Chapter Text
“My fellow Peak Lords. I am sorry for summoning you all without much warning, but this is of utmost importance to our pack, and as such I felt the need for all of us to be gathered.” It was unusual for a Peak Lord meeting to be called by anyone other than the sect leader himself, and as such, all eyes were on the woman who had called for them to unite that day.
“Do not worry, Bai-shimei. Whatever reason it is you had to call us, I am sure it is important.” Yue Qingyuan replies in his usual soothing tone.
Shang Qinghua, meanwhile, is doing an inhuman job of remaining calm. Usually, appearing calm should be easy for him. After all, the original goods did spy work and was a perfectly good canon fodder two faced scumbag! And Shang Qinghua inherited that body, which means he inherited the skill to keep a calm face even when panicking internally! But because god was cruel and being transmigrated into a hated canon fodder character in his own sellout novel was apparently not enough, he didn’t end up in the OG novel universe. No. Of course not! He had ended up in some twisted, horrible version of his own story where people go into heats and ruts and there’s fucking secondary genders and whatnot, like some badly written fanfiction.
And of course this means there’s pheromones. Shang Qinghua is an alpha, like most other Peak Lords, and he knows alphas have strong smells. Of course he can’t smell his own pheromones and it’d be weird to ask, but the important part is that others can smell him. And emotions are so easily communicated through pheromones (having grown up in this fucked up, fucked up world, Shang Qinghua has learnt to detect changes in scents to know if he was in trouble or if he had angered someone), which means that if he panics because he is 75% that Peak Lord Bai of the beast taming peak is about to say she suspects there’s a spy amongst them, he will be the prime suspect. Controlling one’s scent is incredibly difficult, but Shang Qinghua thinks he’s doing pretty well considering nobody has turned to look at him weird.
“This Bai Qingrong has attended a future reader, as was suggested by Mu-shidi, to confirm my secondary gender. Despite coming from a family where most women are omegas who present very late in life, it appears I am a beta and not an omega.” Bai Qingrong, peak lord of Cang Qiong’s beast tamer peak, lowers her head in an almost apologetic manner, and immediately the scent of worry fills the room.
“Ah, I see… Well, don’t fret over this. This was entirely out of your control, and we knew from the start it was a possibility.” Yue Qingyuan does seem to be genuinely calm, even if there’s some worry etched on his brow. “As we are right now, our central pack consists of five betas and seven alphas, which is… Ah, well, not ideal, but…”
“Zhangmen-shixiong, if I may,” Mu Qingfang’s voice is gentle as he calls for the sect leader’s attention.
Even though the atmosphere in the room is terse, Shang Qinghua for one is so relaxed he feels like he could melt. He had been terrified that Bai Qingrong would blow his cover as a spy because just some days ago, she had knocked on the door to his leisure house in An Ding and had noticed an odd scent lingering. Which was the scent of Mobei Jun, who had been sleeping in his bed just some minutes ago! Shang Qinghua had hurriedly pinned the blame on some weird incense he had gotten as a gift- he was incredibly lucky that as an ice demon, Mobei Jun’s scent was so different from a regular human’s that to someone who had never smelled a demon it wouldn’t be too weird to say it was some weird exotic incense. But Bai Qingrong was the master beast tamer of the sect! Surely she had caught the scents of many demonic beasts before: if she accused Shang Qinghua of having his home reek of demon, everyone would take her side!
Luckily it ended up being some minor gender reveal thing. The fact Bai Qingrong is a beta is probably what allowed Shang Qinghua to get away with his little demon scent incident, because betas just didn’t have as keen of a sense of smell as omegas or alphas did. To him, her being a beta was the greatest news ever, actually! … But apparently not for everyone else, who looked genuinely worried over it?
“Of course, Mu-shidi may speak. He is the one here most qualified to decide what course of action we should take.” Yue Qingyuan smiles weakly, and Mu Qingfang nods.
“Our pack currently has a majority of alphas. While we do have a decent number of beta packmates, this is still an issue. As you all know, most functional packs do require for at least one omega to be present, even more so when there are multiple alphas.” Mu Qingfang says, and Shang Qinghua nods even though he really does not actually understand much about pack dynamics.
Yes, he grew up in this world. But Shang Qinghua was born as the son of poor farmers, ok! His family consisted of him, some scattered cousins that lived nearby, aunties and uncles, and his parents, and as a kid he did NOT spend his time pondering over his family’s alignments. And of course, any education related to sex in the countryside was reduced to the golden rules (1. don’t have sex before you are married or you will DIE! 2. alphas belong with omegas, betas belong with betas, and if you don’t follow these rules you will DIE! and 3. once you get married and have kids with your spouse you must stick close to your family and keep the pack going. Surprisingly, that last one usually wasn’t followed by a death threat if not followed, but the older women of the family would cry if one of the kids even as much as implied wanting to form a family elsewhere). So like, it made sense the Cang Qiong peak lords would want an omega to make their little pack more proper. But as for why it was such a serious manner? He had no clue: it’s not like they had some old auntie breathing down their necks to follow proper tradition.
“Currently, we can observe that certain… Relationships between peak lords, especially alpha ones, become strained easily. This is to be expected of course: alphas are naturally competitive. Usually, sharing an omega serves as a buffer for this, but…” Mu Qingfang sighs, and the glance he throws towards Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu is not subtle on the very least. “It is also worth mentioning that the presence of an omega bonded with all the peak lords would significantly decrease stress and tensions. Along, of course, with aid for ruts.”
“Ahaha.” Shang Qinghua feels his face go red, because even though one would imagine a 21st century man would be the most open minded amongst a bunch of ancient china fantasy cultivators. But this is a version of magic ancient china where about a quarter of the population gets so horny they become incapacitated for a week, while a good other chunk gets so horny they get angry and go beastmode if they don’t fuck. And in this world, Shang Qinghua grew up in a little rural town where people got literally locked away during their heats and ruts, so he truly is just a sheltered little country boy who goes red in the face at the merest implication of sex. “I… See. Ahaha, well, rest assured An Ding peak will continue to deliver the best results possible, even without an omega in the pack! Ahaha…”
“Ah, well… I guess it is true we have been managing just fine all these years.” Yue Qingyuan laughs nervously, but he is clearly distressed. It’s noticeable because his usual scent of pine is tinged bitter, but nobody mentions it.
“... No. Zhangmen-shixiong, you must be aware that the reason why everyone has held on for so long has been out of hope Bai-shimei would present as an omega, since we had held onto the hope she was a late bloomer. With that possibility gone, it is only due time before conflicts arise.” Shen Qingqiu’s voice is calm but cunning, and it makes Shang Qinghua want to shrink in his seat. He wants to cry out; Shen Jiu, be kinder to Yue Qi, please!! Your Yue Qi is easily affected by your harsh words! “If no Peak Lord presented as omega, then you must know the answer to our plight already.”
“Xiao- Shen-shidi… Those are drastic measures. To inflict that on a fellow peak lord would be-” Yue Qingyuan looks genuinely pained when he says that, but he’s interrupted by a woman speaking up.
“I loathe to agree with Shen-shixiong, but I do believe we should begin to think of the alternative.” Qi Qinqi speaks up, her arms folded. Her tone is authoritative, and as if to accentuate her statement, a small wave of her alpha pheromones fills the air- not enough to be rude or annoying, but good enough for her to remind everyone of an alpha’s authoritative nature. “I am aware the practice might seem cruel, but it is a necessary procedure. Besides, us peak lords take care of each other: whoever it is we choose should not have to worry about their future care.”
“I find it perhaps improper of me to intervene, seeing as I am mostly unaffected by this in the end, but…” it is surprising to hear the Ku Xing peak lord speak up. Shang Qinghua is actually really shocked to hear him chime in, because he would assume the ascetic peak lord from the ascetic peak would be entirely uninvolved in the discussion of ‘where the hell do we get an omega so all these peak lords have something to fuck’. Still, the monk lowers his head and speaks clearly. “I believe it would be in our best interest to go through with it. To any alpha not practicing celibacy and asceticism with careful meditation, to be in a pack without an omega is asking for trouble. For the sake of the sect’s future, we must at least consider it.”
Shang Qinghua actually has no clue what they are talking about, but he just nods along quietly. He had assumed that if there was no omega, then they could just sort of… Get one? Surely a lot of omegas would be incredibly eager to be taken in by the Cang Qiong peak lord’s pack, right? It seems like a position where one is well taken care of and probably the safest place in the world. And sure, getting railed by seven alphas (do the betas join in?? Shang Qinghua has no clue. He’s sure his conservative old aunties back in his backwater farming home would scream NO, but cultivators seem to have less taboos over all sorts of relationships) might be a bit of a job disadvantage, but there’s got to be an omega out there who doesn’t mind!
But from the way they are speaking, it sounds more like they’re going to do something to one of the present peak lords. Are they going to make them go on rut suppressants? Only one of them?? Because he doesn’t mind- he’s been on rut suppressants ever since he presented! Most alphas forego suppressants because they inhibit things like strength and their instinct to always be in charge, but that’s something Shang Qinghua was willing to sacrifice. Sure, his hormones got kind of fucked up because of the constant drugs and now he was… Shorter and weaker than the average alpha, and also he did not have the domineering presence alphas usually had and would now probably never get them unless he stopped taking his meds. But it really isn’t that bad! If all the alpha peak lords need to be medicated, Shang Qinghua will gladly sing praises of the herbal medicines he takes from Mu Qingfang every month.
“Ah… Well… Mu-shidi, your opinion?” Yue Qingyuan asks, and the sect leader gives a wry smile.
“It is as they say. If Zhangmen-shixiong is worried over the process, I can promise that Qian Cao will provide a safe and comfortable space, not to mention the fact I have read numerous books on the subject. It will be safe.” Mu Qingfang says.
“If we have to do it, then Bai-shimei was the one who was going to be the omega anyways, so I say we pick her.” Song Qingmei, the Zui Xian peak lord speaks up. Her speech is slightly slurred, as would be expected of the brewing peak’s leader.
Song Qingmei is one of the betas, along with Wan Jian peak’s Wei Qingwei. From the agriculture peak, Yan Hui Peak, Gao Qinglao is also a beta, along with the archery peak, Yi Shi Peak’s Lao Qingren. And now, of course, Jing Shou Peak, the beast tamer peak, has Bai Qingrong confirmed as a beta: these are the five beta peak lords. Betas are supposed to be regular humans as far as Shang Qinghua understands, aside from being able to pick up on other’s pheromones and scents with just a bit less sharpness than omegas or alphas. But good god! With the way Song Qingmei throws herself at a very flustered and embarrassed Bai Qingrong, one would assume the lady was not a “normal human” by any stretch of the word!! He doesn’t have anything against his novel world turning into a GL (he in fact would take that over the omegaverse setting any day if he could), but that doesn’t mean he wants to see his shimei get touchy with his shijie in the middle of a meeting!
“Song-shijie! L-let go! Not in front of everyone!” Bai Qingrong squeaks, looking even more mortified. Shang Qinghua is infinitely jealous of the way she does not blast the air with pheromones when distressed like he has to try so hard not to. It takes him scent and pheromone suppressants along with rut blockers to be able to hide his emotions like a proper spy, but betas just get it naturally, and it is really not fair. . “If- If I could I would, but- the process won’t work- with a beta!”
“Song-shimei. Please let go of Bai-shimei? I believe I have asked you to not show up to these meetings intoxicated before.” Mu Qingfang sighs at the way the alcohol peak lord just laughs, but ultimately lets go of poor Bai Qingrong. Shang Qinghua has half a mind to note that Song Qingmei does not take her hands off Bai Qingrong even on the rare occasions when she is sober, but there is nothing to be gained by speaking up other than making the already beet red beast tamer even more flustered. Mu Qingfang sighs as the drunken peak lord begrudgingly lets go off the beast tamer, and continues speaking. “Thank you. It is true, Bai-shimei was the one we had hoped to have as our pack’s omega. But as Bai-shimei said, it is no use to try this with a beta. It has to be an alpha, for the process to work properly.”
“I see. I had never seen a beta go through it, but I didn’t know it was entirely impossible… And so… Are there any other requirements for it? I’m afraid my knowledge on the subject is sorely lacking, aside from the very basics.” Yue Qingyuan asks, and Shang Qinghua is suddenly a bit too aware that he might be the only one in the room who does not know what’s going on.
All the other peak lords either come from lofty families, are the children of renowned rogue cultivators, or like Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu, went through circumstances that made them open their eyes to the realities of the world from a young age. That is to say- they all probably know a thousand times more about sex ed than he does! Shang Qinghua was the only peak lord in this generation to come from a humble little no cultivator farm family! It sounds like a serious issue, and he kind of wants to ask just what’s going on, but… It’s too late, the conversation has gone on for too long, and he’d look like an idiot if he asked now!
“Ah, well… It’s easier if the alpha already lacks alpha characteristics, be it from weak genetics or outside manipulation. And of course, having a more subservient temperament by nature also goes a long way to make the process easier.” Mu Qinfang says, and Shang Qinghua does not like the sound of that, because that’s… A description of him? Actually, the other peak lords have been staring at him for a while now, and he had assumed that was because he always gets teased and looked down on for being the lord of An Ding, but it’s actually a bit weird looking back at it.
“Let’s stop beating around the bush. Shang Qinghua is the best choice.” Liu Qingge speaks up, and Shang Qinghua freezes and squeaks.
“M-me? Nono, I- ahaha, I…” something tells him he does not want to be the one chosen, for some reason! But everyone’s eyes are on him, and suddenly he is very very aware that alphas who haven’t had their entire domineering functions squashed by medicine are really scary.
“Liu-shidi might be right.” Mu Qingfang interrupts Shang Qinghua, and he feels cold sweat start to form at the back of his neck. “Shang-shidi, you have been on rut suppressants since you presented, right?”
“Well- yes, um…” There’s no point in lying, because he presented when he was already assigned as a head disciple, and as such received his meds from Qian Cao’s head disciple: Mu Qingfan. The man knows damn well it’s true.
“Explains why he’s such a miserable excuse for an alpha.” Shen Qingqiu snorts, covering his face with a fan, and Shang Qinghua finds himself feeling more terrified than offended. “Look at him. He’s all tiny and meek, he might as well already be an omega.”
“Shen-shixiong, that’s-” Bai Qingrong frowns, and Shang Qinghua feels a shred of hope: finally! Someone is going to stand up for him!! When he wrote the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, he had envisioned Bai Qingrong as a lithe and waifish woman to contrast her crazy beast taming abilities, but he had also made her really nice and kind!! And of course, as the peak lord of An Ding, he’s made sure her Jing Shou peak gets good funding to continue taming beasts, and it has paid off, because she’s going to defend him! “- that’s mean, you’re going to frighten him. If the sect truly is to bitch Shang-shixiong into a proper omega, you must also remember how to properly treat one as well.”
Oh. Nevermind.
… What’s that about him getting bitched?!
“H-hey, hey, now- Zhangmen-shixhiong, surely that’s- ahaha, there has to be a better choice, right? That’s, er, I don’t think-” Shang Qinghua is panicking now. He has a vague idea what bitching is, mostly from porn doujins he read for research reasons back in the modern world, but- but! He does not want to find out if it works the same way here! He does not want to be an omega to get passed around by the peak lords!
“Mu-shidi. What do you think?” Yue Qingyuan turns a blind eye to Shang Qinghua’s panic. Before Shang Qinghua can try to run away, he’s grasped by Mu Qingfan, who sends a small wave of qi through his meridians. It’s to check his body and he knows it, but it also makes him feel weak in the knees: did he just do some minor spiritual energy anesthesia?!
“It’s true that Shang-shidi’s alpha traits are underdeveloped, even though his cultivation base is rather decent. Usually, even cultivators who didn’t fully develop their secondary sex characteristics can fully develop them when they develop a sufficiently strong core, but because Shang-shidi has continued taking many types of supressants even now, those characteristics remain minimal.”
Mu Qingfang’s qi feels like a warm trickle into his body. He remembers writing about some wives in Luo Binghe’s harem using qi to heal minor injuries on him, because even though as a heavenly demon he could heal himself, nothing beats the tender romance of having one of your wives heal your wounds, right? Shang Qinghua did not research much for these scenes, other than throw in filler words about how warm and calming it felt to have the spiritual energy flow into the protagonist’s body. And sure, he’s had qi transferred to him and has had to transfer qi before (accidents happen in An Ding! Those crates are heavy!), but it’s never felt like… This? He’s frozen in place, and it feels like thick, warm honey is coursing through his spiritual veins. For sure this is some sort of special technique or something to get him not to run away.
“M-Mu-shixiong, stop- please-” he jerks his hand, trying to break Mu Qingfang’s grasp, but instead stumbles. His knees feel weak, like he might collapse. “What are you doing…?”
“Don’t worry, Shang-shidi. I’m merely using spiritual power to calm your body down and to make you relax. You looked frightened, and that wasn’t good, was it?” Mu Qingfang smiles gently, but Shang Qinghua does not feel calm! His body is forcibly relaxed, so much so he feels like he might fall actually, but his mind is going into panic mode! “I do believe Shang-shidi would be our best choice, as was said. Does anyone have a better idea or a complaint?”
“I have a question.” the archery peak lord, Lao Qingren, raises his hand. He looks a bit conflicted, and Shang Qinghua’s heart sings: is this it? Is he going to be saved by the dashing archery lord?! Oh, gods bless Lao Qingren, he might just have been canon fodder who died as a way to demonstrate Luo Binghe wouldn’t be killed by measly arrows, but now he is Shang Qinghua’s favourite! He wants to motion to his fellow peak lord how much he appreciates the support in getting him out of this, but his body is weak, and instead he stumbles and ends up being held up by Mu Qingfang, who just sort of holds him in a hug while he continues sending warm waves of qi into him.
“Please, speak up, Lao-shidi.” Yue Qingyuan notions for the archery lord to speak. Shang Qinghua is a bit miffed at how chill everyone is, actually. He has been nice to everyone! He has worked miracles with the budget to make sure everyone got what they wanted! So why is it that instead of being worried for him, they’re all just watching as Mu Qingfang holds him and keeps giving him this bullshit xianxia anaesthesia?
“Thank you, Zhangmen-shixiong.” Lao Qingren says, then turns to look at Mu Qingfang and Shang Qinghua, the only two people standing up in the room. Well, Mu Qingfang is standing up: Shang Qinghua is being held up by the healer. “I am worried that… Shang-shixiong might not be willing.”
Finally! Lao Qingren is truly his saviour! Shang Qinghua wants to run into those strong archer arms and cry at his feet in gratitude. Because it’s true! Shang Qinghua is not willing to get bitched! He never agreed to it, so why has it been seemingly decided it should be him?
“- and I worry that the process might fail because of his unwillingness. If it fails, we will be down a peak lord, and I don’t believe any other alpha among us would be as proper for this as he is.” Lao Qingren finishes his sentence and Shang Qinghua’s little shred of hope shatters.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter. Any alpha can be bitched against their will. What’s important is to be thorough.” Shen Qingqiu speaks up, and the sly smirk can be felt even when he hides his face behind the fan. “As long as the job is done properly, it truly doesn’t matter how badly Shang-shidi doesn’t want it.”
“There’s six alphas here, and four of us are capable of seeing it through. More than enough to properly bitch him.” Liu Qingge speaks up, arms still crossed. “The only way for the bitching to go wrong is if we left him unattended for too long or didn’t go through the process completely. There’s enough of us to make sure he’s never empty for long.”
“No. No, no, no- I don’t want- don’t do it, please, I don’t want it-” panic settles in, and Shang Qinghua feels like he can’t breathe. It’s clammy and cold and painfully familiar, the way he feels like the world is caving in. He tries to struggle out of Mu Qingfang’s hold but he’s too weak, his limbs feel like wet rope and the panic makes him unable to move like he wants to. “No, no, please, no-”
“Shang-shidi, I apologize. It pains me to put a fellow peak lord in a distressing situation, but I’m sure you understand why it must be done.” Yue Qingyuan shakes his head dismissively. Like that’s a good enough reason. Like if Shang Qinghua understood- which he doesn’t! It all doesn’t make sense! Things are fine as they are, so why is he the one who has to- has to go through whatever it is that he’s going to be put through, and he knows he won’t like it, he’s scared, he’s horrified, and yet everyone is just sitting, acting like his crying and fruitless attempts to get out of the medic’s hold are a mild annoyance.
“Shang-shid has no reason to panic. I will personally oversee the process and ensure your mind is not broken, ok? You will be pampered and treated nicely. It won’t hurt at all, I promise.” Mu Qingfang finally lets go of his wrist, but the weird warm feeling of his qi does not leave his body. It’s not like he’s paying attention to that anyways, with his crying getting so intense he can barely sob between hiccups and heaving breaths.
“Mu-shidi… Can you make him calm down?” Qi Qingqi speaks up, and although her voice does not sound like she feels bad about the situation, there’s enough empathy in her tone to make Shang Qinghua whimper.
“Like I said, he’s a poor excuse of an alpha. Hasn’t even been touched and he’s cried himself incoherent.” Shen Qingqiu shakes his head, sneering. Yue Qingyuan sighs.
“Mu-shidi, it would be good if we could somehow make Shang-shidi calm down. Perhaps you could put him to sleep for a while? I would have preferred to start the process once everyone has been briefed, but with Shang-shidi’s state, I’m afraid he might try to run away if we leave him by himself in his peak.” Yue Qingyuan speaks, and the peak lords listen, as if ignoring Shang Qinghua’s choked-out cries in Mu Qingfang’s arms, where he still struggles weakly. “I will call for some disciples to help you escort Shang-shidi to Qian Cao and place him in a safe room where he won’t be able to hurt himself or try to run. If possible, you should probably keep him medicated enough to ensure he’s calm while you explain to me and your fellow peak lords how the process will go down to ensure it is perfect.”
“No, no- please, I’ll do- I’ll do anything else, please, no, please don’t do it, don’t lock me up…” the peak lords stare uncomfortably at Shang Qinghua, crying like a child as he weakly tries to get away from Mu Qingfang. It’s dizzying to see a cultivator reduced to such a state without having been attacked: even if Shang Qinghua is physically one of the weaker peak lords, he still is a peak lord. There’s an almost pitiful quality to him, like a small rodent caught in a trap and crying in hopes it will be helped.
“I will ask some of my girls to bring calming perfumes for him.” Qi Qinqi speaks up, smoothing her robes as she stands. “If he is to be our omega, we should start getting used to treating him like one. Hopefully this level of distress will be long forgotten when all is said and done.”
“Bai Zhan disciples will join Mu-shixiong.” Liu Qingge adds in as he stands up, looking as serious as he has the entire meeting. “Shang Qinghua is weak, but right now he still is an alpha. It’s better to make sure he cannot have an outburst and try to fight and run away.”
“Very well then. Thank you to you two for your aid.” Yue Qingyuan says, and turns to Mu Qingfang and the trembling man in his hold. “Let us begin by transporting Shang-shidi so we can start.”