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Shen Yuan is quite impressed that he has somehow survived so far.
Sure, it had been quite the trial to suddenly choke on his snack while cursing that hack author Airplane out, die, and wake up in that scum villain Shen Qingqiu's body. And yes, it is even more stressful to find ways to get on the protagonist's good side while he is still a white lotus, uncorrupted by the Endless Abyss, but he is mostly sure that Luo Binghe doesn't hate him anymore.
Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on his part.
After all, he's noticed the protagonist staring in his direction several times, those sharp black eyes just… taking him in, leaving Shen Yuan to wonder just what this cute, still bright-eyed (hopefully!) protagonist is thinking about.
Hopefully it's not bad. Not that it changes the looming obstacle ahead of him.
The Endless Abyss.
Shen Yuan struggles to come up with three words that terrify him more.
For as much as he tries to find a way around this terrible inflection point, deep down in his gut, he has a feeling that it will be impossible. As such, his efforts are best oriented towards making Luo Binghe like him enough so that when he inevitably returns for his revenge, he will spare Shen Yuan the torture and the bad ending.
That's all he can ask for.
To obtain such an outcome, he must go the extra step now.
Despite the scheming, it is instinct that has Shen Yuan stepping in to protect the protagonist as the Elder Tian Chui cowardly strikes when Luo Binghe's back is turned. It is a close call and Shen Yuan escapes with only the slightest scratch along his arm, but it's worth it to have Luo Binghe walk away from this mess unscathed.
When Elder Tian Chui's poisoned blade strikes the peak lord, Luo Binghe arrives at his final conclusion.
The shizun standing before him is not the nasty, vindictive Shen Qingqiu he destroyed in his past life, but instead that strange, nicer Shen Qingqiu he once met in yet another world with a different version of himself.
It is a simple ascertation to make.
There is no way that the Shen Qingqiu he knows would ever sacrifice himself to protect someone else, let alone on pure instinct like this man has.
Of course, had this shizun turned out to be the same one that took such pleasure in tormenting him once upon a time, Luo Binghe would have had absolutely no qualms meting out the same vengeance as before, be it persecution, isolation, incineration, laceration, amputation, destruction— he is well versed in whatever is necessary.
However… he can also admit that he is relieved by this outcome.
He had truly been unsure at first.
He lived and died a miserable life after witnessing that fleeting moment of peace in the other world, and then he found himself in this new world, living his life once more. Everything was the same— the icy river, his unknown parents, the kind washerwoman who adopted him, and the damned bastard who poured tea on him.
Luo Binghe was certain this was true hell, being forced to relive every excruciating moment of his life once again. He desperately hoped that something would change.
And it did one day. He did not dare get his hopes up, but today proves it.
Now that Luo Binghe has seen this truth with his own eyes, an odd warmth floods his heart and some part of his restless soul simmers down ever so slightly.
Things will be different this time around.
It is a week later, when Mu Qingfang pulls him aside and asks him if he's really okay.
Shen Yuan remembers the odd scratch that Elder Tian Chui inflicted on him and he looks down at his arm. There is no scar or other sign of injury on his arm and while he does feel a bit tired and his mouth is a bit dry at the moment, it is far from unusual and he tells the peak lord of Qian Cao as much.
His shidi observes him with what is probably a healthy dose of skepticism, given that the elder jeered about how he had been inflicted by a poison without a cure— aptly named 'Without A Cure'. The name is naturally quite alarming and all of the peak lords had kept an eye on Shen Yuan and his condition over the past week.
Shen Yuan cannot deny the strange trepidation he feels— as if he is balancing on the edge of a cliff, one small gust of air away from tumbling down its rocky edges. While he is not one to worry about something that isn't present, the poison in question rings an odd bell in the back of his mind. He swears he knows the name.
And then a flash of pain bursts within his chest and Shen Yuan curls in on himself.
His eyes are squeezed shut and each successive breath must be forced into his lungs.
"Shixiong! Shen-shixiong!?"
He does not know how much time passes by, but when he opens his eyes next, he is in Qian Cao and the light is a bit too bright. Mu Qingfang remains by his side, keeping close watch over him and Shen Yuan asks him for more water.
Even after five glasses, the thirst does not subside.
Luo Binghe is no stranger to quiet observation.
He may not have full access to his demonic powers and may no longer be an emperor… or rather, may not be a powerful emperor just quite yet, but his primal instincts can sense the shifting tides. As he maintains a placid, earnest, superficial mask on his face— a grotesque mimicry of the expression he once genuinely wore in a previous life, he takes note of every little detail of Cang Qiong.
More specifically, every little detail about the strange Shen Qingqiu of this world.
And as of late, this nicer shizun of his has been behaving differently.
His pure black eyes are slightly sharper.
His movements are shockingly graceful.
His stillness is as dead as the Abyss itself.
His presence is not seen outside as often.
Though his shizun has changed in these smaller ways, Shen Qingqiu carries out his duties as the head of Qing Jing Peak, properly overseeing all of his disciples— including Luo Binghe himself. He intends to ingratiate himself to this mysterious man and keep him by his side as he rises to become emperor once more.
To finally make him his. As it should be.
Which is why it catches his attention when his shizun begins taking more frequent excursions off Qing Jing Peak. It piques his curiosity enough for Luo Binghe to follow his shizun down the mountain one day. Nothing seems odd at first, with his shizun entering town at the base of the mountain. But then, Shen Qingqiu glances around himself and just as Luo Binghe looks away, he disappears into the woods.
Of course, Luo Binghe follows suit moments later and follows the rustling leaves.
He enters a clearing and soon, his shizun turns to him with bloody lips and red eyes.
Shen Yuan is so screwed! He is so freaking screwed!
This was never supposed to happen! His white lotus disciple was never meant to see the elegant and aloof Shen Qingqiu in such a… grotesque and macabre way!
For crying out loud, the peak leader is known for his calm, cool beauty, decked in shades of jade and elegance! And what is he now? The total opposite!
Savage demeanor. Drenched in red. Primal instincts.
How on earth did he fall this far?
Oh yeah! That damn poison and that hack author!
See, at first, Shen Yuan remembered about 'Without A Cure' as presented in the original PIDW novel. Of course, like so many of the other useless parts, the poison is a pure wife plot, meant to render the pretty wife weak and helpless so that the protagonist can cure her with the power of the almighty Heavenly Pillar!
So Shen Yuan was genuinely concerned because he is obviously not a wife character…. but then the symptoms did not quite match up with what he remembered from the novel. If anything, it almost seemed like the opposite.
His senses are sharper. He can move much more quickly. His strength is amplified several times over. His tolerance to the sun has dropped slightly— thankfully buoyed by his status as an immortal master.
And then there is that persistent thirst.
Having transmigrated into the inedia-practicing scum villain's body, Shen Yuan had gone several years without experiencing true hunger or thirst of any sort. Then suddenly, he gets this deep-seated thirst that he never felt even in his old body!
Then it clicks and horror dawns on him.
The symptoms. Vampirism.
That damn extra the hack author wrote.
And now, despite all his efforts to sneak and hide, the protagonist finally found out.
There is something cathartic in seeing the proper Shen Qingqiu drenched in blood and carrying this primal, inhuman aura. Even though this man is not the same shizun as before, he carries the same appearance and that is enough to count.
As if Luo Binghe finally witnessed a kindred spirit.
"Be careful, Binghe!"
The warning catches him by surprise. Even in this condition, with his true nature exposed for the world to see, his shizun is still concerned about his safety.
The mere thought warms his heart.
This is the man he has sought all along.
And now, Luo Binghe wants his shizun to know that he sees him. That they are one and the same now and that they are meant to pair together.
Except… there is something peculiar about his shizun's condition.
The symptoms remind him of a race of ancient demons that feed upon life force and shelter from the sun. They move with the unnatural grace of a predator crossed with an undead puppet and carry a deeply embedded thread of savagery.
But Shen Qingqiu is human. How can he possibly resemble those creatures?
The only answer that fits is the poison that his shizun was struck by the other day. However, as Luo Binghe thinks over the name and his past life, nothing adds up.
However, it does not matter.
This nicer shizun is still this nicer shizun.
And Luo Binghe understands this true, altered nature of his. He can see beyond the placid, human cover that Shen Qingqiu tries to maintain around the rest of the peak lords, and knowing this one secret about him that no one else does… it excites him.
He even takes a gamble and reveals his own nature.
With this, his shizun will see that they are the same.
Despite the odd changes to this world and the plot— like that damn vampirism trait of his, Shen Yuan finds himself staring down the Endless Abyss in horror. While he had suspected all along that the System would not allow him to escape this turning point so easily… it is a whole other thing to actually stand at the edge of a cliff and push in his unsuspecting disciple with his own two hands.
And even worse, this is the one time his cool jade-like exterior breaks and the deep regret that Shen Yuan feels bubbles up to the surface… even if it only shows through the more forlorn and contemplative threads within his gaze.
And the worst part is that his newfound vampirism cannot stop the System from killing him by sending him back, should his B-point value reach zero. So he is now left with both the eternal thirst that burns in his throat along with the eternal regret that freezes his heart ever so slightly.
Some naive part of his brain hopes that Luo Binghe saw the sincerity in his apology… but the Endless Abyss is a harsh master and it won't be enough to stop the protagonist from confronting him once the years pass and he returns.
Shen Yuan scoffs. He truly is the terrible beast that his namesake character accused the protagonist of being. After all, only a heartless creature like him would think to push an innocent disciple off the cliff into the Abyss, even if his hand was forced.
And now, all Shen Yuan can do is sit there and count down the days until his former disciple returns and decides that he cannot be forgiven and must die for his betrayal.
The next several years loom over him like a deadly shadow.
A certain monstruous glee courses through Luo Binghe's veins when he finally uses Xin Mo and slices out of the Endless Abyss. The desolate, lethal terrain is as nasty as ever, but with this being his second tenure in the Abyss, the journey is completed two years faster than it did in his first life.
And with his arrival, his shizun will be in for quite the surprise.
When this nicer Shen Qingqiu pushed him into that wretched chasm three years ago, Luo Binghe's immediate instinct had been to surge forward and rend the life-sucking demon to nonexistence. But then those softer, apologetic eyes that were on the verge of tears and full of regret come to mind and the anger dissipates.
Luo Binghe may forgive that nicer man for pushing him into the Abyss, but he will not forget.
And the price this Shen Qingqiu will pay will be fascinating to pursue.
He has no true desire to permanently harm this shizun of his, but he would be remiss if he did not wrap this man around his finger and render him unable to leave.
And oh, how easy would it be to keep this nice shizun with him for eternity.
If anything, he wants to go back in time to thank the foolish Elder Chui for inflicting his shizun with this demonic condition in the first place. After all, thanks to that move, his shizun's weak spot was made abundantly clear— his bloodthirst.
He imagines his shizun's fangs breaking into his own body to savor his blood, and something about that image makes Luo Binghe's heart thrum. Having his shizun consume a part of him and be permanently bound to him? That is the perfect ending.
And now, Luo Binghe must simply await the return of Shen Qingqiu.
Jin Lan City is quite the disaster zone to behold.
Not so dissimilar to what Shen Yuan remembers and it terrifies him.
Because the timing is all wrong! This is happening way too quickly!
See, it has only been three years since he pushed his poor disciple into the Abyss and he still carries heavy regret to this day for not being able to change things. If anything, he's grateful that Luo Binghe knows about his vampiric condition so, at the very least, his disciple knows that he is not hated for his demonic blood or for being half-blooded.
But at the same time, that makes things worse in other ways! Because now, Luo Binghe will not know why he got pushed! And after being treated nicely (or at least, Shen Yuan thinks he was as nice as he could be to the younger protagonist), it might seem like an even bigger betrayal!
These sorts of thoughts are what have haunted Shen Yuan for the past few years.
And the worst part is that the fall of Jin Lan City marks the return of the protagonist.
A return that Shen Yuan assumed would not happen for another two years! He's not ready!
A shudder runs down his spine and his throat aches for even more blood at the thought of what Luo Binghe undoubtedly has in store for his traitor of a mentor. All Shen Yuan can do now is hope that he is not spotted and can delay their eventual reunion.
Because he is certain that Luo Binghe will seek him out. That much is inevitable.
Shen Yuan shakes his head and exits the room to survey the city with Mu Qingfang.
It will keep him busy and hopefully keep him from Luo Binghe's sight, if he is around.
Ah, that man is here. His instincts tell him as much.
Luo Binghe closes his eyes, allows the harsh, oppressive air of Jin Lan City to swirl about his form, and shuts out the chatter of his fellow Huan Hua disciples as he considers his next moves.
The last time he was here, he had carefully set up that horrendous, dishonorable peak lord to fall. Shen Qingqiu— no, Shen Jiu, because he refuses to allow that man even that title, and his traitorous ways were exposed and the world turned against him, marking the start of his end and rightfully so at that. That filth still has the audacity to appear in his dreams every so often.
But this Shen Qingqiu, the one who does not hate him for being a demon but still saw it fit to push him into the Endless Abyss despite the obvious hesitations and regrets he had, is different.
As angry as he is by that betrayal, he still does not understand why.
Much of his three years in the Abyss was spent contemplating that.
This Shen Qingqiu somehow took the place of Shen Jiu and after that point, had so clearly gone out of his way to be kind. Of course, Luo Binghe did not immediately trust him, but after his new shizun took the blow for him without hesitation, his heart had started to waver a bit.
That man doesn't hate him or his blood. Luo Binghe is certain of it.
Fortunately for him, there is no longer any reason to hesitate.
Luo Binghe will get his answer from him, one way or another.
And that means finding Shen Qingqiu within this cursed city.
He dismisses the other Huan Hua disciples and departs alone, following the sweet fragrance of his mysterious shizun's blood.
Shen Yuan simply senses his presence deep within his soul, before a rich, resonant voice rumbles through the air, confirming his worst suspicions.
"Found you, Shizun."
The dark, smooth tones of his blackened disciple's voice have Shen Yuan's imagination running away from him. He can only imagine just how angry Luo Binghe is with him, but he also knows that it's impossible to run away from this overpowered protagonist.
Not when this world is his and everything revolves around his will.
Even so, Shen Yuan is not ready to face him. What was just a scary distant future has now materialized in front of him and even worse, the oppressive air here and the traces of a strange curse lingering through the air weigh heavily on his senses and enhance his bloodthirst.
Which is even scarier!
Over the past three years, Shen Yuan had taken very careful notes of when and how his bloodthirst would act up and worked with Mu Qingfang to try and find a cure to this curse. Unfortunately, the poison he was dosed with lived up to its name perfectly, so he shifted gears.
And now, he has an intuitive feel for how his thirst acts up and when he needs to drink blood.
Fortunately, the other peak leaders of Cang Qiong are sympathetic and are more than happy to help him when he needs to feed. Shen Yuan has noticed subtle differences in how each peak leader smells and what their blood tastes like— some spicy, some salty, some sweet, and some as neutral and calming as water. They are strong and don't flinch at the slightest blood loss, and Shen Yuan is immensely grateful for their assistance.
For their sake, he cannot allow Cang Qiong to fall.
Especially not over his own self-inflicted mistakes.
"I did not expect to run into you here, Binghe."
His shizun is as calm and blunt as ever. An odd warmth fills Luo Binghe's heart as memories of better days come to mind. It is good to know that this man still exists in this world.
Only… something is very different this time.
The distance he maintains with them.
The slight tremor in his voice.
The lack of eye contact.
Ah, so his shizun is appropriately fearful of him.
Luo Binghe doesn't know how to feel about this.
On one hand, it is immensely gratifying to know that his shizun is still plagued by that day three years ago and the choice he made. It is clear that the regret he felt back then remains to this day and the man is not trying to make any sort of excuse nor is he trying to justify himself.
On the other hand, a strange pain blooms in his heart. He does not want his shizun to be scared of him, even considering their past. He does not want Shen Qingqiu to ever forget what happened, but he also wants this man to accept him, so that they can move forward together.
Or so Luo Binghe hopes, at least.
After visiting that other world an entire lifetime ago and spending the rest of his miserable first life cutting through other worlds just to find another version of this man, only to finally have him in this second life, Luo Binghe will be damned if this man rejects him.
And if his shizun does decide to act so foolishly… well, he is gracious. He has learned to exhibit patience over the thousands of years of his cumulative existence and can play the long game.
He will simply make him see the light.
"It is all thanks to Shizun, that this humble disciple stands where he does."
The eerie calm that emanates from the blackened protagonist, combined with those intense red eyes and and the bizarrely tantalizing spice that wafts through the air has all the hairs of Shen Yuan's body standing on edge.
This guy. This protagonist is absolutely out to get him. There is no question about it.
He wants to run. And he probably needs to, in order to survive.
Yet there's no escaping this guy, and he doesn't have the heart to leave his disciple be.
And that scent. That blood. Of course that is also overpowered.
Shen Yuan isn't stupid. He knows exactly how that idiotic hack author thinks and writes, and even if this weird variation of 'Without A Cure' only exists in that Halloween special he wrote and not the mainline novel, the idiotic stallion novel logic still holds.
Unsurprisingly, in that special, an innocent fair maiden gets caught up with bandits and is cut with a knife laced by this new and improved version of 'Without A Cure'. The poor lady was left to suffer with the pain of bloodthirst until, of course, the almighty protagonist shows up and cures her with both his heavenly blood and his heavenly pillar.
Because of course. There's no way that bastard Airplane would let such a situation slide.
Not for the first time, Shen Yuan curses his decision to continue reading the trash novel.
But there is no point worrying about it now. Because here he is now, stuck with the protagonist and distinctly without any sort of survival advantage that a wife would be afforded.
Not that he'd want such a thing— no way, not with his disciple.
That only leaves one option. To turn and run.
It seems his shizun has chosen the more difficult path.
It is not ideal, but Luo Binghe can resolve this situation.
He has accounted for this contingency. It is time to act.
Luo Binghe calmly follows after his mentor, down the main road and around a corner. To know that his power over his shizun's heart is this strong is intoxicating and he wants more.
"Shizun, I am so happy to meet you. Why are you so cold towards me?"
He considers the dark blade hanging by his side. Xin Mo screams for blood, likely not dissimilar to how his shizun does now, with that ancient demonic bloodlust calling out to him.
"I know you don't hate me. Tell me, what did I do? How have I sinned?"
Luo Binghe cannot begin to answer the question he has spoken aloud. He has sinned enough for this world to condemn him to this second life, but he must know how that man feels.
"It cannot be my bloodline. You and I are the same, after all, so tell me."
As he enters the darker alleyway to corner his shizun, he reaches into his robe and pulls a ceremonial dagger. He runs the blade across his forearm and allows the cut to bleed freely.
"You need not fear me, Shizun. What happened before is unfortunate."
Unfortunate is an understatement, but he must find out exactly how this man thinks and what drove him to act in such a way back then. That, and eventually bind this man to himself.
"I can't say I'm happy, but you must have had your reasons, so tell me."
Shen Qingqiu slumps against the wall and grimaces in pain.
He hides his mouth but his rubine eyes tell all.
It is only a matter of time now.
Stupid author. Stupid world. Stupid life.
No matter how much Shen Yuan thinks, he is totally screwed one way or the other.
He can't continue running— not with the pain of bloodthirst bearing down on him.
Sparks burst through his body, his throat aches, and the world spins around him. Everything shifts into a chaotic blur, save for one still figure in the center— one his senses hyperfocus on. The most intoxicating aroma— with pure notes of bamboo accentuated with threads of the rich earth, the cooling rain, and the sharper and bolder edge of spice and something deeper.... something irresistible that calls on him to leave everything behind and approach him.
Because of course. This is the protagonist and that's his blood dripping over his skin.
Shen Yuan knows that his disciple has mastered control over his body and his demonic bloodline, and he remembers several instances in the novel where Luo Binghe immediately healed the few injuries that landed on him during fights. Very few, of course, because the overpowered protagonist is overpowered, but that hack author still wrote a few injuries, just to have an excuse to showcase the power of Heavenly Demon Blood and make him seem cooler.
So the fact that Luo Binghe bleeds freely before him?
That's entirely on purpose. His disciple is very clever.
Because this is some kind of predicament.
Luo Binghe knows of his vampirism and he must know that his blood is all-powerful. He must know how much the heavens favor him— the golden halo, that is, and must have correctly deduced that Shen Yuan would find everything about his blood impossible to run away from.
And why should he? There is no point, after all.
If he's doomed to consume the protagonist's blood, he may as well savor it.
Luo Binghe is used to things falling easily into his hands.
Be it power, weapons, land, women, or anything else, he was handed everything he could possibly want in his past life.
Everything except the one thing that forever eluded him.
Be it the shizun of that jade world rejecting him, other foreign worlds rejecting his existence, or the absence of that man.
Every trial and tribulation has led up to this very moment.
And this is everything Luo Binghe could have ever wanted.
Shen Qingqiu's crimson gaze wanders over his form with shameless, ravenous desire. That it is for his blood goes without saying, but now, he suspects that the lust goes well beyond.
And Luo Binghe is more than happy to accommodate his shizun in whatever way he so desires.
Shen Qingqiu slowly approaches him as if in a trance, his eyes now fixated on the blood that drips down his bare skin. He controls his blood to make sure that it does not drop to the ground— he cannot have random people attempt to consume his blood. His life blood and everything that he is now is for this mysterious shizun of his. The two of them are meant to be, after all.
Cool hands carefully grab his hand and the most beautiful red eyes look up to meet his own.
Ah, even that shade of crimson matches his own. It pairs beautifully against the softer jade.
Now, he understands why the shizun of that world rejected him.
Even if they are the same person, they are very different. Luo Binghe understood this as it concerned himself and that inferior duplicate, but now he sees that it applies to this man too.
And this shizun— this bloodthirsty, sharp, superior version of him is meant to be his.
It is game over when those brilliant rubine droplets reach his lips.
With that, Shen Yuan loses control of the vampiric monster within him. His lips press against bare skin and his tongue trails over the rivulets of life blood, devouring everything in his path. A firm hand settles over his head and around his hair crown, holding him in place.
Not that Shen Yuan could move away, even if he wanted to do so.
He reaches the source and it is a clean cut. His lips close around the break and he sucks everything he can possibly reach. The taste floods his tongue and it is even more potent than he can imagine. Rich, bold, spicy, and sharp, with a thin, delicate, yet powerful thread of addictive sweetness laced throughout.
Yep, Shen Yuan is doomed.
All things considered, though, this isn't the worst way to go.
It seems like his disciple isn't out to kill him… or at least, not in such a traditional, painful way.
And that's all he can ask for.
Shen Yuan continues heeding the void that calls for more blood until the cut closes beneath his tongue. His fangs descend even further and he is about to break into the skin to take even more when the hand embedded in his hair pulls Shen Yuan up and positions him against his neck.
"Take as much as you desire from this humble disciple."
That's all the permission Shen Yuan needs for his fangs to pierce the skin around the base of Luo Binghe's neck. As he burrows his head into the crook of his disciple's shoulder, a firm arm closes around his form and holds him close as that other hand gently massages his head.
"Shizun does not need to worry about the poison any longer."
Indeed, all traces of Without A Cure have faded from Shen Qingqiu's bloodstream.
However, the damage left in its wake is irreversible. The cursed poison burned through his shizun's form, slowly turning his body into this cold, undead existence as it coursed about. The poison should have reached his heart in due time and destroyed him, but the peak lord of Qian Cao is talented indeed. It seems he devised a treatment that held this poison in stasis, so that even if his shizun needs blood to sustain himself, he would not have to worry about true death.
And now that Shen Qingqiu has consumed his blood, the poison is forever gone.
In its place, however, remains a deep-seated bloodthirst that will stay with him.
Even better, it is a deep thirst that can only be sated with his heavenly bloodline.
With this, his primary objective is complete. This man is eternally bound to him.
The very thought settles something in his heart, even as his soul continues demanding even more. Because this shizun— this man remains an enigma. He is of another world but that is all Luo Binghe knows. Much like the bloodlust that controls his shizun, a powerful desire for knowledge, for fulfillment, for everything surges through his own body and he will satisfy it.
For now, he must take this man with him, even if it means opposing Cang Qiong.
He has no qualms with razing that mountain once more, but he knows that this man does not want such a thing to happen. And if Luo Binghe is honest with himself… he does not want that either. This is a second chance he has been granted, so why choose to tread the same path?
No, he has a much better future in mind for them.
"What is your true name, Shizun?"
Shen Yuan's heart would've stopped in his chest if it was still capable of beating.
But more importantly, why is he asking such a question?
He should know of the name Shen Jiu, right?
"What do you—"
"You are not Shen Jiu. That much is obvious."
Shen Yuan freezes in the protagonist's embrace.
"So please answer this disciple. Who are you?"
Oh gods, where on earth is he to begin? So much has happened since their encounter in Jin Lan City. Besides, will the System even allow him to respond? Surely the System won't interfere as long as he doesn't talk about its existence or his old life and wor—
"What is your name and where are you from?"
Where? Just how much does this protagonist know? Or is he fishing for information?
Strangely enough, the System hasn't popped up to warn him the way it usually does, so what's the catch? However, the System would alert him if something was wrong, so maybe he can…
"…Shen Yuan. I'm not from this world."
Luo Binghe chuckles and holds him even closer. Really, this bed is way too comfortable.
Even if he doesn't know why he's in this place nor why this guy has not taken any wives.
But that's a matter for another time.
"This disciple is aware."
Xin Mo cuts through space-time, so it's not a far jump for him to know this.
"It seems we are meant to be, A-Yuan."
A pair of lips meets his and he freezes.
What??? What is going on right now???
"Pardon my forwardness, Shizun. I merely wished to say your name."
What a bold-faced lie! Was this guy always so shameless? But that aside, what does he mean?
"After all, this world brought you to me."
For all the power that he holds and everything that he has declared to himself and the world, Luo Binghe cannot say that he foresaw this outcome.
Conquering and uniting the demon realm proves to be a simple matter— easier than it was in his previous life, in fact. It is not his original decision to pursue more diplomatic solutions, but when Shen Yuan mentions them, he cannot help but consider them for his future empress.
And yes, he intends on taking his shizun for his empress.
Shen Yuan is surprisingly sharp at times yet so adorably clueless at other times.
It is fortunate then, that Luo Binghe has all the patience in the world to win this curious man over.
Especially when his shizun has no idea how seductive he appears, draped in his black and red wardrobe, or how that intense desire he is unaware of burns beautifully through his rubine irises. He wonders how long it will take for this lovely man to put the pieces together… though perhaps, he may step in to push the matter a bit and accelerate the process.
Of course, the demon and human worlds have their opinions on the subject.
The demonic world crows about his lack of a harem and his not-so-human partner. That he is from the human world is offensive enough, but they will not dare to step out of line.
Neither will Cang Qiong, for that matter.
The peak lords are naturally quite unhappy with this situation— the sect leader in particular is quite distressed and it amuses him. They dare not cross Shen Yuan's declared wishes.
None of that matters to Luo Binghe, however.
Not when his shizun remains by his side, encouraging and supporting him.
And so, it is Luo Binghe's victory in the end.