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Shen Qingqiu always thought he was a broken omega, shame filling him up at the state of his own nest, making him hide his second gender without hesitation.
A nest, as everyone knew, was a representation of the omega making it. Their strength, their spirit and their own soul. But the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s nest was more than a disaster. It couldn’t even be called a nest, it wasn’t even big enough to fit a grown adult, which Shen Qingqiu was, it was as he was still a kid inside. It wasn’t comfortable either, there was only pieces of fabric from his ruined robes and two small pillows in poor condition from the Red Warm Pavilion. Lying in it always gave the omega some back ache, sleeping on the floor was practically the same.
It was essential for the Peak Lord to hide his nature, this broken side of him and more importantly the very evidence of his own weaknesses.
But the omega was lying in a big and comfortable nest at this moment, in the verge of sleep as his jiejie was humming while massaging his scalp. He was purring lightly, a little smile on his face, thing that he only indulged while in this bubble of pure bliss.
“I swear if he doesn’t show up in the next shichen I’m leaving!” Qi Qingqi fused from the twelfth time as they were all waiting for the Qing Jing Peak Lord.
“He must be busy shimei, let’s wait a bit more.” The Sect Leader could only try to calm his martial siblings with a smile that didn’t reach his ears and a growing worry on his face.
“I’m going to drag him here whether he like it or not.” The Bai Zhan Peak Lord got up and walked to the door with big steps, leaving too fast for anyone to stop him.
“Shidi!” The Sect Leader sighted, as he couldn’t defend his brother once again.
As the Bai Zhan Peak Lord stormed on the Qing Jing Peak, the disciples started running away from him as they knew that his presence always led to violence. He arrived at the bamboo house and destroyed the door, entering and searching without any concern for the mess he was doing.
“Shen Qingqiu!” The War God barged from room to room until there was only one left, the bedroom. Of course, he didn’t care and opened it with no thoughts, what had a mere beta to hide anyway?
The thing is, the owner’s bedroom wasn’t there either. Liu Qingge scanned the room and checked behind the privacy screen, as he turned to leave to search somewhere else, his eyes stopped at a pill of worn-out clothes on the floor, right between the bed and the wall.
Normally he would have leave it alone, even if it’s unusual for Shen Qingqiu to be this messy, but he had this strange feeling that something was wrong, and his guts were never wrong so he approached.
The closer he was, the more he could scent pheromones, omega’s ones at that. Dread filled him as he realized what is was, an omega’s nest. His eyes opened so wide his vision blurred for a second, the state of the omega had to be so terrible, he didn’t even know if he was still alive at this point! How did the scum go as far as this without any of them noticing?! He would pay. He had to find the omega too and fast. The Bai Zhan Peak Lord rushed out of the house and sped up to the Red Warm Pavilion, it was his last option.
“Shen Qingqiu! Where are you, you bastard!”
“Immortal Master! You can’t go there!”
Liu Qingge had never been so mad in his entire life, even his face was twisted by his emotions. He felt guilty for not noticing what his martial brother was doing behind their back but also so terribly angry. How could someone break an omega this badly.
“What is going on?” The Qing Jing Peak Lord emerged from a private room, only accessible for the omega workers, followed by the omega that was still with him. His eyes were a bit red from just waking up, his hair loose and only in his inner robes.
“You scum.”
The Peak Lords made eye-contacts, staring at each other, one with anger and the other with confusion and a bit of annoyance. The War God grabbed the other’s arm and started heading to the stairs leading to the exit.
“Hey! Let me go!”
“Shut up. You will pay for what you did.”
“What are you talking about!”
The Qing Jing Peak Lord couldn’t even hear the answer as he was launched in the stairs, shocked as he fell, the image of the stairs before him as if time had stopped. He tumbled down the stairs so hard that the whole hall heard and looked at Shen Qingqiu who was on the ground, lying on his front.
“A-jiu!” The Brothel Madam was about to go down the stairs to help the Peak Lord when the other one stopped her to go down himself.
“Who do you think you are, you brute!” All politeness were thrown to the window as the Madam screamed at the cultivator, red with anger. This stupid alpha barged in her own establishment to throw her omega brother in the stairs!
“Don’t intervene.” The alpha bended down to grab the man’s hair who was struggling to get up and pulled before starting to walk to the door. The poor Peak Lord got up and almost fell again, his legs failing him at each step as tears threatened to fall, making him whimper. Everyone heard the distressed sound coming from the man, but not Liu Qingge who was too far in his anger, only thinking about this miserable omega, victim of his own martial brother.
Shen Qingqiu’s body ached as he was brutally manhandled, he felt like Xiao-jiu again, visions of his past and of the present merging together making it difficult to know what was going on. The hand in his hair was pulling harder and harder, his legs were trembling so much he didn’t know how he could still stand. His breathing was raged, trying to calm himself. He wanted to fight back, to scream against the alpha but his inner omega, the little slave in the back of his own being could only see his old master, fear preventing him to act.
.
“Zhangmen-shixiong I swear if you let it slide again- “
The door of the meeting room opened in a bang, a body flying to the floor, behind a bunch of seated Peak Lords.
“What?!” The An Ding Peak Lord squirted, the body being close to him.
As everyone got up to see who was on the floor, Liu Qingge entered, his face contortioned. “Zhangmen-shixiong. He has gone way too far now.”
Yue Qingyuan processed the words as he came to realize that the immobile man trembling on the floor was his martial brother, his Xiao-jiu.
“I found the worst nest I saw in my entire life in his house! I don’t know who the poor omega is, but it’s gone to far! If you don’t punish him, I will.”
Other Peak Lords were shocked to see their martial brother’s so low, their face changing to disgust and surprise as they understood what the War God said. The only one who had a different emotion showing was the Sect Leader, even though his eyes only showed heartbreaks at first, his smile was nowhere to be seen when anger, so much anger replaced it. His Qi and pheromones going out of control as he approached the Qing Jing Peak Lord. But as everyone thought he was finally going to get yelled at, he was only helped on his feet as he was trembling and clutching to the angry alpha who was holding him straight.
Everyone could see the face of Shen Qingqiu, his tears were flowing on his wet cheeks, blood on his chin from his fall in the stairs and eyes dilated and hazy, completely scared.
“Qingge.” The Sect Leader glared at the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, the smile still nowhere to be seen, the courtesy between martial siblings forgotten in all this anger that threatened to eat the whole room.
“Shixiong, don’t tell me you are going to defend him again! The nest was only a pile of wretched clothes! I’m not even sure if the omega is even still alive!”
Shen Qingqiu shuddered when the Sect Leader tightened his hold on his waist, clutching his brother’s robes, trying to hide from the alpha who dragged him here. He couldn’t trust his own eyes and ears anymore, Qiu Jianluo was dead but still before him when he opened his eyes, the only think that je knew was real was the scent of his Qi-ge, so he clutched to the source of it, he didn’t want to let it go, he couldn’t.
“H-How dare you think that Xiao-Jiu could do this!”
“Shixio- “
“HOW DARE YOU!” Everyone gasped, the Sect Leader had never been seen angry before, not even a bit. “He’s your martial brother! Why can’t you believe in him even a little!”
All the Peak Lords lowered their head as the Leader of their pack was screaming at them. It never happened and so nobody knew how they were supposed to react.
A whimper came from their martial brother, still trembling, eyes closed. “It’s ok Xiao-jiu I’m here.” He smiled at the man he was holding even though he knew nobody could see it but the rest of his pack. “I’m sure Liu-shidi didn’t mean to hurt his pack’s omega.”
Their roles switched as the panic overtook all the ignorant Peak Lords. Nobody knew what Shen Qingqiu’s second gender was, the only ones were the Peak Lords of the Ming generation and Yue Qingyuan. Not even Mu Qingfang knew.
They were surprised of this revelation, but they were way more scared of what it meaned. The nest was their shixiong’s. He was the broken omega, and Liu Qingge could only be overwhelmed by guilt for what he did to his martial brother. He fell on his knees, head on the floor and could only repeat “I’m sorry!”
The omega had his eyes still closed and couldn’t register who was talking, as for the Sect Leader, he only looked at him from above before carrying his brother in bridal carry, still letting him clutch his robes.
“Mu-Shidi, with me.” The alpha left the room, followed by a running Qian Cao Peak Lord waking from his troubled mind.
As they arrived, the healer leaded them to the omega’s quarter, surprising some omega patients. He opened a wide room, empty for years now as it was the room for omega Peak Lords, so it hadn’t been used since the Ming generation. There was a big bed in a corner, a desk and two wardrobes full of robes and sheets.
“You can lay him there.” The healer pointed the bed and left the room to get some calming tea.
The Sect Leader approached the bed and seated with his brother on his thighs. “Xiao-jiu? Are you alright?” The omega trembled even more as his slave name echoed in his mind. He could sense less scents and couldn’t hear the mean alpha’s voice anymore. As he was laid on a comfortable bed, he curled up on himself.
“Shixiong, I have tea for you.” He could sense a cold hand on his forehead and opened his eyes to see his shidi from the Qian Cao Peak. When did he get there? Everything was blurry, his inner omega still panicked and trying to get control to hide.
“…shidi...” He could only mutter a word; he was fighting himself while exhaustion was making itself known.
“Yes, shixiong it’s me. Let me help you.” The healer grabbed his chin and levelled his head, making him drink tea, bitter tea, there was surely some medicine in it.
“You should rest shixiong. You can call me anytime.” As Mu Qingfang left the room, the omega covered himself with the blanket and slept in peace, in the dark and silence.
The next time Shen Qingqiu opened his eyes, it was already the next day, the sun being high in the sky. He would have slept even more if not for the not so discreet whispers behind his door. He felt a lot better, his instincts having subdued with a good night sleep, but he knew that outside this room was an assured headache.
“Just let me see him once!”
The Qing Jing Peak Lord groaned, maybe he could just tell them to shut up and that was it. So he got up and opened the door harshly, surprising all the Peak Lords behind it. “Shut up.” And he closed the door back, returning to his bed, but apparently the others had another plan as they barged in the room right after him. “What.”
“Shixiong wait!” Liu Qingge entered and immediately fell on his knees, as he bowed as close to the floor as he could.
“What are you doing you idiot!” Shen Qingqiu wasn’t panicking, no, of course not but why would the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, a noble alpha and an accomplished cultivator bow to him! He didn’t like him, but he wasn’t worth whatever he was doing!
“I’m sorry for everything shixiong.”
“Why are you bowing for mere apologizes! Get up this instant!”
The alpha obeyed, staring in the omega’s eyes with determination. “I was wrong and assumed terrible thing about you and hurt you because of it and for that I apologize.”
“Well now that you are aware of your idiocy, you can leave.” He wanted to be alone in the first place, he only opened the door to stop their chatting.
“I will repay you for everything.”
“Yes, yes, sure now shoo.”
“Shidi! Are you alright?” Now it was the Sect Leader’s turn to enter, followed by all the other Peak Lords. Oh god why did he opened this door.
“Why are all of you here, I’m not dying! You are Peak Lords for God’s sake! Do you have so much free time for slacking?!”
“Shixiong…” Mu Qingfang sighted just like a lot of others, they were worried for their martial brother but it put a smile on some of them as they could confirm that he was healthy and returned to normal.
“So?” The Qing Jing Peak Lord crossed his arms on his chest and glared at them. He was still in inner robes, barefoot and wrinkled hair, but he still had his elegance and coldness befitting their unfamous martial brother.
“We came to check on you.”
“And give you gifts!”
The omega opened his eyes wider; they were acting differently, and he didn’t know if it was because of his second gender or if they tried to use his weaknesses.
“We thought you could try and make a nest there.” The healer came forward. “I think it would be a good exercise for you.” The beta smiled, approaching with a pill of blankets, sheets and of his own robes from Qing Jing.
“We all brought materials for a nest!” The An Ding Peak Lord emerged from behind his martial siblings with a pills of robes from all Peak Lords and comfortable pillows, probably bought today.
He looked at his martial siblings. It was the first time all of them looked at him and not at the scum they called their martial brother, they were really looking at him without any disgust. He was hesitating and some of them noticed that he was uncomfortable even behind his aloof expression.
“Don’t force yourself shixiong.” Qi Qingqi was staring at him, neutral but not cold either.
He looked at the materials once more, he never used those and didn’t know how to make a nest with it.
“We can help you if you want.” Wei Qingwei immediately slapped the back of the War God’s head. “You can’t ask this to an omega! If they don’t invite you, you shut up.”
“I was only asking!” Liu Qingge was about to turn and start a fight when the omega took the materials from the healer. “I won’t say no to a bit of help.”
All Peak Lords smiled or expressed their joy as they all started to place all the materials on the floor.
“This should be appropriate for the base.” The Qing Jing Peak Lord pointed at some big blankets that Qi Qingqi had put in the corner. They worked all together, the omega being the leader, and created a big nest that took all the place on the floor of this not-empty-anymore room.
As everyone was adding their own touch, mostly their own robes, Shen Qingqiu paused to look at the result. He was sitting in the middle of it, and he couldn’t feel the hard floor beneath him, it was comfortable, big, good looking and it even smell good! It was as if he wasn’t broken inside anymore, with everyone adding a bit of their own being, he was healing, and so some tears started to fall.
“Why are you crying?” Liu Qingge approached discreetly from behind him, surprising him. “I’m not crying you brute!” The War God could only submit as he was beaten by the Qing Jing Peak Lord. But he was saved by Shang Qinghua who had the misfortune to move a pillow a bit too far to the left, and even with tears troubling his vision, the omega noticed, launching himself on him.
“What are you doing idiot!” The beta got scared and moved back, pushing Qi Qingqi who fell on Wei Qingwei. The fairy of the sect took the closest pillow and threw it to the responsible of her fall but missed, hitting the War God in the head. She paused before laughing a bit too loudly for everyone’s taste.
Liu Qingge grabbed the same pillow and threw it back, but he missed as the Xian Shu Peak Lord dodged, hitting another Peak Lord. Things escalated and before they knew it, they all had started a pillow fight. It was like they were all children again. It’s in the middle of the chaos that Shen Qingqiu started to smile for everyone’s delight.
As everyone started to get exhausted, they all laid back together in the nest. They could all fit, like it was made just for them, technically it was, and they slept here until the next day, together like a big family. Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t need to sleep on the floor anymore, it was his nest now, their nest. Xiao-jiu couldn’t be happier.