The next afternoon after the day's classes were done, Binghe begged for another private lesson in sword-fighting.

"This foolish disciple is still struggling to master the art of evading overhead strikes," he wheedled, eyes wide and innocent in the manner he'd learnt often won him his way with his soft-hearted Shizun. "Shizun is the best teacher, will he help this one, please?"

Shen Qingqiu patted his head, and stroked Binghe's hair. Shizun's head pats were the best. "This teacher is not the best teacher, but I am trying, Binghe. This teacher is, at least, much better than he once was, I hope?"

"Yes, Shizun!"

Words could not properly express how much better life was with a Shizun who liked him, who fed him and patted him and gave him a place to sleep and whose eyes lit up with barely hidden joy whenever he saw Binghe. He was no longer beaten or neglected; he was treasured. He would never let this man go, and he never wanted that old, cold version of his Shizun to return. He blessed the qi deviation that had erased some of his Shizun's memories, if rumours were correct. He knew at least some memories were gone. He'd tested it for himself a couple of times, sneakily referring to events on Qing Jing peak that had never happened while talking with his Shizun. Shizun hadn't hesitated to pretend he remembered them too, then smoothly evaded further discussion of (non-existent) events that he had no recollection of by changing the topic.

Binghe didn't care that Shizun lied to maintain face. Shizun might lie and evade on occasion, but Shizun was kinder now. His Shizun was everything now.

"Come, let us train then," his Shizun said with a smile, leading him to a grassy clearing.

That afternoon Binghe found many opportunities to 'accidentally' stumble into his teacher as his footwork went astray, and carefully flubbed his moves so that his Shizun would need to place his hands atop of Binghe's to correct his grip on his sword. Binghe always finished their lessons, however, with deliberately improved form, so that his Shizun would see what a great teacher he was and how much the private tutoring helped him. The lessons did truly help his form… just not as much as he led his Shizun to believe.

Exhausted after training, Binghe flopped down on the grass, and his Shizun sat next to him, heedless of care for the soiling of his expensive, embroidered robes. Binghe didn't know what his Shizun's background was, but he thought the Shen family must have been wealthy. For his Shizun often acted like a pampered young master who had no understanding of the problems of laundering robes, and he also didn't know how to cook even the simplest dishes for himself. He'd even burnt rice.

Lately he'd been permitted to dress his teacher's hair in the more elaborate styles suited to a Peak Lord, rather than in the simpler styles his Shizun would do if left to his own devices. After a token protest his Shizun had accepted with the unconcern of one used to being waited on, not stopping to think about the intimacy of such an act best left to a true manservant or a family member… or a spouse. Exhilarated by the opportunity to touch Shizun's hair every day, Binghe had absolutely no intention of mentioning the impropriety of the situation.

"Did this disciple do well in training today, Shizun?" he asked, hungry for praise.

"As always, Binghe is a quick learner, just as expected." Shizun leant over to pat his head again. Every head pat was a treasure hoarded in Binghe's chest like the finest of gems.

"If this one excels at anything it is because Shizun's lessons are above anything else, and this disciple will prove how well he has learnt his lessons at the Immortal Alliance Conference!" he vowed.

Shizun sighed, and gave Binghe an odd smile. "This master shall try and ensure that Binghe is as prepared as possible," he said quietly.

Shen Qingqiu shuffled closer – closer to him on purpose! – so that while sitting he could easily stroke Binghe's hair repetitively as he lay on the grass.

"This teacher has decided upon another tale for you, if you have the time to listen," his Shizun said, with a soft smile.

"Always, Shizun," Binghe promised. He'd listen to the dullest recounting of peak finances if Shizun would stay by his side like this, patting his hair. "I will treasure your tale and write it down too."

"Once upon a time, there was a young princess, a little… fish-demon of the ocean. She was sweet and kind. She had long red hair, and…"

Binghe frowned sceptically. "Fish-demons don't have hair, Shizun, and they're never kind."

His Shizun paused. "Oh, well, in this story she does. Perhaps she's best described as a half-demon then. Her upper half is that of a human; she's human to the waist, and then from the waist down she has the tail of a fish, with glittering bamboo-green scales."

The colour of Qing Jing Peak uniforms, Binghe thought, trying to immediately tease out clues in the story about what lesson his Shizun was trying to teach with today's tale.

"And she's kind, in this story? She doesn't kill or try to eat anyone?"

"Not at all," his Shizun promised. "Some demons – or half-demons – can be kind and good, I'm sure. This one in my tale is like that; she is sweet and innocent."

Binghe carefully kept his breathing very regular, though his eyes glittered suspiciously. He watched clouds overhead for a moment to break eye contact and distract himself.

A sweet and innocent half-demon. Meng Mo thinks I must have some demonic heritage, however distant. I have never heard any stories before – ever – about nice part-demons!

"Where was I? Yes, so one day this curious young fish-demon, Ariel, went up to the surface of the ocean, just like her sisters had before her, and spied a handsome young prince celebrating his birthday on board a ship. She fell in love with him at first sight, and watched dreamily him for hours, until a violent storm rolled in. The ship was smashed to pieces and all aboard were washed into the ocean."

"Did she save her prince?" Binghe asked.

"You're so smart! Indeed she did!" Shizun said, and Binghe perked up happily at the praise. "She carried him all the way to a beach, saving his life. But he only caught the barest glimpse of her before he fell unconscious. A temple maiden took him from the beach and tended to the prince, while the little mer… fish-demon went back to her home under the waves. But her heart yearned for her lost prince, so she decided to seek out a… an octopus demon. A voluptuous woman from the waist up, a purple octopus from the waist down, she was a demonic cultivator with a heart full of wickedness. She offered Ariel a bargain; she would transform the little fish-demon so she had legs like a human, in exchange for taking her voice."

"Did she keep the bargain?"

"She did, though with several catches. Every time Ariel walked, it was like walking on knives, or shards of glass. She didn't bleed, but every step was torturous pain. Oh, and as a nicer counterpoint to that, the octopus-demon gifted Ariel with skill at walking and dancing; Ariel could dance beautifully, if she could bear the pain. But she couldn't speak a single word about any of it, she was completely mute."

Binghe nodded slowly, noting the emphasis. "So, she suffered a painful curse for the sake of one she loved, and couldn't speak of it…"

Is this something about Without-A-Cure? he wondered, seeing Shizun's glittering, eager eyes as he spoke. Is Shizun trying to hint at more problems with it, or is leading up to hinting about a cure, or is this something else? Is he telling me again that he can't speak directly of whatever bothers him? He suffers for me every day…

I thought in this tale I was the half-demon, I thought he was hinting he knew about my heritage. But perhaps he's the fish demon and I am the prince, if it's his own muteness he's hinting at? We both wear green, after all. Whichever character I'm supposed to be, I seem to be royalty again.

It was so confusing! He firmly suppressed the impulse to daydream about being a prince and Shizun being his wife, and made a mental note to check secretly with Mu-shishu later about whether Without-A-Cure might affect one's voice or make one keep secrets.

"She didn't really mind the bad parts, though. Ariel waltzed with a smile on her face, happy to be dancing with the man she loved. He told her all his worries and his dreams, and she nodded with a smile on her face. Until one day his father, the Emperor, told his son it was time to marry. The son vowed only to marry the woman who'd saved his life after his ship had foundered… the temple maiden."

Binghe gasped unhappily at the injustice of it. "But it was Ariel who saved him! She carried him through the storm!"

"He never found that out, for she couldn't tell him. And so Ariel was heartbroken and bitter from drinking so much vinegar, watching the one she loved court another woman. The prince wed the temple maiden, leaving Ariel to return sadly to the ocean shore to weep. For if she couldn't win the favour of the prince she loved, she would surely die."

"What?! Why?"

"Well, she was weak as a mortal since she'd been transformed, not truly an immortal demon anymore. And the octopus-demon had set a time limit; if she didn't win the prince's heart fast enough, she would die within days. Sorry, I should have mentioned that part of the tale earlier. That was clumsy of me."

"This deal gets worse all the time…" Binghe muttered.

His Shizun snorted a brief burst of laughter, quickly muffled as he hid his face behind his fan, but the crinkles of his laughing eyes still gave away his amusement.

"And she altered it further!" he said, eyes dancing with suppressed laughter. "Anyway, the octopus-demon came to her and made her another offer; a gift of a dagger. She could kill the prince with it and his blood would restore her demonic immortality, her tail, and her voice. Broken-hearted, she was tempted to do so, but she didn't want to betray him. She saw the prince and his wife entwined in bed but couldn't go through with killing them. So, she threw away the knife and returned to the shore, and when dawn broke, she died. Her body turned into sea foam, and her soul transformed into a spirit of the air."

"That's a terrible story," Binghe whined. "I wanted her to marry the prince. She could have been the second wife, at least. Even a position as a concubine would be better than not being with him at all."

"Her people didn't believe in men having multiple wives. You're not alone in wishing for a happy ending, though! There are other versions of the story – more popular ones – where true love's first kiss breaks her curse and the two live happily ever after," his Shizun said, patting his hair again.

Binghe leaned shamelessly into his touch, like a cat. "Why didn't you tell me that version, then?"

The patting paused for a moment before resuming. "Well… I wanted you to hear the part about poor mute Ariel not wanting to betray the prince she loved, but being pressured into doing so under threat of…"

His Shizun's hand stopped suddenly, frozen on Binghe's head.

Binghe looked carefully at his Shizun. His face was blank again, wearing a cross look as he gazed into the distance, his eyes lost and blank.

"Shizun?" he prompted.

His Shizun unfroze and turned back to him with a blink, and an awkward look. "Forgive this master. Sometimes I cannot interpret my own tales, I can only tell you the story as it is. 'And Scheherazade perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say…'" his Shizun said, his face strained with a false smile plastered on top.

"I can only tell you stories written by others, not my own," Shizun added, with a sigh. "I must leave it up to you to interpret them however you see best. Do you understand? Have you learnt something this evening?"

"Yes, Shizun," Binghe promised gravely. "I promise I am learning."

"Mn. I hope so."

"Another tale tomorrow for this Emperor?" he asked, fluttering his eyes at his Shizun.

Shizun smiled more genuinely this time, and patted his head again with a few soft strokes, to his delight.

"Yes, Emperor Binghe, I will think of another tale for you. There's still time before the red light of dawn."

Binghe sighed with happiness. It was like Shizun was calling him husband. He wanted to be Shizun's Emperor always.

Later, by the light of a candle Binghe transcribed the newest tale of the Little Fish-Demon and made his notes about his suspicions.

Shizun is almost certainly mute from a curse, possibly due to a deal with a demon or demonic cultivator. Purple demon, like the octopus-demon? Colour & type may be a clue – check bestiaries. Very likely under threat of death; perhaps ordered to kill someone? Hopefully not me?! Pain when walking but smiles though it – alluding to Without-A-Cure or the absent-faced-moments he suffers? This is the second tale about not being able to speak about a problem, with a direct reference to muteness curse a stronger, reinforced hint. Half-demon in tale (me?) – kind and sweet. Ariel (Shizun?) saving prince's life (me?) and not being appreciated for her courage. I appreciate what Shizun did for me! Perhaps he doesn't know this? I don't think he's heartbroken like she was, at least.

Second story with marriage to royalty and an unworthy husband. Second story with only a single wife, and worry about infidelity… punishable by death – I WOULD NEVER BETRAY HIM! Possible extra moral – love cannot flourish while there is a muteness curse keeping lovers apart and misunderstanding each other. Note – check with Mu Qingfang about muteness and Without-A-Cure symptoms and/or qi deviation. Research demons who can cause muteness, octopus-demons, and purple demons. Learn curse-breaking seals! True love's first kiss – is this a known remedy in real life?

He hid his notes inside an old pair of socks, concealed under the end of his mattress. No-one must see them!

That night as he slept, he talked over his two collected tales with Meng Mo, who agreed that it was encouraging that Shizun would tell a story about a nice demon, albeit one that didn't exist in real life, but warned him not to be hasty and risk revealing his nature to his teacher.

"I have the feeling your Shizun is not done with his lessons, young one," Meng Mo said. "Wait and see. No harm will come from waiting and learning, while much may be lost with revealing your heritage precipitously."

"Elder… might this one ask for advice on understanding a possibly related, serious matter?"

The dream demon sighed. "It's about your Shizun, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "Anything you regard as 'serious' is always about your precious Shizun."

Binghe huffed. He cared about many things. Shizun just happened to be the most important person in his life. "Well, you're right. He asked me this evening, over tea, very carefully, if I wanted to be strong; strong enough that nothing under the heavens would dare to fight me. It felt like a trap… he was too cautious when he spoke. It was like he was testing me to see if I'd learnt the lesson of the Little Fish-Demon, that gifts can come with teeth, and hidden pain. I told him that I wanted to be strong, but not at any cost, that it would depend on what the price was."

"How did he respond to that?"

Binghe hummed thoughtfully. "Conflicted, I think. He hid his expression behind his fan, as he often does. He praised me for forethought but didn't seem… happy. He suggested that the price would be painful torture and countless hardships until I would collapse, and asked if I would I pay that cost to become powerful beyond measure. I said I would endure much to protect the important people in my life. If my sacrifice would ensure their safety I would suffer gladly, but not for the sake of power alone. That I would make no bargains with cruel beings, nor commit immoral acts, nor undergo pointless torture or suffering purely for strength alone that would be better gained through hard work and more patient cultivation. I didn't say so aloud, but I have Shizun to teach me cultivation, and Elder to teach me demonic cultivation; what need have I of cultivation treasures that would risk injuring myself for the sake of rapid advancement?"

"You think that is what he was hinting at? Cultivation-boosting treasures? There are some beast parts and rare fruits that might have such an effect, at a price of pain," Meng Mo mused thoughtfully. "A few rare flowers as well, though the 'suffering' tends to be not painful as such, with flowers."

"This one is unsure of Shizun's true meaning. This one is respectfully asking Elder's advice on interpreting Shizun's discussion? It reminded this disciple greatly of the tale Shizun told of Ariel's bargain with the octopus-demon; a bargain for powers that seemed sweet on the surface despite the suffering but brought only loneliness and death in the end."

Meng Mo stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I think your first guess is wrong… it was not referring to cultivation-boosting treasures. At least not literally. Otherwise, he would have named one or two as examples. Your Shizun is always very excited to ramble about the details of beasts and plants, is he not? Yet he did not, for example, tell you about the potential boost to one's golden core from consuming the stomach and intestines of a Black Tortoise, should one's meridians survive the purifying process of excreting black foam from every pore. He was, from what you say, very vague."

"Yes… that is quite true," Binghe agreed, with a slow nod.

"So, he either has no particular treasure in mind – which seems unlikely for a scholar such as he – or he is not speaking of a beast or plant at all. Perhaps he is pondering returning to his older method of training you – with whips and abuse if you learn too slowly; I found such methods highly motivating in my own youth! Or he may be thinking of a deal, perhaps, with a demon for training; something more like in the fable he told. He may also have been considering fostering you to some harsh master, either human or demon; that 'War God' of Bai Zhan peak at best, or a brutal demon lord at worst. Some master much harsher than I, less generous and liberal that I have been, gifting my knowledge to you for so little respect garnered in return."

Binghe carefully did not roll his eyes at that last hint. "Elder Meng Mo is indeed generous with his teaching." He bowed with clasped hands, low enough to show respect, but not quite as low as he'd bow to his Shizun. "Thanking Elder for his advice."

Well, he'd just have to hint to Shizun (perhaps rather heavy-handedly, as Shizun did miss things that were too subtle) that he'd thrived under the past few years' gentler methods of teaching, and that he did not want to leave Qing Jing Peak for more training with that horrible Liu Qingge, or for any other training. The occasional night hunt mission with them was more than enough! Also – not that he'd tell this part to Shizun – anything that encouraged Shizun to talk with Liu Qingge more often should be discouraged at all costs. That pig should stay out of his cabbage patch!

Binghe vowed he would prove at the Immortal Alliance Conference that Shizun's training was the best and he didn't need any harsher training, dangerous cultivation-boosting draughts, or abusive new masters to become the strongest cultivator of his generation.

He had no desire to grow in strength too greatly nor too rapidly, lest he risk his comfortable life at Qing Jing Peak. Nothing was worth losing his Shizun's gentle teaching and his place in their shared home!