Chapter 12: Low Point II

“A Jiang, I know you and the Fourth Brother are close, but the situation is different now. We absolutely cannot be perceived as having colluded with the Fourth Brother’s actions, or the trouble will be enormous!” Lin Chaoyi earnestly admonished him.

“It’s a good thing Father gave the Fourth Brother’s quota to Hongyu back then, otherwise the quota would definitely be null and void now. That honest boy from the Fourth Brother’s family, with his poor aptitude, wouldn’t have amounted to anything even if he had entered the Chen Family. It’s nothing like Hongyu, who is already mingling with the main Chen Family descendants,” Second Brother Lin Shunchong said, baring his yellow teeth.

“Who’s to say Hongyu won’t marry a direct descendant of the Chen Family someday? That would truly be a great fortune!”

“It’s true, Hongyu is naturally good-looking. If she could bear children with the bloodline of the direct Chen Family, that would truly glorify our family name!!”

“Daughters are better indeed. If only I had a daughter like that…”

For a time, everyone began to compliment Hongyu‘s branch. As for the Fourth Brother’s situation, no one cared or worried.

Everyone knew that the Fourth Brother’s branch would truly find it difficult to rise again this time.

Without the protection of the noble person, the situation for his branch might become genuinely tough.

In the future, they would slowly, completely fade from everyone’s view, never to be seen again.

---

Lin Hui stayed at home for three days, helped his parents move, and handled all other affairs. He left all the wages he had earned before returning alone to the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

Immediately upon his return, Huishen called him to Daoist Mingde‘s room.

“I’ve been friends with your father for many years. I advised him on this matter long ago, but alas…” Mingde‘s burly figure sat cross-legged in the room. His beard was completely gray, and his face showed a trace of regret.

“But don’t worry. I can’t control other places, but here at the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, if you work diligently, you won’t be shorted a single penny of your wages!”

“Thank you, True Man!” Lin Hui‘s heart warmed slightly. He quickly bowed in salute. From this, it was clear that Mingde‘s friendship with his father was genuine. It is easy to add icing to the cake but much harder to offer help in a time of need.

“Practice martial arts well, work diligently, go on, go on…” Mingde said softly, waving his hand and turning away.

Lin Hui bowed again, then turned and slowly walked out of the room.

Huishen was waiting outside. Seeing him emerge, he offered a few words of comfort, but his tone was no longer as warm as before, just a polite formality maintaining distance.

Lin Hui didn’t mind. This was human nature.

“By the way, although Master didn’t mention it, given the current situation, Junior Brother, you should return your single room to the temple as soon as possible, or people might start gossiping…” Just as he was about to leave, Huishen‘s sudden words made Lin Hui pause.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother.” Lin Hui‘s expression was calm as he turned and saluted.

“Mh-hm.” Huishen nodded, his face no longer bearing the gentle smile of the past, only the indifferent and distant normal look.

Returning to his lodging, Lin Hui quickly packed his personal belongings and moved back into the communal bunkhouse.

Chen Zhishen came over too, inquiring about the situation. After hearing Lin Hui recount the details, he offered a few comforting words, then hesitated to speak further.

“What is it?” Lin Hui asked. “Say whatever you want.”

“It’s Xie Li… I originally tried to bring her over with me, but she…” Chen Zhishen‘s voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

“It’s alright. It’s human nature,” Lin Hui said flatly.

“Alas,” Chen Zhishen sighed, saying nothing more.

The shift in human relationships was evident. Xie Li could approach Lin Hui for the sake of the Lin family before, and now she could distance herself because of the change in his fortunes.

News of Lin Hui‘s family quickly spread within the temple.

Many students who had been friendly toward him returned to their original cold indifference.

He was already sparsely social, spending his days practicing the sword. With this incident, he was relegated to the fringes, with no one paying him attention except Chen Zhishen.

Lin Hui was content with this. He enjoyed the quiet, practicing the sword alone and waiting to become stronger.

However, while he desired peace, some people were unwilling to grant it to him.

It wasn’t long before trouble came knocking.

Bang.

The door of the communal bunkhouse was violently kicked open.

Chen Chong and two lackeys appeared outside with arrogant expressions. Their gaze swept over the dozen or so people in the bunkhouse, and the entire room immediately fell silent.

“Where is Chen Zhishen?” Chen Chong held a black fan, waving it with a pretentious air.

“Why are you looking for me!” Chen Zhishen took a deep breath, stood up, and faced the other party.

“You, come out.” Chen Chong pointed at him, then turned and left with his people.

Chen Zhishen‘s face turned pale. He knew the situation was bad and instinctively looked around, but everyone avoided his gaze.

Only Lin Hui stood up.

“Let’s go. I’ll go with you.”

“No need, I’ll go alone!” Chen Zhishen shook his head, his body trembling slightly.

“Let’s go.” Lin Hui said no more and stepped out first.

Just outside, he saw Chen Chong and the three of them waiting not far away, looking right at him.

“Lin Hui, I gave you face before because you were someone of status. Now that you’re still coming out, do you think I’ll still give you face?” Chen Chong immediately laughed with an exaggerated sneer.

“Although my family is going through hard times, with True Man Mingde here at the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, I’m not worried about anything happening,” Lin Hui assessed the combat situation. If it came to a fight, although he had trained for a long time, he hadn’t yet mastered the Seven-Section Quick Sword. At best, he was a slightly more agile ordinary person, likely on par with the three opposite him.

In a two-on-three fight, they would definitely lose.

Therefore, avoid a fight if possible. When he fully mastered the Seven-Section Quick Sword soon and received the perfect level of sword style body tempering, that would be the true start of a qualitative change.

Sure enough, upon hearing the name True Man Mingde, the eyes of Chen Chong‘s three companions twitched. “Don’t use True Man Mingde to pressure me. I won’t touch you today. This has nothing to do with you. I’m looking for Chen Zhishen!” Chen Chong laughed a couple of times, raising his voice.

“How did he provoke you?” Lin Hui frowned.

“None of your damn business!!” Chen Chong cursed. “I advise you to stay out of it, otherwise…”

Clearly, the name of True Man Mingde alone was no longer enough to scare him. After all, Lin Hui had already moved out of the single room. Who would still believe Mingde would look out for him as he did before?

Even if he still received some protection, it would certainly not be much.

Thinking this, Chen Chong was resolved. Seeing Chen Zhishen emerge, he immediately waved his hand.

The two lackeys behind him instantly rushed out, pouncing on Chen Zhishen. The two were light and swift in their movements—they were clearly temple disciples who had begun Body Tempering Light Body!

With that level of skill, one person alone was enough to take on both Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui, let alone two together.

Their movements were beyond Lin Hui‘s expectation.

He knew the situation was dire and quickly stepped forward, shouting loudly.

“How dare you!?”

Then he drew his sword, preparing to fight alongside Chen Zhishen to resist.

“Stop right there!” A loud roar suddenly came quickly from the side in the distance.

“What are you all doing here!?”

Daoist Mingde leaped from the second-floor window of the right-side training ground, approaching lightly like willow catkins.

He showcased his movement technique, covering a dozen steps in a single stride, and quickly traversed the rear courtyard training ground to the edge of the group.

The Clear Wind Taoist Temple was small. He could hear even slightly loud noises, but he had been too lazy to intervene in many matters before.

However, hearing Lin Hui‘s shout—his friend’s son being bullied right after his friend’s misfortune—if this were to spread, what face would Mingde have left among his circle of friends?

So, as soon as he heard the commotion, he immediately rushed down to stop them.

In front of the communal bunkhouse, Chen Chong‘s two subordinates froze immediately, their bodies covered in goosebumps, not daring to move. Stared down by Mingde‘s eyes, both instantly felt chills run down their spines.

Chen Chong himself hadn’t expected Mingde to step forward immediately and support Lin Hui. His face turned grim, and he froze on the spot.

“True Man, a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding!” His mind raced, and he quickly forced a smile.

“We didn’t intend to target Lin Hui. It was just the boy next to him who deliberately sought trouble and provoked my Chen Family. He even said things insulting my family. I lost my temper for a moment…”

“You’re bullshitting!” Chen Zhishen roared angrily.

“Enough. From now on, I do not want any private fights to occur within the temple. Chen Chong, understood?” Mingde stared at him and said in a deep voice.

He already knew who the troublemaker was, but due to the Chen Family and Chen Chong‘s sister, he had been unwilling to intervene. But now that it involved Lin Hui, he had no choice but to step forward and warn them.

“Fine, I’ll listen to the True Man.” Chen Chong‘s face was ashen. He cupped his hands in salute, turned, and led his men away.

He understood Mingde‘s unspoken meaning: no trouble within the temple. But outside the temple, Mingde wouldn’t concern himself.

Mingde sighed and looked back at Lin Hui.

“That’s all for now. You two be careful on your own in the future.” He wasn’t a babysitter, and it was impossible for him to constantly monitor Chen Chong. Doing this much was already the maximum favor he could grant.

He also understood the purpose of Lin Hui‘s loud shout earlier, which was why he warned Chen Chong afterward.

“Thank you, True Man!” Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen immediately saluted. Chen Zhishen‘s gratitude was particularly intense.

If Lin Hui hadn’t shouted for Mingde today, he likely would have faced great peril.

While his life might not have been in danger, being injured, having his progress delayed, and eventually leaving in despair was almost a certainty.

Watching Mingde leave, Lin Hui thought back to Chen Chong‘s expression. He knew that by forcing Chen Chong to lose face so badly, they had made an enemy of him.

The usually arrogant Chen Chong would definitely find a way to vent his frustration.

Lin Hui was relatively safe, as True Man Mingde‘s intention to protect him was clear. But Chen Zhishen…

“Try not to leave the temple from now on,” he finally instructed Chen Zhishen, turning to return to the communal bunkhouse.

Chen Zhishen stood rooted to the spot, his lips trembling, unable to say a word.

The pairs of eyes watching the commotion quickly retracted.

Not far away, Mu Qiaozhi, Qiu Yiren, and Xie Li stood together, having just witnessed the scene.

“Despite the state of Lin Hui‘s family, True Man Mingde is truly a man of character, still willing to step in and help,” Qiu Yiren sighed.

“Being a man of character isn’t necessarily a good thing,” Mu Qiaozhi said coolly. “People must learn to assess the situation. True Man Mingde values loyalty, but this nature has also helped his friends avoid a lot of trouble. He is strong and stable now, so naturally, it’s fine. But once he encounters even a small problem, the hidden dangers accumulated from helping others will all erupt together. That’s when the real difficulty begins.”

“But wouldn’t the people he helped before also lend a hand?” Qiu Yiren asked, confused.

“Who says being helped means you must repay the favor?” Mu Qiaozhi countered. “Xie Li is doing well in this regard. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. To lend a hand, one must bear the risk of being crushed or injured by the falling tree.”

“Xie Li…” Qiu Yiren knew that before Xie Li entered their circle, she had been close to Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui.

And now.

She couldn’t help but glance at the other girl. Xie Li‘s expression was complex, showing emotional fluctuations, but she showed no intention of stepping out to help.

“Let’s go. You must remember that the Clear Wind Taoist Temple is just a temporary place for us to learn skills. Don’t become too deeply attached. We pay to learn martial arts, not to contribute to the temple, but to make ourselves stronger,” Mu Qiaozhi said indifferently, leading the way toward the Abbot’s main hall.

(End of Chapter)