Yi Yeguang was not a fan of drama. The prospect of such might’ve expected him at some point, but now, this was no longer the case.

As a child, he’d been excited by tales of cultivators and their interactions with demons, ghouls, ghosts and even Gods. He’d been excited, and he’d sought to experience such adventures for himself – as a powerful cultivator, or Heavens willing, perhaps even as a Peak Lord in his own right.

And he’d achieved all of that, in a manner of speaking – but at what cost?

He’d paid dearly for it all – paid dearly for it in many ways – and he had regrets, yes, but at least a few of them were the sort that Yi Yeguang would probably do all over again, if the chance presented itself.

Also, as it turned out, time travel was indeed possible – for some, at least.

Well, that certainly explained a thing or two – or eleven – about certain events in the past year or so, and the amount of drama involved made Yi Yeguang somewhat relieved that he hadn’t been made privy to the knowledge until now. Granted, if he’d known beforehand then perhaps some of it might’ve been avoided, and Yi Yeguang would’ve probably been a whole lot understanding if he’d known and⸺

It was fine, really. Having been both witness to and participant in his fair share of drama in the past, Yi Yeguang had learned that there was little glory to be had in general; little success too for that matter. In fact, Yi Yeguang found that he would much rather steer clear of it altogether – or, failing that, at least strive not to be one of the parties directly involved in it.

This wasn’t necessarily easy though – or even possible, given his current position. Because as the Sect Leader, he was after all duty-bound to oversee matters and to keep a cool head in situations wherein others might not and ensure that matters were dealt with.

Sometimes, this meant dealing with issues personally. Other times, this meant delegating the task to another. And sometimes, the aftermath meant wishing one had gone with the other option.

With a sigh, Yi Yeguang contemplated the moon and then took another sip from the drinking cup readily provided by the one who’d decided to share his woes.

“From up here, people really do look rather insignificant,” Jiao Ziyu said, squinting down at the few shapes moving about in the darkness down below. “Like ants. Is this how the Gods see us?”

“Perhaps.” It was also how many of those with power viewed those with less power or those entirely without – like ants; so small, so easily squashed. But Yi Yeguang had enough sorrows to drown without bringing his onetime master into the mix, and so he took another sip.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful night though, and seated atop the Great Pagoda, Yi Yeguang had every chance to appreciate it. He had every chance, but even as he overlooked the sprawling landscapes down below, he found his head and heart too full of worldly matters to really take it all in.

Originally, Yi Yeguang had been alone. After listening to Mingyue’s increasingly outlandish tale, he’d waited for darkness to fall and then climbed the Great Pagoda on his own, seeking to contemplate life and whatnot.

But then, Jiao Ziyu had turned up, and since the other had brought along enough alcohol for both of them, Yi Yeguang had decided that the other could stay at least until it ran out.

Also⸺

“So,” Jiao Ziyu said. “Did Mingyue tell you about the...?”

Hah. “About the time travel?”

“Yeah.”

“He did. How come you didn’t?”

“Ah,” Jiao Ziyu said somewhat sheepishly. “I mean, I would’ve told you, but... you know? Not my story to tell and all that? Besides, I’m not even sure he would’ve told me anything if Little Yue hadn’t⸺”

Hoh. “If Youming Yue hadn’t... what?”

Jiao Ziyu let out a slight huff, refilling his cup as he stared up at the waning moon. “Honestly, getting additional information out of Mingyue is like pulling teeth.”

Yes. To this, Yi Yeguang could very much attest. Still⸺ “He did tell you though.”

“Hah!” Jiao Ziyu scoffed. “The game was already up! Little Yue threw a hissy fit and told Mingyue to be fucking grateful since apparently, I died miserably knowing nothing the last time around. And when I tried asking what that was all about, they all bloody ignored me!”

Hoh. “Well, you did get your answers eventually.”

“Yeah,” Jiao Ziyu said, once again refilling his cup. “Eventually. It only took several weeks!”

Several weeks, huh? Well, several weeks was still better than several months, no?

Yi Yeguang briefly considered bringing this up but ultimately refrained, opting to focus on other things at hand. “Was this before or after you two...?”

He trailed off, leaving the other to fill in the blanks. It wasn’t that Yi Yeguang was too much of a prude to say it, no. But he still had his station to consider and also⸺

“It was before and after,” Jiao Ziyu dutifully informed him, the alcohol no doubt playing a significant part in loosening his tongue. “Little Yue blurted it out, and then he drugged me, and then Mingyue brought me back here for the antidote, and then⸺”

His face and ears visibly flushed. “⸺Then that damned fool had to start that damned rumour! And we hadn’t even done anything by then! We’d only⸺”

Ah. Nostalgia.

A fair bit of time had passed since then. And yet, the Windward Sect still remained standing, surprisingly enough.

Coming to think of it now, back then, Yi Yeguang had been worrying about entirely different things; the best course of action in regards to the former disciples of Peak Lord Bai for one. Because while some of these disciples had been from relatively simple backgrounds, this hadn’t been the case for all of them.

As a matter of fact, one of them had happened to have the backing of one reasonably powerful noble family, and had naturally deigned to complain about being housed with the riffraff of the outer sect; a complaint that had put the Windward Sect at risk of losing not just prestige and good relations but possibly also access to certain hunting and training grounds outside of the Green Jade Peaks.

Initially, Yi Yeguang had considered taking in these former disciples himself – a few of them, at least. Because, if they’d managed to survive under Peak Lord Bai’s tutelage for as long as they had, then they would’ve probably been able to survive – maybe even thrive – under his.

As for this particular thought though, nothing had ultimately come of it – nothing save for the realisation that Yi Yeguang wouldn’t have the necessary time and energy to deal with it – or rather, to tutor them until they’d be more of a help than a hindrance.

Then, once word had reached him about Jiao Ziyu’s return, Yi Yeguang had gone to seek him out – and for whichever reason, Peak Lord Cheng had tagged along. This in turn had put them in the direct path of a visibly furious Peak Lord Bai, and naturally, Yi Yeguang had done the sensible thing and stepped aside, dragging a visibly stunned Peak Lord Cheng along to let them pass.

There had been no answers for him that day – no clarity on the unfolding situation – which had been frustrating to say the very least. As such, when alerted of the pair’s return a few days later, Yi Yeguang had gone to seek them out immediately, intent on getting the answers he was owed.

By that point, after lengthy negotiations, the six ex-disciples of Peak Lord Bai had been safely redistributed amongst the other Peak Lords. Elder Lin and Elder Wen had grudgingly agreed to take in two each, and Disciple Xiyu, standing in for Peak Lord Jiao, had snapped up the remaining two with a speed that had made Yi Yeguang wonder if he wouldn’t soon have yet another problem to deal with.

And Yi Yeguang had been quite right about that, as it turned out.

Back then however, that particular problem had yet to come to pass.

Instead, Yi Yeguang had decided to create new problems for himself by poking his head into things instead of staying the fuck away.

Impatience and not having slept for about three to four days had undoubtedly impaired his judgement, and in hindsight, Yi Yeguang had quite clearly been out of his damned mind, especially for allowing Peak Lord Cheng to tag along at the latter’s insistence.

As a result, they had both ended up seeing something they shouldn’t have – nothing too indecent, per se, but something forbidden nonetheless. But they’d made it out of there with their lives and limbs intact, and Yi Yeguang had been perfectly willing to pretend that he hadn’t seen anything in order to keep it that way.

Peak Lord Cheng meanwhile had struggled to come to terms with what he had just seen, quite obviously in a state of shock. And then⸺

“What’s the matter with him?”

⸺Disciple Xiyu had arrived.

 

---

 

“What’s the matter with him?”

Such is the question posed by one of Peak Lord Jiao’s protégés, Disciple Yi Yixuan, who stands next to none other than Disciple Yu Xiyu, who stares at the strangely discomposed Peak Lord Cheng with obvious curiosity.

Yi Yeguang opens his mouth to respond – to deflect, to do anything – but in his momentary panic, he forgets all about silencing spells and all that, which is a terrible, terrible thing, because the first words out of Peak Lord Cheng’s mouth just so happen to be⸺ “I can’t believe they were in bed together...”

In mute horror, Yi Yeguang sees the expression on Yu Xiyu’s face; the sudden glint in her eyes.

Yi Yixuan evidently sees it too, because she elbows her fellow disciple in the ribs and utters a low but still very audible “Don’t.”

Panicking internally, Yi Yeguang grabs hold of Peak Lord Cheng’s lapels and addresses them firmly but calmly.

“Peak Lord Cheng saw nothing,” he says.

“He was poisoned and saw hallucinations,” he says.

However, by then, it’s already too late. Yu Xiyu’s interest has been piqued, and with a positively fox-like grin, she immediately asks: “What sort of hallucinations, Peak Lord Cheng? Please tell me more!”

And this is, more or less, how the rumours get started.

 

---

 

All things considered, Yi Yeguang had been fully prepared to get poisoned, possibly even to death, and for Peak Lord Cheng to meet a similar fate. But by the time Mingyue finally descended upon his doorstep, it had been to tell him that the Wūtóu poison would no longer be an issue, courtesy of Jiao Ziyu obtaining the necessary ingredients for the antidote – and like, sure.

That had hardly been the only thing Peak Lord Jiao had obtained though. But it really hadn’t been Yi Yeguang’s place to comment on any of that, and even if that had been the case, Yi Yeguang would’ve still decided it was none of his business. Because really, things had worked out, somehow, and no one was dead and no one had lost any limbs but⸺

Then some major shit had apparently gone down, and thanks to Mingyue intercepting and destroying Jiao Ziyu’s message and then vanishing without even leaving behind a note, Yi Yeguang had been left in the dark for a decent amount of time.

At first, he’d been quite worried, especially so when he’d detected the residue of demonic energy over at Mingyue’s place. There had been nothing to indicate a struggle though, and knowing Mingyue like he did, Yi Yeguang figured that the other would’ve fought back quite fiercely if inclined to do so.

As such, Yi Yeguang had figured that Mingyue would either be able to take care of everything by himself – and if he couldn’t, then odds were that Yi Yeguang wouldn’t have been able to do anything either, and while the Windward Sect was capable of a lot of things when its members were sufficiently motivated, launching a successful assault on the Demon Realm probably wasn’t among them – even if they managed to obtain the support of other righteous sects.

With this concluded, Yi Yeguang had returned to his regular duties, right up until Jiao Zilei’s half-demon spawn had appeared with Mingyue’s message. And, given the fact that Jiao Ziyu and Mingyue had both neglected to mention whose half-demon spawn the sect would be hosting, Yi Yeguang once again renewed his conviction not to reveal any more details on the culprit behind the rumours – first those about Jiao Ziyu and Mingyue, and then those about Mingyue’s disciple and the Demon Prince.

Because yes, on one hand, telling him would’ve deflected some of Jiao Ziyu’s ire away from Peak Lord Cheng. However, it would’ve also called unnecessary attention to the fact that Yi Yeguang had been at the scene and failed to stomp out the rumour before it had taken off. Still⸺

“How did you and Mingyue get together anyways?” Yi Yeguang asked, and quite bluntly at that. It was probably the alcohol speaking – liquid courage and all that. “Did getting drugged finally give you the courage to come clean about your long-time crush?”

Jiao Ziyu snapped his head around with a decidedly wide-eyed look in his eyes. “How did you know about that?!”

Honestly. Yi Yeguang wasn’t blind. “So?”

Jiao Ziyu said nothing at first. Then finally, he narrowed his eyes before averting his gaze altogether, flustered as much due to the alcohol as due to the embarrassment.

“I didn’t,” he eventually managed. “And when Mingyue cornered me about it, I said something stupid, and then some other things happened, and then⸺”

Jiao Ziyu paused, taking a brief moment to compose himself, and then finally said: “Then I pushed him down, and then he pushed me down, and... yeah...”

He trailed off into silence, face and ears even redder now, and Yi Yeguang pitied him a little, even though he wasn’t particularly surprised. Bai Mingyue was hardly the sort to take anything like that lying down after all. That said though, details? “Mingyue’s disciple drugged you?”

“Yes!” Jiao Ziyu exclaimed, as if scandalised by the mere thought of it. “He had some grudge against the me in that other timeline, and decided to take it out on me instead! Like, can you believe it!”

Yi Yeguang could definitely believe it. Those of the Bai lineage were a particularly vengeful sort. That said however⸺ “What did Mingyue have to say about that?”

“Well,” said Jiao Ziyu, slightly calmer now. “He was upset about it and went over there to scold him. But then, after hearing about why he'd done it, Mingyue suddenly got cross with me instead!”

Ah. “Just out of curiosity⸺”

At this, Jiao Ziyu put the drinking cup aside and hid his face in his hands.

“Mingyue was right to be upset,” he wailed. “It was my fault that his precious Little Yue ended up like that! And that smug little demon bastard had the gall to thank me – to thank me – right in front of Mingyue, saying stuff like ‘I owe you one’ and ‘If you ever need help with Demon Realm diplomacy, I’m your man’ and whatnot. I thought Mingyue would kill me right then and there!”

Hoh. “But what exa⸺?”

“Catnip!” Jiao Ziyu sobbed – which was informative yet at the same time also not.

And despite being curious, Yi Yeguang opted not to ask any further questions. Instead, he chose to contemplate the stars while Jiao Ziyu continued sobbing beside him.

And then, quite possibly attracted to the sound of another's misery, Demon Prince Youming Jun showed up. And he really did show up out of nowhere, because one moment the edge of the roof was empty and the next, the demon bastard was standing there, eyeing them with a mixture of smugness and surprise on his unmasked face.

“Whoa,” he said. “You guys are really drunk.”

Jiao Ziyu's sobs abruptly stopped, and he looked up at the Demon Prince in silence. Yi Yeguang in turn took note of the strangely intense look in the man’s eyes before turning his attention back towards the demon spawn – which proved to be a mistake. It proved to be a serious mistake because then, right then, Jiao Ziyu decided to make his move, and with a mildly hysterical giggle, the man flicked his wrist, using enough qi to send the Demon Prince toppling right over the edge.

And Yi Yeguang, having had quite a bit to drink himself, obviously failed to stop it. He immediately sobered up at the sudden realisation of what Jiao Ziyu had just done though – that the other had just pushed the heir apparent of the Demon King off of a bloody roof.

Leaning over the edge, Yi Yeguang then sought to determine just how dead they would be in the morning – and he would’ve probably toppled over himself, had Jiao Ziyu not caught him and dragged him back to safety by the back of his robes before offering him a serene smile. Had the man completely lost it?

“Don’t worry,” Jiao Ziyu said, entirely unconcerned. “That’s Master Jiao’s son, you know?”

Ah. With everything else going on, Yi Yeguang had just about forgotten about that.

“Huh,” he said, claiming what little remained of the alcohol for himself. “Fair point.”