Chapter 4: Moving House II

Lin Hui gazed in the direction of the Inner City.

From far away, he could only see a massive white stone wall enveloping the entire urban area.

The white wall was at least several hundred meters high, its upper half disappearing into a faint cloud of mist. The wall’s surface was smooth and even, giving off an aura of stark, white solemnity.

The entire white wall, from top to bottom, left to right, appeared to have been forged from a single piece.

“Why are they all going to the Inner City?” he asked in a low voice.

“It’s all because of the recent door-crashing ghosts. Everyone with some savings plans to take shelter in the Inner City for a while. As long as it’s not a permanent residence, finding a temporary place to stay for a period is still affordable,” Peng Shan replied.

“Didn’t the city send anyone to investigate?”

“They did. The Yamen sent many patrol teams. They seem to be tracking something.”

Peng Shan didn’t sit for long before deciding to leave. Just as he stood up, he saw a cow-cart, marked with the words “Chen Family,” slowly drive past on the roadside in the distance.

The curtain on the back of the carriage was lifted, revealing several young people laughing and talking with someone inside.

“It’s the Chen Family’s selection convoy!” Peng Shan said instinctively.

Lin Hui paused, then also stood up to look at the convoy. He was looking for Lin Hongyu but didn’t see her after several scans. She was likely in another carriage.

‘The Chen Family…’

Lin Family Compound.

Lin Chaoyi sat in the patriarch’s seat in the main hall, looking at the representatives from the dozen or so branches below him.

“Has Hongyu left?” he asked solemnly.

“She’s gone, she got on the cart. People from the Chen Family’s perimeter carriage company came to pick her up,” Lin Hongyu’s father quickly replied.

“The Fourth Branch has moved out, and their former courtyard is now empty. I have many people here and need housing. How about those few rooms…” Lin Shunchong of the Second Branch was a sickly, sallow man. He sat sloppily with one leg propped on the stool, looking like a hooligan.

“Second Brother, you have many people, but don’t I? My son is still going to take the imperial exams to enter the Yamen! My three grandsons are also waiting for houses in the future. Why should all the rooms go to your Second Branch?” A woman on the side became upset and spoke up.

“How many years has your son been taking the exams? He hasn’t even made the top five hundred in the public selection, and you’re still talking about academic success?” Lin Shunchong of the Second Branch scoffed.

“Enough. The Fourth Branch has moved out. Does anyone know where they are living now?” The old patriarch Lin Chaoyi interrupted the conversation.

“Who cares about him? Didn’t he want to sever ties with the family? Why worry about him?” Someone said dismissively.

Severing ties was a good thing. After the old man passed away, there would be one less branch to share the money with. Although no one said it, everyone was somewhat happy about it.

“The Fourth Brother still has some capability…” Lin Chaoyi frowned.

“Could it be that Father is still worried about the Fourth Brother rising again?” Lin Shunchong said. “He’s an oil workshop steward; no matter how capable he is, it’s just that. As for his wife and son, the wife is an aging employee, and the son has learned nothing, spending his days idling and waiting to die. With this background, what are you worried about?”

“I just feel a bit regretful. The Fourth Brother is actually a decent person…” Lin Chaoyi sighed. “He was just dragged down by his son.”

“That’s true. Among all the juniors in our branches, apart from him, everyone else is settled and has a clear path. The children of the Eldest and Sixth Branches are already preparing for betrothal. The flourishing of the family and its prosperity are just around the corner. If the Fourth Branch breaks off now, they better not shamelessly come back begging for favors when the family takes off,” Lin Shunchong chuckled.

“Alright, since the Fourth Brother himself wants to sever ties with the family, the Second Brother, you have connections at the Yamen. Go and change the registration later to avoid future disputes. Let’s move on. Next, everyone, let’s discuss how we will all contribute and support the development of the three branches—the Eldest, the Fifth, and the Twelfth—who have already moved into the Inner City…” The old patriarch Lin Chaoyi began his traditional maneuver again: sacrificing the peripheral branches to strengthen the main structure.

“Father, I want to learn martial arts.”

At Lin Hui’s new home, the family had just sat down for lunch when Lin Hui spoke this sentence abruptly.

“Practicing martial arts?” Lin Shunhe looked at his son, frowning. “What’s the use of practicing martial arts? I’ve figured it out: you follow me and learn to be a steward, go to the oil workshop to get familiar with the environment, and if there’s truly no other way, you can inherit your father’s business and have a stable way of life. But to be a steward, you’ll have to work very hard, as the final decision rests with the small Yamen in town.”

“Can managing the oil workshop save my life?” Lin Hui asked.

“It can save up money to enter the Inner City. Once you enter the Inner City, it can,” Lin Shunhe replied.

“The Inner City still relies on others; you’d still be helpless against a door-crashing ghost!” Lin Hui said firmly.

“What’s the damn use of learning martial arts!” Lin Shunhe grew a bit impatient. “I manage a security team of over ten people. Which one of them hasn’t studied martial arts? The worst one has studied martial arts for over ten years. And now? They still come to guard the oil workshop! Their monthly wages are less than one-tenth of mine! Tell me, what’s the use of learning martial arts?!”

“It’s a good thing that the child has something he wants to do. It’s better than staying cooped up at home all the time,” Yao Shan gently interjected to soothe the tension.

“But at his age, he can’t learn anything good in martial arts. Internal martial arts are restricted by age, so he can’t learn that either. External martial arts are all short-lived practices; learning them means dying early, which is even worse! I’d rather raise him well with good food and drink and let him be an idler for a lifetime!” Lin Shunhe said irritably.

“I’ll just learn external martial arts; it’s fine. I’ll just practice casually to pass the time, and it would be even better if I could get a job at a martial arts hall,” Lin Hui explained.

“Working at a martial arts hall?” This sentence immediately sparked an idea in Lin Shunhe.

He considered it carefully, and his mood calmed down.

“If you can really endure hardship, working at a martial arts hall is an option. I have connections with several martial arts halls in town; the oil workshop frequently hires people from them for escorts, so our relationship is quite good. If that’s what you have in mind, then it’s not bad.”

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

He knew his son’s situation: although physically weak, his son had one major advantage—his calculation skills were strong, far exceeding those of his peers.

He didn’t know where his son had learned this ability, but many martial arts halls lacked people who were good at arithmetic. Getting in for work might actually be viable.

Thinking this, he looked up at his son and saw a seriousness he had never seen before in his eyes. His heart became a few degrees more serious.

“Have you thought this through? Do you really want to learn martial arts? Let me say this first: you definitely cannot go into internal martial arts; they all require you to be under ten years old. You can only go for external martial arts, and with external martial arts, just practice casually, don’t injure yourself!”

“I just want to learn the skill of running fast for self-preservation. I’m not interested in anything else. Father, don’t worry! I absolutely won’t practice too hard!” Lin Hui answered emphatically.

“Good! Your idea is clear! That’s good!” Lin Shunhe paused. He thought that it was indeed true that the Outer City was becoming increasingly dangerous. Learning a skill to run fast was also a way to ensure safety.

He quickly ran through the list of external martial arts establishments he had connections with in his mind.

“Alright, I can arrange three places for you. Which one do you choose?”

“Which three?”

“Flying Cloud Fist’s Flying Cloud Pavilion, Copper Arm Skill’s Red Sand Temple, and Quick Sword’s Clear Wind Taoist Temple. These three places are long-term major customers for my oil supply, and we have frequent contact and good relations, so they are easy to arrange. As long as your father is still here, you will receive some care once you get in. Once you’re older and establish connections there, I can hand over the reins. It’s a good transition.” Lin Shunhe planned.

“Which of these three places teaches the fastest running martial arts?” Lin Hui asked directly.

“Flying Cloud Fist and Clear Wind Taoist Temple are both fast. However, realistically, I lean toward you going to the Flying Cloud Pavilion because although Clear Wind Taoist Temple is faster, Flying Cloud Fist is more practical for combat, and the Pavilion Master, Shangguan Fei, is much stronger than Daoist Baohe of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. The Flying Cloud Pavilion is also managed better than the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, so your income there would be significantly higher.”

“No, I’m going to the Clear Wind Taoist Temple!” Lin Hui’s gaze was firm.

After witnessing the night mist and the daylight door-crashing ghosts, his need for self-preservation was paramount.

As Peng Shan said, no matter how strong he trained, he still couldn’t beat a Summoned Cult member from the Three Families. He might as well specialize in one thing: self-preservation was the only priority.

“Very well… then you can start there, and if a better opportunity arises later, I’ll figure something out.” Lin Shunhe rarely saw such determination in his son’s eyes. He felt he should strike while the iron was hot and finalize the matter while his son’s enthusiasm hadn’t faded.

He immediately snatched up his bowl, devoured his meal, grabbed his jacket, and headed toward the door.

“I’m going to arrange it right now! Shan Shan, take the afternoon off and prepare to help Xiao Hui pack!” After quickly giving instructions, Lin Shunhe pushed the door open and quickly disappeared onto the road.

“Your father is always so impulsive. He doesn’t even finish his food properly…” His mother, Yao Shan, looked helpless.

Lin Hui nodded, about to speak, when he suddenly felt a prickling itch on the back of his right hand.

His heart skipped a beat, and his eyes darted to the back of his hand. The itching sensation was precisely where the blood-red pattern was located.

At this moment, the blood-red pattern was strangely wriggling, as if a liquid crystal screen was embedded in the back of his hand, with the pattern inside rapidly shifting and flickering.

“What’s wrong?” his mother asked curiously from the side.

“N-nothing.” Lin Hui raised his hand, deliberately waving the back of his hand within his mother’s line of sight, confirming that she couldn’t see anything at all.

This raised his anticipation for the blood-red mark to the extreme.

This thing had awakened with him. Perhaps it could truly allow him to carve a path out of his current unstable environment.

Gently stroking the blood-red mark, he lowered his hand and returned his attention to the dining table.

“Here, stop thinking about it, eat a chicken leg.” His mother, Yao Shan, happened to place a braised chicken leg into his bowl.

The light brown chicken leg was plump and juicy on the surface, glistening with oil. It rolled a small circle in the dark red mixed grain rice and stopped, right under Lin Hui’s nose.

Swish.

Just then, the blood-red mark on the back of his hand suddenly stopped flickering.

The chicken leg in his sight abruptly lit up, glowing red.

A line of small text extended and appeared from the right side of the chicken leg in his field of vision.

‘Braised Chicken Leg – Ordinary Blood and Qi Supplement Food, Shelf Life: 2 Days, Taste: Ordinary.

Evolvable Branches: 2.’

Lin Hui’s eyes instantly widened.

He stared intently at the text in front of him. They were the Chinese characters he was most familiar with. The long-lost feeling of closeness made his mood surge at once.

‘Evolvable Branches? How can a chicken leg evolve into something!?’ His heart was filled with both surprise and curiosity, and a sense of the inexplicable.

But the text change in front of him was clearly caused by the blood-red mark.

His gaze involuntarily focused on the location of the Evolvable Branches.

Swish.

Another soft sound.

The ‘2’ after Branches immediately opened up, expanding into two different dotted lines.

One line stretched upward, connected to a new line of red text: 1 – Purgatory Black Wind Chicken Leg.

The lower dotted line was connected to: 2 – Extreme Cold Sky Secret Recipe Chicken Leg.

“…” Lin Hui looked at the two dotted lines and fell into thought.

(End of Chapter)