Decaying World-Chapter 37

In the back courtyard of the Daoist temple, on the training grounds.
Lin Hui held the Clear River Sword, calmly and steadily practicing the Nine-Section Swift Sword.
To utilize it in actual combat, he had to make it perfectly compatible with his own physical state. It wasn't enough for the moves to be purely perfect; he also had to clarify the timing, rhythm, and other nuances of the sword techniques.
He had already finished his daily Body Tempering with the Seven-Section Swift Sword. The remaining time was dedicated to preparing for the soon-to-be-completed evolution of the perfected Nine-Section Swift Sword.
He had to ensure that the moment the evolution was complete, he could integrate it into his combat rhythm immediately.
It was noon. Aside from him practicing alone, a dozen or so others were nearby. They were all new students, currently led by Weiwei, crookedly holding wooden sticks as they learned the Seven-Section Swift Sword training method.
This was the foundation of Clear Wind Temple's martial arts.
Unfortunately... Weiwei was indeed teaching diligently, but the students were either absent-minded or letting their gazes drift over the sensitive curves of her waist and hips from time to time. Some were even giggling and chatting in whispers.
Weiwei wore a form-fitting black leather outfit, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her curves fully exposed. She bit her lip tightly, saying nothing, planning to sheath her sword and leave as soon as she finished teaching.
Her only thought now was to help her old father prop up this final skeleton of the sect. If they wanted to look, let them look; a few extra glances wouldn't hurt. Having people watch might even bring in a few more students.
Soon, the sword set was taught. She sheathed her sword, gave a final few reminders on key points, and swept her gaze over the corner where Lin Hui was focused on his own practice. Sighing in her heart, she left the grounds, heading toward her home outside the temple.
She knew very well that these students who had just entered would go home after casually practicing once the demonstration lesson was over.
In contrast to the scenes of numerous disciples diligently cultivating in the past, the news of the Black Dragon Gate easily crushing Clear Wind Temple's martial arts had long spread to the surrounding towns through the propagation of those with ulterior motives.
The large households and major merchant clans that once cooperated with Clear Wind Temple had also quietly terminated their contracts one after another, turning to cooperate with the stronger martial artists and martial halls from the Outer City.
With a light sigh, Weiwei herself had actually lost confidence in Clear Wind Temple's martial arts long ago. A few days prior, she had encountered an elite disciple from an Outer City martial hall—a suitor she had once defeated. Yet now, the other party had easily defeated her in just over a dozen moves.
Under the humiliation and indignation, she had developed massive doubts about the sword techniques she had bitterly practiced for more than ten years.
Was she really going to stake everything on the Clear Wind Sword?
Carrying this question, Weiwei's figure quietly disappeared through the back door of the Daoist temple.
The remaining students laughed and joked, also starting to pack their things and scatter.
Since entering the temple these past few days, they had long become accustomed to this rhythm.
In less than ten minutes, only four people remained in the entire back lot.
Wang Yun stood to the side, gazing at the still hard-training Lin Hui, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.
She walked over slowly, standing to the side and watching quietly.
Only when Lin Hui paused for a break did she speak softly.
"Junior Brother Lin, why are you still training so earnestly?"
"One should be earnest when doing things. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a pity to waste time in vain?" Lin Hui turned sideways to look at his fellow senior sister.
"But is it worth it to continue investing time and energy into this?" Wang Yun asked softly.
"What about you, Senior Sister? They all left; why didn't you go? You stayed to continue cultivating—do you think it's worth it?" Lin Hui asked in return.
"Me?" Wang Yun smiled. "I practiced martial arts originally just to strengthen my body—not for money, not for fighting, only for movement speed. Plus, I've been here for many years. The cost of starting over is too high, so I didn't want to move. But..."
She paused.
"Many guards in my family have gone to the Black Dragon Gate. Different needs, different goals naturally."
"What Senior Sister said is exactly my meaning," Lin Hui said calmly. "My goal in practicing martial arts has been speed from the very beginning."
"Is that so? No wonder..." Wang Yun suddenly understood.
Sighing once more, she asked no further questions. After bidding farewell, she turned to pack up and leave.
At this moment, only two others remained on the field.
One of them was none other than Chen Jiahu.
This farm boy brought by Chen Zhishen was currently, like Lin Hui, still bitterly practicing the Swift Sword.
Lin Hui had watched him for quite a few days and found that this child wasn't affected by the rumors outside at all, continuing his bitter practice every day.
Not only that, he seemed to have brought a friend along to practice with him.
After Lin Hui finished maintaining his sword, he was just about to leave when he found Chen Jiahu and his friend had finished practicing and were coming over to say goodbye before leaving as well.
He fell silent for a moment, a question rising in his heart.
"Xiao Hu."
"Uncle Lin? What is it? Do you have instructions?" Xiao Hu asked, puzzled.
"Why are you still willing to stay?" Lin Hui asked directly. "Haven't you heard the news spreading outside?"
"I heard it," Xiao Hu nodded. "But Uncle Lin, you haven't left, so I won't leave either. Uncle told me to follow you."
"Follow me?" Lin Hui was stunned. Looking at the other's simple, honest face, he fell silent.
"You trust me that much?"
"Uncle Lin is so strong yet hasn't left; there must be a reason. I'm not bright and always make the wrong choices myself. So I thought, since Uncle told me to follow you, I won't think about anything and just follow you. Someone as strong as you will definitely choose better than me," Xiao Hu answered honestly.
"..." Lin Hui was left speechless.
Xiao Hu actually didn't count as a formal disciple; he was still in the student stage, having entered the temple not long ago.
After the Daoist temple split into three some time ago, he had run over on his own to join the branch on Mingde's side.
Lin Hui hadn't expected the reason to be himself.
He sighed and looked at the other person.
He had a face full of freckles, a slightly chubby build, and an unremarkable appearance, with skin that was a bit dark. His clothing suggested his family background wasn't poor—a little fatty.
"And you? What's your name? Why stay?"
"Answering Senior Brother Lin, I'm called Huang Shenggen. Xiao Hu helped me before; he and I are brothers. If he doesn't leave, I won't leave either." This little fatty's answer was even simpler. "Good brothers share blessings and hardships alike!"
"Such ambition." Lin Hui nodded unconsciously.
The rise and fall of Clear Wind Temple had shown him how fragile so-called sentiments could be. Yet now, the little fatty's words and choice showed him that perhaps sentiments weren't fragile, but simply didn't exist between certain people.
"Then Senior Brother Lin, can we practice swords with you? Senior Sister Weiwei and the Daoist Master just teach once and leave. There are a lot of things we simply can't understand..." Xiao Hu couldn't help but plead.
"If I'm here, you can just come and watch," Lin Hui agreed.
Anyway, his Body Tempering was fast. The surplus time was basically used to fuse the Nine-Section Swift Sword into instinct.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother!"
The two were overjoyed and hurriedly bowed in salute.
After chatting idly, the three went to the cafeteria to eat. The chef serving the food was still the same one, but the ratio of meat in the dishes scooped out for them was much less than before.
Lin Hui glanced at the food tray in front of him and sighed inwardly. Weiwei managed the logistics; with income plummeting now, cutting food expenses was normal.
Fortunately, there was still enough coarse-grain rice. The three stuffed their bellies with rice, then returned to their quarters to rest.
Xiao Hu and his friend returned to the communal sleeping quarters. Because there were few people now, the communal room had turned into a large single room—spacious and comfortable. The living conditions had actually improved a lot.
Lin Hui still lived in his single wing room and had even been allocated a new small courtyard. This was also a benefit of having fewer people.
It was just that on the way back, he happened to run into Daoist Mingde sitting on the temple roof, drinking with his head tilted back.
Mingde's face was flushed red, his gaze lost and confused. It was unknown how long he had been sitting on the roof.
Lin Hui didn't disturb him, silently returning to his room to rest, waiting for the afternoon sword practice.
Time passed day by day.
The situation in Xinyu Town, following the comprehensive defeat of Clear Wind Temple, had become a foregone conclusion.
Clear Wind Temple's many original business cooperations transferred to the Black Dragon Gate one after another. This could be seen from the defection of the elite disciples. Great clans like the Mu family and the Zhao family mostly followed representative disciples like Mu Qiaozhi and Zhao Jiang'an.
On the surface, it was just the transfer of a few disciples. In reality, what they represented behind them was a vast swathe of related cooperative contracts and employment.
The only consolation was that the Zhao and Mu families didn't expel all the fellow disciples they had employed before, but instead took them along to join the Black Dragon Gate's temporary training class for retraining.
Lin Hui learned this news from Chen Zhishen's letter.
'The Black Dragon Gate no longer regards Clear Wind Temple as an opponent. Instead, their target has shifted to the Hundred Flowers Sect, which is a greater threat and is also expanding,' Chen Zhishen introduced in the letter.
'The Hundred Flowers Sect is also a martial hall newly founded by martial artists from the Outer City. After crushing the Flying Cloud Fist, they swallowed the original resources and connections, and they have intentions of encroaching on the Black Dragon Gate. It's not surprising the two sides are fighting. It's just, Ah Hui, are you sure you have to fight to the bitter end at Clear Wind Temple? It's really unnecessary. The town Yamen released a new roster for the suppression squad. Did you see it? This batch is entirely Black Dragon Gate people.'
Lin Hui put away the letter, his expression calm.
He was naturally aware of the changes in the Emergency Suppression Squad, as the Yamen's notice had been delivered the day before yesterday, announcing the termination of the contract with this side.
Originally, the contract was signed for a year, but the current Clear Wind Temple had no way to extend the contract. Getting a bit of compensation for early termination was considered good enough.
This was clearly the Black Dragon Gate's doing.
The previous display by Mu Qiaozhi and the others was just a reminder. Afterward, those like Lin Hui who didn't know the times and didn't defect naturally had to face termination.
"Junior Brother, I'll think of a way to help you find something new regarding the termination. Rest assured, although it might be a bit worse than before, I won't let you..." Weiwei said softly from the side, her expression somewhat embarrassed.
With Clear Wind Temple's income plummeting, sustaining the original meals and medicinal diets was naturally insufficient.
Many of the expensive jewelry she originally wore had quietly disappeared. Her entire outfit was much simpler than before—just a simple gray fitted long coat.
She had also helped deliver Chen Zhishen's letter this time. The person who delivered letters before had also been cut to save expenses and dismissed.
"Senior Sister need not be like this. I don't regard this small expense as anything," Lin Hui replied. "The small business at home is on track now, and my own expenses are very low. It doesn't matter."
"Junior Brother..." Weiwei opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but didn't know where to start.
Silent for a long while, she could only cup her fists, turn, and leave quietly.
If she had doubted her father's decision before, now, the sentiment and loyalty of Lin Hui and Wang Yun in such a difficult scenario made her admire and understand more and more the meaning of the phrase her father had said back then: In this world, there are always some things that cannot be measured by money.