[Scum Villain Fanfic] The Writing Adventures Of Liu Su Mian Hua

#7 : Moving on

A day after returning to Xian Shu Peak, Qi Qingqi asked Mingyan to pack one thousand spirit stones for transport. "One- one thousand spirit stones?" Mingyan was surprised. "Yes." Qingqi sighed. "It is payment for a bet I lost during the Immortal Alliance Conference." "And whose name should be written as the recipient?" Mingyan asked. Qingqi's face became melancholic as she replied, "Luo Binghe. The spirit stones are to be sent to Qing Jing Peak."

The demise of Luo Binghe severely affected the atmosphere on Xian Shu Peak. All the girls who would fangirl about him huddled in a corner to share the burden of each other's sorrows. Chuntao was unconsolable. "Shijie! Binghe will never visit Xian Shu Peak again!" she said between bouts of crying. "How could this happen to him? Why did he have to die? God could have taken me-" Xiuying immediately covered her mouth. "Don't say things like that! Binghe wouldn't have liked to see you care so little about your life." Chuntao continued to sob for a long time. Even the others who couldn't cry anymore tried to console her, but nothing could stop her tears. "Qiaohui, only you can handle this." Xuiying said in defeat. "She always listens to you; she likes your way of doing things. Only you can calm her down."

Qiaohui sighed and turned to the still teary-eyed Chuntao. She had been avoiding talking to Chuntao on purpose: she felt she would end up saying something inappropriate if she meddled with this situation. But since she was asked to help as the last resort, she had no choice. She sat beside her. "Chuntao, I know you feel miserable right now." she placed a hand on her shoulder. "It feels like something is stabbing your chest. You feel like something precious has been snatched away from you, you feel wronged, you feel like this shouldn't have happened. But Luo Binghe is in a better place now." "Are you sure?" Chuntao asked and Qiaohui nodded affirmatively. "He was a nice person..." she sighed. "He was not like the other disciples who visited Xian Shu Peak only to sneak around. He treated everyone with respect, he helped those in need, no wonder everyone grew so fond of him." She turned to look at Chuntao. "I know you liked him a lot, but if you like something, you must also be willing to let go of it." Chuntao had calmed down by this time. "Sometimes things don't go the way we expect them to." she continued. "If we can do something about it then we should give it a try. But if the event is beyond our control, it is better to accept what has happened." she sighed. "Cry if you feel like it. I won't stop you. But at some point, you will have to make peace with what has happened." "Shijie, if I ask you to draw something, will you do it for me?" Chuntao asked in a small voice. "Of course!" Qiaohui replied. "Will you draw a picture of Binghe for me?" Chuntao asked.  Qiaohui blinked away the tears pricking her own eyes. "Why not?" I will do whatever you say." she smiled.

About half a month later, Qi Qingqi organised a get-together to celebrate Mingyan's achievement at the Immortal Alliance Conference - she had placed third on the Gold List ranking board. All the disciples of Xian Shu Peak were to be present and Sect Master Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge were also invited. "Shizun apologizes for delaying this celebration, Mingyan." Qingqi said. "It is not fair to you if we ignore your efforts and achievements and continue to be sad." "Shizun does not need to apologize to this disciple." Mingyan bowed before her. "We have lost martial brothers and sisters at the Conference and we must pay them final respects. We still have many injured patients to care for. This disciple understands. This disciple is glad to have made Shizun proud and is truly grateful to Shizun for organizing this celebration." "I too am grateful to Qi Shimei for this celebration." Sect Master Yue spoke. "We needed some cheering up to go back to our normal lives after all that has happened." "Then we should have invited Shen Shixiong too." Liu Qingge said with a solemn face. "He has lost a talented disciple.... it cannot be helped." Sect Master Yue sighed. "Is he still miserable?" Qingqi inquired with concern. "I heard from the disciples that the other day he called for Luo Binghe to prepare snacks for him." Qingge reported. The three adults sighed in unison. "I have never seen Qingqiu so distracted... like he has lost his soul. He must have really cared for Luo Binghe." Sect Master Yue said. "He even made a sword mound for his sword, with his own hands!"  Qingqi added. "We remember, when the demons had invaded our sect, Peak Lord Shen shielded Luo Binghe from the giant demon with his own body." Xiuying added. "We have to do something to help Shen Shidi..." Sect Master Yue was in deep thought.

"Did Peak Lord Shen also have feelings for Luo Binghe?" thoughts kept flooding Mingyan's head. "The way Luo Binghe spoke about his Shizun on the way to JueDi Gorge made it seem like he did hold feelings for Peak Lord Shen that were beyond the Master-Disciple relationship. If Peak Lord Shen is distracted like he has lost his soul, has built a sword mound for his disciple's sword with his own hands, has still not come to terms with the fact that his disciple is no more, and is acting not very different from a woman who has lost her husband... it seems like he too held feelings for his disciple."  She had read enough Danmei to see the parallels clearly. There was more than fifty percent chance that her speculations were right.

Before leaving, Liu Qingge met Mingyan to talk to her privately. "Here, this is for you." Liu Qingge held out beautiful sword tassel. "I didn't know what else to get you as a gift." Her brother was quite clueless when it came to saying how he felt, but his actions made up for it. "Thank you Gege! It is beautiful!" Mingyan took it and immediately attached it to her sword. "Will Gege be going down the mountain soon?" she asked. "I don't think so..." Qingge replied. Mingyan noticed that her brother was not like his usual self. "Gege, is something bothering you?" Qingge only took in a deep breath. "Is it about Peak Lord Shen?" "I don't care about him." the reply came immediately. Mingyan smiled. "Gege speaks very coldly about Peak Lord Shen but Gege also cares about him." she said. "You helped him during the demon invasion. You visit him to help him with the poison in his body. You also exchange pointers with him very often. To me, you two seem like good friends." Qingge crossed his arms and looked away. "I believe if Gege is the one by Master Shen's side looking out for him, he will be able to recover much faster." Liu Qingge seemed stunned for a moment. "You mean if I were the one to keep him company, Shen Shixiong will be happy?" he asked. Mingyan smiled and nodded affirmatively. "Then I guess I have no choice but to put up with him..." Qingge scratched the back of his head as he looked away.