Decaying World

Chapter 116, Part 116 (Thanks to NoXYZ, the Super Orichalcos God Alliance Leader)

Lin Hui followed several oxcarts carrying vegetables into this city of stone pillars.

The streets here are quiet, with only the sound of footsteps and the low mooing of cattle and horses. Everyone is very purposeful, using the small flags on the horizontal bars next to the stone pillars to determine their destination before going in and out to do their business.

Lin Hui carefully examined the small flags, and even at his speed, it took him more than half an hour to find a short, thick stone pillar with simple wooden steps leading to the entrance in a secluded street corner.

'Bailingju - Raw Material Medicinal Herbs Trading Center'

Upon entering, Lin Hui immediately noticed a wooden table facing the door, densely covered with various medicinal herbs, each labeled with its price and quality.

Behind the wooden table, an old man wearing glasses was sitting with his legs crossed, flipping through a small book.

"Take a look at what you want. Minimum order is ten portions. We don't sell single items." The old man recited casually without looking up.

"Do you have Ganoderma lucidum?" Lin Hui asked directly.

"Yes, but it's quite expensive. How much do you want? Do you know the market price?" The old man looked up and asked, somewhat surprised.

"How much is one plant here?" Lin Hui glanced around and found that there was a small tea room on the left, with a few people sitting sparsely inside, and books placed on the table for people to browse.

His entrance drew the attention of two guests sitting by the door, one of whom, a woman wearing a white hat, clearly showed a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Lin Hui also noticed the differences between himself and the locals.

The people here almost all have green eyes, and their clothing is mainly gray, brown, and black, with very little pure white.

His all-white outfit was quite eye-catching.

meow~
A black cat strolled out of the tea room, walked past Lin Hui's boots, and looked languid.

"At least twenty plants. If the quality is good, I can place a long-term order." Lin Hui was somewhat curious about the radiation levels in the inner city and how the cats had survived.

But this wasn't the time to delve into that. He looked away and turned to the old man.

"Hmm, this number." The old man held up an eight.

"Eighty thousand? That's acceptable."

"Great idea! Since you're so straightforward, I also have some top-grade Purple Cloud Mushroom here, its effects are several times stronger than Spirit Mushroom. Do you want it?" The old man smiled kindly.

"How much?"

"Fifty-one."

"Give me one and let's try it," Lin Hui said generously.

He didn't expect to find the Ganoderma lucidum so easily here, unlike what Wang Yueheng had said about how difficult it was to find.

Clearly, that guy was deliberately keeping him hanging on.

No, perhaps they simply didn't care.

That guy probably didn't even bother looking for it.

After quickly confirming the delivery time with the old man and paying a deposit, Lin Hui left Bailingju with the order token in hand.

Before leaving, he learned the old man's name by exchanging tokens: Zhao Bingsheng, a member of the Qingyan tribe, and the manager of this Bailingju.

Having achieved his goal perfectly, Lin Hui recalled the man in blue he had encountered on the way and now had no desire to stay here any longer.

He immediately took off running, leaving the city like the wind and returning the way he came without stopping for a moment.

Except for the section near the stone bridge where we took a long detour, we drove through the rest of the way at full speed.

The agreed-upon transaction time with the old man was five days later. After returning to the outer city, Lin Hui resumed his original rhythm of life.

This trip opened up a new channel for him to purchase medicines, different from the Wang family's, which was quite a gain for him.

But only two days after he returned, news came from the Lin family.

Lin Chaoyi is dying.

"Do you want to go and take a look?" Old Man Lin Shunhe asked, sitting in the study of Qingfeng Temple, looking at Lin Hui who was silent with his eyes closed.

"What's there to see in the current state of the Zong family?" Lin Hui replied.

“Indeed, they’ve already separated and severed ties back then. They didn’t help us when we were at our lowest point, so there’s really nothing to see now,” Lin Shunhe said. He was saying this to Lin Hui, but it also seemed like he was talking to himself.

"With Lin Chaoyi gone, who else in the Zong family can take on the responsibility?" Lin Hui asked.

"That's it. Everyone's situation is bad. The only one who's doing alright is the second branch, which is stingy. This family will fall apart in the future, and I doubt there will be a Lin family main branch anymore," Lin Shunhe sighed.

"Let's send some money for that old man's coffin," Lin Hui said with a touch of emotion.

In recent years, the Zong family's situation has been deteriorating. Ever since Lin Hongyu caused trouble and brought continuous blows, the Zong family has been like a landslide ball, rolling faster and faster. The little bit of foundation that they had painstakingly accumulated has been completely exhausted by Lin Hongyu's constant demands.

If the clan leader were to pass away now, and there were no longer any pillars of support to keep the various branches of the family together in awe, it would be highly likely that the family would eventually split up completely.

"How are things on your end? I have an old friend's daughter here; she's very elegant and poised," Lin Shunhe asked.

"Wait a minute, I already have someone I like. And I've made up my mind that I won't marry anyone else," Lin Hui quickly interrupted.

"Huh?" The old man was taken aback. How long had it been? He was already determined to marry her? Who was so charming?
He knew his son's personality well, and upon hearing this, he immediately became curious.

"What's her name?"

"Han Xiaoyue".

"how old are you?"

"I don't know, but he looks very young."

"Where do you live? What's your background?"

"I don't know, but she plays musical instruments, is very knowledgeable, and comes from a good family." "How come you don't know anything about her?" Dad was speechless.

“This is the token of our love that she and I exchanged.” Lin Hui decisively took out the red jade that Han Xiaoyue had given him.

The old man took it and examined it, but couldn't figure out what it was; he could only tell that it was indeed something a woman would use.

"Bring him back sometime so I can take a look. You're still young and can't handle many things," the old man said earnestly.

"Row."

Seeing how easily he had gotten away with it, Lin Hui felt relieved, realizing that the exchange with Han Xiaoyue was indeed worthwhile.

The father and son chatted for a while longer. When Lin Shunhe was about to leave, Lin Hui got up to see him off.

When they saw him off at the door, they both noticed an elderly man with white hair sitting in a window seat on the first floor of the restaurant across the street.

The old man leaned on a cane, his appearance withered and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

His eyes were fixed on Qingfeng Temple. When he saw Lin Shunhe and his son leave, he quickly stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute towards them, and forced a smile that covered his wrinkles.

Because of his clasped hands, his cane tilted and slid down the edge of the table. He reached out to grab it but missed, and almost fell over himself.

"What does he mean by that?" Lin Hui asked, squinting. The old man was Lin Chaoyi, but he looked much older than before.

"The Zong family has recently run into trouble. He used to make a living from those few orchards, but because of Lin Hongyu, the orchard's produce can't be sold, and a lot of it has rotted. He's also lost his retirement income. By the way, do you know about Lin Hongyu's situation?" Lin Shunhe said in a low voice.

"What happened again? I don't really care about things over there," Lin Hui said.

"On her second expedition, she ambushed and killed a member of a prominent family in the same team, the Mu family. Then she disappeared," Lin Shunhe sighed. "She escaped easily and left, but the Zong family members left behind have to take the blame for her."

"Let them be." Lin Hui withdrew his gaze and watched Lin Chaoyi shakily walk out of the restaurant alone and quickly approach this way. He activated his inner strength, and a gentle breeze blew out, blocking Lin Chaoyi and preventing him from getting any closer.

"The Zong family and we have nothing to do with each other anymore," he said calmly.

"Sigh," Lin Shunhe didn't reply, but just glanced at Lin Chaoyi, turned around and left, getting into the carriage he had brought.

Lin Hui also turned back to Qingfeng Temple, but just as he entered, he caught a glimpse of a servant walking out of his father's carriage and heading towards Lin Chaoyi.

My father is a kind and sentimental person; he actually knew this a long time ago.

He sighed softly and returned to his residence to continue his body tempering training for the day.

Several days later, Lin Hui successfully delivered twenty Ganoderma lucidum plants and one Ziyunzhi mushroom from the inner city.

More than two million yuan disappeared just like that.

The old man also admitted that he was temporarily out of Lingzhi mushrooms and would have to wait more than half a year to cultivate them if he wanted more.

Lin Hui took some time to visit Wanyao Manor again, only to find that they had only found three plants there, which was all of their stock.

A total of twenty-three Ganoderma lucidum plants and one Ziyunzhi mushroom were all he could find.

With these resources, the time it takes for his Typhoon Sword Technique to evolve can be significantly shortened.

*
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*
Inner City, Red Rice Gang.

Inside the spacious rectangular assembly hall, all the hall masters of the gang were gathered together, including the gang leader Wu Zhaoming, listening to the story told by hall master Yuan Feng.

“I had already given them a stern warning and mentioned the name of my Chimi Gang, but Qingfeng Temple didn’t care at all and attacked without warning. Their leader’s movement and sword speed were extremely fast, and he also used a secret technique. I was caught off guard and his internal energy barrier was broken,” Yuan Feng said with a look of shame and his head down.

After he returned, he fell into a coma due to the severity of his injuries. It took him several days to recover, and even then, the wound on his abdomen still ached faintly.

"So, they stole our expedition's amethyst, killed all the members of my Chimi Gang, and severely injured you, their leader? Is that right?" Chimi Gang leader Wu Zhaoming asked in a deep voice.

"That's exactly right!" Yuan Feng nodded hurriedly. "That abbot of Qingfeng Temple, relying on the backing of Liu Wujun and his sister from the Liu family, was arrogant and even threatened us, saying that if we dared to reveal anything about the amethyst, we would be in big trouble! We couldn't stand it, so we rose up in resistance, but in the end..."

“Liu Wujun is him. He’s troublesome,” sighed gang leader Wu Zhaoming. “But if we don’t respond after being provoked to this extent, what will outsiders think of the Chimi Gang?”

“Liu Wujun is still a top ten high priest, and he is also valued by the deputy palace master. Do you think we should mention this to your father, guild leader?” Deputy guild leader Yan Tan said softly.

The reason why these three sects and six gangs were able to grow so powerful in the inner city was naturally because they each had their own strengths. Some relied on their own strength, while others relied on powerful backers. The Chimi Gang was one such example, whose backer was Wu Anhai, the biological father of its leader, Wu Zhaoming.

This person is also at the Grand Priest level, and a veteran top-tier Grand Priest at that. He has reached a point where he can no longer advance and may break through to the Palace Master level at any time.

"No need. This matter shouldn't be escalated to that level. It's best to resolve it according to the rules at the grassroots level. This is everyone's unspoken rule." Wu Zhaoming said in a deep voice, "Since Qingfeng Temple did this, and they attacked my Chimi Gang members, then we will retaliate in kind. Yuanfeng, since you are no match for them, then find someone else and win back fairly and squarely."

"What does the leader mean?"

"The New Martial Alliance Competition is coming up soon. I won't touch Lin Hui himself, but I can easily cripple the entire Qingfeng Temple. As long as he realizes this, we can use a fight to make peace."

"Should we still make peace?" All the hall masters frowned.

"There's nothing we can do. He has Liu Wujun as his brother, so we can only swallow this loss."

"A mere Inner Strength Realm cultivator actually..."

Just as everyone was getting impatient, the door of the Red Rice Gang was suddenly pushed open, and a completely plain-looking figure with white hair, white eyebrows and white clothes rushed in with two squads of black-armored soldiers with golden eagle patterns.

"Wu Zhaoming, did you have a conflict with Lin Hui of Qingfeng Temple in the outer city a while ago? Tell me the specific details." The all-white-clad man's voice was cold and hard, completely disregarding Wu Zhaoming's unpleasant expression as the gang leader.

"So it's Commander Hong Ling. Weren't you investigating Xue Ying's whereabouts? What brings you here?"

"Enough with the nonsense. I'm with you gentlemen investigating all those connected to Xue Ying. According to the backtracking information, Lin Hui and Xue Ying seemed to have met recently. We need to investigate carefully, leaving no stone unturned, to catch any trace of Xue Ying. Once you've clarified things here, I'll head to the outer city immediately," the all-white-clad man said coldly.

"The investigation is your business, why should we wait for Lin Hui?" Wu Zhaoming's expression was originally unpleasant, but when he realized that it wasn't aimed at his Chimi Gang, but at Lin Hui, he immediately narrowed his eyes.

He knew very well that the man in front of him, Hong Ling, was the current Inspector of Major Cases in the Inner City, who was in charge of tracking down important clues in major cases and wielded immense power.

Moreover, Hong Ling has an extremely powerful background and a tough personality. If he were to deal with that troublesome Lin Hui, who knows what might happen.
"That Lin Hui, relying on his relationship with Liu Wujun, doesn't take my Chimi Gang seriously. Since it's Commander Hong who has spoken, my Chimi Gang will cooperate fully with the investigation!" He immediately changed his tone and said solemnly.

(End of this chapter)