The Decaying World-Chapter 50 - 45: Thoughts 1

After sorting his materials and packing them in a discreet cloth bag, Lin Hui took a day off early the next morning and headed to town, dragging the bag with him.

Xinyu Town wasn’t large, with just a few intersecting streets forming its center. The streets seemed lively, bustling with people, but most were just farmers and peddlers from the surrounding area. Occasionally, a traveling merchant caravan would pass through, drawing a crowd of children who would chase after it.

’That was probably the most exciting thing that happened here.’

The recent decline and turmoil of the Qingfeng Temple was one of the biggest events Xinyu Town had seen in the past decade.

As for the various dangers and accidents before that, they were common occurrences that popped up from time to time, something the locals had long grown used to.

Lin Hui carried his materials and wandered the town’s streets for a few laps but couldn’t find a suitable place to sell them.

The only shops on the street that were even remotely suitable were the two pawnshops, but going to them would make it far too easy to leave a trail.

The materials included parts from a mutated Four-armed Barbarian. Selling materials from a monster of this level could easily expose his true strength.

Left with no other choice, he decided to sell some of the lower-level materials first.

Unihorn Spiders, Thousand-legged Eye Balls—selling some parts from these weaker, Harmless Level monsters wouldn’t attract much attention.

The lower-level materials were much easier to handle. He went to a place his master had told him about—the Illusion Tavern.

This was a high-end tavern located in the center of town. The owner was said to be from the Inner City, not belonging to any of the major local families, making his origins a mystery. Any kind of material could be sold here, though the prices were relatively low.

However, because Mingde was friends with the steward here and had once helped him out immensely when he was in a tough spot, disciples from the Mingde Sect were able to sell materials at market price.

Inside the tavern’s dimly lit, yellow-walled appraisal room, Steward Huang Shangying stroked his beard with a smile, examining the pile of materials on the table.

"Not bad. They’re fresh, the crystalline lenses are high quality, and there’s no decay. There are even three top-grade pieces here. How about 170,000 for the lot?"

"Thank you, Steward Huang!" Lin Hui said, cupping his fists.

"No need for thanks. It’s a fair trade, mutually agreed upon," Steward Huang laughed appreciatively. "The fact that you’re still unwilling to leave your master’s sect speaks to your character. Your master and I go way back. Although I don’t know any Martial Arts, you can always come to me if there’s anything I can do to help!"

"On behalf of my master, I thank you, Steward!" Lin Hui cupped his fists again, his expression sincere. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Enough with all this ’on behalf of’ business. Just go back and tell your master to come have a drink with me when he’s free," Huang Shangying said with a smile. "When a man gets old, he doesn’t have many hobbies. Enjoying a little drink now and then is one of the few good ones left."

After he finished, he seemed to recall something. He glanced from side to side and lowered his voice. "By the way, another team from the Inner City recently went to explore the Yanshan Mountain Range, but they returned with heavy casualties—seven out of ten were lost. It’s possible the Black Mist is approaching and the season for exploration is ending. Exploration teams have been going out with unusual frequency lately. Your Qingfeng Temple is right next to an exploration route, the North Wind Forest Dao, isn’t it? Be careful. If you run into any experts from those teams, stay far away."

"Black Mist?" Lin Hui searched his memories and recalled his father mentioning it when he was a child, though not in detail.

"Steward, if I may ask, what exactly is this Black Mist?" he asked softly. "Everyone says it’s dangerous, but what makes it so?"

"The Black Mist is a kind of natural disaster that appears at irregular intervals. You’re young and haven’t spent much time in the outer Fog Areas, so of course you wouldn’t know. Let me explain it to you in detail." Huang Shangying paused to gather his thoughts before continuing.

"The Black Mist is when the fog concentration in the Fog Areas increases dramatically in a short period, turning black. Its toxicity and corrosiveness also increase significantly. During that time, even Ning Xiang won’t last long. Moreover, anyone who comes into contact with the Black Mist will contract the Worm Sickness. Those infected have a long incubation period. They gradually become neurotic, irritable, and prone to fits of madness. Eventually, they’ll go around killing people and attacking civilians, and their bodies will become diseased and begin to fester."

Lin Hui’s expression changed slightly.

"Is there a cure?"

"Of course, but it’s only available in the Inner City, and it’s extremely expensive. Commoners in the Outer City can only rely on Wanfu Meat to resist the Worm Sickness, but you’re well aware of its drawbacks." Huang Shangying sighed, not elaborating further.

Wanfu Meat was, in truth, just like drinking poison to quench one’s thirst.

A chill ran through Lin Hui’s heart. Suddenly hearing a commotion outside, he turned his head slightly to look out the window.

Below the tavern’s second-floor window, a sedan chair from the Inner City was slowly making its way down the street, forcing carriages, horses, and pedestrians to move aside in fearful deference. A few commoners who were too slow were whipped by the Martial Artists clearing the path at the front.

The class divide between the Inner City and the Outer City was on full display at this very moment.

"The Black Mist Stage usually lasts for two to three months. Until it’s over, ordinary people can’t enter or leave. This also causes a major shortage of materials and monster meat in the city. So, I’m actually getting a good deal on your batch. I’ll stockpile them, and when the Black Mist Stage arrives, I can sell them to the Inner City at an inflated price." Huang Shangying stroked his beard. "If you have more materials in the future, bring them to me. I’ll raise your price by ten percent!"

"Alright!" Lin Hui nodded in agreement.

"By the way, if there’s anything you want, I can also procure goods from the Inner City for you," Huang Shangying continued.

"What kind of good things does the Inner City have?" Lin Hui was truly clueless about this. His father had only supplied oil to the Inner City and rarely had the chance to go inside.

In his childhood memories, the Inner City was mysterious, grand, and imposing, inhabited by the wealthy and powerful. Occasionally, his father would bring him back novel little toys, like a pellet drum that beat on its own or a small, blue fish pendant that glowed automatically in the dead of night.

Other than that, he knew nothing.

"The Inner City... ah, there are countless good things in there," Huang Shangying said wistfully. "Clothing, food, housing, transportation, entertainment—everything inside is more than just a single notch above what’s outside. The resources and materials sent in from the outside are processed and sold as the most common, or even subpar, goods."

He turned and took an item from a drawer behind the counter.

It was a feather from some unknown bird, sky-blue all over. A viscous, light-blue liquid seemed to flow within its shaft.

"This is the Inner City’s Feather Blood. A single one is worth between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand. It’s a hot commodity, always in high demand. Do you know what it’s used for?"

"I don’t..." Lin Hui shook his head, his eyes fixed on the Feather Blood. He could feel a strange sort of radiation coming from it.

It felt like standing near a red-hot stove in winter; the fine hairs on his body prickled, and the sensation was incredibly distinct.

"This is a bloodline extract that most residents of the Inner City possess. Or rather, it’s the threshold for becoming a true Inner City resident. People from the Outer City can become residents by buying property and obtaining identity papers, but once inside, you have to continuously spend money to buy this, inject it, and increase the concentration of Feather Blood in your system. Otherwise..."

He let out a sigh.

"Otherwise, you’ll just be weeded out of the Inner City."

"Why? Is there some kind of troublesome danger in the Inner City?" Lin Hui asked, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"Have you ever considered it? If the Inner City possesses a power that can block out the fog, can an ordinary person really remain unharmed the closer they get to that power? Can they truly be unaffected without paying any price?" Huang Shangying sighed.

"..." Lin Hui understood at once. ’This Feather Blood must be some kind of drug to counteract the radiation from the Inner City’s power, requiring long-term, continuous injections.’

"Summoners don’t need this, and many Inner City residents whose ancestors were Summoners are also exempt. But once their Summoning bloodline concentration drops below thirty percent, they must purchase this. Otherwise..." Huang Shangying said in a low voice, "they’ll be weeded out and driven into the Outer City."

Lin Hui’s heart skipped a beat. A new label was added to his impression of the Inner City.

Cruelty.

"And if this is injected beforehand, outside the city, it can slowly raise the concentration of one’s Summoning bloodline. If you inject enough to get it above thirty percent, you can easily qualify for Inner City residency," Huang Shangying stated calmly. "Without the strict requirements like buying property or obtaining identity papers."

"Then, if I may ask, Steward, how many injections would it take...?"

"I don’t know for sure, but you couldn’t even dream of it without at least ten or twenty doses. And even after you get into the Inner City, your bloodline concentration will slowly drop. You’d still have to continuously inject new Feather Blood."

"Do Inner Power Realm Martial Artists need it too?"

"Them too."

Lin Hui fell silent.

Next, Huang Shangying showed him some other unique products from the Inner City.

These included exquisitely shaped pastries, a Protective Talisman said to bring blessings, a pungent black mushroom riddled with honeycomb-like holes, and a small, egg-sized human skull the color of white jade.

These items further updated Lin Hui’s impression of the Inner City.

An hour later, he finally left the Illusion Tavern. He went home for a look, but his parents weren’t there. Only a recently hired young girl was tending the shop. She said they had gone to procure more stock.

With nothing else to do, Lin Hui returned to Qingfeng Temple.

Along the way, he once again saw those strange children’s temples that seemed to pop up intermittently.

He had already passed three just on his way through Xinyu Town.

In front of these temples gathered a number of vagrants with listless expressions and vacant eyes.

A faint, rotten stench, like that of a festering disease, clearly emanated from them.

It was a stench Lin Hui had encountered many times while clearing out the Boundary Zone.

Returning straight to his small courtyard, he put down the silver notes from the trade, hid the remaining materials from the Four-armed Barbarian, and then went out to join the sword practice.

But as he practiced his sword, he couldn’t stop the image of the Feather Blood from flashing through his mind.

For the next few days, he kept pondering whether entering the Inner City was the right way to guarantee his safety. If his foundation wasn’t solid enough, he’d likely just be weeded out eventually, even if he did manage to get in.

The issue of the Feather Blood was the crucial point.

While he was still lost in his indecision about whether to enter the Inner City, on the fourth day, the evolution of the first move of his Qingfeng Swordsmanship was complete.

*

*

*

A gentle spring rain fell in slanted lines, blanketing the training grounds in the back courtyard of Qingfeng Temple.

Lin Hui stood under a tree, sword in hand. He looked as if he were resting, but in reality, he had just finished his Body Tempering and was checking his status.

As he grew more proficient with the Blood Seal, he could now easily compile the information he had mastered into a unified status display.

At that moment, lines of blood-red text materialized at the bottom of his vision.

’Lin Hui—

Martial Arts Mastered: Perfected Seven-Section Quick Sword, Perfected Nine-Section Swift Sword, Qingfeng Swordsmanship (Incomplete)

Abilities Mastered: Sealed Array Poison.

Items Mastered: ...’

This status bar only displayed things he had evolved with the Blood Seal; anything else was omitted.

Lin Hui focused his attention on the Qingfeng Swordsmanship entry and simulated a light tap.

HISS.

The entry expanded.

’Qingfeng Swordsmanship, First Move: Boundless Wind Direction, evolution complete. (The Body Tempering effect will undergo a holistic evolution after all eighty-one moves have been evolved.)’

After reading the Blood Seal’s explanation, Lin Hui wasn’t disappointed. After all, he hadn’t even pushed his Body Tempering to the limit with the Seven-Section Quick Sword, so there was no rush.

He looked around and saw that most people were gone. The ordinary students, who had only joined for some casual practice, had already finished their session and left to eat.