"Grandmaster Shen," he heard their voices like echoes in the dead of night, following him everywhere he went. Life as the grandmaster of knowledge was easy enough. Get up, have servants help him get ready, pray to the upper gods in the temple, attend to incoming prayers — though he rarely got any nowadays — from mortals down below, observe juniors in their training, and provide guidance to their masters, then head back to his pavillon (yes, his OWN personal pavillon) to rest for the night.
He could get used to this.
"Grandmaster Shen, good afternoon." A soft voice sounded in the background.
"Yes, Feng. It is a good afternoon indeed." He responded, his tone a little friendlier than he'd like. She giggled, and he fought hard to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. This servant is always so clingy! "What do you need?"
"Nothing in particular. Grandmaster returned early today; is everything okay?" He could tell she was concerned, but for what reason? He was only 5 minutes early.
"Mn. Fine as always." He sighed, letting down his hair. The servant this morning tied it too tight, bless the young child, and he didn't have the heart to tell her.
He crossed the room delicately, steps unhurried and poised, just as his mother taught him.
"Like this, Xin-er." She said, demonstrating how to walk with grace. "You may not become a martial master like your brother, and in such a case you will need to know how to act with elegance."
With elegance, my ass! My calves hurt! You torture me, mother.
He wondered how his brother was doing. It had been almost a month since he last saw him...
"You put us all in danger! The hell's your problem?!" His brother's strong, furious voice sounded in his mind.
He wondered if his brother was still mad at him... He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts by Feng's cheery voice. Right. She's still here. "Would you like some tea? I made some green-"
A sudden throbbing flashed through his head, his vision flashing white.
"Get out." He demanded, his tone cold and unwavering. He winced slightly at seeing Feng flinch, but she obeyed and hurried out of the room, much to his relief. "Call for General Shen!" He called after her. I hope she heard me...
--
In his pained daze, he faintly registered his door opening.
"Ge... help... I-it's happening again..." He spoke into the darkness, his head pounding as he struggled to look at his brother, his eyes fighting his will to open them.
It took a while, but he was able to see him at last. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed and gaze scrutinizing every fiber of his being.
"Please... I-i know y-you're mad-"
"Shut up. Just... don't talk."
He sat next to him, gently stroking his hair and his horns. "You're lucky. I should be ripping these out right now. Did anyone see?" He chided.
Thank god. He's not mad...
He shuddered, the feeling of his brother's cool, soothing qi flowing through his temple. "N-no. No one..,"
His brother chuckled as he slowly regained full consciousness. "You really need to learn to control it on your own. You know-"
"Yes, I know how the court will react. Dragons aren't exactly... allowed."
"Do I need to explain the story to you again?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Xinyi."
"Yes please."
He sighed. To be fair, the story was horridly boring. "Alright, pay attention this time." His brother said, lightly flicking his forehead.
"You see, long ago, when the celestial court was first established, there was a great war between the dragons and the gods. The dragons, proud and powerful as they were, refused to bow to the authority of the heavens. They were slaughtered, their parts used for the progression of immortality. In the end, they were banished from the divine realm, and any dragon found in the celestial court would face immediate execution."
"And that's what happened to Baba." He added, to which his brother nodded.
"So, please, Didi, learn to control it. I won't always be here to do it for you," he sighed sadly. "I know you have our mother's weak constitution, but please. You have to learn. You can't keep doing this-"
"Yeah, yeah, save me the lecture." He snapped, tired of listening to him. "Thanks for all your help; have a good day!" He said cheerily, mimicking Feng as much as possible. He got out of bed and pushed Chengfei out of his room. "Thanks for coming; see you next time!"
"Wait- Xinyi hang on-" He tried to protest, his younger brother surprisingly strong as he was prompty shoved out of the room, the door slamming behind him.
Once Chengfei was gone, Xinyi slumped against the door. As much as he loved his brother, he was a pain in the ass sometimes.
Later that afternoon, there was a council review for Xinyi's ranking. He was dreading this meeting, because…. well….
The soul examination.
Xinyi strode calmly to the main hall, his footsteps light and quick to mask his nervousness. He pushed open the large, pristine, red paint and gold embellishment-adorned door, his eyes following his shaking hands, willing them to still.
The Grand Hall was full of many other minor gods and other grandmasters.
How lucky would I be if that… Demon… Hei Yue showed up… All this would have to be put on hold.
Xinyi locked eyes with a familiar pair of gold eyes hidden in the crowd. "What the…?" he mumbled to himself, before a booming voice sounded over the crowd. "Grandmaster Shen. Welcome. Are you ready?"
All stilled, and Xinyi looked up. "Yes, your highness. Let's begin."
The Crown Prince of Lower Heaven smiled, his auburn hair flowing behind him as he rose from his seat. "You have done well in the past month, Shen Xinyi. Let's begin with the knowledge test, shall we?"
Xinyi had enough time to blink. Next thing he knew, he was alone in a white and gold-decorated room, the Crown Prince sitting across from him at a small table. "Have a seat," he said, smiling. "I know it's your first time, and your brother mentioned that you have a bit of exam anxiety. Relax, kay? We're the same mortal age!" Xinyi didn't know how he felt about that. On one hand, it was comforting to know that the Prince was the same age as him.
On the other hand…
Damnit, Fei. Why are you like this? Is it so hard for you to shut your mouth?
Xinyi nodded in response to the Crown Prince's kindness. "Thanks. Let's start?" He took a seat across from the Crown Prince, looking at the scroll, pot of ink, and calligraphy brushes, which were neatly organized on the table in front of him.
The Prince nodded, pulling out a scroll of his own, the back of it a silky black fabric. "Before we begin, you are required to make a blood-qi seal, one that prevents the distribution of test questions and answers, as well as details of the soul examination to those whom the knowledge is not permitted to be accessed. This includes other minor gods, mortals, spirit pets, and upper gods who are not in a position directly above you. Do you understand?"
Uhm... what?
Despite his confusion, Xinyi nodded. The Crown Prince smiled, conjuring a small kit that Xinyi recognized as a pact kit. Here we go...
The Crown Prince pricked his finger, squeezing it so the blood would slowly bubble up to the surface. Xinyi winced slightly, being the sensitive little flower that he was. His finger was then pressed onto the black scroll on the paper side, and he concentrated, letting his qi flow through him, to his finger, imbedding in the paper. The effort caused him to break a small sweat; his consititution significantly weaker since the recent... incident. The red fingerprint, now glowing a faint blue, signified his agreement to the pact.
The Crown Prince studied the blue glow of Xinyi's qi for a moment, then spoke up, his tone hiding his true thoughts and feelings. "Your qi... is blue?" He questioned quietly.
Xinyi could feel himself sweating harder than he was when he completed the pact. "Yeah," he lied, "family trait. My brother has it too."
The Crown Prince looked at him, a hint of skepticism in his gaze, then nodded. "Onto the test, then."
---
The test went smoothly, Xinyi acing every question like he'd been studying since he was born.
As he went through the different questions, procuring different tallismans and givng textbook prayer answers, a small feeling of dread pooled in his stomach silently, and he felt like he was going to throw up.
After the test, the Crown Prince smiled, laughing amusedly. "My my, I don't know half these answers! Yet you answered them perfectly! You truly live up to your name, Grandmaster Shen."
"What name? Being a Grandmaster isn't much." He questioned, his brows furrowing, his dread being put on pause for a moment.
The Crown Prince chuckled. "You really don't know? Other minor gods praise your knowledge to no end!"
Xinyi was shocked, his jaw hanging slightly slack. "They do? I barely interact with any of them..."
The Crown Prince's smile widened further. "And that goes to show the extent of your knowledge, Grandmaster," He shrugged as if it were common knowledge, "You're so smart that the little you've interacted with others has already impacted their view of you to such magnitude!"
Not used to the sudden praise, Xinyi glanced at the table. "Oh... l-let's move on to the... the soul examination." As he uttered the words, the dread came back full force, causing him to instantly pale, the corners of his vision turning white. He swallowed, trying to control his emotions. He didn't need to shift now. He really didn't.
"G-Grandmaster Shen?" The Crown Prince questioned, his voice laced with concern. "Are you alright? We can take a break if you're feeling too overwhelmed..."
"No- no. I'm alright." He croaked, taking a deep breath. He schooled his featured into a calm, perfectly healthy expression. "Let's continue."
Despite his concern and distrust of Xinyi's claimed state of "alright", the Crown Prince nodded, extending a hand. "Here, take my hand. We'll begin the soul examination now. Don't fret, I'm sure you'll be fine." he said with a kind smile.
Xinyi was not sure about that.
He took the Crown Prince's hand, his palms sweatier than his brother on a hot day. The Crown Prince was slightly off put by the moisture on Xinyi's hand, but he cleared his throat and began to review Xinyi's soul and golden core.
"Weak constitution... Pure heart... No malice..." the Crown prince murmure quietly, reading the features of Xinyi's soul. Suddenly, he paused, his tan face paling, becoming lighter than Xinyi himself. He recoiled, his eyes darkening. "You-" he started, then stopped, his expression a mix of anger and disgust as he stood up. He waved a hand and Xinyi was instantly shackled in gold qi chains. "You filthy lizard! How dare you insult the heavens with your presence!" he exclaimed.
Xinyi hung his head, not daring to utter a word.
Shit. I'm done for
"I must bring this matter to my father." The Crown Prince said curtly, still scrutinizing him with his gaze, then he turned, flicking the hems of his robes as he left, leaving Xinyi trapped in the spirit domain all alone.
Why... Why can't I hide it..? Why is this happening... Is this Karma?
Xinyi pondered the situation with a heavy heart, his mind working in overdrive trying to figure out a way out. To avoid paying the death penalty for something he can't control.
---
The room was suddenly filled with wooshing. Xinyi tried to lift a shackled hand--to no avail--to sheild his face from the invisible gust. A tall man in red and gold extravagant robes stood before him when the wind died down.
"y-your highness-" Xinyi stammered in awe.
"Silence! You foul beast! How dare you infiltrate the holy lower realm knowing what filth you are!" The Emperor of Heaven roared, his voice booming so loud Xinyi could swear the other gods could hear him from outside the spirit dimension.
"Father... the punishment we discussed..." The Crown Prince was there as well, gently reminding his father of their agreement.
The Emperor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Normally... you would be beheaded at town square for all of heaven to see... however... your reputation preceeds you... you have gained the favour of many other gods in your short time here, as well as..." He glanced at the Crown Prince, "some royalty. So you will be spared."
Xinyi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"However."
There it is.
"You will return to the human realm to live as a lizard until you have gather 300 years worth of qi. Your brother will also be checked, though he may not see mercy like you have."
what…
WHAT?!
A lizard?! You have got to be kidding me.
"A...Lizard?" He questioned, to which the emperor glowered.
"Would you rather a fish?" He sneered in disgust.
"Lizard it is." Xinyi conceeded. He glanced at the crown prince to see him smiling like a lovesick teenager.
Oh.
That's why I'm being spared.
He forced himself not to gag or show any of his obvious disdain. If Ling Xi was a cutsleeve, then so be it. There really wasn't any stigma around liking other men in heaven, and it was actually quite common. That being said, Xinyi was not, and will never be, gay. He had no feelings towards the Crown Prince, so naturally he was a touch off-put by the crown prince's reaction to... well, to him.
---
From where he crawled low on the ground, he could barely make out the figure of a tree in the mild sunset. Curse you, Ling Bao. How dare you sentence me to the GODDAMN DESSERT. He sighed inwardly. It was either going to be a very long 300 years, or he would be the luckiest lizard alive.
Unbeknownst to him, it was most definitely going to be the latter.