"Is that so?" The Emperor felt satisfied when he saw the trembling Fire God finding it hard to keep his posture. If he would change it without his permission, then he had another punishment incoming.
"Yes, your Majesty. The Fire God and I only had a friendly spar of words and nothing else." Yin spoke instead with a steady voice, as if she wasn't bothered by the fact that she was standing in front of the Emperor of the Celestial Realm.
Silence prevailed for a while, before the Emperor decided to break it.
"Alright then. Your parents must be eager to see you now. You are dismissed." With that said, he started to walk away from the scene with his servants following behind him.
"Thank you, your Majesty." The young Gods replied but didn't dare to move before the Emperor was out of their vicinity.
When he was finally gone, they straightened their backs and shared a look. They then began to move towards the entrance of the Outer Garden.
"That scared me so much that I think my soul must have left my body for a moment." Yang breathed out in relief as he patted his chest.
Then he thought of the difference between their reactions to the Ruler of the Celestial Realm and continued.
"I am really envious of your ability to keep calm no matter what, Yin. Even the mighty Celestial Emperor can't make you slip your mask of indifference."
"Don't be. It wasn't worth it." She answered absentmindedly, before she realized what she had said.
"No?" Yang frowned and asked in confusion. Wasn't it a skill to be proud of?
She blinked a few times and pressed her lips together. Why did she let that slip? She was definitely not that sloppy in the past. However, nothing had changed now compared to then except for...
Yin glanced at the young man beside her.
When did she start to lower her guards against him? She couldn't remember it clearly, but it must have been some time in the desert.
Even if she wasn't aware of Yang's actions in the beginning of the trial, she gradually realized that he was the reason why she dreamt less nightmares.
Whenever He appeared and prepared to have his wicked ways with her, she would always hear a soft melody guiding her away from the scene. She would then end up in a peaceful place with singing animals and green forests. His voice really did wonders and as the time passed, she even started to anticipate him singing for her.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. With it, she imagined herself forgetting these stupid things. Otherwise she might personally foil her plans.
"No. As you should be aware of by now, behind every success hides countless mistakes." She paused as she got lost in the past.
"Which ones did you commit to reach your current state?" Yang asked seriously.