#cmsj

At first, his shixiong (technically his shizun, but Cheong Myeong preferred calling him shixiong) named him the Head Disciple as a joke. He had been comparing the other disciples against this toddler who seemed to be training better than them, saying how he should put Cheong Myeong in charge of them if they weren't going to put in enough effort to overtake a literal baby. But then Cheong Myeong continued his meteoric rise in skills, and no other official Head Disciple got named and, well. The role stuck.

Cheong Myeong ended up being the absolute youngest Head Disciple ever named and, although some of the HD's who got named later were younger than him, he had by far the longest experience in the role. Not that he enjoyed that job; Most of the Peak Lord meetings he spent sleeping on his shixiong's lap. It's not like Ku Xing was very important for the daily running of the sect, after all.

That is a very vivid image I have: tiny little Cheong Myeong dozing off while Qing Wanmin's carding through his hair 🥺 Also please consider the visual absurdity of the ascetic peak being the only one that had a padded bench instead of a chair at the meeting hall xD

CM's life would be generally good, but rather boring. He'd be drifting through life, always on another level than all his fellow disciples and, as such, always more or less ostracized. The fact that he used drinking alcohol and eating meat and sweets as entertainment did not particularly endear him to the rest of the ascetics, either xD

And then Shen Jiu crashed into Cang Qiong like a comet, rocking up the entire sect because what do you mean this teenager speedran the whole process so fast, he became HD at only the half a year mark?

So Cheong Myeong went to check it out. Shen Jiu regarded him with suspicion - he's already had other head disciples come to "check him out" and most (mainly Qi Qingqi and Liu Qingge) did not get a good impression of him - but Cheong Myeong remained unphased. Perhaps he should visit his fellow HDs some more, if someone like Shen Jiu - vitrolic but clearly harmless until provoked - made their tongues wag so much...

Shen Jiu wasn't yet fully familiarized with the rest of the sect outside of Qing Jing peak. All he knew about Ku Xing was that they called themselves Mount Hua and, as per his shizun's words, thought themselves almost a whole another sect! Well... Even more than the other Peaks did. Shizun ranted about it a lot.

So when Cheong Myeong came to bother him, Shen Jiu used what little he knew as amunition to drive him away. Surely this short disciple would grow tired of hearing the parroted words about the need for unity and how "Cang Qiong rises and falls together", leaving Shen Jiu in peace?

"Ironic for you of all people to say that," Cheong Myeong said instead, his eyes sparkling as he bounced back on his heels. "Y'know, considering that half of the head disciples would rather chew off their own hand than stand by you."

Shen Jiu's back straightened. It's not like he didn't know that already, but hearing it being said so plainly was a different thing entirely. And yet- Cheong Myeong didn't seem to share the dislike he mentioned. He kept bothering Shen Jiu at every opportunity, going as far as sitting next to him during some meetings (when he didn't feel sleepy, at least) to the bafflement of everyone around them, Shen Jiu included.

And when Liu Qingge tried to "spar" with Shen Jiu, Cheong Myeong intercepted him with a foot to the blade, summarily beating him up without even uncrossing his arms.

"Just because you're only good at beating up your opponents doesn't mean you're the best at it," I imagine Cheong Myeong saying, because I do so adore him being scathing and LQG is such a convenient target. "You barely come up to Yue-shixiong's knees. You can't even nip at my heels. You're the third best amongst the head disciples at most, so maybe you should work on that, instead of bullying people you already know you can beat?"

Of course, Shen Jiu did not take kindly to that, mad that Cheong Myeong wouldn't let him fight his own battles, but any complaints slid off CM's back like water off a duck. "Didn't you say Cang Qiong should rise and fall together? I'm just doing what you told me to :3" he'd say, and Shen Jiu would walk away in a huff.

(Yue Qingyuan watched from a distance, wishing he could do the same for Shen Jiu. But he couldn't, could he? Not when he had failed so badly.)

A well-known fact about Cheong Myeong: he consumed egregious amounts of alcohol every day. It put a large dent both in Ku Xing's budget (not like they were using much of it for general upkeep) and the stock of any shops in the town down the mountain, as well as got Cheong Myeong banned from Zui Xian for his constant "borrowing" of their wares. Normally, that wouldn't have stopped Cheong Myeong, but Zui Xian disciples were offered rewards whenever succesfully repelling his attempts at stealing booze. The high motivation worked wonders.

As inconvenient as it was for CM, it came in handy for SJ; Zui Xian wasn't secured against him. Obtaining alcohol wasn't difficult at all, and it served as a good bribe when he decided to trade with CM for information.

Because YQY refused to explain himself, no matter how SJ asked. But! CM had been the head disciple for nearly two decades, and had already shown that he knew a lot more than people would expect from his behaviour; if there's anyone who knows why YQY didn't come back, it would be him.

Shen Jiu trades a couple of bottles for a summary of YQY's life at Cang Qiong, and learns about the months of him being locked up in Ling Xi caves. About him leaving somewhere - sometime after Shen Jiu would have already travelled with Wu Yanzi - coming back with soot on his robes and lifeless gaze. Knowing that, Shen Jiu went back to YQY, this time to scold him for clearly not understanding what SJ was even mad about.

(CM went to spectate. What? Life was pretty boring.)

Things get a little better after that. SJ stands on firmer ground with the knowledge that Qi-ge had not abandoned him, and Cheong Myeong's presence (alongside the implicit threat of ass-kicking he exuded) served to make people see him in a better light.

There would be more development of their relationship over the next few years, small things and big thing (all something I've not thought about too much just yet) but it would all culminate shortly after the war against Tianlang Jun. YQY and CM were both sent onto the frontlines, helping to defeat him with as little casualties as possible. But still, their shizuns had to rush the ascension following that fight.

Faced with the idea of Qing Wanmin's imminent departure, Cheong Myeong realized that this was the last chance he had for marrying with his shixiong - his father figure - still present. Except that Shen Jiu hadn't yet grown comfortable with that idea. So, instead, they came to a compromise: in the middle of the night, each of CMSJ dragged their respective authority figure to a hastily red-decorated room and performed the tea ceremony, alongside a single bow. That way, they weren't fiances (Shen Jiu had a visceral reaction whenever hearing that word applied to himself) and they weren't married, but Qing Wanmin would still be a part of the ceremony, no matter when it finished.

(And it would become the longest wedding ceremony ever, spanning nearly two decades and culminating in a spontaneous final bow followed by wine drinking from the bottle Cheong Myeong always had at hand, prompted by someone being unusually insistent about a marriage alliance or something)

The Qing generation ascends as Peak Lords. It doesn't change much at all. (Cheong Myeong is now technically Qing Qingming, because his shixiong [and I] have not been very creative, though everyone still calls him CM)

Some months later, Shen Jiu is on a mission near the border of Huan Hua teritory when he stumbles upon a snake protecting a baby.

(He can feel the demonic energy wafting from the creature. It's clearly weakened though, and it appears to have no intention of attacking Shen Jiu unless forced. It reminds him of himself, back when he had first joined Cang Qiong. So- he slowly kneels down, speaking gently as he explains that he can help, counting on the beast's understanding as he reaches towards it and passes in the demonic qi that's been laing dormant in his body. who knew his stint as Wu Yanzi's disciple would come in handy like this?)

The extra energy allows the snake to take on a humanoid form, skittish as he explains that he lost his uncle, and his uncle's wife died recently, leaving him alone with the newborn cousin. It was a lucky thing that Shen Jiu found him; The baby would've starved soon.

Shen Jiu brings them both back, taking a detour by the Warm Red Pavilion in order to feed the baby. It's lucky that one of his jiejies has had a baby recently, able to wetnurse. Then, he considers his options. It's not really a done thing to bring such young children as disciples. Vast majority only enter at 10 years or older; The only person Shen Jiu knows who entered sooner... An idea started percolating in his brain. His hallmasters did keep pestering him to pick a Head Disciple already, despite being new to his Peak Lordship...

(The next PLs meeting was the very next day, a rather fortunate timing. Shen Jiu swept into the room with an air of smugness, gesturing at the teenage-looking boy behind him.

"I present you: my new Head Disciple."

"Shen-shixiong, why does your Head Disciple have a baby?"

"Hm? No, my Head Disciple has an attendant. He is a baby.")

In honour of YQY winning the mpreg polls, I was toying with the idea of SJ wanting to bring his jiejie up on the peak in order to serve as Binghe's wet nurse, to some vocal protests from QQQ and LQG. YQY tries to play the peacekeeper -- "Well, the baby has to eat something. Or is Zhangmen-shixiong going to feed it himself?" -- leading to eating some flower and ending up with milk-filled breasts, perfect for little Binghe to drink from. Can you imagine the level of mortification teenage Binghe would feel at being told the sect leader nursed him as a baby? Hilarious xD

Whether YQY ends up with milk-bearing honkers or not, SJ will certainly stuff the baby in his arms whenever Binghe got too fussy. Afterall, Qi-ge had always been good with the youngest in the slave cohort, so why shouldn't SJ use it to his advantage? Please imagine Yue Qingyuan conducting a Peak Lord meeting with a teeny tiny baby sleeping peacefully in his arms xD

(The first time Zhuzhi lang saw YQY - the first time Shen Jiu had him hand the baby over - he had a minor heart attack. This was the man who defeated his uncle!! Would he hurt Binghe too?? The worry never lessened, but eventually it became only a buzz in the back of his head the more he watched YQY be nothing but gentle to Binghe)

Zhuzhi is named the interim Head Disciple while the little Binghe grows up. Shen Jiu finds himself far more comfortable in Zhuzhi's company than most other people, despite him being a demon. He dotes on him almost like Qing Wanmin doted on Cheong Myeong, letting him sleep in the sideroom, doing his hair in the morning and generally spoiling the baffled snake. I just think the two of them would be very neat as a shizun & head disciple duo

(Usually, Zhuzhi can be found right by Shen Jiu's shoulder. Once, during an Immortal Alliance Conference, he was late after doing some PL-sanctioned spying, in his snake form, and rushed out of the bushes at the last second. People from outside the sect gaped, expecting SJ to tear him a new one. But SJ merely pulled a stray leaf out of Zhuzhi's hair and continued what he's been doing without a single scolding)

As Binghe grows, his attachement issues become more and more obvious. Shen Jiu is not about to let him develop those to the level he suffered in canon; He yeeted Binghe to the ascetic peak the moment he figured out what was going on. What better way to combat unhealthy attachement than to make a toddler lose his home and put him somewhere where letting go of earthly attachements is the primary filosophy?

(do not take Shen Jiu's advice on the topic; there's a reason why he's not writing parenting books)

it turns out well for Binghe, at least.

("How is the little beast doing?"

"He started a foodstuff black market."

"...he what?"

"Y'know, everyone on Ku Xing eats grass or practices inedia. But they figured out that Binghe can cook, and that he can cook amazingly well, so now they trade him for a chance to taste his meals. He's grown very rich for an ascetic 10yo.")