.” Shen Yuan had already calmed down while looking at the match.

Since his very first move, Luo Binghe had started planting little advantages here and there. He really was the protagonist. SY can’t help but smile fondly. “He will win.” The sentence carries to LBH’s ears. Previously worried his shixiong didn’t trust his strength and asked to replace him with his sick self, he couldn’t help but be distracted and dragged the moment of confrontation with the demon, trying to calm his nerves. But when he hears those confident words, he feels his whole body becoming lighter and excitement starts running through his veins. “I will win.” In a single flash of his sword, Luo Binghe ends the match. Other than Shen Yuan, no one looks as if they expected this outcome.

Elder Sky Hammer, a demon elder with a hundred years’ worth of skill, had been defeated by a youth of fifteen years. Covered in dust but grinning from one ear to the other, Luo Binghe returns to his shixiong’s side. Shen Yuan ruffles his hair while praising him as soon as he’s within reach and Ning Yingying starts bouncing while cheering. Even Ming Fan cannot help but crack a smile.

But Shen Yuan’s attention never leaves the demon side. As his shizun is about to send away the horde of demons, Elder Sky Hammer launches towards them, swinging his weapon. But Shen Yuan’s movements are too sluggish from the fever and the exhaustion, and he finds himself unable to move. He shuts his eyes. But the pain never comes. When he opens them again, his shizun is standing in front of him, towering above a knocked out demon elder. “How dare you try to kill him? My disciples' lives aren’t for you to take.”

Luo Binghe recovers from the shock and pulls his shixiong’s sleeve. “Shixiong, are you alright?” “I-” Then something that no one could’ve predicted happens: Elder Sky Hammer, who was believed out cold or even dead, suddenly leaps up and hurls himself at Luo Binghe, arms open as if preparing to embrace the boy.

His mind immediately connecting the dots, Shen Yuan’s body acts on his own and he pushes Luo Binghe out of the way, pulling his sword out of storage and piercing Elder Sky Hammer hulking body. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to stop the momentum of the attack. With an evil grin, Elder Sky Hammer throws himself at Shen Yuan, poisonous spikes glinting in the light. The latter tries to evade the attack but his body suddenly stops responding entirely and stars appear in front of his eyes. The next moment, chilling stabs of pain spread from his right arm, his chest and the bottom of his face. Shen Yuan’s Qi was already in disarray from overworking and now, he can feel his heart going completely cold from the absence of spiritual energy. He can hear screams all around him as someone laughs madly. Then, an angry growl followed by the wet sound of a body falling in a pool of fluid...

Arms cradle him gently, as if shielding the most fragile piece of jade, and a broken-hearted sob resonates close to his ear... His vision is troubled and his body feels so- SO heavy. “A-YUAN!” Another round of screaming is heard. And Shen Yuan can recognize screams of terror. “S-Shiz…un…” But Shen Qingqiu doesn’t hear him as he madly eliminates demon after demon.

The last thing Shen Yuan hears is the voice of Liu Qingge ordering for people to let him through.

◃◇▻▵◅◇▹

Shen Yuan awakens in a very fancy room. Swimming in confusion for a while, his brain finally reboots and he recognizes the room as his shizun’s. He tries to turn to take a look around but a general body pain makes him freeze and groan. Ming Fan, who was just coming in, drops whatever he had in his hands to the ground and runs outside shouting that his shixiong is awake.

As Shen Yuan slowly sits in bed, he spots Luo Binghe standing just outside the room. “Shidi? Why are you standing there? Come in.” Luo BInghe refuses to look him in the eyes and, upon entering, he immediately kneels down and begs his shixiong for forgiveness. His tears break Shen Yuan’s heart. He gently grabs his shidi's hand. “Binghe.” Luo Binghe slowly raises his head. “Binghe, listen to me. There is absolutely nothing to forgive. Besides, I’m the one who should’ve been strong enough to protect you. As a shixiong, I am very embarrassed.” “N-No! Shixiong, you-” He stops, seeing the teasing smile on his shixiong’s face.

Touched but still anxious about his shixiong’s condition, Luo Binghe shyly offers Shen Yuan the congee he made earlier. As he eats, Shen Yuan deliberately ignores the feeling of butterflies spreading in his stomach.

After Luo Binghe goes back to the kitchen with empty plates, Mu Qingfang, Liu Qingge, Qi Qingqi, Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu all enter the room to check his condition. In short, half the bigshots of the sect came to visit him. (The system loudly notifies Shen Yuan that his martial aunts and uncles status progressed to “family”, making his eyebrow twitch.) Mu Qingfang examines his body once more and Shen Yuan is informed that the poison is indeed without a cure but can be repressed with medicine and some external help. His shibo then sighs and places a copper mirror in his hands. “That’s the best I could do.” Shen Yuan calmly looks at his reflection and his eyes stop on a very mean looking scar at the bottom right of his face. He smiles. “It’s alright. This shizhi is alive, right?” Mu Qingfang smiles back and pats his head. "Well said."

After expressing their concerns, most of them exit the room but Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu remain to help him go back to his room. (Not without Shen Qingqiu offering to stay with him temporarily. Liu Qingge visibly gets goosebumps when he hears the suggestion.) From his shizun's bed to his own, they both nag at him so that he never does something dangerous like that again. Back to his own bed, Shen Yuan finally feels his shoulders relax.

“Shizun. Shishu. I know what I did could’ve cost my life. But… this one only wanted to protect those he cherishes. Without acting, this disciple could’ve lost much more. This… I promise to become stronger.”

In the end, both men’s hearts soften when they hear him say that. But both focus on different parts. Shen Qingqiu hears “cherish”, mentally slapping the word to his own forehead, and Liu Qingge hears “stronger”, making him nod with satisfaction.

Both of them are idiots.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17

(Note to delete later: If you sent me an ask a while ago and wonder why I haven't answered yet, I simply didn't have the time to! I will do that as soon as I can and I apologize for the delay.)

#svsss #scum villian self saving system #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #sha hualing #sy shixiong au #phansdraws #I KNOW #this is a LOT of text #sorry for posting one day later than twitter it was way too late to post it here too rip #enjoy ♥

516 notes · View notes