Decaying World

Chapter 147, Moon Tower 1 (Thanks to the Level 8 Auto Repair Technician Alliance Leader)
Back at Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui quickly arranged the operational mode for when he was away, so that Xue Meng could handle things in case of any problems. He then packed up various equipment and medicines.

Instead of rushing directly to the inner city, he first visited many elderly people in the town, asking about the current situation of those who did not eat Wanfu meat.

But upon closer inquiry, it was shocking to discover that the number of people in the town who truly and completely abstained from eating Wanfu meat was extremely small.

"Not eating 'Wanfu meat'? That's easier said than done."

An old woman living on the edge of town, with a toothless, withered mouth, spoke incoherently.

The dim stone house was blackened by smoke, and the walls were covered with various notebooks and records made by her son when he was the town clerk.

These once important paper books can now only serve as her way of remembering her son, pasted on the interior walls to provide some insulation and prevent mold.

Lin Hui glanced at the thin, dark-skinned girl standing to the side. She was the disciple in his sect with the worst family conditions, but also one of the most diligent. Hearing that he wanted to ask the eldest disciple some questions, and that asking them would count as a low-level task, he took the initiative to bring her to his home to find his grandmother.

It's clear that the Qingfeng Temple uniform the girl is wearing is the best-looking and most expensive set in this house.

He never expected that he had such a suffering disciple.

"Few, but that doesn't mean none at all, right? Could you tell me what they're doing now?"

Lin Hui lowered his voice.

"You flatter me too much. Please don't use such honorifics. This old woman can't accept them," the old woman said quickly.

“There are indeed people who absolutely refuse to eat it. I remember there were a few in town more than ten years ago, a group of young people, who thought there was something wrong with Wanfu meat and that it was harmful to their health, so they banded together and refused to eat it no matter what. Later, not long after, they died from a sudden and serious illness. Because they didn’t eat Wanfu meat, their illnesses wouldn’t get better, and the longer it dragged on, the more they died,” the old woman sighed.

"So, many people are eating Wanfu meat as if it were medicine? They just don't dare to eat too much for fear of becoming addicted?" Lin Hui said thoughtfully.

“That’s right. So, in reality, the people in the town who have never eaten Wanfu meat either died from disease, or they are martial artists or those who have been inspired. They are strong and healthy, unafraid of disease, and have no need to eat Wanfu meat.” The old woman nodded.

"The one who inspires others is a martial artist." Lin Hui recalled his father, who had never given him Wanfu meat. Perhaps he knew something about it.

He had asked his father about this topic in the past when they chatted casually, but his father always changed the subject.

"But thinking about it this way, it seems that those who are called must go through a calling ceremony to become strong and healthy and not afraid of getting sick. As for martial arts practitioners, they often enter the inner city to be injected with feather blood, and they rarely get sick either." The old woman had lived long enough and had a wealth of experience, so she knew more than Lin Hui had imagined.

"What about those martial artists who don't enter the inner city? And those who don't eat the 'Ten Thousand Blessings Meat'?" Lin Hui quickly asked. "Do you remember?"

"Ah? Weren't the former abbot and his fellow disciples of Qingfeng Temple the same? On the surface, they didn't eat Wanfu meat, and they even told the disciples of Qingfeng Temple not to eat Wanfu meat either. Abbot, you should ask the old people in the temple about this, instead of asking the old lady." The old lady said in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui was suddenly startled.

The martial arts masters of Qingfeng Temple, including the master and two senior uncles, have all disappeared without a trace. They refuse to eat Wanfu meat and refuse to enter the inner city.

Some of the former leaders of the New Martial Arts Alliance also held similar views, but now the New Martial Arts Alliance is a thing of the past.

The former owners of the museum are either dead or have fled.

"Does the Abbot have any further questions?" the old woman asked again.

"There's one more thing." Lin Hui recalled the news he had heard before and decided to ask it now.

"I wonder if the old lady knows about the incident when the outer city was invaded by monsters from the fog zone, and then abandoned by the inner city?"

"Well, I don't know either. My family moved here from another district when I was very young. There weren't many people here when we first arrived. We came with a large merchant caravan. My parents heard that this place was a wasteland, full of fertile fields and mines that no one had occupied, so they decided to come. As for... as for where the previous residents went, I don't know," the old woman explained with difficulty.

"So, almost all the older people in the town now are people who moved here from elsewhere?" Lin Hui asked in surprise.

"Most of the time, when we came here, there was no one around, and all the houses were ruins. It was only later that they were slowly rebuilt," the old woman recalled. "We went through several difficult times, but fortunately, the gentlemen of the inner city sent Wanfu meat in time to help us get through those days. But it was around that time that people gradually discovered that there were problems with eating Wanfu meat. Eating too much would cause people to go crazy, have bloodshot eyes and bodies, and that was when it first appeared."

"Alright, thank you for clearing up my doubts, ma'am. This is a gift for you." Lin Hui stood up and took out a silver note from his pouch, placing it on the table.

The old woman declined a few times but eventually accepted it, while the girl next to her seemed a little embarrassed.

The girl saw Lin Hui to the door, and upon hearing that this questioning was considered a low-level task, a hint of joy appeared on her face.

"May I ask how old your grandmother is?" Lin Hui asked before leaving.

"She's almost ninety," the girl answered honestly. "Actually, I'm a child she found; I'm not her biological child."

"Understood. Good child." Lin Hui ruffled her hair. "You've been diligent enough, but your physical condition is a bit weak. From now on, go to the pharmacy every month and ask Pharmacist Chen Meng for a dose of solid medicine. It's free. It'll be better to nourish your vital energy first before practicing swordsmanship."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Abbot!" The girl was so excited that she was about to kneel down to pay her respects, but Lin Hui helped her up. When she raised her head, she only felt a gentle breeze and the person in front of her had disappeared.

After leaving the old woman's house, Lin Hui found several other elderly people in the town, all of whom were at least eighty years old.

I asked them one by one for a fee, and the answers I got were all pretty much the same.

They had met very few people who absolutely refused to eat Wanfu meat. Those rare individuals who did not eat it either died or disappeared over time. Even the elderly themselves would eat a little Wanfu meat every now and then to stabilize their health. As long as it wasn't consumed in excess, this stuff was a complete panacea, capable of curing all ailments.

Finally, after asking around, Lin Hui managed to find two people who, like him, absolutely refused to eat Wanfu meat, amidst a bunch of rumors, speculations, and hearsay.

Both women were from the town. One was named Chen Xiulian, the only daughter of the owner of the town's flower shop. The other was named Ouyang Rui, the son of a herb gatherer who lived on the outskirts of town.

The former came from a very wealthy family; his parents were professional flower deliverymen in the inner city. They were well-maintained and in good health, and had never suffered from any serious illnesses.

The latter was a herb gatherer, whose family had inherited some martial arts skills that could strengthen the body. He was physically fit, had strong resistance, and had never been sick.

The two were about the same age, both in their late twenties or early thirties.

Lin Hui placed the two under observation and instructed his disciples to collect information about them periodically.

But soon he learned from government channels that Chen Xiulian had been suffering from a strange illness for three years and had been staying at home ever since, refusing to see anyone.

The latter, Ouyang Rui, was alright. He honestly cultivated medicinal herbs on the edge of the fog zone, occasionally venturing into the fog zone to harvest herbs for a living. This guy was said to be extremely timid, running away and hiding at the sight of anything strange when entering the fog zone, and he had also developed a very good camouflage technique.

Left with no other choice, Lin Hui had to narrow down his observation to just him.

After instructing them to check on the situation at intervals, he returned to Qingfeng Temple and summoned Tao Xuehai, who is now Lin Wuhai.

"I'm planning to go to the core area of ​​the inner city. Do you have any suggestions?" Lin Hui knew that the Tao family was one of the major clans in the inner city and must know a lot of inside information, so he planned to gather some more information from him.

"The inner city core area? Is it the Moon Tower?" Lin Wuhai was taken aback. Ever since his parents passed away and his family underwent a major upheaval, he had always maintained a cold gaze and a posture of relentless cultivation. Such a moment of surprise was extremely rare for him.

"Yes." Lin Hui nodded.

"There's nothing to be careful about. The teacher will know once he goes there. Just keep your head down and wait by the roadside when you encounter nobles. Don't draw attention or stand out, and there won't be any problems," Lin Wuhai replied.

"Could you tell me more about it?" Lin Hui pressed.

“I’ve only been there once,” Lin Wuhai recalled. “The core area isn’t just the Moon Tower. There’s another area beneath the Moon Tower called the Deep Domain. Teacher, you’ll first arrive in the Deep Domain, and only after passing the Deep Domain’s review will you be qualified to enter the Moon Tower. Not just anyone can enter the Moon Tower. What we often call the Moon Tower area or the core area is actually only accessible to the Deep Domain for most people. Only a very few, like the original blood nobles and the three major internal personnel, are qualified to enter the Moon Tower.”

“Deep Domain. Do you know how to conduct censorship?” Lin Hui continued.

"I'm not sure about that, and we're not qualified. Although my family is a large clan, the three major powers were only allowed to enter the Moon Tower because they were in charge of all the major production processes. The entire Moon Tower is actually the living area for the original blood nobles. Besides the original blood nobles, there are servants who serve them and people who produce materials. By the way, those servants are all sorts of strange people, many of them are from other races. Don't be surprised if you see them, teacher. Actually, those other races are quite pitiful. Every once in a while, they get tired of being played with and a bunch of bloody remains are thrown out, and then the Moon Tower will send people to capture new ones."

Lin Wuhai briefly recounted his experience visiting the core area years ago. He had only followed his uncle around the Deep Domain before returning, looking at the houses and the people on the street, and didn't know much else.

Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of him, Lin Hui didn't hesitate any longer. He took the Ruyi, put on the mask and disguise.

There was also a permit from his elder brother. Seeing that it was getting late, he headed straight for the South Ninth Gate that day.

Before dark, the streets are deserted; everyone returns a little earlier to give themselves time to catch up.

When they arrived at the South Ninth Gate, the entrance was quite deserted, with not a single person in sight.

During this time, the people in the inner city knew there was night fog outside and would not go out, and the outer city troops had also returned early because of the night fog.

Only a few figures, moving swiftly and fleetingly, passed through the city gate passage.

Lin Hui was one of them.

He quickly entered the city's passageway, put on the hood and mask, and transformed into four faces, rushing out at breakneck speed.

Then, following the road signs with practiced ease, they headed straight for the inner city.

The wind whistled in my ears, passing through mountains, hills, and heavily guarded fortresses.

Lin Hui sprinted at full speed for the first time.

With all special effects turned on and the Gale Sword Technique fully activated, the speed had reached a point where even his own dynamic vision could not keep up.

The scenery on both sides quickly changed from the fortress to a vast plain, a plain covered with red and black soil that stretched as far as the eye could see, reaching the horizon.

The sky was shrouded in a gray mist, and the ground was a black and red plain.

There were no trees, no grass, only a few scattered large black stones that occasionally flashed by before being quickly left behind.

After running for two hours straight, it was already pitch black. There were no stars, only occasional bright yellow streaks, like shooting stars, shooting across the sky.

Some headed in the same direction as Lin Hui, while others headed in the opposite direction.

(End of this chapter)