Chapter Text
Several years later...
A bolt of white lightning crackled from the skies and took aim at two figures atop a mountain peak.
A lazy hand rose. Like a wolf scenting blood, the lightning redirected itself towards the person’s arm and though his body, keeping his companion safe as the sizzling bolt of energy was calmly sent to back to the earth.
“Many thanks, Shizun.” Shen Yuan opened one eye, poking his tongue out impishly.
“Brat.” His master, Sui Ming, sneered as he shook his sleeves to get rid of the stray lightning. “Shut your mouth lest I cut that tongue of yours. Why did I keep such a wicked brat? I should have left when you traced your meridians.”
“But you love me!” Shen Yuan said, yelping when the man kicked him out of his lotus position. “Ow! This is disciple abuse!”
“This Master is already too lenient. You’d be beaten a thousand times in a Sect.” Sui Ming said waspishly, observing his student’s glowing body. Shen Yuan had finished building his foundations at a frightening speed, and now almost formed his golden core. Good. He needed a drink or two after this.
“I know.” Shen Yuan murmured, rubbing his shoulder. He knew he had it better than most. It had been years since he met his teacher, and Shen Yuan could freely admit that while he was apathetic to most things, his master was a good person.
Sui Ming was a rogue cultivator. Although Shen Yuan wondered if the rogue part really counted since all his teacher did was drink himself into a stupor, peep at ladies in bathhouses on occasion, and fought Dread White Bears whenever he wanted. He didn’t do what other rogue cultivators did like pillage or terrorize villages, no. Sui Ming was too fucking lazy for that.
If it weren’t for the fact that he could flick boulders with his finger and wrestle Fire Tigers, Shen Yuan seriously wondered how such an unmotivated, perverted grouch who drank like a fish could survive this world.
Especially since he was quite handsome and young-looking, having been mistaken more than once of being a prince or noble whenever they went out. It made Shen Yuan wonder why his teacher peeped on ladies in the first place. They would be more than happy to jump his bones.
Shen Yuan admitted that getting Sui Ming to agree to teach him was one of his greatest accomplishments so far. Also one of the hardest. His System had pinged several people for him to be his cultivation teacher and he did observe these masters, but they either scorned Shen Yuan for being a no-name street child or laughed in his face.
Being insulted didn’t bother Shen Yuan much, but it did dampen his enthusiasm to cultivate.
Yet he sort of understood. Cultivation was a privilege and Shen Yuan had neither riches nor status at that time.
The rest of his possible teachers were either mercenaries or involved in shady business. Shen Yuan made sure to thank his System whenever it warned him of dubious people. At least he knew who to avoid.
Then one day, he saw a scatter of bright lights in the forest. He crept closer to investigate, only to find a man fighting several Dread White Bears. His first image of his teacher was not a flattering one because it was clear he was drunk as a skunk, not to mention half-naked, but Shen Yuan’s mouth dropped open at the careless way the man dodged and punched the bears without much effort.
Amazing! Impressive! How inspiring!
Then, something head-smacking happened. As the last of the beasts dropped to the ground in defeat, Shen Yuan turned and crept towards the awe-inspiring man who kicked ass, ready to shower him with praise.
Only for the man to blink at Shen Yuan once, wrinkle his nose, and vomit all over the forest floor. Then he collapsed on top of a groaning bear, snoring.
[…]
‘…’ Shen Yuan deadpanned along with the System. ‘Okay. No longer impressed.’
[Host.]
‘I know. But I’m kind of getting desperate? Unless you have better ideas…’
[…]
‘I thought so. Give me his name, please?’
[Sui Ming. Rogue Cultivator. Lazy, no ill will. But wait, host—]
‘Excellent. Thank you, System.’
When he woke up, Sui Ming was rude, crass, and didn’t even want to get up from the bear he had beaten. He continued to grouch at Shen Yuan, pausing only when he was handed a hangover potion.
“What is this?” he said in a surly voice, sniffing at the purple liquid.
Shen Yuan listed the ingredients blandly, knowing that an alcoholic like him would probably recognize the sobering ingredients. Then he could choke it down and they could have a proper discussion.
But the man squinted at Shen Yuan and frowned. “Those are rare ingredients.”
Shen Yuan had this discussion many, many times, and was even almost stabbed due to some unknown knowledge he apparently found out, so he just replied while crossing his arms, “I’m good at finding things.”
“Oh, are you?”
There was a glint in his eyes that Shen Yuan didn’t like.
And here he was, years later. Apprenticing under the same bear-wrestling, alcoholic pretty boy who took him in just because he said he was good at finding things.
“That’s enough for today.” Sui Ming stretched before flinging a straw sack at Shen Yuan’s head. “Get to it, disciple.”
Shen Yuan brightened. “Oh, can we—”
“No.”
“But Shizun—”
“No, Shen Yuan.”
“You haven’t even—”
Sui Ming gave him a flat look. “You’ll tell me you found something interesting, maybe a secret entrance or some pretty mushrooms, and then they’ll turn out to be something dangerous or just plain impossible and the answer is no because I am ordering you as your Shizun to go be boring for a day and just gather me some seeds, Shen Yuan.”
Shen Yuan pouted. “Yes, Shizun.”
Sui Ming sighed. Really, this impossible brat…
They left the hill in a different direction from where they came from, and into a thorny grove filled with rock-like seeds. Shen Yuan crouched and began to look for tiny, gray seeds that littered underneath the thorns, careful not to prick himself like he did a hundred times before.
Stone nettles.
In return for Sui Ming’s tutoring, Shen Yuan was ordered to gather a thousand stone nettle seeds.
“Stone—what?” he had gaped at his teacher a few years ago.
“Nettles. The little seeds that come from withering stone thorn—”
“No, no. I know what stone nettles are! Just— why? They’re useless!”
“Oh, they are.” Sui Ming nodded with a cheerful air. “But I don’t want the brown seeds. Get me the gray ones. With your hands only.”
“…why?”
“Because I said so. I’m your teacher now, so do it.”
Shen Yuan sighed at the memory. It seemed so easy, so he agreed.
Only for him to find out that out of hundreds of brown nettle seeds, there was only one gray seed. And he had been ordered to find a thousand of these useless things.
Still, he was not being caned or being ordered to do something horrendously difficult, just something boring and weird, so he rolled up his sleeves and dutifully ignored the usual scratches from the thorns as he rifled through the ground for that one lone gray seed.
‘These ARE useless, right System?’
[Stone nettle seeds: Grows into stone nettle thorns, used by people for kindling or fences against trespassers.]
‘So… useless.’
[Affirmative, Host. And congratulations for almost forming your golden core! A few more steps of cultivation until eventual immortality. Then you can leave that stupid Shizun of yours.]
‘Aw, System. I know you don’t like Shizun, but it’s just a name…’
After clearing his meridians for the first time, Shen Yuan and System 320 realized that they could not speak while Shen Yuan was cultivating. After his initial panic at the sudden block, System 320 slowly explained that cultivation involved soul energies and spiritual power, something that can only be experienced by the individual through trials and meditation. And since System 320 registered as a conscious entity, Shen Yuan’s soul blocked it as a foreign being.
It was quite alright with Shen Yuan. After his initial fear, he found it quite nice to cultivate on his own, feeling all warm and fuzzy as his qi traveled through his meridians. He also had an odd amount of qi, according to Sui Ming, which made it easy for him to progress rapidly.
“It’s like there are two decades worth of energies encircling you,” Sui Ming said, unaware of the way Shen Yuan tensed as he held his wrist. “Fascinating. Like a spirit root, only twice as big, but it doesn’t clash against your body at all. If I felt more motivated, I’d steal it from you.”
“You’d explode.” Shen Yuan replied blandly, already used to his teacher’s empty threats. Also, it was an empty threat because, as Shen Yuan found out, his teacher was a fucking immortal already. An extra-large spirit root was useless to him.
“Mn… yes.” Sui Ming drawled before dropping his wrist.
Aside from the thousand stone nettles, Sui Ming never asked for anything from him, not really. Not even when Shen Yuan managed to build enough a good reputation among the merchants and guilds and bought a nice establishment for himself. Not even when Shen Yuan gifted him rare liquors and gave him a little of some he invented himself, Sui Ming would only taste a little, make a pleased sound, then return to his usual brand of alcohol. Even the bulk of treasure Shen Yuan had gathered from his travels only earned a comment of, ‘Why are you hoarding, are you the Emperor?’.
Really. So odd, his teacher.
“Master Shen! Teacher Sui!” a cheery voice called.
They looked up to see Yuyu, the little girl whose parents were in charge of Shen Yuan’s business when he was absent, sprinting towards them with a little dog in tow.
“Talk to the child, Shen Yuan.” Sui Ming said. He was now perched on top of a tree, eying Yuyu warily.
“Get down, Shizun. She won’t bite. Both of them don’t bite.” Shen Yuan said in exasperation.
“It’s a little girl.” Sui Ming hissed.
“I’d really love the story behind this fear of little girls, Shizun.”
“Shut up, wicked brat.”
“Yes, Yuyu?” Shen Yuan kneeled, smiling at her. The girl blushed before smiling back at him with gaped teeth.
“Mother said to fetch you! There are delegates from the Palace today!”
The ‘oh, fuck’ from his teacher encompassed his reaction to that.
“No, where are you going. Stay put! Not you, Yuyu! Wait, don’t go either. Stay.” Shen Yuan rounded on his wary teacher, who had elegantly dropped from the tree, still a distance away from Yuyu. “Stay in my quarters, Shizun. I know those Dread Bears you always fight finally found your hut and thrashed your house. Stay in my quarters, it’s heavily sealed, not a drop of qi would be sensed from you.”
Sui Ming crossed his arms like a petulant child. “Fine.”
“And I’d really love to know the story behind this fear of the Palace, Shizun.”
“And again, shut up, you wicked brat.”
...
The Palace came with a request.
“Bejewelled gazelles, you say?” Shen Yuan said smoothly, putting up his facade as the Jade Merchant. His teacher had guffawed when he first heard Shen Yuan’s new title, insulting System 320 who thought it sounded majestic, and that was the reason why his System disliked his Shizun.
Shen Yuan had invited the palace messenger into what was supposed to be his office and served him tea, all the while observing him and his delegates. Heavy robes, the seal of the Imperial Palace on the sleeves and hem… The man came directly on the orders of the Emperor. Or Empress.
“Yes, most Honorable Merchant.” the royal messenger kowtowed. Unknown to Shen Yuan, the man was staring at him in awe. “In… in celebration of General Zhu’s return from the South, after the dual triumph of the Palace and the Sects against the demon clans.”
“Ah…” Shen Yuan murmured from his face veil.
He had known that the demons and Sects were currently involved in skirmishes. Not outright war, otherwise even the Empress would go to battle, but this was a Sect matter mostly. From what he remembered…
“General Zhu is from a cultivator’s household, isn’t he?” Shen Yuan said, accepting the scroll. “That’s why he was sent to help even though the Palace said they wouldn’t get involved directly…”
“Ah, y-yes. Honorable Merchant is correct. General Zhu’s brother is a Peak Lord of Cang Qiong Sect.” The messenger replied breathily.
Oh. That meant the old Peak Lords still hadn’t ascended.
Shen Yuan hadn’t had any leads on his brothers. His memories were spotty at best, and he couldn’t remember any landmarks that could lead him back to where they once lived. Even the people who share his surname did not have any clue, although they were most eager to claim Shen Yuan as a relative after hearing that he was that Jade Merchant. He turned them away with a coldness he learned from his Shizun.
The only thing he could do now, is to reach out to the only Shen he knew from the original story.
But the Sects were notorious for their propriety, and it would be suspicious to call out Qing Jing’s Head Disciple and not the Peak Lord. He did not want that attention on himself. So Shen Yuan continued to wait, armed with a few rare books he found while scavenging, as an opening piece of discussion once he met the new Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu.
“And… how many gems from the gazelles?” Shen Yuan inquired, stroking his cheek idly.
“F-four, Honorable Merchant.” The messenger squeaked. Faintly, he wondered if four was too much. But the Empress wanted to increase it, just in case the mysterious Jade Merchant agreed and managed to successfully bring four of the precious gems back. “T-two of them are also intended to be gifts f-for the First and Second Princesses on their fifth birthday.”
“Hmm…”
Bejeweled Gazelles were, as the name implied, gazelles with gems that grew in their horns. They were beautiful creatures, as magical as the unicorns Airplane bro plagiarized to also exist in this world. Unlike unicorns however, they were more commonly sighted as they traveled in groups. Their blood had strengthening properties, their lush purple fur could ward off evil qi, and the multi-colored gems on their horns were highly coveted by nobles for their spiritual power and beauty.
Fortunately for the gazelles and unfortunately for the greedy nobles, they were rare for a reason. Even though they were a common enough sight that there was a thirty percent chance Shen Yuan could stumble on a herd if he went looking, these Airplane-ified gazelles could fuck you up.
Unlike their herbivorous and jittery earth counterparts, Bejeweled Gazelles were a towering six feet in height, were corded with the thick muscles of a highbred hell horse, teeth that could grind stone, and had a kick that could blow a man’s skeleton out of his skin. They could outrun a cultivator on a sword and could very well knock them out of it too. Oh, and they also breathed fire.
Fortunately, they had one very telling weakness.
‘The same weakness as his Shizun, even.’ Shen Yuan laughed internally.
He had procured a Bejeweled Gazelle’s gem for the Emperor and Empress years ago, a fiery red stone that looked to be eternally burning under the light. It was the reason why he was allowed to buy an establishment so close to the Capital, so delighted were they to receive such a rare artifact.
“Alright, then. Four stones.” Shen Yuan said before beckoning Lai Guiren, Yuyu’s father, to his side. He then smiled at the messenger silkily. “Now… let’s talk prices.”
The first stone was a gift. What came after was negotiable.
His first baba and gege would be proud.
A-Yuan grew up to be a businessman in the end, after all.
…
“You look ridiculous,” Was his Shizun’s first words when he arrived at his quarters. “Like a delicate maiden.”
“I know.” Shen Yuan removed his face veil and outer robes, huffing. “But it’s so people won’t recognize me in the streets, Shizun.”
“What, really?” Sui Ming frowned. “I thought it’s because you don’t want to get kidnapped by the Palace. You look beautiful enough for the Crown Prince to take you as his first husband.” He smirked. “I heard he’s looking for you, too. The beautiful, mysterious Jade Merchant.”
[As much as this System hates to say it, I agree with him, Host.]
“Oh, very funny Shizun,” Shen Yuan said. “It’s the effect of the Midnight Pearl elixir, you know that.”
Sui Ming gave him a bland look from his position on Shen Yuan’s bed. “You mean the one you took three years ago? The one you cackled over when the effects finally disappeared?”
Shen Yuan grimaced. Yes, that.
He should never have drank it. He only made it because according to Airplane’s writings it was a hellish potion to create; needing some obscure, bullshit ingredients that only bloomed or twirled under the open moon or whatever.
Shen Yuan wanted that challenge.
It was supposed to turn you into a sought-after beauty for a month. A plain-faced girl (Harem Member four-four-eight, if Shen Yuan remembered) was talented in brewing and drank it to entice the protagonist into papapa. Of course Binghe tapped that, and the girl fell in love (of course) and she confessed her sins tearfully. It led to more papapa and Binghe reassured her that he wouldn’t turn her away no matter what she looked like. Surprisingly (not), after the month was up, she didn’t turn into her plain self and was still a gorgeous vixen because of some bullshit reason about Binghe’s heavenly essence and she and the protagonist papapa’d into the sunset.
It was supposed to be a story about how true love went beyond physical looks but with a stallion protagonist possessing hundreds of wives like he wanted to catch them all, it was impossible to make that shit look sincere. Also, the girl remained drop-dead gorgeous so what was the point?!
Still, Shen Yuan didn’t care about the effects. He wasn’t planning on drinking it at all. He wanted to sell it, he was sure it would fetch a high price on the auction. Noble ladies who vied for beauty products were some of his frequent customers.
Anyway, Shen Yuan brewed it quite stupidly easy one day. He was skeptical he got it right, though.
So he drank it.
Which was stupid, because he had a System that could identify almost anything. And it belatedly chirped that yes, he got that potion right. Sure enough, he looked even more like a girl than he did before. Like, his eyes looked watery even though there was no dust! And his skin glowed! Glowed like those lotion commercials!
Anyway, since he didn’t go anywhere near a Heavenly Demon dick, the effects should have faded long ago. It was only good for a month. And good thing too, his workers could barely look him in the eye.
But his Shizun said he was still pretty. He wondered if three years was enough for the effect to fade…
[Yes. It faded, Host. Disappeared. Vanished. Yeeted out of your system. Heh… ‘yeeted out of your system’…]
‘Stop copying my millennial habits, System. They’re bad for you. And if they’re gone, explain why Shizun thinks I’m about to be bride-napped.’
[Because you could be? Host, accept the fact that puberty made you more beautiful than those Palace ladies and could one day turn you into a top-tiered virgin sacrifice, ah—]
“What’s that?” Shen Yuan lurched upon seeing the item his Shizun was waving around.
“Oh, this ugly thing? I found it inside a chest—what! Shen Yuan—” Sui Ming startled when Shen Yuan swiped his hand roughly.
“Don’t—” Shen Yuan breathed, clutching the little fan tightly, the faded yellow paper crinkling in his chest. “It’s mine. My brother’s gift.”
“Oh. I… Apologies.” Sui Ming looked away. His student had been more than open about his past. “I didn’t mean to—”
“I know, Shizun.” Shen Yuan said, smiling a little helplessly. And now Sui Ming was looking awkward. Really, this teacher of his… “I’ll bring this fan with me, then. It’s been my good luck charm, after all.”
“Bring? To where?”
“Hunting. The Palace requested for four gems from a Bejeweled Gazelle.”
Sui Ming choked. Bejeweled Gazelles? Those things almost took his leg one time… “What? Four?”
“Mn… yes. For General Zhu and the princesses…”
Shen Yuan was busy rummaging through his things that he didn’t notice his teacher freeze in place.
“General Zhu? And his princesses?”
“A gift for him. He fought some demon battles in the South with the Four Sects. I have two weeks before his party returns.” Shen Yuan said, looking at his teacher hopefully. “You’ll stay, won’t you? Until I return. I still need help with my golden core, after all.”
Sui Ming looked at him blankly. “Your room is warded, isn’t it?”
Shen Yuan cocked his head. “The whole building is warded, Shizun. I just added more seals in my rooms. Should I make you some for protection?”
“No, no need.” Sui Ming shook his head stiltedly. He had an odd feeling about this… “Shen Yuan.”
“Shizun?”
“Be careful. Be even more careful because I know you, brat. Just… be careful.”
Shen Yuan gave him a carefree smile before he left. “I will.”
It was almost evening when Sui Ming left his student’s rooms, eyes narrowed, his muted presence almost making him bump into a man and his caravan entering Shen Yuan’s merchant building.
“Wang Hai.”
The old man, one of Shen Yuan’s pet merchant friends, blinked at Sui Ming before brightening.
“Ah, good evening Immortal Teacher.” Wang Hai said. “I ran into Master Shen quite some time ago. He said he’d be scavenging, I believe.”
“Yes.” Sui Ming said distractedly. “Tell me, Wang Hai. Where are the hunting grounds of the Bejeweled Gazelles this year?”
“The gazelles?” Wang Hai looked alarmed. “This lowly merchant was informed that most have been spotted near the fields of the holy caves by the south, bordering Huan Hua Palace and Mao Qiu Gorge. May I ask why?”
“The Palace sent Shen Yuan to retrieve four gems from the Bejeweled Gazelle.”
“Four… oh, my. Well, if it’s Master Shen, he’d be able to do it, no doubt.”
“Mm… And tell me, Wang Hai. What news do you have of the Heavenly Demon Emperor that General Zhu and the Sects were trying to defeat?”
“T-The Heavenly Demon Emperor? Tianlang-jun of the South? I-I wasn’t aware they were trying to… w-well, rumors are rumors, but they say the Four Sects didn’t manage to truly defeat the great demon, but they did seal him within the holy… oh. Oh, dear.”
“Yes.” Sui Ming grimaced. “Oh, dear indeed.”