Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the screen in front of him. A bored expression embarked on his face.

“Pathetic book, pathetic author!” He cursed bitterly, using his mouse to click off the novel.

He shut off his computer, running his hand through his hair. Standing up from his chair and lying about on his bed.

Liu Qingge looked up at his ceiling, tired and now bored from reading PIDW (and martial arts class). At first, he thought it was a novel with more fight scenes. But it’s just a damned harem novel ridden with sex scenes!

“Ugh, dammit it all.” Liu Qingge muttered.

He closed his eyes, unmoving from his sprawled out position on the bed. Letting his tiredness take over his mind.

.

.

.

.

Liu Qingge didn’t know how much time had passed when he had fallen asleep. But something was wrong.

He found himself surrounded by bright colors, a weird voice that resembled Google Translate echoed in his ears.

[Activation Code: “Pathetic book, pathetic author!” System has been triggered.]

‘ What? The hell do you mean activation code?!’

[The system welcomes you to your new beginning!]

‘ System?! What is going on!’

[Role chosen: Error!]

[E rR oR! Species: Nameless Cat!]

‘ ..Did you just say cat!’

[System is reprocessing!]

‘ Dont ignore me you!- ‘

[System Timeline has been reset! Timeline: Before Luo Binghe!]

[Power source error!]

[System power source: Offline.]

[System has entered force reset]

[Now entering Open World mode]

[Best of luck to client.]

‘ Who are you calling client! I didn’t want this! ’

[The system hopes that during this experience you achieve what you’d like! Please transform your most hated parts into whatever you wish! Fulfil your dreams and make a masterful piece! Work hard to reach the ending you wanted!]

‘ What is going on! ’

[System is now offline]

‘ Come back! You need to explain more!’

Liu Qingge’s call was in vain, and he found his senses slowly returning back to him. He wobbled, tumbling slightly as the dizziness began to fade.

‘ Urgh… what just happened? ’

He felt weird , and not in a good way. Everything suddenly seemed bigger, looming over his smaller frame.

He shook his head, looking down at his hand, or what should've been a hand. Instead it was replaced by a furry white paw.

‘ Is this what the system meant by nameless cat?! Why did this system have so many damned errors! ’

Liu Qingge’s mind was a mess, everything had gone by too quickly and he understood absolutely nothing!

He crawled out from the grassy clearing he found himself in, his body felt unusually normal, like if he were walking on two legs, but he wasn't. And now he was a furry cat with no plan whatsoever, he had no way to get out of this mess!

“ Get a grip Qingge! This is the world of PIDW no matter how many wives the protagonist had there are still monsters and you are a cat! ’

Liu Qingge continued to mentally scold himself, the world finally stopped consisting of green overgrown grass. He gaped at the scene he saw, he thought his jaw would fall off.

Extremely large buildings clouded his view, food stands, extravagant carriages and people. Everyone was huge in his small eyes, and he suddenly found himself shaken up by it.

A young girl caught a glimpse of the small cat, standing over it to try and get it to a safer, less crowded place. And instinctively Liu Qingge hissed and took off running, Weaving his way through the various carts and people. 

‘ What the hell! Get me out of here I can’t take it anymore! ’

Liu Qingge ran as fast as his little legs (or paws) could take him. Quickly becoming tired as his current stamina was not the best.

He came to a sudden halt, coming face to face with a burly looking man. The already large man looked even more large (not in a bad way.. hopefully).

‘ Stay away! I have claws and I’m not afraid to use them! ’

Unfortunately, what he didn’t realize was this was a minor demon character that nobody bothered to remember. Yet in his current state, it was clear he stood no chance.

The demon man reached his hand out, picking up the now flailing Liu Qingge up by the scruff. Inspecting him closely.

‘ Put me down dammit! I just got here, I don't deserve this! ’

He yowled (yelled) angrily, demanding to be put down. This was undignified! His claws swiped at the air, barely skimming over the others' skin.

The man lifted Liu Qingge higher, right above his mouth. Causing him to squirm more than he already had been.

‘ Are you eating a cat in broad daylight! Now you’re just feeding the stereotypes! ’

Liu Qingge cried out, clearly unhappy by the situation he had found himself in. A few of the nearby shouted for the demon to stop, and the other spectators simply stood there in disbelief.

The demon closed his mouth and sneered, speaking cruelly to the small crowd that had gathered around him. Shaking the cat rather violently, Liu Qingge thought he was going to die early on.

“If any of you have the guts come and stop me!” The demon laughed viciously, holding up Liu Qingee as if he were some sort of prize.

He hissed and yowled the best he could, in his previous life he was the top martial artist in his class. And now his pride had hit an all time low thanks to this chump!

Unsurprisingly, nobody came forward. And the demon simply laughed once more, opening his mouth wide. Liu Qingges fur stood on end, closing his eyes shut and preparing himself.

‘ What an embarrassing death! Can I get a refund please?! ’

Suddenly, he heard a distant whoosh thanks to his heightened cat senses. He perked up, and wished he had kept his eyes shut. 

With no time to react, a sword flew past, slicing the demon's arm off. Letting out a loud guttural yell, the demon (obviously) let go of Liu Qingge. Letting him fall to the floor, and landing ungracefully.

The sword turned back around, and the crowd gasped and soon began to depart at the sight of a newcomer. The sword gleamed brightly, piercing the demon in the chest before he collapsed. 

Liu Qingge, who had not expected such a thing, was dumbstruck. Sure he was grateful for the save but now what would happen! This new cultivator had demolished a demon in daylight!

At first Liu Qingge didn’t recognize the cultivator. As the cultivator wore elegant green robes and had silky long hair with part of it tied into a bun with hair ornament. 

Despite the man’s elegant appearance, his eyes were dark and cold. Walking over to where his sword lay embedded into the demon. Summoning it back, cleaning it and sheathing it once more. 

‘ You seem oddly familiar… ’

Liu Qingge thought, searching his brain for an explanation. Not noticing when the man stood over him, looking at him closely.

Alas, it was too late and he picked up the cat gently. Lifting it up to meet its gaze, his cold eyes examining it carefully.

Liu Qingge, who was picked up yet again, began to throw another fit. How unruly! The new savior was just like the last!

‘ Put me down this instant! You!- ‘

He didn’t even get to finish his curse before the man before him set him down. Turning his back and beginning to walk away. Flicking out a folding fan and fanning himself simply.

It was only then that Liu Qingge realized who this was. His eyes seemed to widen at the sudden realization.

‘ Hold on, that fan. . . And such an elegant posture!- ‘

Liu Qingge began to dart forward, chasing after the man who was his savior.

‘ The main villain, Shen Qingqiu! How did I fail to realize it! ’

Shen Qingqiu turned around once he heard small pawsteps rushing towards him.

Coming face to face with the meowing gray and white cat. His fan covered the lower part of his face as he watched it.

‘ Hey! Don’t just stand there like an NPC! Take me with you! ’

Liu Qingge continued to meow fiercely at Shen Qingqiu, his patience beginning to wear thin with the man.

Shen Qingqiu simply stared at him for a few moments longer, taking notice of how the cat acted. Its blu-ish gray eyes seemed to have a flame of passion. He scoffed at his own ideas.

How preposterous, to even think such a thing! Shen Qingqiu simply walked off, ignoring the cat's pleas the best he could.

‘ You!- Come back! Don’t leave like how the system did!’

Liu Qingge was dumbfounded, that bastard was leaving just like that! How could he leave a small meowing cat to defend itself! Unfortunately, his small rant had taken a while and Shen Qingqiu had already vanished from sight.

His jaw dropped, and soon began to look around for the green man. Running along the now empty street, going back and forth from running to hopping on top of the demon's corpse to get a better look.

‘Shen Qingqiu! Get back here this instant or I will climb up to Qing Jing Peak! ’

For the rest of the cold evening Liu Qingge was bitter, his day had already been ruined! 

First he died and somehow turned into a fucking cat! Dying was already bad enough, not to mention the godforsaken system!

Next he was almost eaten in the span of 5 minutes, then he met the villain, Shen Qingqiu who just straight up abandoned him on the streets of who knew where!

Now he was homeless and hungry, cold and angry at anything that crossed his path. Liu Qingge walked back to where he first woke up (spawned). Settling down on the grass and closing his 

eyes.

.

.

.

.

The next day, Liu QIngge woke up in the grass patch yet again. But with a new goal in mind, to climb Qing Jing Peak and give Shen QIngqiu a piece of his mind!

‘You don't get to ignore me! Now then, where do I go.. ’

Beginning his small journey he walked to the same crowded area from yesterday. Despite it being early in the morning it was still bustling with people.

Liu Qingge looked up at the still orange-ish sky, feeling a bit nostalgic. Even if he had only been in the world of PIDW for a day, he missed home.

He shook his head furiously, now was not the time to reminisce over his old life. He had to start anew, even if he was stupidly small and furry.

He walked nimbly through the crowd, skillfully dodging carts and feet as if it was something he did on a daily basis. Liu Qingge´s pawsteps were quiet yet quick, wasting no time to travel as far as he could.

Liu Qingge made his way through the relatively small village, stopping for only a brief moment to steal from a fish stall. 

“You damned cat! Get back here!”

The stall owner yelled, flailing a fish around as Liu Qingge made his grand escape. Jumping away onto a nearby low roof, fish in his mouth. 

‘ Sucker! Take that hah!’

Liu Qingge taunted the owner, dashing off and eating his (disgusting) raw fish to gain energy. His ears perked up in case of any dangers, as he didn’t feel like getting eaten.

He stretched, raising his tail high into air, yawning and thinking about taking a nap. Realizing what he was thinking he mentally scolded himself.

‘ Damn, I would much rather take a nap but that Shen Qingqiu has to pay! ’

Liu Qingge scoffed, shaking himself away as he rushed on top of the roof, jumping from place to place. Occasionally making a pit stop to catch his breath.

He was almost at the end of the absurdly big village, seeing the green of the trees and grass. The sight of people leaving on journeys made him excited to finally travel about.

He was halfway to the end when he saw familiar green robes flutter past in the crowd of people. Liu Qingge was momentarily dumb struck as he stared.

‘ Shen Qingqiu came back?! What kind of OOC nonsense is this?!’ 

Liu Qingge shook his head, turning back around as he chased after the “Shen Qingqiu” he saw.

Once more he raced across the rooftops, catching up with Shen Qingiu quite easily, staring at him menacingly.

Shen Qingqiu stopped in front of a stall, looking at some very beautiful fans that the owner was offering.

‘ Oh no you dont! Get over here!’ 

Liu Qingge hissed, figuratively and literally. Leaping from his crouched down position on the roof top and winging it. 

At first, he was very confident in his ability to be able to jump far enough to give him a peace of his mind. But now that he was mid air, he felt uncertain about the jump,

‘ Damnit! I miscalculated! Someone prepare for a crash landing! ’

He yowled as he fell right towards Shen Qingiu, who heard his cry but was unfortunately too late to move out of the way.

The two fell with a hard thud, and Shen Qingqiu rubbed his head where Liu Qingge had landed. Looking down at the bristling cat caught on his lap.

“...”

“...”

They stared at each other for a moment before Liu Qingee pounced at him again, this time caught by his scruff.

‘ Stop grabbing me by my damned neck fur you!- ’

Liu Qingge flailed in his grasp, cursing him out in cat tongue as Shen Qingqiu stared, absolutely dumbfounded by the cats actions.

A small group had gathered around the stall and Shen QIngiu, asking if he was okay or injured from the abrupt fall.

‘ He might not be injured, but my pride sure is! ’

Shen Qingqiu simply dismissed the people's worries, claiming he was fine and began to get up from his spot on the ground.

Liu Qingge scowled as he felt himself being lifted further off the ground, being held in Shen Qingqius grasp.

Shen Qingqiu sighed heavily, turning the cat over carefully in his hand and almost looking it over.

‘ Hold on one second here… ’

Liu Qingge’s eyes widened as he realized a very crucial detail about this Shen Qingqiu that he had very rudely tried to ambush.

‘ What the hell! You look just like that Shen Qingqiu and have the same clothes but you're not him! What's going on! ’

Liu Qingge was stupefied by this, they looked exactly the same, but this Shen Qingqiu had a softer and carefree expression compared to the cold one from yesterday!

Shen Yuan sighed, shaking his head as he stared at the cat who looked at him as if it had just seen a ghost.

‘ What's this cat's deal?! What did I ever do to it! ’

He immediately began to ponder any sort of idea as to why this cat was acting so strangely, but his facial expression showed nothing but calmness.

Liu Qingge felt slightly panicked now, in PIDW there was only one Shen Qingqiu and he was the main villain of the story! So why are there two of them now?!

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge froze in utter shock, his mind scurried with any plausible explanation for whatever was going on. Two Shen Qingqiu, it shouldn’t even be remotely possible!

Shen Yuan stared blankly at the cat, one minute he’s trying to buy a new fan, the next, he’s attacked by some wild beast! What kind of cat does that??

For a few seconds the two simply sat there, completely ignoring the new crowd that had begun to form. Shen Yuan’s grip on the cat had yet to loosen, leaving them both staring into each other's souls.

’this… CAT! You mistake me for someone else and now it’s my problem? I’ll feed you to the disciples!’

Liu Qingge finally realizing what kind of trouble he was in, began to cry out as squirm out of the ‘Shen Qingqius’ grip. Shen Yuan undoubtedly began to panic.

‘You! Let go of me this instant!’

Liu Qingge fought bravely... for a cat at least. Alas it didn’t seem to work very well. And Shen Yuan stared at the cat with mild dismay, holding it out as he slowly began to get up.

The crowd looked and chatted amongst each other for an extended period of time, often staring at the two as if they had suddenly fused together. Shen Yuan paid them no heed, finally getting back on his feet as the tension seemed to grow.

Liu Qingge was full of embarrassment and confusion, he was already in some sort of fever dream and it was only getting worse by the second, he couldn't take it anymore! He hissed and cried as loud as he could, swatting his claws wherever he could reach.

‘Unfair! Utterly and completely unfair! I can't fight like this, I only know martial arts as a human, not a cat!’

Shen Yuan looked around frantically, the prying eyes seemed to grow more intense, he shot the stupid furball a dirty look. He bowed as politely as he could, still avoiding said claws and made his way out of the crowd.

He navigated the bustling streets, avoiding any looks the best he could. He would most definitely have some explaining to do once he got back.

As they gradually got farther and farther from the crowded street, Liu Qingge found himself being carried by this knock off into the forest! Though there was no longer a crowd, he still caused a scene. His dignity, no not just that his pride was beyond hurt by now!

‘What happened to your morals? Your sense of justice, you scum?!’

Even if this wasn’t the Shen Qingqiu from the original novel, scum was still scum! Original or not he would always have a bone to pick with the stupid peak lord that left him for dead! Once Liu Qingge got his paws on him he was going to smack him so hard that he-

Interrupted mid rant, Liu Qingge found himself being placed down on a patch of grass. Already bristling, he glared up at Shen Qingqiu, who simply looked down at him tiredly. Although Liu Qingge couldn’t care less, he was going to listen!

‘Stupid cat! You're such a brute, who hurt you to be so malicious!?’ 

“Listen here! I don't care that you're the villain, you've already made your point by leaving me behind! Terrible villain suited for a trashy novel! Horrendous! You could’ve treated your disciple better! Not to mention that suspicious character with my name! Save him, you should’ve tried harder!!. . .”

The cat meowed endlessly, like a broken record stuck on repeat! Shen Yuan could feel his eye twitch in mild annoyance as the cat “scolded” him for god knows what reason. It was like the damned beast was talking to him!

Shen Yuan crossed his arms as he watched the cat. It was a shock it wasn't tired from all the meowing it's done in the past 15 minutes! Now he was getting weirded out, this cat behaved too much like a toddler!

“I may be a cat right now but I will demand you treat me with respect, you good for nothing!-”

Liu Qingge cut himself off as the sound of footsteps crunched through the forest ground. His ear perked up, almost instinctively so. Shen Yuan also turned to see where the sound was coming from. He’d be lucky if he didn't look crazy by staring down at this cat!

As the footsteps grew closer, Liu Qingge found himself more on edge, sure the scum was here in case it was another stupid demon, but he felt the need to bolt at any given moment.

Leaves rustled and the air grew tense, Shen Yuan gripped his fan tightly. He forgot his sword, now he felt even more pathetic!

LIu Qingge shifted on his paws, he could feel his fur rising up, now he felt like he was one with his cat body?! He stared down the moving bushes, waiting to run away.

The next few moments felt like he was inside some poorly written film! This type of suspense was only something a bored highschooler could write!

As soon as the figure appeared through the bushes, Liu Qingge’s jaw went slack. Shen Yuan on the other hand, looked more than relieved.

“A’Yuan, you forgot your sword-”

“A’Jiu!”

“What.”

Liu Qingge stared at the newcomer, it was… Shen Qingqiu?!? This shouldn't even be possible! Why are there two? How are there two! Did he go crazy mid transmigration?!?

Shen Qingqiu stared at Shen Yuan before his eyes landed on the cat who looked like he saw another demon about to eat him. He quickly remembered that this was the same cat he had rescued yesterday.

“Gege, I can explain–”

“No need.”

Shen Qingqiu turned back to the other and threw the sword towards Shen Yuan, who stumbled a bit before catching it.

“Dont forget it next time, reckless.”

“Yes…”

“Gege?!??? Where did that come from, are you not the same person! What the hell is going on here? System come back. This is too confusing!”

Liu Qingge finally tore his gaze away from the mean looking Shen Qingqiu, his eyes flickering back and forth before reaching two final conclusions.

"Either I've finally gone to hell or that stupid system glitched out and sent me into some alternate version of PIDW!”

Finally gaining the deduction skills of a toddler, Liu Qingge calmed down. Before he ultimately realised that he still had a goal to complete.

“Shen Qingqiu!!”

Liu Qingge lunged forth, his paws carrying him all the way over to a mildly surprised Shen Qingqiu. His claws managed to scratch the base of his robes as he started climbing up.

“What the– Gege!”

Shen Yuan squeaked out, this beast was beyond deranged! He made his way to Shen Qingqiu who was attempting to pry the cat off without damaging his robes or said cat.

Now there were two Shen Qingqiu’s trying their best to pry off a hissing and angry cat off of some very expensive robes.

“Let go, you stupid feline!”

“Gah! Who hurt you, why are you like this?!”

“A’Yuan dont–”

“OW!! It bit me, now you've done it!”

.

.

.

.

After lots of trial and error, they managed to get the cat off Shen Qingqiu and restrained… Although, there were a few scratches here and there.

“Bastards! You’ll pay for this, how dare you! I'm supposed to have dignity here!”

Liu Qingge, was now successfully restrained in a sack. His lower body stuck while only his head remained out. It was a very, very familiar sight.

Shen Yuan gently placed the sack down, crossing his arms as he looked down at it. A frown tugged at his lips as he gave it a look.

‘Don't look at me like that! He did this to himself!’

Shen Qingqiu dusted himself off, looking down at his torn and dirtied robes. Once pristine and well kept, now looked like it had gone through a war.

“So, what do we do with it..?”

“We take it back.”

“WHAT?!”

“Excuse me?!”

Both the cat and Shen Yuan looked at him like he suddenly grew a second head. Their expressions were nothing short of dumbfounded.

“No! I refuse, you’ll make me into cat soup and eat me!”

Liu Qingge thrashed about, his actions not causing much ruckus fortunately.

“See, not even the cat wants to go, so why should we take it back!”

Shen Yuan pointed an accusing finger at Liu Qingge, who hissed in response.

“It’ll be eaten, so we will take it back and go from there.”

“Who are you and what have you done to my brother.”

Liu Qingge stopped his tantrum; if he went with the two Shen’s he could live a life of luxury. On the other hand, this was still Shen Qingqiu! 

He looked at the two, the gears turning in his head. Live with the Shen’s or die somewhere and be made into soup. Undeniably he went with the latter.

He pretended to become pliant, using his stupid little furry body to its best of its capabilities, which in other words.

‘Act cute to get what you want!’