Lin Hui was taken aback. He reached out, took the black object, and examined it closely in his hand.
It was an irregularly shaped object, resembling a briquette or perhaps some kind of black iron ore.
Its surface had a distinct, grayish-black fracture mark. There was no telling what part of which Fog Area monster it had broken off from.
"Alright, I'm leaving this afternoon. My things are all packed. I'll write to you once I get settled in with the Zhao Family!" After handing over the item, Chen Zhishen turned, waved, and walked away quickly.
On his face, now turned away from Lin Hui, a hint of melancholy appeared unconsciously. The item hadn't been nearly as easy to obtain as he'd claimed, but Lin Hui had looked after him for so long and helped him so much. This was the only thing he could do for him in return.
"Safe travels," Lin Hui said sincerely, watching his retreating back.
At Qingfeng Temple, the maximum time limit for mastering the Seven-Section Quick Sword was three years. Most students who succeeded did so in about two.
Chen Zhishen, who had been there for just over a year, was only average in speed. But his strengths were his loyalty, his clean background, and the fact that he was easy to manage. This was likely the main reason the Second Senior Brother had actively recruited him.
Only after Chen Zhishen's figure had completely disappeared did Lin Hui pull his gaze back and focus once more on the black object in his hand.
Out of habit, he focused his attention and activated the Blood Seal, intending to inspect and identify the item.
HISS.
A soft sound echoed in his ears.
A line of blood-red text quickly materialized at the bottom of his vision.
'Withered Sealed Insect Egg.'
"Hmm?" Lin Hui paused. 'An egg? A sealed one?'
The fragments he'd found before had always been identified as pieces of some unknown species. The information, besides an external description, was just a rough hint about whether it was "hot" or "cold" in nature, or if it was poisonous.
But this thing... it seemed...
'It's not a fragment?'
Lin Hui read on carefully.
'Withered Sealed Insect Egg: This egg was once used to seal a special creature from the Fog Area. After the creature escaped, the egg was deprived of its specific nutrients for a long time, causing it to gradually wither and die. Its internal structure contains a powerful sealing pattern. Available evolution branches: 4.'
'So many evolution branches!?' Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. The other items he'd seen rarely had more than three branches. This was the first he'd encountered with four.
'Clearly, this thing is no ordinary item!'
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Hui tapped on the section for the available evolution branches.
SWOOSH. Four evolution paths popped up.
'1—Magic-Sealing Array.'
'2—Artifact-Sealing Array.'
'3—Evil-Sealing Array.'
'4—Sealing Array.'
This rich selection of branches left Lin Hui momentarily stunned.
Judging by the names alone, he knew they were far from simple. Anything that could be called an "array" in this world was likely beyond the reach of someone at his level.
And "far from simple" often meant "more time-consuming."
Without hesitation, he opened each branch one by one.
'1—Magic-Sealing Array: Can form a composite array with special toxins to seal the ethereal and elusive Demonic Energy.
Resources required: A small amount of Demonic Energy, one set of natural sealing patterns. 10 years of stamina reserve, 10 years of spirit reserve.
Time required: 10 years.'
Lin Hui's heart trembled. 'Ten years!? At this rate, I could have a kid who's old enough to run errands before the evolution is complete.' Besides, he had no idea what Demonic Energy even was.
Closing that one, he looked at the next. The time requirement was the same, but the target of the seal was something called Artifact Power, which he had never heard of.
The third was the same, with the target changed to so-called Evil Energy.
The time requirements were all extremely long, at least around ten years.
Resigned, Lin Hui looked at the last option.
The fourth was a pure Sealing Array.
'Sealing Array: Can seal the consciousness of ordinary creatures with a special toxin, a natural three-dimensional toxin originating from the Sealing Worm.'
'Resources required: One month's reserve of stamina, one month's reserve of spirit.'
'Time required: One month.'
There were no other special requirements, just one month for evolution.
Lin Hui pondered for a moment. This seemed to be the fastest evolution he could currently undertake.
Just one month. He could afford that amount of time. It would also be a good opportunity to test the effects of the Blood Seal's enhancement on other items.
'Anyway, once Body Tempering begins, I won't be in a rush to learn new Swordsmanship. I'll need to repeatedly use the Seven-Section Quick Sword to temper my body and push it to its limits.'
'It's just... this thing can't have been as easy to get as Chen Zhishen made it sound. I've wandered around outside so many times and never once came across anything like it... It must not be from around here...'
Lin Hui could tell that Chen Zhishen must have gone somewhere else to find this thing.
'Perhaps somewhere dangerous... After all, I've already been to all the ordinary places, and there was nothing like this.'
Putting away the insect egg, Lin Hui felt a wave of emotion. He turned and walked quickly back to the large common room.
He lifted the wooden plank of his bed, revealing a wooden chest underneath. He unlocked it and opened it. Inside was a small pile of various, cleaned fragments.
These were all fragments he had picked up while wandering around with nothing better to do. Picking one up, Lin Hui focused his attention and activated the Blood Seal.
'Unknown Fragment: A piece from the shattered shell of some creature. Available evolution branches: 1.'
'1—Synthesize into a large fragment.'
This was the evolutionary path given for most of the fragments.
Evolving from a fragment into a large fragment. That was it. And the evolution time was also measured in years. Incredibly long.
'Perhaps with continuous evolution and enhancement, it could eventually form a complete object, but that's not what I want. Wasting the Blood Seal's time on this isn't worth it. I have to find a way to increase the Blood Seal's evolution speed.'
Placing the newly acquired insect egg into the chest, Lin Hui closed the lid and locked it.
'I'll start experimenting once the final move has finished evolving.'
This insect egg had the shortest evolution time of anything he had encountered, and it also seemed to involve Extraordinary Abilities beyond Martial Arts.
Faced with a special ability that was beyond his comprehension, Lin Hui felt a hint of anticipation.
Putting the bed plank back in place, he found himself growing concerned about the lack of privacy in his living quarters.
'I have to find a way to live alone... After Body Tempering, once I pass the assessment to become an Official Disciple, I should be assigned a private room. Soon, it'll be soon...'
As he walked out of the common room, two young men with unfamiliar faces walked in. The spots left by those who departed were naturally filled by new students.
But this also brought security risks. Theft of personal belongings was not uncommon here.
"Senior Brother Lin," the two greeted Lin Hui one after another.
"Mm," Lin Hui nodded in acknowledgment and brushed past them.
With Chen Zhishen gone, Lin Hui found his sword practice somewhat troublesome in the days that followed. Before, he could focus wholeheartedly on his training, knowing that Chen Zhishen would proactively inform him of any news or announcements.
But not anymore.
He had a solitary personality and no one else to help him out. He always preferred to train hard alone in a quiet corner.
Even Huishen, who had been reasonably polite to him before, now acted as if he didn't exist.
Lin Hui had no choice but to find a new place to practice, training diligently while waiting for the final evolution to complete.
Only by completing Body Tempering and becoming one of the twenty-some Official Disciples could he improve his living situation. When that time came, he planned to take on a junior brother to run errands for him.
But for now, he didn't have the value to make others want to assist or depend on him.
Time passed slowly.
「In the blink of an eye, a month went by.」
Chen Zhishen had gone to the Zhao Family, and unexpectedly, after a month, he actually sent a letter back to Lin Hui, along with some local specialties from the town there. He had bought them with his first month's wages.
It was a portion of peanut and date cake—very sweet and fragrant.
Lin Hui tried a piece himself and sent the rest to his mother.
In the letter, Chen Zhishen mentioned that the Zhao Family treated them very well, with excellent benefits. His current duties were to occasionally escort merchant caravans, and the rest of the time, he and the others would take turns training the Zhao Family's other ordinary servants.
What left Lin Hui speechless was that Chen Zhishen also mentioned he had met a senior sister, also a guard, and the two had hit it off and were now living together.
'Forget Baihua, forget Xie Li, what are they compared to a hot senior sister!'
In the letter, Chen Zhishen praised the senior sister, named Zhang Tingfang, to the high heavens, saying she was one-of-a-kind and a perfect match for his tastes.
The letter had been written by someone else; instead of Chen Zhishen's signature at the end, there was just his red handprint. The handprint was even crooked, which Lin Hui found both exasperating and amusing.
Putting the letter away, he once again threw himself wholeheartedly into his training.
*
*
*
「Xinyu Town.」
With a weary expression, Lin Shunhe crept along the shadow of a wall and slipped silently through a hole into his own courtyard.
He looked up at the sky. It was almost evening, but the fog had not yet formed. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
Money wasn't so easy to earn.
Especially for an older man like him with a bad record. Even his wife had been implicated and was almost fired. If not for her many years of work and the connections she had built, his wife, Yao Shan, might have been let go by now.
Even so, Yao Shan's employer had taken the opportunity to dock most of her wages.
The only reason Lin Shunhe could still make money was that he had entered the gray market.
Using his old connections, he had joined a black-market gang that specialized in fencing stolen goods. The income was good, but he was constantly dealing with all sorts of dangerous people, so the risk was considerable.
Fortunately, things were about to get better. Once he saved up enough money, he could open his own shop. Starting a small sundry store just to make a living would be a good beginning.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
Lin Shunhe was just about to enter the inner room when he heard the sound and turned his head.
"Who is it?"
"Mr. Lin Shunhe, right? We're from the Fu'an Bang. The shop space you applied for is available. You can open the shop, but you can't skip the rules," a rough, boisterous male voice called out.
Lin Shunhe quickly stepped forward, relieved, and opened the gate.
Outside stood three burly men with thick waists and broad shoulders. They wore gray jackets and black shorts, and each of them held a thick wooden club propped on the ground.
Seeing the gate open, the man in the lead clasped his fist and said, "I am Xu Dao. Mr. Lin, you still remember the rules, I trust?"
"Yes, yes, I remember. After the shop opens, half the profits are to be handed over on time every month. Don't worry, I remember it all." Lin Shunhe nodded hastily. The Fu'an Bang was the biggest gang in Xinyu Town. Before, when he worked for an influential figure, no one dared to come collecting money, but things were different now.
"Good. When you open up, go register at the nearby gang-affiliated shop. If you run into any trouble in the future, you can use our name," Xu Dao said with a nod.
"Oh, right. If your profits are too low, or you even lose money, you still have to pay a minimum of three thousand coins. Remember that," he added, as if suddenly remembering something.