The Decaying World-Chapter 113 - 106: Intrusion 2

"The Wanhua Sect?"

Lin Hui narrowed his eyes. After killing that Incense Master, he knew he couldn’t keep it a secret. He was lucky it had been delayed for this long.

This world was full of all sorts of mysterious methods, impossible to predict, so getting discovered was to be expected.

The key was what kind of expert the Wanhua Sect would send to make trouble.

Whether they needed proof that he did it was irrelevant. For a wicked sect like this, suspicion alone was reason enough to act. They had probably already eliminated all other suspects, and now it was his turn.

"I already know. Is there anything else? Someone told me this already. It’s not of great value to me," Lin Hui said calmly.

"...Th-there is!" Lin Hongyu’s face paled. She had been knocked unconscious by a slap last time, and her head had ached for two days afterward. She was genuinely terrified of him, afraid he would strike again at the slightest provocation.

Of course, getting hit was a small matter. What she really feared was his ruthlessness... and from what she knew of Observatory Master Lin’s past actions, it was a very real possibility.

The man before her was a vicious character who had killed over a hundred people without batting an eye.

"I heard the name and title of the expert they’re sending..." Lin Hongyu said quickly.

"Speak," Lin Hui said impatiently.

"This... my payment... I want my payment!" Lin Hongyu said hurriedly.

"You’re just a trainee, not even a Summoner. Spit it out. What do you want?" Lin Hui frowned.

"Money! I want money! In the Fog Area, I promised someone two million to spare my life! Just give me that much, and I’ll talk!" Lin Hongyu said urgently.

"Two million? Have you gone mad?" Lin Hui was speechless. "Five hundred thousand. Your information isn’t that important to me. Take it or leave it."

"...Fine!" Lin Hongyu saw the vicious glint in his eyes. A shiver ran down her spine, and she didn’t dare to haggle any further.

"Money first!" That was her bottom line.

Speechless, Lin Hui took out five gold notes, each worth one hundred thousand, from the pouch on his belt and tossed them over.

A slight breeze carried the gold notes with perfect precision, and they fluttered down in front of Lin Hongyu, who quickly snatched them out of the air.

After confirming their authenticity, Lin Hongyu’s eyes lit up.

"His name is Zhou Fan, nicknamed the Karma-Slaying Blade. He’s an Outer Sect Guardian of the Wanhua Sect. I don’t know his exact power level, but he’s definitely stronger than a Summoner—he’s an Inner Power Martial Artist!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Yes. I heard those two people say that Zhou Fan has to hunt down and eliminate a traitor from the sect—another Inner Power Martial Artist—before he comes here," Lin Hongyu said quickly.

"Now this information has some value," Lin Hui nodded, satisfied. "Do you have anything else to trade? You might as well say it all now."

"...Th-there is one more thing. I... in those ruins... I was branded with a mark. I can’t get rid of it. After I returned, my body started changing. I have a persistent fever and symptoms of severe blood loss, and I can’t stand the sunlight. But my ability to recover has improved significantly. I also feel a stronger affinity for water and mist."

Lin Hongyu explained, her voice faltering.

"...A mark? What kind of mark?" Lin Hui’s heart tightened. He didn’t know much about ruins, but if he wasn’t mistaken, the one Lin Hongyu had visited must be one of the two in the vicinity.

"This one." Lin Hongyu suddenly tore off her black top, revealing her bare torso. In the center of her full chest, a clear, dark purple floral pattern was branded into her skin, stretching from her sternum down past her abdomen.

The move was clearly premeditated. After pulling off her clothes, she watched Lin Hui’s eyes intently.

This was the true purpose of their private meeting: she had to find a way to latch onto this golden thigh, Lin Hui!

She knew her chance had come, especially after his reputation as a lecher began to spread.

But to her surprise, other than a flicker of inquiry, his eyes held no trace of lust whatsoever.

’Did I misread him?’ Lin Hongyu wondered. "Do you... want to touch it? The pattern goes all the way down..." Lin Hui was a notorious lecher, rumored to consume aphrodisiacs by the pound. How could he not be tempted?

’Even back in the Chen Family, my looks attracted plenty of men.’

"That’s enough. Get dressed," Lin Hui commanded, his expression thoughtful as he committed the purplish-black pattern to memory.

"But the rest of the pattern is down here..." Lin Hongyu said softly, gently undoing the rest of her skirt.

BAM!

The next instant, a black scabbard lashed across her left cheek. The immense force sent her flying sideways into a crumbling wall, and she immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.

’She didn’t pass out this time?’

Lin Hui was slightly surprised. He had used about the same amount of force as last time. The fact that she hadn’t been knocked unconscious meant Lin Hongyu’s physical constitution had genuinely improved.

"Interesting... that pattern..." He glanced at the sky, then turned to leave. "If you have intelligence in the future, you can come directly to Qingfeng Temple to make a trade. Of course, if the information is worthless... you understand the consequences."

Behind him, Lin Hongyu struggled to climb out of the rubble, her face covered in blood.

’Aren’t they saying Lin Hui is a lecher??’

’Why... Am I not beautiful enough??’

She was plunged into severe self-doubt.

Meanwhile, as Lin Hui sped back, his brows were tightly furrowed.

He might have dismissed the warning if it had only come from the Dragon Maiden in her Dragon Mask. But now his father was also saying the Wanhua Sect was coming, and Lin Hongyu had shown up to trade information from a different source, also confirming that an expert was on their way.

’You can’t spend a thousand days guarding against a single thief. I don’t know how strong this Wanhua Sect expert is. It looks like I’ll have to test the waters first...’

An idea quickly formed in Lin Hui’s mind.

’Since I don’t have spies or sources of intelligence to find him, I’ll just make sure he loses all of his.’

Xinyu Town was Lin Hui’s domain. Anyone who came here would almost certainly have to interact with one of Qingfeng Temple’s businesses. Even if they went out of their way to avoid them, they would inevitably cross paths with the United Supermarket. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

In today’s Xinyu Town, you could say that if Lin Hui wanted it, even a stray cat or dog that wandered in could be brought to him immediately.

Back at Qingfeng Temple, reports on all recent outsiders were quickly delivered to Lin Hui’s desk.

And so, within an hour, all outsiders received a notice from the Government Office: they were to suspend all personal activities and cooperate with an investigation being conducted by Qingfeng Temple.

Similarly, all intelligence on the Wanhua Sect was being delivered to Lin Shunhe’s study.

"Why would the Wanhua Sect suddenly come after us? I haven’t provoked them, have I?" Lin Shunhe asked, looking quizzically at the black-clad, white-masked man kneeling before him.

"I do not know, but their movements confirm they are approaching and surrounding the Chaolin Mansion," the man in black said grimly.

"I just completed my integration. It wouldn’t be wise to act directly. Please trouble Elder Du to report this. Ask if we can get permission to completely eliminate the Wanhua Sect members in the area," Lin Shunhe said, looking at Elder Du behind him.

"It shouldn’t be a problem. This branch was only recently established, but its businesses and influence are growing. Now that the Master has successfully completed his integration, we are drawing a lot of attention. Lord Black Face will likely dispatch a Priest to handle this," Elder Du replied respectfully.

"That’s good. I’m quite afraid of dying, you know. It’s best to leave this sort of rough business to the professionals," Lin Shunhe said with a satisfied nod.

*

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「At the same time.」

Inner City. Rain Palace. Yuanming Hall.

In a pure white secret chamber, a figure shrouded in countless transparent, terrifying, and distorted phantoms suddenly frowned and opened his eyes.

"What is it, Liu Xiao?"

The figure’s face slowly came into focus, revealing none other than Liu Wu Jun, who had been in secluded cultivation.

"Brother, some of the Wanhua Sect’s trash died, and now they dare to retaliate. They’ve sent Zhou Fan to make a move against our family," Liu Xiao’s voice called from outside the door. "I just had a breakthrough, but I’m not confident I can take down Zhou Fan for good. I need you to handle this personally."

"Zhou Fan?" Liu Wu Jun’s expression turned ferocious. "Last time, I crippled one of his hands and let him go for his father’s sake. He still dares to show his face in Tuyue..."

"And he dares to make a move against my family?!"

HUMMM!

The entire secret chamber shuddered violently, as if a ten-thousand-ton boulder had just smashed into the earth, sending a massive tremor through the hall.

"You’re courting death!"

BOOM! The metal door, over ten centimeters thick, was instantly annihilated. Liu Wu Jun strode out of the secret chamber, his robes billowing and his eyes glowing with a blinding white light.

"Let’s go!"