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Shen Qingqiu was so far in shock that he’d stopped mentally screaming some time ago.
Yue Qingyuan had come and gone already, fussing over Shen Qingqiu nervously like he was the one who needed comfort in this situation. Hah.
Now it was just Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe, and Mu Qingfang left in this private room on Qian Cao Peak. Or well– it was Mu Qingfang, Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe’s unborn child. How the fuck had it come to this??
In general, Shen Qingqiu had made a point of sending Luo Binghe out on solo missions this last year. He was very aware, after all, of the countdown to the Immortal Alliance Conference and therefore to his poor sheep’s years in the Endless Abyss. He wanted to make sure that Binghe would be ready to face all of the horrors that awaited him. The boy couldn’t depend on his shizun to fight his battles forever, after all, as much as Shen Qingqiu would love to wrap him in seventeen layers of bubblewrap and keep him in the Bamboo House where nothing could hurt him.
But on this last trip, Shen Qingqiu had agreed to accompany Luo Binghe, just the two of them, on what sounded like it might turn into a more challenging mission. It hadn’t been, really, but Shen Qingqiu had been dreading the inevitable separation and the loss of this pure white lotus version of his precious disciple. Who could blame him for taking the chance to create a few more memories to comfort him in the days ahead, which would be characterized by dread and then torture??
The mission itself had gone smoothly enough with both of them there. Luo Binghe wouldn’t have had a problem with it on his own, most likely. But that hadn’t been the point, had it? And Binghe hadn’t complained about having his old master tagging along with him.
It was on the way back to the sect that things had spiraled out of control. Really, Shen Qingqiu should have identified that flower or at the very least taken pains to avoid contact with any strange flowers, given the general state of Proud Immortal Demon Way’s worldbuilding. Instead, he’d been too busy dragging his feet, wanting to prolong this time with the disciple he would soon have to betray. He hadn’t even noticed the flower until both he and Binghe had been coated in its pollen.
And then!!
And then not only had Shen Qingqiu papapa’d with his male—very male—disciple, the future stallion protagonist himself, but he’d been the one to push the boy down!! Sure, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t gay or anything, but who had ever heard of Luo Binghe being content to take someone else’s dick when the Heavenly Pillar was involved? He’d seemed to enjoy it, but Shen Qingqiu had been repressing that information for other reasons, thank you!
When they’d come to their senses, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t known how to act. Luo Binghe had been blushing and pleased, which, again, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t had the mental capacity to unpack at the time. He’d fussed over his disciple nonetheless, making sure he was clean and not in pain. He’d insisted that Luo Binghe get checked out by Mu Qingfang as soon as they got back to the sect. As horrifically embarrassing of a conversation as he’d already known that would be, Shen Qingqiu’d been willing to endure it in order to be sure he hadn’t hurt his beloved disciple in ways he couldn’t see.
Luo Binghe, for his part, had readily agreed, with the caveat that Shen Qingqiu would have to get himself examined as well. Who knew what the lingering effects of the pollen could be, he had argued. Shen Qingqiu hadn’t looked forwards to the experience, but it he’d known it would be worth it to make sure Luo Binghe was taken care of.
Arriving at Cang Qiong Mountain Sect only to head straight for Qian Cao had alarmed Zhangmen-shixiong, although thankfully he’d only arrived in the aftermath of the diagnosis.
The diagnosis. That… that was one thing to call it.
The baby. That was another.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
It was clearly a testament to Shen Qingqiu’s acting abilities that he’d managed not to explode during that conversation. Or during Yue Qingyuan’s well-meaning assurances that followed once he’d ascertained the situation.
Binghe wanted to keep the baby, or so he had said. Shen Qingqiu hadn’t objected. After all, hadn’t he made a habit of indulging any of Binghe’s whims that were in his power to grant? Yes this was on a greater power of magnitude, but it still didn’t mean that Shen Qingqiu could bear to deny Luo Binghe anything.
But he was terrified what this would mean. Terrified and, quietly, hopeful. More hopeful than he’d been in years.
System? he called, afraid of the answer. Is it still a requirement for Luo Binghe to enter the Abyss?
【 ... Protagonist Satisfaction Points +10,000. Would host like to spend 10,000 points to bypass Plot Point: Enter the Endless Abyss? 】
Of course Shen Qingqiu wanted to, but three years of dealing with the System had taught him that this offer was too good to be true.
It would bypass the event completely? He wouldn’t have to enter it at a later time?
【 Buying the plot skip would bypass the “Endless Abyss” storyline and related events such as the “Acquire Xin Mo Sword” mission permanently. Would host like to purchase? 】
Yes, yes, yes, purchase it now! That was all Shen Qingqiu had wanted since he had transmigrated. If Luo Binghe didn’t get pushed into the Abyss, he wouldn’t come back and turn Shen Qingqiu into a human stick. And, equally as important, it meant Binghe wouldn’t have to suffer and Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t have to be the unwilling instigator of that suffering.
There were a few ominously long seconds while the System processed his request.
【 Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Host has successfully bypassed the “Endless Abyss” storyline! Please continue working hard to improve the plot!! 】
Shen Qingqiu could see Mu Qingfang across the room, pretending to busy himself with some kind of paperwork, but when he turned towards Binghe, it was like they were the only ones present.
“Binghe wants this?” Shen Qingqiu asked again. “Has he thought about all of the ramifications of his decision? The eventual child aside, my disciple knows that this pregnancy means he will not be able to participate in the Immortal Alliance Conference with his peers?”
“I would have liked to attend the conference,” Binghe acknowledged. “But I don’t care about my reputation or what my peers think of me. I just wanted to make Shizun proud.”
Shen Qingqiu hid behind his fan. Only a week ago a line like that wouldn’t have flustered him, but knowing that Binghe had firmly insisted minutes ago that he wanted to have Shen Qingqiu’s baby tipped the scale from ‘innocent admiration’ to ‘the kind of lines Luo Bingge might use on his harem.’ Too powerful!
“I’ve wanted to be Shizun’s for years,” Binghe told him earnestly. “I didn’t dream of bearing Shizun’s child, but that was just because I didn’t know it was possible. I’ve wanted everything else with Shizun. This just means we can have it sooner than I expected! If… if Shizun wants this one, too.”
【 Manual Override: Genre Change. New Genre: Danmei. 】
Was that it? Shen Qingqiu couldn’t change the major plot points no matter how badly he wanted to, not without being terribly punished by the System. But Luo Binghe was different. Luo Binghe wasn’t bound by the same rules. Luo Binghe was the Protagonist! He made his own fate! If he wanted to be a housewife (!!) instead of a Demon Emperor, that was his right, wasn’t it?
And Shen Qingqiu… well, he didn’t mind going along with it, if it was Binghe. They already lived together, didn’t they? And he’d be an alright parent, wouldn’t he? He’d done well enough with Luo Binghe, hadn’t he? Present circumstances notwithstanding. Yikes. But he’d done well with Ning Yingying and Ming Fan! Ning Yingying was a fine young lady now, with a higher intelligence and stronger backbone than her PIDW counterpart, and Ming Fan had shaped up to not be a cannonfodder bully anymore.
Yes, he could totally do this!
“I hope we can be happy together,” Shen Qingqiu said finally, and he meant it. Luo Binghe beamed at him.
“Shixiong, shizhi,” Mu Qingfang broke in, having given up his pretense of not paying attention. “Apologies for the interruption, but there is something else this shidi needs to discuss with both of you now that Zhangmen-shixiong has left.”
“Oh?” Shen Qingqiu questioned. “Of course, shidi. Is it about the baby?”
“Not directly, but the matter is related,” Mu Qingfang said. He turned to address Luo Binghe. “Luo-shizhi, you should know that the plant the two of you were exposed to is not the reason you were able to conceive. There are plants with this effect, but this is not one of them. I have allowed the sect leader to believe otherwise.”
Luo Binghe took a deep breath. “Does Shishu know what did cause it?” he asked warily.
"This physician would venture that such an ability is naturally occurring in whichever sort of demon Shizhi might be."
The room froze.
“Shidi…” Shen Qingqiu started.
"It is none of my business," Mu Qingfang said mildly. "So long as he presents no threat to the sect—which I can't imagine he would so long as Shen-shixiong remains loyal to it—a disciple's heritage matters to me only inasmuch as it allows me to provide better care for them."
"...Thank you, shidi."
Mu Qingfang merely bowed and excused himself from the room, leaving the two future parents to talk together. As the door closed behind him, Luo Binghe turned towards Shen Qingqiu, tears glistening in his beautiful eyes.
“Shizun, this disciple was wrong to keep this from Shizun! Please don’t throw us away!”
Oh, Binghe. Shizun would never want to throw you away. He gathered his disciple up into his arms, stroking Binghe’s hair as the boy sobbed.
“Shh… shh… It’s alright, Shizun isn’t going anywhere. Binghe…” Shen Qingqiu wasn’t sure where the line was with the System anymore, but he was about to find out. “This master had reason to suspect that Binghe had demon blood, and he didn’t bring up the matter, either.”
Binghe pulled back from Shen Qingqiu’s hold to look him in the eye. “Shizun knew and didn’t reject me? He would have accepted our child without question, knowing it likely had demonic blood as well?”
“Binghe is Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu said simply. “Being a demon wouldn’t affect how I think about him.”
He had thought of the Demon Lord who would emerge from the Endless Abyss as different from his disciple, but that didn’t have as much to do with his demonic heritage as it did with his inevitable desire for revenge. It was just easier to separate them in his mind. It didn’t mean that Shen Qingqiu forgot that his disciple was a demon too.
Proud Immortal Demon Way’s demon protagonist had been his favorite character after all, and getting to know Binghe as a person had only cemented that favoritism.
“Shizun!” Binghe dove towards him and, with more enthusiasm than skill, captured Shen Qingqiu’s lips in a kiss.