Decaying World

Chapter 7 007 Variable 1
As dusk approached.

Lin Hui put away the wooden stick, wiped his sweat with a towel, and walked quickly towards the dormitory.

The large communal sleeping area is located on the right side of the martial arts training ground. At first glance, it looks like a blackened large intestine laid horizontally on the ground.

The lines on the outside of the large intestine are like individual rooms. Each room can sleep up to ten people.

Lin Hui lived in a relatively clean and well-ventilated room on the far right.

At this moment, he pushed open the door and entered, glancing at the jade talisman hanging on the wall. The rest of the people in the room had returned; two were playing cards, while the others were silently gesturing with small wooden sticks in their respective positions, most of them looking focused and serious.

"Ahui, you're back?" Chen Zhishen looked over, got up, and approached. "You weren't here just now, and some people were talking about how the senior monks at the temple caught a monster during the day. You didn't see it, those monster's claws, one of its arms was at least as tall as one of us!"

He looked somewhat excited and a little agitated.

After all, most people living in the city have never seen what a monster looks like.

The legendary monsters are almost all hidden in the fog outside, shrouded in mystery.

Legend has it that they are cruel, savage, insane, and possess unimaginable poisons and diseases.

The vast fog completely separated them from humanity, as if they were two different worlds.

"A monster? I've been practicing martial arts all day and haven't paid attention to anything else." Lin Hui's curiosity was also piqued.

To be honest, even though he grew up in Xinyu Town, an outer city, he had never seen a monster. Those monsters rarely seemed to venture into the city limits; they only attacked pioneers, caravans, and messengers who ventured into the fog-shrouded area.

However, most of the pioneers were death row inmates who had committed serious crimes, and only large trading companies had the ability to build intercity caravans. As for messengers, they were top-tier figures that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

Those who can travel between major cities alone are definitely top-tier elite experts.

"It is said that the monster is over four meters tall, covered in black scales, with no eyes or nostrils, only a huge mouth that takes up the entire face, it is very terrifying!" Chen Zhishen said in a low voice.

"You've been reading too many storybooks and that's just your imagination," a thin man with glasses said sarcastically.

"What storybook? I saw with my own eyes Uncle Mingde dragging that monster past the Taoist temple, and then being taken away by the government officials. There were no more than ten people who saw the whole thing, and I was one of them!" Chen Zhishen said indignantly.

"Do you know what other way out there is for us martial artists, besides being guards and bodyguards? Or have you ever thought about why monster corpses appear in the fogless zone where even monsters dare not enter? Why would Uncle Mingde drag monster corpses here for no reason?" The skinny man pushed up his glasses and asked in a low voice.

"Why?" Chen Zhishen was taken aback; he had never really thought about these questions. He was just an ordinary farm boy who barely knew any characters, and his greatest source of knowledge came from this Qingfeng Temple.

Lin Hui, who was standing nearby, was also drawn to the other person's words. Not only him, but also several other students in the temple who were nearby quietly focused their attention on the skinny man.

Finding that his topic had garnered attention, the skinny guy became quite pleased with himself. Without further ado, he rubbed his nose and said...

"Because the main force in exploring the mist has always been us martial artists."

he sighed.

"The three major powers in the inner city, as well as the major forces in the surrounding districts, are all exploring the fog zone. Although there are monsters in the fog zone, there are also various rare medicinal herbs, precious mineral deposits, and even mysterious ruins and treasures."

"Ruins? Isn't the Fog Zone uninhabitable?" A gentle-looking young man couldn't help but ask.

“No one lives here now. Some places used to be fog-free zones, but they became fog zones for various reasons later,” the skinny man said mysteriously in a low voice. “Moreover, I heard my uncle say that the most common relics in the fog zones are not actually left by us humans, but by other unknown creatures.”

Unknown creature!

These words immediately piqued the interest of all the teenagers around.

"Unknown creatures can leave behind relics? Does that mean they, like us humans, can build houses, grow crops, raise livestock, and eat meat?" the boy who had asked the question earlier continued.

"I don't know, but it should be, otherwise how could they have left behind these ruins?" the skinny man laughed. Seeing that more and more people were gathering around him, he became even more interested and began to describe in detail how he learned about these things.

It turns out that his uncle was once one of the martial artists who went out to explore the foggy area. He was very strong, but he was seriously injured and disabled during many explorations. In the end, he could only rely on his savings to live at home and wait to die.

This information about the foggy area was told to him by his uncle as stories in his spare time.

Lin Hui listened intently, completely absorbed; he had never encountered anything like this before.

Through the skinny man's words, his understanding of the world seemed to be slowly unveiled.

According to the other party, this world is not just home to humans, but also to many other humanoid races and non-humanoid races.

Some of these humanoid groups had already secretly infiltrated the fog-free zone within the city, living there under assumed identities. Other groups would engage in friendly trade with humans, and even intermarry and breed. These were not particularly secretive within the inner city.

Finally, as the fog outside grew thicker and thicker, it was time to turn off the lights.

The skinny guy summed it up in one sentence.

"Alright, alright, enough of this. My mouth is dry from talking so much, and I haven't even paid for tea. If you're really interested, you can go to Rift Town on the edge of the city when you have time. It's said that there's a military garrison there because a humanoid race called the Cloud Clan usually appears there. Many of the residents of Rift Town are of mixed blood with the Cloud Clan."

Crack Town.
Lin Hui secretly memorized the place name.

call.

After blowing out the oil lamp, everyone lay down in their places, but no matter who they were, they were all excited by what the skinny man had just said and couldn't fall asleep at all.

Lin Hui was the same; he kept replaying everything the skinny man had described in his mind. His impression of the foggy area gradually changed from a dangerous wasteland to one where danger and opportunity coexisted.

Nothing was said that night, except for the constant howling wind outside, which made the door creak and rattle.

Day two.

As soon as it was light, most of the boys in the room got up, including Lin Hui.

As usual, he fetched water, chopped wood, and then practiced his sword. He finished practicing close to noon, but this time he had different plans.

After hearing the skinny man's story yesterday, Lin Hui decided to go to the edge of the fog-free zone during the day to take a look himself.

If it were the old Xinyu Town, he wouldn't have been able to travel that far. But this is Qingfeng Temple, which is close to the edge of the fog-free zone, and there's a small path through the fog that caravans often pass by, so he could actually make the round trip on foot.

Having made up his mind, Lin Hui immediately returned to his dormitory, packed his things on the large communal bed, took his water bag, checked the direction, and decisively headed out of the side gate of the Taoist temple.

To the north of the Taoist temple lies the enormous city of Tuyue. To the south, a vast expanse of gray-white mist stretches out.

Exiting through the side door, the distance to the edge of the mist is less than three hundred meters.

Lin Hui went out through the side door, found a big tree, climbed up, and surveyed the terrain from above.

The shortest route from here to the border is along the small river next to the Taoist temple.

This river is called Changhe, which means "intestine" as it is. It originates in Xinyu Town outside the city, meanders all the way to Qingfeng Temple, then passes through a lush forest, and finally enters a vast and endless fog.

Lin Hui's departure did not attract the attention of the gatekeeper boys, since these students usually did nothing more than chop wood.

The temple's monks and elders often patrol the area to avoid any risks.

As for the monsters that break into the gate, at least so far, they haven't seen any monsters actively break into the fog-free zone.

Carrying a water bag, Lin Hui, dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt and holding a sharpened wooden stick, strode quickly along a vague path toward the foggy area.

The sky was overcast and gloomy, with thick clouds and howling winds, threatening rain at any moment.

Lin Hui walked alone on the overgrown forest path.

All around were thick, straight, gray-black trees.

The lush, dark green grass and shrubs, reaching half a person's height, completely concealed the surrounding area except for the path.

Click.

Click.

Lin Hui carefully made his way forward, and soon, following the path, he gradually saw the gray mist emerging from the woods ahead.

The thick gray fog, like a wall, connected the sky and the earth, cutting through the forest.

At the same time, Lin Hui stopped in his tracks because he saw an old man in a black Taoist robe sitting cross-legged at the foot of a large tree by the roadside.

The old man had a kind face, white hair and beard, a sturdy build, and carried a long, black sword on his back.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Hui.

“Every few days, some curious kids come to see what’s so special, can’t you guys just stay quiet for a bit?”

Lin Hui noticed the pattern on the old Taoist's robe; it was the style of Qingfeng Temple, indicating that the old man was stationed there specifically to maintain security.

He immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the other party.

"Disciple Lin Hui greets Master."

"I am Mingchen. Although there are few monsters coming and going in this place, it's best not to come looking for trouble. If you enter the fog zone, you will surely die a gruesome death," the old Taoist priest warned.

"This disciple understands. I was merely curious and intended to observe from the side. I will absolutely not go in," Lin Hui replied earnestly. This was his thought, and this was his action.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have specifically chosen a path trodden by predecessors.

"That's good. Go back after you've finished reading." Old Daoist Mingchen nodded, stopped looking in this direction, and continued to sit in meditation with his eyes closed.

The rustling wind made the leaves whisper in the wind.

A few leaves occasionally drifted down from above their heads.

Lin Hui stared intently at the wall of mist not far away, his eyes trying to see through the fog to see what was inside.

Swish.

He vaguely saw a gray shadow, taller than a person, flash through the mist at great speed.

"May I ask, sir, why don't the monsters in this foggy area enter our area?" Lin Hui asked softly.

Old Daoist Mingchen remained motionless, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Seeing this, Lin Hui knew that the other party had no intention of paying attention to him. After a moment of silence, he glanced around and felt that running back like this would be pointless. So he simply picked up a sharp wooden stick and vigorously scratched a line of words on a tree trunk to the side.

'Lin Hui was here.'

“…” Mingchen heard the noise, opened his eyes, and was immediately speechless.

After finishing this, Lin Hui turned around, intending to go back. But after taking only two steps, he bent down again and picked up a piece of dark purple material from the grass on the ground.

The fragment was cold to the touch, and seemed to have fallen from the edge of some kind of equipment.

After receiving the souvenir, Lin Hui hurriedly returned to the Taoist temple, satisfied.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest Mingchen was speechless once again. Those fragments were merely remnants of skin and horns left behind by monsters from the foggy area during their nighttime incursions. Utterly worthless. This kid picked them up and acted like they were treasures.

(End of this chapter)