Chapter Text
One summer’s day, just as the monthly peak lord meeting was winding down, Liu Qingge kicked the doors to the hall open with a bang.
He had blood down his sleeve, his hair was windblown, and he looked grimy and exhausted. He also appeared to have a newborn in his arms.
Yue Qingyuan, sitting at the head of the table, rose. “Shidi, you’ve returned,” he greeted. After a pause, he asked, “Is that a child?”
It made a small noise.
“That’s a pup, alright,” Wei Qingwei said, leaning back and stretching his arms out before resting his head in his palms, elbows out. He had the space to do it, as neither Shen Qingqiu nor Gao Qingling, who normally sat on either side of him, were in attendance.
“My sister,” Liu Qingge admitted, stilted. He was looking around at them with a frown.
“Why do you have her?” Huang Qinggua asked gently, sitting forward. “Is your family…?”
It was incomprehensible that Liu Qingge would not have been able to deal with an attack on his family, if one had occurred, and yet the blood on him spoke to violence.
Their War God shook his head. “My mother…worships Yu-Fei.”
Most of them blinked, confused. Zhao Qingling, the oldest present, was the only one to let out a disgusted growl. “In this day and age?”
Liu Qingge shrugged.
“But what does that mean? Why is it that you have the child?” Tong Qingren asked. Her painted-on brows drew together in confusion.
“Women who worship that goddess tend to sacrifice girl-children to her,” Zhao Qingling said shortly. “It is a reprehensible practice.” He eyed Liu Qingge. “But… it explains his cultivation lineage.”
Shang Qinghua made a considering noise. “Liu-shidi took his sister away so that she wouldn’t be killed, then.”
Qi Qingqi left her seat, coming up to Liu Qingge so that she could lean over and examine the child. The pup had been swaddled tightly in silk, and not a drop of blood stained the wrappings.
“That was good of you, shidi,” she said approvingly. “But what do you plan on doing with her?” She lifted a hand to pull the silk aside.
Before she could make contact, Liu Qingge backed away and let out a growl, his pupils contracting slightly.
Qi Qingqi startled, holding her hands palm-out.
“Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan admonished. “Qi-shimei does not mean the child any harm.”
Liu Qingge kept staring, his eyes locked on her form.
“Qingge?” Qi Qingqi said quietly, but he did not answer.
Mu Qingfang rose from his chair and came around the table, adjusting his lenses. “It seems that he has bonded with her,” he offered, rubbing at his beard. “That may make things…difficult.”
“Bonded? She’s—what, two days old?” Tong Qingren broke in, watching her shixiong with wide eyes. “For a sibling bond, isn’t that unusual?”
Mu Qingfang shifted his weight to the other leg. “High-stress situations can cause parent-child bonds to form, even in people who are unrelated.” He glanced over at Qi Qingqi. “It is surprising that he would reject a pack member in these circumstances, though. When did you last scent him?”
She rolled her eyes. “The day he left! As if I would let him leave without it. I am not so irresponsible as the person who is supposed to be doing it!” She cast her eyes to the first of the empty seats.
“Qi-shijie…” Huang Qinggua sighed, but she was not done.
“More importantly,” she emphasized, and gestured toward Liu Qingge, who had graduated to glaring at her and was backing up toward the wall, keeping them all in sight. “How is he supposed to care for a newborn if he won’t let anyone close? He certainly can’t feed her himself, and he’s hardly going to tolerate having a wetnurse around if he won’t bear me even touching her. I’m his pack qianyuan!”
“That is a concern,” Mu Qingfang agreed mildly.
Shang Qinghua hummed noncommitally, and Qi Qingqi swung her head to frown at him when he failed to continue.
Wei Qingwei, who was sitting nearby, prodded him with an elbow, and he sighed.
“I don’t mean to cause offense,” he started, probably looking to cause exactly that, “but while Qi-shijie acts as the pack qianyuan, formally…”
Zhao Qingling snorted. “Does shixiong honestly think that Shen Qingqiu would agree to interact with that child, even if it would save its life?”
“He’s never once taken responsibility as our qianyuan, and he’s hardly about to start now,” Wei Qingwei said mildly, his eyes resting on Liu Qingge. “Better that we consider other alternatives, I think.”
As the third-ranked lord, he was technically second in charge here, even if he rarely exercised the power of his rank.
At Yue Qingyuan’s nod, he sat forward. “Shang-shidi, please see about finding a wetnurse, ideally from within the sect. If that fails, we’ll have to look down the mountain. Liu-shidi,” he called out.
Liu Qingge’s head turned toward him minutely.
“Will you allow anyone here to scent her for you?”
After a moment, he shook his head, as if it took a great deal of effort, or he had to think very hard to do it.
“Ai,” Wei Qingwei sighed. “Shall we see about making a nest, then…?”
Huang Qinggua nodded and stood. “There are more pillows in the closet, for the tea-tables,” he recalled. “Not that we’ve used them since we ascended.”
“I’ll help you fetch them,” Tong Qingren chirped, following him to the other side of the room.
“I’m leaving,” Zhao Qingling informed them flatly, watching the two of them bustle about. “This one can have nothing to add to a matter of instinct.”
Yue Qingyuan sighed and gave him leave. “If you would ask a disciple you pass to attend to us, please,” he ordered. “We will surely need more supplies than…this,” he said soberly, watching as Tong Qingren and Huang Qinggua pulled old, sad-looking pillows out of the closet one by one, dust floating out with every tug.
Yue Qingyuan sighed again. Glancing over at Liu Qingge and seeing no way to contribute on that end, he shook his head and went to go help with the pillows.
Shen Qingqiu strode in, his silks impeccable, the fan in his hand waving slightly. “What could possibly be the problem that this master must be summoned at this hour? Did the meeting go so badly?”
Yue Qingyuan rose, beckoning him in with a hopeful look on his face. The usual table had been pushed to the side of the room and they were all sitting on pillows instead arranged around two large tea-tables. Toward the back of the room, at the corner of two walls that had no windows or doors, a mass of pillows had been shoved into a pitiful-looking pile that Liu Qingge, of all people, was huddled within.
Shen Qingqiu stopped in his tracks. His fan rose, covering his face so that only the judgmental tilt of his eyebrows was revealed. “Is he…nesting?”
Qi Qingqi breathed out sharply through her nose.
“Please, take a seat,” Yue Qingyuan urged, kneeling back onto his own pillow.
“What, did he run afoul of some strain of maidenshead grass?” Shen Qingqiu sneered. “Newly kunze, and none of you are brave enough not to abandon poor Liu-shidi to his instincts?”
Wei Qingwei huffed. “Something like that, Shen-shixiong. I imagine that if you were to take a proper sniff, you might be able to understand our sorry situation!”
“It is true that he won’t let us out, though,” Tong Qingren murmured. “Well, except for Zhao-shidi. But he fetched disciples so that we could send messages, including to you—so, Shen-shixiong is our next hope.”
Shen Qingqiu took a breath to say something back and paused.
Wei Qingwei looked up at him with a knowing expression on his face. “Does shixiong see now?”
Shen Qingqiu’s expression flattened and he turned to look over at the corner. “A pup?” he asked with a frown, fan snapping closed in his hand. “What on earth? Wasn’t the brute at his family estate?”
“His mother gave birth and immediately attempted to consign the pup to the reincarnation cycle,” Huang Qinggua explained. “He’s brought it here, but now he won’t let anyone touch it, which is a bit of a problem as it needs to be fed. Among other things,” he said tiredly.
“And we need to scent it, if he wants to keep it,” Qi Qingqi groused.
Shen Qingqiu turned to her, the cold ghost of a smirk on his face. “Let this master guess: Qi-shimei has not been permitted to approach.”
Qi Qingqi bared her teeth at him, which only made his smile grow.
“Qingqiu-shidi,” Yue Qingyuan spoke. “We are attempting to fix the situation. Would you mind attempting to scent him?”
Shen Qingqiu’s expression closed off in an instant. “I would, yes.”
“Shen Qingqiu!” Qi Qingqi bit out angrily, straightening up in her place. “You may not like Liu Qingge, but that child needs care! Do your duty!”
“Shijie,” Huang Qinggua warned.
“I need do nothing,” Shen Qingqiu informed her icily. “If he will not let anyone approach, why should my presence be any different? Wait until the pup starts bawling and soiling itself; he’ll go to Mu-shidi, begging for help.”
”Why does everybody keep assuming I specialize in childcare?” Mu Qingfang muttered, but his words were lost in the noise.
Qi Qingqi swung to confront Yue Qingyuan. “Zhangmen-shixiong! Surely you cannot let him flout his responsibilities like this! Shen Qingqiu is our highest-ranked qianyuan, and this is how he acts when asked to perform his basic duties?”
Yue Qingyuan rubbed at his brow. “Qingqiu-shidi, if you do not think that he will let you approach, then what is the harm in testing it?”
“I do not care to be involved in this,” Shen Qingqiu said sharply. “You may enjoy being play-acted with as pack, rejected for his entertainment, but this master has better things to do.”
He turned on his heel and began walking for the door, sleeves fluttering. Before he had gone five steps, a growl rung out.
“We did warn you,” Wei Qingwei told him, morbid amusement in his voice.
Shen Qingqiu had paused, twitching, as if he meant to turn back. Then he snorted, waving his closed fan, and continued for the door.
There were a series of soft thuds behind them and then the noise of a sword whistling through the air. Shen Qingqiu jumped aside, dodging just as Cheng Luan buried itself in the wall.
“What is this,” he snapped, turning around. “Has he gone insane?”
Liu Qingge had half-risen from the pile of pillows, a tight expression on his face. The bundle in his arms was still pressed tightly to his chest, but his other hand was held in a sword-seal.
“As I said,” Tong Qingren remarked, sipping from her teacup. “He won’t let us approach, and neither will he let us leave. I personally suspect that it’s due to the incomplete pack bond,” she said airily. “So, if Shen-shixiong would approach and complete it…”
“His instincts are likely in flux from the sudden formation of a parental bond,” Mu Qingfang put in, refilling his own teacup from their table’s communal pot. “Ordinarily, both parents have nine full months, or close to it, to grow accustomed, but as his must have formed over the course of the last day or two—”
Shen Qingqiu made an annoyed noise and waved his fan at the doctor, cutting him off rudely. “There is no need to lecture this master. If he is attacking as you try to leave, then subdue him! Take him to Qian Cao and then get a wetnurse for the brat! Why are any of you persisting in this farce?”
Mu Qingfang put his cup down. “By all means, if shixiong would like to try his hand at subduing him whilst keeping any attacks away from that child and ensuring that he remains uninjured—for if he is this bad now, you would not like to see his reactions once truly threatened—do go ahead,” he suggested dryly. “For his part, this doctor is still hoping that Shen-shixiong may be the key to resolving this mess peacefully.”
The pillows rustled again. Liu Qingge was rising and shaking them off, the child clutched closely.
Shen Qingqiu watched him with distaste, as if keeping track of a wild beast. Then Liu Qingge began moving toward him.
“Oh, my,” Tong Qingren said. “Look at that!”
“What are you doing,” Shen Qingqiu said, his tone dangerous.
“Come here,” Liu Qingge demanded, which was more than he’d said in hours. He kept walking, closing the distance.
When he had gotten five paces away, Shen Qingqiu reached some internal limit and began to back up, maintaining the distance between them. “Stop it,” he warned. His eyes darted to the group of lords and then back to Liu Qingge. Behind him, there was only a step or two remaining until he would hit the wall.
“Shixiong, why are you so afraid of a man with a baby?” Shang Qinghua asked, his tone positively delighted.
Shen Qingqiu threw him a sour look.
“Shh,” Huang Qinggua muttered, his eyes pinned to the scene. “What do you think he’ll do if Liu-shixiong makes him scent the pup?”
Shen Qingqiu, still moving, loosed a growl toward them. Then his back hit the wall and he was confronted with Liu Qingge coming to a stop half an arm’s-length away.
“They don’t smell right,” Liu Qingge said in annoyance. “You do. Stay still!”
Shen Qingqiu’s face contorted. “You’re a zhongyong, what do you know about scent!” he snapped. As he made to slide away and along the wall, the flash of Cheng Luan brought him to a halt. She hovered a hand’s length away from them.
He turned back. “Are you threatening me?” Shen Qingqiu asked incredulously.
Liu Qingge studied him. Then he held out the baby. “Scent her.”
Shen Qingqiu stared. His eyes dropped to the child for a moment and then focused back on Liu Qingge. “What’s gotten into you? Why would you want me to lay claim? This master doesn’t even scent you!” He gestured toward Qi Qingqi. “Shimei does! Ask her!”
Liu Qingge pressed closer, making Shen Qingqiu go still. With their noses nearly touching, Liu Qingge took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Then he dropped the sword-seal he had been making with his left hand and reached out, putting his hand on Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder and dragging him close, leaning up to sniff at his jaw. Cheng Luan floated gently to the floor beside them.
If it was possible, Shen Qingqiu stiffened further. With an enraged hiss, he pushed Liu Qingge away—or, tried to.
Liu Qingge’s grip on his shoulder would not be budged. “You’re right for it,” he repeated. Then he shoved the bundle at Shen Qingqiu, forcing him to take the baby. “I don’t know how to take care of her. You should help.”
As Shen Qingqiu stared at him, completely speechless, Yue Qingyuan, Mu Qingfang, and Qi Qingqi rose from their seats.
“Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan called out, as Qi Qingqi made a furious noise. Before any of them could take more than a step forward, Liu Qingge whipped around and remade his sword-seal.
“None of you,” he growled. When they all stopped moving, his brow scrunched up. “…Not yet.”
Shang Qinghua groaned. “Not yet? We’ll be here all night! What is shidi waiting for?”
“Peace!” Wei Qingwei patted him on the shoulder. “Look, we’ve already made more progress in the last few minutes than we did in six hours,” he said, pleased. “Perhaps Shen-shixiong really will solve all of our problems.”
Qi Qingqi gnashed her teeth and turned toward Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge. “Just scent her already! He’s made his point that I’m not the pack qianyuan, even if I’m the one shouldering the work,” she grumbled. “I thought you liked winning!”
Shen Qingqiu’s face was stony. “Shimei has no idea what she is talking about.”
Seeing that they had stopped as he desired, Liu Qingge dropped the seal and turned back to Shen Qingqiu, pushing on his shoulder. “Help her.”
Shen Qingqiu glared at him. After a moment in which they were simply staring at each other, he seemed to come to some sort of realization, because his frown deepened and his lips thinned. “Absolutely not.” He tried to push the child back into Liu Qingge’s arms, but the man stepped back, and then back again.
Shen Qingqiu hissed at him. “What is wrong with you! Take her!”
“What in the heavens,” Huang Qinggua said faintly, watching the byplay.
Liu Qingge kept dodging.
“This is ridiculous,” Qi Qingqi said, starting forward and stepping over a loose pillow.
Instantly, Liu Qingge turned on his heel and growled at her, louder than before.
The baby wailed, causing Shen Qingqiu to startle and look down at her.
Qi Qingqi had had enough. “Shidi!” she exclaimed. “I should not need to say this, but of all of the people here, Shen Qingqiu is the least capable of taking care of a child! Stop bothering him—take the pup back and let us find you a wetnurse!”
Yue Qingyuan joined in, attempting a soothing noise. “Shidi, please. Surely there is someone suited to caring for her. If you would allow us to leave, we can begin looking. The child needs to eat, after all.”
Liu Qingge stood his ground, pupils still far too small to be normal, a low growl issuing from his throat.
“When is the last time she was fed?” Mu Qingfang asked. “Shidi, babies must be fed frequently. She is likely starving. Can you continue with this, knowing that she will die?”
That seemed to reach something in Liu Qingge, because he shifted. “…No,” he finally. “But…”
“Scenting is important, but if you do not want one of us to do it—”
“I want Shen Qingqiu to do it!” Liu Qingge snapped.
“But why?” Mu Qingfang pushed. “Shixiong, he cannot feed her, nor does he seem willing to take her as his own if you wish to give her up—”
“I don’t!” Liu Qingge interrupted again. He looked conflicted, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and then he straightened. “Fine. If he won’t do it, I don’t want any of you to do it! Just—a wetnurse. No one else,” he added, agitated. “It isn’t right.”
“Instinct does a number on that man, I see,” Huang Qinggua muttered.
Liu Qingge turned stiffly to reach out and take his sister back. But Shen Qingqiu had backed away again, his spine pressed into the wall. The baby had stopped crying. This time, he was staring down at her.
“Shen Qingqiu,” Liu Qingge said sharply. “Give her back.”
Shen Qingqiu jerked his head up. There was a challenging glint in his eye that hadn’t been there before, and his pupils were shrinking into dots. He hissed wordlessly.
“You—!” Liu Qingge shot back. He stepped forward, reaching out again, and this time Shen Qingqiu bared his teeth and let loose a true warning noise, the kind that a mere zhongyong could not make.
Also, the kind that a qianyuan could not make.
The silence afterward was almost louder than the noise.
“Oh, my,” Tong Qingren marveled. “Well, that explains several things, doesn’t it?” She turned to Qi Qingqi and patted the woman on the leg, since she was still sitting down and could not reach any higher. “There you go, Qingqi. You are the pack’s qianyuan, after all! And look, we have a kunze for you to coddle!”
Qi Qingqi was still staring at Shen Qingqiu, too shocked to respond. Their martial brother, seeing that Liu Qingge had stopped trying to bother him, went back to staring at the baby in his arms.
“Oh, no,” Mu Qingfang muttered. He stepped out from the table and began making his way over to them, waving off Liu Qingge’s glare and pausing only when Shen Qingqiu jerked up to eye him. “I am not trying to bother the pup,” he insisted to Liu Qingge, maintaining the space between himself and them. “Please, lower your hackles. Shen-shixiong, you—”
Shen Qingqiu watched him with very little recognition in his eyes, and Mu Qingfang’s shoulders sagged.
“What is it?” Yue Qingyuan asked, worried. “What’s wrong with him?”
“The orphan instinct,” Huang Qinggua said softly from behind him. “Isn’t it, shidi?”
Mu Qingfang observed Shen Qingqiu for a moment longer and then turned back to them. He surveyed them in turn, focusing on Qi Qingqi, Huang Qinggua, Tong Qingren, and Jin Qingdai.
The qianyuans among them, for the rest were zhongyongs.
“Qi-shijie,” he began slowly, expression hardening. “Please, you must set aside your feelings. I know that it would be proper for you to take charge, but I fear he will not respond well if you try to scent him.”
She twitched. “If he’s a kunze, I don’t see why I shouldn’t! I don’t neglect my duties.”
“It isn’t a matter of duty.” He shook his head. “From the frying pan and into the fire! He may not accept any of you. But we have no other kunzes, so a qianyuan must try.”
“You want us to scent him?” Jin Qingdai asked, looking dubious.
Huang Qinggua turned in response, frowning, and took a patronizing tone. “Does shidi recall the way that Liu Qingge has just held us hostage for eight hours? His instincts decided to take charge of the pup, and he’s had a mere—what, two days for it to settle? Consider that Shen Qingqiu is experiencing the same, and that he first smelled her only minutes ago!”
Jin Qingdai grimaced. “They’re not even related! Shen Qingqiu hates Liu Qingge’s guts. What does he care for the kid?”
“He didn’t,” Huang Qinggua responded. “Until Liu Qingge forced her in his arms and he got a whiff of unclaimed pupscent, I’d wager.”
“It is a little-known effect for a…particular group of kunzes,” Mu Qingfang said, still standing a short distance from both Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu. Liu Qingge had gone back to staring intently at the latter and was no longer paying attention to the rest of them.
“If we can get him to nest and relax, he may be able to shake it off,” Mu Qingfang went on. “Clearly, I can’t approach him; neither can Liu-shidi. Qi-shijie may try, but I doubt she will be accepted, and I suspect the same of you, Jin-shidi, and also Huang-shixiong, unfortunately.”
As the only qianyuan not yet mentioned, Tong Qingren stood and brushed out her silks. “Might as well try,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll just try to get him into, ah,” she looked back at the pile of pillows. “Liu-shixiong’s nest, then?”
Liu Qingge’s head turned toward her. He didn’t growl, but he did eye her carefully.
She came over, passing him with no issue, and then stepped into the space that Shen Qingqiu had been guarding. He looked up at her, frowning, but made no noise.
She stepped closer, humming a little to ask, am I allowed in?
He considered her for a moment. Slowly, she held her wrist out and loosened her hold on her scent, allowing ginger to suffuse the air. He tasted it, watching her, and then seemed to decide that it was all right that she was there. He went back to staring at the child.
“Oh,” said Tong Qingren, surprised. “That awful flat ink scent…” She leaned in, sniffing near his neck, and he only shifted away a little while she did it.
“Don’t you smell lovely under all that slop,” she cooed. Gently, she took his arm. “Darling, wouldn’t you like to lie in a nest? Come, Qingren will sit with you—this way, over here.”
It worked; he allowed her to guide him over to the corner that Liu Qingge had stolen all of the pillows to adorn.
Liu Qingge followed after them like a lost puppy, hovering as Tong Qingren tried to get Shen Qingqiu to sit down.
His face twisted and he sniffed.
“Oh, does it smell too much like Liu-shixiong?” she asked understandingly. Leaning forward, she rubbed her wrist on one pillow, and then another, until the faint vegetal scent was barely apparent. “Shixiong, you should scent them too, to feel comfortable.”
He stared at her, uncomprehending.
Sighing, she tugged at his arm until he sat down on a pillow, and then she began piling the others around him. Very gently, she touched the tips of her fingers to the scent gland at his wrist, cognizant of how he flinched minutely. Then she touched them to the pillows, spreading the oil. “See?”
He huffed again and settled into the pillows, clutching the baby to his chest. As if a talisman had activated, he began sniffing her, unwrapping the silks and laying her bare to examine her pudgy little limbs.
Liu Qingge made an incomprehensible noise and leaned forward.
“Liu-shixiong, sit down,” Tong Qingren cajoled. He was watching the baby with single-minded focus, but at her nudging he sat, tracking how Shen Qingqiu finally pushed back his sleeves and rubbed his wrists against her head and cheeks.
Immediately, Liu Qingge relaxed.
Tong Qingren huffed, pleased, as he did so. Shen Qingqiu ignored them both as he scented the baby and perused her general state of health. Then he brought her up again and began grooming her, licking at anything he seemed to consider dirty or out of place, laying her little fluff of hair back in order and covering her completely with his scent. He sank further into the pillows as he did so, starting to relax a little more.
Liu Qingge leaned forward, following the movement.
“Shixiong,” Tong Qingren admonished. “Wait until he invites you in. Isn’t this what you wanted? Be patient.”
Liu Qingge scowled. “She’s hungry.”
“I’m sure she is,” she replied, and then paused. She turned and eyed Shen Qingqiu. “Hmm.”
“I do not think Qingqiu-shidi will be happy if he comes back to himself and learns that he tried to nurse this child,” Yue Qingyuan said in warning, his voice strained. “Please do not encourage it.”
Mu Qingfang nodded. “I agree. Liu-shixiong, may any of us leave now?” he asked. “We can…fetch proper nesting supplies, if nothing else. And see about a wetnurse,” he said under his breath.
“And go to bed,” Shang Qinghua grumbled. “I don’t see why I’m needed here.”
Liu Qingge turned to look at them and squinted. “Fine. But come back!”
Mu Qingfang sighed in relief. With a chorus of noises, they collectively rose and began stretching.
“Hey,” Liu Qingge snapped again. “Not everyone!”
They looked at each other.
“I have several patients that I really do need to check on,” Mu Qingfang said carefully. “I will return as soon as I can.”
“Same, I’ve got a brew in progress,” Jin Qingdao agreed, walking for the door without waiting for a response.
“I’m not staying!” Shang Qinghua said immediately, rushing after him.
Yue Qingyuan sighed. “I will stay with them. Wei-shidi, will you alert my head disciple as to where I am? I don’t believe I’ll be needed, but it’s better that she knows.”
“Of course,” Wei Qingwei agreed, putting his hands in his sleeves. “What about you two?” he asked Qi Qingqi and Huang Qinggua. “Feel like staying?”
“I suppose I can,” Huang Qinggua shrugged. “Shen Qingqiu doesn’t exactly like me, but…” He looked over at Qi Qingqi. “Should so many qianyuans remain?”
“We mere zhongyongs have little power in this realm,” Mu Qingfang said dryly. “Liu-shixiong’s instincts clearly desired a kunze, but at some point he will likely wish for the pup to be scented by your type, especially Qi-shijie. New parents often desire as many pack-members about as possible, so if you are able to stay, please do.”
“I will,” Qi Qingqi said, her tone clipped. “It’s my duty. That pup is part of our pack now.” She cast her eyes back to the nest, a hint of longing on her face.
“Well,” Mu Qingfang huffed. “Thank you. As I said, I will return as soon as I can. My head disciple is surely panicking; I told her I would be back hours ago. I will also,” he sighed, “ask someone to look for a wetnurse. In the meantime, I will see if we have any cowfruit in the stores; the juice can be used as an emergency substitute if we can’t locate a dam within a few hours.” He pulled his bag around his shoulder and nodded to them before he headed out the door.
Huang Qinggua sighed. “Time to hurry up and wait, I suppose.” He turned and went back to where they’d been sitting, plopping down and pulling a book out of his sleeve as he did so.
Qi Qingqi followed him, sitting down in such a way that she could talk to him and also keep a direct view of the nest. After a moment, she reached out and rubbed her wrist against his cheek roughly, making him wince.
“Hey!”
“Hush,” she grumbled. “I can’t scent them right now, can I? Let me scent you!”
Yue Qingyuan lowered himself to sit on a pillow on the third side of the table, also with a clear sightline to the nest. “Shimei can scent this one, if she likes. I don’t mind.”
She finished scenting Huang Qinggua and eyed their sect leader. “You don’t?”
Yue Qingyuan shook his head. “Not at all.”
“But…you’re the sect leader,” she protested. “Are you telling me that I could have been scenting you, all these years?”
“Of course.”
“But…”
Yue Qingyuan’s expression turned wry. “I’m a qianyuan?”
“It is a bit sticky,” Huang Qinggua pointed out. “By all rights, Zhangmen-shixiong should be the lead qianyuan of our pack.”
“And yet, I cannot scent any of you,” Yue Qingyuan said quietly. “I do not mind Qi-shimei’s role,” he repeated. “I accepted the loss of my instincts a long time ago. There were…heavier costs than that, for my cultivation to progress as it did.” The air around him seemed very heavy for a second.
Awkwardly, Qi Qingqi leaned over the side of the table and brushed her wrist against his cheek, and then his shoulder. “Thank you, then. I’ll be diligent about it in the future.”
Yue Qingyuan smiled gently. “Of course.” Then he cast his eyes toward the nest, and none of them said anything for a while.