Chapter 33: Change of Heart I

A few days later, in the Mist Zone.

In the murky gray mist, a tall, sturdy man with a ponytail, dressed in a dirty white martial arts uniform, walked into the small hut’s courtyard. He looked exhausted as he dragged an object that resembled a black tree branch.

Thud.

He tossed the object onto the ground and sniffed the air; the faint aroma of eggs fried in lard drifted through the air.

With a squeak, the wooden door slowly opened. Daoist Mingde walked out unhurriedly holding a bowl, eating a green onion as he glanced at the object on the ground.

“How did it end up looking like this?”

“I don’t know. I went through a lot of trouble to hack it off, but it shriveled up almost immediately,” Lin Hui shook his head. He had cut off the Faceless Man’s right arm. When it was first severed, it was full and intact, even dripping with transparent blood. In just a few minutes, the arm had withered into this dry, shrunken state.

“Fine. It was probably improper preservation,” Mingde shook his head. “I’ll count it as a pass.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

“Don’t be in a hurry. This is only the first trial. You’ve experienced the benefits of practicing in this mist yourself. Your Body Tempering was quite a bit faster, wasn’t it?” Mingde smiled.

“Yes, I found it strange. Is it possible the mist itself is beneficial to Body Tempering?” Lin Hui nodded, his curiosity piqued.

“I’m not sure, but whether it’s Body Tempering or Internal Force cultivation, efficiency in the Mist Zone is much higher than in the mist-free zone. This is a result verified by everyone,” Mingde said. “After practicing for so long, it’s about time you went back to rest. Staying here too long requires more Tranquility Incense, and your spirit will begin to drift, leading to various issues.”

“Yes,” Lin Hui nodded respectfully.

The teacher and disciple slowly packed their things, ate the fried eggs, closed up the hut, and headed back toward the Taoist temple.

As they traveled, Mingde made sure to use the time to teach small details regarding sword techniques.

To apply the Clear Wind Taoist Temple’s sword arts in real combat, there were actually several levels of mastery.

This couldn’t be seen in a training method like the Seven-Section Quick Sword, but starting from the Nine-Section Quick Sword, the distinctions began to emerge. By the time one reached the Clear Wind Sword Style, the differences would widen rapidly.

Lin Hui listened with full concentration, his understanding of the “fast sword” growing deeper and deeper.

“The moves are the same. Sword styles actually only consist of a few basic techniques, yet why do different people produce vastly different results when using them? The key lies in understanding.”

Mingde’s voice rang continuously in his ears.

“Why did so many ancestors and predecessors always like to seek martial insights from different things? Why didn’t they all just focus on studying the single strongest path or style?”

“There are two reasons.”

“First, every person is different; what suits you best is what is best.”

“Second, more people flock to the strongest style and the strongest path. Unless the gap between paths is astronomical, a forced entry means the ultimate competition is merely about effort and resources. If it comes down to those, how can an ordinary person compete with the upper class?”

“Thus, the predecessors chose to find a different way.”

Before long, Mingde stepped out of the mist, returning to the mist-free zone.

Lin Hui followed closely behind.

“So, the next step you need to take is to familiarize yourself with the sword style to a certain extent. Only then can you adjust and change it according to your own conditions and state, turning it from the sect’s sword style into your sword style. This is what constitutes different personal styles.”

“Fast, slow, grasping the timing, which moves your body coordination is better at—these are things you need to research and understand yourself. Remember, the moves are dead; the person is alive.”

Mingde’s guidance gave Lin Hui a brand-new perspective on the sword arts he had learned.

He had previously tried practicing according to some internet theories from his past life, but none of them felt as grounding as having a master personally confirm his direction.

Comparing the two, his understanding of martial arts and sword styles rapidly improved.

The two arrived at the edge of Mingde’s courtyard.

“Alright. You haven’t been out for a long time; go home and visit your parents. With so much happening lately, go and set their minds at ease,” Mingde instructed.

“Yes,” Lin Hui nodded and took his leave.

He returned to the temple to pack, took a bath, changed his clothes, and treated his injuries. Only then did he take some silver and head back home.

Before leaving, he checked the blood-red mark. There were still over three months left for the evolution. He now understood that this blood mark counted down according to the time set at the beginning; it wouldn’t change just because his proficiency or insight into the Nine-Section Quick Sword increased.

It was incredibly rigid.

‘In the future, it’ll be more cost-effective to evolve individual moves separately. Trying to evolve the entire style over nine months at once means the process can’t integrate my own practice and insights. The efficiency is too low. If I go move by move, the newly evolved moves can perfectly link up with my current progress, which could save a lot of time.‘

Lin Hui calculated in his mind as he hurried along.

The distance from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple to his home wasn’t short. It had taken a full half-day by carriage before. Now, traveling on foot and utilizing his movement speed, it took him just over half an hour to reach the town.

Under the murky gray sky.

On both sides of the blurred yellow mud road, bare fields gradually began to appear.

The snow had melted a bit, leaving the fields in a patchwork of yellow, green, and white. The colors were rich, making the scenery quite beautiful.

A few simple scarecrows in gray clothes stood lonely in the middle of the fields, their ragged clothes flapping in the wind.

Lin Hui felt a bit more settled in his heart and continued forward.

Gradually, farmers carrying hoes and other tools could be seen walking on the paths between the fields. Birds chirped and fought near the fields; life and vitality were slowly returning as the snowfall stopped.

Before long, individual courtyards began to appear by the roadside. Some had mud walls, others stone walls, and the poorer ones had only wooden fences.

Lin Hui soon arrived in front of a large courtyard with gray-white stone walls. He saw red New Year couplets pasted on the door: “The shadow of bamboo sweeps the street but the dust does not move; the sound of spring enters the house and fortune remains forever.”

The horizontal scroll read: “Peace is Fortune.”

‘This was clearly written by someone hired for the job. It seems the family is doing well now.‘ Lin Hui’s mood improved significantly.

He stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock…

Before he could knock a third time, the door creaked open slightly on its own.

Lin Hui paused. He could faintly hear voices speaking inside the house through the gap.

He simply pushed the door open and walked in.

A flock of small yellow chicks scrambled around the courtyard, scared into the corners by his arrival.

The voices from the inner room were becoming clearer now.

“…The intentions were good, but the situation at the time was indeed difficult to handle. There was only one opportunity…”

The voice was somewhat familiar, causing Lin Hui to frown.

He took several steps in one, pushed open the door to the inner room, and saw his parents. Both were sitting in chairs with grim expressions; they were clearly facing a difficult decision.

The two were startled when they saw Lin Hui enter and quickly stood up.

“Ah Hui, why are you back? It’s not a holiday yet, is it?” Yao Shan walked over quickly and squeezed her son’s arm. Seeing he still had plenty of meat on him and hadn’t thinned out, half the weight on her heart was lifted.

“You’ve changed into new clothes too. Where’s the outfit I made for you last time?”

“Uh…” Lin Hui’s voice hitched. That outfit had been ruined with a large tear during his fight with the Faceless Man.

Real combat made Body Tempering fast, but it was hard on clothes.

“You brat, you didn’t even say anything before coming home. Your mother and I could have prepared food for you. You have a huge appetite now; if we don’t buy groceries in advance, there isn’t enough for you,” Lin Shunhe also approached, looking helpless.

“It’s fine, Dad. I’ll go buy groceries with you in a bit.” Lin Hui smiled, his eyes drifting to the other people in the room. Clearly, these people were the source of his parents’ bad mood and why they had forgotten to even close the door.

Seeing these people, everything became clear to him.

No wonder his parents were in a bad mood. If it were him, he’d feel even worse.

The visitors were none other than the Lin Clan Leader—Lin Shunhe’s biological father and Lin Hui’s biological grandfather—Lin Chaoyi.

At this moment, an old, kind smile was plastered on Lin Chaoyi’s face. He wore a clean, neat turquoise merchant’s robe and leaned on a mahogany cane inlaid with turquoise. His attitude was worlds apart from his previous posture of ignoring Lin Hui’s family.

“It’s Lin Hui. Long time no see. Grandfather came this time to apologize for my poor attitude toward you all before.” His smile vanished, replaced by a mournful sigh. “Previously…”

“What are you apologizing for? I forgot about those things long ago.” Lin Hui saw his parents’ sour expressions, understood what was happening, and interrupted him directly.

“You don’t remember? That’s good, that’s good. I was going to say…” Lin Chaoyi sighed again. “Actually, regarding that matter back then, if we’re being honest, it was I, as the Clan Leader, who didn’t handle it well…”

“No, you handled it very well. Aren’t we all doing quite well for ourselves now? Now that you’ve seen the situation, you should head back. You don’t need to worry about things here,” Lin Hui smiled and interjected.

“You see, you still haven’t forgiven me. You blame me. Blame this old man for doing something so unprincipled back then…” Lin Chaoyi lowered his head, his aged face trembling. “A thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs—they are all my fault…”

“You did nothing wrong. Alright, you can leave now. At your age, don’t be out here in the wind and rain. Just enjoy your retirement,” Lin Hui continued.

Thud.

Just as he finished speaking, his expression changed, and he quickly dodged to the side.

He saw Lin Chaoyi in front of him suddenly bend his knees without hesitation, toss aside his cane, and kneel directly before him and his parents.

Lin Hui avoided it, and his parents, surprisingly, avoided it skillfully as well, their faces showing not a hint of shock.

This shocked Lin Hui, but it also made him understand why his parents looked so frustrated when he arrived home.

He looked at Lin Chaoyi kneeling on the floor. The man was still constantly apologizing, saying things about how he shouldn’t have done this or that.

“Fourth Son, I’m kneeling to you! A thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs—they are all my fault alone. But no matter what the fault, we are still family. Blood is thicker than water! Do you know that after you left, every night when I think about my decision back then, my heart feels like it’s being cut by a knife…” Lin Chaoyi’s voice trembled, making him look incredibly pitiable, as if he might collapse and go into shock at any moment.

Seeing this, Lin Shunhe also unhesitatingly pulled his wife down to kneel on the spot before the old man.

“Father, when you snatched my son’s opportunity, when you snatched the lifeblood of my wife and me from the last half of our lives, did you ever consider if you would drive us to our deaths?”

His expression was resolute, not at all fooled by the old man’s act. Since childhood, he had seen Lin Chaoyi put on this kind of performance countless times.

“You are my son! How could I, as a father, want to drive you to your death!?” Lin Chaoyi’s voice grew louder. “Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs! Let alone a human!?”

“You also know that a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs? We moved so long ago, yet you didn’t come to apologize early or late. You only rushed over now when you saw our family starting to rise? Father, I’ve long since mastered those three tricks of yours. Should I perform a faint for you in a moment, and then foam at the mouth and spit up a bit more blood?” Lin Shunhe also raised his voice.

He looked at Lin Hui, who was equally speechless and unsure of what to do, and waved his son away, indicating that he would handle this and telling him to go into the room to rest.

(End of Chapter)