Weighing It I

In the Taoist temple's rear courtyard, on the training ground.

Lin Hui held the Clear River Sword, calmly and steadily practicing the Nine Section Fast Sword.

To use it in actual combat, he had to make it fit his physical condition perfectly. It was not enough for the moves themselves to be flawless; he also had to understand precisely when to use each sword move, its rhythm, and more.

He had already finished his daily Body Tempering with the Seven Section Fast Sword. The time that followed was meant to prepare for the perfected Nine Section Fast Sword, whose evolution was soon to be complete.

Once its evolution was complete, he had to integrate it into his combat rhythm at the very first opportunity.

It was noon. Apart from him practicing swordsmanship alone, there were more than a dozen newly enrolled students not far away. Under Wei Wei's guidance, they held wooden sticks crookedly as they learned the Seven Section Fast Sword's training forms.

This was the foundation of Qingfeng Temple's martial arts. Unfortunately... Wei Wei was indeed teaching earnestly, but those learning were either absentminded or repeatedly letting their eyes drift over the sensitive curves of her waist and hips. Some even giggled and chatted in low voices.

Wei Wei wore fitted black leather clothes, her long hair spilling over her shoulders and her curves fully displayed. Her cherry lips were clenched tight. She did not say a word, intending to put away her sword and leave once the lesson was over.

Her only thought now was to help Old Man keep up this last remaining framework. Let them look if they wanted to look. A few more glances did not matter. If people looked, perhaps more students would come.

Very soon, she had finished teaching one set of sword techniques. She sheathed her sword, gave a final reminder of several key points, then swept her gaze over Lin Hui, who was absorbed in his own sword practice in the corner. With a sigh in her heart, she left the training ground and headed home outside the temple.

In any case, she knew perfectly well that once these newly enrolled students had finished the demonstration lesson, they would practice casually for a bit before going home.

Compared with the scene of countless disciples diligently cultivating in the past, the news that Black Dragon Gate had easily crushed Qingfeng Temple's martial arts had long spread through the surrounding towns under the deliberate promotion of interested parties.

The wealthy households, great clans, and merchant firms that had once worked with Qingfeng Temple also quietly terminated their agreements one after another, turning instead to cooperate with the stronger martial artists and martial arts schools of the Outer City.

With another soft sigh, Wei Wei herself had long since lost confidence in Qingfeng Temple's martial arts. A few days ago, she had encountered an elite disciple from an Outer City martial arts school—a former suitor whom she had once defeated. Yet now, he had defeated her easily in barely a dozen moves.

Humiliated and furious, she had begun to harbor enormous doubts about the swordsmanship she had painstakingly trained in for over a decade.

Was she really going to stake everything she had on the Clear Sword?

Carrying that doubt with her, Wei Wei's figure quietly disappeared through the temple's rear gate.

The students left behind giggled and laughed as they packed up their things and scattered.

Ever since joining these past few days, they had already grown accustomed to this sort of rhythm.

Before long, less than ten minutes later, only four people remained in the entire rear training ground.

Wang Yun stood to one side, watching Lin Hui as he continued his strenuous practice, a trace of puzzlement flashing through her eyes.

She slowly walked over, stood nearby, and watched in silence.

Only when Lin Hui paused for a break did she softly speak.

"Junior Brother Lin, why are you still taking this so seriously?"

"One should be serious in whatever one does. Otherwise, one merely squanders time—wouldn't that be a terrible pity?" Lin Hui turned to look at this senior sister from the same school.

"But is it worth continuing to invest time and effort in... this?" Wang Yun asked quietly.

"What about you, Senior Sister? They've all left, so why haven't you? Do you think it's worth staying behind to continue training?" Lin Hui countered.

"Me?" Wang Yun smiled. "I learned martial arts only to strengthen my body. Not to earn money, not to fight—only for movement skills and speed. Besides, I've been here for many years. The cost of starting over would be too great, so I don't want to move elsewhere. But..."

She paused.

"Quite a few guards from my family have gone to Black Dragon Gate. Different needs mean different goals, naturally."

"What Senior Sister said is exactly what I mean." Lin Hui remained calm. "From the very beginning, my goal in learning martial arts has been speed."

"Is that so? No wonder..." Wang Yun suddenly understood.

With another sigh, she asked no more questions. After bidding him farewell, she turned and packed up to leave.

At that point, only two others remained on the training ground.

One of them was Chen Jiahu.

This farm boy Chen Zhishen had brought with him was still, like Lin Hui, diligently practicing fast sword techniques.

Lin Hui had watched him for several days and discovered that the boy was completely unaffected by the news and rumors outside. He still trained diligently every day.

Not only that, he seemed to have brought along a friend to train with him.

After Lin Hui finished maintaining his sword and was about to leave, he saw that Chen Jiahu and his friend had also finished practicing. They came over to say goodbye, clearly intending to leave as well.

He fell silent for a moment, a question rising in his heart.

"Xiao Hu."

"Uncle Lin? What is it? Do you have something for me to do?" Xiao Hu asked in confusion.

"Why are you still willing to stay?" Lin Hui asked directly. "Haven't you heard the news everyone is spreading outside?"

"I've heard it." Xiao Hu nodded. "But Uncle Lin hasn't left, so I won't leave either. Eldest Uncle told me to follow you."

"Follow me?" Lin Hui was taken aback. Looking at the other's simple, honest face, he fell silent for a moment.

"You trust me that much?"

"Uncle Lin is so strong, yet you haven't left. There must be a reason. I'm stupid, and I always make the wrong choices on my own. So I figured, since Eldest Uncle told me to follow you, I shouldn't think about anything else. I just need to go wherever you go. Someone as strong as you will definitely choose better than I can," Xiao Hu answered honestly.

"..." Lin Hui found himself without a reply.

Xiao Hu was not actually a formal disciple yet. He was still at the student stage and had only been at the temple for a short time.

After the Taoist temple split into three branches some time ago, he had come over on his own to join Mingde's branch.

He had never expected the reason to be himself.

Lin Hui sighed and turned to look at the other person.

This man had a face full of freckles, a slightly chubby build, plain features, and somewhat dark skin. His clothes, however, showed that his family was fairly well-off. He was a little fatty.

"And you? What's your name? Why did you stay?"

"Reporting to Senior Brother Lin, my name's Huang Shenggen. Xiao Hu helped me before. We're brothers. If he doesn't leave, neither will I." The little fatty's answer was even more guileless. "Good brothers share blessings and shoulder hardships together!"

"Good... you've got backbone." Lin Hui nodded without realizing it.

Qingfeng Temple's rise and fall had shown him just how fragile so-called loyalty could be. Yet the little fatty's words and choice now showed him that perhaps loyalty was not fragile at all—it simply did not exist between certain people.

"Then, Senior Brother Lin, can we practice swordsmanship with you? Senior Sister Wei Wei and the Daoist master teach us once and then leave. There's so much we simply can't understand..." Xiao Hu could not help asking.

"As long as I'm here, you can come watch me practice," Lin Hui agreed.

His Body Tempering was progressing quickly anyway, and he spent most of his spare time integrating the Nine Section Fast Sword into his instincts.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

The two were overjoyed and hurriedly bowed.

After chatting for a while, the three went to the dining hall. The cook handling the side dishes was still the same man as before, but there was far less meat in the food he ladled out for them.

Lin Hui glanced at the plate before him and sighed inwardly. Wei Wei was in charge of logistics. Now that their income had plummeted, cutting back on meals was only natural.

Fortunately, there was still all the coarse-grain rice they could eat. The three stuffed themselves full of rice, then returned to their quarters to rest.

Xiao Hu and Huang Shenggen went back to the communal sleeping quarters. With so few people now, the room of shared bunks had effectively become a huge private room—spacious and comfortable. Their living conditions had actually improved considerably.

Lin Hui still lived in his own single room, and he had even been assigned a small courtyard. That was another benefit of having fewer people.

But on the way back, he happened to see Daoist Mingde sitting on the temple roof, tilting his head back as he drank.

Mingde's face was flushed red, his gaze unfocused. No one knew how long he had been sitting there.

Lin Hui did not disturb him. He merely returned to his room to rest and waited for the afternoon's sword practice.

Days passed one after another.

As Qingfeng Temple suffered a complete rout, the situation in Xinyu Town had been decided.

Qingfeng Temple's many former business partnerships were steadily shifting to the Black Dragon Gate. This could be seen from the elite disciples who had switched sides. Great families such as the Mu Family and Zhao Family tended to follow representative disciples like Mu Qiao Zhi and Zhao Jiang'an in their dealings.

On the surface, it was merely the transfer of several disciples. In truth, behind them lay a vast network of related contracts, employment, and partnerships.

The only consolation was that the Zhao Family and Mu Family had not driven out all the fellow disciples they had previously employed. Instead, they had brought them into the Black Dragon Gate's temporary training classes for retraining.

Lin Hui had learned this from a letter sent by Chen Zhishen.

"Now, the Black Dragon Gate no longer considers Qingfeng Temple an opponent. Its sights have shifted to the Hundred Flowers Sect, which poses a greater threat and is also expanding," Chen Zhishen explained in the letter.

"The Hundred Flowers Sect is likewise a martial arts school newly founded by martial artists from the Outer City. After crushing Feiyun Fist, it swallowed up their former resources and connections, and it has designs on the Black Dragon Gate's territory as well. It's no surprise that the two sides have come to blows. But A-Hui, are you sure you want to keep butting your head against Qingfeng Temple until the end? There's really no need. The town yamen has released the new roster for the Emergency Response Team. Have you seen it? This entire batch consists of Black Dragon Gate people."

Lin Hui put away the letter, his expression calm.

Naturally, he knew about the Emergency Response Team's changes. The yamen had sent over a notice the day before yesterday, announcing that they were terminating their contract here.

The original contract had been for one year, but Qingfeng Temple in its present state had no way to argue reason while holding up the contract. Being able to receive some compensation for an early termination was already not bad.

This was clearly the Black Dragon Gate's doing.

Mu Qiao Zhi and the others' earlier display had merely been a warning. Those who still failed to recognize the times and switch sides, people like Lin Hui, could naturally only face contract termination.

"Junior Brother, about the termination... I'll find a way to help you look for something else. Don't worry. It may be a little worse than before, but I definitely won't let you..." Wei Wei said softly from beside him, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Qingfeng Temple's income had now fallen off a cliff, yet it still had to maintain the same meals and medicinal cuisine as before. Naturally, it could no longer afford it.

Quite a few of the expensive ornaments she had once worn had quietly disappeared. Her attire was much plainer now, consisting only of a simple fitted gray robe.

She had also helped deliver Chen Zhishen's letter this time. The person who used to deliver letters had been dismissed as part of the cost-cutting measures.

"Senior Sister, there's no need to be like this. I don't even consider such expenses worth mentioning," Lin Hui replied. "The little business at home has gotten on track too, and I barely spend much myself. It's fine."

"Junior Brother..." Wei Wei opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, yet unable to find the words.

After a long silence, she could only cup her fists in salute before turning and quietly leaving.

If she had once still harbored doubts about her father's decision, then Lin Hui and Wang Yun's loyalty amid such hardship now made her admire them all the more—and understand more deeply what her father had meant when he said that there were always things in this world that money could not measure.