Chapter Text
There was nothing useful in this worthless place.
Luo Binghe kept a hand on Xin Mo as he stalked through the abandoned palace, peering around with narrowed eyes as he searched for the library. This was not the first visit back to the Endless Abyss he had made recently—in fact, it was the fifth, and so far, another waste of time.
He couldn’t fight the scowl that rose to his face.
He had thought that this abandoned palace of his ancestors—Heavenly Demons—would come up with something. Inch by inch, he was exploring the Endless Abyss. He had already gone far, a vast comparison to what he had seen when his old Shizun had pushed him in.
Of course, the thought of Shen Qingqiu made him think of the other Shen Qingqiu. The one he had been fortunate enough to meet, alongside the pathetic other version of himself.
Shen Qingqiu. Shen Yuan.
He was determined to find the Shen Yuan of his reality.
He would claim that happiness he had a chance to glimpse.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned down the winding hallway and opened a large door, which creaked ominously as he did so. The room inside was pitch black, so he lifted a hand, a ball of spiritual light centered over his palm and illuminating his surroundings.
Another dead end.
He was getting more and more incensed the longer he had to stay here. He already was worried he was running on borrowed time; any delay was unacceptable.
He relentlessly made his way through the dark, dusty hallways and meticulously entered every room he came across. Nothing of interest had been left behind, and he wondered not for the first time if the entire palace had been looted, including the texts. He was searching for specific volumes—or, at least, specific topics—but had come up with nothing. The first four palaces had priceless treasure, to be certain, and he had pocketed some of it to add to his own wealth. But there were no signs of the knowledge he was seeking.
He knew the Endless Abyss would contain the answers eventually . It was the only locale left—he had already hunted throughout the merged realms and came up with nothing.
The frustration was enough to make him bare his teeth, fury racing through him. Why had everything he wanted been so easy to obtain previously, and yet, now that he was desperate for answers, it eluded him as surely as the happiness he hoped to obtain? It was unfair.
He unsheathed Xin Mo as he stood back in the center of the palace, the great winding staircase in front of him, ready to create another spatial rift to go home.
Then he noticed Xin Mo was glowing softly; not as vibrant and full of power as it did when he filled it with qi, but lightly, as if…
He held it up, his brows coming together, before looking at the ground he stood on.
It didn’t take long for Luo Binghe to elect to pierce it down into the flooring in a spontaneous decision. The floor broke, causing him to fall through the old wooden planks. Some of them had been sharpened from the break and many splinters had impaled themselves to his robes, and a few to his hands. He was covered in a layer of dust now, as well, and had dropped Xin Mo. Overall, it was the most undignified he had appeared in years.
He stood up and brushed the dust and splinters off, bending down to pick up Xin Mo. He lifted his palm up to light the area up again.
As he had suspected, there was an entire secret floor. Peering around, keeping Xin Mo next to him, he was now in what appeared to be a large storage room, with loads of crates and shelves sporadically sitting around the room. He was thrilled to see bookshelves tucked in the corner of the room, and immediately made his way towards them.
After searching through each title one by one, he picked up the last book on the last bookshelf, and sucked in a breath, hope blooming through him when he read the faded words on the cover.
This must be why Xin Mo reacted the way it did before. This is surely what I’ve been looking for.
The title of the book read “Sword Edict of World Destruction.”
He quickly returned home with a spatial rift, straight to his chambers, avoiding his wives and servants. He had barely interacted with them as of late and had no interest in their probing questions about what he had been up to. They had seemed to sense this and had left their Lord be, to his relief.
Sitting at his desk, he opened Sword Edict of World Destruction , Xin Mo lying on the table in front of him. It was dormant for now; he felt nothing amiss but kept a wary eye on the sword regardless as he flipped through the passages.
Where…is…it…
… there .
Holding the book up to the light of the lantern behind him, he read the page with narrowed eyes.
“ The Sword of World Destruction has the power to cut through space and time. This heavenly official does not guess as to how that power has been attached to the sword; this one guesses it has undergone many, many experiments of questionable design. The Sword of World Destruction is as the name implies; a weapon of mass destruction that the sword seems to revel in.
It’s too dangerous, and yet, this heavenly official finds himself unable to hold back from the use of it. It could easily be used to conquer the world or to save it. Xin Mo always seems to lean towards the first. One would have to be exceptionally strong to ignore the calling of darkness the sword emits.
This one has discovered Xin Mo’s spatial rifts can do so much more.
If it fell into the wrong hands there would be nothing to stop him. ”
There it was; the author of this book, which Luo Binghe had come to realize was more of a memoir or journal than a scholarly novel, had kept referring to himself as a “heavenly official.” Luo Binghe had never heard the term before in this world.
He was beginning to suspect this author was not from this world. Or, if he was, he was from a time so long ago that nothing and no one was left to tell its story.
“ Xin Mo’s spatial rifts can be used to destroy or merge realms. It can also be used to find anything you desire, as long as you have a piece of it with you and perform an array. The array is as follows: ”
Luo Binghe sat back with a frown at this. A piece of…Shen Yuan to find him?
Did such a thing even exist?
The array itself was not nearly as complicated as he had thought it would be, as he scanned through it. Yet, it required a piece of Shen Yuan. Where would he even find something of his? He hadn’t known where to find him as of yet in his reality.
In his reality.
There was, however, another reality he could easily visit to get a piece of Shen Yuan. If it would even count, as Shen Yuan was in possession of the body of Shen Qingqiu.
Still, it was the only lead he had.
Luo Binghe kept his hands behind his back as he walked towards the Bamboo House, a pleasant smile on his face.
He didn’t want to cause any issues with the Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe of this reality.
As he walked up the path, he saw the blur of a figure in black racing towards him, and he knew this would not be taken as a friendly visit.
And why would they believe it to be, he thought wryly.
“Wait!” he called out to the other him, raising his hands in the air. “This Lord is not here to cause any trouble. I need to speak to Shen Qingqiu.”
The other Luo Binghe pulled to a stop in front of him, rage twisting his expression as he looked at him. “You said the same thing last time! We won’t fall for these lies again!”
Luo Binghe sighed. He really shouldn’t have expected this would be easy. “This Lord promises he is not here to cause you or shizun any trouble. Here.” He unceremoniously yanked Xin Mo out of its sheath, causing the other Luo Binghe to tense, before throwing the dark blade to the dirt.
The other Luo Binghe stared at him, then at the ground. He seemed at a sudden loss for words, before he bent down and, with the sleeve of his black robes covering his hand, grabbed the sword carefully.
Luo Binghe didn’t bother telling him that would do nothing against the negative effects of Xin Mo. He would’ve figured it out upon grabbing the sword.
“ Why are you back?”
He kept his hands clasped behind his back, and looked at the other impassively. “I need a piece of your husband’s hair.”
“ Excuse me? ”
“Binghe, what’s going on?” came the voice of Shen Qingqiu, who appeared from the path behind Luo Binghe. He looked at him warily.
“Shizun, he wants a piece of your hair! This disciple doesn’t trust him at all!”
Luo Binghe turned around to face Shen Qingqiu, pulling his hands from behind his back to give him a shrug. “This Lord gave him Xin Mo and has no ill intent towards either of you. I want to talk and beg for your assistance.”
Shen Qingqiu frowned at him, eying the sword now in his husband’s hand, and said, “Both of you to the Bamboo House. This master does not want an audience.” There were no disciples nearby yet, but the worry was understandable. From what Luo Binghe vaguely remembered, the disciples would all be in classes around this time. That was probably what Shen Qingqiu had been doing.
Shen Qingqiu walked past Luo Binghe and made his way towards the Bamboo House. The other Luo Binghe immediately followed him, casting a sharp look at Luo Binghe.
Inside the Bamboo House, the other Luo Binghe poured some tea for himself and Shen Qingqiu before sitting close to him, glaring at Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe gave an amused snort that he had been left out, unsurprised, but said nothing.
Xin Mo was tucked beneath him like a discarded paper weight. The sight was almost sad.
Shen Qingqiu sipped his tea before setting it down, regarding Luo Binghe cautiously. “You might as well tell us what’s going on. You said you needed…hair?”
Nodding, Luo Binghe stated, “As you know, the first time this Lord met you, he asked you to come with him.” The other Luo Binghe bared his teeth again. “My second visit here, I asked you questions. About your life as Shen Yuan.”
“…Go on.”
“This one did some digging,” he admitted, “and found out how to find the Shen Yuan of my universe.” He reached into his robes, causing the jumpy Luo Binghe to leap up from his seat and grab the hilt of Zheng Yang at his waist. Ignoring him, Luo Binghe pulled out Sword Edict of World Destruction and offered it to Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu took it from him, his eyes darting from the cover to Xin Mo.
“As shizun can tell from the title, this text includes guides to the powers of Xin Mo. This Lord has been studying it, and there is a passage that includes how to cut a spatial rift to someone using an array.”
Shen Qingqiu flipped through a few pages. His eyes lit up. “This is incredible, actually. This master has never heard of or seen such a text before, even from … I wonder if Airp—Peak Lord Shang Qinghua knows about this text. He has to, otherwise… And you say there’s an array to go to someone using Xin Mo? Fascinating…”
“Shizun…” the other Luo Binghe sounded sullen.
Luo Binghe leaned forward before Shen Qingqiu could answer his disciple and said, “This Lord understands there has been…bad blood between us. This one has no intention of causing any further trouble for you.” He eyed them, then added, “This one will require Xin Mo eventually. Maybe…a blood oath would reassure you of my intentions?”
They both frowned, and Shen Qingqiu stopped the other Luo Binghe from speaking with a light pat on his forearm before saying, “This master has not dealt with a blood oath, although he is familiar with them. What would this Lord do with a blood oath?”
“This Lord would want to promise that he intends no harm to you, your Luo Binghe, and anyone else. This Lord is here to seek a piece of your hair…and potentially some advice.”
“Shizun, don’t trust him,” the other Luo Binghe said with a glare.
“Binghe…” Shen Qingqiu looked at him askew. “You know what a blood oath is.”
“This disciple does,” he agreed, “but he still doesn’t trust him . He probably has some way to get out of it.”
Luo Binghe scowled. “A blood oath would bind to my life force. You think this Lord would be stupid enough to break it?”
“This one doesn’t think there’s a limit to this Lord’s stupidity,” he retorted.
Luo Binghe started to stand up, furious, and Shen Qingqiu held up a hand. “Hold it. Honestly, you two…I can barely stand one of you…” Ignoring the other Luo Binghe’s deeply wounded look, he said, “A blood oath would be sufficient, fine. If you agree to my specific terms.”
“What terms?”
“This Lord must not use the hair I give him for anything other than the array specified in this text. He will not directly or indirectly harm myself, this Luo Binghe, or anyone in this world.”
Rather simple, but straight to the point. Luo Binghe nodded easily. “I accept those terms.” He didn’t plan on doing anything with the hair other than use it for the array, anyway.
The other Luo Binghe didn’t look especially happy, but looked at Shen Qingqiu as he inclined his head. “Alright. In that case…”
After Luo Binghe swore the blood oath with blood from his left palm, the other Luo Binghe seemed to settle down (at least, a tiny bit), and Shen Qingqiu lifted his hand to his head. With one delicate pull, he held out a long black hair for Luo Binghe to take.
Luo Binghe’s hand trembled just slightly as he took the hair, exhaling a long breath. “This Lord is grateful shizun is willing to help him.”
Shen Qingqiu inclined his head slightly. “This master…he can tell this Lord is being truthful. He wants to help. The past is forgiven.”
Luo Binghe had never loved the man more.
The array was drawn in his blood, roughly in the shape of a circle with many designs drawn in between, rather like a spider web. Shen Qingqui’s singular black hair sat in the center. Luo Binghe, underneath his black robes, was also covered in an array. It was necessary to keep his soul anchored, as Xin Mo would pull him as far as necessary to find who he sought. If he didn’t protect himself, his soul could easily be shredded.
At least, that was what the text said. It sat nearby on the hard floor of Luo Binghe’s personal chambers, open to the page that detailed the spiritual array he had to perform. Xin Mo sat next to it.
Now that everything was set up, Luo Binghe leaned back into his calves from where he knelt in front of the array, exhaling. He felt…oddly nervous, now that he had gotten to this point.
He could only hope that it would take him to Shen Yuan, and not the dead body of Shen Qingqui of this world.
He peered at the text one last time, double-checking everything was correct, before standing up and reaching a blood-stained hand towards Xin Mo.
With one sharp slash, he cut a spatial rift directly over the hair. Xin Mo glowed a fierce red as he pierced it down, and he paused, eying it cautiously. Sword Edict of World Destruction had not specified this would happen, and his instant thought was something had gone wrong.
However, he looked through the spatial rift and saw a completely new world.
Large, strange…creatures were racing past each other, and humans walked past them without a second glance. Towering buildings, taller than Luo Binghe had ever seen, reached for the sky, and it was loud .
Well, Shen Qingqui wouldn’t be in this world, that was for sure. So, it seemed Xin Mo had taken him to Shen Yuan after all, to this strange world that Luo Binghe instantly remembered Shen Qingqui describing from his past.
He sheathed Xin Mo and stepped through the spatial rift. A group of humans near him stopped walking and gawked at him as soon as he appeared, their eyes bugging out.
“That…he just suddenly appeared!” one of them exclaimed, sounding amazed. “That’s some trick, man!”
“Wow! How did you do that?!”
“Can you do it again? Wait…is that a sword?!”
“What the fuck are you wearing, man? Wait, he does have a sword, the fuck?! He must be some sort of magician, maybe?”
Luo Binghe looked at them, bewildered, before turning on his heel and walking away. The humans hesitated from where they had been left before seemingly deciding not to pursue him further.
Now that he was here, he had to find Shen Yuan. He…he had no idea where to even start. It seemed Xin Mo hadn’t taken him directly to Shen Yuan. It must have taken him a certain distance nearby, instead.
How troublesome. He briefly considered if he could potentially upgrade the array. Of course, he didn’t want to cut directly on top of Shen Yuan—then he would be a cut-in-half Shen Yuan. That wouldn’t be good at all. He also had no idea how to work with arrays and was worried he would cause bigger problems if he messed with it.
Striding through this luminescent city, he looked all around, his interest piqued despite his singular goal. What he had assumed were creatures actually appeared to be unfeeling, hard objects that had a human being sat in front, their eyes set forward with a blank, bored expression. Many humans were flowing in and out of large holes in the ground that had stairs leading down, and some were sitting atop dual-wheeled devices that they seemed to be steering.
Luo Binghe set a hand on Xin Mo as he stalked down the street, looking around for Shen Yuan. If Xin Mo had deposited him in the middle of this area, then he had to be close. After touching Xin Mo’s hilt, however, he hissed and dropped his hand, looking down.
It had burned like hot coals. How odd. Frowning, he carefully touched the hilt, ignoring the pain, and lifted the sword a few inches out of the scabbard.
Xin Mo’s blade was glowing red, just as it had before during the array. Luo Binghe stopped walking abruptly, and the blade also abruptly stopped glowing. His frown deepened, and he started moving forward. Again, the glow and the burn.
How odd. This must be a way for Xin Mo to lead him to Shen Yuan.
He decided to continue going after testing a different direction that Xin Mo did not react to. Eventually, it led him to a large building with the stamped words 上海市宝兴殡仪馆 above the entrance. He studied it closely, the Chinese dialect one he was unused to, before he understood.
Shanghai Baoxing Funeral Parlor.
Luo Binghe stared up at those words, a thousand emotions swimming through him before he glanced down at Xin Mo. It was burning so hot he was sure his palm would have a mark to show it, and upon checking, it was indeed glowing bright red.
This…this couldn’t be right. Why had it taken him to a funeral parlor?
Shaking his head, he took a shallow breath and entered the building. There was a long line of people. Eying it, he sighed and took his place in line.
The great Emperor Luo Binghe. Reduced to standing in line because his sword was having a tantrum.
Really, he wondered not for the first time how he had got here.
After what felt like an eternity, he was brought up to the desk. The assistant looked at him with a large smile. “Hello, how can I help you?”
“I’m looking for someone. His name is ‘Shen Yuan.’”
She bent down over a luminous, vaguely square-shaped object, her fingers tapping. “Shen Yuan…Shen Yuan…”
Luo Binghe stood there in silence as she continued whatever she was doing. He assumed she was somehow finding him using whatever device she was peering at.
“Oh…” she looked up at him, sympathy written there. “It says in our records he was cremated six months ago and the remains were given to his family. Were you a friend?”
Cremated six months ago.
Luo Binghe must have gotten a dark expression on his face because the sympathy on her face twisted to fear. “Um…sir, I’m sorry. I wish I had better news for you. Hadn’t you…expected…something of the sort if you came to our establishment?”
Still, Luo Binghe said nothing.
He felt nothing.
What would be the point?
Luo Binghe knocked on the door in front of him, labeled with a crisp 4 .
There was the sound of shuffling inside before a young, attractive woman opened it. She seemed startled to see him standing there, her jaw dropping. “Um…uh…h-hey. What…can I do for you?”
He gave her a small, pleasant smile. “Are you Shen Xue?”
She blushed prettily. “I am. Why, who are you?”
“This—my name is Luo…Zhi. …I was friends with your brother, Shen Yuan.”
“Oh.” Her cheery demeanor dimmed slightly. “Yes, of course. Why don’t you come in?” She moved to the side, allowing Luo Binghe to step inside her apartment.
Shen Xue, rather like Shen Yuan had, lived in a rich, comfortable apartment on the outskirts of Beijing, China. Her environment reflected her wealthy, spoiled upbringing—there was hardly a speck of dust anywhere in sight, and the apartment, whilst large, was filled with lovely furniture and decorations.
Luo Binghe had spent hours last night familiarizing himself with this world and Shen Yuan’s life. He had even changed into clothing befitting the world he was in, wearing black pants and a “t-shirt” that had the words Live Laugh Love , whatever that meant, on it. The shopkeeper had seemed gleeful when he handed him the outfit.
Hunting down Shen Xue hadn’t been as easy as he had expected, but here she was, hopefully with the ashes he needed.
Shen Xue was dressed in casual, loose clothing, and the slight messiness of her hair hinted she had woken up recently. The smell of cooked meat and eggs filled the apartment, and she led him to her white, spotless couch, waving him down to sit. “Do you want anything to eat? I just made some breakfast, but I made a little extra since I was hungry.”
Luo Binghe shook his head. “No, thank you.”
She stood in the middle of the large room for a moment, her fingers tapping the side of her thigh nervously before she took a seat near him on the couch. “Well…where did you meet my brother?”
Luo Binghe had been prepared for any such questions. He had discovered in this world, masters and disciples were entirely different. He arranged his expression into one of sad remembrance. “We went to university together, years ago.”
Shen Xue pursed her lips, her eyes dropping. “I see. I’m sorry you couldn’t see him again after.”
Luo Binghe leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “…Shen Yuan meant a lot to me.” He closed his eyes. He wasn’t entirely faking it at this point. He did care about Shen Yuan, even if this entire interaction was for his own purpose.
“Is there…anything of his I could look at? To reminisce?”
Opening his eyes, he saw Shen Xue regarding him anxiously, wringing her hands. “I…” Her gaze flitted to a small vase sitting atop the fireplace near them before landing back on him. “I could go check. Excuse me.”
Luo Binghe buried his smile. Ah. She had unwittingly given it away.
That vase held Shen Yuan’s ashes.
Shen Xue left down the hall, presumably to go find something of Shen Yuan’s to show Luo Binghe.
Luo Binghe didn’t hesitate before snatching the beautifully decorated vase and slipping out of her apartment.
Back at his chambers, he felt wildly out of place wearing the clothes from Shen Yuan’s home world. He pulled them off and cut his forearm with a knife, dipping his fingers into the oozing blood.
The array from before had been scrubbed clean. Slowly and carefully, Luo Binghe re-applied the array on the floor and on himself to the instructions of Sword Edict of World Destruction . He turned the vase holding Shen Yuan’s ashes and poured a part of it out onto the circle of the array. Pulling his robes on, he tucked the book inside his lapels and took up Xin Mo.
He refused to believe Shen Yuan was truly dead.
The other Shen Yuan had transmigrated into Shen Qingqui upon his death.
With this logic…he believed that Shen Yuan had transmigrated as well. Obviously, not into this universe’s Shen Qingqui, as he was long dead, but surely he was somewhere .
The spatial rift opened, and Luo Binghe stepped through it into another world.