The Decaying World-Chapter 57 - 52: Predicament 4

With the arrangements made, all that was left was to wait. Lin Shunhe checked on Xiaohu and, seeing he was fine, joined You Ying and her people. They moved some chairs and stools onto the training grounds, sat down, and waited.

Time trickled by. In the blink of an eye, more than an hour had passed.

The two who had been sent away had yet to return, and the impatience in You Ying’s eyes was becoming increasingly obvious.

The atmosphere on the training grounds grew increasingly oppressive. The old men and women, sensing trouble long ago, had already quietly slipped away.

All that remained was a group of people in white robes, Lin Shunhe, Xiaohu, and Xiaopang, who had hurried over.

Attendants served everyone tea, but even the warm beverage couldn’t dispel the bone-chilling cold that permeated the air.

More time passed. Soon, two hours would be up.

Beads of sweat formed on Lin Shunhe’s forehead as he sat, his gaze fixed on the main gate. His hand, gripping the armrest, tightened unconsciously, the veins on it bulging.

"Time’s up," a bald, burly man beside You Ying said in a deep voice.

"They’re not here yet." You Ying looked toward Lin Shunhe and slowly raised her hand.

Just as she was about to act, her finger suddenly twitched. Seeming to sense something, she pointed lightly at Lin Shunhe.

WHOOSH.

A crimson Jade Pendant shot out from Lin Shunhe’s waist and landed precisely in her large hand.

"My brother’s Protective Jade Pendant... How did you get it?" The killing intent in her eyes faded rapidly, replaced by confusion.

"So you’re Lord You’s sister in the flesh!?" Lin Shunhe had been terrified, his skin crawling with goosebumps, but now he was stunned by the sight. "It’s all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

He was overjoyed and exclaimed loudly.

He instantly recalled the powerful figure he had connected with using profits from his supermarket. Tracing that figure’s network of connections, he immediately pinpointed the identity of the woman before him.

"...If you’re my brother’s man, then you’re one of our own." With a flick of her finger, You Ying sent the Jade Pendant flying precisely back into Lin Shunhe’s hand.

She then turned to look at the burly man who had seized Xiaohu earlier.

Her right hand struck.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, an immense, invisible force field solidified the space several meters around the burly man.

The field rendered the man as immobile as an insect trapped in amber, unable to move a muscle or even change his expression.

BOOM!

You Ying’s palm smashed down from above. With a deafening crash, the entire training grounds seemed to shudder.

The man was smashed into the ground from head to toe, leaving behind a circular crater of mangled flesh and blood.

In the crater, the man’s body had been pulverized into a bloody pulp, his head indistinguishable from his feet.

The strike sent a shudder through everyone watching.

Lin Shunhe’s face paled as well, but then he saw You Ying offer him a gentle smile.

"Don’t be afraid. If you’re my brother’s man, you’re one of my own. I said there would be a death, and I keep my word. Since it wasn’t going to be you, someone had to take your place. He made the mistake of targeting the wrong person, nearly implicating you and causing me to kill you by mistake. It was his fault, so he deserved to die."

"...Y-Yes." Lin Shunhe’s blood ran cold, but he suppressed his terror, nodded, and forced a smile. "Your reasoning is sound, my lord."

Just then, two guards galloped up to the main gate on horseback, followed by two other riders.

The four of them dismounted and rushed onto the training grounds. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Zhao Dongmu, Shopkeeper of Zhao’s Dried Goods, at your service, Lord You!"

One of them, an old man in a black hat, quickly approached and prostrated himself.

And at that very moment, the deadline was met...

The bald man next to You Ying whispered something to her.

"Not bad." You Ying’s gaze upon Lin Shunhe softened even more.

"I like capable people like you." She extended a forefinger and lightly tapped Lin Shunhe on the forehead.

A small, pattern-like black mark flashed on his skin for an instant, then vanished.

"I’ve given you my mark. The Protective Jade Pendant is a one-time use item, but this mark can be used repeatedly. If another high-ranking Summoner tries to harm you, they will first have to deal with the protection of my mark," You Ying said calmly.

"Thank you, my lord!" Lin Shunhe was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his thanks.

"You are dismissed." You Ying nodded, her gaze shifting to the old man in the black hat.

"Bring him. We’re leaving."

She rose to her feet. With a light tap of her toe on the ground, her tall frame soared as weightlessly as a bird. In the blink of an eye, she had cleared the wall and vanished from the training grounds.

The remaining people in white robes quickly took the shopkeeper of Zhao’s and hurried after her.

In a matter of seconds, only the deep, gory crater remained.

Lin Shunhe, Xiaohu, and the others stared, still reeling from the overwhelming presence of You Ying, who had just departed.

A good ten seconds passed before Lin Shunhe finally touched the spot between his eyebrows.

His expression gradually shifted to one of excitement, tinged with an unreadable emotion.

"Thank you for saving my life, Master Lin!" Xiaohu suddenly knelt before Lin Shunhe and kowtowed three times with loud thuds. THUD, THUD, THUD.

He was honest, but not stupid. He knew that if not for Lin Hui’s father speaking up at the risk of his own life, he would have been killed on the spot.

Xiaopang, standing nearby, looked on dumbfounded for a moment before foolishly kneeling and kowtowing three times as well.

"It’s all right. You’re safe now." Lin Shunhe stepped forward and helped the two boys up. He wasn’t a fool; he hadn’t intended to truly sacrifice himself. He had only dared to intervene because he had the Protective Jade Pendant, which gave him the courage he needed.

He had three more such Protective Jade Pendants, all of them gifts from the powerful benefactors who backed him. They were counting on him to make money and provide resources, so they couldn’t afford for anything to happen to him.

The United Supermarket had already expanded to more than ten towns, a far cry from the two branches he’d told his son about. That had just been a story to avoid startling his family.

In reality, with powerful figures on board, funding and manpower were no longer problems. His years of experience had taught him one crucial lesson: when pioneering a new business model, one must capture as much market share as possible, as quickly as possible.

There was no way he would just sit back and wait to open branches one by one.

"Go back and get some rest. Calm your nerves. When your master gets here, tell him what happened today. For the time being, suspend your classes," Lin Shunhe instructed.

"Yes!" Xiaohu nodded forcefully. Uncle Lin Hui had actually warned him, but he had thought that since he was just a child and the Sword Sect was now only filled with old men and women, he would be safe.

He never imagined that the powerful figures from the Inner City could be so savage...

*

*

*

「Early on the morning of the third day.」

Lin Hui had just returned to the Sword Sect when he was brought to a halt by the sight of a gory pulp of flesh on the ground.

Xiaohu and Xiaopang were struggling to clean up the bloody mess with the help of two of the older women.

The burly man had no family to claim his body, so his remains would be packed into leather bags and thrown into the Fog Area, letting the monsters take care of them completely.

As for the half-meter deep, bowl-shaped crater left in the ground, Weiwei had already hired a professional mason, who was off to the side mixing the specialized stone and sand used for the training ground’s surface.

Weiwei felt a sense of relief upon seeing Lin Hui return and quickly approached him.

The incident had given her a huge fright. Learning that it was Lin Hui’s father who had ultimately resolved the crisis filled her with an indescribable sense of mystery toward the man she had once thought to be ordinary.

If Xiaohu had really died, a death in the already-declining Qingfeng Sword Sect would likely have caused it to collapse on the spot.

After all, the old men and women were only there to pay for some light exercise. Faced with such a dangerous incident, they would have surely fled faster than anyone.

After all, anyone who managed to live to such an old age in the Outer City these days was no simpleton. Each one of them was as shrewd as they come.

Lin Hui’s expression shifted as Weiwei recounted the entire incident.

He had never expected the group from the Inner City to actually show up at the Sword Sect, much less for his father to take the initiative to come over with medicine. His dad never dropped by so unexpectedly.

"The medicine Uncle Lin brought is still with me. He said he found another source for the medicine you needed. There are fifteen packs," Weiwei whispered.

"Fifteen packs..." Lin Hui had thought that with the main ingredient missing, he wouldn’t be able to get any Full Essence Powder for some time. He never expected his old man’s connections to be so extensive that he could actually rustle up fifteen packs.

With these, plus the Scorpion Tail he had hunted himself, the time needed to evolve his Qingfeng Sword would be drastically reduced!

Inner Strength!

The thought of the danger his father had faced, of Xiaohu nearly being choked to death, and of that unkillable Tree Scorpion—it all fueled Lin Hui’s desire to grow stronger to an absolute peak.

If his Inner Strength had been developed, if he had built up a powerful enough following, perhaps none of this would have happened.

"Where’s Master?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"My father knows. He and your father had a drink together. They talked all night yesterday, so he’s catching up on sleep now. Your father has gone home as well," Weiwei answered.

"I’ll go check on him." Lin Hui nodded.

He hadn’t realized his father was so capable. It seemed the business his dad was running was far more complex than he’d let on.

He took the medicine and hurried back to his new home.

He arrived to find his father drinking and eating meat with an old man he didn’t recognize. His dad was bragging about how composed he’d been before Lord You, how he hadn’t even flinched when a man was beaten to death right in front of him, his courage unwavering.

Both were already quite drunk. The old man, assuming Lin Shunhe was just boasting, joined in, bragging about how he had once led a hundred of his clansmen to face down an Upper-Tier Summoner, eventually forcing them to retreat.

The two had their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, acting without a shred of inhibition. The sight made Lin Hui, who had just reached the entrance to the small hall, pause.

He stood in the doorway for a long time, watching his father let himself go completely, singing loudly and roaring along with the old man.

After a while, he turned and chose not to disturb them.

After such a dangerous ordeal, he understood that his father was only human. He needed to blow off steam, too. Drinking, boasting, and singing raucously with a friend—this was precisely his way of coping with the stress.

The incident with You Ying also served as a warning to Lin Hui.

’There are many things you can’t escape just by avoiding them... Why must I be the one to avoid trouble? Why can’t trouble be the one to avoid me?’

He returned to his small courtyard and gazed up at the bright, misty sky, remaining motionless for a long time.

His family had nearly been caught in the crossfire of the You Ying affair. He himself had avoided danger, but he couldn’t control what happened to those around him. There would always be unexpected incidents. The best solution was to eliminate such problems at their root.

Just then, Ding Ning entered the courtyard carrying a freshly brewed medicinal soup.

"Young Master, the soup is ready. Please drink it while it’s hot."

"Yes." Lin Hui reached out, took the bowl, and downed the grayish-black concoction in one gulp.

’And the Baihua Sect is still nearby. Letting them wander around is an ongoing threat.’

’So what if two of their people died? So many people disappear in the Outer City every year. Other factions would have just let it go. But this Baihua Sect... they’re still making a fuss after all this time over a mere two people. How irritating.’

A ruthless resolve settled in his heart. He decided that once he used the medicinal soup to evolve his Qingfeng Sword and step into the Inner Power Realm, he would deal with the Baihua Sect once and for all, eliminating the threat for good.