Decaying World

Chapter 100, 100 Explorations Part Two

"Fifteen blood?" Lin Hui was taken aback.

"Newbie? We only accept feather blood transactions here, no silver or gold notes." The stall owner's attitude suddenly turned cold.

Lin Hui looked at the short sword with some curiosity. This thing was obviously unusual, but the other party only accepted transactions involving feather blood, which made things difficult.

He glanced up at Anbo's direction. That guy was already haggling with another vendor over an incense burner.

"Could you explain the purpose of this short sword?" Lin Hui turned to look at the stall owner.

"Sharp, sturdy, and has a built-in mind-numbing effect," the stall owner replied succinctly. He could tell Lin Hui didn't have Feather Blood, so he didn't bother uttering more than a few words.

Helpless, Lin Hui could only get up and continue walking forward. After walking a few steps, Anbo in front of him completed the transaction and turned around to wave to him.

"Okay, I've finished buying my things, I'll be going now, my friend."

"Yes, thank you for bringing me here." Lin Hui nodded and smiled.

"It's alright. I usually explore and search for treasures in the surrounding foggy ruins. We might meet again in the future." Anbo stuffed the small incense burner into his waist pouch, waved to Lin Hui again, and then strode out of the temporary black market and left.

Lin Hui watched his retreating figure, then turned back and circled around again.

The bizarre items made of various creatures on the stall also broadened his horizons.

Besides the sky-blue short sword he had previously acquired, there was something else that also piqued his interest.

It was a black and red inverted triangular jade pendant with a dark red eyeball set in the very center.

The eyeballs would blink occasionally, and the pupils would look around aimlessly.

The stall owner told him that this was called the "Empty Eye," which could absorb the distracting thoughts and mania in a martial artist's mind.

It's a good thing that can reduce the side effects of extreme martial arts.

Unfortunately, it can only be traded using Feather Blood, and the price is much higher than that of a short sword, reaching over 100 Blood.

After circling around a few times, the sky gradually began to darken. Lin Hui dared not linger. This place was clearly far beyond his current level, whether it was the price demanded or the strength of the people around him.

These people can move freely and live in the inner city where radiation is intense, which is obviously because they have something to rely on.

He couldn't afford anything, so he left the makeshift black market with some regret. After roughly determining the direction he had come from, he pushed off the wind and suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Having traveled so far, yet still not having crossed the outer ring road, Lin Hui gained a new understanding of the sheer size of the inner city.

After running for two hours, it finally got completely dark.

Lin Hui also returned to the cliff of the South Nine Gates where he had first entered.

Following the road along the cliff, he once again took the same route he had taken with his teacher last time and entered the city.

The night was hazy, without fog.

Street vendors hung up crystal stones that emitted soft white and yellow light, continuing to attract customers.

The hawking noises were even more lively than during the day.

Lin Hui passed by the stall where he had eaten white fungus soup last time and went up to ask where the Yun Song Ge branch was.

"Yun Song Ge, turn right at the street corner ahead, walk for about three miles, then turn left. The largest shop on that street is a branch of Yun Song Ge."

The stall owner had long forgotten Lin Hui, but still kindly gave him directions.

"Thank you." Lin Hui thanked the other party and quickly quickened his pace, continuing his search along the street.

The flow of people passed by him, chatting, laughing and cursing, children crying and chasing each other. Everything felt both fresh and familiar to him, who hadn't experienced nightlife in a long time.

"Give me a moment, please give me a moment."

On the right side of the street ahead, on the sidewalk, a small giant, more than five meters tall, with a white rhinoceros head on his head, wearing a simple gray sweatshirt and tattered linen shorts, is carrying a viewing pavilion step by step towards us.

The rhinoceros's sweat shirt was mostly soaked with sweat, and it emitted a strong stench as soon as you got close, forcing passersby to give way.

Lin Hui stepped aside and watched as the other man carried the stone pavilion past him. He also noticed that the rhinoceros man's undershirt had the words "Safe Relocation" embroidered on it.

"Damn it, these stinky things smell terrible no matter where they're moved! They stink to death!"

Passersby complained.

"They earn money through their own labor. If you can't stand it, why don't you go live in the Moon Tower? The outer ring area has been like this for years. If you can't adapt, just move out quickly," someone mocked.

Lin Hui continued forward, turned a corner, and walked a distance before turning again.

Suddenly, a huge rectangular sign appeared in his field of vision.

Yunsong Pavilion.

It was a five-story gray-white building, with various black wooden boxes of different sizes stacked haphazardly at the entrance.

A metal flagpole was stuck in the gap of the box, with a white cloth flag flying on it. The words "Yun Song Pavilion" were written on the white cloth flag.

At this time, there was a large flow of people coming and going in front of the shop, most of whom were martial artists carrying weapons.

Some of them were from other ethnic groups. What was particularly eye-catching was a group of short figures wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats on the right side of the shop.

These little creatures have sparrow heads, gray feathers all over their bodies, and pale yellow pointed beaks that chatter as if they are discussing something.

The leader, carrying two swords on his back, was less than a meter tall and had a serious expression. He kept patting and stroking this and that with his two wings, clearly trying to calm his companion's anger.

When Lin Hui passed by and entered the store, he heard that their dialect was a very crisp and fast language with a lot of connected speech, not Tu Yue language.

"They are villagers from Sparrow Village who came to sell Jade Bone Seeds, but they found that the number of seeds they were selling was inexplicably much less. Now their companions suspect that an insider stole them, so they are arguing."

Seeing his curiosity, the pretty maid at the door whispered a brief introduction.

bang
Just then, thunder rumbled in the sky outside, as if it was about to rain.

Lin Hui nodded to the maid.

"I see. This is the first time I've ever seen a sparrow person."

"We don't actually see them very often. They live quite far from here, and people only come here occasionally," the maid said with a smile. "What would you like, sir?"

"Do you have swords? I want ones made of good material. By the way, do you accept gold notes here?" Lin Hui asked in advance.

"of course."

A moment later, Lin Hui walked out of Yunsong Pavilion carrying a long sword with a pure white scabbard.

The White Smoke Sword, a top-grade sword from Yun Song Pavilion, is said to be able to cut through iron like mud. It is a better sword than even the Qinghe Sword.

It is also the best available stock on the market.

Lin Hui spent a full 1.1 million yuan to get his hands on it.

Even someone like him who doesn't care about money would still feel a pang of regret spending so much money to buy a weapon that could barely last for a while.

Carrying two swords on his back, he asked for the address at his next stop and headed straight for Amamiya.

*
*
*
The place for burning incense is in the Yuanming Hall of the Rain Palace.

The quiet reception room.

Liu Xiao and Lin Hui sat facing each other, with a low white wooden table between them and a small brass incense burner on the table.

A wisp of white smoke rose upwards, releasing a calming aroma.

"It's rare for you to come to the inner city. Unfortunately, my brother is entertaining important guests. You can tell me what's on your mind." Liu Xiao's face was veiled, but her beautiful crescent-shaped eyes were clear and sharp. Even in her calm state, she exuded a fierce aura.

She sat upright in the chair, her back straight, dignified and solemn, exuding a sense of aloofness and purity.

Lin Hui noticed that Liu Xiao's attire was very different from that of the other women in the inner city. She was completely covered up, wearing white trousers and a long coat over a robe, and a brown leather vest over the robe. She wore an elaborate platinum and gold ornament on her chest, resembling an enlarged snowflake.

"It's like this. I learned by chance in the outer city that the jade talisman could be manipulated and rendered ineffective by the inner city, so I was worried and wanted to come here to verify and investigate. I don't know..." Lin Hui withdrew his gaze and said frankly.

“You’re right. The Tu Yue Jade Talisman can indeed be remotely disabled, and theoretically, the Inner City Rain Palace can indeed control the life and death of the Outer City. But there’s no need for that,” Liu Xiao replied calmly.

"You'd better not know too much about the inside story of the jade talisman, lest you become a target. All you need to know is that there is a list of people outside the inner city. Ordinary people are not qualified to be on the list, nor are they qualified to have the jade talisman remotely controlled. Those in the inner city who have this ability are basically high-ranking officials. People at that level have limited time and energy. They don't have time to remotely control the jade talisman for ordinary people in the outer city. If they really wanted to kill someone, they could just mention it and their subordinates would take the initiative to do it."

"What about me?" Lin Hui asked directly. "Am I qualified for this list now?"

“Of course. But we’re still in the Rain Palace, what are you afraid of?” Liu Xiao said coldly. “Last time I already crossed everyone from the Lin family off the list. Now you and Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin are as if they don’t exist. Unless someone investigates and records ordinary people one by one, it’s basically impossible to locate the Lin family.”

She paused, then sighed.

"Are you relieved now?"

"I'm relieved." Lin Hui breathed a sigh of relief; he believed Liu Xiao wouldn't lie to him.

After all, she didn't need to.

"If you feel at ease, hurry back and don't stay here too long," Liu Xiao said helplessly, her tone finally softening.

"By the way, since you're here, come with me to the temple to offer incense and register."

"What's the explanation for this?" Lin Hui asked, puzzled.

"Do you know how the so-called 'nobles' in the outer city are obtained?" Liu Xiao asked in return. "Being qualified to burn incense and register in the main hall is the threshold for being a so-called noble. People from the inner city who are sent out on business usually carry a list with them before they go out. If they encounter someone from above, they will be given special treatment."

"Understood!" Lin Hui felt a chill run down his spine. This was practically a list of people exempt from liability. As long as he didn't do anything drastic, minor troubles could be ignored.

Liu Xiao then explained some points to note when offering incense, such as how to perform the proper bowing, how to light the incense, and how to place it. She also mentioned where one should not look, and so on.

She quickly pulled Lin Hui away from the incense-burning area and into the main hall. Inside the ordinary white hall, she lit three incense sticks in front of an eight-armed, faceless statue.

It seemed that offering incense was no different from what everyone else was doing, but after Liu Xiao finished offering incense, she went to the side and said a few words to the person looking after the incense table. Then she saw that person take out a small booklet, write down Lin Hui's name, and that was the end of it.

"By the way, you're not young anymore, and you're nearing the end of your martial arts career. You should start thinking about settling down. Also, visit your younger sister more often; she'll probably be sent to the inner city for training soon. If you wait too long, you might not see her much more." Liu Xiao gave her these final instructions before leaving.

"Get married." Lin Hui was speechless.

(End of this chapter)