Qi Deviation
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Summary: When Shen Qingqiu finally decides to tell everyone the truth about his origins (as well as finally getting the System's blessing to do so), everyone just believes he's had another qi deviation.
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"… So, that's where I come from. I'm sorry for deceiving you all for so long."
Shen Qingqiu, Shen Yuan, finally finished his explanation and was met with a heavy silence. After all these years, he'd finally decided that the people in his life deserved to know the truth about who he was (granted, it actually took him an additional six months to convince the System to let him tell them, but he'd eventually done it by arguing something about the Protagonist's Happiness or some bullshit like that). His husband and Yue Qingyuan, he thought, deserved that information the most, but everyone else should still know the truth, shouldn't they? And so, he'd invited all the peak lords (he didn't want to out Shang Qinghua, after all, since this was his own decision), Ming Fan and Ning Yingying, and his husband to a meeting at the Bamboo House.
Now, it was a bit of a tight squeeze with all those people inside, but what else was he supposed to do?! Have the meeting outside?! That would be rude, wouldn't it, to have such an important reveal in his front yard as if he was just having a BBQ?!
Alright, so he'd given his explanation to everyone while they were packed like sardines into his house, his husband glaring at Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge the entire time because they were too close to him (But again, it's not like they could help it!). He'd explained how he died in his previous world, how he didn't really know what happened to the original Shen Qingqiu but he was gone and he took his place, how there was 'something' that guided his actions so he really hadn't wanted to do certain things (like seemingly attempting to murder his current husband while he was still a disciple), and how he was really sorry for lying this entire time. He did, however, skip over the part about this world being based off of a web novel he read because 1) none of these people even knew what the internet was, and 2) he could only give these people so many existential crises in one day, okay?!
Of course, he knew that everyone was going to be angry at him. Most of the peak lords were probably going to want to throw him out for being a fraud, and Liu Qingge would undoubtedly want to beat him up for being a lying snake. Yue Qingyuan was going to be devastated, knowing that his precious little 'Xiao-Jiu' was actually gone for good, that they'd never even really made up even a little bit. He was unsure of how Luo Binghe would react, but he knew the man would be heartbroken in some way, even if only because his husband had deceived him for so long.
The point is, out of some delayed sense of guilt, Shen Qingqiu had made a terrible decision that's would probably result in the life he built being torn apart.
.
Was he stupid?
.
Maybe, but it was too late to change that because he'd already said it all, and it's not like he could just rub the back of his head and say 'Just Kidding'!
So yes, everyone was staring at him as the lead weight of silence weighed down on him, making him wonder if it would be best for him to get a head start before they all started chasing him off the mountain.
To his surprise, the first person who approached him was Mu Qingfang.
Expecting to be slapped or punched or something, Shen Qingqiu flinched, but the man just gently took him by the wrist and began to check the state of his qi.
.
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Why, though?
After a few minutes, Mu Qingfang frowned and dropped his arm, giving Shen Qingqiu an observant look.
"Well, your qi doesn't seem to be disordered at all at the moment," the medical peak lord hummed. "Have you had another qi deviation lately?"
Shen Qingqiu blinked.
"What? No!"
Then, Mu Qingfang turned to address Luo Binghe.
"Has he had a qi deviation recently that he doesn't remember?" he asked the demon lord. "Shen-Shixiong isn't on Cang Qiong Mountain very much any more, so I have been unable to monitor his health consistently."
Luo Binghe's eyebrows creased, looking concerned.
"I don't think so?," he answered. "Not that I know of at least…"
Suddenly, Luo Binghe burst into tears.
"Did Shizun have a qi deviation, and I didn't even notice?!" Luo Binghe wailed. "I'm such a terrible husband!"
Of course, any display of guilt regarding Shen Qingqiu would activate the guilt within Yue Qingyuan, so he started crying too.
Why, Though?
"I'm such a terrible sect leader! Xiao-Jiu must have had such a terrible qi deviation for his memories to be so messed up, and I didn't even notice during his visits!" the man sobbed.
Shen Qingqiu pursed his lips.
"I didn't have a qi deviation!" he insisted. "Really, I'm kind of trying to have an important discussion here, so can you all please stop crying?"
Mu Qingfang frowned harder.
"… When did you start believing you are from another world, Shen-Shixiong?" the doctor asked in concern.
"I am from another world!" Shen Qingqiu insisted in exasperation, getting annoyed with all the various crying. "There is no 'start' to 'believing'!"
He was pretty sure Mu Qingfang rolled his eyes at him, but it happened so quickly that he couldn't be sure.
"Alright, so can you remind us when you… 'transferred' into 'this world'?"
"Like I said, it was years ago. Way before even the Immortal Alliance conference, even," he responded. "It was when the original Shen Qingqiu got sick and was unconscious for a few days. You know- when I started acting like a completely different person."
Everyone in the immediate vicinity visibly started thinking.
"… That long ago…?" Mu Qingfang gasped. "You've been living with damaged memories for over a decade?!"
"My memories aren't damaged!"
"… You're describing your memories completely changing after you had a severe qi-deviation-induced fever," Mu Qingfang pointed out. "How does that not indicate damaged memories?"
"Because I wasn't the one who had a qi deviation in the first place!"
Seriously, even though telling them all this was probably stupid, now he was just getting offended. Was asking his sect siblings and husband to believe him really such a difficult request?
Be angry!
"I have always thought that Cu-Shen-Shixiong behaved strangely ever since then," Shang Qinghua commented. "Damage to his memories would certainly explain why."
Shen Qingqiu shot him a glare. Traitor! Traitor! That damned airplane should just change his surname to Arnold, because this man really had too strong a habit of betraying people!
See if I cover for you next time, Airplane-bro! Next time, I'm just going to tell everyone that you're from a different world too and see how you like people thinking you're crazy!
"… So that's why you saved me in the Lingxi caves that day…," Liu Qingge mused.
"See?!" Shen Qingqiu exclaimed, pointing at him. "He gets it!"
But Liu Qingge shook his head.
"No, no, I'm on Team Brain Damage, too," he clarified. "I just didn't realize that that was the reason your personality changed until right now."
Shen Qingqiu's shoulders fell. Luo Binghe put what was supposed to be a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he was still crying so much that, actually, he'd really rather he didn't. He really would have preferred him not burying his crying face into that same shoulder and soaking his robes, but Luo Binghe did that too.
"I don't have amnesia," he sighed. "I have memories from my original world- my home, my family, objects that the rest of you can't even imagine! How would I have different memories from before the qi deviation if I have some weird amnesia that changed my personality?!"
Mu Qingfang gave him a blank stare.
"… Because your memories are damaged…?" he spoke as if it was obvious. "Maybe you don't have full amnesia, but clearly, your memories have been altered. Likely, your memories of the world and your family are twisted versions of your actual memories."
"Oh, so I just made up my parents and three siblings, then?" Shen Qingqiu scoffed. "Yeah, twisting some memories around can certainly just create random people."
"I didn't say you made them up; I'm just saying that your memories of your family are probably not accurate-"
"Oh for-!" Shen Qingqiu cut him off. "The original Shen Qingqiu didn't have a family! There's no memories of them to be altered! He was an orphaned slave who never even knew his parents, and the closest thing he had to a sibling was Yue Qingyuan, who hasn't stopped sobbing this entire time, by the way!"
This, however, didn't seem to get anyone to believe him. Instead, they all just stared at him with pity, a few more eyes growing damp.
Seriously?! With all the tears being shed in this room, he was going to need a raft!
"… I never knew that about you, Shen-Shixiong. Thank you for entrusting us with such intimate details of your past," Mu Qingfang said sadly. "I suppose that would explain some things about you."
"Oh no, Shizun had such a sad childhood!" Ning Yingying cried.
"Truly, it's impressive that he managed to become a peak lord after being a slave," Ming Fan added.
"It is a little sad, isn't it?"
"Do you think his parents died…?"
"Shen-Shixiong must have had a hard time…"
.
.
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WHY, THOUGH?!
BE. ANGRY.
"Would you all stop pitying me for something that happened to someone else?!" yelled Shen Qingqiu. "And besides, the original would be rolling in his grave if he heard you pitying him! Cut it out!"
Not-so-distantly (because the man was still right next to him), Yue Qingyuan began crying harder.
"Ah, Shen-Shixiong's pride won't allow us to comfort him…"
"Maybe that's why he doesn't want to accept that his memories were damaged…?"
"… It's a bit hard not to pity him after this conversation, though, isn't it…?"
Shen Qingqiu shot a glare at the entire room.
"You all suck," he declared. "Like, you're not even whispering."
Suddenly, he remembered something. He had proof!
"Binghe," he called out.
Instantly, the demon lord's sopping-wet face removed itself from his shoulder. Shen Qingqiu couldn't help shuddering at the disgusting wet patch left behind.
"Do you remember the other you from the other world?" he asked his husband.
For some reason, it took Luo Binghe a few minutes to think, as if remembering meeting your doppelgänger from another world was something easy to forget…
"Oh! Yeah, I hated that guy," Luo Binghe answered eventually. "He tried to take Shizun away from me!"
"See?!" Shen Qingqiu exclaimed. "Binghe knows that other worlds exist, too! So if there's another world with another him, why would it be so strange for me to be from another world?!"
Silence fell over the room once again.
.
.
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"OH NO, THEY'VE BOTH HAD QI DEVIATIONS!" Ning Yingying screeched.
"What?! No-"
"I had a qi deviation?!" Luo Binghe gasped. "Oh no, if I had a qi deviation, who's going to take care of Shizun during his qi deviation?!"
In a rare display of non-violence, Liu Qingge reached out a reassuring hand and clasped Luo Binghe on the shoulder, giving him a determined look.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of him."
Shen Qingqiu couldn't help staring at the display in shock, only becoming more surprised as Luo Binghe gave him a solid nod.
"Why are you making up over qi deviations that never happened?!" Shen Qingqiu wailed. "Holy fuck, you're all driving me insane right now!"
This time, when he was grabbed, it was both Mu Qingfang and Yue Qingyuan, each one holding one of his shoulders.
"Don't worry, Shixiong, I swear as the Qian Cao peak lord to help you heal," Mu Qingfang swore.
"I'll never abandon you again, Xiao-Jiu!" Yue Qingyuan promised.
"… Those words really would have been much more helpful for the original to hear rather than me," Shen Qingqiu pointed out in vain. "And again, no qi deviation, so no need for medical care. I'm good."
"We won't rest until that's true."
"… I regret telling you all anything."
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In the end, Shen Qingqiu was bundled up, shoved into his bed, and forced to take all sorts of medicines that were supposed to heal his memories and his meridians. Of course, none of it actually worked, because there was nothing wrong with his memories and he didn't have a qi deviation.
Except…
Why was he now remembering some really weirdly specific details about Shen Qingqiu that weren't in the books, details that not even Meng Mo had shown him?
Why were they actually working?
"System."
[Hello, User! What is up, my dude?" :}]
"Do you have something you want to tell me?"
[Like what uwu…?]
"Oh I don't know, how about why the medications are working?!"
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…
[Surprise…?]
"THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, 'SURPRISE?!'"
[New Mission Unlocked: Is It Wrong to Transmigrate To Another World And Come Back Without My Memories Twice? Healing Amnesia Battle 2.0: The Sequel That Was Less Funny The First Time! :3]
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Okay, I feel like this might be a little confusing, so the end is supposed to imply that Shen Qingqiu died, transmigrated into Shen Yuan, forgot about his origins, died, and transmigrated back into his original body (Shen Qingqiu) without ever regaining his original memories. Shrug.