The Decaying World-Chapter 151 - 141: Changes 3

"What? Something happened to the Lin Zong Family?"

Inside Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui had just returned when he heard the news from home.

His father, Lin Shunhe, had already rushed over to the Zong Family’s estate. Someone had been sent to tell him to go as well.

"Yes, many people died. They say Lin Hongyu came back, went mad, and started killing indiscriminately. She trained with the Chen Family, so no one could stop her..." Xiaoxin said in a low voice. ’I should sound more somber and sympathetic,’ she thought. ’After all, who knows if Lin Hui still has any feelings for the Zong Family. It’d be terrible if I made a bad impression.’

"When did it happen?" Lin Hui vaguely remembered Lin Hongyu approaching him to trade information not long ago. ’It hasn’t even been that long... and now this...’

"About two hours ago," Xiaoxin replied.

"I understand." Tossing out a few silver coins as a reward, Lin Hui’s figure flickered. He rushed out of the main hall, found Wang Hongshi to give a few instructions, then headed straight for the Zong Family’s estate.

Streets and houses blurred past on both sides as memories of his childhood with the Zong Family surfaced in his mind.

He felt surprisingly little about the Zong Family’s tragedy. Aside from some concern for his eldest uncle, he had no impression of the others.

But his eldest uncle hadn’t lived with the Zong Family for a long time. After Lin Chaoyi passed away, the first branch of the family had moved out long ago to avoid the scornful looks of the others.

’When Lin Chaoyi stole my opportunity back then, I wonder if he ever imagined a day like this would come...’ Lin Hui mused.

Before long, the silhouette of the Lin Zong Family’s estate appeared in the distance.

A crowd had already gathered outside the courtyard, along with people from the Government Office.

Chief Constable Xu Ansheng was tall and sturdy, the iconic Black Tiger Head Belt at his waist looking the same as ever.

He was speaking quietly with Lin Shunhe, briefing him on the situation.

WHOOSH!

A light breeze swept by as Lin Hui landed beside the two men. The suddenness and speed of his Body Technique made Xu Ansheng’s eyelids twitch violently.

A few years ago, he had led the Qingfeng Temple disciples of that time on a cleanup mission. He never would have thought how times would change. The Qingfeng Temple of the past had fallen only to rise again. And the once-inconspicuous disciple, Lin Hui, was now famous, a prominent figure overseeing several towns in the surrounding Outer City.

’This level of power... It’s probably a height I can’t even begin to imagine...’

His expression growing much more cautious, Xu Ansheng quickly cupped his fist toward Lin Hui.

"Observatory Master Lin, it’s been a while."

"Chief Xu, thank you for your trouble. What’s the situation? Where is Lin Hongyu?"

The moment Lin Hui landed, he saw the ground inside the Zong Family estate covered in blood. Lin Shunchong lay on the ground, his eyes wide open in death, a large, clear hole in his chest. The cause of death needed no investigation.

"All the Zong Family Members inside are dead. Only the first and fifth branches, who live outside, and your branch are left," Xu Ansheng sighed. "As for Lin Hongyu, we haven’t found her yet. She probably took what little wealth the Zong Family had and ran."

"I’ll have my people help with the search," Lin Hui said gravely. The word "help" made Xu Ansheng’s heart stir, and he understood Qingfeng Temple’s attitude.

It was obvious that, compared to Lin Shunhe who had deeper feelings for the Zong Family, his son Lin Hui felt no real connection and wasn’t particularly concerned about the matter.

"Good. Sigh... Something like this always happens every few years. I don’t know what’s going on..." Xu Ansheng lamented.

"Are there many cases like this?" Lin Hui asked, taken aback.

"Not many, but not a few either. And the characteristics are highly consistent," Xu Ansheng replied.

"Alright, let’s not chat here. Lin Hongyu belongs to a Chen Family exploration team. Have they been notified?" Lin Shunhe interjected.

"They’ve been notified, but the Chen Family most likely won’t send anyone. This is related to what I was just saying. The few cases that happened before were all related to exploration teams... This time, Lin Hongyu is the youngest one yet," Xu Ansheng said.

Lin Hui narrowed his eyes. He felt something was off, but with too little information, he couldn’t analyze it further.

His Purgatory Aura was spreading now. Even if there was a problem, he had no time to worry about these external matters. He needed to be vigilant about whether the Purgatory Aura would attract the attention of local factions.

Furthermore, he needed to carefully test just how contagious the Purgatory Aura was and through what means it could spread. He had no desire to turn everyone around him into madmen.

After talking with his father for a while, it took only a few minutes for news to arrive from the Government Office: Lin Hongyu had been found.

*

*

*

On the bank of a pond outside of town.

A dozen constables, holding sabers and shields, cautiously approached a woman in blood-soaked clothes who was frantically drinking from the water’s edge.

The woman was wearing what should have been a white dress, but it was now completely stained red.

She was bent over like an animal, her head lowered to the pond, gulping down water.

She paid no mind to the floating grass clippings and unknown dregs in the water.

Xu Ansheng, Lin Shunhe, and Lin Hui were now being led over by a guide.

Seeing this scene from a distance, they all slowed their pace.

"This person’s crimes are heinous. How should she be dealt with? Do you have any suggestions, Brother Lin?" Xu Ansheng asked, looking probingly at Lin Shunhe.

After all, she was a member of the Lin Family, and the Lin Family was now powerful and influential. He had to consider their opinion to some extent.

"Just do what needs to be done..." Lin Shunhe sighed.

"It looks like she’s a drug addict," said Xu Ansheng. He was well-informed and experienced, arresting dozens, if not a hundred, criminals every year. He had seen many people in the throes of addiction.

"Hasn’t she been in the Outer City this whole time? How could she become an addict?" Lin Hui asked. "As far as I know, drugs like Purple Luo Grass are rare even in the Inner City, not least because they’re expensive."

"Well..." Xu Ansheng hesitated. "There’s only one possibility. Either she was already an addict, or someone deliberately got her hooked recently..."

Lin Hui fell silent. Lin Hongyu had offended too many people; who knew who had gotten her addicted.

By now, the constables had surrounded her. They were all trained Martial Artists, experts in Body Tempering. In this day and age, anyone who could become a constable was tall, strong, and intimidatingly built.

Yet, while besieging a delirious Lin Hongyu, they were somehow unable to subdue her right away. Two of them even got injured in the process.

Xu Ansheng immediately lost face. He drew his saber and joined the fray.

Unexpectedly, even he had some trouble subduing Lin Hongyu.

They exchanged several blows, and he discovered that Lin Hongyu’s strength was astonishing. After a few clashes, his hand was numb and aching from the impacts.

In the end, Lin Hui couldn’t watch any longer. He flashed forward and, with a single strike from his scabbard, knocked Lin Hongyu unconscious, finally securing her capture.

The matter was settled. There was no conspiracy or plot; all investigations clearly indicated a single culprit who had committed a crime of passion. That same day, Xu Ansheng escorted her back to the Government Office to await her execution by beheading.

Lin Hui went to visit his older sister, Lin Hongzhen, and then returned to Qingfeng Temple as if nothing had happened.

The uproar over Lin Hongyu quickly died down, only brought up occasionally in neighborhood gossip.

But the storm stirred up by Xue Ying in the Inner City was growing ever larger.

The Three Greats of the Inner City soon issued a warrant for Xue Ying’s arrest, offering a hefty reward: ten residency spots in the Inner City, a large estate in the Central Ring, three thousand Feather Blood, and a top-tier Divine Summoning Skill.

The reward was tempting, and the members of the Inspectorate who came for training discussed it every day, but no one truly believed they could claim it.

This Xue Ying was a savage brute who had even killed a High Priest and three Priests. With their meager martial strength, even a few hundred of them wouldn’t be enough for her to cut down.

Lin Hui had no other channels for information, so he could only occasionally chat with Hong Ling and other members of the Inspectorate to inquire about the manhunt’s progress.

Meanwhile, he was also testing the transmission pathways of his Purgatory Aura.

After more than a month of focused research, he soon found the core of the transmission.

Whenever he circulated his Inner Strength, it would naturally emit a faint Purgatory Aura that spread into the surroundings.

This diffusion was extremely subtle and very faint, and it was quickly absorbed and processed by any living creature that passed by, making it incredibly difficult to detect.

Lin Hui only noticed this extremely subtle change after dozens of tests.

To counter this aura’s spread, he used the Body Tempering method of his Typhoon Swordsmanship to perceive it carefully and forcibly restrain it. He soon managed to greatly control the diffusion of the Purgatory Aura.

But while he had it under control now, he couldn’t recall the part that had already spread...

This made him wonder if he should evolve something with an opposite nature to counteract this contaminating aura.

Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, more than two months had gone by. The Blood Seal was still evolving the steel sword, just a little shy of completion.

The town and its surroundings were calm and peaceful, without the slightest ripple, yet Lin Hui felt the ominous stillness that precedes a storm.

It was now mid-July, and Qingfeng Temple began preparing for its mid-year internal tournament to determine the new top ten elite disciples.

All the disciples temporarily forgot the pain of losing their loved ones in the night fog, focusing their efforts on this tournament.

Lin Hui put up many fine prizes to foster a competitive spirit within the temple.

The Wang Family also sent people to observe the ceremony. In addition, the town’s Government Office, the Rain Palace’s Yuanming Hall, the Inner City’s Inspectorate, the Baihua Sect, and other factions associated with Lin Hui all sent representatives.

There were also representatives from large clans who wanted to observe Qingfeng Temple’s strength and hire its experts to assist their own families.

The entire tournament was far livelier than any held at Qingfeng Temple before.

At the event, Lin Hui, as the host, sat in the grand master’s chair at the head table. Beside him were Xue Meng and the other two Elders, followed by the representative from the Wang Family, the representative from the Rain Palace, the representative sent by his own father, and Hong Ling representing the Inspectorate.

Compared to these figures, the likes of Chief Constable Xu Ansheng from the town’s Government Office were relegated to the third tier of seating, alongside the representatives of the great clans from various towns.

Chen Sui, Huang Shan, Qiu Yiren, and the other long-time members were secretly shaken to see the row of prominent figures seated there.

This was undoubtedly a grand display of Qingfeng Temple’s connections and influence. Unwittingly, the influence Qingfeng Temple had accumulated had reached such a level.

Soon, the tournament’s host took the stage to warm up the crowd. Taking advantage of this moment, the Wang Family representative, a middle-aged man named Wang Chengdong, cupped his fist toward Lin Hui.

"Observatory Master Lin, shouldn’t the Summoning quotas for this year be decided now as well? I’ve come this time with a task from Young Master Heng."

"The top five in this tournament will be qualified to enter the city," Lin Hui answered coolly.

’At my current level, an ordinary Summoner is nothing special and not worth mentioning. It’s merely bait to spur on and encourage my disciples.’

Hearing this, the minds of the several faction representatives present began to race.

Everyone knew that Qingfeng Temple had deep ties with the Wang Family, even to the point where the Wang Family helped them train Summoners. But they hadn’t expected, judging from the tone and attitude of their conversation, that the relationship was much closer than just a transactional arrangement for Summoning training slots.

"That’s good. Also, I wonder if Observatory Master Lin is aware of the major case that recently occurred in the Inner City," Wang Chengdong said again.

"The Xue Ying case has implicated a full four mid-sized great clans. It’s been discovered that people within all four of these clans have been secretly passing her information, which is why the manhunt has been unsuccessful. Among them... is the Tao Family, the family of your direct disciple, Tao Xuehai..."

At these words, everyone in the VIP seating, who had been chatting in low voices, fell silent and looked toward the two men.

The Tao Family being implicated and under investigation was no longer a secret in the Inner City, but not many in the Outer City knew about it. Lin Hui himself was only just finding out.

"My Yuanming Hall has also heard of this matter." The representative from the Rain Palace was a slender woman in a silver dress with a white veil covering her face. Her name was Lu Xuan. The pair of beautiful eyes she revealed were bright and captivating; the rumor that the Rain Palace had no ugly members was clearly very accurate.

Even the three disciples she brought with her were all handsome with well-proportioned figures.

The three behaved intimately with her, occasionally sharing deep kisses. They were clearly either her boy toys or had a close private relationship.

’So this is what people from the Inner City are like. Their culture is so open. Once men and women get power and authority, they start living debauched lives.’

"The Tao Family has already been confirmed to have been wrongly accused, but that’s not the troublesome part. The key is that to prove their innocence, the Tao Family sent people to participate in the siege against Xue Ying, and they have suffered many casualties recently," Lu Xuan said in a low voice.

"What is the Tao Family’s situation now?" Lin Hui asked.