Decaying World

Chapter 143, Chain 143 (Thanks to Alliance Leader Gu Xin)
As dawn broke and the fog dissipated, only wisps of cotton-like mist remained, floating in the air.

Lin Hui stood with his hands behind his back on the roof of Qingfeng Temple, watching the disciples below gradually come out to dismantle the barriers. His gaze then shifted and landed on the room where Tao Xuehai and her brother were being housed.

'It seems something terrible has happened to the Tao family, otherwise they wouldn't have entrusted their son to such a situation. It's even reached the point where they need to change their identity and name. What will become of them from now on?'

Sometimes, Lin Hui also felt a bit emotional. This world was as chaotic and unpredictable as the universe. No one knew what people wanted to do or what they were capable of doing.

The people of the outer city live within the planned trajectory of the inner city, and the people of the inner city may also live within the planned trajectory of the people of the Moon Tower. No one can truly obtain the freedom they want.

'What is the purpose of my swordsmanship and martial arts training?' This question flashed through his mind again after a long time.

Now, seeing what happened to Tao Xuehai, he understands.

"Yes, so I've diligently practiced martial arts, all for the sake of being able to wield my sword and cut down all misfortune and enemies when disaster strikes."

At this moment, Lin Hui's mind was incredibly clear, and he suddenly felt a strange sense of clarity.

creak.

Suddenly the door to the side room opened, and a figure slowly walked out, looking up at Lin Hui on the roof.

laugh.

The figure vanished and appeared directly in front of Lin Hui; it was Tao Xuehai.

He lowered his head, his lips slightly parted, his once dashing face now utterly dejected, and his eyes, which were once full of energy, were now filled with bewilderment.

"teacher"

"What happened last night?" Lin Hui sighed. Although he was only a year older than the other person, at this moment, it felt as if there was a gap of decades between them.

"My family was ambushed and killed by the Qinghe Sect and some wolves. Many people died. My parents used their ultimate killing technique to kill two people and then broke through the encirclement to escape with us," Tao Xuehai replied in a low voice.

"Qinghe Gate again." Lin Hui frowned. "Then besides you, did anyone else escape?"

"There should be some, but they were probably dispersed to other places," Tao Xuehai replied in a low voice.

"What about your parents?"

"With their natal artifacts shattered, they must have perished." Tao Xuehai said calmly, his head bowed, his long hair cascading down to obscure his face.

Lin Hui didn't know how to comfort people; he wasn't good at it, so at this moment, he could only remain silent.

After a long wait, Tao Xuehai finally spoke again.

"If we stay, we'll only be a burden to the teacher. My sister and I will pack our things and leave in a bit, otherwise, if Qinghemen catches up with us..."

"Just stay put and hide your identity. It seems that Qinghe Sect is just taking advantage of the situation and doesn't have any deep hatred for the Tao family. They won't put much effort into investigating if they can't find you," Lin Hui said in a deep voice. He didn't care about Qinghe Sect's pursuit.

After all, he had personally eliminated two of the opposing factions, and the enmity between them was far greater than that between the Tao family and the Qinghe Sect.

Whether the debt is one or two, it will eventually be settled with action.

In other words, he has never actually fought against a high-ranking official and is unaware of their relative strengths. Otherwise, if he could have won, he would probably have already been searching the entire city for Qinghe Sect experts to silence them.

"But..." Tao Xuehai wanted to say something, but Lin Hui stopped him by raising his hand.

"Where can you and your sister escape to? The Fog Zone is not well prepared, and you two are doomed. Besides, I have the Rain Palace's connections in the open. No matter how rampant the Qinghe Sect is, they can't possibly attack me in broad daylight."

He wasn't just making things up. Liu Wujun was, on the surface, a top genius of the Yugong Yuanming Hall, and ranked among the top ten in the entire Yugong. With such a reputation, if his family members were also targeted by the Qinghe Sect, it would be a complete slap in the face to the Yugong and the Shayue Sect behind it.

As one of the three major powers that rule the entire Tu Yue, the influence and number of followers of the Sha Yue Sect are the strongest among the three. He felt that if he really angered Yu Gong, then no matter what power Qing He Men had behind him, it would probably be in trouble.

Ultimately, Lin Hui knew that he was still benefiting from his elder brother Liu Wujun's influence and the power of Amamiya Satsuki's cult. This was evident from the previous conflict with the Chimi Gang, and then when the Inspectorate sent people to learn about Minister Hong Ling's attitude, the power behind Qingfeng Temple was exposed.

This is why the New Martial Alliance has remained silent since its envoy was seriously injured.

"But..." Tao Xuehai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he couldn't say anything. He thought for a moment that if he and his sister really left this place, the Qinghe Sect would probably come knocking on their door soon.

He might not care about himself, but what about his sister?
“From now on, you will need to change your name, and so will your sister. As for your appearance, you can wear a mask, or you can modify it through other methods.” Lin Hui reached into his waist bag and took out a small, dark stone box.

"This is a safe and non-toxic special medicinal mud called Xiangxing Ointment. It can be applied to the face to change the appearance and is extremely close to the skin tone. One application can last for a week, and this box can last for half a year. Come to me for more when it's finished."

He possesses a special ability that grants him a 30% success rate in alchemy. This ability can be activated as long as the alchemy process is performed correctly and without any major missing components.

So after noticing the situation of Tao Xuehai and her brother, he searched through the night and found a pill formula, quickly refining several batches of the Compatibility Ointment. This was the first time he had ever refined this stuff, and he didn't know how effective it would be.

But if applying creams and lotions doesn't work, just put on a mask, it won't hurt.

"Thank you, teacher." Tao Xuehai lowered her head, took the box, and tears dripped down her chin.

Perhaps it was because she was thinking of her parents and relatives, or perhaps it was because of her confusion and fear about the future.

From this day forward, he would no longer be the young master of a powerful family or a wealthy young man, but Yu Gu, a member of a powerful family who could only hide his identity and evade pursuit.

Without saying anything more, Lin Hui slipped away from the rooftop and went to arrange things inside the door.

Those who inevitably notice the problem must be notified.

Instead of informing them of Tao Xuehai and her brother's new identities, they were completely reassigned to the temple.

As for who the newcomers are, they are naturally Tao Xuehai and his companion who have changed their appearance and names.

The next day, two new people quietly joined Qingfeng Temple. One was named Lin Wuhai, and the other Lin Wuyue. These were the new names that Tao Xuehai and her brother had come up with.

Both of them used the face-changing ointment to alter their appearance, and also bought masks to wear daily.

With a two-pronged approach, absolutely no one will know their identity.

As a cover, her older sister, Lin Wuyue, also decided to learn Qingfeng Temple martial arts after recovering from her injuries. Of course, she only learned the seven-section fast sword and nine-section fast sword techniques that ordinary disciples could learn.

She mainly cultivates the family's inherited Summoning Divine Skill. That's right, unlike her younger brother who has no aptitude, her older sister Lin Wuyue has Summoning aptitude and is already a high-level Summoner, but she hasn't made much progress in martial arts.

For those who are inspired, those with good aptitude can progress very quickly.

Once the initiation ceremony begins, those with strong aptitude will instantly reach a higher level.

Afterwards, one can explore other potentials, such as practicing martial arts.

In other words, the person who inspires determines the highest potential for the future from the very moment the inspiration begins.

Lin Hui didn't care; the only person he cared about was Tao Xuehai.

Not long after taking in the siblings, news spread throughout the inner city that Amamiya Rikuxuan had sent someone with intelligence.

The Tao family's relocation team was ambushed and wiped out by monsters from the fog zone halfway through their journey. Numerous Tao family corpses were discovered, mangled and torn apart by the fog zone monsters.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Lin Hui handed it over to Tao Xuehai and her brother, who wept uncontrollably. From then on, they began to train relentlessly, day and night.

Perhaps he wanted to transform his grief and anger into strength so that one day he could find Qinghe Sect and take revenge.

*
*
*
end of July.

The case of Xue Ying in the inner city finally came to an end. After the Chen family head led his men in several battles with Xue Ying, he announced to the public that Xue Ying had finally been killed. He also released a mutilated female corpse, and everything was finally settled.

After this battle, the Chen family and its allies suffered heavy losses. The Chen family head, who was at the palace master level, and the other two elders of the family seemed to have been seriously injured and have not appeared in public since.

The once arrogant members of the Chen family clan also toned down their arrogance and became the most low-key group among the three.

August.

Every year, the routine expedition teams tasked with clearing out monsters in the foggy area are gradually being formed, leaving the inner city to begin sweeping through the surrounding ruins.

The number of monster scraps and parts transported back increased rapidly. Although they were mostly scraps, the good stuff was sent to the inner city, and only the parts with a short shelf life were processed on the spot in the outer city.

However, because of the large number of monsters slaughtered in the fog zone, a large number of cargo wagons drive out of the fog wall every day, which has led to the outer city merchants becoming increasingly active.

These resources are usually first supplied to the three major factions that are closest to them for trading.

Lin Hui's Qingfeng Temple was among them, and it received priority in the transaction from the Yugong team.

The large influx of materials quickly transformed into various equipment and medicines, which then entered the market.

The availability of equipment and medicine sparked a fierce competition among martial artists and summoners, making the outer city bustling with activity.

Just when everything was going smoothly and there was no major difference from previous years.

Something unexpected happened.

An accident occurred while a government fog clearing team was wiping out a small group of fog monsters.

The monster leader, which should have only been at the danger level, suddenly broke through and reached a high-risk level, which is beyond danger, for some unknown reason.

And so, tragedy struck.

The difference in strength between the two levels, from dangerous to high-risk, was enormous. By the time the cleanup team realized something was wrong, it was too late to retreat.

After a desperate fight, only four out of the more than thirty members of the team returned alive.

It is said that the four survivors also showed strange signs of contamination, such as bloodshot eyes, occasional loss of reason, skin ulceration and pustules, rapidly rising body temperature, and even their breath carrying similar contaminant toxins that could be transmitted to other living things.

This incident startled Lin Hui, who had been closely monitoring the cleanup team.

The survivor's behavior gave him a subtle sense of familiarity.

It has many similarities to the goat he transformed into a purgatory.

Therefore, he made a special trip to the Wild Wind Plains to check the environmental changes after he had polluted it.

Sure enough, clues were discovered.

Some contaminated creatures were unknowingly preyed upon by monsters in the fog zone, causing the fog zone monsters to also begin to exhibit subtle purgatory-like characteristics.

There are some overlapping food chains between foggy and fog-free areas; they are not completely separated like the fog wall.

After realizing the problem, Lin Hui became even more careful to conceal his aura of purgatory.

In any case, the effects of the purgatory's pollution have already begun to produce ominous chain reactions.

The inner city also quickly dispatched Amamiya experts to investigate and find the key source of the monster's mutation.

(End of this chapter)