#suqing

My second team but it consists of the 4 star Xianzhou Luofu characters.

Young Madam Jin looks out of place in the dungeons in her soft pinks and golds — so much so, that Wen Qing rises from her pallet, curious about the change to the routine. She'd only seen Qin Su once or twice before the war, but information filters down even to this forsaken place.

Qin Su holds her finger to her mouth, then draws a ring of keys from within her sleeve and unlocks Wen Qing's cell. "Come with me," she whispers when Wen Qing approaches.

"The deal was my life and my brother's for my people. Since I'm not dead—"

[Ao3 Link.]

A Wen saves her.

Qin Su does not understand. Laoling Qin is a subsidiary of Lanling Jin, her father a long friend of Jin Guangshan, and she is the enemy of the Wens.

A Wen saves her.

Qin Su is not a cultivator - has never been, and she is both relieved and regrets it deeply during this time of the war. It means when Laoling Qin is evacuated, she is sent to Koi Tower to hide with two companions - a blessing. It means that when her two companions are killed on the way there, all she can do is run - a curse.

Her breath comes in short spurts, hands holding up her robes as she runs faster than she ever has in her life. She had seen Qin Feiye fall, Qin Anying barely holding off the others as Qin Su had run, as they ordered her too, and left them to their deaths.

There are tears streaming down her face when someone grabs her.

It’s a harsh grip on her arm and she almost cries out before someone slaps a hand over her mouth and yanks her into a building.

A Wen.

It’s a Wen, a beautiful woman who holds her close, mouth covered and Qin Su can barely breathe, she’s dead she’s dead she’s dead-

“Ssh,” says another voice, and there’s another Wen. A taller one, a man with gentle eyes, hands lifted without weapons in them. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”

She... lets herself relax, because what else can she do? She’s either dead here or she’s dead with the others, and the woman takes a hand off of Qin Su’s mouth. “Stay quiet,” she says sharply. “Follow me.”

The Wen woman strides deeper into the building - well-used... is this theirs? - and Qin Su follows. “What... are you saving me?” she asks, nervous and concerned and so out of her depth it’s like drowning. “I thought... aren’t you trying to destroy us?”

She stops, abruptly, and narrows her eyes at Qin Su. “Not everyone agrees with Wen Ruohan,” she says, and she looks over her shoulder at the man, who hovers by the door, pulling a bow off his back. He nods. “Follow me,” she says again, maybe just a little softer.

“Sorry,” Qin Su says. “I didn’t mean... thank you, very much.” She bows, and the woman’s gaze isn’t harsh but... unreadable. Qin Su does not know what emotions lay upon her face.

“You’re not saved yet,” says the woman, and she turns to keep walking. She is her enemy, ostensibly, and yet...

Qin Su has never asked xiǎo-Qing about her past. When Jin Guangyao brought her to be Qin Su's handmaiden, all he'd said was that she was another survivor of the war, someone whose life he'd saved. "You two have that in common," he'd teased gently, kissing Qin Su's temple. It is the only affectionate touch he gives her anymore; he is scrupulously polite and kind, always, but gone is the passion he'd shown when they were first courting, when she'd risked her reputation on his love and been rewarded in one fell swoop—marriage and a child, both.

Xiǎo-Qing is reticent, sometimes brusque, but always unfailingly kind. When A-Song is fussy and Qin Su is at her wits' end, xiǎo-Qing takes her hair down and massages her scalp with sure fingers. She's not a cultivator, but she must have some medical training, because she finds Qin Su's acupoints unerringly, digs into the correct ones to ease Qin Su's headaches. Sometimes the release of tension makes Qin Su cry; xiǎo-Qing never judges her for that.

Perhaps it's that kindness, that lack of judgment; perhaps it's Qin Su's own loneliness, in this great golden tower where no one seems to be honest unless there's gain in it. When xiǎo-Qing finishes combing her hair and moves to step away, Qin Su catches her hand and presses a kiss to the fingers still loosely wrapped around the comb. Xiǎo-Qing stiffens, then relaxes, the shift so swift Qin Su nearly misses it.

"Please," she murmurs, meeting xiǎo-Qing's eyes in the mirror. Xiǎo-Qing's face is impassive for a long moment, but then there's a softening around the eyes. She pulls her hand away from Qin Su's to set the comb down, and then kneels beside her, cups her face in a cool, steady hand, and kisses her mouth. Qin Su sighs into the kiss, relaxing for what feels like the first time in weeks. She winds her arms around xiǎo-Qing's neck and lets her worries fall away.