A rather disastrous painting lesson, several chicken scrawls, and a hissing painting teacher later, who had been utterly chard by Yin but developed a keen dislike towards her brother and Jiang, lanting that she was a spirit master. Tang Yin was looming over more tos alongside her brother.
Searching for a way out.
But all they found on god exams was in summary.
Pass the test, do what you are being told, or go die, in a nutshell. Yet the mont when she stabbed Jiang replayed in her mind ti and ti again. Haunted her even in her deepest sleep at night, where she woke up drenched in her own sweat and screaming, so Yin kept on searching, and her brother with her.
Maybe it would have been better to never ask the question of how this exam would end. Still, it was too late to question everything. One night, she woke up so sick in the stomach that she threw up her dinner into the toilet and was left sweating buckets while kneeling on the bathroom floor.
She sighed and leaned against the wall, trying to remain as quiet as possible so neither Jiang nor Tang San would notice, concealing her lack of sleep behind carefully applied makeup, when she noticed that the two were taking turns keeping an eye on her to worry them less.
A smile was permanently on her face as she hugged Jiang and pretended as if nothing was wrong, except for the occasional nightmare for her brother. With success, neither of the two really noticed she was throwing up food or spending her nights tossing and turning. Yin was haunted by her nightmares; she spent her weeks drawing; when she wasn't drawing, she was reading, searching for a way out; and when it wasn't that, she was training with her brother.
Sharpening her knife skills and her cultivation, edging closer and closer to her seventh spirit ring.
Days passed as Tang San abandoned painting lessons for the harp and etiquette, when Yin did not drag him along to them out of pure stubbornness; even the painting teacher took pity on him, and Yin noticed how he let Jiang and her Bro pass despite their nonexistent skills just because.
That was the best, well, except poking Jiang and going on all the dates she could think of, which he good-naturedly went along with, smiling. Yin knew it was silly, but the more he treated his own death so nonchalantly, the angrier she grew at him and the more an idea ford in her head.
He was a murderer, and Tang San helped search for him. "Once the school year is over and if we still haven't found another solution, I will go for him." Tang Yin finally decided to go for the title douluo that they had choosen with careful consideration and with Sans' full agreent.
"Alright." He agreed and then pressed down on her shoulder. "But you will not go alone."
"I need to." She said darkly, after months of agonizing, having made up her mind, and steeled herself, even if it would break her principles. What did principles matter if it was Jiang's life? It was cold thinking that way, but her nightmares had beco so hard that they drove her to a cold emotionlessness in the face of her lover's death.
"Yin." Tang San grabbed her shoulder tighter. "I will co with you. I won't let you face a title douluo on your own." He told her cooly, but she shook her head in smiling denial as if she wasn’t too serious about it. “No one said you had to do it all alone.”
"I know.” She smiled. “But you got Xiao Wu to visit, no. So don’t worry about , worry about Wu. She is missing you a lot.” She changed the topic and gently boxed his side. “Who is going to whoo her all off her feet if not my handso bro?”
"Yin."
"What? If you don’t hurry, she is going with a handso spirit beast and not with you, young little human.” She joked. “I an, look at Jiang and tell there won’t be a handso, good-looking, less problematic choice around. I an, Wu is pretty, clever...”
"We both know you are just changing the topic here. I also know you won’t kill anyone in cold blood. That’s not you," He said. "And who says Wu is going to choose soone else when she has . Yin, I am not stupid; I am your brother. I know you are up to sothing. Just do the favour of not going out there and challenge a douluo on the tip of your blade to a duel alone.”
She gazed at San, the aura of finality around her. "I will die trying if it is what it takes." She said, shrugged, then took a deep breath. "I am breaking my own promise to myself. I have never done so before. They can take my principles, those gods, and spit on my values, but San. I won't let them take my honor from ." She stated and looked at him. “No one I will permit to take that from .”
"You." He wanted to object but then didn’t...”Just don’t try doing it alone.”
She remained silent, and they both knew her choice had been made. "I will not lie to Jiang." Tang San then said quietly. "I can't. As much as you cannot throw away your honor, I cannot watch you walk into your death. I will tell him you are planning to leave him and behind to settle this on your own.”
"I will survive." She stated, and he flinched.
Tang San opened his mouth as if he wanted to continue, but Yin was already walking away; she heard him sigh. He would not let her go, but she would not see Jiang die; she would not watch her brother risk it all just to help her or save her.
Tonight.
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