The Decaying World-Chapter 103 - 98: Idea 4

Huang Shan’s voice was as blunt as ever, but right then, it was like a demonic sound piercing Qiu Yiren’s ears.

"Yiren, you’re not getting shy, are you??" Huang Shan’s booming voice rang out again.

"....." Qiu Yiren’s body began to tremble....

’She’d never imagined her friend’s voice could be so detestable!’

"...." From his seat, Lin Hui watched the scene, speechless. He realized Qiu Yiren had indeed been distracted and hadn’t heard his question, so he had no choice but to ask again.

"I’m asking, if someone wants to get a talisman, where in the Rain Palace do they normally go?"

"You... you go to the outskirts of the Rain Palace. There are many warehouses there specifically for distributing Jade Talismans; we generally call them Talisman Warehouses. Individuals have their own spots for requests, but organizations with greater needs have to contact different people. Generally, for a request of ten or more talismans, you have to pay a processing fee of about one hundred coins."

Qiu Yiren snapped back to her senses and answered quickly.

"Is there nothing else one needs to do?"

"No, that rule has been in place for many years. The only thing that changes is the occasional relocation of a Talisman Warehouse; otherwise, it’s always been the same," Qiu Yiren replied swiftly.

"Understood." Lin Hui nodded. "So... in the Outer City, have there ever been cases of accidents because a Jade Talisman failed?"

"No. Or rather, even if a Jade Talisman did fail, we would have no way of determining it. An observer can’t tell if the talisman was destroyed first, allowing the fog to seep in, or if it failed on its own, *then* the fog invaded." Qiu Yiren understood the implication of his question, her expression immediately growing solemn.

"But, Observatory Master, don’t you have a family member in the Rain Palace? What you learn from a direct inquiry would be far more reliable than the rumors we hear in the Outer City, wouldn’t it?" Huang Shan asked, puzzled.

"That will be all. Go and get some rest," Lin Hui said with a nod.

"Yes, sir!" The two women quickly withdrew. The moment they were out the door, they started chasing and swatting at each other. The sound of Qiu Yiren’s indignant, flustered voice drifted back before quickly fading away.

Lin Hui slowly rose and ambled over to the wall of the meeting hall where a mural was hung. The vast, empty hall was also used for receiving guests on a daily basis.

He’d noticed that whenever he received guests, they often stood here, hands clasped behind their backs, to admire the mural.

He originally assumed they were all art connoisseurs, right up until he stood here himself.

Only then did he realize it wasn’t that they understood art. The hall was simply so vast and empty, with nothing else to look at, that they had nothing better to do. With only this ordinary landscape painting hanging on the wall, they would unconsciously wander over to have a look.

’Looking at it this way, perhaps I could do something with this painting. If I wanted to assassinate someone, using this painting as a pretext would be a perfect way to do it without anyone knowing...’

Unconsciously, Lin Hui’s thoughts drifted back to scheming and murder.

He ran a hand along the edge of the mural.

There was a square red seal stamped on it: Far Mountain Hermit.

’Did Song Zhanlong paint this?’ Lin Hui recalled seeing a note from Song Zhanlong among the confiscated Martial Arts Secret Manuals. The name he had given himself was Far Mountain Hermit.

As he stroked the mural’s surface, its cloth-like texture involuntarily brought to mind his battle with Song Zhanlong.

He left the meeting hall and returned to his study.

Lin Hui picked up a paper desk calendar from the table, intending to check the date.

Some tactless person had given it to him as a gift during the recent celebration. It was made in the Inner City from exquisite materials, each page featuring a different colorful illustration of a beautiful woman. The giver likely thought Lin Hui was a lecher and wanted to cater to his preferences.

Little did they know, he had just been looking for an excuse to ask for medicine.

’Come to think of it, how does the calendar system used in Tuyue calculate the days?’

He’d never cared about such things before, but now Lin Hui recalled that he’d never once seen any adults discuss it. Growing up, it seemed they simply circled each passing day on the wall calendar, then replaced it with a new one when it was full.

He had no idea who created these calendars.

The old Lin Hui might not have cared, but the man who had awakened the memories of a past life was genuinely curious about how this world’s calendar system worked.

’The calendar in my past life was based on the sun, a solar calendar. But you can hardly ever see the sun here... Even in the Inner City, which is just a No-Fog Zone created by completely sealing out the fog, you still can’t see the sun clearly. So what do they use to keep track of the date?’

Lin Hui flipped the desk calendar over to read the fine print on the back.

’Supervised by the Yin-Yang Order. April 4, 3788.’

Lin Hui flipped the calendar back over. He’d never used the thing, so he had no idea what the current date was.

"Someone," he called out immediately.

"Young Master, I’m here."

Ding Ning quickly rose from her post outside the door and knocked softly.

When he had returned home a while ago, his father, seeing that he had no one to look after him despite being the Observatory Master, had sent Ding Ning over. She was a personal attendant tasked with seeing to his daily needs.

"Ding Ning, do you know today’s date?" Lin Hui asked.

"It is June 15th of the year ’89." For some reason, Ding Ning was quite certain of the date.

Lin Hui looked at the desk calendar.

"June 15th, 3789?"

"Yes, Young Master."

"Alright, you may go rest. You don’t need to keep watch any longer."

"Very well. I will be resting in the side room next door. If you need anything, Young Master, please feel free to call for me," Ding Ning said hurriedly.

"I know." Lin Hui felt that this place was incredibly inconvenient; without someone to take care of him, he even had to go to the kitchen to boil his own water.

The Outer City was basically on par with ancient China. Lighting came from oil lamps and candles, and transportation relied on ox carts, horse-drawn carriages, and manual labor. Communication was limited to written letters. If he hadn’t suggested his father set up the United Supermarket, people would have to run all over town just to buy various goods, which was highly inconvenient.

’After this trip to the Inner City to determine whether the Jade Talismans have any hidden flaws, I’ll come back and improve my quality of life.’

He might move to the Inner City one day, but for now, he would be living in the Outer City for many years to come.

So Lin Hui figured he might as well improve a few things to make himself more comfortable in the meantime.

He put down the desk calendar and went back to his room to rest.

Early the next morning, just as the fog began to dissipate, he changed into a plain, unpatterned white robe and tied it with a matching white cloth sash.

"The people of the Inner City favor white. To avoid attracting attention, it’s best to wear predominantly white when entering the city. Coincidentally, the primary uniform of our Qingfeng Temple is also white." Ding Ning was a quick study, already speaking as a member of Qingfeng Temple.

As she spoke, she combed Lin Hui’s long hair, tied it in a topknot, and inserted a sky-blue hairpin made of tanned python skin. She then helped him wash his face and straightened his cuffs and collar.

"By the way, besides robes and gowns, what other kinds of clothes do people normally wear?" Lin Hui asked offhandedly.

"Mostly silks, satins, and leather clothing. The wealthy wear expensive furs, while the poor mostly wear rat or pig skin. I’ve heard that some nobles in the Inner City even wear pelts from the Fog Area," Ding Ning replied.

"What about colors?"

"There are no special rules for color; you see everything. I’ve also heard rumors that in some parts of the Inner City, people go out wearing just a few pieces of cloth covered by a layer of sheer fabric. I don’t know if it’s true... Young Master, could you see if it’s true when you’re in the city?" Ding Ning asked cautiously.

"I’ve been there. Some people do dress that way. It’s a matter of personal preference," Lin Hui replied.

He pulled on a pair of white, short leather boots made from some unknown hide, then picked up a new longsword.

This was a valuable longsword someone had gifted him during the last celebration. With his Qinghe Sword now broken, Lin Hui had taken this one from the storeroom to use in the meantime.

The longsword’s scabbard was pitch-black. The pommel was like a seal, with a single word carved in relief: Yunsong.

Clearly, like the Qinghe Sword, this one was also from Yunsong Pavilion in the Inner City.

A single sword from there cost no less than one hundred thousand coins.

Lin Hui picked it up and gave it a few swings. It didn’t feel quite right. He was, after all, accustomed to the Qinghe Sword—intimately familiar with its length, design, and countless subtle details. He would have to readjust to this new sword, which would have a slight impact on his strength.

But for now, he would have to make do.

’I’m not short on money right now. I should make a trip to Yunsong Pavilion and see if I can spend big to get a truly good sword.’

Once he was ready, he pushed open the door and glanced up at the sky beyond the corridor’s glass panels.

He had been delayed for a short while, and the fog had dissipated even more.

"Time to go."

SWOOSH!

The next second, he vanished from the spot.

Traveling at high speed was a peculiar sensation.

It required absolute concentration to avoid crashing into people or objects at all times.

That was why Lin Hui preferred wide-open routes when moving at high speeds. Otherwise, places that seemed spacious to an ordinary person would feel dangerously narrow to him.

The faster he went, the less reaction time he had.

Exiting the corridor, he leaped directly onto the roof.

With a light touch of his toes on the black-tiled roof of Qingfeng Temple, he shot forward like an arrow.

As he was about to descend from a height of over five meters, an idea suddenly occurred to Lin Hui.

He circulated his Inner Strength, and a powerful current of air instantly swelled around his body.

This airflow blasted downward, forcefully slowing his descent by more than half.

With a sharp CLANG, he drew his sword and executed Gale Swordsmanship. Instead of landing, Lin Hui shot forward wildly, hovering three meters above the ground.

He glided for dozens of meters, clearing the Qingfeng Temple’s Black Dragon Headquarters, before his feet tapped lightly on the street below.

He leaped up once more and repeated the maneuver, hurtling another thirty-odd meters forward at extreme speed.

By repeating this cycle, he was essentially gliding at low altitude.

In less than half a minute, the massive, arched gate leading into the Inner City appeared before Lin Hui.

He had arrived at the South Nine Gates.

Lin Hui felt for the permit in his waist pouch. It was one of a batch of permits he had obtained through his connection to Wang Yueheng of the Wang Family. Thanks to the current partnership between the Qingfeng Temple and the Wang Family, Wang Yueheng had given him over a hundred permits in one go during her last visit. They were now piled in the Qingfeng Temple’s storeroom for disciples to use when entering the Inner City.

The South Nine Gates looked the same as ever. The lettering inlaid with Black Crystal above the arch was unchanged.

On the ground to the right of the entrance, however, there were several irregular small pits that looked like the remnants of a fight.

An endless stream of people flowed through the smaller gate set within the main one. Lin Hui landed and followed a red horse-drawn carriage inside.

The horse pulling the carriage was clearly no ordinary creature. It was at least twice the size of a normal horse, standing over three meters tall. Its muscles were powerful, its coat a dark crimson, and its eyes were shot with red, suggesting a ferocious temper.

After passing through the South Nine Gates, the cliff on the other side once again came into Lin Hui’s view.

He once again stood on the cliff for a moment, gazing down at the vast expanse of Inner City architecture in the distance.

The sky was still a blanket of fog, but some invisible force seemed to be holding it back, keeping it suspended at an incredible height.

The entire Inner City was like an enormous, hollowed-out cavern.

This time, Lin Hui decided against hiring a guide. He would wander around on his own for a bit before taking care of his business.

With the speed of his Body Technique, he could just pick a direction and dash ahead to test just how vast this place was. He had twenty permits on him anyway, more than enough to easily counteract the Inner City’s radiation. It would be even better if he could catch a glimpse of the legendary, thousand-story-high Moon Tower...

’So this is what it feels like to have connections? Being able to use these permits so freely...’

He turned and walked toward the cliffside roadway.

’It feels pretty good.’