It had been a good morning – relatively speaking. In hindsight, it had almost certainly been too good for it to last. And it hadn’t.

“You mean didn’t get the message I asked Huilu to deliver?” the recently errant Peak Lord Jiao asks, looking and sounding entirely too baffled for it to be anything other than the truth.

As such, Yi Yeguang turns towards the other recently errant Peak Lord, arching an eyebrow, and Mingyue pointedly averts his eyes. Yi Yeguang isn’t really surprised though. He just wants to know why.

“There wasn’t time,” Mingyue says – or rather, claims.

Yi Yeguang has his doubts though, and he says as much – because the lack of a note means that Mingyue had likely destroyed it, and if he’d destroyed it, then odds are that Mingyue had burned it.

“Why would you assume that?” Jiao Ziyu asks, quite oblivious – and while Yi Yeguang thinks there’s a definite need to address that, now is not the time.

Instead, Yi Yeguang looks towards Mingyue and then just shakes his head before reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“It doesn’t matter,” he finally decides, because the intricates of Mingyue’s relationship with Jiao Ziyu is Mingyue’s problem, not his. Besides⸺ “What’s done is done.”

What had been done had indeed been done, and the fact bears repeating. That said however⸺ “Don’t do it again.”

And with those words, Yi Yeguang promptly dismisses them, and once they’re gone, he takes a deep breath and puts his hands together, almost as if in prayer. And perhaps he is indeed praying – praying for deliverance – or perhaps he’s just directing himself towards the Heavens, wishing to ask just what he’d ever done to deserve all of this. Yi Yeguang doesn’t though, because he’s already aware – both of his own actions and of the unlikelihood of any higher power running interference on his behalf.

Besides, it isn’t only about deserving – it’s also about choosing. And Yi Yeguang had chosen – chosen to take responsibility for his own mistakes.

In hindsight, he rather wishes he’d gone about it in some other way though – but it’s far too late for regrets, mostly.

Oh, he still has them, but it’s far too late to go back and do anything about them – and even if such a thing would’ve been possible, Yi Yeguang isn’t sure that he’d necessarily make better decisions.

“Doesn’t matter,” he then sighs, steepling his fingers. “It’s not like time travel is actually possible or anything.”

There are things that can be done, and things that can’t be done – things that can be changed and things that cannot.

Furthermore, there are things that can easily be handled and things that cann’t – and Yi Yeguang realises way too late what has been admitted into their midst.

Oh, he knows about the deal with Yue – Mingyue’s new or not so new disciple – and the Demon Prince otherwise known as Youming Jun – he knows the gist of it, at least. Of course, he knows that some details have been altered or left out – potentially even vital information, but⸺

 

---

 

“Honestly,” Yi Yeguang said, not even bothering to hide his exasperation. Because on one hand, he could’ve – and probably should’ve – addressed the issue before all of this – before a bored Demon Prince had taken his provocations of Peak Lord Cheng to the next level.

On the other hand though, this situation wouldn’t have occurred in the first place if Mingyue hadn’t holed up with his disciple and kicked out the Demon Prince, thereby making Youming Jun the rest of the sect’s problem. Ah⸺ “I honestly don’t know and I honestly don’t care if this sort of conduct is acceptable over in the Demon Realm. Because this is the Human Realm, and this is the Green Jade Peaks...”

This was indeed the Green Jade Peaks, which was not under the formal jurisdiction of any Demon Kings – and Yi Yeguang very much intended to keep it that way. Thus, certain boundaries obviously needed to be established in order to avoid further conflicts down the line. Because as much as Yi Yeguang would’ve liked to avoid addressing all of this, his lack of timely interference meant that he could only live with the consequences, and whatever awkwardness they brought.

“Prince Youming Jun,” Yi Yeguang said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “While my fellow sect members ought to have known better than to retaliate, the fact that you are the aggressor does not change. Peak Lord Cheng’s poetry collection is private, and not to be recited to the masses.”

And indeed, it wasn’t, and it would’ve been the same even if said poetry hadn’t largely consisted of love poems seemingly dedicated to Yi Yeguang. Because no matter who they’d been dedicated to and who’d been behind said dedication, Yi Yeguang would’ve treated the situation the same.

Granted, the situation at hand was mortifying, but more so for Peak Lord Cheng than for him – and Yi Yeguang couldn’t help but be mildly fascinated by the fact that the normally composed Peak Lord Cheng’s face could actually turn such colours.

The man himself displayed admirable self-control however, managing to stave off an oncoming qi deviation while adamantly refusing to meet Yi Yeguang’s gaze – he also hadn’t made any further attempts at killing the Demon Prince, so Yi Yeguang opted to do the courteous thing and just ignore him in favour of dealing with the problematic brat before him given that neither Peak Lord Bai nor Peak Lord Jiao seemed up to the task.

Yi Yeguang wasn’t entirely sure what more to say though – he’d already said his piece, and if he opened his mouth again, then he might just start cussing. As such, Yi Yeguang settled for a general stare of disapproval, keeping his arms folded across his chest and his mind firmly away from any thoughts of grabbing the brat and chucking him off of the nearest cliff.

Then, just as Yi Yeguang had managed to let go of said urges, the Demon Prince did something that immediately sent Yi Yeguang’s thoughts flying.

Because Youming Jun removed his mask, revealing not just a smug expression but also a face that Yi Yeguang had thought – that Yi Yeguang had hoped – that he’d never have to see again.

Both horrified and incensed, Yi Yeguang immediately snapped his head around, rounding on the two Peak Lords that could’ve conceivably prevented all of this and promptly blurted out: “Which one of you fuckers allowed former Peak Lord Jiao to breed?!”

Because there was little denying the paternity of that one, something that the other Peak Lords in the room would no doubt be able to attest. Then, of course, there was the seeming age of the spawn – he looked young, far too young to have been fathered around the same time as former Peak Lord Jiao, Jiao Zilei, had stopped submitting his already irregular reports.

Granted, when it came to age, both demons and cultivators could be either younger or older than they looked. However, Yi Yeguang doubted that Mingyue would’ve tolerated the relationship in-between his own disciple and the Demon Prince if the age difference had been significant, because he obviously had to tolerate the union to some degree, considering the fact that the brat was still alive and had all his limbs intact.

Could it be⸺ could it be that former Peak Lord Jiao was still running around the continent as a wild inconvenience? Or had he too shacked up with the Demon King, like Mingyue’s master, Bai Jixue?

For a brief moment, the utter horror of such a possibility left Yi Yeguang nearly insensible. But then reason kicked back in, asserting that it was highly unlikely. Thus, Yi Yeguang steeled himself before once again looking to the current Peak Lord Bai and Peak Lord Jiao for answers.

Predictably, Jiao Ziyu simply shrugged, smiling sheepishly but in a way that indicated that he himself had only learned of this particular spawn relatively recently.

Bai Mingyue in turn shot Yi Yeguang a thoroughly unimpressed look before snapping open a fan – and a highly recognisable one at that. Yi Yeguang wasn’t shocked though, already aware of former Peak Lord Bai’s reappearance and recent activities in the Demon Realm.

As for some of the other Peak Lords though, the situation was another.

Also, Mingyue was undeniably smiling behind that fan, indicating that he had known about this particular demon bastard’s existence long beforehand and was quietly laughing at Yi Yeguang’s slip-up just now.

And in regards to the latter, there were definite looks from the other Peak Lords as well as from their attending disciples – because although Yi Yeguang had brought this into the meeting room in the Great Pagoda instead of dealing with it on site, he hadn’t actually bothered to kick out everyone who could’ve conceivably been kicked out.

Indeed, it would seem as though Yi Yeguang’s carefully cultivated image of a dignified and upstanding Sect Leader had taken a definite hit. Yi Yeguang couldn’t quite find it in himself to care though – not right now, at least.

Instead, he simply heaved a heavy sigh and turned towards Mingyue and said: “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

And Mingyue slowly lowered the fan, revealing his now unsmiling countenance. “No.”

Oh, okay then. “We’ll continue this discussion in my office. Everyone else is dismissed.”

And this everyone included every other Peak Lord, as well as the Demon Prince and Mingyue’s new or not so new disciple, who shot Youming Jun a particularly pointed look.

This reminded Yi Yeguang of the day when they had first arrived some months ago – it didn’t really feel like much time had passed though, and honestly, by cultivator standards, it was practically yesterday. Still⸺

Why? Why me? Why now? What did I do to deserve this? Ugh.

There was no point in asking, no point in bemoaning it, and yet⸺

 

---

 

Yi Yeguang’s first encounter with the Demon Prince is a brief one.

He’s in his office, looking over some budget proposals, when a dimensional portal of obviously demonic origin forms in one of the corners of his office.

And obviously, Yi Yeguang is surprised, albeit not so surprised that he doesn’t have the presence of mind to reach for his talismans.

He doesn’t activate any of them though, and neither does he send out an alarm through the wards.

Instead, he just keeps himself steady and keeps very still, wondering if this is some covert assassination attempt or something else altogether.

The way that the demon intruder visibly startles at the sight of him could’ve implied one or the other, but the reaction that follows definitely leans towards the latter.

“Shit,” says the masked demon later identified as Youming Jun. “I’m just here to deliver a message.”

A message, huh?

Yi Yeguang inclines his head ever so slightly. Then, as the demon holds up the apparent message, he covertly taps the underside of his desk, activating the talismans hidden there, and then rises to his feet, straightening out his attire. Because whether or not he’s about to receive a message or be assassinated, Yi Yeguang figures he’d rather give at least the illusion of a dignified sect leader.

“So,” he says. “Who’s the sender?”

In truth though, he doesn’t really need to ask, because there is an incredibly likely sender.

“Uh...”

Yi Yeguang honestly isn’t sure what sort of face he’s making, but something about his demeanour clearly unnerves the intruder.

“It’s Mingyue, isn’t it?” Yi Yeguang finally says, sighs and then just puts his hand out, waving it impatiently. “Whatever, hand it over.”

And with those words, Yi Yeguang effectively dismisses what later turns out to be the Demon Prince, and the other quickly vanishes back to the Demon Realm before Yi Yeguang has the time to really process what the message says.

Thus, he finds himself left with what indeed turns out to be a message from Bai Mingyue – providing essential information without the necessary details to go in-between – because what Yi Yeguang reads is this:

“Master’s back. Demon Realm. Will return with disciple and Ziyu after wedding.”

And while this does tell Yi Yeguang some rather useful information – like Bai Jixue’s seeming return, the current whereabouts of Mingyue, his disciple and Jiao Ziyu, and the fact that they’re going to return – it also lacks details in regards to how these events are connected and whose wedding they’re supposed to be attending.

Yi Yeguang figures it’s still better than nothing though.

 

---

 

It had been better than nothing, Yi Yeguang supposed. It had been better than nothing, but having more information at hand would’ve been useful when the delegation from the Demon Realm had finally arrived.

And then, Yi Yeguang had been formally introduced not just to Mingyue’s new or not so new protégé and but also to the nephew and de facto heir of the Demon King.

 

---

 

“Sect Leader,” Mingyue says, cupping his hands and bowing ever so slightly. “I have brought my successor, Yue, and...”

At this, the Peak Lord throws a positively scathing look the masked demon’s way. “...The Demon Prince, Youming Jun.”

Yi Yeguang extends his greetings, all while taking in the sight of them all.

Mingyue doesn’t look very different from before – he wears his usual cold expression, although it softens noticeably whenever he looks at his apparent disciple, a young man clad in black and purple robes who surveys the insides of the office before inclining his head in Yi Yeguang’s direction. He noticeably doesn’t bow, but considering the fact that the other is a demon prince’s consort, Yi Yeguang hardly takes offence. Instead, he considers the other – the Demon Prince – and notes that the other’s behaviour differs significantly from before.

“Welcome to the Green Jade Peaks,” Yi Yeguang says, cupping his hands and bowing as much as is appropriate before straightening back up to finish his introductions. “I am Yi Yeguang, the leader of the Windward Sect. Everyone calls me Sect Leader Yeguang.”

The more logical choice would’ve been to call him ‘Sect Leader Yi’, like his predecessor and the one before that. However, for reasons related to the previous holder of said title, Yi Yeguang had opted not to use it for himself.

“Well met, Sect Leader Yeguang” the Demon Prince responds. “Now, as my father-in-law already mentioned, I am Youming Jun. This is my mate, Yue. Touch him and you die, just so we’re clear.”

Right.

“Touch him and I’ll kill you, Demon Bastard,” Mingyue immediately responds, and Yi Yeguang can immediately tell that this whole arrangement will be trouble.

Jiao Ziyu in turn just smiles, looking sheepish, pained and mildly sympathetic all at once, and Yi Yeguang tampers down on a sudden urge to strangle him – because as the one in charge of the sect’s spy network, it’s really Jiao Ziyu’s job to inform Yi Yeguang about such things.

However, this is by no means the first time Yi Yeguang has experienced such violent urges. This is by no means the first time, because Yi Yeguang has definitely contemplated killing almost each and every other Peak Lord at some point, albeit for wildly different reasons – even Mingyue, although Yi Yeguang would hardly ever go through with it.

And why would he, honestly? In the case of both, it would not only be suicidal but also otherwise undesirable.

In any case⸺

“I’d very much prefer it if no blood was spilled, whether inside my office or elsewhere. And I don’t particularly care whose it is.”

Yi Yeguang doesn’t really care. He’s got more than enough blood on his conscience already.

 

---

 

“So,” Yi Yeguang said, addressing the Bai Mingyue of the present. “What is it?”