NIP #608 - Provocation
#608 - Provocation
After dinner, the people in the cafeteria gradually dispersed. The lights were dim and yellow, reflecting on the empty tables and chairs, carrying a hint of uneasy tranquility. Tang Yin stood by the sink, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hands submerged in the cold water, fingertips touching the slippery foam of the dish soap.
"...You're really a big help," Madam Chen Xiang suddenly said, her voice low and weary. "If I had to wash dishes alone at a time like this, I would definitely go crazy."
Tang Yin raised his head, and in the dim light, he looked at the woman in her forties. Her hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, with a few strands of silver hair falling from her temples. The shadows under her eyes were heavy, but her face was expressionless, like a cold, hard sculpture. It was this seemingly fragile body that supported the operation of the cafeteria, and also supported the village's stomach and heart.
"In order to keep washing dishes tomorrow, I have to stay alive, right?" Tang Yin tried to ease the atmosphere with a half-joking tone.
Madam Chen Xiang stopped wiping a bowl, raised her head, and stared at him for a moment.
"If I'm killed by the Wolf God, I'll leave the cafeteria to you." Her voice was low and calm, as if stating an indisputable fact.
Tang Yin was stunned for a moment. "No, no, I can't handle that, Madam Chen Xiang. Only you can do it... Sorry, I'm a little confused."
Madam Chen Xiang lowered her eyes, continued wiping the bowl, her voice adding a touch of helpless weariness. "...It's nothing. Escaping is useless at a time like this. We must be prepared to face reality."
Her hand paused for a moment, as if thinking about something, then she slowly opened her mouth, "Tomorrow, one of us... won't be here, right?"
Tang Yin's fingertips suddenly stiffened, the water washing over his skin, but unable to wash away the chill in his heart. He knew that Madam Chen Xiang was telling the truth—the bizarre rules of Mist Hidden Village had never spared anyone. Every day, someone would leave, leave forever. And who would it be tomorrow? No one knew. But this unknown itself was the most deadly fear.
What was even more surprising was that Madam Chen Xiang's tone when she said this was so calm. As if she had already accepted the arrangement of fate, and didn't even have the strength to struggle.
"Qin Ming..." Madam Chen Xiang's voice revealed complex emotions, "That child is kind, and as smart as his father."
She stopped her movements, her gaze falling on the wall next to the sink, where a row of shiny knives hung, the blades gleaming coldly in the light.
"Every time I'm about to give up, he always encourages me with a smile, and then comes up with the most suitable solution." The corners of her mouth raised slightly, with a hint of tenderness unique to mothers, but soon, that smile disappeared without a trace.
"...But this time, there was confusion on his face," Madam Chen Xiang added in a low voice, as if talking to herself, or confiding in Tang Yin.
Tang Yin listened in silence, his heart tightening slightly. He had never seen such a fragile side of Madam Chen Xiang. Although her tone was still calm, even a little restrained, he could feel how deep her weariness and worry were hidden in the depths of her heart.
"That's what mothers and sons are like," Madam Chen Xiang responded faintly, her voice seeming to carry a hint of relief.
Tang Yin lowered his head and scrubbed the bowl in his hand, the figure of Qin Ming appearing in his mind. He knew that Qin Ming had always been ashamed of his relationship with his mother—he stubbornly believed that Madam Chen Xiang favored his older brother, Qin Yi, more.
Tang Yin didn't know the truth of the matter, but at least one thing was obvious: as a mother, Madam Chen Xiang had a deep love for Qin Ming. This love might not be good at expressing itself in words, but it was deeply buried in her eyes and actions.
Just as Tang Yin was pondering, he heard a slight sound of footsteps. He raised his head and saw a tall figure walking in from the cafeteria door.
It was Qin Yi.
"Qin Yi? What's wrong? Did you drop something?" Chen Xiang put down the rag, her tone calm, but her eyes did not leave Qin Yi's face.
Qin Yi stood there, silent for a few seconds, then opened his mouth: "...Why is it just you, old woman, washing dishes?" His voice was low, but his tone carried a hint of questioning.
Chen Xiang smiled, her tone relaxed: "Isn't it because you don't help."
Qin Yi frowned, didn't answer, but walked straight in, his eyes scanning around, as if looking for something. His gaze lingered on Chen Xiang's thin back for a moment, his frown deepening. "...It's not just me! What the hell is big brother doing, leaving you in the cafeteria at a time like this, damn it!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiang sighed softly, put the bowl in her hand back on the shelf, and then turned to look at Qin Yi: "It's good to have your own work. Everyone has their own things to do, and so do you. Go back quickly."
"Studying?" Qin Yi raised his eyebrows, his tone with a hint of sarcasm.
Chen Xiang raised her hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand: "Whether it's studying or wiping bowls, anyway, think about what you should do."
Qin Yi looked at her, didn't continue speaking, but the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, looking somewhat dissatisfied. He stared at the rag in Chen Xiang's hand, and suddenly spoke: "...Give me the rag."
Chen Xiang was stunned, before she could react, a smiling voice came from the corner: "You're really a super good kid, but unfortunately, I've already wiped everything clean."
Qin Yi turned his head and saw Tang Yin leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a faint smile on his face.
Qin Yi glared at him, his tone unkind: "Then what am I here for, damn it!"
Chen Xiang couldn't help but laugh, her laughter tinged with a bit of exhaustion: "Ahahaha, at least your attitude is commendable. Finish the pre-banquet preparations, and come help me again tomorrow."
Qin Yi sneered, didn't answer, just lowered his head, put his hands back in his pockets, seeming to be sulking in silence.
Tang Yin clapped his hands and stood up straight: "Okay, then I'll take my leave."
"Okay, good night." Chen Xiang nodded, watching Tang Yin walk out of the cafeteria.
Qin Yi took a few steps, suddenly stopped, and turned his head abruptly: "...Wait, you crazy guy."
Tang Yin hadn't been gone from the cafeteria for long, but as if he had expected Qin Yi to call him back, he leisurely walked back from the mist. He whistled, his face wearing the same casual smile as always: "You can almost remember my name, right?"
Qin Yi frowned, his tone full of impatience: "Annoying, Peeing Man! Peeing Man!!"
Tang Yin shrugged and spread his hands: "I give up! I really didn't expect you to be so vengeful."
Qin Yi snorted coldly, turned around and continued walking forward, muttering in a low voice, "Crazy guy."
"Let's go kill the wolf tonight." His voice suddenly became low, but with a firmness that could not be ignored. He stopped and looked back at Tang Yin, his eyes without the slightest hesitation.
"What do you mean..." Tang Yin was slightly startled, instinctively feeling that this middle school student had another amazing idea in his head.
"I said everyone go eat shit, what bullshit banquet, bullshit Qianming God, I don't have time to play with them." Qin Yi's tone carried a hint of anger, but more of a long-suppressed sense of powerlessness. His eyes swept over everything around him, his expression cold and stubborn.
"Everyone here is a coward." Qin Yi's voice rose slightly, sounding a little excited, "No matter what it is, you can kill it directly with a stick."
His tone had no fear, no anger, not even killing intent. Tang Yin understood that he wasn't joking. Qin Yi held a pure and reckless heart of resistance, like a lone fighter facing an absurd world.
"...Could it be that you're also a coward? You were really pretending last time, weren't you?" Qin Yi's eyes carried a hint of provocation, as if forcing Tang Yin to express his position.
Tang Yin was silent, and the previous scenes appeared in his mind. He finally understood that Qin Yi went out at night for this reason in the last cycle, right? As a result, he was polluted and died.
Did Qin Yi meet Qin Ming and the others at that time? Tang Yin didn't know, but that kind of fragmented corpse shouldn't have been done by Qin Ming, right...
Was it done by that huge wolf-shaped monster?
Or that being covered in bandages, similar to a god?
Damn it, Tang Yin thought that the Yellow Spring Feast was just an ordinary murder last time, Tang Yin really overlooked it.
There are still many unsolved mysteries. If I don't find the truth, I will definitely lose to fear, right.
...However, if I act with him, maybe I can find some clues?
No, even if Tang Yin can rewind time, such a rash attack would probably only end in a meaningless and complete death in the depths of the darkness and fog.
But if I refuse him, he will definitely go out alone at night and die outside, and in the end, Madam Chen Xiang will go crazy too.
But, how to convince him.
"Are you going to talk or not, hey!?" Qin Yi's voice came from the depths of the fog, with an uncontrollable irritability. He stood a few steps away, the fog blurring his outline, but judging from the sound, he was obviously losing patience.
Tang Yin lazily lifted his eyelids, his voice revealing a casual indifference: "Then you go by yourself."
"...Ha!" Qin Yi was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, laughing a bit wildly: "I knew it, you coward!"
"Yeah, okay, okay, I'm a coward." Tang Yin shrugged, his tone as casual as if he were chatting. "That way, no one will bother me."
"...Ah?" Qin Yi didn't react for a moment, his tone with a hint of doubt.
Tang Yin chuckled softly, looked around, and after confirming that there was no one else around, he deliberately lowered his voice, his tone with a hint of meaningfulness: "I can finally do whatever I want to Madam Chen Xiang. She's still very young, you can't even tell she's had two children."
"...Ha, hey..." Qin Yi's voice immediately lowered, with a hint of vigilance, even a little flustered.
Tang Yin didn't stop, but instead said more and more excessively: "Ah, anyway, we're all going to die sooner or later, might as well die under the peony flowers. Since you're in a hurry to die, then hurry up and go. I'll take good care of your mother—I'll take good care of her." Tang Yin's voice dragged out the end, his tone frivolous, as if deliberately provoking.
Sure enough, the next second, Qin Yi roared and rushed over: "Bastard, go to hell!"
Tang Yin was prepared, his body turned to the side, easily avoiding Qin Yi's impact, and then took a few steps back, making a look of begging for mercy: "Ah~ sorry, I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
"You!!" Qin Yi's face turned red with anger, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes burning with anger. He didn't hide his killing intent, his eyes staring at Tang Yin as if he wanted to tear him apart.
Tang Yin didn't panic, turned around and rushed into the depths of the fog, his figure quickly disappearing from Qin Yi's sight. Tang Yin's voice floated out of the fog, with a bit of gloating laughter: "Oh, it's quite difficult to fight in this thick fog! For the first time, I want to thank this fog."
"Tang Yin!" Qin Yi stamped his foot in place, his teeth itching with hatred, "Where are you hiding, ahhhhh!"
"Qin Yi, you can't be arrogant and abandon the fundamentals." Tang Yin's voice came leisurely.
"Ah?" Qin Yi looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.
Tang Yin's voice was sometimes near and sometimes far: "If you go out tonight, you will definitely die."
"What's the problem with that, idiot!" Qin Yi roared, his fists clenched and cracking.
"Who will protect Madam Chen Xiang then?" Tang Yin's tone changed, with a hint of seriousness.
"...I can't control that! Aren't there big brother and Gang Ge!" Qin Yi retorted impatiently.
"No." Tang Yin's words had more calmness, "They prioritize the overall situation of Mist Hidden Village. If you want to protect your mother, don't take risks, find a way to survive."
"...Ah? Who said I would definitely die, don't I have a chance of winning?" Qin Yi heard the hidden meaning in Tang Yin's words, his tone with a hint of doubt.
Tang Yin sighed softly, his tone with an unspeakable helplessness: "Your method won't work."
"...You...what exactly do you want to say, what exactly do you know?" Qin Yi's voice revealed unwillingness and unease.
"I've already tried it." Tang Yin's voice lowered, with a hint of indescribable emotion.
"...Ha...?" Qin Yi was stunned, unable to understand Tang Yin's meaning for a moment.
"Anyway, if you die, maybe I will really make a move on Madam Chen Xiang. So, you better stay alive." Tang Yin's voice regained a bit of cynical teasing.
"...Don't beat around the bush! What's going on, hey!" Qin Yi's patience was almost exhausted, his voice with a hint of trembling, as if afraid that Tang Yin really knew something.
"Keep up the dishwashing~" Tang Yin didn't say more, his voice gradually fading away.
Qin Yi stood in place, staring at the depths of the fog, biting his teeth, but never chased after him.
Tang Yin walked through the alley, heading towards his own small house. He looked down at his watch, thinking silently in his heart that it was almost time. Just then, he heard a burst of rapid footsteps behind him. He stopped, and before he could turn around, he heard a muffled sound, like someone falling down.
"...Are you okay, Hua Lu?" Tang Yin turned around and saw a thin figure趴lying on the ground, struggling to get up.
"...It hurts..." Hua Lu raised her head, her face full of pain. Her elbow seemed to have hit the ground, and her sleeves were stained with some dirt.
Tang Yin walked over and reached out to pull her up: "Even if it's grass, you'll get hurt if you fall."
Hua Lu dusted off the dirt from her clothes, looked up at Tang Yin, and said with a hint of complaint, "Speaking of which, why are you still outside so late... You should go back quickly and be careful of taboos."
Tang Yin raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Isn't that what I should be asking you, Hua Lu? You finally finished washing the dishes, how did you find the time to run out here?"