Decaying World

Chapter 17 017 Body Tempering Part 3 (Xie Lan Die's Wings Alliance Leader)
Xinyu Town.

Under the dim light of the sky, a light rain was falling.

The yellow mud on the road was trampled into a sticky mess, which was quite disgusting. Occasionally, oxcarts and horse-drawn carts would pass by, splashing mud everywhere.

Most of the pedestrians on the road were wearing straw hats and raincoats, and they were walking in a hurry.

creak.

Lin Hui pushed open the gate to his courtyard and saw that it was empty and quiet.

A newly planted apricot tree in the yard trembled slightly in the light rain.

"Father? Mother?" he called out, but still no one answered.

'Has he gone to work?' he wondered to himself. He entered the yard and turned to close the gate.

Suddenly, there was another creak, and the gate of the neighbor's courtyard, not far away, opened in response.

Two sturdy, short men weighed the gray money bag in their hands while spitting on the ground and cursing.

"Damn it! What the hell?! I have to search for it myself. No money, no money, isn't this money? These trashy old dogs are all talk and no action."

"Brother Huang, we should see someone next door! Brother Huang, hurry!" Just as the other man was about to speak, he suddenly saw Lin Hui standing at the gate of the Lin family's courtyard, and his eyes lit up.

"Has it been received over there?" Brother Huang looked over, somewhat hesitant.

"Really? We just arrived in this area, didn't we? Who collected it? But it's good that they've already collected it, so we can collect more later, and everything we get will be ours!" another man chuckled. "I heard this family used to run an oil mill, they were rich!"

This wasn't the first time the two had repeatedly collected money, so Brother Huang immediately made up his mind and turned to walk towards them.

“Friend, it’s time to pay your security fee. We’re from the Muhua Gang, responsible for the daily operations and security in this area,” Brother Huang said with a smile as he approached gently.

"The Wooden Flower Gang? I remember it was the Fu'an Gang?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't doubt the matter of the "tribute," which had to be paid everywhere. He was just a little confused as to why the original Fu'an Gang had been replaced by the Wooden Flower Gang.

"You don't know this, but the Fu'an Gang has been beaten so badly by us that they don't even dare to leave their gates. From now on, this area will all be under the jurisdiction of my Mu Hua." Brother Huang's eyes darted around as he smiled.

"How much?" Lin Hui didn't suspect anything. He happened to have some wages on him, which he could just give to his parents and that would be the end of it, so he asked.

"Not much. If your family wants to open a small shop, the house and the shop together will cost five thousand coins," Brother Huang said with a smile, holding out one palm.

"How much?" Lin Hui paused as he took out his money, then looked up at the other person.

"Five thousand," Brother Huang repeated, a threatening smile on his face.

"Gentlemen," Lin Hui said politely, "isn't five thousand a bit much?"

"Ah Hui!" Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted from the road not far away.

Mother Yao Shan and Father Lin Shunhe were walking briskly back home, each carrying an oil-paper umbrella.

Seeing Lin Hui being blocked by two members of Brother Huang's Wooden Flower Gang, the two men involuntarily quickened their pace.

"Ah Hui, are you alright? Do you guys in the Wood Flower Gang even know the rules? Didn't you just take money a few days ago?!" Yao Shan quickly approached, grabbed Lin Hui's arm, and turned around to angrily scold Brother Huang and the other man.

"They are them, and we are us. The people who came before were not from our Muhua Gang at all. You must have been tricked!" Brother Huang laughed.

“Every sect has its rules, and every gang has its regulations. Are you just going to let people keep taking money from you and ruin your reputation?” Lin Shunhe frowned and approached.

"Hey, you say you paid, but where's the receipt? What proof do you have that you paid before?" Brother Huang's tone became impatient, and he raised his voice.

"The wooden flower you gave us is still here with us!" Yao Shan said, trembling with anger.

“Anyone can carve wood flowers, it’s not like it’s anything special. Anyone can do it,” another man laughed.

Lin Shunhe wanted to retort, but Lin Hui, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back anymore. He reached out to stop his parents and immediately spoke up.

"Does your Wood Flower Gang have any members from Qingfeng Temple?" Lin Hui suddenly changed the subject. This was to ascertain their background first.

"Qingfeng Temple? What place is that?" Brother Huang asked blankly, taken aback.

"Brother Huang, it seems that the Venerable Yu is from Qingfeng Temple." The man next to him reacted much faster and immediately reminded him in a low voice.

"Yu Gongfeng!?" Brother Huang's expression changed, and he immediately scrutinized Lin Hui carefully. Soon, he saw the special official disciple's waist tag made by Qingfeng Temple, hidden by Lin Hui's leather raincoat.

"You can take a closer look." Lin Hui took off his waist tag and tossed it to the other person.

Brother Huang hurriedly caught it, carefully checked it, and confirmed that it wasn't a fake. He had indeed seen similar brands on the statue.

His expression changed, and he handed the waist token back with both hands.

"Since it's from Qingfeng Temple, then this month's allowance is waived. As for the previous ones, I'll check with the gang later; they should be able to refund quite a bit."

"Gone?"

Lin Hui put away his waist token, his expression calm. "This time, we were the ones who offended you. We'll definitely give you an explanation! We'll be leaving now." Brother Huang gritted his teeth, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Hui with his henchmen, and turned to leave quickly.

Only after the two figures completely disappeared at the end of the road did Lin Hui turn around and look at his parents.

At this moment, the mother's face was shaken, and she was unable to react for a while.

"They just left like that? They even said they'd refund the money they'd collected before?"

She could hardly believe that the arrogant and domineering Muhua Gang had suddenly become so easy to talk to.

“It should be true.” Lin Hui nodded. “After all, to be honest, many of these gangs have connections with martial arts schools like ours, big and small. They’re not afraid of me, but of the places I represent, and the people from Qingfeng Temple in their respective gangs.”

Yao Shan was still somewhat incredulous upon hearing this.

She felt things had been resolved far too easily. Yet, everything unfolding before her eyes felt so real. She couldn't help but believe it.

"You've tempered your body? You've broken through to become a formal disciple?" Lin Shunhe, the father standing beside him, suddenly asked.

"Yes, I just broke through." Lin Hui nodded frankly, his gaze meeting Lin Shunhe's.

Suddenly, he saw a hint of relief on the other person's face, as if the pressure had been lifted.

"That's good, that's good."

However, Lin Shunhe was well aware that the role and influence of a formal disciple were limited. If it weren't for the fact that his own gang had people from Qingfeng Temple, the Muhua Gang wouldn't have been able to retreat so easily. After all, there are so many martial arts schools and so many disciples. If everyone gave them face and didn't accept money, then no gang would survive.

“Those two might not have been telling the truth. It’s very likely they knew you were a formal disciple who had entered the Body Tempering stage, and that you weren’t an ordinary person. They probably couldn’t beat you, so they just went along with it and ran away,” he sighed. “Don’t really think you’re strong because of your status. Don’t rely on it.”

"Yes, Father, I know." Lin Hui nodded.

"Good to know. Sigh. But you have indeed reached the point where you can help ease the burden on your family. As a formal disciple of Qingfeng Temple, you are considered quite capable among wealthy families, and you are already somewhat qualified to receive some exemptions."

The heavy burden he had been carrying alone was now lightened by at least 30% simply because the Muhua Gang's allowance had been reduced.

"Come on, Shanshan, help warm up some wine and food. Let's sit down and have a drink," Lin Shunhe said with satisfaction as he turned and went inside.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Yao Shan quickly turned around and went inside.

After the family returned home, they closed the gate to their yard. But not far away, the gate to their neighbor's yard quietly opened.

A pair of eyes glanced over here several times, their gazes filled with envy and helplessness.

After a while, the eyes disappeared again, and the courtyard gate closed.

Ding.

In the courtyard, Lin Shunhe and Lin Hui sat facing each other on either side of a stone table, drinking with pig ears they had bought.

"This is Lao Liu's old yellow wine, infused with medicinal herbs. It can replenish blood and qi, and invigorate the spirit. You can have a couple of cups without any problem." Lin Shunhe picked up his wine cup and gently clinked it with his son's.

Two white-gray wine glasses clinked softly in mid-air, a clear and pleasant sound.

"Actually, I don't like drinking," Lin Hui said helplessly. "Could you drink less?"

"It's good that you don't like it, haha." Lin Shunhe downed his small glass in one gulp and laughed. "Sigh, only those who are depressed seek out alcohol to temporarily relax. It seems you're not depressed at all."

“Indeed.” Lin Hui nodded. He took a small sip of the pale yellow, amber-like liquor. It tasted sweet with a unique herbal flavor, and it was actually quite fragrant.

"To be honest, for something like the Wood Flower Gang incident, I could ask old friends for help, but favors can only last once, twice, three or four times. People can't keep helping you forever. If you use their help too much and they never reciprocate, even the best relationships will break down," Lin Shunhe sighed.

"Therefore, favors should be used at crucial moments," Lin Hui nodded.

“That’s true, but don’t forget one thing. Favors fade over time. If you don’t use them for a while, people won’t recognize you anymore. So, it’s very tricky to manage this,” Lin Shunhe sighed.

"But what exactly is human sentiment?" Lin Hui asked calmly. He had never been interested in these things before, but he asked them casually at this moment.

"Human favors are about give and take," Lin Shunhe smiled. "Only when others feel indebted to you will they repay you in the future. But these repayments can't be perfectly one-to-one; everyone tries to get things done in a balanced way. When you repay a favor, you can't calculate it so precisely; you have to go a little over. That way, others will repay you in return. In this way, trust is built through give and take."

"But all of this is predicated on give and take?" Lin Hui pondered. He recalled some situations he had witnessed in his previous life, and indeed, that was the case.

“Yes, you need to have the ability to do things for others to come to you. If you don’t have that ability, then it depends on whether the other party is ethical, because such an effort is unlikely to be rewarded.” Lin Shunhe continued, “I didn’t use favors before because I cherished them, but now that you are able to support the family a little, life will be much easier in the future. I don’t have to worry about what to do when the favors run out.”

"I see." Lin Hui nodded in understanding.

"Come on, let's have another drink!"

Ding.

The two men clinked their glasses together and drank one sip after another, finishing the small pot of wine in no time.

Lin Shunhe's face flushed, and he even hummed a little tune happily at the end, before being helped by Yao Shan into the inner room to rest.

(End of this chapter)