Moving House I

Lin Hui sat upright on the dim bed in the inner room.

He held a bowl of corn and Chinese yam porridge his mother had left that morning, spooning it into his mouth one bite at a time and swallowing.

The sounds of children playing in the alley drifted in continuously from outside the window. They seemed to be playing marbles. Farther away, carried on the wind, came the faint sound of someone playing an erhu-like instrument, its notes mournful and desolate.

Bang.

The wooden door to the inner room was suddenly shoved open, and Old Man Lin Shunhe stormed in, his face full of fury.

"Move as soon as your mother gets back! We're never coming back to this Lin Family compound again!"

"?" Lin Hui looked utterly bewildered. He had still been pondering what he ought to do in the future, what he could do, when his father suddenly rushed in and blurted out that they were moving.

"Don't worry about that. Son, this time things fell through, but don't be afraid, don't worry. Your old man still has a way! I still have a way!!" A trace of ruthlessness flickered across Lin Shunhe's somewhat dull features, as though he had made up his mind about something.

"I've only got one son! I'll never let you be left without a future!" Lin Shunhe repeated.

With that, he began searching everywhere for wooden baskets to pack their things.

After watching for a while, Lin Hui came to his senses and joined in.

He did not know what had happened, but it had to be related to the great Lin Family clan. Otherwise, his father would not have been so furious, nor would he have spoken of leaving the Lin Family.

In these times, out in the Outer City, a large clan with thriving numbers meant that it was not to be provoked—and that it offered safety.

Though the Lin Family was not extravagantly wealthy, they lived far more comfortably than ordinary commoners.

While many people had nothing but Wanfu Meat and bran washed down with water, even the worst-off Lin Family members could scrape together coarse-grain rice with a little meat in it.

Unless there was truly no other choice, Old Man would never have spoken of leaving the clan.

After they had packed for a while, Lin Shunjiang, the father of Lin Hongzhen from the main branch, came over.

Lin Shunjiang was a plump middle-aged man entirely unlike Lin Shunhe. His small eyes darted about constantly, carrying a shrewd gleam.

He and Lin Shunhe went to a corner and talked in private for a while. He seemed to be trying to persuade him, but in the end he could only sigh repeatedly and leave alone.

Old Man continued packing in silence. By the time Mother Yao Shan returned home, the sky had already begun to darken.

"Dear, what exactly happened?" Yao Shan asked urgently as she came in, looking exhausted. She set down her work bag.

Lin Shunhe opened his mouth. When he saw the worry on his wife's face, his cheeks began to tremble, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.

He simply did not know how to tell her that the opportunity they had spent so many years saving and striving for had ultimately been forcibly snatched away by Old Man Lin Chaoyi...

The hard work the couple had put in over the years had all gone to waste. It was undoubtedly a devastating blow to his wife as well.

"Enough, don't say it... sigh..." Yao Shan had already heard some rumors before coming back. Now, she had merely received confirmation from her husband.

She glanced at their son, who was tidying up the clothes drying in the courtyard not far away.

"It's all right... I know what kind of person your father is... Whatever decision you make, just like before, I'll listen to you."

"Shanshan..." Upon hearing that, Lin Shunhe could no longer hold back. He grabbed his wife's hand, his eyes reddening. "Don't worry... I absolutely won't let you two suffer again... I swear!"

"I believe you!" Yao Shan gently embraced her husband. For a time, the two fell silent, as though the world had stopped.

In the courtyard, Lin Hui caught sight of the scene from the corner of his eye and shook his head faintly.

It seemed that although this life was ordinary, at least the atmosphere at home was not bad.

It was one thing when I'd been muddleheaded before, but now that my memories have returned, I should start planning for the future. Never mind doing exceptionally well—first, I need to ensure basic safety, food, clothing, and shelter. I can't rely on my parents for everything.

Lin Hui was not a particularly ambitious person. His only wish was to find a quiet place, silently delve into something, and enjoy the pleasure of studying things and discovering mysteries others could not see.

In his previous life, he had enjoyed playing with things like Luban Locks and Rubik's Cubes. In this environment, however, he naturally could not keep wasting his life on toys.

At that thought, he involuntarily raised his right hand and looked at the back of it.

Imprinted clearly on the skin there was a complex, blood-red pattern resembling a diamond.

He had only just noticed this thing. From his memories of the past, there had been no such pattern on his hand. Clearly, it had only begun to appear after his memories awakened.

For the moment, though, he had not discovered what it did.

It can't just be an ordinary pattern, can it?

Lin Hui pondered inwardly.

They hastily ate a simple dinner that afternoon: meat buns with the Five-Spice Pig Head Meat from before, along with some stir-fried unknown wild vegetables. It smelled delicious, but apart from Lin Hui, neither Lin Shunhe nor Yao Shan had any appetite. They merely watched their son wolf down most of the food.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, just as the mist had dispersed, people from the Lin Family came outside to peer about furtively. They watched the family of three, burdened with bags and bundles, hire an ox cart and spend the entire morning moving all their belongings out of the compound.

Old Man Lin Shunhe had clearly made arrangements long ago. He swiftly led his wife and son to a square little courtyard of gray-white stone, and before long, they had moved everything from the ox cart inside.

Next came settling in again, lighting the stove again, and replacing household goods.

His parents would not let him do any of it. They only told him to rest to one side, even giving him a small bag of melon seeds prepared with spices. They had a sweet aftertaste and were quite tasty.

Lin Hui wanted to help, but after being pushed away several times, he gave up. Carrying the melon seeds, he walked out the front door and sat on a yellow stone outside, watching the streams of people, carts, and horses passing along the muddy road.

Their new home was farther from town. It lay directly opposite the Lin Family compound, on the symmetrical other side of the town center.

"Hui, why are you sitting out here?"

He had not been sitting for long when, among the passing crowd, a lanky young man with a roguish air approached. The buttons of his coat were left undone, and he stared at Lin Hui with familiarity as he asked.

"Peng Shan? What are you doing here?" Lin Hui had been studying the blood-red mark on the back of his hand. At the sound, he looked up and immediately smiled.

The newcomer was called Peng Shan. Like Lin Hui, he was an idle loafer born into a family with some means.

As fellow loafers, the two had a good relationship. Birds of a feather flocked together; their temperaments matched, and after spending enough time together, they had gradually become friends.

Peng Shan came from the wealthy Peng Family, another major clan in town, larger and richer than the Lin Family.

Peng Shan himself had once lived comfortably and happily enough. Who would have thought that, a few years ago, his doting father would fall gravely ill and pass away, leaving him and his four older sisters unable to support their branch of the family? They could only sit and eat away at their savings, watching the family fortune dwindle.

After being swindled out of quite a bit of money by clan members at first, he came to his senses and moved out with his sisters. Now, he ran around everywhere trying to arrange matches for them, hoping to find good families for his sisters.

All things considered, although he was not especially capable, his nature was kind. He was a good person.

"Don't even mention it, sigh..." Lin Hui briefly explained the move to him.

"Moving out was the right thing to do!" Peng Shan immediately grinned. "Let me tell you, big clans are fucking full of trouble. Everything has to take the clan members into account, clan members this, clan members that. I fucking considered them at every turn, but when those clan members went out, they sure as hell never considered me!"

"Exactly." Lin Hui nodded.

"So what if I wasted a few years loafing around? I'm still young. Sooner or later, I'll have a chance to pull myself together again! Those blind, rotten bastards at home—who are they looking down on?" After cursing for a few moments, Peng Shan changed the subject. "You're at the age where you should start working now. How is it? Found anything?"

"Not yet, but my father says he has a way." Lin Hui shook his head.

"We definitely don't qualify for the government's public selection. The Sha Yue Sect has high requirements, so that's even less likely. And the Chen Family... forget it. With our circumstances, we can only muddle along somewhere worse. Huang's Trading Firm is hiring a lot of people lately for their chain of taverns. Want to go?"

"No. What's so great about being a delivery hand?" Lin Hui shook his head.

"Then put up some money and rent land. We can farm!" Peng Shan suggested. "I've been looking into it lately. I've already got some experience."

"Heh." Lin Hui neither agreed nor disagreed. He knew Peng Shan's personality far too well. With that lazy, comfort-loving nature of his, farming? The land would farm him instead.

"Don't you believe me? Sigh, looking down on people!" Peng Shan said helplessly, but did not continue arguing. "Still, my eldest sister does have a lead. The work isn't hard—just helping clean up and keeping the place tidy."

"A cleaner?" Lin Hui said.

"Ah, right, right, a cleaning worker! That's a great term you came up with." Peng Shan gave him a thumbs-up.

"Not going." Lin Hui refused again.

"Sigh, you won't go here, you won't go there. With your skills, aiming high but accomplishing low, what can you do?" Peng Shan was speechless.

"You haven't gone either," Lin Hui retorted.

"..." Peng Shan was choked speechless as well.

The two simply sat together on the stone, watching the carts and passersby constantly go by along the yellow dirt road.

Among them, they occasionally saw young men and women around their own age.

They came and went in work clothes. Some wore long robes, others short outfits. Many had the names of workshops, taverns, or clans written on their clothing. A few bore the mark of the Sha Yue Sect—a cross-shaped symbol formed by two intersecting crescent moons.

"Sigh... honestly, in a world like this, with Door-Breaking Ghosts in the daytime and Mist Ghosts at night, the living already have it so hard. Why do people still have to work their fingers to the bone every day?" Peng Shan sighed.

"How about we learn martial arts?" Lin Hui suggested. He felt terribly insecure now. The Door-Breaking Ghosts and the Mist Ghosts that knocked on doors at night made him increasingly uneasy about the future.

It would have been one thing if his memories had not awakened. But now that they had, he could not bring himself to place his hopes on a Jade Talisman obtained through prayer.

"Learn martial arts? What use is that? Can you beat a sect disciple?" Peng Shan sneered. "Never mind anything else—take your eldest sister Lin Hongzhen. She's just a new initiate, but once she accepts the calling, she immediately becomes bronze-skinned and iron-boned, immune to poison! What she gains in one night, you might not achieve even after practicing martial arts for a lifetime!"

"Is it really that bad?" Lin Hui's memories in this regard were rather vague. Hearing that, he was immediately stunned.

"What else? These days, only families with absolutely no connections are willing to learn martial arts. If you have connections, getting into the government, the Chen Family, or the Sha Yue Sect—getting into even one of those three is a great opportunity to change your fate overnight!" The more Peng Shan spoke, the more precious the Chen Family position that had been snatched away seemed.

Lin Hui felt increasingly uncomfortable. Unconsciously, he began carefully rubbing the blood-red mark on the back of his hand.

"But if there's really no other way, becoming a helper at a martial arts school, temple, or Daoist hall isn't a bad choice either. The pay may be low, but it's leisurely," Peng Shan suddenly said, his eyes turning as he thought of the advantages.

"Is there any way to deal with Door-Breaking Ghosts and Mist Ghosts?" Lin Hui suddenly asked.

"The three powers can. Only them. No one else has any way. Otherwise, why do you think everyone racks their brains trying to squeeze in?" Peng Shan shook his head. "As for everything else, the only use of martial arts is that it lets you run faster when danger comes. That's the main reason most people learn martial arts, which is why the martial arts schools in town basically teach movement techniques."

"Running fast... that's good." Lin Hui was somewhat tempted.

"At our age, it's already too late to learn martial arts." Peng Shan shattered his fantasy. "We can only learn some inferior, rudimentary external techniques with no entry requirements. Those are what poor people learn. The harder you train, the shorter you live."

Lin Hui said nothing.

Neither spoke again. They simply watched the people busily coming and going. The busy crowds and the two idle men formed a stark contrast.

But as they watched, they noticed that quite a few ox carts were moving house along the road. Judging by their direction, they all seemed to be heading toward the Inner City.