Love And Envy

Chapter 1

Luo Binghe seemed to be in higher spirits than usual, and this fact did not escape his husband, Shen Qingqiu.

He watched as the younger man set their dishes on the table and poured two glasses of wine, then sat down across from him.

"How was your day, Binghe?"

The younger man had just taken a bite of food when this question was asked. He finished chewing and asked carefully, "Would Shizun be upset if I made a friend?"

Shen Qingqiu smiled as he answered, "Of course not, hasn't this teacher always encouraged you to make some friends?"

Binghe nodded, as he answered, "True, you always have. I thought that you advised that because you did not want me to be so attached to you all the time."

"That is not so. It is healthy for everyone to have friendships. We have talked about this before. I consider the Peak Lords on Cang Qoing Mountain to be my friends. It is only fitting that you should have some as well. It must get boring being with this old man all the time."

Binghe reached under the table and gently squeezed the older man's leg. "I never get bored being with you, Shizun." he said lovingly.

Shen Qingqiu took a sip of wine, then said "Well, when you make a new friend, I want to know all about them."

At the time, it did not bother him that his husband had wanted to make friends.

Luo Binghe did not mention that he had already met a possible friend. He was still not sure if he would see that person again.

xxx

Two days later- The marketplace

It was hard for the women and some of the males, not to notice the two very handsome men. They were both dressed in red and black, and sat together on a stone bench.

One of the men was loud enough to be heard by many of the villagers as they walked past.

"Hey, I was wondering- do you like rabbits?" he asked.

Luo Binghe thought for a second, then answered. "Rabbits? Sometimes I ask Shizun if he wants me to cook them for dinner, but he always says no for some reason."

Well, where I live there are thousands of them! I would eat one if I could, but it's not allowed. We keep them as pets. I thought maybe you might want one too." the vibrant young man said at a rapid but friendly pace, then took a swig of wine.

"You have thousands of rabbits?" Binghe asked and marveled at the thought.

"Yes. Unfortunately, there are thousands of rules where I live too." the good-natured man pointed out and shrugged his shoulders.

Luo Binghe thought about how when he came to Cang Qiong Mountain and met Shizun for the first time. He remembered that he thought he did not like him. He felt there were too many rules, and believed at times that he was treated too harshly.

'Now I know Shizun was only preparing me for my destiny. Still, it seemed like he changed into a different person from the cold, untouchable immortal I first met.'

How things changed since then. Luo Binghe had never been happier with Shen Qingqiu as his husband.

However, he found this man who sat next to him fun and carefree. It was refreshing to have a friend of his own. He never wanted one before, but he could not help but like this man.

"I never had a pet rabbit before." Binghe responded. "I would like one if Shizun does not mind. I think that if he does object, I can use my tears to change his mind. I am lucky that I do not have many rules to follow, only some in the bedroom"

The man looked at him oddly for a moment. "You use tears on him and that actually works?" he asked, then patted the taller man on the back. "I have other ways of getting what I want. I really have the run of the place where I live. I am pretty lucky, my friend." the man bragged.

Binghe smiled. "I am lucky too. However, it is getting late and I need to go home before Shizun starts to worry."

The man held up his wine jug and wiggled it back and forth. "After I finish this, I also will be heading back. Let us meet up again in a day around the same time. You can let me know what your Shizun said about having a rabbit. If he says yes... I will bring you one."

XX

Shen Qingqiu was surprised when Binghe arrived home later than usual this evening. It was not like his husband to be gone half the day when he was not on official demon realm business.

However, it was true that he had been at Qing Jing Peak all day to visit his disciples and check on his friends, but usually the younger man wanted to accompany him.

Today he did not.

Binghe rushed up to him, gave him a hug and was about to kiss him, but Shen Qingqiu brought his fan up to his face.

"Shizun? Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not, but I have been wondering where you have been all day." Shen Qingqiu responded, not realizing that he was frantically fanning his face.

Binghe suddenly remembered that he had forgotten about dinner.

"Shizun, this disciple apologizes that I am late in preparing dinner. I will go to the kitchen this instant and begin to cook." he said. He rushed off before Shen Qingqiu could stop him.

'Binghe never answered my question about where he was.' he thought. He realized that he felt very annoyed.

'Wtf, is this feeling?'

He sighed. He was about to go into the kitchen after his husband, but there was a knock on the door.

Although he wasn't expecting anyone, he went to go answer it.

Shen Qingqiu opened the door to find the last person he wanted to see at this moment, and died a little bit inside. Why was his day ending like this?

"What is that look on your face, Cucumber bro? I thought we were friends, but you look like you want me to leave." Shang Qinghua said, with a hurt look on his face.

"You read my mind, Airplane Bro. Leave. Please."

The man hurried past him before he could shut the door.

"Come on, have a heart. I have been doing errands for Mobei-Jun all day, and have not even had time to eat. I was hoping I could stay for dinner. Did Binghe make a pot of those noodles I love so much?" Shang Qinghua asked hopefully.

Shen Qingqiu motioned for his annoying friend to follow him into the sitting room. Once he made sure that his husband was not around to hear, he sat down.

"Dinner will be late tonight. Binghe has been gone all day and I am not sure where he was or who he was with." he confided.

Airplane Bro leaned forward. "Really? You do not know where he was? He is usually with Mobei-Jun. I have been gone since early this morning and do remember that he told me that Lord Luo had a meeting in town with that guy they met the other day."

"What the fuck? He did not mention that to me. He just said that he had to run to the marketplace. Who is this guy they met?" Shen Qingqiu whispered furiously to Shang Qinghua.

"Some jovial fellow. I do not remember his name. Mobei said that he struck up a conversation with them and Binghe began to talk to him."

"Oh, really? A jovial fellow, you say? Did Mobei-Jun say what this man looked like?"

Shang Qinghua observed Shen Qingqiu as he gripped his fan so tight that it snapped and his cat-like eyes gleamed with fury. He had never seen Cucumber bro like this before and burst out laughing.

"Wtf, is so funny, Airplane?" he snapped.

"You are jealous, aren't you? In fact, you are mad as hell!" Shang QInghua pointed out and he held his side from laughing so hard.

"What? I am not jealous! I do not want Binghe to keep secrets from me, Great God Airplane in the sky!" Shen Qingqiu raged, and hit the author on the knee with his broken fan.

Shang Qinghua shot him a hurt look.

"Fine, hit me with your fan, Mr. Peerless Cucumber! If you are not jealous; then why does it matter what the man looks like and how come you are so angry? Do you actually think Bing-mei would cheat on you with another man?"

Shen Qingqiu was just about to answer this when suddenly...

"Shizun? What are you and Shang-shishu talking about?"

Shen Qingqiu's heart jolted when he heard his husband's voice. He hoped that he did not overhear the conversation between he and Airplane Bro.

"First, do not be rude and greet your shishu. Binghe. I hope you do not mind that I invited him for dinner."

Airplane Bro could sense that it was not only Cucumber bro who was jealous.

Luo Binghe was looking at Shang Qinghua with a cold menacing look and the unspoken message was- 'back off, leave, and go die in a hole.'

His son's coldness and jealousy stung him. How could he be envious of him and Cucumber Bro?

"You did not tell me we had company for dinner, Shizun."

Then he turned and addressed him. "Shang- shishu, I unfortunately did not make those noodles you like so much tonight".

"That is fine, Lord Luo. I need to return back to the demon realm anyway. Mobei- Jun is probably wondering where I am at."

Cucumber bro glanced over at him, and turned his head where his husband could not see and mouthed to him. 'We will talk more later.' Then he acted casual as he replied. "Well, it is a shame that you cannot stay for dinner. Maybe next time you can."

XX

"Now that he is gone, Shizun. Let me finish placing our dinner on the table and I will be back in a moment." Binghe said, and walked out of the room.

Shen Qingqiu was really annoyed by now.

'Wtf? He is out all day with some good-looking 'jovial' fellow and I get glared at for talking to old Airplane bro. Things are not equal here!' he thought.

'And wtf? I have been trying very hard to keep him pleased. How does he repay me? By actually seeing another man behind my back! Hell, have I not given him most everything he wanted? Has he just grown tired of me?'

Binghe walked back in the room to let his husband know that dinner was ready, then noticed the look on his face.

"Shizun, what is wrong? You look upset. Is it because I told Shang-shishu that he could not stay for dinner? I'm sorry I did not make the noodles he wanted."

Shen Qingqiu furiously fanned himself.

"I am fine Binghe, but I need a drink." he said. He turned around and walked out of the room.

His husband followed after him.

"Shizun, please do not ruin your appetite...". he trailed off as he watched as his husband poured himself a glass of wine, before Binghe could do it for him. He was surprised when his husband drained his glass in a minute.

"Shizun?"

Shen Qingqiu gave him a dismissive wave with his fan and sat down in front of his dinner. As always, his husband had made a delicious congee and other dishes.

"Did I cook everything to your satisfaction?" he asked, as the peak Lord nodded.

Both men began to silently eat their dinner. Binghe could feel the tension coming off his husband who seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. He knew something was bothering Shizun and decided to try to talk to him.

"How does the food taste, Shizun?"

Shen Qingqiu looked over at Binghe and noticed that his husband had a look of concern on his face. He knew that the younger man was worried that he had done something to upset him.

"Everything tastes fine." he answered, as he raised his head and met his husband's eyes.

"Is anything wrong, Shizun? You seem agitated this evening." Binghe asked him carefully.

'Wtf does he expect? He has the gall to be carrying on with another man behind my back' he thought.

Shen Qingqiu had always been the one that Binghe had given all his attention to. He was not used to his husband's affection towards another man. It made him feel insure of the bond between them.

Even though this was a completely different man than the original from 'Proud Immortal Demon Way- he was worried that this Luo Binghe had the potential to still turn into a gay harem lord with three-hundred husbands.

"Earlier today, when I asked you where you had been all day...you never answered. So, where were you?" Shen Qingqiu asked, and hated that his tone sounded cold and accusatory.

'What the fuck is wrong with you? You know that Binghe loves you and would never cheat on you!' he tried to reason with himself.

Binghe looked at him with a hurt look on his face, as he had picked up on the coldness in his husband's voice.

"I thought I told you that I went to the marketplace today and met my friend there. I know you would like him Shizun- he is smart, funny and pleasing to the eyes...I mean has a..p..pleasant personality."

As soon as the words 'pleasing to the eyes' were out of Luo Binghe's mouth- the demon lord knew he had made a critical mistake.

'Pleasing to the eyes? Fuck, so is he actually using that line to describe this damn 'jovial' fellow? Am I just going to end up his first husband in his male harem?' Shen Qingqiu thought, as the alcohol helped to cloud his opinions.

'Play it cool!' he thought to himself as he took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Oh, how nice. Good for him then." Shen Qingqiu purposely said these words in an indifferent manner. He did not want Binghe to know how bothered his was by this 'friend'

"I hear that you met this person when you were with Mobei-Jun." he continued.

"Yes, that is correct, Shizun. He just started to talk to me and I thought it would seem rude to ignore him. I found him interesting, funny and he made me laugh."

Shen Qingqiu did not say anything when he heard this. He inadvertently put his hand to his head as he tried to fight the unfamiliar feeling inside him.

"Shizun! Are you unwell?"

"Yes, I am going to go lie down. Please do not worry as I think I have drunk too much wine." he said, as he got up from the table and left the room.

Luo Binghe sat there perplexed.

'Shizun only had one glass of wine...' he thought, and wondered what he had done to cause his husband to act so out of character tonight...

XX

The next morning Shen Qingqiu had to wake up early as he had an important meeting with Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge about the upcoming new disciples for each of their respective peaks.

After the conference, the Peak Lords decided to stop by the marketplace. The meeting had ended sooner than expected and they decided to have a meal together.

As they walked down the stone cobbled streets amidst the villagers of this town, they were trying to decide on where to eat. There were lots of places to choose from. And it was a warm, sunny day.

"Wherever you decide to eat is fine with me." Yue Qingyuan said good naturedly. He was an easygoing man and just enjoyed having a break with his sect brothers.

"I would like to get a nice cup of tea." Shen Qingqiu said.

"I want to have a meal with meat and some wine." Liu Qingge remarked as he studied the restaurants available to them.

Suddenly, they could hear a man laughing.

"That man's laugh is one of the loudest I have ever heard." Shen Qingqiu remarked, only to hear another laugh besides the first one that sounded very familiar.

"I never thought about using a flute to control anyone. But I can control humans using my blood." the familiar voice said.

"Really? With just your blood? How do you do that?"

Liu Qingge had walked ahead a few steps behind his friends. He recognized the second voice and the ability that he described.

He knew that Luo Binghe was in the vicinity.

He turned back and looked at Shen Qingqiu, who was talking to Yue Qingyuan. He saw him look up when he heard the voices.

"Did your disciple have business out here today?" his shixiong asked after he heard the words the men said.

Shen Qingqiu felt his heart thud against his chest, and his stomach twisted. He remembered how jealous he had been last night, and the awkward way that they had acted towards each other the rest of last night and this morning.

There was the fact that Binghe did not beg him to stay home from the meeting or ask to go with him.

Liu Qingge looked back at Shen Qingqiu.

"I thought you said that you went shopping on Wednesdays when it was not busy."

"We do. Why do you ask, Liu-shidi?" he said, then nearly tripped when he saw two men up ahead.

Shen Qingqiu first heard his husband and now had him in his sight.

His husband was smiling and listening intently to a man around his age. The man had the striking good looks and body type of a cultivator. He had an impish grin and gestured with his hands while he talked. His long, brownish black hair was tied back in a ponytail with a red ribbon. He wore black and red robes.

What was the most concerning is that Binghe looked absolutely besotted by him. He didn't even notice Shen Qingqiu.

'Damn. He really has found someone else. I am going to be replaced. How could this happen? I thought he loved me.'

Shen Qingqiu covered his face with his fan. He went into the alley before his husband could see him.

Concerned for their martial brother, Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan followed him.

'System! Are you there? System I need you.' he shouted inside his head. He wanted to find out what was happening. Was the plot changing? Who was this fucking man?

Liu Qingge put his hand on his shoulder.

"Snap out of it." he said.

"Who is that man that Binghe is with?" was all that he could ask.

Liu Qingge looked at Yue Qingyuan who shook his head no and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, Qingqiu-shidi. He looks like a cultivator." Yue Qingyuan said.

Shen Qingqiu's mind at the moment was in a dark place. How could his husband pursue him for years until he was successful in marrying him. Was he too old For Binghe? Were there things that he needed to do to please him more?

Liu Qingge could see that Shen-shixiong was stressed out because of that bastard disciple of his. A part of him wanted to tell him that it looked like his husband had found a new lover. He knew it could drive a wedge between them. Maybe then he would be free from that half demon. Maybe then he would have a chance.

But he was a righteous and good man, and he could not do that. He disliked Luo Binghe greatly, but he knew that his shixiong loved him against better judgement. He cared greatly for Shen Qingqiu and couldn't tease him any more about this matter.

Liu Qingge grabbed his shixiong by the shoulders and shook him.

"Have you lost your mind? Do you really think that your clingy and obsessed disciple would just drop you to take up with this guy? Have some confidence. You know he loves you. BUT why do you love him? I have no damn idea." he chided, then let go of him.

"You're right, Liu-shidi. I am overreacting and need to face him. Thank you for helping me to clear my mind. I've been stressed over this these last few days."

Liu Qingge patted him on the back. "Well, that's what friends are for." he said.

By the time the peak Lords had left the alley, Luo Binghe and the man was gone.

XX

When Luo Binghe returned home that evening, he found his husband sitting at the table. He did not look up when he entered the room. There was an empty glass and a bottle of wine on the table that was less than half full.

"Shizun, are you alright?"

Shen Qingqiu sighed. "I knew that eventually It would turn out this way. It's not your fault that you are supposed to attract many women and men. You cannot help that you are so handsome." he said as he dropped his head down.

"I guess I was naive in thinking that you could love only me."

Binghe felt alarmed and walked over to his husband and grabbed the bottle of wine off the table.

"Shizun, I do not know what you are talking about. I love you more than anything in this world." He placed the wine away from his husband. He walked back over to him and kneeled next to him, his arms going around his waist and he placed his head in his lap.

Shen Qingqiu did not know what to do. He longed to pat his husband's head, and brush his wavy hair back from his face. But he was still upset.

"Please take your head out of my lap. I am angry at you." he said as coldly as he could.

Luo Binghe looked up to meet his husband's eyes with tears in his own eyes.

"Shizun, what has happened? Why are you saying these things?" he asked in confusion.

Shen Qingqiu had a flash of an image of his husband smiling and laughing with the other cultivator today.

"Binghe, where did you go today?" he asked, an edge to his voice.

"I went to the marketplace. I thought I told you I was going there, Shizun."

"Yes, you mentioned it, but usually you want to go with me to the peak Lord's conference. I was surprised when you do not want to go with me."

"Well, last time that conference took so long and I became tired and hungry." Binghe began.

Shen Qingqiu went straight to the point. He could not bear to hear his Bing-mei lie to him like the original goods.

"Who were you with in the marketplace today? I want the truth. If you are interested in another man, I need to know."

Chapter 2-

A/N- This was originally going to be an extra chapter in my story- "How to Please My Demon Lord. I decided it would be out of place there and decided to make it a chaptered story. It's just something I wrote for fun and is a crossover with characters that MXTX fans should know well.

I hope someone enjoys this story. Comments and feedback are appreciated. Thank you for reading.