Decaying World

Chapter 106: Breaking In (Long Chapter, Seeking First Subscription)
Inside the Lin Mansion.

Lin Shunhe was still the same as before, with a plump figure, a smiling face, and an air of wealth with a hint of authority.

But if you look closely, you can see that a faint purple pattern occasionally flashes in his eyes.

The sound of footsteps came from outside, and the purple patterns in Lin Shunhe's eyes quickly faded and disappeared.

He looked up at the entrance and saw a familiar figure slowly stepping into the hall. It was Lin Hui, dressed in white and carrying two swords.

"Why aren't you in your sect? Why are you here to see me? Aren't you usually in the temple practicing asceticism?" Lin Shunhe looked at his son with some surprise.

"It's been a long time. I heard you were back, so I came to check on you. Are you alright?" Lin Hui looked at his father, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

For some reason, he had a feeling that his father had changed quite a bit since he came back from his trip.

But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed. It was just a different feeling.

"Of course I'm not injured. With so many bodyguards around, what could possibly happen to me?" Lin Shunhe laughed. "But you need to be careful. A lot of Wanhua Sect members have come to my shop recently. You know, even believers need to live and buy things, so the United Supermarket's intelligence network is arguably the most efficient. The Wanhua Sect is a rather sinister sect. They are highly skilled in imitation and disguise, and they have even successfully infiltrated the three major powers in the inner city. You must be careful."

"The ability to disguise and imitate?" Lin Hui was surprised; his father's intelligence was unexpectedly more reliable than his own.

No wonder he's a supermarket owner working on the front lines.

"Your Qingfeng Temple now has considerable businesses in the surrounding area, making it easy for them to be targeted as a money bag, so you must be careful," Lin Shunhe warned again. "Avoid provoking them if possible. If you find them inside Qingfeng Temple, just quietly drive them away; don't be too drastic. The Wanhua Sect is powerful; it's the leading cult in the entire Taisu region, and you shouldn't provoke them lightly."

"I understand, thank you for reminding me, Dad," Lin Hui said earnestly.

Unfortunately, he has already gotten himself into trouble, and the source of the trouble isn't even him, but his cousin Lin Hongzhen being crippled.

Or rather, the initial reason was Lin Hongyu.

When Lin Hongyu was mentioned, he casually asked her a question.

"By the way, not long ago, that Lin Hongyu came to my temple, intending to ask for favors, but I chased her out. I wonder how she is now."

“Lin Hongyu? She went to the fog zone a long time ago to join the Chen family’s expedition team. She only returned recently,” Lin Shunhe replied.

"How's it going?"

"He was injured, and there seems to be no movement from him. I'm not paying much attention to that side right now."

"What about your cousin? Has her condition improved?" Lin Hui asked Lin Hongzhen.

"I tried all sorts of precious medicines, but none of them worked well. I had injured a vital organ back then." Lin Shunhe sighed as he mentioned Lin Hongzhen.

"Did you ask Second Sister for help?"

"Of course, we tried to talk to them about it a long time ago, but it was no use. They said it damaged the inside of the head."

Lin Hui carefully recalled his resources but couldn't think of a doctor or medicine that could treat head injuries. This seemed to be an absolute problem, both in his previous life and here.

After chatting with his father for a few more minutes and receiving some warm greetings, he went to see his mother and stepmother before leaving the Lin residence, which was almost evening.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw the restaurant across the street, the very place where his older sister Liu Xiao had arranged a blind date for him last time.

At the entrance, a woman in black veil stood in the shadows. Upon seeing him emerge, the woman became excited and quickly approached him.

"Brother Hui! Brother Hui, I have a big secret to tell you! Someone is targeting you! It's a very dangerous and powerful force!" The woman moved closer and quickly and fluently transmitted her voice.

It was clear that she had memorized her words beforehand; she spoke very quickly and clearly, enunciating each word precisely. It was obvious that she was prepared in advance, fearing that Lin Hui would run too fast.

"Lin Hongyu?" Lin Hui recognized her.

It's the same guy again. I heard he just came back from the foggy area, and I didn't expect him to come knocking on my door again so soon.

"What secret? Tell me," he said casually.

"I can't say here. Let's find a secluded place, and I want a better price!" Lin Hongyu had learned her lesson this time; she knew that trying to use emotional blackmail with Lin Hui wouldn't work. She decided to use intelligence to gain her own advantage.

"Interesting." Lin Hui noticed the change in the other party. This approach made him feel much more comfortable. It was a normal transaction, and regardless of any other messy relationships, even if it was Lin Hongyu, he would not treat her unfairly.

This is one of his bottom-line principles in life, regardless of who he is dealing with.

What puzzled him was how Lin Hongyu knew who was targeting her.
Immediately, he grabbed Lin Hongyu by the back of her collar and dodged away.

call!
The scene around them suddenly blurred, and a few minutes later...

A row of dilapidated houses in the suburbs.

Lin Hui put the person down.

"Now you can talk. What secrets do you have that you can exchange for benefits? Let's make it clear first, if the so-called secrets don't satisfy me, you know what the consequences will be."

Lin Hongyu looked around and saw that the surrounding area was overgrown with weeds and the dilapidated houses seemed to have been attacked by some monster. They were all broken walls and ruins, and the place was desolate.

She felt a little panicked at first, but as a tough person who had survived going to the foggy area with the expedition team, she quickly adjusted her mindset and looked at Lin Hui.

“Brother Hui, no, Abbot Lin! I was briefly trapped in a dark room in a ruin in the Fog Zone for two days and two nights. During that time, I overheard people talking inside the ruin. It was an organization called Wanhua Sect. They said that a leader of the sect was murdered in Xinyu Town in the outer city, and they suspect that you were the culprit. Experts have already come to investigate you.”

"Wanhua Sect?"

Lin Hui narrowed his eyes. He knew that this matter might not be able to be kept secret after he killed that incense stick last time. He was lucky to have been able to delay it for so long.

There are so many mysterious methods in this world that they are impossible to predict, so it was expected that they would be discovered.

The key question is, what kind of experts can the Wanhua Sect send to cause trouble?

Whether or not evidence is needed to prove he did it is unimportant. For a cult like this, suspicion is enough to make their move. They may have already eliminated all other suspects, and now it's just his turn.

"I understand. Anything else? Someone already told me this beforehand. It's not of much value to me," Lin Hui said calmly.

"...and more!" Lin Hongyu's face turned slightly pale. She had been knocked unconscious by a slap last time, and her head ached for two days afterward. She was truly terrified of being beaten again, fearing that Lin Hui might strike her again at the slightest provocation.

Of course, being beaten is a minor matter; what's truly frightening is a ruthless opponent. Judging from what she knows about Abbot Lin's deeds, that possibility certainly exists.

The man in front of me is a ruthless character who can kill hundreds of people in one go without even blinking.

“I heard the name of the expert who was sent,” Lin Hongyu said quickly.

"Speak," Lin Hui said impatiently.

"I want the benefits!" Lin Hongyu quickly said.

"You're just a reserve member who isn't even a Caller, so just tell me what benefits you need." Lin Hui frowned.

"Money! I need money!! In the foggy area, to survive, I promised someone two million to buy my life! Give me that money and I'll tell them right away!" Lin Hongyu said urgently. "Two million? Are you crazy for money?" Lin Hui was speechless. "Five hundred thousand. With your information, it's not that important to me. Take it or leave it."

“Okay!” Lin Hongyu saw the fierce glint in the other person’s eyes, and immediately shuddered. She dared not haggle any further and agreed.

"Pay me first!" That was her bottom line.

Lin Hui was speechless. He took out five gold notes worth 100,000 coins each from the pouch hanging from his belt and tossed them aside.

The gold note was precisely blown by the breeze and fluttered down in front of Lin Hongyu, where she quickly caught it.

After the verification of funds, Lin Hongyu's eyes lit up.

"That man is called Zhou Fan, nicknamed the Karma-Slaying Blade. He is an outer sect protector of the Wanhua Sect. His exact strength is unknown, but he is definitely at least at the Inspiration level, a martial artist with internal strength!"

"Are you so sure?"

“Yes, because I heard from those two that Zhou Fan first wanted to hunt down and eliminate a traitorous internal energy martial artist within the sect before coming here,” Lin Hongyu said quickly.

"This news does have some value," Lin Hui nodded with satisfaction. "Anything else that can be traded? You can mention it as well."

"And, there's one more. I was marked in those ruins, and I can't get rid of it. After I came back, I felt my body starting to change. I had a persistent fever and a lot of blood loss. I couldn't stand the light, but my recovery ability improved a lot. I felt more comfortable with water and mist."

Lin Hongyu's description was fragmented and disjointed.

“...Marks? What marks?” Lin Hui’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know much about ruins. If he wasn’t mistaken, Lin Hongyu had gone to one of the two ruins nearby.

"This is it." Lin Hongyu suddenly pulled off her black clothes, revealing her bare upper body. In the center of her full upper body, a clear black and purple flower-like pattern was printed, extending from her chest down to her abdomen.

Her actions were clearly premeditated; after removing her clothes, she carefully stared into Lin Hui's eyes.

This was also the purpose of her private conversation: she had to find a way to get close to Lin Hui, this golden thigh!

Especially after hearing that Lin Hui's reputation as a sex fiend had spread, she knew that her chance had come.

To her surprise, Lin Hui's eyes held nothing but a hint of inquiry, nothing more.

"Do you want to touch it? This pattern extends all the way down to my crotch." Lin Hongyu felt that she was mistaken because she couldn't persuade him. Lin Hui was a notorious lecher who took aphrodisiacs by the pound. How could he not be tempted?
Even within the Chen family's main branch, her beauty was enough to attract many people.

"Alright, put on your clothes." Lin Hui, having memorized the purplish-black pattern, thoughtfully gave the order.

“But I still have the remaining patterns here,” Lin Hongyu said softly as she gently removed the rest of her dress.

Bang!
The next instant, a black scabbard lashed out like a whip across her left cheek, the force sending her flying and crashing into a broken wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

You didn't faint this time?

Lin Hui was slightly surprised. He used about the same amount of force as last time, and the fact that she didn't faint this time meant that Lin Hongyu's physique had indeed been strengthened.

“Interesting, this pattern.” He glanced at the sky, then turned and left. “Next time you have intelligence, you can come directly to Qingfeng Temple to trade. Of course, if the intelligence is worthless, you know the consequences.”

Lin Hongyu struggled to her feet from the rubble, her face covered in blood.

Wasn't Lin Hui supposed to be a pervert?

Why? Is it because I'm not pretty enough?

She fell into severe self-doubt.

On the other side, on the highway back, Lin Hui frowned.

If it were just a dragon-masked woman with a dragon mask coming to warn him, he wouldn't care. But now his father says that the Wanhua Sect has sent people, and Lin Hongyu has also come from other channels to exchange information, saying that there are experts coming to attack.

'There's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. I don't know the strength of the Wan Hua Sect's experts either; it seems I'll have to test them first.'

Lin Hui's mind raced, and an idea immediately came to him.

"Since I have no informants, no relevant intelligence sources, and can't find anyone else, then let him lose his informants and all intelligence sources as well."

Xinyu Town is Lin Hui's territory. No matter who you are, you will almost always have to deal with the businesses under Qingfeng Temple when you come here. Even if you try to avoid them, you will inevitably have to cross paths with United Supermarket.

It can be said that in Xinyu Town today, even a cat or dog can be brought to Lin Hui's place immediately if needed.

Back at Qingfeng Temple, news of the outsiders was quickly delivered to Lin Hui's desk.

In less than half an hour, all the outsiders received a notice from the government office to cooperate with the investigation by Qingfeng Temple and to suspend all private activities.

Meanwhile, all the intelligence about the Wanhua Sect was being sent to Lin Shunhe's study.

"Why would the Wanhua Sect suddenly target us? I haven't provoked them, have I?" Lin Shunhe asked, looking at the white-masked man in black kneeling in front of him.

"I don't know, but their movements are indeed approaching and surrounding the Lin residence," the man in black said in a deep voice.

"I've just completed the fusion, so it's not very safe to take action directly. I'd like to trouble Elder Du to report this and ask if it's possible to completely eliminate the Wanhua Sect members in the surrounding area?" Lin Shunhe looked at Elder Du behind him.

"It's not a big problem. This branch has just been established, and its industry and influence are growing. The master has also successfully integrated and is receiving a lot of attention. Lord Blackface should send a priest to handle it," Elder Du replied respectfully.

"That's good. I'm terrified of dying, so it's better to leave the rough and violent stuff to professionals." Lin Shunhe nodded in satisfaction.

*
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at the same time.

Inner city, Rain Palace, Yuanming Hall.

In a pure white, enclosed room, a figure shrouded in countless transparent, terrifying, and twisted forms suddenly frowned and opened its eyes.

"What is it, Liu Xiao?"

The figure's face gradually became clear, revealing it to be Liu Wujun, who was currently in seclusion cultivating.

“Brother, those trash from the Wanhua Sect dared to resist even after someone died, and they even sent Zhou Fan to try and take action against Auntie.” Liu Xiao’s voice rang out from outside the door. “I just broke through, and I’m not sure if I can perfectly keep Zhou Fan at bay. I need you to take action personally.”

"Zhou Fan? Last time, I let him go by crippling one of his hands because of his father, and he still dares to come to Tu Yue." Liu Wujun's face turned ferocious.

"You dare to lay a hand on my family?!"

hum!
Suddenly, the entire secret chamber trembled violently, as if a massive boulder had crashed into the ground, causing a huge shock.

"court death!"

With a loud bang, the metal door, more than ten centimeters thick, vanished instantly. Liu Wujun walked out of the secret chamber, his robes billowing, his eyes shining with a blinding white light.

"go!"

(End of this chapter)