Chapter 3: Moving House I

Lin Hui sat upright on the dark bed inside the room.

He held a bowl of corn and yam paste that his mother had left for him in the morning, spooning it into his mouth and swallowing it, spoonful by spoonful.

Outside the window, children’s playful noises continually drifted in from the alley, seeming to be playing with stones. Further away, a faint, weeping, and desolate sound of someone playing an instrument similar to an erhu could be heard on the wind.

BANG.

Suddenly, the wooden door of the inner room was forcefully pushed open, and his father, Lin Shunhe, entered with a face full of fury.

“As soon as your mother gets back, we’re moving! We’re never coming back to this Lin family compound again!”

“?” Lin Hui looked confused. He was still pondering what he should and could do in the future when his father suddenly burst in and announced they were moving.

“Don’t ask too many questions. Son, your opportunity fell through, but don’t be afraid, don’t worry. Your father still has a way! Still has a way!!” A hint of ruthlessness flashed faintly across Lin Shunhe’s somewhat dull face, as if he had made some firm decision.

“You are my only son! I will absolutely not let you be left without a footing!” Lin Shunhe repeated.

With that, he began searching for wooden crates to pack things.

Lin Hui watched for a while, then realized what was happening, and began packing as well.

He wasn’t sure what had occurred, but it certainly involved the extended Lin clan; otherwise, his father wouldn’t be so angry and wouldn’t talk about leaving the family.

It was important to know that in the Outer City in those times, a large, populous clan meant they were not to be trifled with, which equaled safety.

Although the Lin family wasn’t extremely rich, they were much better off than the average commoner.

While many people could only eat coarse chaff and drink water (apart from the Myriad Fortune Meat), the Lin family could, at the very least, afford coarse grain meals with some meat.

His father would never talk about leaving the family unless it was absolutely necessary.

After packing for a while, Lin Shunjiang, the father of Lin Hongzhen from the First Branch, also arrived at their home.

Lin Shunjiang was a middle-aged, chubby man with a completely different demeanor from Lin Shunhe. His small eyes darted around, betraying a subtle shrewdness.

He and Lin Shunhe spoke privately in a corner for a while, seemingly trying to persuade him, but in the end, he left alone, sighing repeatedly.

His father continued to pack in silence until his mother, Yao Shan, came home when the sky was already faintly darkening.

“Dear, what exactly happened?” Yao Shan looked tired, rushing in, putting down her work bag, and asking anxiously.

Lin Shunhe opened his mouth, and seeing his wife’s worried face, his features instantly trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears.

He simply didn’t know how to tell his wife that the opportunity they had saved up for over so many years had ultimately been forcefully intercepted by his father, Lin Chaoyi…

Years of hard work by the couple had been completely wasted, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to his wife as well.

“It’s alright, don’t say it… Alas.” In fact, Yao Shan had vaguely heard some news before she returned. Now, she had only received confirmation from her husband.

She glanced at her son, who was folding laundry in the courtyard not far away.

“It doesn’t matter. I know what kind of person your father is… Whatever decision you make, just like before, I will listen to you.”

“Shan Shan…” Hearing this, Lin Shunhe could no longer hold back. He grasped his wife’s hand, his eyes red. “Don’t worry, I promise I will never let you suffer again! I swear!”

“I believe you!” Yao Shan gently hugged her husband. The two fell silent for a moment, as if frozen in time.

In the courtyard, Lin Hui caught a glimpse of this scene and gently shook his head internally.

It seemed that although his life in this world was ordinary, the family dynamic was at least good.

‘It’s fine that I was muddled before, but now that my memory has returned, I should properly plan for the future. I won’t aim for excessive success for now, but I must at least ensure basic safety, food, and daily life. I cannot rely on my parents for everything.’

Lin Hui was not an ambitious person. His only wish was to find a quiet place, quietly research something, and enjoy the pleasure of studying things and discovering secrets that others couldn’t.

In his previous life, he enjoyed playing with things like puzzle locks and Rubik’s Cubes. In the current environment, it was naturally impossible to still be preoccupied with frivolous pursuits.

Thinking of this, he involuntarily raised his right hand and looked at the back of his hand.

There, a complex blood-red pattern, similar to a rhombus, was clearly imprinted on the skin.

He had only just discovered this thing. Based on his previous memory, this pattern was not on his hand before, so it clearly began to appear only after his memory awakened.

However, he hadn’t yet discovered the function of this thing.

‘It can’t just be a regular pattern, can it?’

Lin Hui pondered.

In the afternoon, they quickly ate a simple meal, which consisted of meat buns with the leftover spiced pig’s head meat, plus some unidentified wild vegetables stir-fried simply. The food was very fragrant, but apart from Lin Hui, Lin Shunhe and Yao Shan were not in the mood to eat. They just watched their son heartily consume most of the dishes.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, as soon as the mist cleared, members of the Lin family peeked and looked outside, watching as Lin Shunhe’s family of three, loaded with large and small bags, rented an ox-cart and spent the entire morning moving all their belongings out of the compound.

His father, Lin Shunhe, had clearly made arrangements beforehand. He quickly took his wife and son to a square, gray-white stone courtyard and swiftly moved the contents off the ox-cart and inside.

Next came the settling-in process: getting established, restarting the fire, and restocking household necessities.

His parents did not let him help with these tasks, only telling him to rest on the side, and even gave him a small bag of melon seeds, which were seasoned with spices, tasting sweet and very palatable.

Lin Hui tried to help, but was pushed away several times, so he gave up. He took the melon seeds and walked out the door, sitting down on a large yellow stone just outside the entrance, watching the stream of people and carriages coming and going on the dirt road.

The new house was further from the town center, in a position opposite to the Lin family compound, essentially on the symmetrically opposite side of the town center.

“Hui Zi, why are you sitting here?”

Not long after he sat down, a tall, thin young man with a dissolute appearance and an unbuttoned outer coat approached in the passing crowd, looking at Lin Hui with a familiar expression.

“Peng Shan? What are you doing here?” Lin Hui was studying the blood-red mark on the back of his hand. Hearing the commotion, he looked up and was immediately amused.

The person who came was named Peng Shan, and like him, he was an idle layabout who came from a wealthy background.

As fellow layabouts, the two had a good relationship. Since they shared the same plight and similar temperaments, they gradually became friends over time.

Peng Shan came from the prominent Peng Family, another large and wealthier clan in the town, even larger than the Lin family.

Peng Shan himself had originally lived a rich and joyful life, but unexpectedly, his doting father fell ill a few years ago and passed away, leaving him and his four older sisters unable to support their branch. They were forced to deplete their savings and squander the family wealth.

After being swindled out of a considerable amount of money by his relatives in the clan, he woke up, took his sisters, and moved out to live separately. Now, he was busy trying to find suitable marriages for his sisters, seeking good homes for his family.

All things considered, though he had no real skills, his nature was honest, and he was a good person.

“Don’t even get me started, alas…” Lin Hui briefly explained the moving situation to him.

“Moving out is the right thing to do!” Peng Shan was immediately delighted. “Let me tell you, big families are just full of problems. You have to consider the clansmen for everything, consider the clansmen. I’ve considered them at every turn, but they certainly didn’t consider me when they were out and about!”

“Exactly,” Lin Hui agreed.

“So what if I was idle for a few years? I’m still young, and there will always be a chance to turn things around! Who do those blind fools in the family think they’re looking down on!” After cursing for a bit, Peng Shan changed the subject.

“So, you’re at the age where you should be working. How is it, have you found anything yet?”

“Not yet, but my father says he has a plan.” Lin Hui shook his head.

“We definitely don’t qualify for the Yamen public selection. The Sha Yue Cult has high requirements, so don’t even mention it. The Chen Family goes without saying. Given our situation, we can only settle for something lesser and coast by. How about Huangji Business? They have a chain of taverns and are hiring a lot of people lately.”

“No. What’s so good about being a delivery boy?” Lin Hui shook his head.

“Then let’s spend some money to rent land, and we’ll farm!” Peng Shan suggested. “I’ve been studying this lately and have gained some insights.”

“Heh heh.” Lin Hui neither agreed nor disagreed. He knew Peng Shan’s personality too well. With his inherent dislike of work, farming? The land would probably farm him first.

“Don’t you believe me, sigh, looking down on people!” Peng Shan was exasperated but didn’t argue further. “However, my eldest sister actually has one lead. The work isn’t hard, just helping with cleaning and keeping things tidy.”

“A cleaner?” Lin Hui asked.

“Ah, yes, yes! A cleaner! You summarized it so well.” Peng Shan gave him a thumbs-up.

“No.” Lin Hui refused again.

“Sigh, you won’t go here, and you won’t go there. With your skills, and being overly ambitious, what can you do?” Peng Shan was speechless.

“You haven’t gone either, have you?” Lin Hui countered.

“…” Peng Shan was choked up as well.

The two simply sat on the stone together, watching the stream of freight wagons and pedestrians passing on the dirt road.

Among the passersby, they frequently saw young men and women about their age.

They wore work uniforms, constantly coming and going. Some had long coats, others short jackets, often displaying the names of various workshops, taverns, and family surnames. A few even had the Sha Yue Cult mark, which was a symbol of two intersecting crescent moons forming a cross.

“Sigh, actually, in this world, with door-crashing ghosts in the day and Mist-ghosts at night, life is so difficult for the living. Why bother working so hard every day?” Peng Shan lamented.

“Why don’t we learn martial arts!?” Lin Hui suggested. He felt very insecure now. The door-crashing ghosts and the knocking Mist-ghosts at night made him increasingly anxious about the future.

If he hadn’t awakened his memory, it would have been fine. But after awakening, he couldn’t bring himself to pin his hopes on a single jade talisman acquired through pleading.

“Learning martial arts? What good is that? Can you beat a Cult member who has been Summoned?” Peng Shan scoffed. “I won’t even mention anything else. Take your cousin, Lin Hongzhen; she’s a newcomer, but as soon as she accepts the Summoning, she immediately gains skin of bronze and bones of iron, and poisons can hardly get near her! What she achieves in one night, a lifetime of martial arts practice might not match!”

“Is it that bad?” Lin Hui’s memory regarding this was somewhat vague, and hearing this, he was stunned.

“Otherwise? Learning martial arts these days is only an option for families who truly have no other avenues. If you have connections, getting into one of the three—the Government, Chen Family, or Sha Yue Cult—is a great opportunity that changes your life overnight!” The more Peng Shan spoke, the more valuable the Chen Family quota that was intercepted earlier seemed.

Lin Hui felt increasingly uncomfortable and subconsciously traced the blood-red mark on the back of his hand.

“However, if there’s absolutely no other way, working as a helper in a martial arts hall or a temple/Taoist hall is actually a decent choice. The pay might be low, but the work is definitely light,” Peng Shan’s eyes suddenly darted as he realized a benefit.

“Is there any way to deal with door-crashing ghosts and Mist-ghosts?” Lin Hui suddenly asked.

“The Three Families (Government, Chen Family, Sha Yue Cult) can, only them. Everyone else is helpless. Otherwise, why do you think everyone is trying so hard to squeeze in?” Peng Shan shook his head. “As for others, the only use for learning martial arts is to run faster when danger strikes. This is the main purpose for most people learning martial arts, which is why those martial arts halls in town primarily teach Qinggong (light body techniques).”

“Running fast—that’s good.” Lin Hui was somewhat tempted.

“We’re too old to learn martial arts now,” Peng Shan shattered his illusion. “We can only learn some inferior, rudimentary external martial arts that have no entry threshold. Those are what the poor learn, and the harder you train, the shorter you live.”

Lin Hui remained silent.

The two stopped talking, just watching the busy flow of people coming and going. The busy people and the two of them, who were idle, formed a striking contrast.

But as they watched, they noticed that more ox-carts carrying household items appeared on the road. And judging by their direction, they seemed to be heading toward the Inner City.

(End of Chapter)