(Summary):
A Peak Lord Meeting (drama set)

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Liu Qingge arrived to Cang Qiong and told everyone what happened.

-So you're allowed to meet Shen-shixiong?- asked Wei Qingwei.

Wei Qingwei was the type to express his hate through passive means, such as glaring, subtly siding with the other party, sending mediocre swords to Qing Jing Peak, etc.

Of course, he did this because he knew Shen Qingqiu can still sense all the hate sown in his words and actions no matter how small or subtle.

Then the sword Chun Hua[1], which identifies who is and who isn't virgin, started glowing brightly when close to Shen Qingqiu when the Qing Jing disciples came to claim their spiritual swords.

He started to doubt rumors after that. He wanted to testify for Shen Qingqiu in the trial, but when he tried to convince his shixiong, Shen Qingqiu said to keep silent, insisting that the people in the court will claim that Cang Qiong is just trying to save their second-in-command and their reputation.

When Luo Binghe came and confirmed all the rumors were false, including Shen Qingqiu trying to kill Liu Qingge, he only felt even more guilty. He is glad Shen-shixiong is safe now.

-Mn. I'll try and convince him to come here.- Liu Qingge's reply snapped him out of his thoughts.

-I hope he's doing alright.- Mu Qingfang said. He regretted treating Shen Qingqiu the way he did, as well as the Qing Jing disciples.

He would always put them at the bottom of the list of people he had to heal, even when they had the worst injuries. When Luo Binghe came, Ming Fan even testified how they treated their Shen Qingqiu and their peak, that even a healer would put down their dignity just to spite their Shizun. How many disciples died because of this, including one disciple that Shen Qingqiu adored.

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-We thought you could help break down Shizun's walls, Mu-shibo, because you were one of of few people Shizun would allow to enter his abode, and we saw you as a patient man. That was until Chuntian Xi[2] died because you wouldn't give him proper medical attention!- Ming Fan shouted. It was the first time they heard the boy raise his voice.

-Chuntian Xi, along with Ning Yinying, was the light of Shizun's life, of our lives. He and Ning Yingying brought smiles to everyone's faces. And then he had to die a slow and painful death because of your ridiculously stupid and absurd grudges!! A'Xi, our poor A'Xi...- Ming Fan said as he sobbed. Ning Yingying also crying as she tried to comfort her Da-shixiong.

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-Let's hope he can visit soon.- Qi Qingqi said. She was the one who made Shen Qingqiu's reputation hit rock bottom along with Liu Qingge. She listened to rumors without properly investigating, and went as far as banning him from her peak and influencing her disciples to hate Shen Qingqiu. She even tried to kidnap Ning Yingying when Shen Qingqiu brought her to the sect when she was two!

-As if Shen-shixiong would actually talk to you of all people.- Bin Qingzhao[3], Peak Lord of Ling Shou Peak[4], the Beast Peak, sneered.

Out of all the peak lords, Bin Qingzhao was one of three peak lords that Shen Qingqiu tolerated, and since it's Shen Qingqiu, being tolerated means that you're basically his friend, best friend if you're hopeful enough.

Whenever Shen Qingqiu would feel stressed, he would come to Ling Shou Peak to have tea with Bin Qingzhao. Since the peak lord was calm and silent most of the time, and most of the time the calm and quiet atmosphere around Qingzhao was what Shen Qingqiu needed, along with the tweeting of the baby pheonixes, the fluffy fur of the Thunder Wolves, and the meows and purrs of the Winter Flake Sabertooths, it made Ling Shou Peak the perfect hangout spot.

-And what do you mean by that, Bin-shimei?- Qi Qingqi asked, venom seeping from her words, challenging her shimei to continue.

Qingzhao, however, did not back down. In fact, she only got bolder.

-Isn't it obvious?- the Beast Peak Lord growled. Every peak has their own special technique, Ling Shou's special technique is shape-shifting into a spiritual animal most compatible with their cultivation. Because of this, their human appearance will also take on some physical similarities of the beast they shapeshift into.

Bin Qingzhao bared her fangs to Qi Qingqi. Her beast form is that of Firefang Panther, black fur with red, yellow, and orange highlights on her paws and tail and a fire sigil on her forehead. Qi Qingqi immediately shut up because like the Ling Shou Peak Lord, Firefang Panthers have a bad temper, especially when you insult or harm beings they consider their kin (all spirit beasts were like that but they don't supervise the beast peak so how would they know?). She only had her fangs and claws out, how much more angry will she get if she transformed fully?

-You spread rumors about him, ban him from your peak, persuade all the girls, not just your disciples mind you, to hate him and stay away from him, try to bring the female Qing Jing disciples to your peak even when they chose Qing Jing of their own accord, scorn and mock him during meetings and disregard his intel and plans along with Liu-shixiong and blame him when things go wrong, and even tried to kidnap a toddler of Qing Jing!! And may I remind you that almost everyone here also hated him and made their hate evident because he didn't trust anyone even if you were the ones who never gave him a reason to! And yet you still want him to visit a place where he was singled out, and actually mingle with you as if nothing happened?!- Bin Qingzhao exclaimed as she clawed the arm of her seat, her teeth clenched showing her fangs, eyes slit into something cat-like.

Everyone was shocked. That was the most they heard the Beast Peak Lord say in any meeting. Everyone was anxious, but Qi Qingqi, being the prideful woman she was, did not back down.

-How was I supposed to know he went to brothels to sleep?! He didn't say anything about it so-- Qi Qingqi yelled.

-Did you ever ask him?- a voice cut Qi Qingqi off.

Everyone turned and saw Ning Yingying standing beside Ming Fan. Her eyes became cold, no longer holding the innocence that Shen Qingqiu fostered, leaving a scowl looking exactly like Shen Qingqiu's.

When Shen Qingqiu was taken from the trial and Yue Qingyuan ordered not to search for him, they had to appoint Ming Fan the stand-in peak lord of Qing Jing, considering he was head disciple. However, due to his inexperience, they had to make Ning Yingying his assistant.

Ming Fan and Ning Yingying had to deal with all the scorn that was brought upon Qing Jing Peak, exposing them to the hurt and trauma that their Shizun had to handle for years. Without Shizun to comfort them and shield the others from everything, everyone on Qing Jing hardened themselves, every single disciple becoming a shadow of the Qing Jing Peak Lord.

-He would never admit it anyway! His ego was too bloated at the time.- Chang Qingshui[5], Peak Lord of Zui Xian Peak, slurred.

-Would you have believed him?- another voice scoffed. Tian Qingyun[6] was the second peak lord Shen Qingqiu tolerated, and was also close friends with Bin Qingzhao.

In fact, they both approached Shen Qingqiu together on one of Shen Qingqiu's bad mood days. They brought him to Tian Qingyun's peak for him to help them decide which talisman would be best to make their spying equipment. It certainly calmed him down. After that, they would hang out in Yinshen[7] and Ling Shou Peak until a certain other peak lord also wormed his way into their shixiong's heart (also theirs but no one mentions it).

All the peak lords except three and Qing Jing lowered their heads in shame. Their shimei was correct, no matter what Shen Qingqiu said, they wouldn't have believed him. A certain sect leader's head went lower than anyone else's, knowing his shimei was passively calling him out.

Yue Qingyuan thought this has gone on for quite enough. -Everyone please calm down. I'm sure Shen-shidi will come and explain everything to us.-

-Explain? EXPLAIN?! Wasn't Luo-shizhi's explanation enough?! Do you still need to pry open Shen-shixiong for answers, and make him reminisce of all those awful things?!!- a voice screamed from the one person they didn't expect.

Shang Qinghua[8] surely wasn't a crybaby, nor was he clumsy, but he is still a pushover. Normally, everytime someone offends Shen Qingqiu, he would not say anything and only tried to placate his shixiong's anger in private or with Qingzhao and Qingyun. This is because Shang Qinghua's fear of being beat up by his other martial siblings. After all, he doesn't have muscles like Liu Qingge or a silver tongue like Shen Qingqiu.

Right now, however, his blood pressure shot up to the roof when Yue Qingyuan said that Shen Qingqiu might come and "explain". So he expects Shen Qingqiu to explain himself to him when all he ever did was say sorry?!?! Preposterous!!

-You don't have a right to Shen-shixiong's explanation. None of you do! How could you say that when you haven't even explained to him why you left to die in that awful place?! Why does he always have to be the one to explain himself when none of you ever explain why you hate him!! You assume things about him so of course he assumes things about us too! It's only fair. You say he's a spoiled young master when you all clearly know that he works twice, heck, thrice as hard as any of us. He started visiting brothels a year after he joined the sect, yet you all thought it was because of those that his cultivation is crippled! You never check and when he actually explains you never fucking believe him. It's infuriating!- Shang Qinghua said in a matter of fact tone.

Meanwhile, Liu Qingge was stunned. No one ever raises their to Yue Qingyuan like that, except for Shen Qingqiu. -Shang Qinghua, that's disrespectful--

-Disrespectful?! The only one disrespecting who here is you Liu Qingge! You're not even addressing me properly!! You always think you're higher than anyone else because your fighting skills are on par with Zhangmen-shixiong. Well guess what?? Some people would actually like for others to have a brain!! You say honor is important, but that's because you come from a noble family.- Shang Qinghua sneered as he said that, venom dripping from his words.

Shang Qinghua was just like Shen Qingqiu, a survivor. He picked his battles and always thinks whether death is a possibility. How else would he have survived his father's mistress and son while living in the same household? He knew what it was like to pick his life over honor and dignity. Why else would he become a traitor to his sect?

-You never knew what it's like to starve out in the streets. Children there are so thin, it's a miracle they can even steal! But instead of helping them and understanding them, authorities cut their hands off and let them bleed to death as if they were doing the world a favor. And so what if brothel workers sell their bodies for money? You don't know what it's like to be a slave, or to be sold off by your own parents. A woman might lose her purity, but at least it's of her own will unlike when their own family members lust over them!!-

It's true. Shang Qinghua looked so much like his mother, one night when his father was drunk, he tried to touch him. Luckily, he was able to knock him out and run away with the will his mother left for him.

-You always think Shen-shixiong is out for you, but you never stop and think that when he accepted the beasts you left at the door before that mission, that he wasn't as bad as everyone thought? Everyone was jealous of how Zhangmen-shixiong was doting on him. Have you ever stopped and wondered if he didn't like all the attention he received? That he despised it because it was all built from guilt?- Shang Qinghua asked, and Liu Qingge froze, and Yue Qingyuan's head dipped even more.

Shen-shixiong actually liked those presents? He didn't like being favored by the Sect Leader who is also his sworn brother? And the worldview of non-nobles is really as Shang Qinghua described? Is it really that bad for street rats and those with a beautiful face and figure?

-You all only see the world in black and white because you were raised like that so I don't blame you.- Shang Qinghua continued. -But if you really want Shen-shixiong to forgive and forget, which I doubt he will, you must start seeing this world in shades of gray, as did our second-in-command.- Shang Qinghua paused. Not sure if what he's going to day next will break Liu Qingge right then and there. But he went with it anyway. -He cried Liu-shidi. When you accused him of trying to kill you the first time, he cried so hard that he was still sobbing despite no tears coming out. He really hoped you would be the one to save him from himself. And as he always thought would happen, his hope was crushed.-

At that Liu Qingge collapsed to his knees. Tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. Is he really honorable if he judged the people who needed help the most? When Shen Qingqiu needed him most? When he dangled a carrot in front of his shixiong, and ripped it away?

Whimpers and silent and small sobs could be heard from where Liu Qingge was.

-It seems that Liu-shibo is tired.- Ming Fan stated, finally speaking for the first time during this whole meeting (drama set). This one takes it as a sign that the meeting is adjourned, we will be leaving now.- Ming Fan claimed, he was the first to actually speak in a proper manner, truly representing Qing Jing... and Shen Qingqiu.

With that, Ming Fan stood up and left. Ning Yingying, Bin Qingzhao, Tian Qingyun, and Shang Qinghua followed suit and left the others to stare at the table in shock and in shame.

All the peak lords' thoughts are the same as Liu Qingge's. They never knew that life outside of nobility was that horrible. Sure they had some knowledge, but they never knew it was this deep.

Qi Qingqi was sobbing in her palms. Wei Qingwei was rubbing his temples with his fingers. Mu Qingfang was gripping the arms of his chair as if it were a lifeline. Chang Qingshui was drinking a bottle of the strongest wine brewed on his peak. The rest of the peak lords were in a daze, some covering their mouth and others were wiping tears from their eyes. Yue Qingyuan just kept his head down, feeling all the years of regret and shame pile up on him.

-It is as Ming-shizhi said, this meeting is adjourned.- Yue Qingyuan exclaimed, sadness can be heard from his words.

Everyone left with a cloud above their heads, and Liu Qingge ran back to his peak and sobbed into his pillow as if he were back to when he was a toddler getting injured for the first time during training, tears fall as he gripped a certain fan tighter.

Notes:
[1]Chun Hua - means Pure Flower, considering that a virgin is considered pure and most historical stories I've seen refer to losing your virginity as "deflowering".
[2]Chuntian Xi - Chuntian means spring and Xi means delight. I feel like since SVSSS shows that the view of the protag isn't the whole story, I wanted to add a reason to why Ming Fan bullied Luo Binghe. The reason was that since Luo Binghe is their youngest shidi and is a boy, he thought that it was like replacing A'Xi and he handled his grief through bullying Chuntian Xi's "replacement".
[3]Bin Qingzhao - means Pearl (Bin) Clear Claw (Qingzhao)
[4]Ling Shou Peak - literally means "Spirit Beast Peak"
[5]Chang Qingshui - means Bright (Chang) Clear Water (Qingshui)
[6]Tian Qingyun - means Sky (Tian) Clear Clouds (Qingyun)
[7]Yinshen Peak - literally means "Stealth Peak". I got lazy to make two words for the name, sorry (not sorry).
[8]Shang Qinghua - yes, this is OG Shang Qinghua hugging OG Shen Qingqiu's legs in case Mobei Jun will want to kill him one day.