Chapter 12 |
"A-Jiang, I know you have a good relationship with Old Fourth, but times have changed. We must not be perceived as colluding with what Old Fourth has done—otherwise, we'll be in big trouble!" Lin Chaoyi exhorted earnestly.
"It's a good thing Father gave Old Fourth's quota to Hongyu back then; otherwise, that quota would definitely be void and useless now. That kid from Old Fourth's family has poor talent; even if he entered the Chen family, he wouldn't amount to anything. Unlike Hongyu—she's already mixing in the same circles as the Chen family's main branch disciples." Old Second Lin Shunchong grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.
"Who's to say? Maybe in the future, Hongyu will find a direct lineage disciple of the Chen family to marry. That would be truly striking it rich!"
"True enough. Hongyu is already good-looking. If she could bear a few children with the Chen family's direct bloodline, that would truly bring glory to our clan!!"
"Daughters are better after all. If only I had such a daughter..."
For a moment, everyone began complimenting the lineage of Hongyu's father. As for Old Fourth's situation, no one cared anymore.
Everyone knew that this time, it would be truly difficult for Old Fourth to rise again.
Without the protection of the Noble, the situation for his branch of the family would likely become genuinely arduous.
In the future, perhaps they would slowly, thoroughly fade from everyone's vision, never to be seen again.
Lin Hui stayed at home for three days, accompanying his parents as they moved and handling all other miscellaneous affairs. He left behind all the wages he carried on his person before returning alone to the Clear Wind Temple.
Just after he returned, Huishen called him to Perfected Mingde's room.
"Your father and I have been good friends for many years. I advised him about this matter long ago, but alas... sigh." Mingde's burly frame sat cross-legged in the room, his full beard a patch of grizzled white. At this moment, his expression also revealed a trace of regret.
"However, rest assured. I cannot control matters elsewhere, but within this Clear Wind Temple, as long as you work hard, your wages will not be shorted by a single coin!"
"Many thanks, Perfected One!" Lin Hui's heart warmed slightly, and he hurriedly bowed in salute. From the look of things, Mingde's friendship with his father was evidently sincere; after all, adding flowers to brocade is easy, but sending charcoal in snow is difficult.
"Practice martial arts well, do your work well. Go on, go on..." Mingde said softly, waving his hand and turning his back.
Lin Hui bowed again, then turned and slowly walked out of the room.
Huishen was waiting outside. Seeing him come out, he stepped forward to offer a few words of comfort, but his speech was no longer as warm as before. It was merely polite, maintaining a distinct distance.
Lin Hui didn't mind; this was simply human nature.
"By the way, although Master didn't mention it, given the current situation, Junior Brother, you should return that single room to the temple as soon as possible. Otherwise, people might gossip..."
Just as he was about to leave, Huishen's sudden sentence made Lin Hui pause.
"Mn, I understand. Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Brother." Lin Hui's expression was calm as he turned back to bow with clasped hands.
"Mn." Huishen nodded. The gentle smile of the past was gone from his face, replaced only by a bland, distant, normal expression.
Returning to his dwelling, Lin Hui quickly packed his personal items and moved back into the communal sleeping quarters.
Chen Zhishen came over to ask about the situation. After listening to Lin Hui recount the details, he offered a few words of comfort, then hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but stopped.
"What is it?" Lin Hui asked. "If you want to say something, just say it."
"It's about Xie Li... Originally, I tried to pull her along to come over, but she..." Chen Zhishen's voice grew smaller, leaving the sentence unfinished.
"It's fine. It's human nature," Lin Hui said indifferently.
"Sigh..." Chen Zhishen sighed and said nothing more.
The warmth and coldness of human feelings were nothing more than this. Xie Li could have approached Lin Hui for the sake of the Lin family back then, and now she could distance herself because of the changing variables.
The matter of Lin Hui's family quickly spread through the temple.
Many students who had once treated him gently now reverted to their original indifference.
His social circle was sparse to begin with—he spent all day practicing the sword—and now that this had happened, he was relegated to the fringes even more. Aside from Chen Zhishen, no one paid him any attention.
Lin Hui was happy with this; he enjoyed the quiet. He simply practiced his sword alone, waiting to become stronger.
However, while he wanted peace, some people were unwilling to let him have it.
Not long after, trouble came knocking at the door.
…
Bang.
The door to the communal sleeping quarters was kicked open viciously.
Chen Chong and two lackeys appeared outside, their expressions brazen. Under their scanning gazes, the dozen or so people in the communal room momentarily fell silent.
"Where is Chen Zhishen?" Chen Chong held a black fan in his hand, waving it affectively.
"What do you want with me!" Chen Zhishen took a deep breath, stood up, and faced them.
"You, come out." Chen Chong pointed at him, then turned to lead his men away.
Chen Zhishen's face went pale. He knew this was bad. Instinctively, he looked around, but everyone nearby avoided his gaze.
Except for Lin Hui.
He stood up.
"Let's go. I'll accompany you."
"No need, I can go alone!" Chen Zhishen shook his head, his body trembling slightly.
"Let's go." Lin Hui said no more, stepping out the door first.
Just as he stepped out, he saw Chen Chong and his two men waiting not far away, their eyes coincidentally turning toward him.
"Lin Hui. I gave you face before because you were somebody. Now that you've come out, do you think I'll still give you face?" Seeing this, Chen Chong immediately laughed with eccentric sarcasm.
"Although my family has fallen on hard times, here in the Clear Wind Temple, with Perfected Mingde around, I’m still not worried about anything happening." Lin Hui weighed his chances in a fight. If it came down to a confrontation, though he had trained for a long time, he still hadn’t mastered the Seven-Section Swift Sword. At best, he was just a slightly quicker-than-average person—probably about the same as the three facing him.
Two against three—they would definitely lose.
Therefore, if they could avoid fighting, they should. Wait until he fully mastered the Seven-Section Swift Sword and obtained the body tempering from the Perfect-grade sword technique—that would be the start of a true qualitative change.
Sure enough, hearing the name of Perfected Mingde, the eyes of Chen Chong and his trio flickered.
"Don’t use Perfected Mingde to intimidate me. I’m not after you today—this has nothing to do with you. I’m looking for Chen Zhishen!" Chen Chong chuckled, then raised his voice.
"How did he provoke you?" Lin Hui frowned.
"None of your damn business!!" Chen Chong cursed. "I advise you to mind your own business, otherwise..."
Clearly, just the name Perfected Mingde was no longer enough to scare him. After all, Lin Hui had already moved out of the single room—who would believe Mingde still cared for him as before? Even if there was still some concern, it surely wasn’t much now.
With this thought, Chen Chong’s confidence steadied. As he watched Chen Zhishen come out, he immediately waved his hand.
The two men behind him sprang forward, launching themselves at Chen Zhishen. Their steps were light and agile—they were actually temple disciples who had already begun body tempering!
With skills like theirs, just one of them alone could easily overwhelm both Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui, let alone both at once.
Their agility took Lin Hui by surprise. Realizing trouble was coming, he quickly stepped forward, shouting loudly.
"You dare!?"
Then he drew his sword, preparing to join Chen Zhishen in resisting.
"Stop!" Suddenly, a loud shout came rapidly from the distant side.
"What are you all doing here!?"
In the courtyard to the right, Daoist Mingde leaped down from a second-story window, approaching as lightly as a willow catkin.
Using his movement technique, he covered the distance of ten ordinary steps in a single stride. With just a few swift movements, he crossed the rear courtyard's practice grounds and reached the edge of the group.
The Clear Wind Temple wasn’t that large—loud voices could easily be heard from afar—but in the past, he had been too indifferent to intervene in most matters.
However, upon hearing Lin Hui's shout—after his good friend’s recent misfortune, and now seeing the friend’s son bullied in the temple—Mingde knew that if word got out, he would lose face among his peers.
So, at the first sign of trouble, he rushed over to stop it.
In front of the communal sleeping quarters, Chen Chong's two lackeys felt their hair stand on end. They stopped instantly, daring not to move recklessly. Glared at by Mingde, they felt a chill run through their bodies.
Chen Chong himself hadn't expected Mingde to step out and stand up for Lin Hui so immediately. His face turned ugly, and he froze in place.
"Perfected One, misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" His brain spun rapidly, and he hurriedly squeezed out a smile.
"We didn't intend to target Lin Hui. It's just that the kid beside him was looking for trouble earlier and provoked my Chen family. He even said some insulting things about my family. I was just angry for a moment..."
"You're farting!" Chen Zhishen said furiously.
"Enough. In the future, within the temple, I do not wish to see any private duels occur. Chen Chong, do you remember?" Mingde stared at him, his voice deep.
He had actually known for a long time who was stirring up trouble. It was just that, due to the Chen family and Chen Chong's sister, he hadn’t wanted to intervene. But now that Lin Hui was involved, he had no choice but to step in and give a warning.
"Fine, I'll listen to the Perfected One." Chen Chong's face was sullen. He clasped his fists, turned, and led his people away.
He heard Mingde's subtext: don't cause trouble inside the Daoist temple. But outside the temple, Mingde couldn't control that much.
Mingde sighed and looked back at Lin Hui.
“Let’s leave it at that. You two should be careful from now on.” He wasn’t a babysitter—he couldn’t keep watch over Chen Chong at all times. What he’d done was already the greatest extent of his favor.
He also understood why Lin Hui had shouted loudly earlier, which was why he made sure to warn Chen Chong afterward.
"Many thanks, Perfected One!" Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen bowed hurriedly. Chen Zhishen's gratitude was particularly intense.
If Lin Hui hadn't called Mingde over today, he truly feared his fate would have been grim.
Although his life likely wouldn't be in danger, getting injured, delaying his progress, and finally leaving in dejection were almost a certainty.
Watching Mingde depart, Lin Hui recalled Chen Chong's appearance just now. Knowing the other party had been embarrassed so thoroughly by Mingde, this grudge was now set in stone.
This breath of anger—Chen Chong, who had always been arrogant, would absolutely find a way to vent it.
Lin Hui was fine; Perfected Mingde's intention to protect him was clear. But Chen Zhishen...
"Try not to leave the Daoist temple in the future," he warned Chen Zhishen finally, then turned and went back into the communal quarters.
Chen Zhishen stood in place, lips trembling, yet unable to speak a word.
The pairs of eyes watching the spectacle from all around also withdrew at this time.
…
Not far away, Mu Qiaozhi, Qiu Yiren, and Xie Li stood together. They had just happened to pass by and witness the scene.
"Lin Hui’s family is in such a state, yet Perfected Mingde still shows his true character by stepping in to help," Qiu Yiren sighed.
"Having true character isn’t always a good thing," Mu Qiaozhi replied coldly. "You have to know how to weigh the situation. Perfected Mingde values loyalty, so he’s helped his friends out of many troubles. Right now, he’s strong, healthy, and his status is secure, so he’s fine for now. But the moment he encounters real problems, the hidden dangers he’s accumulated by helping others will all come rushing in. That’s what you call a true crisis."
"But wouldn’t those he’s helped offer a hand in return?" Qiu Yiren asked, puzzled.
"Who says that just because someone helps you, you have to repay them?" Mu Qiaozhi countered. "In this regard, Xie Li has done things well. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If you want to help others, you have to be prepared to be crushed if the tree collapses."
"Xie Li…" Qiu Yiren thought of how Xie Li had once been in the same group as Chen Zhishen and Lin Hui, before she joined their circle.
And now.
She couldn't help but glance at the other girl, only to see that Xie Li's expression was complicated. Although there were emotional fluctuations, she showed not the slightest intention of stepping out to help.
"Let's go. You must remember, the Clear Wind Daoist Temple is only a temporary place for us to learn skills. Do not develop too deep a sense of belonging. We pay money to learn martial arts not to contribute to the temple, but to make ourselves stronger," Mu Qiaozhi said coldly, leading the way toward the main hall where the Temple Master was located.