Changes II

Body Tempering, Sixth Grade...

Lin Hui's heart sank as he focused his mind to the utmost, continuously evading the Faceless Man's pounces and claw strikes.

At this moment, Qingfeng Temple's advantage in movement techniques became apparent. Having tempered his body with the Seven Section Fast Sword, his speed in movement far surpassed the Faceless Man's. He easily dodged the opponent's successive killing pounces.

"The Harmless Grade is just right for you to practice movement in real combat. But remember, about one li east of here lies an ancient ruins area called Swallow Mountain. Don't go near it. The maze beasts wandering there are all Harassment Grade. Only Martial Artists in the Inner Strength Realm or Callers can handle that level," Mingde continued.

"Teacher, aren't maze beasts hunted regularly? Why are there still so many of them? What do they rely on to reproduce?" Lin Hui called out as he continued dodging.

He could feel that this kind of movement-dodging practice at the edge of danger was indeed greatly helping his reaction speed and Nine Section Fast Sword footwork.

"I don't know. There are countless types of maze beasts. Every night passes, and the next day huge numbers of new maze beasts emerge. If they aren't hunted regularly, the surrounding maze beasts will multiply to an unbearable number. At that point, they may very well trigger a maze beast siege on the town." Mingde replied. "Any more questions?"

"No."

"Then train. Don't forget the passing requirement: bring back a part of it within fifteen minutes, and this training expedition will count as complete."

"This disciple will do his best!"

With maze beast training added to his routine, Lin Hui's life became far more perilous than before.

Yet because of that, his understanding of the Nine Section Fast Sword grew deeper and more thorough by the day.

Days passed, and before long, the Public Security Office of Xinyu Town posted the latest roster for the Emergency Response Team.

The Public Security Office had not broken its agreement with Qingfeng Temple because of the Black Dragon Gate's establishment. Rather, after Mu Qiao Zhi, Zhao Jiang'an, and the others left to join it, more than half the Emergency Response Team's members had suddenly become Black Dragon Gate members.

Fortunately, the Black Dragon Gate no longer seemed so aggressively overbearing. It merely maintained its own base and did not expand.

Thus, the situation stabilized. Qingfeng Temple now had only one-fifth of its original disciples remaining—more than half had fled. But those who remained were basically all resolute people; it was, in a sense, a purification.

Its other businesses and partnerships had also been affected, but because of the contracts signed previously, the impact was not yet severe.

Still, if things did not improve by the time those contracts expired, and Qingfeng Temple could not reverse its decline, it would only be a matter of time before the Black Dragon Gate seized what remained of its room to survive.

In Xinyu Town.

Passersby saw the Public Security Office's constables posting the public roster.

The instant the list was put up, people crowded over to inspect it.

"This time, the Emergency Response Team members are: Li Yue, Mu Qiao Zhi, and Zhao Jiang'an of the Black Dragon Gate. Chen Sui, Huang Shan, Qiu Yiren, Deng Mingchao, and Lin Hui of Qingfeng Temple..." After receiving the pooled reading fee from several people, a scholar began reading the roster aloud.

This roster was vital knowledge in Xinyu Town, because those listed were not only all skilled fighters, but also possessed temporary execution authority that ordinary constables lacked. If such power over life and death was wielded properly, it could easily determine the fate of commoners.

Therefore, everyone below the great households in town—especially middle-class families—would regularly send someone to record each new roster.

The roster was replaced once a year and announced every early spring. This was also when the most people gathered around the notice board.

At this time, Xinyu Town's middling clans—the Zhang Family, Lin Family, Song Family, along with more than ten smaller clans—stood gathered around the outskirts. Hearing the names read aloud, they each took out pens to record the names and origins.

The Lin Family had sent a hired hand from Lin Shunchong's second branch, a short, sturdy man named A-Niu.

As he wrote down the names, A-Niu suddenly felt that something was off.

"Lin Hui? Qingfeng Temple? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

A-Niu tugged at his gray sweat-stained shirt, then poked his chin with his charcoal pencil. Gazing at the writing on the list from afar, he wore a thoughtful expression.

"Heh, isn't that the only son of the Lin Family's fourth branch?" Someone beside him recognized the person before he did.

"Qingfeng Temple checks out, and so does the name. It really is him! Incredible—he actually made it into the Life-and-Death Squad! Impressive!"

"The Lin Family is about to turn its fortunes around!"

"Turn its fortunes around, my ass. I heard the fourth branch cut off all dealings with the main family long ago."

"Really?"

Among the crowd, those better informed began spreading the Lin Family's internal gossip to the people around them.

But A-Niu was breaking out in a cold sweat. Knowing this news was anything but ordinary, he hurriedly finished recording it, turned, and ran toward the Lin Family estate.

Not long after, at the Lin Family estate.

Lin Shunchong of the second branch was dragged out of bed, still bleary-eyed. He had been taking an afternoon nap, and hearing A-Niu rush in shouting, he climbed out of bed in irritation.

"A-Niu, you'd better have a damn good reason for disturbing me! Otherwise, I'm cutting your wages in half this month!"

A-Niu was drenched in sweat as he carefully handed over the yellowed sheet of paper on which he had written the names.

"Master, take a look. On the new Life-and-Death Squad roster, there's actually... there's..."

"There's what?" Before he could finish, Lin Shunchong snatched the sheet from him and looked down.

"Hm? Lin Hui?! Is this someone with the same name?" His eyes widened.

"Probably not. He's also from Qingfeng Temple. It can't be that Qingfeng Temple suddenly produced two people with the exact same name, can it?" A-Niu said quietly.

Lin Shunchong's drowsiness vanished at once.

"Not bad. Really not bad." Recently, because Hong Zhen of the main branch had been gravely injured and fallen unconscious, the Lin Family's situation had become far worse than before. If Lin Hui of the fourth branch truly was that man from the Life-and-Death Squad, then perhaps he could offer some help and relief to the Lin Family's plight.

As for whether the fourth branch would acknowledge the family, he was not worried. They were family, after all. Have Old Man admit his mistake and lower his head, and the matter would be settled. How could decades of familial affection be severed at a word?

At once, he took the list and swiftly left his hall, heading into the main courtyard.

In one corner of the courtyard, Lin Chaoyi stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the newly acquired koi in the pond.

Red, yellow, and white carp swam back and forth. Through the crystal-clear water, they stirred ripples of shimmering light, easing his recently troubled mood somewhat.

"Father, take a look at this list." Lin Shunchong walked over and handed him the roster.

Lin Chaoyi knew that Second Elder was not the sort to make trouble for no reason. Seeing the solemn look on his face, he immediately narrowed his eyes, reached out, and took it.

At a glance, he spotted the five words Qingfeng Temple Lin Hui near the end of the list.

"This is... Fourth's son??"

"Almost certainly." Lin Shunchong nodded. "I checked long ago. There isn't another Lin Hui at Qingfeng Temple."

Lin Chaoyi's expression immediately relaxed. Holding the list, he pondered for a while.

"If he truly is from Fourth's family, then he has truly brought honor to our Lin Family! Good! Very good!"

"Father, I think you should go apologize to Fourth and have them come back. We're all family—decades of affection, blood thicker than water. How can it be cut off just like that?" Lin Shunchong said softly.

"Ah... that is indeed true. I loved Fourth most when he was little. It was only after he grew up that I put a little more of my attention on Hongyu's family. Fine. In a few days, I'll pay their home a visit." Lin Chaoyi stroked his beard and looked at the name on the list. The gloom that had hung over him because Hong Zhen of the main branch was gravely injured and unconscious was suddenly swept away in large part.

Now that the Lin Family had the protection of an Emergency Response Team member known as the Life-and-Death Squad, who in town would dare not give them a second look?

With this, although it would not help much in the Inner City, the declining situation in the Outer City town could immediately be stabilized.

"Ah, when misfortune reaches its limit, fortune turns around," the old man sighed. "I always knew Fourth was capable. Once he went out, sooner or later he'd make something of himself. Looking at it now, driving him out back then was also for his own good. If not for my decision back then, they couldn't have risen so quickly either. Don't you think?"

"Father, you truly have eyes like torches," Lin Shunchong said with a smile.

"Enough of that. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to Fourth's home. Right, where are they living now?"

"I'm not sure either, but we'll know once we ask around."

At this moment, Lin Shunhe and his wife Yao Shan were still minding their shop. They had just wrapped up goods for a customer when they saw the owner of the nearby bamboo-weaving shop approaching with his hands behind his back and a broad smile on his face.

"Brother Lin, you're something else. You pulled off something huge without making a sound! From now on, I'm afraid everyone on this street will have to rely on your family's protection."

Boss Chen of the bamboo-weaving shop had always been a miserly, stingy man, yet now he carried two plump fish from behind his back and hung them by Lin Shunhe's counter.

"My son only caught these two crucian carp yesterday. I'm giving them to you to have a taste."

"This..." Lin Shunhe stood there, utterly baffled, with no idea what had gotten into the man.

Before he could recover, the owner of the porcelain shop across the street also emerged with a beaming smile and brought them a stack of spotless, neatly arranged porcelain plates and tableware, repeatedly telling them to look after him in the future.

The neighbors and shopkeepers nearby, people who had previously chatted and had tea with them, also gathered around at this time to congratulate them. One pleasant phrase after another poured out as though they cost nothing.

Brother Huang from the Wood Flower Gang and his sister also arrived carrying gifts. With smiling faces, they bowed to congratulate the couple. No matter how Lin Shunhe and his wife refused, they set down the gifts and ran off.

Just as the couple became more and more bewildered, someone finally noticed their confusion during the conversation and explained the matter of the Emergency Response Team roster.

"The Life-and-Death Squad? The right of execution? Killing people isn't even against the law??!" Yao Shan was left completely stunned.

Lin Shunhe, who had known about these matters before, suddenly understood everything. He had once managed an oil mill, after all—how could he not know about the Life-and-Death Squad?

What he could not believe was that his son had silently entered such a crucial department!

This was simply...

Hadn't Qingfeng Temple suffered an incident just recently? How had...

Looking at the smiling faces around him, he forcibly suppressed the doubts in his heart and returned everyone's compliments with a forced smile.

After seeing everyone off, business at the little shop surged that afternoon as well. Customers came in an unbroken stream, at least ten times more than usual!

This gave the couple a direct understanding of the Life-and-Death Squad's influence. The pressures of their former life vanished completely in that instant, replaced by doubts and worries over their son, Lin Hui.

A-Hui had quietly, suddenly leaped into such an important position. This abrupt, enormous change left them both with an uneasy feeling.

Meanwhile, Lin Hui continued honing the Nine Section Fast Sword movement technique in the Mist.

With the Faceless Man training against him at full strength, his Body Tempering progressed much faster than it had in the temple. In merely a month, he rapidly broke through from Subordinate Fourth Rank of Body Tempering to Sixth Rank.

One had to know that the higher one went in rank, the harder it became to break through.

Even geniuses such as Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren had only reached Fifth Rank by now, yet Lin Hui had easily surpassed them.

After Mingde learned of the situation, his expectations for Lin Hui grew even greater.