Chapter Text
Shang Qinghua stares at Zhang-shidi, leader of their alchemy and alcohol peak, for a long, long moment. He understands. He understands too well, in fact. Their six lost peak lords turning up a mere seven years later? Oh, what is seven years to an immortal? Ah, shit.
“Ah, shit.”
Zhang Qingyan’s eyes widen impossibly bigger as he shifts into less slumped and more respectable posture. He then speaks, but in such a way that it is clear that it was not intended to be the whisper of a question that it is. “Zhangmen-shixiong, what should we do?” Shidi, this shixiong sympathizes greatly with the weakness of your voice right now.
Closing his eyes, he grapples with the resurgence of inner conflict that title brings him. He’s not zhangmen-shixiong any longer, is he? Which is good, this is very good! But also very bad, because he is still zhangmen-shixiong. People rely on him! And as Sect Leader he must go speak with the lost members of his Qing generation…
No, fuck! He has to key them into the barrier, too! They must just be waiting out there, locked out of their own peaks! Zhangmen-shixiong, Yue-shixiong, this one is sorry! He did not mean to make you wait to be let in like a cat at the backdoor into the house you bought with your own money! Well. Kind of. Purchased with your blood and tears, not money. Shang Qinghua was forced into making that purchase as well! AH! Anyway, this is a stupid miracle he must investigate that will cause lots of problems but he is glad you are alive!
Attempting to shake these distressing tangents from his head, the stressed cultivator takes a deep breath containing only a small, very small amount of desperation. What to do, what to do… He stills his anxiously tapping foot.
The An Ding peak lord shares an apologetic look at his soon to be even more exhausted martial brother. “Zhang-shidi, this shixiong needs you to gather the peak lords for an emergency meeting. Personally. And ensure that our next Cang Qiong generation peak lords are respectfully kept updated, please.” Oh fuck, who knows what will happen with those guys. The best hallmasters we could find to fill in are being demoted, but hopefully they won’t be demoted all the way? They’re promising candidates for the next generation of peak lords! Surely Yue-shixiong—ah! using just that address feels so rude of him!—will respect his decision to promote them? They certainly don’t deserve to be disregarded like they didn’t successfully rise to the challenge of being severely scrutinized substitutes of suddenly deceased stars of the cultivation world! Ah, except little Xue Xia’s father would probably love that—no wonder with him, he’ll be delighted to give leadership back to Ning-shidi and fade into as much obscurity as a high ranking member of an espionage peak can manage.
He startles as the Zui Xian peak lord bows in acknowledgement. Shang Qinghua takes this as a sign for him to arise from his desk and then dashes his way through setting his paperwork aside. What of the poor head disciples?! The thundering of his and Zhang-shidi’s escape from his office accompanies his racing thoughts nicely. Could these high ranking disciples possibly, somehow, remain as the assistants of the formerly appointed lords they’ve served under and worked with for years? One rung lower in the hierarchy is better than nothing, right?! Argh!
The An Ding peak lord clenches a fist. It would be an injustice to try to toss these carefully selected, hard-working cultivators—his future Peak Lords, if the sect even manages to survive to that point!—back into a pale imitation of their former lives! Their old jobs have, at this point, been almost completely filled in! No gaps in manpower here! He’s going to have to argue for maintaining as much hierarchical stability as he can with some of the most stubborn cultivators he ever created! He’s not meeting them without back-up, screw that!
Moments before his shidi flies off, the afternoon sun bright in their eyes, Shang Qinghua beckons for Zhang Qingyan to wait.
“Actually, don’t bother with Qi-shimei. I’ll fetch her on my way.” He receives for this statement a mixed look of relief and concern. His shidi, so strong in spirit, then responds, “Wise, zhangmen-shixiong.” That she’d be extremely displeased if he left without her in any ordinary circumstance, much less this one, went unsaid.
His awkward laughter poorly muffles the fondness beneath. “Thanks, shidi. See you soon.”
Two respectful nods later, both cultivators are in the air. Deftly dodging sword-traffic, Shang Qinghua flies at what could perhaps be considered an unwise speed. The wind pushes all unwanted thoughts of Cang Qiong political tangles down for later. As later as possible! Please! He’s just one guy! His boss is alive! More brains are better than one, surely he can delay planning out the most efficient, least damaging, and least hurtful reintegration of six peak lords into a sect that after seven goddamn years has… moved on. Ah. That hurt!
Despite himself, he can’t help but dwell. Possible solutions and the repercussions of their past absence pickle bitterly in his mind like the grocery store cucumbers of old. Old for him, a life-time ago even. Those dingy plastic shelving units…
Oh, the stress all those high-ranking Cang Qiong cultivators left behind went through upon that disappearing group’s—unplanned Sleeping Beauty style group nap? sudden expedition into a secret realm on the eve of the explosion?— wait, maybe he should have asked Zhang-shidi more questions on what actually happened to them? Shit, he’s going to have to question a group of peak lords on their absences, like a parent faced with missing teenagers in the night—agh, like he has a right to! Him, the master of sneaking illicit persons into his bedroom! Shang Qinghua’s eyebrow twitched.
…Maybe that’s the wrong comparison. Ah, what a fine distraction though.
His gaze lands upon Xian Shu peak’s pavilion for guests, carefully designed to follow their peak law of no men inside while balancing the feasibility. Beautiful architecture. Sizeable. Getting closer. Looming, like the incoming confrontation.
It was really too fucking bad that his dear, dysfunctional, and genuinely missed coworkers came back from the dead after the holes they left behind had healed through with new growth, glowing golden kintsugi lines of demonic trade and settled power dynamics instead of just a couple years ago when they were all fighting for dear life to not let the disemboweled breathing corpse of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect get picked over by those yellow-robe posers Huan Hua and all manner of xianxia businessmen vultures! His knuckles whitened.
Please don’t ruin all his hard work, he pleads to the grey courtyard ground as he dismounts his sword. That would really suck, he grouches in his mind as he urges a passing disciple out of her bow, requesting that she inform Qi Qingqi that her presence is urgently required by the sect leader for a matter of great importance! Shang Qinghua might even cry if Shen-shixiong jealously kicks his Qing Jing replacement Peak Lord out of the sect for doing his job better, he internally moans as he wrings his mildly ink-stained sleeves. It would give that Ming Fan kid even more of a complex than he already has! Please don’t, shixiong!
Hope arrives in the form of a swiftly approaching irritated warrior goddess in purple. His pasted on smile turns genuine as he observes her temper fade behind blatant concern. Surely Shang Qinghua doesn’t look that much of a mess? Right? Ah, hell—
“Zhangmen-shixiong, what is the situation? This one has heard reports of your truly frantic flying and of the unusual intensity of the message you conveyed to Disciple Yu.” She then eyes his hair. “Your guan is tilted.”
He begins sheepishly to realign his unnecessarily fancy hairpiece, and does what he can for the rest of his hair while he’s at it. “My bad,” he nervously chuckles. “But Qi-shimei, we’ve got a problem. It’s a miraculous, heart-warming, headache-inducing problem that we must tend to as soon as possible.” Sweat drips down his neck.
If possible, her demeanor becomes even more worried. Her hand twitches towards her sword. An interrogative look blazes in her eyes. Get to the point, those eyes oh so nostalgically say—but with the respect and care that’s become strangely common-place from her since she blossomed into her role as his second-in-command!
Shang Qinghua vibrates. Looking at the gradually increasing crowd of Xian Shu disciples flooding the guest pavilion since his arrival, he contemplates the possible effects dropping the bomb here will have, and if he cares enough to delay the gossip. Ah, to hell with it—it’s not like Zhang Qingyan learned this out of thin air. “It seems like our missing peak lords showed up today on our doorstep!”
Into the ringing silence of chatter, the decorative props of baby ear-hustler’s disguises collapse out of numb hands. Qi Qingqi’s jaw drops just slightly. He continues to ramble. “They’re haunting our doorstep, on the sect’s outer pavilion, you know? They, uh, they’re obviously not able to get in, and I— this one forgot to ask when exactly Zhang-shidi became informed of this… revelation. So haste is of the essence! Come with me?” He peers at her in nervous anticipation. Please react, shimei? Don’t leave him hanging like this!
She does not respond. Sect Leader and his martial sister stare at each other in a moment of awkward contemplation. The sound of silk rustling and rushed footsteps fill his ears. Shang Qinghua chews on the inside of his cheek. Ah, maybe he and Zhang Qingyan were mistaken in their impression of her response to this invitation.
Qi-shimei will definitely be glad to drop some of her truly excessive paperwork back on Shen-shixiong, mixed feelings or not. He’s already dreaming of the luxury of less paperwork on his end! But, but, but… They’ve all changed so much, is that enough? Maybe she’ll be relieved to have their more steady—reassuring, powerful, everything!—leader of old back in charge? At her slow draw of breath, all he can offer is an uneasy grin. He blinks at the sudden firming of her posture. Resolutely, she speaks. “Zhangmen-shixiong, it is a foregone conclusion that this shimei will be there to guard your back.”
He feels no emotion at all from this! Ah, who is he kidding, he’s extremely grateful. Shimei, this lowly one does not deserve your loyalty! “Appreciated, extremely appreciated!” There’s more he could say, but, hm, he’s a little at a loss for words! His eyes are no longer burningly dry from his swift flight, for sure! Shang Qinghua’s hand flits across the hilt of his sword. “Let us depart!”
Taking long strides to the exit of the pavilion, faith placed in the woman behind him, the peak lord’s shoulders loosen the tiniest bit.
“Wait!” A youthful voice cries out.
Oh, what is it now? The old-new peak lord of Bai Zhan must be clawing at the walls at this point! The structural integrity of their wards might be at risk! Or Cheng Luan! Or his spine!
He can’t just ignore a disciple’s heartfelt plea like this, though. Swiveling on his feet, he stops dead upon contact with Liu Mingyan's manic stare. Fuck! Oh fuck! For a novice cultivator without even a spiritual sword, that look sure is turning his blood to ice! If his immortal cultivator body would allow it, there would definitely be goosebumps! Mistakes were made!
Thankfully, her gaze is cut off by Qi Qingqi leaning in to whisper beside that veiled stormy face. “Disciple Liu, this master will set your argument aside right now. You will not be joining us, as this incoming meeting will be much too fraught for any student. You are already aware of this, yes?” Liu Mingyan backs into a tense bow of acknowledgement, gritting her teeth. “Yes, shizun.”
Relenting in her admonishment, Qi-shimei rests a hand upon her head disciple’s shoulder. “We will keep you updated on your brother, Mingyan.” Eagerly nodding in agreement, Shang Qinghua adds “These masters will ensure a messenger reaches you when Liu-shidi is free to visit, shizhi.”
Composure restored, her eyes demurely rest on the stone paths below them as she drops into a drastically more calm bow than before. Thank god! Crisis averted! Liu Mingyan, there is no need for your revenge arc to begin right now. Your beloved brother is no longer mysteriously dead! This buoys his steps as he lights upon his blade and takes to the skies, Qi Qingqi behind him.
Onwards to confront his dramatic long-lost sect siblings, eh? This reluctant sect leader is not sure he’s looking forward to it!