Decaying World-Chapter 23

The rest point—a simple tea shed.
The autumn wind was desolate, the air dry and chilling.
Under the crude shelter of gray cloth and rough wooden stakes, Lin Hui found a stool and sat, ordering a pot of hot tea from the waiter.
He waited a good while. Chen Chong still did not appear. Clearly, the man had been genuinely terrified. A wound to the waist was merely physical—bleeding that could be staunched and bandaged. But a wound to the mind... who knew how that would be treated?
Lin Hui poured himself a cup of hot tea, his gaze drifting boredly over the pedestrians and carriages passing on the street.
"Ya-er-yo-yi... The wind of the harvest, oh... blows my heart cold... Whose fields are these, blooming full of bitter flowers..."
An old man driving an ox cart passed slowly before the tea shed, waving his whip and singing a mountain folk song in a dialect from unknown parts.
"Brother Wenxin! To see you here—it truly has been a long time!" Not far away, in front of a silver shop, a tall man wearing a white square headscarf quickened his pace to catch up with a burly man ahead, greeting him with a laugh.
"Mommy, I want to eat this! I'll buy it with my own pocket money!" Further to the side, a little boy with a bun hairstyle stood rooted before a mobile sugar-cake stall, refusing to move.
Lin Hui watched the people passing one by one. The immense sense of disconnection he had felt before surged in his heart once again.
The nights are so dangerous—relying solely on a jade talisman to block the external horrors. People in the Outer City exist in a constant state of threat. Why can these people remain so calm? Why are they not afraid, not panicked? How can they still smile like that?
If the jade talisman were to fail...
Lin Hui unconsciously tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
His mind was cluttered with thoughts, so he simply closed his eyes, resting his spirit.
Before long, the tea gradually cooled. Several other tables were now occupied by resting travelers—running merchants traveling between the Inner and Outer Cities during the daylight hours when the mist was absent, carrying jade talismans approved by the Inner City.
Every day, figures could be seen transporting goods in and out.
Lin Hui sat for a long time and prepared to leave, but he faintly heard fragments of conversation drifting from those tables.
"...also disappeared?"
"It's true. Before coming here, I stopped by the Wang family's place to take a look. There wasn't a single person inside. It looked like no one had lived there for ages—even the jade talisman had a chunk missing."
"Isn't that exactly the same as the Zhou family?"
"It is. The door-breaching ghosts only recently left, and now we have mysterious disappearances. The Outer City really gets no peace all year round."
"Forget it. What 'no peace'? Haven't you noticed that those disappearing or meeting with accidents are all from broken households? Have the great clans or wealthy families ever had any issues? Do you really think it's an accident?"
"Keep your voice down!"
"Sigh... it's still better to move to the Inner City... No mist at night, safe, prosperous, and the girls on the streets are beautiful and like wearing revealing clothes..."
The group seemed to notice they were being overheard. They lowered their voices, shifting the topic to more hedonistic pursuits.
Lin Hui's brow furrowed slightly. He silently committed this information to memory. His parents were in this town—matters concerning the safety of his own family required constant vigilance.
He sat for a while longer until Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren returned together. They sat down, ordered hot tea, and let out long sighs.
"This weather—dry and cold, and the wind is so strong it's giving me a headache." Huang Shan looked miserable, cupping the teacup with both hands to absorb its warmth.
"Hard work. Want some snacks?" Lin Hui waved to the waiter who was wringing out a towel.
"So attentive? Do you need something?" Huang Shan looked up at Lin Hui. After partnering for this time, she somewhat understood his mindset.
Don't bother me if it's nothing; only seek people out when there's a purpose.
Lin Hui smiled. When the waiter approached, he said, "Can't I treat my patrol partners well without a reason? In the coming days, if Junior Sister Huang is willing, we can continue to swap shifts. Waiter, bring some melon seeds and salted peanuts."
"Coming right up." The waiter responded and turned away.
"Are you sure?" Huang Shan's eyes lit up. "You have no issues getting along with Senior Brother Chen?"
"Of course not. Senior Brother Chen is actually quite a decent person. As long as you interact with him properly, patrolling together is quite worry-free," Lin Hui said with a faint smile.
"..." Huang Shan looked at his peculiar smile and instantly understood that Chen Chong had definitely suffered at Lin Hui's hands. Her mood immediately brightened.
She pointed a finger at Lin Hui, revealing a smile of her own. Everything was understood without needing to be spoken.
"Same price as before!"
"Junior Sister Huang is generous!" Lin Hui raised his teacup, didn't drink, but shifted the topic. "Speaking of which, I just heard someone mention that there have been new incidents in the Outer City recently. Have the two Junior Sisters heard anything?"
"The disappearance cases? I've heard." Huang Shan nodded. "That matter does have some suspicious points. It always feels like the people who disappear are specifically selected..."
"Aren't the Zhong brothers your suitors? Do they have any insider information?" Beside her, Qiu Yiren asked softly.
"Information..." Huang Shan pondered for a moment. "Come to think of it, they did vaguely mention the Inner City's attitude toward the Outer City people."
She paused, then continued, "I heard them say that over ninety percent of Tuyue's population is gathered in the Inner City. The vast majority of production is also self-sufficient within the Inner City. The Outer City is actually considered an abandoned buffer zone. The Inner City doesn't really care about the safety of the Outer City residents. Those resources transported daily—vegetables, meat, and such—aren't actually of much use to the Inner City."
"Does the Inner City have its own farmland?" Lin Hui asked, frowning.
"Of course, and the yield is very high. Because there is no mist there, they can work at night too. Plus, with the Myriad Blessings Meat, no one starves. The service and entertainment industries are extremely developed. It's a completely different world from outside the city," Huang Shan said softly.
"How nice. Just having no mist at night is enough to drive countless Outer City people crazy wanting to get in." Qiu Yiren sighed.
"Yes. And, I heard a bit of a rumor." Huang Shan looked left and right, lowering her voice again.
"It is said that the Inner City has a hidden evaluation grade for all residents of the Outer City."
"Evaluation grade? What is that?" Lin Hui narrowed his eyes.
"Ideally, it's a system to screen whether residents are useful. If evaluated as useless, they will be consumed by various 'accidents' and mysterious events." Huang Shan's voice dropped even lower. "Rumor has it that Outer City people are just test consumables for many organizations and forces in the Inner City. Every year, quite a few people mysteriously disappear from the Outer City. It's just that because everyone has many children, and the Inner City kicks out quite a few eliminated people to replenish the population, no one notices."
Listening to this, Lin Hui inexplicably linked it to the hanging jade talisman, and a sudden chill seized his heart.
He suddenly realized that if the faction creating the jade talismans truly wanted to filter the population, they only needed to tamper with the talismans. That would be enough to make Outer City people vanish instantly and mysteriously.
Those jade talismans were essentially nooses hanging around the necks of every Outer City resident, ready to be tightened at any moment.
"Alright, let's stop talking about such tense and dangerous things. Shan-shan, your family is about to move into the Inner City, right?" Qiu Yiren changed the subject.
"Mn. I borrowed a sum of money from the Zhong family and bought a very small house in the Inner City. Just enough to squeeze people in," Huang Shan nodded.
"And you're still spending money so lavishly now?"
"I naturally have my own channels for earning money." Huang Shan smiled mysteriously.
The three chatted idly. Before long, it was time for the afternoon patrol. Because Chen Chong still hadn't returned, the two girls were somewhat puzzled, but they didn't ask much and rose to continue their patrol.
Lin Hui worked alone, following his previous route.
Time passed day by day.
Chen Chong eventually returned to the patrol, but he always appeared distracted and looked unwell.
Eldest Senior Brother Chen Sui also returned, a bloody gash on the back of his hand—cause unknown. He didn't speak of it, so no one asked.
Soon, the final two days of patrol concluded. After the five handed over their shift in town, they returned together to the Clear Wind Temple.
Apart from Chen Chong, this period of interaction gave Lin Hui three new acquaintances within the temple.
Huang Shan, Qiu Yiren, and Eldest Senior Brother Chen Sui all held a shred of goodwill toward Lin Hui, who was reliable in character and diligent in his work. Occasionally, when they met, they would greet him and chat for a few sentences.
This greatly broadened Lin Hui's social circle within the Clear Wind Temple. Perhaps this was what Daoist Mingde had hoped to see.
Humans must form groups to gain momentum, to be safer.
Back at Clear Wind Temple, Lin Hui first sent a letter of safety home, then began to confirm the result of the Blood Seal's evolution.
After a month, the Blood Seal had finally completed the evolution of the patterns on the insect egg.
….
Outside the Clear Wind Temple, under a thick old scholar tree. The shade was dark, and the autumn breeze was gentle.
Lin Hui, dressed in gray-white combat attire, sat cross-legged on the ground. A thin piece of gray cloth cushioned his buttocks to prevent the soil from soiling them.
Not far away, other temple disciples were practicing swordsmanship, creating faint sounds of breaking wind.
This was a common external training area for temple disciples. Because the terrain was flat and the light sufficient, many students and disciples came here to stake out territory for sword practice.
Lin Hui was considered an old-timer here.
Sitting cross-legged, his mind was entirely focused on the Blood Seal script at the bottom of his vision.
[Sealing Array: Derived from the special three-dimensional structural patterns within the Seal Insect Egg. Can seal the basic consciousness of living creatures. Seal duration is one second. Cooldown time is two seconds. The sealing method is toxin contact. Evolvable Branches: 0.]
This was the evolved ability he had just obtained.
Sealing Array...
Lin Hui extended his hand, looking at the tip of his index finger.
The translucent fingernail on his fingertip was slightly sharp and long. Beneath the nail cover was pink flesh—there was absolutely no sign of any toxin.
This Sealing Array toxin only lasts one second. No wonder it only took a month to evolve. However, even if it's only one second, if used properly, it should still have a good effect.
The problem now is, how do I use this?
Lin Hui flexed his fingers. His gaze swept across the dirt ground around him, quickly locking onto a black ant arduously climbing a stalk of dark green wild grass.
He reached out, pinched the black ant, and gently placed it in his palm.
Seal!
He silently chanted the command at the ant in his mind.
The ant crawled around randomly, showing no reaction.
Thinking for a moment, Lin Hui recalled the Withered Seal Insect Egg.
The sealing method of the Seal Insect Egg should be to wrap the target. That is a form of contact. So, that means the sealing ability I obtained should have a similar activation requirement.
Thinking of this, he extended the index finger of his other hand and gently tapped the ant. Simultaneously, he focused his consciousness on the seal, imagining he wanted to seal the little ant before him.
Buzz.
In an instant, an extremely fine, transparent wisp of airflow seeped from Lin Hui's fingertip, accurately adhering to the black ant.
The moment the airflow contacted the black ant, it vanished instantly.
At the same time, the black ant froze instantly, completely immobile.
It was like a static black printed model lying on the skin of his palm, utterly still.
One second later, the ant quickly resumed movement, beginning to scurry about in panic.
It worked...
Trigger condition: simultaneous intent at the moment of contact.
Lin Hui tossed the ant away, his brow furrowing slightly.
This ability is a bit like chicken ribs—tasteless to eat but wasteful to discard. It's more suitable for sneak attacks during unarmed combat. Not much practical utility...
He stood up and drew the sword at his waist. It was the one gifted by Daoist Mingde, which he had named Qinghe—meaning the blade was like a clear river, pure and straight.
Chi.
He abruptly thrust the sword. The tip pierced straight forward, accurately dotting the little black ant he had just released.