Lin Hui looked toward the Inner City.
From a distance, all he could see was a massive white stone wall enveloping the entire city district.
The white wall was at least several hundred meters high, its upper half disappearing into the light clouds. The surface was smooth and flat, projecting an air of stark, white majesty.
The entire wall, from top to bottom, left to right, seemed to have been carved from a single, seamless block.
"Why is everyone going to the Inner City?" he asked in a low voice.
"It's because of the Gate-Breaking Ghosts recently. Anyone with some savings is planning to go to the Inner City to take shelter for a while. As long as it's not for permanent residence, they can still afford to find a place to stay temporarily," Peng Shan replied.
"Hasn't the city sent anyone to investigate?"
"They have. The Government Office sent quite a few patrol teams. It seems they're tracking something."
Peng Shan didn't stay long before deciding to leave. But just as he stood up, he saw an ox-cart marked with the Chen Family's name slowly passing by on the road in the distance.
The curtain of the rear carriage was lifted, revealing several young people inside, talking and laughing with someone.
"It's the Chen Family's convoy for selecting people!" Peng Shan said instinctively.
Lin Hui paused, then stood up and looked at the convoy as well. He was searching for Lin Hongyu but didn't see her after scanning it several times. 'She must be in another cart,' he thought.
'The Chen Family...'
*
*
*
「Lin Family Mansion.」
Lin Chaoyi sat in the Patriarch's seat in the main hall, looking down at the representatives from more than ten branch families.
"Has Hongyu left?" he asked in a low voice.
"She has. She's in the cart. The Chen Family's peripheral transport service sent someone to pick her up," Lin Hongyu's father quickly replied.
"Old Si has moved out, so his old courtyard is empty. My branch has a lot of people and we're short on housing, so how about those few rooms..." Lin Shunchong of the second branch, a sallow-faced, sickly-looking man, spoke up. He had one leg propped up on his stool, slouching with a devil-may-care attitude.
"Second Brother, you have a lot of people, but what about my family? My son is trying to pass the examinations to enter the Government Office! My three grandsons are also waiting for rooms to live in. Why should the second branch get everything?" a woman on the side retorted, no longer able to stay silent.
"How many years has your son been taking that exam? He can't even make it into the top five hundred in the public selection, and you're still talking about an official career?" Lin Shunchong of the second branch sneered.
"Enough. Old Si has moved out. Does anyone know where they're living now?" the old Patriarch, Lin Chaoyi, asked, cutting them off.
"Who cares? Didn't he want to sever ties with the family? Why bother with him?" someone said dismissively.
Severing ties was a good thing. After the old man passed away, there would be one less branch to split the inheritance with. Although no one said it out loud, they were all secretly a little pleased.
"Old Si is quite capable, after all..." Lin Chaoyi frowned.
"Father, don't tell me you're worried Old Si will make a comeback?" Lin Shunchong said. "He's just an oil mill steward. No matter how capable he is, there's a limit. As for his wife and son—the wife is an aging hired hand, and the son hasn't learned a single useful skill. All he does is loaf around, waiting to die. With a setup like that, what the hell is there to worry about?"
"I just think it's a bit of a shame... Old Si is a good man..." Lin Chaoyi sighed. "He's just being dragged down by that son of his."
"That's true. Among all the younger generation in our many branches, he's the only one with no arrangements, no prospects. The first and sixth branches are already arranging marriages. The family's prosperity and growth are just around the corner. If Old Si's branch splits off now, they'd better not have the gall to come crawling back for favors once the family makes it big," Lin Shunchong chuckled.
"Alright, since Old Si himself wants to sever ties, Second Brother, you have connections at the Government Office. Go and update the registration later to avoid future disputes. Let's move on. Next, let's discuss... right now, the first branch, the fifth branch, and the young twelfth branch have entered the Inner City. That's three branches. The purpose of this clan meeting is to have everyone contribute and support the development of these three branches in the Inner City..." The old Patriarch Lin Chaoyi began his usual routine: sacrificing the branch families for the sake of the main one.
*
*
*
"Dad, I want to practice Martial Arts."
In Lin Hui's new home, the family had just sat down for lunch when Lin Hui blurted it out.
"Martial Arts?" Lin Shunhe looked at his son, his brow furrowed. "What's the use of Martial Arts? I've already planned it out. You'll learn to be a steward from me. First, you'll go to the oil mill to get familiar with the environment. In the future, if all else fails, you can at least make a living by taking over my job. But if you want to be a steward, you'll have to work very hard. After all, the final say comes from the small Government Office in town."
"Can managing an oil mill save my life?" Lin Hui asked.
"It can help you save enough money to get into the Inner City. Once you're in the Inner City, you'll be safe," Lin Shunhe replied.
"In the Inner City, you still have to rely on others! If you run into a Gate-Breaking Ghost, you'll die all the same!" Lin Hui said gravely.
"What damn use is learning Martial Arts!" Lin Shunhe was getting impatient. "The guard team I manage has over ten men. Which one of them hasn't studied Martial Arts? The worst of them has been training for over a decade. And what about now? He's still just a gatekeeper for the oil mill! His monthly wage isn't even a tenth of mine. You tell me, what's the use of learning Martial Arts?!"
"It's a good thing that the boy has something he wants to do. It's better than him just cooping himself up at home all the time," Yao Shan, on the side, said gently, trying to smooth things over.
"But at his age, he can't learn anything good. The Inner Family arts have age restrictions, so he can't learn them. And the Outer Family arts are all life-shortening skills. If he learns those, he'll die an early death, which is even worse! I'd rather just feed him well and let him loaf around for the rest of his life!" Lin Shunhe said irritably.
"I'll just learn the Outer Family arts. It's fine. I'll just practice casually to pass the time. It would be even better if I could get a job at a martial arts hall," Lin Hui explained.
"A job at a martial arts hall?" That sentence suddenly gave Lin Shunhe an idea.
He considered it carefully, his mood softening.
"If you can really endure the hardship, getting a job at a martial arts hall could work. I have connections with several halls in town. The oil mill often needs to hire their people for escorts, so our relationship is pretty good. If that's what you're planning, then it's not a bad idea."
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He knew his son's situation. Although his body was weak, his son had one great advantage: he was strong at calculation, much better than his peers.
He didn't know where his son had trained this ability, but many of the martial arts halls were in need of people who were good with numbers. Getting a job there might actually work out.
Thinking of this, he looked up at his son and saw a seriousness in his eyes he had never seen before. This made him feel a bit more solemn.
"Have you thought this through? You really want to learn Martial Arts? Let me be clear: you definitely can't join an Inner Family school; they all require you to be under ten. You can only go to an Outer Family one. And if you go, just practice casually. You're not allowed to injure your body!"
"I just want to get good at running away fast. I'm not interested in anything else, Dad, don't worry! I absolutely will not train myself to exhaustion!" Lin Hui replied decisively.
"Good! Your goal is clear! That's good!" Lin Shunhe paused. He felt it was true; the Outer City was slowly becoming more dangerous, and learning some skills to run faster was a way to ensure safety.
With that, a few Outer Strength schools he had connections with flashed through his mind.
"Alright, there are three places I can arrange for you. See which one you want to pick."
"Which three?"
"Feiyun Boxing Hall for Flying Cloud Fist, Red Sand Temple for Copper Arm Skill, and Qingfeng Temple for learning fast sword techniques. These three are all major long-term clients I supply oil to. We have a lot of dealings and a good relationship, so it's easy to make arrangements. As long as your old man is still around, you'll be taken care of once you're in. When you're older and have built your own connections there, I can hand things over and let go. It will be a smooth transition," Lin Shunhe planned.
"Of these three, which one teaches the fastest Martial Arts for escaping?" Lin Hui asked directly.
"Both Flying Cloud Fist and Qingfeng Temple are fast. But all things considered, I'd prefer you go to Feiyun Hall. Although Qingfeng Temple might be faster, Flying Cloud Fist is more practical for actual combat. Its master, Shangguan Fei, is much stronger than Daoist Baohe of Qingfeng Temple. Feiyun Hall is also run better than Qingfeng Temple, so your income there would be much higher."
"No, I'm going to Qingfeng Temple!" Lin Hui's gaze was firm.
After witnessing the fog at night and the Gate-Breaking Ghosts during the day, his desire to protect his own life was overwhelming.
Besides, just as Peng Shan had said, no matter how strong he got, he still wouldn't be able to defeat a single cultist from the Three Great Families. So he might as well specialize in one thing: survival was all that mattered.
"Alright... then you can start with that... If a better opportunity comes up later, I'll figure something out." It was rare for Lin Shunhe to see such determination in his son's eyes. He felt he should strike while the iron was hot and lock this down before his son's motivation faded.
He immediately picked up his bowl, shoveled down his food, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.
"I'll go make the arrangements right now! Shanshan, take the afternoon off and help Xiaohui pack his things at home!" After these hurried instructions, Lin Shunhe pushed the door open and quickly disappeared down the road.
"Your father is always in such a rush, he doesn't even eat his meals properly..." his mother, Yao Shan, said with a helpless look.
Lin Hui nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt the back of his right hand start to itch.
His heart skipped a beat. He looked at the back of his hand and saw that the itchy spot was precisely where the blood-colored pattern was.
At that moment, the blood-colored pattern marking was writhing strangely, as if an LCD screen had been embedded in the back of his hand, the pattern within it rapidly changing and flashing.
"What's wrong?" his mother asked from the side, confused.
"N-nothing." Lin Hui raised his hand and deliberately waved the back of it in his mother's line of sight, confirming that she couldn't see anything at all.
His anticipation for the Blood Seal soared to its peak.
This thing had awakened along with him. Perhaps it could really help him carve a path out of his current unstable situation.
Gently stroking the Blood Seal, he lowered his hand and returned his attention to the dining table.
"Come on, don't dwell on it. Have a chicken leg." Just then, his mother Yao Shan placed a braised chicken leg into his bowl.
The light brown chicken leg, plump, juicy, and glistening with oil, rolled a little in the dark red multi-grain rice before coming to a stop right under Lin Hui's nose.
SHH.
Just then, the Blood Seal on the back of his hand abruptly stopped flashing.
The chicken leg before his eyes suddenly lit up, glowing with a red light.
A line of small text extended and materialized from his field of vision, to the right of the chicken leg.
'Braised Chicken Leg — Common food for replenishing Qi and blood. Shelf life: 2 days. Flavor: ordinary.
Evolvable Branches: 2.'
Lin Hui's eyes instantly widened in shock.
He stared intently at the text before him. They were the Chinese characters he was most familiar with, and the long-lost sense of intimacy made his emotions surge.
'Evolvable branches? What could a chicken leg possibly evolve into!?' he thought, a mix of pleasant surprise, bewilderment, and confusion.
But the changing text before his eyes was clearly the work of the Blood Seal.
His gaze unconsciously focused on the "Evolvable Branches" section.
SHH.
Another soft sound.
The number 2 after "branches" opened up, expanding into two dotted lines pointing in different directions.
One line pointed up, connected to a new line of red text: 1 — Purgatory Black Wind Chicken Leg.
The dotted line below linked to: 2 — Extremely Cold Heaven Secret Chicken Leg.
"..." Lin Hui stared at the two dotted lines, lost in thought.