#devoted disciples au

They were scholars in training, trained from the moment they had donned their peak’s colors to analyze the world around them. To see every flawless line in a painting. To find deeper meaning in every poem. To pick out each and every note flowing from a qin. They knew how to look, how to listen, how to see under the surface and find deeper meaning without letting their own preconceived notions distract them from what was truly there.

So it was really no wonder that they of all people were the only ones to realize their Shizun was different.

Oh on the outside he was largely unchanged. Still the same careful mask. Still the flowing robes and perfectly arranged hair. Still the ever present fans hiding all but his too sharp eyes.

But they knew how to look deeper.

They knew how to see.

Their new Shizun was a gentler soul than their old one.

It could be seen in the tightness around his eyes whenever one of them got hurt. It could be seen in fleeting smiles his fan wasn’t fast enough to cover when they did something he found amusing or adorable. It could be seen in the rarely granted head pats and gentle praise when one of them did well. His hands were always kind when they corrected sword forms or placements on the strings of a qin. His voice full of warmth as he lectured in front of their classes. His eyes danced with amusement when he teased them with such fondness that they never felt the sting of his words.

He was nothing like their old Shizun.

(And oh how some of them mourned their old teacher. How they pressed wet faces into pillows late in the night and wept silent tears for the man who still walked among them but was someone else entirely. Others spent those long dark nights battling relief and guilt in equal measures, feeling like they were betraying the man who had brought them in to their new home by being grateful they didn’t have to suffer his harshness any longer.

One boy played in a room of the bamboo house and vowed night after night that this new Shizun would have his loyalty at each and every turn.)

Changed as he was he was still theirs.

They had been there, after all, the day he had thrown himself in front of Luo Binghe and been poisoned with Without A Cure. They had been there when he caught one of the shimei’s crying because she missed her home and hugged her, cooing to her like a father to a beloved daughter. They had been there in a million other times when he had chosen them, so really it was only fair that they chose him in return.

Luo Binghe was glad to do most of the day to day care for their Shizun, cooking his meals and cleaning his home, but the rest of them were far from idle.

They trained harder, raising their cultivation levels at speeds unheard of to be strong enough to protect him. They weaved careful coverups and fed clever explanations to him whenever he seemed confused by something mundane. They returned his affection a hundredfold whenever they could get away with it, clinging to his sleeves and pressing against his sides like eager kittens vying for attention whenever he looked lonely.

They also kept a close eye on anyone who seemed too… interested in their beloved teacher, closing ranks and playing interference whether that person was an older disciple of another peak, a Peak Lord, or even the Sect Leader himself.

Liu Qingge, of course, has never missed a scheduled appointment with his shixiong but he knows every single time Without A Cure flares up because without fail a collection of green children will be on his peak glaring at him like they’re looking for a fight even as they speak with icy politeness “requesting” his presence to tend to their master. He’d be more annoyed about it if he didn’t know that without the brats Shen Qingqiu would never tell anyone he was having an attack which would only make the damage worse. They have a mutual understanding that he will go help their shizun and after when Shen Qingqiu was dozing after the qi transfer Liu Qingge would stomp his way to the training field to beat up train his sect brothers children disciples.

Without fail every time Shen Qingqiu is on the last few days of his medicine Mu Qingfang finds a collection of green clad disciples in his office. All of them with challenge in their eyes and expectation in their smiles. He ain’t sure what caused the change in the Qing Jing Peak disciples that made them so… intent on protecting their master but he certainly isn’t complaining. Getting Shen Qingqiu to submit to a medical exam used to be like pulling teeth but now all it takes are a few teary eyed children with clever fingers tangled in his sleeves for the man to come mostly willingly. Mu Qingfang makes sure to forget some basic healing books where he knows those sharp eyed disciples will see them. After all the more people in the sect that knew how to heal meant he and his own disciples could be spared for more serious cases.

He loved his disciples, he really did, but every day they made him long for a way to communicate with his original world for the sole purpose of apologizing to his mother from each and every transgression he made while growing up. And those of his brothers and sister besides. If they weren’t all so damn cute like little puppies begging for his attention and care he would just spend the next few years in seclusion.

(He wouldn’t. He would miss their bright little smiles and piping voices calling Shizun so sweetly. His peak full of problem children that he loved more than life itself. Quite literally in this case as he could have been years deep into planning how to survive his terrible future and instead passed his days grading poetry and playing original compositions for his little ducklings.)

“A-Li,” he kept his voice steady, firm, even as he refused to open his eyes to look at his disciple. “Tell this master again how the Bai Zhan disciples ended up in the pond.”

To her credit, his disciple didn’t so much as hesitate to answer, even as she spun him a load of bullshit. “Answering Shizun, the Bai Zhan disciples were not paying attention to their surroundings and fell. This disciple was pulling them out when Shizun and Liu-Shishu arrived.”

Another slow breath, trembling at the edges. Shen Qingqiu peaked over the edge of his fan just enough to see A-Li’s scraped and bruising knuckles before he had to slam his eyes closed again.

Do.

Not.

Laugh.

No matter how cute his disciple looked, sweet faced and perfectly respectful at odds with her bleeding hands and the hair pulled free of her braids, he could not laugh. It would be reinforcing bad behavior.

Beside him, Liu Qingge snorted in disbelief, and Shen Qingqiu’s hand darted out to grip his shidi’s arm hard enough that the man had to feel the bite of his nails even though all the ridiculous Xianxia layers and the arm guards.

Not helping Shidi. If Shen Qingqiu couldn’t laugh you can’t either.

“If A-Li is so worried about helping her fellow sect siblings, then surely she would not mind finding them dry robes… and providing this master with a detailed report on how, exactly, one should go about a water rescue. In triplicate, if she would.”

Another risked glance, and the taste of blood in his mouth when he caught the pout on her face and bit his cheek to stifle a laugh. One of his strongest disciples, a respected cultivator in her own right, pouting because Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t allow her to get away with shoving her sect siblings in a koi pond. At least, not with Liu-Shidi present.

Liu-Shidi who had yet to pull his arm from Shen Qingqiu’s grip and was running those Phoenix eyes over his dripping disciples. Assessing the collection of bruises and shame faced expressions and likely weighing if the embarrassment of their impromptu swim was enough punishment for whatever they had done to draw A-Li’s wrath.

(Frankly, Shen Qingqiu dreaded the damage report that Ming Fan would no doubt be bringing him later. A-Li had a good head on her shoulders, and was not one that was quick to temper. The only time Shen Qingqiu had seen her lose composure was when another sect’s disciple had insulted Yingying while they were out on a night hunt and the result had been… catastrophic to say the least.)

“Whatever you did, you deserved what you got,” Liu Qingge announced.

Like Qing Jing in devoted disciples are already entirely feral but if their beloved New Shizun™️ was actually in danger? They would be a force of nature. They are off the peak before any of the actual peak lords know. Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan are catching up to them mid flight (some of them stacked two per sword since they can’t actually fly on their own yet) and having to make the call on if they let them continue on or waste time (attempting to) send them back to Qing Jing. In the end they decide that just taking them along is faster

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