Chapter Text
Shen Yuan should really find a way to sue Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky over his horrible writing, he bets that Er-ge would find a way to sue that hack author out of his entire fortune if he were to know that the reason for Shen Yuan's most recent hospital trip was choking on a meat bun after reading the infuriating ending of Proud Immortal Demon Way and passing out, thank god for his medical alert watch or else he might not have survived the fall from his desk chair let alone the choking, imagine how humiliating it would've been to have perished by way of meat bun, truly humiliating.
Just thinking about that ending again was causing his heart to palpitate as he fumbled with the smart lock of his front door, 6666 chapters of undefeated Luo BingHe decimating his adversaries and achieving win after win against demon lords, demonic beasts, cultivators, and harem drama, all of that to be killed in his sleep by wife 333 who was unsatisfied with the punishment he gave wife 427 over her poisoning attempt, Luo BingHe did not survive the abyss only to be bested by a scorned wife who used her Qi infused hairpin to enact her own form of justice, well at least he could give it to Airplane, it was kind of poetic for Wife 333 to use her courting gift to kill her husband, only if that husband wasn't Luo BingHe, Luo BingHe with his Golden Finger who is immune to any poison that doesn't require papapa, with heavenly demonic blood that he uses to subdue and monitor all members of his court should not lose to a singular hairpin.
The beeping of his medical alert watch halted his fumbling, Shen Yuan places his head on his front door as he tries to regulate his breathing, inhale for 4 hold for 7 exhale for 8, he repeats the breathing exercise a few times before he feels relaxed enough that the tremors of his hands no longer hindering him from pressing the numbers on the key pad of his smart lock. Discarding his shoes at the entrance and hanging his hoodie on the hook by his front door, Shen Yuan flicks on the light of his living room as he makes his way to his couch retrieving his smartphone from the coffee table where he knew he placed it a few days ago before his hospitalization, looking around Shen Yuan notices that the EMT either did not disturb his place or the maid his Da-ge hired to clean his house weekly came early, maybe Da-ge requested she shows up and clean the place a bit and make sure the EMT did not leave a mess behind before Shen Yuan is discharged.
Unlocking his phone and opening the Zhongdian webpage hoping the last chapter of PIDW was nothing but a hallucination induced by his lack of sleep and pretending he doesn't see the new messages he received on WeChat, he loves his family he really does but right now he does not want to sift through "I told you, you don't take good enough care of yourself", and "I have an extra room you can move into didi", "Yuan-di I would really feel better having you near me", and "Yuan-ge, meimei is visiting KangQiao, let me stay with you for a few days", he navigates to the PIDW page to check the latest update distracting himself from the guilt and the shame that comes with worrying his family, existing is painful enough as is, it's not like he wants to die, his body just fails him sometimes, he's not a baby he can manage.
Shen Yuan sits up straight as he notices that Airplane has posted 12 additional chapters in one day, the chapters do not have convoluted titles that feels like sexual harassment just by reading them, god Shen Yuan hated those, "The perking rosebuds in the garden of a youthful maiden" and "The sword that penetrates the rift of the abyss" and "The Saintess that withers beneath a veiled gaze", he shivers just remembering them and his stomach turns, Airplane really should be hanged in the witch trials of literature. Chapter 6667 is titled "The Person Named Shen Jiu", Chapter 6668 is titled "The Person Named Yue Qi" and so on 12 chapters and 12 "The Person Named", and Shen Yuan really hopes that these people are not some random wives in the protagonist-less harem or worse Airplane's pitching the characters of the Stallion novel that he is going to be writing next, in fact Airplane should retire his pen, his laptop, even his smart fridge if it can be used to post web-novels.
"The Person Named Shen Jiu" details the events that lead to the scum villain Shen QingQiu being who he was, from being born from a brothel courtesan and discarded as a babe, being found by Yue Qi, a young Yue QingYuan, and raised to become a slave, begging on the streets fending for himself from other slavers and even other slaves, stealing food and pick pocking, to the abuse he had to endure at the hands of Qiu JianLuo, Qi deviating and killing the men of the Qiu household, encountering Wu YanZi during the massacre, and being taken in as his disciple and enduring again and again, until the "Immortal Alliance Conference" when Wu YanZi tried to kill Yue QingYuan for his supplies prompting Shen Jiu to kill his mentor while protecting Yue Qi, even though he thought the older boy had abandoned him, his only family.
You would think that Shen Jiu would finally be able to rest now that he is a disciple at a righteous sect but no, here comes more enduring on Shen Jiu's part, jealous Shixiongs that bullied him and isolated him, incompetent Shidis that spread rumors about him, a negligent Peak Lord that never cared to correct how his peak was being run, line after line of Shen Jiu fighting on fumes as he couldn't even trust his fellow disciples to not harm him in his sleep and he succeeded, he was the victor as he made it to head disciple and the last one standing as he ascended into his role as Qing Jing Peak Lord. Still there is no rest for Shen Jiu as he again was made to endure snide remarks from his fellow peak lords, outlandish rumors that he's a lecher and that he preys on his female disciples, while he abused the male ones, abuse? all other peak lords disciplined their disciples the same way, literally whipping them into shape, he was disciplined the same way in his disciple days.
And then the arrival of Luo BingHe to the disciple selections and making it on Qing Jing, years of Shen Jiu being a slave had conditioned him to recognize danger and something about that beastly boy set off every single one of his nerves on end, he regretted taking in the boy and tried to discourage him from staying by not accepting his tea during the tea ceremony and dumping it on his head, hoping the boy would take a hint, but that boy was as dense as a bamboo forest, he never corrected how the other disciples treated the beast, and he never chided MingFan or told him to stop, and finally shoving that beastly thing into the rift that opened during the "Immortal Alliance Conference". Five years later, Shen Jiu is taken prisoner by that beast, returning in all his demonic glory, and wasn't Shen Jiu, right? That there was something dangerous about that boy, something wrong and other? But what good did it do him, limbless and unable to speak, the only mercy is that he still has one eye to see from, his stump of a body shoved into a pickling jar while again having to endure at the hand of another maniac, even tortured in his dreams, the last nail in his coffin was having to swallow the broken pieces of Xuan Su, the only remnants of his family as he breathed his last breath, Shen Jiu doesn't have to endure anymore.
Chapter 6667 was the greatest thing Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky ever wrote, Shen Yuan was hunched over his phone, grip going white over his device as he read every word, glasses sliding down his nose as he reread some of the parts that stuck most with him, why didn't Airplane write like this before? Why didn't he put the same effort into those other 6666 chapters, what prompted him to suddenly drop this masterpiece of a chapter after feeding us literary chum for the last few years, why now after the story was concluded, Shen Yuan would've sponsored the entirety to Airplane's lineage if he had written those 6666 chapters like this?
The depth of the scum villain's character, he wasn't a scum villain anymore, was he? was so overwhelming, he was a jaded man that had to fight and survive in a world that dealt him a losing hand after losing hand, was born alone and died alone, in pain even as he lived he was abandoned by his martial family, no one would've turned into a decent person if they had to live through all of that abuse, no one would've remained kind had they been broken as many times as Shen Jiu, not even the protagonist, the golden finger against the heavens Luo BingHe couldn't have survived what Shen Jiu had been through, at least Bing-ge had a loving mother, and maybe a few of his wives loved him, Shen Jiu did not have that, even his most doted on disciple Ning YingYing, betrayed him and accused him of being a lecher, even when he tried his best while saving Liu QingGe his good deed was met with accusations and condemnations, Luo BingHe would not have survived in the role that was written for Shen Jiu.
"Shen Jiu deserved better" muttered Shen Yuan as he moved unto the next chapter "Stupid Author, Stupid Novel"
Lighting struck outside Shen Yuan's house and the lights flickered as smoke filled his living room, rushing to open the window to air out the room thinking a light bulb exploded, Shen Yuan looks outside the window to see what sort of damage was done by the lightning bolt, and notices nothing out of the usual the garden looks as green as ever, and the sky is as clear as can be for a such a spring day, but Shen Yuan swears he saw the bright light of lightning and felt the ground shake from when he was seated on his couch, looking at his ceiling to see which light bulb exploded Shen Yuan was startled by the booming sound of thunder so close to wear his stood, making him jump in place.
"Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Important things must be said three times" a robotic voice startled Shen Yuan once again as a blue screen appeared inches away from his face. "You Can You Up! No Can No BB. User 002 has used special activation code <Stupid Author, Stupid Novel> with the combination of secret code <Shen Jiu deserved better> User 002 has been provided with Quest <Ensure Shen Jiu is living his best life>. User 002 gained additional role <Caretaker> in relation to NPC Shen Jiu which User 002 has been tasked with caring for, Shen Jiu's body has been weakened greatly in the <Location: Water Prison> of novel <Proud Immortal Demon Way>. The System has restored Shen Jiu's missing limbs and organs and hopes User 002 will provide NPC Shen Jiu with a satisfactory stay in <Location: China>. The system hopes User 002 will use his own discretion to ensure that NPC Shen Jiu is satisfied and is having an enriching life, if User 002 fails to provide enrichment for NPC Shen Jiu the system will provide missions to ensure that that User 002 is adhering to his quest. Good Luck on your quest, User 002"
The blue screen flickered away as Shen Yuan felt himself losing strength in his knees and falling to his carpeted floor, Shen Yuan braces his hand on his coffee table as he tries to stand up but ends up collapsing again when he notices the person in white robes laying on his carpet a few feet away, long hair flowing around them as if it was a halo, Shen Yuan has never seen a person this beautiful, not even amongst meimei's model friends, or Er-ge or Da-ge previous girlfriends, from the hair on their head to their toe nails everything about them is beautiful, long hair as dark as a starless night framing a delicate face, a forehead like mutton fat jade leading to two straight dark eyebrows, long black eyelashes decorating phoenix eyes, a sharp straight nose, pink lips like the petals of a peach blossom, somehow even their chin was beautiful. The person which now Shen Yuan assumes to be Shen Jiu was tall, at least a head taller than Shen Yuan, from the shape hidden away by that flimsy white robe, Shen Yuan can deduce that the cultivator has a lean body and long legs, and from where the robe was tied at his midsection a very small waist.
"I guess Luo BingHe didn't feed him in the water prison, or maybe he practiced Inedia" phoenix eyes snapped open as Shen Yuan muttered the words, and Shen Jiu tried to get up, bracing his arm under him but in his weakened state, according to the system, his elbow buckled under him and his collapsed, Shen Yuan got up to rushed to Shen Jiu to assess the damage but he noticed the panic in the cultivator's eyes and how he flinched away from him, Shen Yuan with chapter 6667 still fresh in his mind raised his hands and kept them in Shen Jiu's eye sight to appear as non-threatening as possible.
"My name is Shen Yuan, and uh-you've been put in my care by I don't know, God? to look after you? I mean you no harm, and like I just want to make sure that you are okay and that carpet can't be comfortable to lay on, so can I please get closer to you to help you get up? and lead you to the couch, or if you want to sleep to a bed?" Shen Yuan tried to keep his body language as non-threatening as possible and waited until he was given some sort of agreement to approach the man lying on his living room floor, Shen Jiu sizes him up and gives a hesitant nod, Shen Yuan moves closer towards the other and gets down on one knee besides him gently, his knees got banged up enough today and he doesn't want to agitate his joints any more than he already has, he's going to pay for all of this jostling tomorrow he can just tell, he offers his arm to Shen Jiu and assists him in getting up gently, when he manages to help Shen Jiu to his full height, the cultivator's knees buckle and Shen Yuan hugs him around to waist to keep him from falling to the ground again, his waist is really tiny Shen Yuan notices, he supports the other man for a few minutes, before he places one of his arms around his neck and helps him to the couch, he guides him to sit down gently.
"I will get you some water to drink, would you like to eat anything? I don't know what I have in my fridge, but I bring you some cut up fruit or something?" Shen Yuan asks the cultivator, Shen Jiu eyes him again and gives him another hesitant nod, he's very subdued in his body language, Shen Yuan notices, he expected more struggled and thrashing around from the former peak lord, or is he still a peak lord despite all the peaks in Cang Qiong getting razed down? Shen Yuan fills a pitcher of water from the water filter and places it on the tray alongside two empty glasses and a fork, he also opens his fridge to see what options of food he has to offer his system mandated guest, noticing that his fridge was fully stocked with containers upon containers of food and cut up fruit, so Da-ge really did get the maid to drop in before his arrival, he grabs a container of cut up fruit and adds it to the tray, Shen Yuan might not be physically strong but he can get carry a tray to the coffee table, even though the pitcher was shaking ominously.
"Let me pour you a glass of water" Shen Jiu did not give an answer so Shen Yuan got to pouring the other man a glass of water, and opening the lid of the container, Shen Yuan sits down next to the cultivator and tries to hand the glass to Shen Jiu, watching as the man struggles to raise his arm to receive the glass, a frustrated look furrows his eyebrows and he huffs. "Here let me help you" Shen Yuan brought the glass to the other's lips and the other flinches looking away.
"It's okay, I'm just bringing the glass closer to your lips so you can drink, I just want to help since you might still be tired from being brought here, I was often bed ridden as a child and needed someone to help me drink, so there is no judgment from me here" Shen Yuan brings the glass closer to the peak lord's mouth and the other still does not answer. "If you think something is wrong with the water, I'm happy to drink some in front of you, it's fine by me." At that Shen Jiu gives a tiny nod and Shen Yuan brings the glass to his own mouth and takes a big sip under the watchful eye of his guest, a few minutes of intense staring pass and Shen Yuan brings the glass to Shen Jiu's mouth again, and tips the glass gently while the other takes small sips, Shen Yuan lowers the glass when it becomes empty and inquires if the other wants more water which was met with the first head shake, okay so the other understands him, Shen Yuan was getting worried for a sec, placing the glass down on the tray and grabbing the container and the fork, Shen Yuan takes a bite of strawberry and pierces another as he chews, bringing it to the peak lord's mouth, Shen Jiu takes a bite when Shen Yuan swallows, eyes widening at the sweet taste of the fruit, strawberries must not exist in PIDW Shen Yuan ponders, He feeds Shen Jiu the entire container one bite at the time and watches the expressions that kept changing on his guest's face, Shen Jiu must really like fruit or maybe sweet stuff.
"I don't know if you know how you got here, but I honestly think you've been brought here by some sort of divine intervention, I was already aware of your story, or well the story of the world where you came from, and I guess like an otherworldly power wanted you to have a second chance at life here." Shen Yuan rambled as he placed the container back on the tray. "uh-would you like a bath? Not that you smell or anything, but I know a warm bath always makes me feel better" Shen Yuan really hoped Shen Jiu would say no, because half way through his rambling did it occur to him that he's going to have to help the guy with his bath, since it looks like he still hasn't regained his strength, Shen Jiu nods and Shen Yuan weeps a little inside. "I'm going to help you in the bath, is that okay with you?" please say no, please. Shen Jiu nods again, albeit more reluctantly.
Placing his arm around the peak lord's waist, Shen Yuan helps him to his feet, and guided him to his en suite bathroom, he would've taken him to his guest one but he isn't sure it's stocked neither is the guest room now that he thinks about it, Shen Jiu will probably have to take his bed this night and he'll set up the guest bedroom later.
"Can you take off your robe, or would you like me to take it off for you?" Shen Yuan asked as he helped his guest to sit at the edge of the bathtub, Shen Jiu hands were shaking as he reached to untie his robes, but the tremors prevented him from undoing the knot, kneeling before him Shen Yuan reached to undo the knot, then shifted to turn on the knobs and fill the tub with water. "Dip your hand into the tub, is the water hot enough or would you like it hotter?" Asked Shen Yuan as he slid the peak lord's robe off his shoulders, Shen Yuan undid the other knot holding up the peak lord's pants when a cold hand touched his own, Shen Yuan looked up at the face of his guest and could not hold the man's gaze, Shen Yuan wouldn't be able to name that emotion in Shen Jiu's eyes maybe it was discomfort, maybe it was defeat, maybe it was scorn, and right now Shen Yuan didn't even try as his hand was pushed away and the peak lord shimmied out of his pants, kicking them the the side to join his robes on the floor. Shen Yuan helped Shen Jiu sit on a wooden bathroom stool while he grabbed his loofah to scrub the other man's body, Shen Yuan wasn't all that body shy, growing up sickly and often receiving bathes from nurses made him desensitized to the process of bathing with others, besides he didn't want to make this more awkward for Shen Jiu than it had to be, he is here to assist the guy not perv on him.
Shen Yuan moved the peak lord's hair to the side so he could scrub his back as gently as he can, applying more of his strawberry and cream scented foaming body wash, and barely touching the markings around his biceps and thighs were he assumes the system reattached the limbs when it did those post ending repairs. "I will start washing your hair, but I will brush it first to get the tangles out, my sister has really long hair and she says it always helps to de tangle the hair before you wash it, to uh-avoid knots" Shen Yuan got up to retrieve his comb from his dresser, a pair of his over-sized pajamas, some clean unused underwear and a couple of towels.
Shen Yuan rinsed the foam off of the peak lord's body and helped him to slid into the tub, a low groan escaping Shen Jiu's lips,the sound hollow, like an echo in a grotto. Shen Yuan squatted behind the peak lord and got to de tangling his hair, from the ends of his strands to his scalp, careful not to catch a knot, grabbing the shampoo bottle and lathering a dollop on his hand, Shen Yuan started massaging the shampoo in Shen Jiu's scalp, massaging his scalp and temples, for the first time since Shen Jiu showed up in his apartment the other man finally started to unwind, shoulders dropping away from his ears and head lulling back, making quick work of rinsing his hair and applying conditioner to the ends of the man's hair. "This is hair conditioner, it needs to remain in your hair for a few minutes to work it's magic, you can just lay back, while I go make fix the bed so you can lay down, I imagine some shut eye would really benefit you."
Shen Yuan was really glad he didn't keep any of his PIDW merch in his bedroom, thank god he kept all that in his office, imagine how how horrifying it would've been for Shen Jiu to see pictures upon pictures and figures of his last tormentor and members of his harem, ugh that would've been a nightmare. Fluffing the pillow and shutting the black out curtains, Shen Yuan brings the other filled glass of water from the living room and places it on the bed side table in case Shen Jiu wanted to drink something after he wakes up, pleased with how his bedroom looks Shen Yuan returns to the bathroom to a Shen Jiu that was falling asleep at the tub.
"Okay, one last rinse, put you in some pajamas, and then we can dry your hair and send you off to dream land" whispers Shen Yuan as he rinsed Shen Jiu's hair, it was very cute how the other man was trying to keep himself awake. "Watch your step, can you brace yourself on the sink so I can get you into these clothes?" Drying the man off was relatively easy, getting his legs into the underwear and pajama pants not as easy, buttoning up the pajama top, somehow more difficult. Shen Yuan led the man to his dresser where he sat him down and turned on the blow dryer to dry his hair, startling the other man.
Wide green eyes met his in the mirror, and Shen Yuan tried to give a small smile to ease the man's nerves. "This is a blow dryer, it's like an artifact that lets out air and is used to dry hair, you'll get sick if you sleep with wet hair and unfortunately there's no cultivation here, or well I don't know if there's no cultivation here but I know I can't cultivate so I can't dry your hair with Qi, please bear with it, it's will take 30 minutes tops, uh-like a quarter of a shichen." The cultivator nods and keeps observing Shen Yuan through the mirror, probably too unnerved by the strange "artifact" to go back to sleep.
30 minutes later and Shen Yuan has tucked a once again sleepy Shen Jiu into his bed, keeping his bedroom door ajar, in the hope the cultivator doesn't wake up startled from being in a completely pitch black room, cleaning the coffee table and setting off into the guest bed room, Shen Yuan can imagine his back is not going to be cooperative tomorrow from missing an additional night away from his orthopedic mattress.
"I really hope I won't need my cane tomorrow."