Everlasting Tasks

It took only two steps inside the room before Tang Jiahao laid into him with a load of questions, but Yin Haoyu evaded most, reiterating that he was just curious.

In the end, Tang Jiahao gave up with a soft murmur, "Your curiosity will someday be the death of you."

With a grin, Yin Haoyu sat down on the mat before one of the desks and pulled a clear piece of paper from the stack at the corner of the table. He picked up his brush, and said, "I think that something else will get me first, though."

Tang Jiahao hummed, not quite in agreement, but not objecting it either. "Who was that Liao-gongzi?"

As he dipped his brush in the ink, he shrugged. "I don't know. He was quite busy with interrogating me to bother introducing himself."

"Indeed. Maybe it would have been better if you'd met him in daylight."

A few strokes of his brush started the beginning of a character that could potentially safe his life. He hoped it could. "Meeting people in the day is highly overrated. Don't you think it is quite cozy at night? It's the perfect time to meet new people."

"It's the perfect time for monsters to come out."

"Shixiong, you're a genius. Maybe monsters are just lonely! They come out at night in the hopes of meeting someone new, but we kill them merciless."

"Yes, we're really cruel," Tang Jiahao said as he casted his eyes up to heaven, as if to pray for patience. Then he sat down on his bed and studied him. "You're writing a letter again?"

The disciples that he shared a room with back at his residence in the sect would not even have batted an eye, but Tang Jiahao was not used to it. In order to communicate with his parents in his room, he wrote to them. It was the best option aside from talking aloud.

In other circumstances-such as in lectures-he sometimes needed to talk to his parents when they decided to give him a well-timed task. In those cases, he needed to resort to writing even though Tang Jiahao sat right next to him. So, it was not that he had never seen him write these letters, it was just that he rarely witnessed them.

"Yes."

More words did not need to be said, Tang Jiahao knew how secretive he was about them. Especially when he burned them to a crisp afterwards. In the beginning Tang Jiahao had tried to sneak a peek, but he soon stopped when Yin Haoyu reacted really badly every time. The tenth time Yin Haoyu launched a brush towards him had been the breaking point, Tang Jiahao had looked down at his besmirched robes and said, "Alright, I understand, no looking for me." He never did it again.

Now Tang Jiahao made himself comfortable on his bed. "Write that letter of yours, then go to sleep. If you try escaping again, you're dead."

Actually, escaping could save his life if it meant he discovered something, but Yin Haoyu wisely nodded.

Not long after, Tang Jiahao was softly snoring, and Yin Haoyu was almost done with writing when his mother returned.

{What happened? How did you get back here? I could not reach you for so long, did you discover something?}

With a few strokes Yin Haoyu finished the letter and pushed it forwards so his mother could more easily read it.

"I got a bit closer to discovering the truth," he had written in the letter. "I have multiple theories, but I need more time. When I investigated a rather important clue, I got caught and brought back here. I think it was no coincidence that I got caught when I was so close, so I need more time to investigate this. I know I should have solved this issue sooner, but the matter is complicated, and since the guest disciples are not trusted around here, it is hard to move around. If you're willing to give me more time, I'll solve it. Please extend your kindness to your son."

One of the only good parts of his mother's tasks was that she never put on a time limit. This meant that she could use her own judgement on whether he had failed the task or not, so most of the time it worked to his disadvantage. For the more difficult tasks however, he could argue his case. If he graveled enough, and his logic was sound, he knew he could get extensions. He hoped it could save his life this time too.

Dad however, dad was different. His tasks always came with time limits, and there was no extending those. Still, the tasks were fairer since his dad took into account how difficult the task was to determine the time scale. But when the time ran out, it always meant a failure.

{A-Huan, you know I don't like it when you do this. I decide when you have had enough time, but I'm not cruel. I do see your side of the matter. It is a rather complicated task.}

When his mother fell silent, Yin Haoyu hoped that her thoughts were going in the right direction. He doubted his mother wanted him dead, at least not like this. If she was going to kill him, it would be because of his blatant obedience one way or another. If he was trying his best, but the case was just too complicated, she would be less eager to kill him. Although, he could not be sure of this. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to kill him off.

{Don't get used to this, a-Huan. You should know that this is an exception that I won't grant you anytime soon again. I'll give you more time to get to the bottom of this.}

He pushed himself up and bowed down low in gratitude. He could not say anything, but if he did not appear grateful, she would never allow him this leniency again.

{Now, tell me those theories of yours.}

-~-

Loud banging on their door made them both shoot upright in bed. He exchanged a look with Tang Jiahao. Then he quickly stood up and reached for his outer robes.

"Yin Huan! Get out, now!" Tian Guanting shouted from outside their door. "You better don't make me wait too long."

Already halfway done dressing, he hopped to the door on one foot, pulling on his shoe on the other. As he was pulling on his last layer, he pulled open the door. "I'm here."

Tian Guanting stood a few steps away from his door, his arms crossed before him. Behind his shoulder, Yin Haoyu noticed a familiar figure. The Liao disciple from last night had returned to dole out his punishment.

When their gazes crossed, the man looked taken aback and quickly averted his eyes. Last night the man had no problem staring him down, but now he could not even look at him?

Only then did he remember his half-undressed, disheveled state. It seemed his lack of decency had unsettled the man. Yin Haoyu knew the Liao sect were quite proper, but the reaction seemed a bit extreme. Not only did the Liao sect hold themselves to high values, but they also expected nothing less from others. Now that he was a guest disciple, he supposed that he should get used to that sooner rather than later.

Tian Guanting grabbed his arm and pulled him along. When they reached the center of the courtyard, before the feet of the man, he was thrown down. He tried to stand up again, but Tian Guanting's hand on his shoulder held him down.

"Yin Huan," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what you have done? Apologize!"

From under the mess that was his hair, unruly as it was without a thorough treatment of his comb, Yin Haoyu looked up at the man. A light frown was etched on his face, but his icy glare was directed at Tian Guanting. He guessed that the man was angry with Tian Guanting for not keeping one of his sect members in line.

"Yin Huan, apologize," Tian Guanting repeated. "Apologize to His Highness."

Wait, what? His Highness? That could not be! Surely, his luck would not be that bad, would it? Surely, he would not run into the crown prince himself, not even he had that much bad luck. Right?

"On the sect grounds," the crown prince, Liao Yaozu, said, "you should call me Jiuxing-jun. You are a guest disciple here, so you should follow the sect rules."

Tian Guanting quickly dipped down in a low bow. "Please excuse me for my mistake, Jiuxing-jung." As if to make himself feel better for his mistake, Tian Guanting squeezed his shoulder tightly, too tightly. It hurt, but Yin Haoyu did not make a sound. "Yin Huan, you've made a grave mistake. Apologize."

Well, now he did understand why Tian Guanting was even rougher today. Tian Guanting had lost a lot of face because of Yin Hoayu's insubordination. One of his sect's disciples had caused a lot of trouble, and it was the crown prince himself that had been offended. This was no slight matter. Especially not if it was reported back to his father. This could strain the relationship between the two sects, and it was only natural that he was this angry.

Already down on his knees, Yin Haoyu easily transitioned into a kowtow. "Please forgive this disciple for offending you and your sect, Jiuxing-jun."

"Jiuxing-jun," Tian Guanting added. "Yin Huan did this on his own accord. I implore Jiuxing-jun to not look bad on the Tian sect because of this. He was not even supposed to be here today, so I shall send him back to be punished after Jiuxing-jun is done with him."

Ah, so it had been decided. A miracle had landed him as the eleventh disciple in the Liao sect, but he already managed to mess everything up in less than six shichen. It was truly a feat, even for him. Not only would his future look rather bleak from here on out, but it would also be very short. If he could not enter the sect grounds, then he could not investigate further. He was doomed to fail his task. He could buy himself time, but he could not escape this task.

Once a task was given, it could not be taken back.