Decaying World

Chapter 12 012 Low Point Part 2 (Thanks to Chen Ci for the Old Tune Alliance Leader)
"Ah Jiang, I know you and Lao Si are close, but things are different now. We must not be suspected of colluding with what Lao Si is doing, or we'll be in big trouble!" Lin Chaoyi earnestly advised.

"Luckily, Father gave the fourth son's spot to Hongyu back then, otherwise the spot would definitely be useless now. That honest kid from the fourth son's family has no talent, and he won't amount to anything even if he joins the Chen family. Unlike Hongyu, who is now in the same circle as the main branch of the Chen family." The second son, Lin Shunchong, grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

"Who knows, Hongyu might marry a direct descendant of the Chen family in the future, that would truly be a stroke of great fortune!"

"That's true! Hongyu is already beautiful. If she had a few direct descendants of the Chen family, that would truly bring glory to the family!"

"Daughters are definitely better. I wish I had a daughter like that."

Suddenly everyone started praising Hongyu's father's branch of the family, and no one cared about the fourth son's situation anymore.

Everyone knows that this trip for the fourth brother is truly going to be difficult for him again.

Without the protection of a benefactor, his branch of the family may face a very difficult situation in the future.

Perhaps in the future, they will gradually and completely fade from everyone's sight and never be seen again.

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Lin Hui stayed at home for three days, helping his parents move and taking care of all the other matters. He left all his wages behind before returning to Qingfeng Temple alone.

As soon as he returned, Hui Shen summoned him to the room of Master Mingde.

“Your father and I have been friends for many years. I advised him about this a long time ago, but alas.” Mingde, a burly man, sat cross-legged in the room, his beard completely white, and his expression showed a hint of regret.

"But don't worry, I can't control other places, but here at Qingfeng Temple, if you do your job well, you'll definitely get your wages in full!"

"Thank you, Master!" Lin Hui felt a warmth in his heart and quickly bowed. From this moment on, it was clear that Mingde and his father had a sincere friendship. After all, it is easy to add flowers to brocade, but it is much more difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.

"Practice martial arts well, do your job well, go, go," Mingde said softly, waving his hand and turning around.

Lin Hui bowed again before turning around and slowly walking out of the room.

Hui Shen was waiting outside. When he came out, she went up to comfort him for a few words, but her words were not as warm as before. She was just being polite and keeping her distance.

Lin Hui didn't take it to heart; that's just human nature.

"By the way, although Master didn't mention it, given the current situation, Junior Brother, you should return your private room to the temple as soon as possible, otherwise people might gossip." Just as he was about to leave, Hui Shen's words made Lin Hui pause in his steps.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you for reminding me, Senior Brother." Lin Hui said calmly, turning around and bowing.

"Hmm." Hui Shen nodded, her face no longer displaying the gentle smile of before, but rather a calm and distant normal expression.

Back at his lodgings, Lin Hui quickly packed his personal belongings and returned to the dormitory-style room.

Chen Zhishen also came over to inquire about the situation. After listening to Lin Hui recount the details, he offered a few words of comfort, then hesitated to speak further.

"What is it?" Lin Hui asked. "Just say what you want to say."

"It was Xie Li. I originally brought her along, but she..." Chen Zhishen's voice trailed off, and he didn't finish his sentence.

"It's nothing, it's only human nature," Lin Hui said calmly.

"Sigh," Chen Zhishen sighed, and said nothing more.

Such is the fickle nature of human relationships. Xie Li was willing to get close to Lin Hui for the sake of the Lin family, but now she can distance herself due to unforeseen circumstances.

The news about Lin Hui's family quickly spread throughout the temple.

Many students who had previously treated him kindly have now reverted to their original indifference towards him.

He already had few friends and spent his days practicing swordsmanship. Now that this has happened, he has fallen to the margins, and apart from Chen Zhishen, no one cares about him anymore.

Lin Hui was happy with this, enjoying the peace and quiet, practicing his sword alone and waiting to become stronger.

He just wanted peace and quiet, but someone wouldn't let him have any.

Not long after, trouble came knocking.

Bang.

The door to the dormitory was kicked open violently.

Chen Chong and his two lackeys appeared outside with arrogant expressions. Under their gazes, the dozen or so people in the dormitory fell silent for a moment.

"Where is Chen Zhishen?" Chen Chong held a black fan in his hand and waved it pretentiously.

"What do you want with me!" Chen Zhi took a deep breath, stood up, and faced the other person.

"Come out here." Chen Chong pointed at him, then turned and left with his men.

Chen Zhishen's face turned pale. He knew something was wrong and instinctively looked around, but everyone around him avoided his gaze.

Only Lin Hui.

He stood up.

"Let's go, I'll go with you."

"No need, I can go by myself!" Chen Zhishen shook his head, his body trembling slightly.

"Let's go." Lin Hui didn't say much and went out the door first.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Chen Chong and the other two waiting not far away, and they were also looking at him.

"Lin Hui, I gave you face before because you're someone important. Now that you've come out, do you think I'll still give you face?" Chen Chong said with a sarcastic laugh.

"Although my family is in dire straits, I'm still not worried about anything happening here at Qingfeng Temple with Master Mingde here." Lin Hui weighed the practical comparison. If a real fight broke out, although he had trained for a long time, he had not mastered the Seven-Section Fast Sword. At most, he would be just an ordinary person who was a little more agile, probably the same as the three people opposite him.

Two against three, they definitely can't win. So, it's best to avoid fighting if possible. The real transformation will begin when he masters the entire Seven-Section Fast Sword technique and refines his body with perfect swordsmanship.

Sure enough, upon hearing the name of Master Mingde, Chen Chong and the other two's eyes flickered. "Don't try to intimidate me with Master Mingde. I won't touch you today; it has nothing to do with you. I'm going to find Chen Zhishen!" Chen Chong laughed twice and raised his voice.

"What did he do to offend you?" Lin Hui asked, frowning.

"None of your business!!" Chen Chong cursed. "I advise you to mind your own business, otherwise..."

Clearly, the mere title of Master Mingde wasn't enough to intimidate him. After all, Lin Hui had already moved out of his private room; who would believe that Mingde would still treat him as well as before?
Even if there is still some support, it will definitely not be much.

With this thought in mind, Chen Chong felt reassured. Seeing Chen Zhishen come out, he immediately waved his hand.

Two men immediately rushed out from behind, pouncing on Chen Zhishen. Both were swift and agile, apparently disciples of the temple who had begun practicing body tempering and lightness techniques!
With skills like that, one of them alone would be enough to take on both Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui, let alone the two of them together.

The two men's skills exceeded Lin Hui's expectations.

He knew something was wrong, so he quickly stepped forward and shouted.

"you dare!?"

Then he drew his sword, ready to fight alongside Chen Zhishen to defend himself.

"Stop!" A loud shout suddenly came from the side in the distance.

"What are you all doing here!?"

On the right side of the field, Daoist Mingde leaped down from the second-floor window, approaching as lightly as a willow catkin.

With a single movement, he covered ten steps in one stride, and in a few moments he crossed the backyard practice area and reached the edge of the group.

Qingfeng Temple is so small that he can hear even slightly loud noises, but he used to be too lazy to care about many things.

But just now, I heard Lin Hui shout that his friend had just gotten into trouble and his son was being bullied in the temple. If this got out, how could Mingde still have the face to face his friends?

So as soon as he heard the noise, he immediately got up and went down to stop it.

In front of the large dormitory, Chen Chong's two men felt a chill run down their spines and immediately stopped, not daring to move. When Mingde stared at them, they felt a cold sweat run through their bodies.

Chen Chong himself did not expect that Mingde would suddenly step forward to support Lin Hui, and his face immediately turned ugly, and he froze on the spot.

"Real person, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" He quickly put his mind to work and forced a smile.

"We didn't intend to target Lin Hui, it's just that the kid next to him deliberately caused trouble and provoked my Chen family. He even said some insulting things about my family, and I couldn't stand it."

"You're talking nonsense!" Chen Zhishen shouted angrily.

“Alright, from now on, I don’t want any private fights to happen in the temple. Chen Chong, remember that?” Mingde stared at him and said in a deep voice.

He had known for a long time who was behind this trouble, but he hadn't wanted to get involved because of the Chen family and Chen Chong's sister. But now that Lin Hui was involved, he had no choice but to step in and issue a warning.

"Alright, we'll listen to the real person." Chen Chong's face was grim. He clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, and led his men away.

He understood Mingde's unspoken message: no trouble inside the Taoist temple, but he couldn't care less about what happened outside.

Mingde sighed and looked back at Lin Hui.

"That's fine then. Just be careful in the future." He wasn't a nanny and couldn't possibly keep a close eye on Chen Chong all the time. The fact that he had gone this far was already the greatest favor he could do.

Lin Hui's shout just now was for a reason, which is why he warned Chen Chong afterwards.

"Thank you so much, Master!" Lin Hui and the other man quickly bowed, with Chen Zhishen's gratitude being particularly strong.

If Lin Hui hadn't called Mingde today, he probably would have been in grave danger.

Although their lives are unlikely to be in danger, being injured, slowing down their progress, and ultimately leaving in disappointment is almost inevitable.

Watching Mingde leave, Lin Hui recalled Chen Chong's appearance just now and realized that the other party had been forced into such an embarrassing situation by Mingde, so this grudge was now firmly established.

Chen Chong, who is always arrogant, will definitely find a way to vent his anger.

He was alright; the intention of Master Mingde to protect him was very clear. But Chen Zhishen...
"Try not to leave the temple in the future." He gave Chen Zhishen this last instruction before turning back to the dormitory.

Chen Zhishen stood there, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word.

The eyes that had been watching the commotion all turned away at this moment.

Not far away, Mu Qiaozhi, Qiu Yiren, and Xie Li were standing together when they happened to pass by and saw what had just happened.

"Even with Lin Hui's family in such a state, Master Mingde is still true to his nature and willing to step forward to help," Qiu Yiren sighed.

“Being true to oneself isn’t necessarily a good thing,” Mu Qiaozhi said coldly. “People need to learn to assess situations. Master Mingde is loyal and has helped his friend avoid a lot of trouble because of his personality. Now he is strong and healthy and relatively stable, so he is naturally fine. But once he gets into trouble, all the hidden dangers accumulated from his previous help will erupt at once, and that will be a real challenge.”

"But wouldn't the people he helped before also lend a helping hand?" Qiu Yiren asked, puzzled.

"Who says you have to repay someone for helping you?" Mu Qiaozhi retorted. "Xie Li did a good job in this regard. When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If you want to lend a helping hand, you have to bear the risk of being caught in the throes of the falling tree."

“Xie Li.” Qiu Yiren knew that before Xie Li entered their circle, she was in the same circle as Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui.

And now.

She couldn't help but glance at the other person, only to see Xie Li's complex expression. Although she was emotionally fluctuating, she showed no intention of stepping forward to help.

"Let's go. Remember, Qingfeng Taoist Temple is just a temporary place for us to learn martial arts. Don't get too involved. We're paying to learn martial arts not to contribute to the temple, but to make ourselves stronger," Mu Qiaozhi said coldly, leading the way towards the main hall where the abbot was located.

(End of this chapter)