Decision

"Two cases have happened around Xinyu recently. There were even more over at Rao Mountain—five cases. They all suffered in broad daylight," Lin Hongzhen said quietly, her face grim.

"Uncle and Aunt are planning to move into the Inner City?" Lin Hui suddenly asked.

He remembered that Lin Hongzhen's parents were merchants in town, and their family was better off than his. On top of that, Lin Hongzhen herself worked as a helper at Shayue Apothecary and earned quite a bit. It really was possible for them to move into the Inner City.

"Mm, soon. Door-Breaking Ghosts have appeared in quite a few towns lately. Father and Mother plan to enter the city and lie low for a while." Lin Hongzhen nodded slightly. She and Lin Hui got along fairly well. They had played together often as children, and she was one of the clan members the Lin Family occasionally still associated with.

"Things haven't been peaceful lately. Be careful yourself, and don't always go running around to watch the excitement," Lin Hongzhen added.

After saying that, she had intended to continue, but a little girl with pigtails behind her tapped her in greeting.

"Xiao Qin, is that you?" She turned around, delight flooding her face, and immediately began chatting with the little girl.

Lin Hui had been about to ask something else, but seeing this, he said no more. He noticed that the girl looked fifteen or sixteen. She was dressed extremely scantily—a white bandeau, a short leather skirt that only covered her upper thighs, and a simple snakeskin belt around her waist. It was a typical Inner City style. A brown, wavy short blade was also tied to the outside of her thigh.

At last, he cast one final look at the bloodstains in the courtyard before turning and silently leaving.

He continued toward town along the yellow dirt road, and before long, his figure slowly vanished around a bend.

The little girl glanced in his direction, then looked at Lin Hongzhen.

"Your younger brother?"

"Mm, my cousin, from the fourth branch. An honest kid." Lin Hongzhen nodded. "For this selection, do you think there's any chance he could get picked? His family circumstances aren't that good, and you know the recent situation. Staying in Xinyu forever isn't much of an option."

"His looks aren't good enough... You know how Yugong chooses people—they first pick based on appearance. If you don't have the looks, you at least need to stuff them with benefits..." The little girl shook her head. "Honestly, in your Lin Family, only Lin Hongyu can get selected based on aptitude. As for the rest..."

"Lin Hongyu... mention that one less. Just hearing the name makes my blood boil. Then what about my cousin? Could you pull him over to your place to run errands? He's started looking for work recently." Lin Hongzhen asked tentatively.

"Why don't you suggest he go to the Chen Family and muddle along as a clerk?" The little girl looked speechless. "Don't you know what Shayue is like inside?"

Lin Hongzhen gave an embarrassed smile.

"It's mainly because he's already this age, and we're on good terms. I want to find him some kind of path, at least."

Lin Hui was something of a well-known figure in the Lin Family. His parents were famously devoted to their son, feeding and clothing him well from childhood and unwilling to send him away to suffer through learning a trade. Only now that he had grown up did they know to panic.

Ordinary families should have sent their children out to learn something before the age of ten. The Lin Family was a large clan, and Lin Hui's father had a decent income. He was at least a steward, and after having a son, he had doted on and indulged him in every possible way.

In other people's eyes, being unwilling to send him out to learn a trade was already spoiling him.

And now...

Lin Hongzhen shook her head inwardly. Even she had gone out at ten to become an apprentice and run errands. Seven years had passed, and only last year had she finally gained the qualifications to enter the faith, officially becoming an ordinary follower of Shayue.

In Tuyue, there were only three paths for commoners who wanted to rise.

Government selection, Shayue selection, and Chen Family selection.

If none of those three paths worked, then one could only farm or become a shop hand and learn a craft.

If even those two paths were unavailable, then one ended up in Lin Hui's current situation—only by selling one's strength and taking dangerous roads could one scrape together a livelihood.

In essence, in the eyes of the poor, Lin Hui was already the only son of a steward, a young master who had completely escaped a life of poverty.

In Xinyu Town, he could barely be considered a minor second-generation rich kid.

That was why Lin Hui's father would never be willing to let his only son take dangerous roads.

Lin Hongzhen knew this very clearly.

*

*

*

Xinyu Town, Xinyu Oil Mill.

In a dark corner thick with sticky grease, enormous oil barrels stood in neat rows like soldiers drawn up in formation.

Lin Hui's father, Lin Shunhe, his eyes bloodshot, quietly stuffed a heavy gray money pouch into the hands of a pot-bellied old man dressed like a wealthy gentleman.

"Elder Chen, about that recommendation quota to enter the Inner City...?"

"The goods were good, and the job was done beautifully. Little Lin, don't worry. I've already passed the word along," the old man said with a beaming smile.

Lin Shunhe's heart jumped at this. Gritting his teeth, he took out another silver-edged money pouch from inside his clothes and handed it over.

This was the money he had saved for retirement, the savings he had originally planned to use with his wife, Yao Shan, to retire in the Inner City. But now, he could no longer worry about such things.

His son had already stayed at home for more than a year, doing nothing all day, muddleheaded and listless. If this continued, he might truly be ruined.

If he could enter the Chen Family as an employee, then all this effort would not have been in vain. Everyone in Tuyue knew that rising from a lowly apprentice helper to an employee took at least seven or eight years. This private job and the savings he had spent would save precisely those seven or eight years.

Who in all of Tuyue did not know that the Chen Family's benefits were first-rate? As long as one could enter the Chen Family, even at the very worst, one could live in the Inner City and have basic safety guaranteed.

"Now you're being too formal, aren't you? Still, greasing the wheels above and below costs money. Brother Lin, don't worry. Leave this matter to me." The smile on Elder Chen's face deepened. He opened the pouch, peeked inside, then weighed it in his hand.

"Just bring him over later. Lin Hui, right?"

"Yes, yes." Lin Shunhe nodded repeatedly.

"Fine, I'll remember it." Elder Chen nodded. "It's getting late. I'm going to eat first. Around tomorrow afternoon, you can bring him to the third gate of Chen Family Fortress—the gate outside where you can see Haoyi Tower. Don't take the wrong one."

"Alright, we'll definitely be there on time!" Lin Shunhe hurriedly replied.

Watching Elder Chen slowly stroll out of the oil mill warehouse with his hands clasped behind his back, the huge stone weighing on Lin Shunhe's heart finally dropped.

Though he had spent years of savings in one go, even throwing in his retirement nest egg, as long as his son could make something of himself after getting in, money could be earned back later by working hard and saving again...

*

*

*

Lin Hui wandered around Xinyu Town along the roads.

The entire town was a miniature settlement, with five streets intersecting like the teeth of a comb. The so-called streets were really just ordinary yellow dirt roads, merely packed down hard.

The town's main industry consisted of those dozen or so workshops, with the oil mill being only one of them. There were also garment workshops, leather workshops, grain workshops, fruit workshops, and more.

Other than workshops, there were residential homes—either square earthen houses or courtyards enclosed by stone walls.

The one thing that left a deep impression on Lin Hui was a ruined temple he passed by the roadside.

He did not enter the ruined temple. He merely stood outside and peered through a broken hole in the wall. There was nothing worshipped within, only rows upon rows of incomplete clay statues of children.

The blackened clay statues were exquisitely made, lifelike enough to seem like rows of children under three years old sitting cross-legged in the temple, their faces full of laughter.

But because they were incomplete, the scene was especially eerie.

That was why he had not dared to enter.

As noon gradually approached, Lin Hui turned back toward home. On the way, he looked out into the distance beyond the town.

White fog billowed there, a field of gray. Nothing could be seen, nothing could be made out.

Fog enshrouded everything in this world. Only by gathering around the giant cities could people gain a No Fog Zone and earn the right to survive.

With a sigh, Lin Hui quickened his pace and hurried back. Just as he was nearing the Lin Family compound—

He happened to encounter three or four clan members respectfully seeing a pot-bellied old man out.

At the front of those clan members stood none other than the Lin Family patriarch, Lin Chaoyi.

This old patriarch, now over seventy, was the current helmsman of the Lin Family. He leaned on a date-red cane, his complexion rosy, his silver hair neatly combed behind his head. His usually imposing face was unusually gentle at this moment.

He was carefully holding the back of a beautiful young girl's hand as he continuously spoke to the pot-bellied old man.

Seeing Lin Hui return, the old patriarch stopped speaking and gave the girl beside him one last pat on the arm.

"This matter is settled, then." The old patriarch's voice was decisive as iron.

"But... isn't this inappropriate? This is the quota Brother Lin Shunhe fought for..." The pot-bellied old man was Elder Chen, who had just come from the oil mill. He had not expected that the moment he left, the Lin Family's old patriarch—who had been lying in wait outside—would invite him over. Without another word, the man had stuffed him with an even larger sum of benefits. His sole request was for Elder Chen to transfer the quota to Lin Hongyu, who was also of the Lin Family.

The old patriarch had offered more, so Elder Chen had naturally been delighted to agree. But this quota had been earned by Lin Shunhe at the risk of his life from the young master. If he changed it...

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. We're all Lin Family members. I'm the patriarch, and I decide all the family's major and minor matters." Lin Chaoyi said firmly. "Before, I never expected Shunhe to succeed. Now that he has, such a good opportunity to enter the Chen Family would be wasted on Little Hui. Only by giving it to Hongyu can it become the best choice for the entire Lin Family. With her talent and perseverance, once she develops well in the Chen Family and gains status, she can turn around and pull Little Hui up too. That is the great road."

"And Brother Shunhe...?"

"I'll speak to him. I'm his father! If he dares refuse, this cane of mine isn't just for show!" Lin Chaoyi said darkly.

Elder Chen swept his gaze over the group from the Lin Family and shook his head inwardly. So this family had been waiting here all along, setting their sights on devouring Lin Shunhe's family.

Ruthless enough.

But this was the Lin Family's business. As long as he got his benefits, that was enough. The rest had nothing to do with him. In any case, he had ultimately fulfilled the quota for the Lin Family.

Seeing Lin Hui slowly approach, the old patriarch lowered his voice and said a few more words to Elder Chen, then saw him out to the carriage by the roadside.

The group passed by Lin Hui and squeezed him aside. After seeing Elder Chen off, the old patriarch turned back and looked at Lin Hui. Taking in his thin frame and dull, lifeless eyes, he immediately snorted coldly and led the others back into the courtyard.

Lin Hongyu and her father, Lin Shuntao, were also among those seeing Elder Chen off. Looking at Lin Hui, Lin Hongyu felt somewhat embarrassed about taking someone else's quota. Lin Shuntao gently pushed his daughter from behind.

"Go say hello to your cousin. Be closer to him in the future."

"If you want to go, you go. I'm not going." Lin Hongyu turned her head impatiently. "I have to temper my mind every day. How would I have time to wander around everywhere like him? Isn't it just that I owe him something? At worst, I'll pay him back double in the future."

Seeing that her father still intended to urge her, Lin Hongyu grew even more impatient.

"Stop pushing me. He has no ability himself. Even when an opportunity comes, he can't seize it. Who can he blame?"

The group bickered as they returned to the courtyard, leaving Lin Hui to stare at everything in confusion, with the feeling that something was not quite right.

The people opposite him had not spoken loudly, and he had been standing too far away to hear what they said.

Seeing everyone go back in, he followed them into the courtyard as well. After wandering for so long, he truly felt a little tired.

*

*

*

Bang!!!

"What!! You gave Little Hui's quota to Hongyu!!?"

A teacup smashed violently against the wall.

Lin Hui's father, Lin Shunhe, stood up with rage written across his face, his hands and body covered in slightly scalding tea.

His entire body trembled as he glared at Lin Chaoyi, seated in the place of honor in the hall. His chest rose and fell rapidly like a bellows.

"That was the quota I risked my life to earn for my son!!"

He stared at Lin Chaoyi, speaking one word at a time.

"How dare you!??"

"Are you fucking trying to rebel!?" Lin Chaoyi likewise shot to his feet, grabbing his teacup and smashing it to the floor.

"I'm your fucking father! What's wrong with using some of your things? What's wrong with it!? I raised you all these years, and this is how you fucking repay me?"

Lin Chaoyi roared furiously as he leaned on his cane and walked step by step to Lin Shunhe.

"What, you think you've grown capable now!? You dare smash things in front of your old man!? You've really grown some nerve, haven't you!?"

He grabbed Lin Shunhe by the arm and directly used it to strike his own head.

"Come on, if you're capable, if you've got the guts, hit me! Hit your father! I'm standing right in front of you. If you dare, go ahead and hit me!!"

"Hit me!!" Lin Chaoyi's roar shook the entire hall until it buzzed.

Their arms locked in a fierce struggle, veins bulging across their dark skin.

Lin Shunhe's face had turned purplish red, and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at his father.

His fists were clenched tight, yet he never moved.

"Hongyu's quota has already been reported! The Chen Family has already accepted it! Accept it—it can't be changed anymore. What you need to do is face reality! Help Hongyu grow and prosper in the Chen Family, and then she'll have a chance to turn around and pull your son up later! When that time comes, two members of our Lin Family will be able to enter the Chen Family. That will be a truly great thing that benefits the family!!" Seeing that he had cowed his son, Lin Chaoyi's tone softened slightly as he began explaining coldly.

Lin Shunhe clenched his fists tightly as he looked at his father's face, full of persuasion. The disappointment and sorrow in his heart nearly overflowed.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never received much support from his father. Any benefits had almost always gone to Hongyu's family. Even his current position as a steward at the oil mill was something he had obtained only because a distinguished person at the yamen had happened to take a liking to him back then and later fulfilled the reward.

At first, he thought he could simply let it go. After all, that was his father. If he endured it, the days would pass. But he had never expected that the quota he had risked his life to win for his son would be so deliberately watched and snatched away by this old bastard!!?

The more Lin Shunhe thought about it, the angrier and more stifled he felt.

Yet Lin Chaoyi before him continued rambling on, saying that he had to put the entire Lin Family first. As long as the family as a whole grew strong, every person would gain enormous benefits. He could not harbor resentment over a temporary sacrifice...

"Aah!!!"

Suddenly, Lin Shunhe viciously shook off his father's hand. Pointing at him, he gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling.

"From childhood until now, I have never relied on you for anything! I endured it when you sacrificed me before, but now you fucking want to sacrifice my son too!! Fine!! From this day onward, my family of three, Lin Shunhe's family, will have no more ties or connection with your Lin Family!! No connection whatsoever!!!"

Using every ounce of strength in his body, he let out a furious roar. Without looking again at Lin Chaoyi's flushed face, he turned and left.

"Y-you!!" Lin Chaoyi pointed at him, so angry he could no longer form a complete sentence. "Ungrateful son!! You... ungrateful son!!"

Bang.

The hall doors were flung open as Lin Shunhe strode out, swiftly disappearing around the courtyard corner.

Only Lin Chaoyi remained standing where he was, grinding his teeth. Yet he did not dare call anyone over. After all, he truly had acted unfairly in this matter. If word spread, it would reflect badly on him and on the entire Lin Family.

"But what did I do wrong!? Everything I did was for the Lin Family, for everyone!" Lin Chaoyi gritted his teeth and panted heavily.