The Decaying World

Upon returning to Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui quickly arranged for how things would run in his absence, instructing Xue Meng to handle any issues that arose. Then, he gathered his various pieces of equipment and medicines.

He didn’t rush straight to the Inner City. Instead, he first visited many of the town’s elderly residents to ask about the current situation of those who didn’t eat Wanfu Meat.

But upon careful inquiry, he was shocked to discover that the number of people in town who truly and completely abstained from Wanfu Meat was extremely small.

"Not eat Wanfu Meat? That’s easier said than done. It’s very, very difficult."

An old woman living on the edge of town spoke, her words muffled by a shrunken, toothless mouth.

The dim stone house was blackened everywhere by soot. Taped to the walls were various paper records her son had created when he worked as a town clerk.

These once-important records now only served as a memento of her son, taped to the inner walls to provide a bit of insulation and protection from mildew.

Lin Hui glanced at the dark, thin girl standing beside him. She was the disciple from the poorest family at his temple, and also one of the most diligent. Upon hearing that he wanted to ask some questions of the town’s oldest residents—and that it would count as a low-grade mission—she had proactively brought him to her home to meet her grandmother.

It was clear that the standard-issue Qingfeng Temple uniform she wore was the finest and most expensive set of clothes in this household.

’I never expected to have a disciple living in such hardship.’

"Few doesn’t mean there are none at all, right? Could you tell me what they’re doing now?"

Lin Hui asked softly.

"You are too kind, sir. Please don’t be so formal. This old woman doesn’t deserve it," the old woman said hurriedly.

"There were indeed some who refused to eat it. I remember, more than ten years ago, there were a few young people who believed there was something wrong with Wanfu Meat, that it was harmful to the body, so they banded together and swore off it completely. Later... they all died from a sudden, severe illness not long after. Because they wouldn’t eat Wanfu Meat, their sickness never healed. It just dragged on and on until, in the end, they were all gone," the old woman sighed.

"So, many people eat Wanfu Meat as a kind of medicine? They just don’t dare to eat too much for fear of addiction?" Lin Hui mused.

"That’s right. So, in reality, the only people in town who have truly never eaten Wanfu Meat have either died of illness or are Martial Artists or Summoners. They’re strong and healthy, not afraid of sickness, so they have no need to eat Wanfu Meat," the old woman nodded.

’Summoners... Martial Artists.’ Lin Hui thought of his father. His dad had never let him eat Wanfu Meat. ’Perhaps he knew something.’

He had asked his father about this topic during their casual chats before, but his dad had always dodged the question.

"Come to think of it, Summoners undergo the Summoning ceremony, which makes them strong and healthy all at once and impervious to illness. As for Martial Artists, most of them enter the Inner City for Feather Blood injections, so they rarely get sick either." The old woman had lived a long time and was very experienced; she knew more than Lin Hui had imagined.

"What about the Martial Artists who don’t enter the Inner City? The ones who also don’t eat Wanfu Meat?" Lin Hui asked quickly. "Do you remember any?"

"Huh? Weren’t the previous Observatory Master of Qingfeng Temple and his martial brothers just like that? They claimed not to eat Wanfu Meat and forbade the Qingfeng Temple disciples from touching it as well. On this matter, Observatory Master, you would be better off asking the elders at your temple than this old woman," the old woman said in surprise.

Her words sent a jolt through Lin Hui.

’The previous Inner Power Martial Artists of Qingfeng Temple—my master and two martial uncles—they’ve all vanished without a trace. They were the ones who didn’t eat Wanfu Meat and didn’t enter the Inner City.’

’Some of the hall masters from the former New Martial Alliance also held similar views, and now, the New Martial Alliance is just a memory.’

The former hall masters were either dead or had fled.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask, Observatory Master?" the old woman asked again.

"Just one more thing." Lin Hui recalled something he had heard before and decided to ask about it now.

"I was wondering if you know about the time the Outer City was invaded by monsters from the Fog Area and then abandoned by the Inner City?"

"That, this old woman doesn’t know. Our family moved here from another district when I was very young. There weren’t many people here when we first arrived; we came with a large merchant caravan. My parents heard this place was a wasteland, full of unclaimed fertile fields and mines, so on a whim, they came along. As for... as for where the previous residents went... I don’t know," the old woman explained with some effort.

"So, does that mean almost all the elderly people in town are migrants?" Lin Hui asked in surprise.

"Most of us, I suppose. When we arrived, there was no one around, and the houses were all in ruins. They were only slowly rebuilt later," the old woman recalled. "We went through several difficult periods. Thankfully, the masters from the Inner City sent out Wanfu Meat in time to help us survive. But that was also when everyone gradually discovered that eating Wanfu Meat caused problems. If you ate too much, you’d go mad... The blood-red eyes and bodies, that’s when they first appeared."

"All right, thank you for answering my questions. This is a token of my gratitude." Lin Hui stood up, took a silver note from his pouch, and placed it on the table.

The old woman refused a few times before finally accepting it. The girl at her side, however, looked a bit embarrassed.

The girl saw Lin Hui to the door. When she heard that this inquiry counted as a low-grade mission, a trace of joy appeared on her face.

"May I ask, how old is your grandmother?" Lin Hui asked before he left.

"Almost ninety," the girl answered honestly. "I was actually adopted by her. I’m not her biological granddaughter...."

"I see. You’re a good kid." Lin Hui ruffled her hair. "You’re diligent enough, but your physical constitution is a bit weak. From now on, go to the pharmacy each month and get a dose of Solid Medicine from Pharmacist Chen Meng. It’s free. It’s better to build up your core strength before you continue practicing your Swordsmanship."

"Y-yes! Thank you, Observatory Master!" The girl was so moved she was about to kneel, but Lin Hui held her up. When she looked up again, she only felt a faint breeze as the man before her vanished into thin air.

After leaving the old woman’s house, Lin Hui sought out several other elderly residents in town, all of them at least eighty years old.

He paid and questioned them one by one, and the answers he received were all more or less the same.

They had seen very few people who completely abstained from Wanfu Meat. Over time, those rare individuals had either died or disappeared. Even the elders themselves ate a little Wanfu Meat periodically to maintain their physical condition.

As long as one didn’t eat too much, the stuff was a veritable Miracle Elixir, capable of curing a hundred ailments.

In the end, after sifting through a pile of rumors, possibilities, and hearsay, Lin Hui finally identified two people who, like him, completely abstained from Wanfu Meat.

Both were residents of the town. One was named Chen Xiulan, the only daughter of the town’s Flower Workshop Master. The other was Ouyang Rui, the son of a Medicine Gatherer family living on the town’s edge.

The former came from a very wealthy family; her parents were merchants who specialized in delivering flowers to the Inner City. She was in excellent health, having been well taken care of, and had never suffered a major illness.

The latter was a Medicine Gatherer whose family had passed down some body-strengthening Martial Arts. He had a good physique, strong immunity, and had also never been sick.

The two were of a similar age, both in their late twenties.

Lin Hui designated these two as persons of interest and instructed the disciples under him to gather information on them periodically.

However, he soon learned through Government Office channels that the first, Chen Xiulan, had contracted a strange illness three years ago and had remained a recluse ever since, refusing to see any outsiders.

The second, Ouyang Rui, was doing fine. He quietly cultivated medicinal herbs on the edge of the Fog Area, occasionally venturing inside to gather plants to make a living. The man was said to be extremely timid; whenever he entered the Fog Area, he would run and hide at the first sign of a monster. He had even mastered an impressive camouflage technique.

Left with no other choice, Lin Hui had to narrow his observation down to Ouyang Rui alone.

After giving instructions to check in on the situation periodically, he returned to Qingfeng Temple and summoned Tao Xuehai—now known as Lin Wuhai.

"I’m planning a trip to the Inner City’s Core Area. Do you have any advice?" Lin Hui knew the Tao Family had once been one of the Inner City Great Clans and must know many secrets, so he intended to gather more intelligence from him.

"The Inner City’s Core Area? Are you going to the Moon Tower?" Lin Wuhai was taken aback. Ever since his parents’ deaths and his family’s great misfortune, his eyes had always been cold, and he constantly postured as if he were cultivating with every ounce of his being. A stunned expression like this was incredibly rare for him.

"Yes," Lin Hui nodded.

"There’s not much to be wary of. You’ll understand when you see it, Teacher. Just lower your head and wait by the side of the road when you encounter nobles. Don’t draw attention to yourself, don’t do anything conspicuous, and you won’t have any trouble," Lin Wuhai replied.

"Could you be more specific?" Lin Hui pressed.

"I’ve only been there once," Lin Wuhai recalled. "The Core Area isn’t actually just the Moon Tower. Beneath the Moon Tower is another area known as the Deep Domain. Teacher, you will first arrive in the Deep Domain. Only after passing a screening there will you be qualified to enter the Moon Tower. Not just anyone can get in. When people talk about the Moon Tower District or the Core Area, for most of them, it just means they can enter the Deep Domain. Only a very small number of people, like the Original Blood Nobility or personnel from The Three Greats, are qualified to enter the Moon Tower itself."

"The Deep Domain... Do you know what the screening entails?" Lin Hui asked.

"I don’t know the details. We weren’t qualified. Although my family was a Great Clan, The Three Greats were only allowed into the Moon Tower because they’re responsible for its various production activities. The entire Moon Tower is essentially the living area for the Original Blood Nobility. Besides the Original Blood, the only ones inside are their servants and the people who produce their supplies. Oh, and the servants are a bizarre assortment; many are from other races, so don’t be surprised when you see them, Teacher. Actually, those other races have a pretty miserable lot. Every so often, when the nobles get tired of playing with them, a pile of flesh and severed limbs gets thrown out, and the Moon Tower sends people to capture new ones."

Lin Wuhai briefly recounted his trip to the Core Area. He had only followed his eldest uncle on a walk around the Deep Domain before returning. He had just looked at the buildings and the people on the road, so he didn’t know much else.

Seeing that there was nothing more to be learned, Lin Hui hesitated no longer. He took Ruyi and put on his mask and camouflaged clothes.

He also had the permit from his elder brother. As dusk fell, he headed straight for the South Nine Gates.

Before nightfall, the streets were already empty. Everyone returned home a little early, giving themselves plenty of time to travel.

By the time he reached the South Nine Gates, the entrance was completely deserted. There wasn’t a soul in sight.

At this hour, the Inner City People knew of the night fog and wouldn’t venture out, while the teams from the Outer City had already returned early because of it.

Only a few skilled figures, moving with incredible speed, flashed in and out of the gate’s passageway.

Lin Hui was one of them.

He quickly entered the gate’s passage, where he pulled on his hood and swiftly donned his mask. Becoming Four-Sides, he shot out at high speed.

Then, following the road signs with practiced ease, he rushed straight toward the Inner City.

The wind howled in his ears as he crossed mountains, passed through hills, and vaulted over one heavily guarded fortress after another.

For the first time, Lin Hui sprinted with all his might.

With his Special Effects and Gale Swordsmanship fully activated, his speed reached a point where even his own motion-tracking vision could barely keep up.

The scenery on both sides quickly changed from fortresses to a great plain of reddish-black earth, stretching endlessly to the horizon.

The sky was a hazy, gray mist, and the ground was a plain of blackish-red.

There were no trees and no grass, only a few scattered black boulders that would occasionally flash into view before being left far behind.

He ran for four hours straight. The sky had long since grown pitch-black. There were no stars, only the occasional bright yellow trajectory that shot overhead like a meteor.

Some headed in the same direction as Lin Hui, while others went the opposite way.