Decaying World-Chapter 15

Lin Hui started, reaching out to accept the black object. He held it in his hand, examining it carefully.
It was an irregularly shaped item, resembling a coal briquette or perhaps some kind of black iron ore.
The surface bore a distinct, grayish-black fracture mark. There was no telling which part of a mist zone monster it had broken off from.
"Alright, I'll be leaving this afternoon. Everything is packed. Once I settle down at the Zhao family, I'll write to you when I have time!" After giving the item, Chen Zhishen turned, waved his hand, and walked away briskly.
On his face, turned away from Lin Hui, a look of melancholy unconsciously surfaced. That item was far from as easily obtained as he had claimed. But Lin Hui had looked after him for so long and helped him so much; this was the only thing he could do for him.
"Safe travels," Lin Hui said, watching his receding figure, genuinely wishing him well.
Within Clear Wind Temple, three years was the maximum deadline for practicing the Seven-Section Swift Sword. Most students who successfully mastered the full set did so in about two years.
Chen Zhishen, taking a little over a year, was only of average speed. But his strength lay in his loyalty and righteousness, his clean background, and his manageable nature. Presumably, these were the main reasons the Second Senior Brother had actively recruited him.
Only when Chen Zhishen's back had completely disappeared did Lin Hui withdraw his gaze, letting it fall once more onto the black object in his hand.
Habitually, he focused his attention and opened the Blood Seal, intending to appraise the relevant information.
Hiss.
A soft sound echoed in his ears.
A line of blood-red script rapidly surfaced at the bottom of his vision.
[Withered Seal Insect Egg.]
"Hm?" Lin Hui paused. Insect egg? Seal?
The fragments he had picked up before always displayed as fragments of some unknown species. Aside from external descriptions, the information was just rough hints about thermal properties or toxicity.
But this thing seemed...
"Not a fragment?"
Lin Hui looked carefully at the text that followed.
[Withered Seal Insect Egg: This insect egg was once used to seal a certain special mist zone creature. After the mist zone creature escaped, the insect egg was deprived of specified nutritional nourishment for a long time, gradually withering until death. Its internal structure contains a hidden, powerful sealing pattern. This pattern has Evolvable Branches: 4.]
"This many evolution branches!?" Lin Hui was startled. The evolution branches of other items rarely exceeded three. This was the first item he had seen reach four.
Clearly, this thing was no ordinary goods!
After a moment of hesitation, Lin Hui clicked on the location of the evolvable branches.
With a swish, four evolution directions popped up.
[1 — Demon-Sealing Array.]
[2 — Artifact-Sealing Array.]
[3 — Evil-Sealing Array.]
['4 — Sealing Array.]
This abundance of branches caused Lin Hui to freeze slightly.
Just looking at the names of these branches, he knew they were definitely not simple. Anything that could be called an "Array" was likely at a height in this world that his current level couldn't touch.
And complexity often implied a longer consumption of time.
Without hesitating, he clicked on these branches one by one.
[1 — Demon-Sealing Array: Can form a combined magical array using special toxins to seal ethereal, special magic energy.]
[Required Resources: A small amount of Magic Energy, a set of natural sealing patterns. 10 years of Reserve Energy, 10 years of Reserve Spirit.]
[Time Required: 10 years.]
Lin Hui's heart trembled. Ten years!? With such a long time, his children would be old enough to buy soy sauce before the evolution was finished. Moreover, he had absolutely no idea what "Magic Energy" was.
Closing this one, he moved to the next. The time was the same as above, only the sealed object changed to "Artifact Power," something he had never heard of.
The third was the same, only the sealed object changed to the so-called "Evil Energy."
The times were all extremely long, around ten years at least.
Resigned, Lin Hui looked at the last one.
The fourth was a pure Sealing Array.
[Sealing Array: Can seal the consciousness of ordinary creatures using special toxins. It is a natural, three-dimensional toxin derived from the Seal Insect.]
[Required Resources: One month of Reserve Energy, one month of Reserve Spirit.]
[Time Required: One month.]
No extra items were needed, just an evolution requirement of one month.
Lin Hui muttered to himself. This thing seemed to be the fastest evolution item he could access right now.
Just one month. He could afford this bit of time. It wouldn't be bad to use it to test the effect of the Blood Seal on strengthening other things.
Anyway, waiting for the Body Tempering to start, he wasn't in a rush to learn new sword techniques. His body also needed to repeatedly use the Seven-Section Swift Sword for re-tempering to reach its limit.
It's just that this thing is definitely not as easily obtained as Chen Zhishen said. I've wandered around outside so many times and never encountered one... It definitely isn't something found in the surroundings.
Lin Hui realized that Chen Zhishen must have gone to some other place to find this.
Perhaps it was some dangerous location... After all, he had visited and strolled through all the ordinary places, yet none had this item.
Putting away the insect egg, Lin Hui sighed with emotion, turned, and walked briskly back to the communal sleeping quarters.
He opened the bed board where he slept. Underneath was a wooden chest. Unlock, open. Inside was a small pile of various washed fragments.
These fragments were all things he had picked up while wandering around aimlessly during this time. Picking up one piece, Lin Hui focused his attention and mobilized the Blood Seal.
[Unknown Fragment: A fragment of the shell of a certain creature that fell off after shattering. Evolvable Branches: 1.]
[1 — Large Fragment Synthesis.]
This was the evolutionary answer given by the majority of these fragments.
From a fragment evolving into a large fragment—nothing more. And the evolution time was also measured in years. Extremely long.
"Perhaps continuous evolution and strengthening can achieve a completion effect, but this isn't what I want. Spending the Blood Seal's time on this does not pay off. I must think of a way to increase the Blood Seal's evolution speed."
Placing the newly acquired insect egg into the chest, Lin Hui closed the lid and locked it.
I'll start trying it once the final move finishes evolving.
This insect egg was the item with the shortest evolution time he had encountered, and it also seemed to involve supernatural abilities outside of martial arts.
Facing special abilities beyond his cognition, Lin Hui held some expectation in his heart.
Putting the bed board back, he became somewhat concerned about the privacy of his living quarters.
"I have to think of a way to live alone... After Body Tempering, once I pass the assessment to become a formal disciple, I should be assigned a single room. Soon, it will be soon..."
Walking out of the communal quarters, two young men entered, facing him. They were fresh faces. When people left, the vacant spots were naturally filled by new students.
But this also brought safety risks. Personal items being stolen was not an uncommon occurrence here.
"Senior Brother Lin." The two greeted Lin Hui successively.
"Mn." Lin Hui nodded, acknowledging them, and brushed past the two.
….
Chen Zhishen had left.
In the time that followed, Lin Hui felt somewhat troubled during his sword practice. Before, he could devote himself entirely to the sword; if there were any notifications or matters, Chen Zhishen would actively come to tell him.
But now, that was gone.
His personality was solitary, and without others to support him, he always liked to practice bitterly in a quiet corner alone.
Huishen, who had been polite to him before, now treated him as if he didn't exist.
Lin Hui could only change his practice spot. While practicing bitterly, he waited for the final evolution to be completely finished.
Only by completing Body Tempering and becoming one of those twenty-something formal disciples could he improve his life. At that time, he planned to accept a junior brother to do specific errands.
As for now, he didn't have the value to make people attach themselves to him.
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, a month went by.
Chen Zhishen had gone to the Zhao family, and unexpectedly, he actually sent a letter back to Lin Hui a month later. He even included some local specialties from that town, bought with his first month's wages.
It was a portion of peanut jujube cake. Very sweet and fragrant.
Lin Hui tasted a piece himself and sent the rest to his mother.
In the letter, Chen Zhishen mentioned that the Zhao family treated them very well. All sorts of benefits were maximized. His current task was occasionally escorting merchant caravans, while the rest of the time, he rotated with others to instruct the Zhao family's ordinary household servants.
What left Lin Hui most speechless was that Chen Zhishen mentioned in the letter that he had met a senior sister there who was also a guard. The two were congenial and were now living together.
Who cares about Lu Baihua or Xie Li? None of them could compare to a senior sister with a stunning figure!
In the letter, Chen Zhishen praised that senior sister named Zhang Tingfang, as unique and unparalleled, perfectly matching his aesthetics.
The letter was written by a scribe. There was no signature from Chen Zhishen at the end, only his red thumbprint. The print was pressed crookedly, leaving Lin Hui speechless and amused.
Putting away the letter, he threw himself into wholehearted training once again.
….
Xinyu Town.
Lin Shunhe, face full of exhaustion, quietly hugged the wall, sticking to the shadows as he moved. He silently squeezed into his own courtyard through a broken hole.
He looked up at the sky. It was nearing evening, but the mist hadn't formed yet. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Money was not that easy to earn.
Especially for an old man like him with a tainted record. Even his wife had been implicated and nearly fired. If not for her many years of work and having some connections, his wife, Yao Shan, might have been dismissed as well.
Even so, Yao Shan's employer had taken the opportunity to deduct more than half of her income.
The only reason Lin Shunhe was still able to make money now was because he operated on the gray path.
Leveraging his former connections, he had joined a black market group that specialized in fencing stolen goods for others. The income was good, but he was constantly in contact with dangerous characters. The risk was significant.
Fortunately, everything will be better soon. Once he saved enough money, he could open his own shop. Opening a small general store himself to maintain a livelihood would be a good start.
Thud, thud, thud.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
Lin Shunhe was just about to enter the inner room. Hearing the sound, he turned his head to look.
"Who is it?"
"Mr. Lin Shunhe, right? We're from the Fu'an Gang. The storefront location you applied for earlier has been approved. However, while the shop can be opened, the rules cannot be skipped." A rough, boisterous male voice drifted in.
Lin Shunhe quickly took a step forward, breathed a sigh of relief, and opened the door.
He saw three burly men with waists like bears and backs like tigers standing outside. They wore gray mandarin jackets and black shorts, each resting a thick wooden club on the ground.
Seeing the door open, the strong man standing at the lead clasped his fists. "I am Xu Dao. Mr. Lin still remembers the rules, yes?"
"I remember, I remember. After opening the shop, half of the profits are to be handed over on time every month. Rest assured, I remember it all." Lin Shunhe nodded hurriedly. The Fu'an Gang was the largest in Xinyu Town. Before, when he worked for the Noble, naturally, no one dared to come to his door to collect money. But now, things were different.
"Good. Once your shop is open, make sure to go to the nearest gang branch to register. If you ever run into trouble, you can use our name for protection," Xu Dao said with a nod.
"Also, keep this in mind: even if your profits are low, or you end up losing money, you’re still required to pay a minimum of three thousand coins. Don’t forget that." As he finished, Xu Dao added this final instruction.