The Decaying World-Chapter 73 - 68: Handling 4

"Disciples from the front courtyard?" Lin Hui stood up and pondered for a moment. "Let them in."

"Yes, sir." The disciple left to do so.

A short while later, a familiar figure appeared. He was accompanied by two slender women dressed in the white formal clothing of Qingfeng Temple, each holding a longsword. A disciple led them into the mansion, stopping before the pavilion.

The visitor was none other than Chen Sui, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

His face was gaunt, but his eyes shone with a strange light. He was a great deal thinner than before.

The other two were Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren, whom he also hadn’t seen in a long time.

"Chen Sui greets Sect Leader Lin." As soon as Chen Sui approached, he took the initiative to perform a formal fist-and-palm salute, his bearing respectful.

Huang Shan, who was behind him, had originally planned to greet him familiarly, but seeing her senior brother act so formally, she understood and followed suit with a fist-and-palm salute.

"Senior Brother, it’s been a long time. Have you been well?" Lin Hui hadn’t seen Chen Sui since the patrol mission. On that day, Chen Sui had been easily defeated by a former junior brother, and his expression had been utterly grim. After that, he had vanished without a trace.

To think he’d only just now resurfaced.

"I’m alright. Junior Brother Lin, are you still willing to acknowledge our old relationship?" The corner of Chen Sui’s mouth twitched as he sighed.

"Of course. Senior Brother, and you two Senior Sisters, since you’ve come before me now, I assume you’ve already made your choice." Lin Hui guessed their intentions.

"Sect Leader Lin... are you still willing to accept the three of us?" Chen Sui asked solemnly.

’Their character is much better than that of the other disciples. At least they didn’t defect to the Black Dragon Sect and turn against the Qingfeng Sword Sect.’

’Now that they see a glimmer of hope, they’ve immediately returned to rejoin the sect. They are clearly loyal and honorable people.’

"Of course I am," Lin Hui said with a smile. "Right now, the Qingfeng Sword Sect is in dire need of people, especially former sect members like the three of you."

"Then I thank you for accepting us, Sect Leader!" Chen Sui’s face held a trace of shame as he bowed deeply. Lin Hui deserved such a bow.

He had left the Daoist Temple without a word, choosing to flee when it faced its most difficult time. That Lin Hui was willing to take him back now moved him deeply.

Unlike him, Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren had never defected to another sect, nor had they truly left. They had just been assigned to the other two branches. Later, when the Quick Sword Sect and Wind Sword Sect branches dissolved, they had become disheartened and simply went home to practice their swordsmanship on their own.

Then, after more than a year, they heard that the Qingfeng Sword Sect had actually absorbed the Black Dragon Sect!?

Overjoyed, the two of them made inquiries everywhere to learn the details. Once they knew what had happened, they immediately came to offer Lin Hui their aid.

"Junior Brother Lin, long time no see! You’ve made it all the way to Sect Leader, huh? Impressive!"

Once they were reacquainted, Huang Shan reverted to her usual carefree attitude.

"Have you no respect for your elders? I was your senior brother within the sect before, and now I’m the Sect Leader. You’re still calling me Junior Brother? Are you asking for a beating?" Lin Hui retorted with a laugh.

"Alright, alright, Senior Brother~~~" Huang Shan cooed in a deliberately cute voice. "You’re so impressive now. Would you like me to come over and give you a back rub?"

"Have you reached Ninth Grade Body Tempering? Anyone below Ninth Grade isn’t qualified to give me a back rub," Lin Hui sneered.

"You’re being way too pragmatic, aren’t you?" Huang Shan couldn’t help but laugh. "But you’re actually right. If I hadn’t reached Ninth Grade, I really wouldn’t have dared to come and offer my help!"

Her pretty face suddenly turned serious.

"It’s not just Ah Huang. I’ve also reached Ninth Grade," Qiu Yiren added seriously from the side.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is this ’Ah Huang’!?"

After the jokes, the atmosphere relaxed considerably. The awkwardness from their long separation was quickly washed away.

Lin Hui studied the three of them closely and could indeed sense a huge change from before.

’Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren are geniuses, just as I thought. To have reached the Ninth Grade Body Tempering level in such a short time... The two Daoists of the Ming Generation must have poured massive resources into them before they left. Otherwise, with their ordinary family backgrounds, they could never have afforded such expenses.’

"Was this the work of the two Masters?" Lin Hui asked grimly.

"Yes," Huang Shan nodded and said gravely. "Also, there’s something important I need to tell you."

She glanced around, making sure the surrounding courtyards were completely empty before taking a step forward and lowering her voice.

"My master and my martial uncle, Mingchen, as well as your master, Master Mingde—they didn’t leave because of the Black Dragon Sect. Someone is secretly capturing Inner Power Realm experts for testing. The annihilation of Hongqu Temple was because of this."

"Testing?" Lin Hui’s eyes narrowed. A chill ran through him. "Is that true? What proof do you have?"

Huang Shan moved closer again. Her chest, much fuller than before, almost brushed against Lin Hui’s arm, but she seemed not to notice, focused only on speaking.

"When I went to my master Mingxiu’s hometown, I found a message she’d left for her family with instructions. In the message, she vaguely mentioned that they were just going away to avoid a disaster and would be back in about a year. If they didn’t return within a year, it meant something had happened to them." Huang Shan paused, then continued. "I made some inquiries. Before, Master Mingxiu would also leave periodically for short periods. The official reason was closed-door cultivation or hunting monsters in the Fog Area, but in reality, it was likely to avoid this same disaster."

Lin Hui instinctively moved his arm to avoid contact.

"It’s been well over a year now, which means..."

"Yes. I suspect something might have happened to our masters," Huang Shan said in a low voice. "After that, I spent time visiting various towns to investigate. I discovered that many other martial arts halls had similar situations. There used to be numerous Martial Alliance halls, and they recruited disciples every year, with no shortage of geniuses among them. But have you ever wondered why, after all these years, there are still so few Inner Power Realm experts? Is breaking through to the Inner Power Realm really that difficult?"

Lin Hui fell silent. He had indeed never noticed this. "The Inner Power Realm is strong, but it shouldn’t matter to The Three Greats of the Inner City."

"That’s why I’ve ruled out The Three Greats. I suspect it might be the work of the Three Sects and Six Gangs in the Inner City. Inner Power Realm experts from the External Martial Arts Halls could potentially affect their rule. Perhaps the old Martial Alliance was showing signs of resistance, so..." Huang Shan’s voice was grim.

Hearing this, the various clues and pieces of information swirled in Lin Hui’s mind as he tried to distill the possible truth from them.

But this news had come too suddenly. He had no intelligence on the matter whatsoever.

"I will investigate this secretly. Don’t worry about it for now. Focus on your swordsmanship and on breaking through to the Inner Power Realm. No matter what, strength is the most crucial factor," he instructed.

"Okay." Huang Shan nodded heavily. "I hope our masters are alright... I always felt their departure was too strange and hasty. I never thought..."

"I felt that way too, as if something was chasing them, forcing them to leave," Lin Hui nodded, his heart growing heavy.

’If what Huang Shan said is true, then just how powerful is this clandestine force that can compel so many Inner Power Realm experts to flee every year? Will they notice me, someone who broke through in secret? Everything is an unknown.’

’And Master Mingde... I wonder what his situation is now. If he was really targeted...’

A new sense of urgency suddenly arose in Lin Hui’s heart.

The trace of complacency he had felt from absorbing the Black Dragon Sect and crippling Song Zhanlong was once again shattered.

He quickly arranged for someone to settle the three of them in, then returned to the Lin Mansion alone.

He found Weiwei, Xiaohu, and Xiaopang, who still knew nothing, and informed them of the situation.

"So, what are your plans now? Do you want to continue with the wellness class, or go back to your old routine of martial arts training and breaking through?" Lin Hui gave the three of them a choice.

In the courtyard, the three of them looked at each other, their faces blank with bewilderment after the initial shock.

But soon, Xiaohu, who understood little of the complexities, was the first to make a decision.

"I’ll do whatever Master says."

"Me too!" Xiaopang chimed in right after.

Lin Hui nodded in satisfaction and looked at Weiwei.

"And you, Senior Sister Weiwei?"

"I..." The dim daylight fell on Weiwei’s face, making her expression seem to shift between light and shadow.

She hesitated for a long while before slowly answering.

"So, you’re saying the Qingfeng Sword Sect doesn’t need my help to manage things anymore? Senior Brother and the others are back, and you have far more people than before."

She looked up at Lin Hui. Strangely, the face she had always found plain and ordinary now seemed to hold a certain charm.

’If things had gone as Father arranged, and I ended up with Junior Brother Lin... maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad?’

The thought flashed through her mind, but it was quickly overshadowed by another, beautiful and dazzling face.

Her gaze slowly became firm. ’Junior Brother Lin had a sudden burst of power, becoming so strong that he single-handedly suppressed the numerous disciples of the Black Dragon Sect.’

’It was lucky that the Black Dragon Sect Leader had just met with a mishap, of course. But regardless, to subdue over a hundred people with just a sword is an unimaginable feat in itself.’

Looking at Lin Hui, Weiwei felt that he had become somewhat unfamiliar, somewhat mysterious.

’When did that blockhead who only knew how to practice his swordsmanship day in and day out undergo such a qualitative transformation...’

"That’s right," she heard Lin Hui reply.

"Then, I can rest easy..." Weiwei sighed. "Father made the right choice in passing the position of Sect Leader to you."

"Aren’t you going to go out and confirm it?" Lin Hui asked, surprised.

"You wouldn’t joke about something like this. Besides, I could find out just by asking anyone outside," Weiwei said calmly. "Since that’s the case, then I should go pursue the happiness I want."

"You’re leaving?"

"Yes, I’ve made plans with someone to go visit him. I’ve been held up by matters at Qingfeng Temple and couldn’t travel. Now, I finally have the time." Weiwei smiled.

"From now on, the Qingfeng Sword Sect is all in your hands."

"..." Lin Hui could see she was serious.

After a moment of silence, he nodded.

"Be safe. Don’t go near the edge of the Fog Area."

"Don’t worry." Weiwei smiled, turned back to her room, and began to pack her things.

There was no time to waste; she planned to leave immediately. The anticipation she had suppressed for so long, now unleashed, was like uncontrollable lava erupting from the volcano deep within her heart. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Before long, the three of them left the Lin Mansion. Weiwei headed in one direction, while Xiaohu and Xiaopang headed back toward Qingfeng Temple.

Lin Hui stood at the gate, watching their receding backs, especially Weiwei’s. He had a strange feeling that after this parting, it would be a very, very long time before they met again...

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「Baisan Town.」

The Baihua Sect headquarters was a complex of gray-white buildings built against a mountain.

Because it was built right up against the mountainside, more than half of the buildings were part cave, part stone structure.

A massive stone stele bearing the name ’Baihua Sect’ in large, white characters stood beside the main path. The calligraphy was fluid yet powerful, the strokes so deeply and smoothly carved they looked as though they had been gouged into the stone by a bare finger.

At that moment, inside the largest and tallest six-story stone building in the complex.

A corpulent white-clad woman, over two meters tall and fat to the extreme, sat upon a wide, heavy stone throne, her gaze dark as she looked down at the female disciple reporting to her.

"You’re saying that fellow Song Zhanlong is dead?!" The fat woman’s face was filled with astonishment. "Who could kill him? Even I would need two consecutive palm strikes to break through his Black Dragon Body!" The speaker was none other than the current Sect Leader of the Baihua Sect—Ou Tianrong.

"Yes. It is absolutely true. Song Zhanlong’s body has already been recovered and buried. We saw it with our own eyes," the female disciple replied, her voice clear and her words precise.

"And you’re saying some junior from the Qingfeng Sword Sect, a young man, just happened to pick up the scraps and swallow the remnants of the Black Dragon Sect in one bite?" Baihua Sect Leader Ou Tianrong continued.

"That is correct."