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It was a normal day – just as it should be on a Quiet Peak. Even more so – it was going to be a great day, еwith all the seniors going on a joint mission with Bai Zhan Peak, and Lord Shen Qingqiu absent from the peak on urgent business-perhaps needing a quiet place to meditate. So the younger students exhaled softly into their fists, crossed their fingers behind their backs as they saw off their older battle brothers, and smile anticipation of a rare moment of freedom and relative impunity. Nothing serious, of course, but today they will spend a little less time improving and training, and a little more time playing games and chatting.
Of course, Ming Fan remains in charge – how else? He is the most successful and loyal disciple, Shen Qingqiu trusts with many things – and even though pride is a sin, Ming Fan is still a little proud of himself. This is extremely pleasant and honorable – there will be something to tell your parents in the next letter. And maybe then he will also become the pride of the family, just like his older brother.
"Min-shixiong! " - a group of his friends are already outside, greeting him with an exaggerated bow of deference. He returns the favor, carefully puffing out his cheeks, like some important official whose bald head is already beginning to grow, but who still wants to appear the most important. No one can last more than a few moments of this performance – they are still carefree boys, and they end up laughing without malice as they celebrate the start of what is undoubtedly a beautiful day.
"What are we going to do today? "
"We can play Weiqi! Let's finally find out who the Peak champion is! "
"You're only saying that now because Wai Shu went along with all the senior students. He can beat ten people like you! "
"He's just a crook, and he's got chips up his sleeves! Honestly, when I find out where his secret pocket is-"
"Why don't we go down and see if there's a fair?"
"So that Shizun can smell from a mile away that we were having fun outside of the weekend? He'll know right away. "
"But what about the buns..."
"You're thinking too much about what to fill your stomach with!"
"Well, I can't practice inedia yet!"
Ming Fan doesn't interfere in the exchange – he listens and smiles under his breath, running through the options in his head. You can't count everything you want – it's unlikely that you can fit all your wishes in one small day. But the discussion itself already brings incredible pleasure.
"And let's read "The Legend of the Blade" by role! "
"That's right, then we'll invite Ning-shimei as well, she'll definitely like it."
"Then you'll have to read the romantic chapters..."
"Oh, and you seem to mind?! "
Ming Fan really likes the idea of inviting Ning Yingying to their literary evening - an evening of reading adventure stories - perhaps he should admit to himself that he liked Ning-shimei herself, but that would be indecent. Besides, Shizun would probably make him run at least a hundred laps around the peak for the idea. His poor legs.
In fact, Ming Fan just missed the presence of his sweet and energetic Shimei, because now, instead of spending time with her brothers, she.… waste her time with that ungrateful new puppy! Ming Fan didn't even notice that he was pouting like a mouse at the thought of - what a scoundrel he was! He realized that Ning Yingying was the precious treasure of their peak and immediately stole it like some demon drunk with impunity! And he's also making those deer-like round eyes – he doesn't know, apparently, that Shizun said not to trust such scoundrels!
Only Ning Yingying doesn't want to listen to reason and still hangs around the brat like a mother goose around a baby bird. So he also constantly chastises his Shixiong about everything! How else would this spoiled brat become a decent cultivator? Only intensive training and respect for the elders! The same path as everyone else!
"Ming-shixiong, what do you think?" His shidi snaps him out of his envious thoughts with a simple question, and Ming Fan shakes his head. This is a time for relaxation, not for thinking about the behavior of small boys.
"I like the idea of reading by roles. We can also get some buns from the kitchen – there are no seniors today, and we'll eat their portion. "
"Min-shixiong is the best! " - A happy hum rises around him, and Ming Fan puffs up again, this time pleased, and puffs out his chest like a wheel. Everyone likes praise.
They move around the Peak in a discordant crowd, engrossed in theirе chatter. They discuss books that can be taken, and how to carry the whole mountain of food unnoticed to the common rooms. Ming Fan, forgetting his lofty demeanor, also joins in the conversation, arguing furiously and trying to get everyone to vote for his favorite novel, occasionally raising his head to be the first to see their dear shimei.
Instead, his gaze falls on a grove of trees near the woodshed, and Ming Fan snorts, " Remember the sun, here's a ray." Or rather, a cloud that hides their sun Ning Yingying from them. Look at him, sitting there doing nothing! Perhaps even brazenly and shamelessly sleeps instead of studying, snuggled up under a tree.
(The fact that they themselves did not intend to start classes today should not be equated with such blatant disregard for the duties of a student!)
Perhaps he should be woken up and scolded, reminding him that this was not the time or place to sleep so peacefully, but Ming Fan was in too good a mood for lectures today. So he decided to just wake him up – it was too late for sleep.
"I'll be right back," - he waves to the others and walks over to Luo Binghe, who is in a serene slumber. It might even have looked cute if it hadn't been a lazy puppy, with his head resting so casually on his shoulder, his hair tucked under his head, and an open book resting on hip. Like an illustration for the novel.
At first, Ming Fan thinks of calling out to him, but he doesn't want to shout at the entire peak, and it can be difficult to wake a sleeper. So he has to come closer to grab Luo Binghe's shoulder and shake him a little.
"Luo-shidi, wake up! Your laziness will soon cause the heavens to fall! "
Unexpectedly, the brat doesn't wake up, doesn't even raise an eyebrow, even though Ming Fan knows that the brat is a light sleeper – like all sly people. He furrows his brow and shakes it again, waiting for an answer, but only silence answers.
Something wet drips on the back of her hand, and Ming Fan is distracted and freezes in disbelief. A few drops of blood roll down his knuckles.
"Lo... shidi? " -he feels that his movements are too slow and his heart is starting to beat too fast. This is wrong, although he is a beginner, but cultivator, his body should obey him perfectly. With stiff fingers, he touches the thick mass of hair to push it out of his face, hoping that the boy has only just hurt himself. His curls are soaked in blood, and Fan can smell the stifling metallic smell just now.
Luo Binghe's fragile, sickly-pale face is covered in blood drops - from his nose, from the corners of his mouth, like tears roll down from the corners of his eyes. Ming Fan can feel with his fingers - blood coming from his ears. Curls were so long and heavy that they hid blood-stained white clothes.
Ming Fan feels terror seep through his entire body, and he feels like he's going to throw up right now. For one terrifying moment, he thinks it's just a dead body - but through it, he can feel the almost weightless breath on his skin. Alive. It keeps him sane. Well done, Luo-shidi, don't stop breathing.
"Ming-shixiong, why are you stuck?" - the others are probably already bored. Ming Fan had already forgotten about their presence, or rather, any sense and understanding of the surroundings were forcibly pushed out by the terrifying discovery. The others couldn't see all, so they sounded so cheerful. - "Let’s-"
Ming Fan whirls around, clutching the barely breathing disciple to him, and everyone abruptly falls silent as their Shixiong realizes in the distant corner of his mind that the blood has started to permeate his own form as well. How could such a small creature contain so much blood...
"Go -" his words come out in an incongruous whistle. The others freeze like rabbits before a snake, waiting for the inevitable.
"For Mu Qingfang, we need help!" - Ming Fan croaks sharply, his throat suddenly dry. No one moves - or so it seems - without realizing the gravity of the situation, and so he shouts, not realizing how scary it sounds - "Faster, he has a qi deviation! "
Suddenly there is chaos - the most responsible are already running to the bridge, someone is standing in a stupor, someone starts crying completely ugly, someone is trying to calm everyone down, and most importantly, himself.
"I'm on my way!"
"Hurry up!
"Why..."
"It's not our fault!
Moaning, screaming, and crying all merge into a monstrous cacophony that Ming Fan doesn't care about at all - his shidi is dying in his arms. Terror and fear are dulled, the mind comes into action - it is collected and calm, as far as the situation can allow. Ming Fan lays Luo Binghe down as gently as possible – he can barely hear the rest of the chaos anymore, focusing only on his shidi.
His breathing is weak, his chest is hoarse, and he is cold and can't even shake – all from the loss of blood. Ming Fan doesn't even want to think about the extent of the damage to the meridian of his spiritual veins, he's already scared. Right now, his only task is to keep the junior disciple alive until the healers arrive.
All thoughts that this is an impudent brat, ignorant and lazy disappear from his head. Luo Binghe looks fragile and small, and there is no hatred left. It wasn't there, just a childish grudge.
Sometimes childhood ends.
Ming Fan lifts Binghe's head– his hands are already covered in blood – so that he doesn't choke. He's already breathing strangely, in ragged gasps, and there's something wheezing and gurgling in his throat. There's a soft thud from behind, very close.
It is followed by a deafening girl's cry – so bitter that even Ming Fan, who is completely focused, can't help but turn.
Nini Yingying's terrified eyes would haunt his nightmares. Their gentle and kind, cheerful shimei should never have seen something like this.
"What did you do to Lo-shidi?!" - Just a moment later, she was there, her slender fingers and girlish white hands sinking into the bloodstained mop, trying to pull Luo Binghe closer to her, hiding him in the lapel of her clothes like some street kitten from the eyes of hooligans. Ming Fan lets out a ragged sigh, realizing that he really does look like some kind of villain right now.
(What if it is, what if Luo Binghe dies, what if Ming Fan crossed the line, what if it's all because of him-)
"He has a qi deviation" - Instead of sobbing and spitting out his own fears into the void, Ming Fan still speaks calmly and clearly, as if he's not shaking right now, - " We need to turn him on his side and warm him up until help comes."
Suddenly, Ning Yingying is a great help. She immediately stops talking and listens, even though she doesn't stop crying. Ming Fan would have burst into tears himself, unable to restrain himself, but the tears would have blurred his eyes and prevented him from working.
Shimei puts her knees under Binghe's head– before, Ming Fan would have been angry and sulky. Right now, he doesn't care a bit. Luo Binghe is still barely breathing, gurgling, and showing no signs of getting any better.
"He's got a lump here,"- Ning Yingying says, stroking their shidi's thin, taut neck. Ming Fan frowns – if his throat gets clogged, all their efforts will be in vain. Lo-shidi's mouth is slightly open as he tries to catch the air with his lips. So...
"Ning Shimei. Hold his head. "
Ming Fan slides two fingers into his bloody mouth and tries to find the root of his tongue, while at the same time trying not to block his airway. Luo Binghe starts shaking, coughing a little, and then throws up. A thick ball of clotted blood falls to the grass, adding color to the horrifying scene.
For Ming Fan right now, there's nothing more beautiful than seeing his little frail shidi take a deep breath. He briefly shifts Luo Binghe completely into Ning Yingying's arms – Ning Yingying immediately holds him close, pushing his hair back from his forehead – and pulls off his outer cape, immediately covering their younger brother with it. Ning Yingying doesn't hesitate to do the same – her stockings and skirt are already covered in blood, but she doesn't seem to notice.
All of a sudden – or they were here too, it's just that Ming Fan can't spare his attention - a few more students join them, wrapping their robes around their finally shivering shidi. Xie Huang - the one who often gave Binghe "courtesy lessons" with Ming Fan – is now gently covering his legs with her expensive clothes and stroking his thigh soothingly, trying to convey his warmth.
"...ah?
A soft sigh – Ming Fan shudders and looks down. Luo Binghe is breathing heavily – but deeply. He even opens his eyes a crack – one eye is completely covered in blood, but the other is clear and shiny. Ming Fan tries to smile at him and squeezes his fingers in his hand.
"It's going to be all right, Lo-shidi. "
They all start talking – one thing is missing for a long time, tears and a trembling throat do not allow them to say much. Gently brake and wake up, not allowing him to fall back into unconsciousness. Time goes on forever – or so it seems to them. Eventually, Mu Qingfang's senior disciple arrives and picks up Luo Binghe, rushing to his master.
Ming Fan looks down at his hands, suddenly empty. All his hands, sleeves, pants, all covered in blood. Someday it must be like this – but it must be the blood of demonic creatures and bad people. Not the blood of his shidi in the middle of this beautiful sunny day.
Hiseyes fall on the forgotten book. The pages are covered in blood, but the drawings still show through. Ming Fan takes the fake joke manual in his trembling hands and finally cries.
He can't leave these stupid kids behind for a single day – Shen Jiu arrives back at his peak and feels like he's entering a battlefield. His younger students hide their eyes, move sluggishly, and some run away or don't even pay attention to their Shizun. His dear sweet heart Ning Yingying is bursting into tears, she doesn't have an upper cape on, and her white clothes are covered in blood. Qingqiu's heart sinks as he prepares to kill anyone who dares lay hands on his disciple, but she throws herself at him and sobs оfor something else entirely.
His head feels empty, and mouth feels bitter. His best junior, future head disciple, Ming Fan looks even worse. Shen Qingqiu doesn't know what to think.
He longed for the little beast to stumble, to know that the world wouldn't love him back, for this gifted boy to learn humility. When does this happen… he is absolutely, absolutely not happy about it.
All this envy now seems selfish and petty. So childish.
Shen Jiu had never thought that he would ever arrive at Medicine Peak so quickly and of his own free will. The students make way for him, wordlessly guiding Lord Peak in the right direction.
Qingqiu waits for the censure in their eyes, but doesn't find it. It only makes it worse.
Mu Qingfang, too, does not greet him with words of condemnation, but only with sympathy and a warm cup of infusion.
"You have good students. They saved their shidi's life, "- Mu Qingfang says softly and tenderly, as if Shen Qingqiu is also one of his patients,- " Luo Binghe will live. Calm down, Shen-shixiong. "
He should have snorted at the blatant suggestion that he was worried about his students and the animal in particular, but here's the paradox: he really is. His shidi gently coaxes him to drink a soothing infusion, and his breathing becomes a little easier. He should have started drinking Mu Qingfang's prescribed medicine much earlier instead of nurturing his pride.
"Do you want to see him?" - Mu Qingfang speaks so softly that it's impossible to be angry with him. And suddenly Shen Jiu says yes.
"His meridians..."
"Not completely destroyed, there's still a lot to work with,"- Mu Qingfang suddenly looks like his real age - tired and wise, - " But yes. Its potential is ... severely damaged. "
Shen Jiu doesn't answer, slowly stroking the slender wrist with work- roughened nails - now there are two of them. Damaged, capable, but broken. Jiu allowed this to happen.
Only, instead of blaming him justly this time, his sect brother continues to calm Shen Qingqiu down as if it wasn't his fault. Like he's good. Like he's righteous.
Small childish fingers twitch as if trying to wrap around his owm. Shen Qingqiu leans over the still-living beast, silently promising himself, to finally, pull himself together. He refuses to be another adult who kills someone else's future.
"Let's fight again, little beast. We can handle it. "
Ming Fan shuffles the dried blood sheets in his hands. It's been a few days, and the Peak is surprisingly quiet. Many seemed to have grown up dramatically on that terrible day . Ming Fan feels this especially keenly in himself.
It was supposed to be a joke, he'd had one himself once. All you need to do is turn to the older student, who will laugh and tell you what is wrong here. But he didn't.
Ming Fan blinks back tears – it's probably his fault. It was necessary to understand why Shidi was so slow to learn, why he couldn't do anything. The head student? Nonsense. Ming Fan is the worst.
During these days, he had grown close to Ning Yingying – but for some reason, he didn't feel proud or happy about it. They became close against the background of shared grief – only Ning Yingying still continues to burn with some kind of angry fire, and Ming Fan was burned out.
He would like to apologize, but he's not sure he's allowed to. If Luo Binghe came to his senses, he would justly hate him for the rest of his life. Ming Fan is ready to hate himself.
There is a forgotten letter to his parents in the room. What should he write now? About his failure? About how he almost killed his youngest?
He's the worst. Maybe he should try to learn from this book himself? He deserved it.
A firm hand snatches the cursed manual from him, and a fan lifts his head under his chin.
"Don't you dare think such nonsense. This must be burned. "
Shizun also looks different – a little sadder, a little older. But instead of hitting the fan, a caressing hand touches Ming Fan's head.
"Mu Qingfan said that you saved his life. That's the only thing you need to think about. "
A hand presses it against the white fabric of the teacher's robes. Ming Fan blinks back uninvited tears.
"Be proud of yourself. "
Luo Binghe returns to the peak still weak, one of his eyes covered with bandages so as not to disturb the bright light. He looks even thinner and paler than he was, but he moves on his own – Shen Qingqiu stealthily steps a little behind, invisibly protecting.
Ning Yingying rushes towards him and never leaves his side again, like a protective sister. Ah Ming Fan can't come over because his mouth is dry and his heart is shaking in his chest. Asking for forgiveness is too difficult.
Only Luo Binghe is walking towards him on her own, folding her weak hands in a respectful gesture and bowing-not too deeply, but Ming Fan is afraid that he might fall.
"This one... Luo Binghe thanks Min-shixiong for his concern. "
Ming Fan swallows a tight lump and hugs his silly little shidi, holding him closer, telling himself what to do next.
"This Ming Fan will always protect his shidi and shimei. "
Ning Yingying snuggles up to them from the side. Shen Qingqiu looks thoughtfully at the setting sun.
Children grow up. Childhood ends.