Chapter 13: 013 Parting I

The incidents at home and the conflict with Chen Chong fueled Lin Hui‘s craving for personal strength more than ever.

Mingde‘s protection was only temporary. Although the trouble now involved Chen Zhishen, Lin Hui might encounter a similar situation in the future. If he didn’t prepare soon…

After the Chen Chong incident, Lin Hui became even more low-key, practicing the sword silently every day. His physical fitness slowly improved. Finally, the fifth stance completed its evolution.

Each stance took two months. Adding the initial month of entry, Lin Hui has been at the Clear Wind Taoist Temple for over half a year now.

He hadn’t dared to relax for a single moment during these six months. And now, the results were about to show…

Inside the training ground.

Lin Hui, holding a wooden sword, was inconspicuous among the other students practicing. Yet, if anyone observed his seemingly casual movements and stances closely, they would find a huge difference between him and those around him.

The moves were the same; everyone was practicing the Seven-Section Quick Sword, but Lin Hui‘s first five stances conveyed a feeling of strict adherence to form, as if every stroke and movement were the most standard and perfect answer.

It was only at the sixth and seventh stances that this sense of perfection plummeted abruptly, becoming mere proficiency.

Proficiency was not bad, and months of hard practice had given Lin Hui a deep understanding of the last two stances, but the gap between them and the first five was like heaven and earth.

The slender wooden sword, in Lin Hui‘s hands, swept and sliced effortlessly. Though it was only a training method, it somehow gave off an aura of considerable power.

Unfortunately, no one around him noticed the changes. The Seven-Section Quick Sword was a training sword style that geniuses could master the points of force for in a few weeks. Lin Hui had not fully mastered it in almost a year. Based on this alone, no one paid attention to how perfect or aesthetically pleasing his sword style had become.

Just as Lin Hui was still practicing the sixth stance, geniuses like Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren had already mastered half of the Nine-Section Quick Sword and could unleash its power in combat.

Amidst the swishing sounds.

Before long, Lin Hui finished another round and pulled the sweat cloth from his neck to wipe his sweat.

A faint weeping sound drifted from a corner of the training ground in the distance.

It was the old students of the temple preparing to leave.

Lin Hui watched from afar, seeing a line of five people, all strong and sturdy. They held their bundles, their eyes tearful, some even trembling as they knelt and kowtowed toward the main hall.

“They are all old students who failed to completely master the points of force for the Seven-Section Quick Sword after three years,” Chen Zhishen approached softly from the side. “Perhaps many others will be just like them in the future…”

“Which stance are you on?” Lin Hui asked.

“The fifth. I realized the earlier stances have an auxiliary effect on the later ones, and I’ve mastered all the points of force,” Chen Zhishen replied.

“That’s good. I’m only at the sixth myself,” Lin Hui answered calmly.

“…” Chen Zhishen gave a bitter smile. “I’ve thought a lot during this time. First Ahua, then Xie Li. To be honest, I only see clearly now that they are more mature than I imagined. They just want to climb higher. Ahua is now with Chen Chong. A few days ago, someone from the temple even saw her delivering food to Chen Chong. She is no longer practicing martial arts here.”

“It’s good that you understand,” Lin Hui nodded. “In this world, if you want to live well, don’t you have to climb hard?”

If he didn’t have the blood-red mark, he might also resort to any means necessary to climb higher. That was why he didn’t dislike Xie Li back then; it was just human nature.

“A Hui,” Chen Zhishen said again. “I plan to leave once I master the full Seven-Section Quick Sword.”

“…” Lin Hui was startled. He watched the kneeling old students in the distance stand up, change into the uniform of a compound guard, and leave with the person who came to pick them up.

He didn’t speak for a moment.

“No matter how well I train, I’ll only end up being a guard or a thug for someone else’s compound… My family can no longer afford to support my continued study,” Chen Zhishen said. “Once I master the full Seven-Section Quick Sword, I will be considered a formal disciple of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. With this status, I can get a position at the town’s Yamen or with some wealthy families. After all, an external martial artist who has gone through Body Tempering and learned some simple moves is much stronger than an ordinary person. The income should be decent.”

“This is also the goal of many disciples who come here. The temple has cooperation with many wealthy families, like the Mu Family and the Zhong Family,” he continued.

“Are you willing to settle for that?” Lin Hui asked.

“Heh heh… I’ve trained like a madman. But what good is it?” Chen Zhishen gave a bitter smile. “Do you know what it feels like to train until you cough up blood? If it weren’t for the healing medicine you helped me with back then, I might not have recovered several times. I might have died in some corner of the training ground long ago…”

Lin Hui stopped talking.

He listened as Chen Zhishen talked on about the hardships of his practice, his heart filled with an unidentifiable mix of feelings.

He himself only needed six or seven more moves to completely master the flawless version of the Seven-Section Quick Sword. By his calculation, that was about four more months. This speed, in the eyes of others, could be considered extremely mediocre. His future would at best be that of a high-level compound guard.

But only Lin Hui himself knew… he was different.

By the time he came back to his senses, Chen Zhishen had already left.

A portion of the people on the training ground had also dispersed. As noon approached, it was time to go to the dining hall for a meal.

Suddenly, a burst of noise drifted over from afar.

Lin Hui put away his sword and followed the crowd closer, seeing a large group of students separate to form a passage, their eyes fixed on a tall youth slowly entering the dining hall behind the Abbot.

The youth had a foreign look, handsome features, and skin that was unnaturally pale.

The most surprising thing was his eyes.

They were not the usual round pupils of a human but a pair of amber, speckled vertical pupils, like those of a reptile.

From a distance, they conveyed a sense of cold indifference.

“How can his eyes have that pattern? I’ve never seen anyone with eyes like that…”

The crowd whispered amongst themselves.

“Lower your voices! That’s a strongman from the Python Tribe here to visit the Abbot!”

“The Python Tribe? They’re not human?”

“They are said to be a non-human species that can transform into giant pythons, one of the few alien races that communicates and trades with us.”

Lin Hui also watched the youth curiously. Judging by the posture of the youth and the Abbot interacting, the two were clearly old acquaintances. The youth seemed only young in appearance; his age was definitely not just in his teens.

“The Python Tribe… Are they here to investigate a missing tribe member from before?” Senior Brother Chen Sui and Daoist Minchen stood nearby, asking in a low voice.

“They should be. The previous door-crashing ghost case injured many innocents. The Inner City won’t be able to suppress it so easily. Not only is the Python Tribe here, but people from many other districts have also come,” Minchen affirmed with a nod. “But this has nothing to do with us. Just practice your sword well. If you can master the Clear Wind Sword Style to the Third Realm soon, our Clear Wind Taoist Temple will have a successor.”

“This disciple will do his best,” Chen Sui said with a difficult expression, lowering his head slightly.

Once the Abbot and the Python Tribe person were seated and started eating, the rest of the people also took their seats. After the initial curiosity wore off, they found that the Python Tribe person ate the same food and spoke the same language. Aside from his slightly different eyes, everything was the same, so the novelty quickly vanished, and the dining hall rapidly returned to its usual lively scramble for food.

Lin Hui withdrew his gaze, casually found a corner to sit down, and waited for his portion of the meal.

The Python Tribe youth came and went quickly. Soon, the temple returned to its usual quiet.

Time flew by. The sixth stance was also about to complete its evolution.

Lin Hui‘s anticipation, which had been stretched thin by the long wait, became increasingly calm.

Early in the morning, he got up on time, fetched water, washed up, and checked if his jade talisman was intact. If it wasn’t, he had to go find the logistical Taoist priests to get a new one.

After washing up and eating breakfast, he was about to start a new day’s practice when he suddenly received a notification from a Taoist child that someone from his family had arrived.

Lin Hui was confused. His parents hadn’t visited the temple since the incident, and now they had suddenly shown up without notice. Something must have happened again.

But seeing the Taoist child’s normal expression and tone, he relaxed slightly.

He followed the Taoist child toward the main gate. Before long, he saw his father, Lin Shunhe, waiting outside.

In addition to him, there was a hunchbacked, white-haired old man, who held the hand of a distant-looking girl in a white skirt.

The three stood together. Hearing the footsteps, they all looked over.

“This is your son. His appearance aside, his demeanor is very steady. And now that he’s an assistant accountant at the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, he’s quite stable,” the hunchbacked old man examined Lin Hui, looking somewhat satisfied.

“That is indeed the case. If our two families decide on this marriage, we will also prepare a foundation of 100,000 qian for the two of them to start their own family in the future,” Lin Shunhe said with a smile.

“That’s not bad. I didn’t expect you, old fellow, to still manage to pull together such a fortune after your mishap. Impressive!” The hunchbacked old man looked at Lin Shunhe in surprise.

“Alas, this matter is difficult to explain in detail,” Lin Shunhe sighed, shaking his head, about to elaborate.

Suddenly, the aloof girl, who had been standing quietly all this time, finished examining Lin Hui, turned, and walked away without a word.

“Huan’er?” The hunchbacked old man quickly called out. “What’s wrong!?”

“It’s nothing. I just feel unwell and don’t want to tour the Clear Wind Taoist Temple anymore. Father, let’s go back,” the girl in the white skirt stopped and said calmly.

She knew that her father and Lin Shunhe were close friends. Now that Uncle Lin’s family had suffered a great misfortune, the families that had previously sought a match were all avoiding them like the plague.

Only her father, keeping his promise, had come to discuss the betrothal with Lin Shunhe.

Her father was demonstrating the virtue of keeping his word, but what about herself?

Did she have to sacrifice her entire marriage for her father to uphold his loyalty?

The more the girl thought about it, the more miserable she felt.

“Huan’er!” The hunchbacked old man, seeing that his daughter did not favor Lin Hui, immediately went forward to pull her aside for a private talk.

But no matter how much he pleaded, the girl just shook her head, angering the old man to the point where he almost raised his hand to hit her. This action was quickly blocked by Lin Shunhe, who was watching on the side.

“It shouldn’t come to this, Elder Brother Guan!” Lin Shunhe sighed. He looked at his son, who had walked up to them, and then at the Guan Family‘s beautiful and aloof daughter. Before the incident, with his much stronger connections and wealth, this marriage would have been more than adequate.

But now, judging solely by his son’s circumstances, he truly wasn’t a match for her.

“Alas, since Huan’er doesn’t favor my A Hui, then let’s drop the matter for today. Let’s just say A Hui brought you to tour the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. Without an insider, it’s genuinely impossible to enter the gates for a visit.”

“A tour is out of the question now. Alas, what a mess this has become…” The hunchbacked old man sighed. “It’s a pity. It seems our Huan’er has no such fortune and is not destined to be with your A Hui.”

(End of Chapter)