Chapter 237
Tang Long raised his hand and knocked. "Sect Master, we've brought Tang San and Tang Yin."
"Enter." A deep, rich voice echoed from within the room. To the twins' ears, it was incredibly familiar, the voice sounding very similar to their father's.
Tang Long pushed the door open. He gestured silently but insistently for the twins to follow him into the room. Tang Tian lingered in the hallway, shadows swallowing him as he stayed behind. The room stretched wide—Yin guessed a hundred square meters or more—its simplicity almost austere. A broad table commanded the center, bookcases lined every wall, and two long sofas waited, their cushions inviting, promising comfort in a place that felt anything but.
Tang Yuehua sat poised on the sofa, every movement graceful, as if she belonged to another world. When her eyes found the twins trailing after Tang Long, her smile bloomed, warm and bright, chasing away the tension that clung to the air.
Tang San’s gaze lingered on his aunt; he nodded in silent acknowledgment. Yin flashed their aunt a quick grin, a spark of mischief in her eyes. Both twins then turned their attention to the figure behind the table—a presence that seemed to anchor the entire room.
He was tall—easily two meters, broad-shouldered and imposing, his presence filling the space as if he were carved from the stone itself. His face was chiseled, hair short and streaked with gray, dressed in the same somber colors as the others, yet he wore them like a mantle of authority. Tang San drew a slow breath, comparing the man to his own father—where his father’s eyes had grown clouded and weary, this man’s gaze was sharp, clear, unyielding. Then, without warning, a heavy pressure settled over Tang San, thick as a storm rolling in. He gasped, the weight of it stealing the air from his lungs.
Yet the pressure seemed to flow past Tang Yin and Tang Long, leaving them untouched, as if the storm had chosen its target.
Tang Long, never one to show weakness, paled as he watched Tang San suffer under the pressure. But Tang San’s face betrayed nothing—not even a flicker of discomfort. Tang Long’s worry turned to respect, especially when he noticed slender tendrils of Blue Silver Grass unfurling across the floor. Tang Long glanced at Yin, realizing what this meant.
Yin’s expression had hardened, her eyes cold as winter, every line of her face carved from ice.
As Tang San’s knees began to buckle, twin halos of blue and white light wrapped around him. He knelt, head bowed in salute to the man behind the table, while the gentle tendrils of grass crept further, silent and watchful.
"Tang San pays respect to the Sect Master." His words, clear as glass, made Tang Long's eyes grow large. How could he still speak so clearly under such pressure? Was he really human? Then suddenly spikes surrounded the Clan Master, and Tang Long gasped as the sharp tips stopped right at the Clan Master's throat.
"Tang Yin pays her respects," Yin said, her tone cool. She looked directly at the Sect Master. "And asks kindly you stop pressuring my brother." After her words, the pressure shifted to include Yin as well.
Tang Long swallowed hard, realisation dawning. Could their strength truly surpass his own? They weren’t even twenty, or so Aunt had said.
Tang San struggled for breath beneath the invisible weight, while Yin’s blue river grass edged closer to the sect master, her stance unyielding. She refused to kneel, standing tall against a force that pressed down like a mountain. She had felt this before—on the endless stairs of the Sea God’s trial—and it had left her changed.
That ordeal had given her an edge over her brother. Her spirit bones and body had been tempered by godly energy, made resilient by years of surviving a force that threatened to tear her apart from within. She had adapted, grown stronger, her body forged in hardship.
Tang San unleashed both his domains, every muscle taut with determination. He would not yield. His eyes darkened, stormy with resolve. Suddenly, a thin line of blood traced down the sect master’s throat—a thorn had found its mark blue river grass having made it's way to him completely unnotived as he had focused on pressuring them.
Yin stepped forward, moving with effort under the crushing weight. Tang San, noticing her struggle, shifted his domains to ease her burden. As she pressed forward, her footsteps left faint impressions in the stone, closing the distance to the man behind the table.
The man’s gaze settled on Yin, and the pressure vanished as suddenly as it had come. If not for Yin’s past trials and Tang San’s years of training beneath pounding waterfalls, they might have collapsed. Instead, they only swayed, the thorns halting in midair. Yin tilted her head, studying him.
"Get up." The man said, looking at Tang San, then his gaze fixed on Yin. "And I would ask you to remove these."
“Why?” Her voice was iron, unyielding. “You threatened us before you even greeted us. I have no intention of killing you, but give me a reason to lower my guard.”
“Yin… he was only testing us. Please.” Tang San’s voice was gentle, but he knew his sister well. She hated killing, but when it came to
protecting what mattered, she would do whatever was needed.
Tang San knelt, bowing three times in formal respect. Yin withdrew her thorns but stayed standing, her fist clenched at her side—a silent declaration that she would not bow, not even for tradition’s sake.
Tang Yuehua stepped forward, stopping him. "Your father's sins aren't your own. Tang San," she said. "Stop."
"My father's debts are my own. From father to son, that is how it had always been. Sect Master, I hope to assume responsibility for everything on behalf of my..."
“San!” Yin cut him off, exasperation sharpening her voice. “Don’t be an idiot. You are you, and Father is Father. It’s right to want to make things right, but we don’t have to kneel for his mistakes. Actions matter more than words.” She sighed, knowing she couldn’t stop him, but she could at least remind him of who he was.
Ever since the twins had entered
“What can you even take responsibility for!” Tang Xiao’s fist crashed down on the table, the sound echoing like thunder. The granite slab shattered beneath his hand, fragments scattering across the floor. Tang Long swallowed, stunned into silence. That table had weighed two tons—how could anyone break it so easily?
Tang Xiao shot a dark glare at Tang Long. "What are you looking at!" He growled. "Go get a new table."
“Ah?” Tang Long winced, pain flickering across his face, but he held his tongue.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Tang Xiao asked him.
“I’m going, I’m going,” Tang Long muttered, scurrying away. Tang San made to kneel again, but Yin’s hand shot out, gripping his arm and holding him upright.
“I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m willing to risk my life to redeem Father,” he said, forced to stand by Yin’s unyielding grip.
Tang Xiao turned and opened the window behind him.
“He’s left his own children to redeem him. Will my brother ever stop running from his past?”
Tang San’s thoughts drifted to his father—one arm, one leg, a shadow of the man he once was. Sadness flickered in his eyes. “My father isn’t shrinking. He said he could never face you again, that he wasn’t worthy to return.”
Tang Xiao’s voice trembled, the weight of years pressing down on every word.
"Is...Is he well?" He asked, and Tang San nodded.
“Yes. He stays by Mother’s side every day. He intends to spend the rest of his life with her.” Yin turned, surprise flickering across her face—this was news to her, too.
“Keeping your mother company?” Tang Xiao turned, and the twins saw the red rims around his eyes.
“When Mother died, she became Blue Silver Grass. Father remains with her, never leaving her side.” As he spoke, Yin released his arm, her hand balling into a fist—this was all new to her.
Tang Xiao drew a long breath. “Maybe that’s the best ending for him,” he murmured, his gaze softening as he looked at the twins. “You both carry so much of your parents in you.”
Tang San managed a small smile, while Yin only shrugged. A long black box appeared in Tang San’s hands—he needed both arms to hold its weight. “My father asked me to bring these. He said it was all he could still do for Clear Sky.”
Tang Xiao stepped forward, hands trembling as he opened the box. The air thrummed with energy as two spirit bones came into view, and for a moment, he nearly lost his grip on the box.
"Tang Hao...he?" His gaze turned to Tang San, eyes wide.
Tang Yuehua, who had also seen the spirit bones, started to cry. "Oh, brother."
Tang San’s smile was tinged with sorrow. “He said if he didn’t do at least this much, he wouldn’t have the right to stay by Mother’s side. But don’t cry too much, Aunt. He’s has never been happier I think."
"Still...two generations. Both my niece and my brother." Tang Yuehua sobbed. Yin looked at her, smiled, and spun around before speaking.
"Nah, don't worry, aunty. Once I get a new arm after trashing my previous one, you will barely notice." She said, grinning, before hugging her. "The mechanic who helps me is a good cookie, the best at what he does." She swallowed away the sentence of her father getting help from Gale.
Her gaze wandered to Tang Xiao. He watched the twins with a soft expression. "I would be honoured if you'd call me uncle," he said. His attention drifted to Yin’s singular arm, which vanished beneath her poncho, restoring the illusion she was not missing a limb.
Shock numbed Tang San and Tang Yin alike.
"Uncle?" Yin said, surprised. "Didn't you just.."
"I needed to know." He explained. "To know you would not be in danger from the anger that will come your way."
"Oh."
"I-I have never blamed your father for his actions. If Ah Yin, your mother, had chosen me...I would have probably done the same." He said and closed his eyes. "I never wished this on him...I would never ask you to make up for your father. If you work hard for us, then because you are members of Clear Sky, you don't have to make up for him."
Yin tilted her head while Tang San, next to her, choked as she stepped closer to him. "Thank you...but...I at least have to decline." She smiled sadly. "I already have a Clan. One, I do not intend to leave."
Tang San stared at her, surprise flickering in his eyes. “What?” She only shrugged. “It’s the truth. I am Tang Clan—our Tang Clan. I will never belong to another. That’s my family, the one I chose.”
He leaned against her shoulder, finding strength in her certainty. “Right. I’m sorry, Uncle. But I feel the same as my sister. I’ll work hard for Clear Sky, but my home—my clan—will always be Tang.”