The Decaying World

Lin Hui closed the Blood Seal, stood up, and resheathed the Ruyi at his waist.

Stepping out of the inner room, he saw the sky outside was dim, with a thin mist faintly pervading the air.

A few crows stood in a row on the training ground wall, preening their glossy black feathers while staring down at the group of students practicing their Swordsmanship below.

Lin Hui had recently hired someone to build a row of small wooden cabins by the training ground, serving as a place for the students to rest and take shelter from the elements.

After all, they needed a place to nap when they grew tired from sword practice. He was renovating this place according to the standards of Qingfeng Temple.

The dojo now had over thirty disciples. Aside from the ten in Rough Martial Arts, the rest were all in Refined Martial Arts.

The annual tuition fees paid by these Refined Martial Arts students were the primary source of funding that supported the dojo.

Lin Hui didn’t want anyone to notice anything amiss, so balancing the books was a must.

Gazing at the sunset clouds on the distant horizon, he often felt the urge to unleash his true power and fly into the heavens, just to see if the sky here was the same as in his previous world.

But the thought of those purple tentacles made him suppress the impulse.

The longer he stayed here, the more he felt a strange, inexplicable sense of unease.

"Why isn’t Tienu here today?" Pulling back his gaze, he glanced down at the crowd and immediately noticed that Xie Tienu, his most hardworking Rough Martial Arts disciple, was absent.

Ever since joining the dojo, Tienu was the first to wake and the last to sleep almost every single day of the year. He always volunteered for the dirtiest and most tiring chores, making him the most earnest disciple in the dojo.

He was also one of Lin Hui’s greatest admirers.

Unlike the Refined Martial Arts disciples who were mostly there for a casual workout, several of the Rough Martial Arts disciples had seen for themselves just how formidable Wu Anning had become.

Wu Anning hadn’t been nearly this strong when the old master was in charge. Now that the new master had taken over, she had experienced an explosive growth in strength. It was difficult to argue that this wasn’t a result of the new master’s modifications to their Swordsmanship.

"Master, earlier this afternoon, Tienu received a message from his home village," Wu Anning reported cautiously, striding over. "It said something happened to his father, so he asked me for leave to return home. Please excuse his absence."

She had truly grown into a woman now.

A big woman, in the most literal sense.

She was nearly as tall as Lin Hui, standing at two meters. Her figure boasted a powerful back and a narrow waist, with long, straight, and sturdy legs. The once-ample curves of her chest had been honed into solid pectoral muscles. Her previously pretty, delicate face now had a cold, hard edge, and her sweeping gaze was utterly captivating.

Due to her strong and burly physique, Wu Anning had secretly earned the nickname "Human Bear" among the disciples.

As the senior sister who led their Swordsmanship practice, she was the one who doled out the most beatings, making her the most intimidating figure in the dojo.

"If his father is in trouble, there’s nothing to forgive. It’s only natural," Lin Hui said nonchalantly. "Later, take ten taels from the accounts and have them sent to his family on my behalf."

"Yes!" In addition to her duties as the senior sister leading their sword training, Wu Anning was now also responsible for the day-to-day management of the entire dojo. She handled all such miscellaneous tasks.

Lin Hui had grown accustomed to being a hands-off boss, so he had immediately cultivated an assistant who could take care of things and allow him to be lazy.

Turning around, he planned to head back to his room to rest.

Although he was here to investigate the cause of the corrupting mutation, he currently had no leads. His only option was to establish a power base first, then cast a wide net to gather information from all over.

Otherwise, relying on himself alone, he would be stretched too thin. The investigation could take forever.

As it stood, he and Wu Anning had already beaten up most of the local gangs around Xidong City, establishing a relatively stable base of operations.

A large amount of intelligence from various sources could now be funneled to him through the gangs.

Just as he turned to enter his room and shut the door, a disciple on gate duty shouted from afar.

"Tienu, why are you carrying such a huge thing back!?"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Tienu."

"Brother Tienu, you look terrible."

"Master!!"

A mournful wail followed. Xie Tienu burst into the dojo, fell to his knees, and kowtowed heavily before Lin Hui, his forehead striking the ground with loud THUDS.

Lying on the ground beside him, wrapped in a quilt, was his father’s body.

"My father was murdered! Master, I beg you to seek justice for me!" Xie Tienu cried out.

Lin Hui frowned and turned to look toward the courtyard gate. Besides Tienu, several other people had followed him inside.

*

*

*

「Outside the dojo.」

Brother Hao, the Daoist Zhu Xiang, and "Thunderbolt Palm" Dai Yunhua, followed by two local police officers.

They had sprinted all the way here, chasing after Xie Tienu. Zhu Xiang and Dai Yunhua, being trained, were holding up fine. Brother Hao, however, was suffering badly. The long run had left him pale and panting like a bull, with large beads of sweat rolling down his face, so exhausted he looked like he was about to pass out.

The three of them had been trying to reason with Xie Tienu the entire way, but the man’s stamina was simply monstrous. He ran nonstop for a full two hours, only stopping once he reached the dojo’s training ground.

The trio was also curious about this Songfeng Sword Dojo.

On the way, Dai Yunhua admitted he’d only heard of the place. It was somewhat famous in the area, but he didn’t know the specifics and would have to see it for himself.

Having run all the way to the entrance, the three followed Tienu into the dojo. The moment they stepped inside, they could feel that this place was different.

The dojo’s gate was in disrepair, looking somewhat dilapidated, but that was irrelevant. The main thing was the disciples—the students.

Every single one of them was powerfully built and muscular. They were all carrying or wearing thick iron bars.

That’s right. Even though this was a sword dojo, no one was holding a sword. Most of them used thick iron bars for practice instead.

Swords, being bladed weapons, were not typically used for daily practice or sparring.

Seeing the muscular men gather around as they entered, Brother Hao and his two companions instinctively drew closer together. Brother Hao even rested a hand discreetly on the pistol at his waist.

Then, the trio saw Tienu rush forward, drop to his knees, and begin to kowtow and plead desperately.

"Tienu, when you joined this dojo, we signed a contract. Do you remember what it said?"

Then, a cool and calm young man’s voice drifted over from a corner of the training ground.

The three turned to look.

A shiver went down their spines. They saw two veritable giants, a man and a woman built like brown bears, looking their way.

The man was the one who had spoken. He was even more powerfully built than his companion, with bronze skin and a commanding, masculine aura. Despite his imposing frame, his face held a kind of severe, chiseled beauty.

"This place..." Brother Hao nudged his friend, Dai Yunhua. "It looks a little rough..."

"Don’t worry. What’s there to be afraid of when you have a gun?" Dai Yunhua said, trying to be reassuring.

Brother Hao felt a little more at ease after hearing that.

While they were distracted by their surroundings, Xie Tienu had already finished speaking with the man and woman. It seemed they had agreed that the dojo would handle the arrangements for his father’s body and burial.

Tienu had explained the trouble the corpse might attract, but the dojo master, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the situation, had agreed with a detached, casual air.

This made Zhu Xiang anxious, and he immediately stepped forward to dissuade him.

"Dojo Master, do you have any idea what kind of trouble this corpse will attract? The things it will draw for the next three nights pose an immense danger! Don’t let your blind confidence endanger everyone in this dojo!"

"It’s fine," Lin Hui said coolly. "Tienu is a member of my dojo. It’s my responsibility to handle his affairs."

"Have you ever seen a wraith? Or a living corpse?" Zhu Xiang pressed, his anxiety growing.

"No."

"Then how can you be so confident?!"

"Isn’t this a perfect opportunity to witness them?" Lin Hui countered.

Zhu Xiang was struck speechless. He could only watch as Lin Hui turned and went back inside, while Wu Anning took some disciples to console Xie Tienu and help with his father’s funeral arrangements.

The trio stood at the edge of the training ground, at a loss. Seeing the other students resume their training as if nothing of consequence had occurred only made them feel more frantic.

Night was falling fast. The first incident was set to occur at midnight. If they failed to convince the dojo master now, they feared the "Blood Character Case" would expand its reach.

The three of them decided to split up. One, leveraging his authority as the local deputy chief, went to speak with Dojo Master Lin Hui, while the other two tried to persuade Xie Tienu.

Unfortunately, no matter what they said, Xie Tienu remained steadfast, firmly believing that his master would see justice done.

Meanwhile, Lin Hui remained perfectly calm. No matter how Brother Hao tried to persuade him, he was the very picture of composure.

As the sky grew darker, the trio had no choice but to retreat from the training ground to confer.

"There’s only one way now," Zhu Xiang sighed.

"What is it?"

"Tonight, we’ll intercept the wraith outside and prevent it from entering the dojo. The commotion from our fight will show these dojo people the truth and make them realize how difficult these things are to handle. After that, it should be easier to persuade them over the next two days..."

"Excellent! After that, we won’t even have to persuade them. They’ll come to us for help on their own," Brother Hao exclaimed, slapping his hand in sudden understanding.

"You couldn’t even think of something so simple? Brother Hao, did you buy that deputy chief title?" Dai Yunhua joked.

"What do you know? I already thought of it. Daoist Zhu just said it before I got the chance," Brother Hao retorted stubbornly.

Dai Yunhua didn’t buy it, and the two bickered for a moment before settling on their strategy for the night.

Since the dojo members didn’t believe they were in over their heads, it was time to let them witness the danger for themselves.

The three quickly made a plan. Brother Hao would take his men to the small, temporary Daoist Temple where Zhu Xiang was staying to fetch talismans and consecrated Magic Artifacts.

Dai Yunhua would remain here to watch the dojo in case the body was moved.

And Zhu Xiang, as their main combatant, would focus on conserving his energy and spirit, preparing for the battle to come that night.

「Inside the dojo.」

In truth, Wu Anning and the other Rough Martial Arts disciples, the core members of the dojo, only appeared calm and detached. Though their Heart and Spirit seemed stable, they were inwardly quite worried.

Finding a spare moment, Wu Anning knocked and entered the meditation room where Lin Hui was resting.

"Master... what that Daoist said just now... it’s true. I asked someone from Tienu’s village."

"Is that so?" Lin Hui opened his eyes, his interest finally piqued.

These days, it was hard to tell truth from fiction. He had investigated many similar cases before. Rumors would spread about ghosts and monsters, but most of the time, the culprit turned out to be human malice.

Only a handful of incidents were actually the work of a Mutant Body, but by the time he arrived on the scene, the creature would be long gone.

But now, there was a strong chance that Xie Tienu’s situation was the real deal. A flicker of anticipation ignited within him.

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