Decaying World

Chapter 3 003 Moving - Part 1
Lin Hui sat upright on the dark bed in the inner room.

Holding a bowl of corn and yam porridge left by her mother that morning, she spooned it into her mouth and swallowed it.

Outside the window, the sounds of children playing in the alley could be heard, seemingly throwing stones. Further away, in the wind, one could faintly hear someone playing an instrument similar to an erhu, the sound mournful and desolate.

Bang.

Suddenly, the wooden door to the inner room was pushed open, and Old Man Lin Shunhe entered with a furious expression.

"When your mother gets back, we're moving out immediately! We're never coming to this Lin family compound again!"

Lin Hui looked bewildered. He was still pondering what he should do and what he could do in the future when his father suddenly rushed in and brought up the topic of moving.

"Don't worry about it. Son, your plan has fallen through this time, but don't be afraid, don't worry, your old man still has a way! Still a way!!" A hint of ruthlessness flashed across Lin Shunhe's somewhat wooden face, as if he had made up his mind.

"You're my only son! I'll never let you be left without a home!" Lin Shunhe repeated.

After saying that, he began looking around for a wooden basket to pack his things.

Lin Hui watched for a while, then realized what was happening and started tidying up as well.

He didn't know what had happened, but it was probably related to the powerful Lin family; otherwise, his father wouldn't be so angry and wouldn't have said he wanted to leave the Lin family.

You see, these days, in the outer city, a large and prosperous clan meant that you were not to be trifled with and that you were safe.

Although the Lin family wasn't extremely wealthy, they were far more well-off than ordinary people.

While many people could only eat bran and drink water if they had to eat Wanfu meat, the Lin family could at least manage to get some coarse grain rice with a little meat.

If it weren't for a last resort, my father would never have said anything about leaving the family.

After tidying up for a while, Lin Shunjiang, the father of Lin Hongzhen, the eldest son, came to the house.

Lin Shunjiang was a middle-aged fat man with a completely different style from Lin Shunhe. His small eyes darted around, revealing a subtle shrewdness.

He and Lin Shunhe went to a corner and talked privately for a while, seemingly trying to persuade him, but in the end he sighed repeatedly and went back alone.

The old man continued packing his things in silence. By the time his mother, Yao Shan, returned home, it was already getting dark.

"Honey, what exactly happened?" Yao Shan asked urgently as she entered the room, putting down her work bag, her face exhausted.

Lin Shunhe opened his mouth, but when he saw his wife's worried face, his face trembled and tears welled up in his eyes.

He had no idea how to tell his wife that the opportunity they had worked so hard for over the years had been snatched away by his father, Lin Chaoyi.
Their years of hard work had been completely wasted, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to the wife.

"Alright, stop talking. Sigh." Actually, Yao Shan had heard some commotion before she came back, and now she only got confirmation from her husband.

She glanced at her son, who was tidying up and drying clothes in the yard not far away.

“It’s okay, I understand what kind of person your father is. Whatever decision you make, just like before, I will listen to you.”

"Shanshan." Upon hearing this, Lin Shunhe could no longer hold back. He grabbed his wife's hand, his eyes reddening. "Don't worry, I swear I will never let you suffer again!"

"I believe you!" Yao Shan gently hugged her husband, and the two fell silent for a moment, as if frozen in time.

In the courtyard, Lin Hui glanced at this scene and shook his head slightly.

It seems that although my life has been mediocre, at least my family atmosphere has been good.

"Before, I was just drifting through life, but now that my memories have returned, it's time to plan my future properly. Forget about making it big, I need to at least ensure my basic safety and shelter. I can't rely on my parents for everything."

Lin Hui is a man without much ambition. His only wish is to find a quiet place, quietly find something to study, enjoy researching things, and discover the pleasure of discovering mysteries that others cannot.

In his past life, he enjoyed playing with things like Luban locks and Rubik's Cubes. But in this environment, it's impossible for him to indulge in such frivolous pursuits.

Thinking of this, he unconsciously raised his right hand and looked at the back of his hand.

On the skin there, a complex, diamond-shaped, blood-red pattern was clearly etched.

He had just discovered this thing. Judging from his previous memories, he didn't have this pattern on his hands. Obviously, this thing only started to appear after his memories were awakened.

He hasn't discovered its function yet, though.

'It can't just be a plain pattern, can it?'

Lin Hui pondered to himself.

After a quick afternoon meal of meat buns with the previously prepared spiced pig's head meat and some stir-fried wild vegetables of unknown origin, the food was very fragrant. However, apart from Lin Hui, Lin Shunhe and Yao Shan had no appetite and could only watch their son devour most of the dishes.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, as soon as the fog lifted, someone from the Lin family peeked out and watched as Lin Shunhe and his family of three, carrying large and small bags, rented an oxcart and spent the whole morning moving all their belongings away from the compound.

Old man Lin Shunhe had clearly made arrangements in advance. He quickly led his wife and son to a square, gray-white stone courtyard and soon unloaded their belongings from the oxcart.

The next step was to settle down again, start cooking again, and rebuild the family's possessions.

His parents wouldn't let him do these things; they just told him to rest aside and gave him a small bag of melon seeds, which were seasoned with spices and had a sweet aftertaste—they were quite delicious.

Lin Hui tried to help, but was pushed away several times, so he gave up, took the melon seeds and went out of the house. He sat down on a yellow stone outside the door and watched the flow of people and vehicles on the muddy road.

The new house is further away from the town, and it is located opposite the Lin family compound, on opposite sides of the town center.

"Hui Zi, why are you sitting here?" Not long after he sat down, a tall, thin young man with a slick look and his jacket buttons undone approached from the passing crowd and stared at Lin Hui with a familiar expression, asking.

"Pengshan? What are you doing here?" Lin Hui was studying the bloodstains on the back of his hand when he heard the noise. He looked up and immediately laughed.

The newcomer was named Peng Shan, and like him, he was an idle loafer with some background.

Both being scoundrels, the two got along well, having shared similar experiences and personalities, and gradually became friends over time.

Peng Shan comes from the Peng family, a large and wealthy clan in the town, which is even larger and richer than the Lin family.

Peng Shan himself was originally living a wealthy and happy life, but his doting father fell ill and passed away a few years ago, leaving him and his four older sisters unable to support their family. As a result, they could only sit and eat away at their savings and squander their family fortune.

After being swindled out of a lot of money by his clansmen, he realized his mistake and moved out on his own with his sisters. Now he's trying to find good homes for his family by acting as a go-between for his sisters.

All things considered, although he wasn't very capable, he was kind-hearted and a good person.

"Don't say anymore, sigh," Lin Hui briefly explained the moving situation to the other party.

"Moving out is the right thing to do!" Peng Shan laughed immediately upon hearing this. "Let me tell you, big families are just so troublesome. They always have to consider the clansmen in everything they do. I always consider the clansmen, but when they go out, they never consider me!"

"That's right." Lin Hui nodded.

"So what if I wasted some time in the past few years? I'm still young, I'll always have a chance to work hard again! Those lousy bastards in my family, who do they think they are!" Peng Shan cursed for a few minutes, then changed the subject.

"Now that you're at the age where you should be doing something, how's it going? Have you found something to do yet?"

"Not yet, but my dad says he has a way," Lin Hui shook his head.

“We definitely wouldn’t qualify for the government’s public selection, and the requirements of the Sha Yue Sect are too high, not to mention the Chen family. With our qualifications, we can only go to a less desirable place to make a living. How about Huang’s Trading Company, their chain of liquor stores? They’re hiring a lot of people right now.”

"No, I'm not going. What's so great about being a vegetable delivery guy?" Lin Hui shook his head.

"Then let's pay some money to rent land and farm it!" Peng Shan discussed. "I've been researching this recently and have already gained some insights."

"Hehe." Lin Hui remained noncommittal. He knew Peng Shan's personality all too well. With his lazy and indolent nature, farming? He'd be more suited to farming.

"Don't you believe me? Sigh, you look down on people!" Peng Shan was speechless, but didn't continue to refute. "However, my older sister does have a way. It's not difficult; it's just helping with cleaning and keeping things clean."

"A cleaner?" Lin Hui asked.

"Ah, right, right, they're sanitation workers! You've summed it up perfectly." Peng Shan gave a thumbs up.

"I'm not going," Lin Hui refused again.

"Sigh, you're not going anywhere, and with your abilities, you're all talk and no action. What can you do?" Peng Shan was speechless.

"You didn't go either?" Lin Hui retorted.

Peng Shan was also choked up.

The two of them simply sat together on the rock, watching the trucks and pedestrians constantly passing by on the dirt road.

Among the passersby, one could often see young men and women of similar age to them.

They were dressed in work clothes, coming and going. Some wore long coats, some short coats, and many of them had the names of various workshops, restaurants, and family names on their clothes. Some also had the symbol of the Shayue Cult, which was a cross-shaped symbol with two intersecting crescent moons.

"Sigh, in this world, with ghosts breaking in during the day and ghosts shrouding the fog at night, life is so hard for the living, why bother working so hard every day?" Peng Shan sighed.

"How about we learn martial arts?" Lin Hui suggested. He felt very insecure right now; the ghost that broke into his door and the mist ghost that knocked on his door at night made him increasingly uneasy about the future.

If he hadn't awakened his memories, it would have been fine, but once he did, he couldn't bring himself to place his hopes on a jade talisman he had obtained through begging.

"Learn martial arts? What's the use of that? Can you even beat a member of the sect?" Peng Shan scoffed. "Take your eldest sister, Lin Hongzhen, for example. She's a new member. As soon as she accepts the call, she immediately becomes as tough as iron, impervious to poison! She could practice martial arts for a whole night and still not achieve that in a lifetime!"

"Is it that bad?" Lin Hui's memory of this was rather hazy, and he was stunned when he heard this.

"Otherwise what? These days, only families with no connections are willing to practice martial arts. If you have connections, you can get into one of the three places: the government, the Chen family, or the Shayue Sect. That would be a great opportunity to change your fate!" The more Peng Shan said this, the more precious the Chen family spot that had been snatched away seemed.

Lin Hui felt increasingly uneasy and unconsciously began to carefully feel the bloodstains on the back of his hand.

"But if there's really no other way, working as a helper at a martial arts school or temple dojo is a good option. The pay may be low, but it's easy work." Peng Shan's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of a benefit.

"Is there any way to deal with the door-breaking ghost and the mist ghost?" Lin Hui suddenly asked again.

“Three schools are possible, only those three. There’s no way to get in from the rest. Otherwise, why do you think everyone is so eager to get in?” Peng Shan shook his head. “As for the others, the only use of martial arts is to run away quickly when in danger. That’s the main purpose of most people learning martial arts, so the martial arts schools in town basically teach lightness skills.”

"The one that runs fast is good." Lin Hui was somewhat tempted.

“At our age, it’s too late to learn martial arts,” Peng Shan shattered his illusions. “We can only learn some basic, low-level external skills that have no entry requirements. Those are for poor people; the harder they practice, the shorter their lives will be.”

Lin Hui remained silent.

Neither of them spoke, and they just watched people bustling about, the busy people and the two of them idle, forming a stark contrast.

As they looked around, the two noticed that there were many more oxcarts on the road, and judging from their direction, they all seemed to be heading towards the inner city.

(End of this chapter)