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Since the winter's white coat started to melt, Shen Yuan has been a boundless source of energy that even made the older and seasoned disciples catch their breath just to look out for him. The boy, for all that baby fat and small body he has, possesses an overflowing love for learning. It would have been good if he stayed in one place, but NO, the boy just had to run head-straight to an open-mouthed beast for a much more 'hands-on' experience—the precious son of Qing Jing and Bai Zhan indeed.
For a week now, he had been an occupant at his mother's library—in the scarce beast section specifically—and had chattered his mother and father's ear off talking about a mantis-lynx.
"Did you know, Mama, that a mantis-lynx can blast anything it perceives as a threat with a smash of its tail? Like, like—" Shen Yuan's brow furrowed, looking for the word. He was slumped on his mother's side with the 'All About Beasts 101' book handed by the An Ding Peak Lord on his lap.
Only after Shen Qingqiu had thoroughly scanned and assessed the book as 'unsuspicious material'— he had to make sure Shang Qinghua is not bringing death upon himself—did Shen Qingqiu hand the book to his son. Then, the days after that, Shen Yuan cannot be seen around the mountain without the book in his possession, thus starting his obsession with spiritual beasts.
"A mantis shrimp." Shen Qingqiu replied without looking, his hands and eyes busy scanning the incomprehensibility of his student's essay.
Shen Yuan nodded eagerly as he fiddled with his own robes.
"But with its tail, Mama, not its claws! Ten-meter radius! A body of a lynx, but a tail of a mantis shrimp! How cooooool!"
"Mn. A powerful blast."
"Can we go see it?"
"No going outside until you're ten."
Shen Yuan pouted.
Dang it.
Shen Qingqiu was sat to listen to his son's obsession of the week while he was simultaneously grading papers and correcting Shen Yuan's calligraphy, whereas Liu Qingge just nodded in agreement—even if he couldn't understand how they got into the animal's anatomy and hunting process—as he corrected Shen Yuan's sword stance and footwork.
When he's out of Qing Jing Peak, Shen Qingqiu does not need to wonder which peak he's at. The Peak Lords and their disciples know better than to not inform Shen Qingqiu a minute after Shen Yuan sets foot at their peak, nor the disciples to fall for the little boy's trap of accompanying Shen Yuan outside the mountain, even just at the gates. Which is why there are times that Shen Yuan gets all pouty and puppy-eyed, while disciples all around the boy are either dying of cuteness aggression or dying by the phantom threat of Xiu Ya's blade across their necks if they give in to the little boy's whims. Nevertheless, there's no win for Shen Yuan to go outside the gates. So, he would settle for just diligently doing his lessons with Mama and Baba, or giving lessons to the aforementioned Mama and Baba about his latest spiritual beast obsession.
And when the seasons have turned once again, Cang Qiong Peak welcomed the arrival of spring. And with that, the butterfly of Qing Jing Peak's birthday as well.
Shen Yuan awoke with a spring in his every step, his face aglow with excitement that even the stern lines on Shen Qingqiu’s face seemed to soften as the boy settled on the dining table and ate his longevity noodles that Shen Qingqiu, Liu Qingge, his head disciple Ming Fan, and disciple Ning Yinying had helped prepare.
… fine. Even the little beast Luo Binghe helped as well, only because he knows how to season well! Not because Shen Yuan likes the little beast's dishes, of course (in fact, Shen Yuan does).
"Slow down," Shen Qingqiu reprimanded from Shen Yuan's left. The boy, in his haste, has managed to get a spring onion in his cheek. Shen Qingqiu sighed in exasperation, yet he was already reaching for his handkerchief to wipe the boy's face. "Don't be a brute like your Baba."
A huff was the aforementioned person's reply. "Like I'm not beside him, holding his hand."
Shen Qingqiu shot his husband a glare, surreptitiously trying to wrench his hand free beneath the table. Unfazed, Liu Qingge only tightened his grip, masking a smug smirk as he took a slow, deliberate sip of tea. Nearby, Shen Yuan watched with puckered lips and amused eyes while his mother wiped food from his face. Liu Mingyan, having arrived to present the first gift to her nephew, let out an outward sigh, though she was mentally shouting, "Write that down, write that down!"
"Mama, can I go around the sect? I'll take Gugu with me!"
It's not like Shen Qingqiu could argue with him in his day. Besides, Mingyan is all too eager at the corner to be the tour guide (gift holder) of his nephew. Still, he asks his sister-in-law, "Is that alright to you, Mingyan?"
"Of course, Shixiong."
Shen Qingqiu was well aware of how eager his martial siblings had become in preparation for Shen Yuan's birthday. As a precaution, he tucked two additional qiankun pouches into the boy’s robes. His son was already quite small; by the time he returned later that day, he would be effectively invisible if he ended up buried under all the trinkets the Peak Lords and his own disciples were bound to shower him with.
"Do not allow him near anyone who opens their mouth."
"… Yes, Shixiong."
Liu Qingge crossed his arms beside Shen Qingqiu, both watching as their little butterfly bounded away in the early morning light. Liu Mingyan’s expression remained one of pure bewilderment at Shen Qingqiu’s instruction.
"That is practically everyone, Qingqiu."
"Precisely."
Liu Qingge shook his head, a soft smile gracing his features. He reached out, his hand tucking a few loose strands of hair behind Shen Qingqiu’s ear. Under his touch, those piercing green eyes softened just a fraction as Shen Qingqiu looked his way.
"You know, they won't bite."
Liu Qingge gently ushered him back inside the bamboo house. Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, but he allowed himself to be guided to a seat in his study.
"They suffer from cuteness aggression," he sighed, sounding genuinely weary. "My poor Yuan-er."
Liu Qingge chuckled heartily, his eyes crinkling into crescents.
Shen Qingqiu allowed himself to drink in the sight for a moment before reaching for his ink set and brush. He would give his gift to his boy later; for now, a poem would be a nice start.
It was almost sunset when Shen Yuan returned with Mingyan. And as expected, Shen Yuan's hands are full of trinkets and treats he refused to put in the pouch. Not only that, few disciples were also pulled along. But seeing their Shizun's pristine green robes and piercing glare from a distance, they have slowly inched away.
Nonetheless, Shen Yuan presented his treasure of the day.
Shen Qingqiu watched Shen Yuan unwrap all the gifts the peak lords and martial siblings gave him for his birthday. There is always pure wonder and joy in every unwrapped gift. There are plenty of books about beasts and botany, a practice sword, a new set of high-quality robes, protection talismans, etc.
But Shen Yuan is still waiting for his gift from Mama, which, apparently from his opinion, is pretty late. As the sun dipped from the horizon and he tires himself out from testing his gifts, so does his pout. Shen Qingqiu noticed this, of course, so he approached his pouty birthday boy. At once, when Shen Qingqiu seized Shen Yuan in his arms, a bracer immediately wrapped around Shen Yuan's.
Shen Yuan stared at it, dumbfounded. Is this Mama's gift? It doesn't look... like Mama's taste. Also, it is waaaay too big for his noodle arm. When Shen Yuan meets him with a furrowed brow and questioning look, saying 'really?', Shen Qingqiu sighed.
Shen Qingqiu allowed little of his spiritual energy to trickle on the bracer. What once looked like an ordinary leather armguard seemed to pulse in a faint green light, tightened and fitted snugly around Shen Yuan's arm. Shen Yuan's eyes widen. The little boy's excitement is evident in his widened eyes and the way he starts to jump on the balls of his feet.
"This bracer is tailored according to the beast you spoke of more than three weeks ago." Shen Qingqiu spoke indifferently, but he was leveling Shen Yuan with a look.
Shen Yuan gasped. He realized, as he recalled the event, that Mama listened. "The Mantis Tailed Hydro Lynx?!"
Shen Qingqiu hummed. "It could blast your opponents off to ten meters if it detects sudden fluctuations in your spiritual energy. Hence, the need to be always careful and have better control of your qi."
"Wooooah!"
The boy is now marveling at the inconspicuous bracer, his mind drifting halfway to listening once he heard it is able to do a surprise blast around him, ten meters away! And if his Mama really followed the high-grade Mantis Tailed Hydro Lynx, then hypothetically, could the bracer also help him fit into spaces the size of his head? That's how cats do it, right? But the bracer is not supposed to be on his head?
"Shen Yuan,"
Shen Qingqiu's voice is not soft. No, it rarely was. But this time, as Shen Qingqiu watched another year get added to his boy's life, and no sooner than later, Shen Yuan found that there is more to life than being contained in this house, in this peak, in this mountain... he would lead a life of his own.
Every day, you're changing, sometimes I wish it wasn't true
Shen Qingqiu is not soft; this cruel world would not be kind for a man whose hands are stained with dirt and blood and vengeance and cruelty.
"Mama?"
Yes... Shen Qingqiu could make an exception.
"Shen Yuan is not listening."
"Shen Yuan is listening!"
The boy bounded to his mother in excitement. Big green eyes looked into deep emeralds like he had hung the sun.
Shen Qingqiu tucked a few strands of hair behind Shen Yuan's ear. "Do not be careless. Once you defended yourself with your arm guard, it would activate a defensive circle around you and create an entire dead zone outside that circle. Whether they be your ally or foe, the blast would be enough to send them flying and give you enough time to flee. This is your last resort, Shen Yuan, and also your first line of defense."
Shen Qingqiu knows his boy. Much like a certain brute, he would dive head straight to trouble even if it meant it would be dangerous. But also just like Shen Qingqiu, as long as it gets the job efficiently done and would produce a report worth the headache and innards, then it is done and done.
The least Shen Qingqiu could do is make sure that his boy would come out unscathed, or worse, sporting only a non-critical injury.
In this unfair world, Shen Qingqiu knew he could not always be there for Shen Yuan. To believe otherwise was merely wishful thinking—a far-fetched dream. Nothing lasts forever, but he could create something that would remain with his son in his stead.
"Do you understand, butterfly?"
Shen Yuan launched himself at Shen Qingqiu, his small frame collided with a force unlike his size. He grinned widely and tucked his face into the crook of Shen Qingqiu 's neck.
"This is the bestest gift of all gifts, Mama!"
Yes.
"Good." Shen Qingqiu sighed—relieved despite knowing Shen Yuan would do the thing he warned not to do once he gets better and has more freedom to do whatever he wanted—and kissed the crown of Shen Yuan's head. "Now off to bed."
The bracer is just a one-time gift. But Shen Qingqiu's heart? The cold, the ruthless, the unforgiving heart of Shen Qingqiu?
"Noooo!"
Shen Qingqiu allowed himself to smile softly, gathering the whining birthday boy safely in his arms and bypassing Liu Qingge, who had that ugly smitten look on his face.
Hearts are made for giving, I've given mine to you.