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1
“Wait! It's mine!” Shang Qinghua said, watching a great hulking mountain of a demon pick up his pelt from its secret spot between rocks on the seaside and sniff it.
The wide shore was silent except for the susurration of the waves and the wind. Large patches of ice and dark stone intermingled, creating an endless kaleidoscope of blacks and blues. There was no one in sight but Shang Qinghua and the stranger. The waste expanses of the Polar Sea coast never scared Shang Qinghua before, but today, they did.
The strange demon was still holding his face in Shang Qinghua's pelt, though, and that just wouldn't do. Shang Qinghua took a step, then another… And then he had to stop because his knees were trembling too hard. The demon still wouldn't let go of his pelt, and Shang Qinghua couldn’t believe this was happening to him. Then, the blue demon inhaled loudly and sighed in utter contentment. Shang Qinghua saw red. Enraged, he stalked forward, little shards of ice crunching under his feet. It was HIS pelt, and no one was allowed to treat it like it was just an animal hide! It was not up for sniffs! When he reached the demon, Shang Qinghua screamed at the top of his lungs, “Give it back!”
“No. Why?” the demon said. He was twice as tall as Shang Qinghua’s human form, with long black hair and piercing midnight blue eyes. His skin was very blue, too, but more like glacier ice. He was wearing long robes in different hues of blue, light blue of the clear sky contrasting with the dark blue of the sea depths. The neck of the big demon’s robes was plunging so low Shang Qinghua almost expected to be able to see his navel. Not that there wasn't enough to look at as it was; the man’s chest was massive.
Making himself look away was a fit and a half, but Shang Qinghua somehow managed it. When he did, he almost screamed again. Completely disregarding Shang Qinghua’s existence, the demon put his whole face into Shang Qinghua’s pelt and started rubbing his nose onto its coarse fur, sighing in pleasure the whole time! Shang Qinghua was ready to tear out his hair just from watching it. Who was he kidding, he was already doing it! This was the worst day of his life! And, of course, it was all Shen Yuan’s doing!
He knew going to the nearest demon town to buy sweets and melon seeds together with Shen Yuan was a bad idea! Shen Yuan was a magnet for trouble; what was Shang Qinghua thinking, leaving the selkie village with him in tow! Now Shang Qinghua was going to lose the quiet life he built for himself, his stupid ugly useless best friend who was there just now and went missing the moment his help was required, and, to top it all, Shang Qinghua was going to do it bald because he won't have any hair if things kept going the way they were! Fuck his life! Fuck his underwhelming pelt hiding skills! Fuck melon seeds! And, most of all, fuck Shen Yuan, that traitor!
The demon didn't care for Shang Qinghua's antics at all. Now he was snuggling the pelt as if it was his firstborn child. It was just disgusting to watch. Shang Qinghua got goosebumps simply staring at it! What a perverted demon, argh! “Stop it, you brute!” Shang Qinghua shouted, a little (a lot) desperate. His breeches were a bit tight now, for some reason which wasn't relevant. “I-I will… curse you!”
That made the demon pause his assault and look over to Shang Qinghua. He said, “You want to put your weak curse on this Demon King?” and scoffed, as if the very idea offended him and his ancestors. Shang Qinghua sputtered. Well! Maybe he was right! Maybe a little selkie curse was nothing to him! Maybe demons of his caliber and color weren’t too scared of colds or fishing misfortunes!..
“What kind of demon are you, even?” Shang Qinghua asked sulkily. He put his hands around himself, straightening the robes over his front surreptitiously. He wasn't giving up!! He was adjusting to the circumstances! It was strategically more sound for Shang Qinghua to resign himself to his fate than suffer from unfounded hope!
The thief, meanwhile, didn’t pay him any mind at all. He took one last sniff of the pelt, put it away, probably in a qiankun pouch, and started walking. “Wait! Where are you going?!” Shang Qinghua had to go into a trot to keep up with the demon! “Where are you going?” The demon didn’t say a word. He just kept walking along the snowy shore towards the hills. Here’s to taking a detour to Shang Qinghua’s village and saying goodbye to brainless asshole Shen Yuan! Here’s to taking some of his meagre belongings with him! Fuck, why did this pelt thief have such strong, long, and muscular legs?! It was unfair!
The demon suddenly stopped walking right when Shang Qinghua's stamina started betraying him. “What? You changed your mind, at last?” Shang Qinghua wheezed, only to then yelp and make a dash for it. Who would expect that the betittied blue demon would open a portal in the shadows and immediately step though it?! So that's why he decided to walk so far; it was to find some high quality shadows!!! Shang Qinghua barely had time to stumble through the portal after the demon, let alone think about where he could be heading!
This better not be what I am thinking, Shang Qinghua thought when he stepped out of the portal and found himself in a literal ice prison. The place was enormous; the ice cave could fit Shang Qinghua's village, their selkie lake, a few Finless Moonlight Whales, and leave some space for a few Hulking Goose-Sharks. There were big chunks of glowing ice on the ceiling of the cave, providing a starry glow. The walls of the cave were covered in icy protrusions of all shapes and sizes. Shang Qinghua gaped when he saw tiny figures cowering on some of those literal icicles! Here and there, big holes were made in the ice floor. Shang Qinghua dared a peek into one and jumped back in horror. The hole was bottomless!
Meanwhile, the Demon King who stole Shang Qinghua’s pelt was striding somewhere with purpose, confidently choosing his path between razor sharp ice blades strewn everywhere. His unnaturally inflated ass was rapidly fading in the distance. Shang Qinghua broke into a run to catch up with him, thanking his selkie nature for his on-the-ice agility. “My King! My King! Wait for me! Please! My King! Don’t leave this Qinghua here!”
The King didn’t slow his steps, but he didn’t close the massive icy gates behind himself until Shang Qinghua flew through. He also didn’t send some deadly sharp icicle Shang Qinghua’s way or crush him against a wall or something. It seemed like Shang Qinghua's pelt would be safe with him for now! Lucky!
After they exited the ice prison, they had to scale a long, winded staircase to reach what Shang Qinghua decided could only be his King’s palace. The stairs (phew, there were too many!) led them into some sort of walk-in closet that was connected to a long ice corridor. The walls and the floor were muted grey, and it was slippery! Shang Qinghua sorely missed his ability to turn into a seal, ah! Seals weren’t afraid of any ice; they usually didn’t have to fall on it from any height either! Shang Qinghua’s right elbow was aching; of course, his King was striding forward as if gravity had no hold over him.
Shang Qinghua scurrying after his King, they crossed the absurdly big and empty halls of the gigantic ice palace at a brisk pace. There were a lot of ice carvings, in the walls and on the floor. Some halls even held ice sculptures of scary Abyssal beings and tall, imposing demons next to them. Those were probably the rulers of the Northern Desert of the old! In some of the sculpture compositions, the ice kings were riding the Abyssal beasts… uh, in more senses than one! Good thing Shen Yuan wasn’t there to yap himself hoarse about the wrong proportions or genital sizes or something!
The demons they encountered bowed deeply to his King or even fell to the ground, prostrating themselves. Shang Qinghua did his best to stay in his King’s shadow! Some of those bowing demons had large teeth! And pointy claws! And horns fit for impaling a Snow Yak-Leopard! And they were all bigger than Shang Qinghua (though rarely bigger than his King)! Eek!
At last, they arrived at the Royal Chambers. The door was made of some dark shiny metal interspersed with black ice. The guards were almost as tall as the ceiling! Eek!! The Chambers themselves were ENORMOUS! Shang Qinghua gawked, following his King inside. There was some movement on the guards’ part, but one glance from his King - and they stilled again. The King went further, and Shang Qinghua hurried along. It was a reflex by that point.
When the doors closed, Shang Qinghua realized that he was locked in his King's bedroom with no way out! He was trapped!
Shang Qinghua's breathing quickened. He knew what he was doing, but he was so enchanted by the ice palace’s wonders that he simply forgot about his purpose here! Shang Qinghua knew that there were services, and then there were also services; he was an adult! Yet he didn't expect to have to provide the latter so soon after the pelt theft! He was still shaken by the abrupt turn his young life had taken! He wasn't ready! Damn, Shen Yuan, when I catch you!
Unaware of Shang Qinghua’s mental breakdown, his King dropped on the bed in front of Shang Qinghua and started snoring. “My King?” Shang Qinghua bleated. “What will you have me do?!... My King… Ah, my King, why are you so gorgeous in your sleep, how can this Qinghua remain impartial when faced with such perfection?..”
Then, the King growled, his eyes still closed and his breath - measured, and Shang Qinghua suddenly found himself crouching under the giant bed. Well, it was one way to spend his free time, Shang Qinghua decided, and curled up in a small lump on the carved ice floor. A rug would be nice, but that was for the future Qinghua to worry about! Ice was his natural habitat, after all! Also, being fat was the best! The only way to live in the tundra! So for now, Shang Qinghua was quite comfy. Exhausted by the day’s events, Shang Qinghua hid his face in his arms and was out like a light in moments.
This was how Shang Qinghua’s life as a servant to the Demon King of the Northern Desert officially started.
2
“My King, they’re fishy,” Shang Qinghua whispered, looking at the scaly demons in front of the dais. There was a large empty spot left for the petitioners, and the rest of the hall in front of them was filled with demons of all colours and sizes. There was even a giant ice goo demon! Thankfully, it didn’t offer its opinions very often, since not many, save for the King, could understand his words. “So fishy! And I don’t mean it in the most obvious way, you know.”
“Mn,” his King said, looking at fish demons. They resembled little bright red carps, their ceremonial garbs consisting of seagrass skirts and woven baskets on their backs. Shang Qinghua knew his King didn’t think much of them. “Your purpose here,” his King told the fish demons’ delegation.
Shang Qinghua sighed inwardly. As was obvious from the beginning, he was not a man of many words. He let his icicles and his tits speak for him (Shang Qinghua refused to believe that he was the only one to hear the siren’s call of the latter!). Those were very efficient instruments, if Shang Qinghua said so himself. Yet, a little deceit and some scheming came a long way, too — and that was where Shang Qinghua stepped onto the stage. An invisible stage only existing in his mind, of course, but still! This was his whole shtick, after all, to stay hidden and to work from the shadows! He and his King weren't too dissimilar after all!
While Shang Qinghua was in his own head, the fish demons began their pitch. “Oh majestic King of the North, Mobei-Jun! May your tundra be plentiful, and your seas - bountiful! May you…” The voices of the delegation echoed slightly in the grand hall. The many carvings in the ice walls helped with the sound, but ice was still ice! Shang Qinghua tuned the fish demons out. There was nothing of notice in these saccharine praises! Unfortunately, they were not negotiable (Shang Qinghua asked). It was traditional. Praises to the Demon King alone could decide the fate of a whole demon clan! Shang Qinghua himself wasn't sure he knew every trick there was to Ice Demon Court speech, and he had studied them in the Palace library! Shang Qinghua sighed to himself. No one said that honoring the Ancestors was easy, but this was going overboard. Still, as a nobody from a tiny village at the sea, Shang Qinghua had zero say in this (and in most other things at the court, and in his new life, ha-ha-ha). He had gotten used to it, honestly! It was high time, too; it’d been almost a year since Mobei-Jun, his boss, had stolen Shang Qinghua’s pelt. Shang Qinghua was doing fine! He adjusted well! He had no regrets! Ha. Ha-ha.
The first months were rough, Shang Qinghua was forced to admit. His King’s trust couldn't be earned lightly, and he definitely had a heavy hand! Mobei-Jun didn't sleep a wink that first night, as it turned out! Of course he wouldn't; his King was too smart for that! The questioning he gave Shang Qinghua in the morning was brutal! Shang Qinghua wouldn't recommend!
The months that followed hadn't been easy either. Between attempts at Mobei-Jun’s life, skirmishes at the borders and assimilation into Luo Binghe's Empire (his King had almost died for real when Luo Binghe came to assert his power of the Northern Kingdoms. Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Shit!), it was one thing after another. Mobei-Jun and his loyal servant did their best to live to see another day, ah! Sometimes, his King would give Shang Qinghua silent treatment. ‘Silent treatment’ was when his King didn't talk to him for four days and more. Apparently, staying silent for two to three days was normal for mysterious icy types. But if Shang Qinghua was quick to determine what caused his displeasure, everything would soon be peachy again! Yeah! Who would have guessed?!
All in all, Shang Qinghua couldn’t say it had been a bad year. He didn’t lose any limbs! Yay! His pelt was still safely owned by his King! Yay!! Even his virginity was intact!.. Let's not talk about this one.
To sadder things: Shang Qinghua still didn’t have his own bedroom! He had to sleep under his King’s bed this whole time!! Luckily, the bed itself was gigantic, there was a lot of space underneath, and his King had given Shang Qinghua all the fluffy pelts a demon could want (just not The One Pelt. Ha. Ha-ha).
For some reason, his King was looking for a selkie now. It was because the Demon Emperor (the gossip!) presumably told Mobei-Jun something about selkies having “irresistable charm” and “vast knowledge of beasts”. Like, was he for real?! Shang Qinghua was starting to think that the black sword the Emperor liked to swing around had fried his Imperial brains or something. Well! All the better for his King! After Emperor Luo Binghe would die of madness, his King could take all his lands for himself — Shang Qinghua already had it all planned out in neat little steps. Then, he could probably ask his King if he could take a short vacation. If he asked for a proper ride, like one of those Snow-Snake-Cheetahs, he could go back to his village for a day and invite Shen Yuan to the Palace! Shang Qinghua couldn’t leave his King’s side for long, but Shen Yuan didn’t have the same problem! He would show Shen Yuan all the wonderful kills his King made and stored in ice under the Palace, and his stables, full of exotic beasts, and his hunting birds! Shen Yuan would be green from envy!
It needed to be said that Shang Qinghua didn’t envy the selkie his King would inevitably find. Good thing it would hardly be Shen Yuan! The amulets Shang Qinghua made for the both of them made the two selkies smell of nothing in particular. That way they could stay among demons and not fear discovery! The amulets were working incredibly well, too! Yes, Shang Qinghua still got caught, but it was only because his King was too naturally curious for Shang Qinghua's good and dug out his pelt out of its hole! Too bad Shang Qinghua didn’t account for that! Not his King’s fault at all!
Ah, don’t get him wrong, his King was well-endowed and blue-eyed and majestic, but Shang Qinghua missed being his own selkie! He was safe from going land-crazy as long as he stayed with his Boss, physically close to his pelt: but his King never gave him his pelt back. Shang Qinghua missed swimming! He missed the dark sea waters, so full of tasty, stupid fish! He could eat the best food his King’s lands and waters had to offer, but nothing could beat one’s own catch! Grabbing an unsuspecting fish and biting into it with gusto, mmm, mhm…
“Qinghua. You’re drooling.”
Shang Qinghua jumped! Was he daydreaming in the court? Again?! “Ah! My King! Sorry! Sorry! The fishy fishes! You can’t trust them…”
His King waved his hand dismissively. “Already dealt with.” Shang Qinghua threw a glance at the throne hall… and it looked distinctly like a fish market, what with all the scales lying around on the ice. The other demons made themselves scarce or were pressed against walls in horror. The ice goo demon was slowly making his way up a column. It looked like it was his best speed. Shang Qinghua noticed a red scale at his feet at the dais and shivered. His King was so strong! Aiyah, wearing baggy pants today (and every day, a-ha-ha) was a wise choice!
“My King? Are you still going to look for that selkie? The one our Emperor pointed out to you?” Shang Qinghua asked as they moved to his King’s private dining room. Ooh, they were having fish again! Nice and nutritious! Shang Qinghua had never before managed to store so much fat! He’d be a shark in his home waters! A whale!.. Ah, if only he was still allowed to swim. His mood soured, Shang Qinghua silently plopped onto his place next to his King. Why did he have to make himself sad all day long today, aiyah!
“Is the fish not to your liking?” Mobei-Jun asked. Shang Qinghua glanced at him. His King looked worried, for some reason. His mighty brows were aligned just so. “What?! No, my King, I love it! Thank you!” he hurried to reply.
“Then why do you look so gloomy every time we have a meal?”
Shang Qinghua blinked. Lying seemed pointless, but telling the truth was definitely disrespectful. His King caught him fair and square, what reason had Shang Qinghua to complain about his missing freedom? “It’s just… ah, I would like to see them in their natural habitat again, that's all!” Was it him or Shen Yuan talking! What was wrong with Shang Qinghua today?!
His King just nodded. “We will go to the Dark Polar Sea tomorrow,” he said. “Come now.” Neither of them had anything to eat yet, but, well, they weren’t hungry, he supposed? Shang Qinghua certainly wasn’t! He followed Mobei-Jun to their — uhm, his King’s! — sleeping chamber. “Here,” his King said, taking something out of a qiankun pouch he apparently had on his waist under his robes. Unfair, my King! How come you had more pouches than your Qinghua was aware of??? Then the thing his King took out of the bag materialized, and Shang Qinghua’s mind screeched to a halt. His pelt!!! It looked so familiar! So lovely! So warm and inviting! Ah, Shang Qinghua missed it so bad!
Then, things started happening a bit too quickly. “You said it was yours. You can have it back,” his King announced. Before Shang Qinghua could react in any way, his King flung the pelt at him, his aim immaculate. Uh-oh, Shang Qinghua thought, and opened his mouth to shout for his King to stop. It was no use, of course. Teleportation spells were faster than words. Shang Qinghua was still screaming, “MY KING NO,” when he got sent to his native sea in his original seal form. Or trying to scream, at least, since seal throats weren’t made for that.
“You, as well,” a familiar voice said above his head, interrupting Shang Qinghua’s desperate honk. And, sure thing, fatter than even Shang Qinghua, Shen Yuan was sitting in all his naked half-transformed glory on an ice ridge above the shore. Where Shang Qinghua’s pelt was brown with many off-white spots, Shen Yuan’s was dark black with a greenish shine. It looked good on him! Too bad Shen Yuan's little pretty face was so sour he looked like a half-dried Polar Sea Cucumber. “Thrown away like a piece of trash after months of care and devotion,” Shen Yuan continued. “Who do they think we are? Disposable goods? Ah, I’d burn his Empire to dust if I weren’t so lazy!” And he threw a rock into the water, thankfully missing Shang Qinghua’s head.
There was something deeply wrong about all of this, Shang Qinghua thought, but he was in the water for the first time in almost a year. Shen Yuan’s weird melancholia and even his King’s betrayal could wait. Without hesitation, Shang Qinghua dove down into the depths. Finally, he was going to catch all the stupid fish he wanted!!!
3
“I can't decide who I miss more: him or his tits,” Shang Qinghua said thoughtfully. They were lounging on a cold beach, their pelts only reaching up their waists. They never took them off fully anymore. Lesson learned. “We would be dining in the Ice Palace now! We would have Southern Moss Crab!”
Shen Yuan groaned. “I don't want to hear another word about Mobei-Jun or his tits, oh my gosh! How can you be attracted to a literal icicle?” Shen Yuan flopped onto his back dramatically. “I myself don’t miss my evil captor one bit! I am glad to be back! He can feed his tasty dishes to his Abyssal hounds for all I care!”
Shang Qinghua rolled into the water and splashed him with his tail, but Shen Yuan ignored it, continuing with his diatribe.
As if your catwailing was fooling anyone, Shen Yuan! Shang Qinghua knew better than to trust his best friend when it came to his feelings. He had seen his “Binghe wall” in his favourite icy cave. The carvings were almost as good as in his King’s ice palace, and all of them depicted that careless demon who stomped on Shen Yuan’s fat little selkie heart. Just admit you fell in love with your captor already, aiyah! At least Shang Qinghua could be upfront about it!
To annoy his bestie further, Shang Qinghua said, “Well, my King is tall and strong. He’s also very handsome. He has such chiseled features!” Shang Qinghua swam further into the lake to avoid possible attacks. For some reason, Shen Yuan stopped fidgeting behind him. Shang Qinghua didn’t pay the drama queen any mind. “My King's eyes are the most gorgeous blue you can find! The colour of the stormy sea at night!”
“Uhm. Shang Qinghua…” Shen Yuan said.
“And his arms! Ah, when he takes you by the neck and tries to strangle you!..”
“Qinghua, fucking look back!”
Shang Qinghua was too engrossed in his memories to pay attention. “But back to his tits…”
“Qinghua.”
“My King!” Shang Qinghua exclaimed and whirled around on reflex. There, in all his massive bare-chested glory, stood Mobei-Jun. Shang Qinghua rubbed his eyes; the vision didn't disappear.
Next to him was the Demon Emperor. Shang Qinghua has seen him once from his back; his unruly curls and red and black attire were hard to miss. Luo Binghe, their lord and saviour, was on his knees in front of Shen Yuan, crying and begging Shen Yuan for something. Tears and snot were marring his pretty face, and his hair was in disarray. Shang Qinghua made a face. Eww! What a big baby! Yet, for some reason, Shen Yuan looked like it was the prettiest sight in two realms. Eww, gross! Shen Yuan was even cooing at the Demon Emperor and calling him ugly pet names. Shang Qinghua turned away. Two peas in a pod! Disgusting!
There were more important things to consider! He swam closer to the shore. “My King?” Shang Qinghua asked meekly, looking at his King’s feet. “What are you doing here? We selkies are already your loyal subjects, you don't need to…” He never finished the phrase, because the next thing he knew he was being grabbed and shoved into a portal. Yikes! Why so terrifying, my King?! An endless moment of teleportation later, Shang Qinghua got dumped on a familiar bed. In the nest under which he’d spent the best part of the last year! He was never allowed on the bed before, what changed now?!
Shang Qinghua flopped onto his back, his dark-brown tail fin a stark contrast to the snowy white linens. Mobei-Jun was just standing by the bed and looking at him. It was giving Shang Qinghua the creeps. “So, this is how your pelt looks on you,” Mobei-Jun said finally. “It's… nice.”
“Yes?” Shang Qinghua didn't know what he was getting at. Was it not obvious that a selkie’s pelt would look good on them? “I’m glad my King approves?”
“Very nice” Mobei-Jun drawled, giving Shang Qinghu a slow once-over.
Shang Qinghua’s cheeks tingled. It was because of embarrassment, he told himself. Not pride! Not something else!
“You lost weight,” his King said next. Shang Qinghua wasn't prepared for the Judging Stare that followed. Objection, my King! You have no leg to stand on here! Look at this royal brute, throwing around such accusations!
Shang Qinghua jumped to his legs on the bed. He was barely reaching his King’s tits; and when did he even turn into a human fully?? He shouted, “Whose fault is that?! You refused my service and threw me away like a sack of fish heads!”
For some reason, Mobei-Jun looked to the side. Shang Qinghua couldn't believe his eyes. His King never shied away from a challenge! What was happening?! What was happening?!
“Qinghua,” Mobei-Jun said tightly. Shang Qinghua’s eyes found his. “This King would never throw his Qinghua away or refuse his service. Qinghua is this King’s most precious jewel. This King is… asking for Qinghua's forgiveness for how he acted.”
Shang Qinghua gaped. His world got turned on its axis, and the Northern Desert had suddenly gotten too hot! “But then why…” Shang Qinghua started. Only for Mobei-Jun to lean in and leak his neck.
Shang Qinghua's brain stopped working.
When he came to, he was sitting in his King’s lap (!), naked saved for the amulet on his neck (really?? He was still overheating there!), and without a clue. His King’s long nose was on his nape. “My King?” Shang Qinghua asked nervously. Not that he was against being treated like a lapdog by his King, but he needed to know why! Why such a sudden change of heart! Why such a familiar treatment out of the blue! His King interrupted his reverie, murmuring, “Still no smell…”
Was he talking about Shang Qinghua's smell? Ah, that! That could be a little confusing! “Wait a moment, my King!” Shang Qinghua hastily took off the amulet that was masking his smell and making him seem like a common demon. Immediately, his King’s arms snaked around his middle, crushing him. “Qinghua. Mine,” his King muttered between growls and bites. Shang Qinghua, feeling like he was losing it, submitted to the treatment. Once his King had enough of mauling him, he deposited Shang Qinghua on the bed next to himself and fixed him with a Disappointed Look. Qinghua gulped. Uh-oh! He still managed to do something wrong, didn't he?!
“Qinghua. All this time, I’ve been searching for the owner of that pelt.” And Mobei-Jun put his hand on Shang Qinghua's selkie skin, lying on the bed between them. Shang Qinghua completely forgot it existed. “I was completely sure it had nothing to do with Qinghua. But something was off. I noticed that you had a severe reaction to my absence.”
“Oh, you mean the time you disappeared for five days, and I got a little loopy?”
“You were so weak you couldn't move.”
“Ah, it wasn't that bad, my King!”
“Qinghua. What if I had stayed away for one more day?”
“Uh, I’d feel worse?”
“Two more days?” Mobei-Jun’s hands returned to Shang Qinghua’s waist.
“Erm. I, I’m not sure you would have found me alive upon your return, my King. Ha. Ha-ha.” A sudden thought appeared in Shang Qinghua’s head. He perked up. “My King! Is this why you never left me for more than an hour after that?”
Mobei-Jun nodded. His hold on Shang Qinghua grew impossibly tight.
“I still wanted to find the owner of the coat back then. Its smell was absolutely irresistible. But, after that night, I started asking myself: was it worth it? To find some selkie who happened to smell good and risk losing my Qinghua? Soon, I noticed that I was relieved when my hunts bore no fruit. That way, I could simply return to my Qinghua and lead my life as it was.”
“I am so flattered, my King!” Shang Qinghua exclaimed. “But. I don't understand. I told you it's mine. Why would you go looking for some other selkie, even if my smell didn't match because of the shitty amulet? Seriously, it was Shen Yuan’s fault! It was his idea to make such amulets! Anyway! Why would I own an additional selkie pelt!”
“Could be one of your conquests,” Mobei-Jun shrugged, like it was not a big deal at all.
Shang Qinghua felt a strong urge to pluck out all his hair and then all of Mobei-Jun's, too. “My King! I would never enslave my kin!” he shouted. “We selkies never steal each other’s pelts!!! IT'S USUALLY A DEATH SENTENCE WHEN A SELKIE GETS CAUGHT! It's unimaginable to treat your kin…”
“Were you thinking that this was what happened?” Mobei-Jun interrupted. “That I stole your coat to enslave you?”
“Uh… I preferred to think that you just wanted to secure my services?” Shang Qinghua mumbled, looking down. “You're not a bad boss! Like, not the worst one!” Mobei-Jun’s eyes glistened dangerously. Shang Qinghua shrank on himself. His mouth was his worst enemy! After an awful, awkward silence where neither could look the other in the eye, Mobei-Jun asked, “Explain one more thing to me, Qinghua. Why would you run away when I returned your pelt? Wasn't it your ultimate wish, to get your freedom back?”
“Ah, my King, it's easy! If a selkie manages to steal their pelt back, the ancient magic activates and sends them to safety! Ultimate victory! No shameful fleeing and hiding! Whoosh - and you're back in your selkie lake! Or in the sea!! Which, yeah, that's what happened. Shen Yuan and I both got teleported to the sea near our village!”
Mobei-Jun heaved a tiny, very controlled sigh. Shang Qinghua (very secretly) thought it was adorable.
“We need sleep,” Mobei-Jun declared next and shoved Shang Qinghua under the covers. Very soon, Shang Qinghua was lying in bed and listening to the strong heartbeat of his favourite demon in the world. Just how he liked it best! The safest place was under Mobei-Jun’s bed! Well, from now on it was probably IN Mobei-Jun's bed! His pelt was right under his pillow! Very safe! Very secure! Shang Qinghua definitely would recommend! Just when Shang Qinghua was dozing off though, an image of the Emperor on his knees in front of Shen Yuan appeared in front of his mind’s eye. So it was that Binghe! Luo Binghe?! Shang Qinghua surged up on the bed. Or tried to; Mobei-Jun was holding onto him with both arms. Aww, so filial! Luckily, his mouth was unobstructed! “My King!”
“What now,” his King asked grumpily, his nose never leaving Shang Qinghua's nape.
“Did my best friend catch himself the Emperor of the Demon Realm, or have I gone crazy now?! So my amulet worked even on Luo Binghe?! I fooled the Emperor?! My King, this is great news! The possibilities are endless! What if we used my amulets on our spies in the South! What if we sent a demon in disguise to one of the human cultivation sects! What if…”
For some reason, Mobei-Jun didn't want to learn about all the new possibilities that were now open to them. With a light change of pose, he smothered Shang Qinghua with his godly bicep and thus sent him back on track to the Dreamland. Amulets? What amulets! His King and his divine physique, that's all there was to this world! Soon, Shang Qinghua was out like a light.
In his dream, Shang Qinghua was teaching his King the intricacies of underwater fishing.
Dream!Qinghua felt very smug. He caught the biggest fish in the lake, and his King, whose catches in comparison to Shang Qinghua's were quite mediocre, was looking at him with pride.
Shang Qinghua smiled in his sleep. He didn’t know that in this moment his King, wide-awake and barely breathing lest he scared off his luck again, was looking at him with pride and wonder. Maybe, life wasn’t so bad after all!