Eliminating Evil and Settling Debts: One Measure of Exhilaration, Three Measures of Melancholy

The entire Lin Residence seemed to have fallen silent at that moment.

The County Academy classmates stood by the covered corridor, each looking at the others without a word.

No one seemed able to process it. Just yesterday, the person who had attended class alongside them, laughing and chatting freely, had now died so abruptly.

Although they had received word early that Lin Qi had suddenly fallen gravely ill, the shock of going from grave illness to death was entirely different.

Especially since they had clearly seen Father Lin invite an expert into the residence just moments ago.

After an unknown length of time, Xu Wenyuan forced back his sorrow and said, "Today was Brother Muxian's twenty-second birthday. Yesterday, he even told me that he would surely earn a ranking in this year's Courtyard Examination.

"He said his family had been urging him to marry for two years now, but he was unwilling to settle for less. He wanted to first obtain the Xiucai Scholar title before seeking the hand of a fine lady. Who would have thought, who would have thought..."

Who would have thought what?

One student sighed. "Who would have thought that the human world was so impermanent?"

Yes, the human world was impermanent.

Chen Xu stood at this end of the covered corridor.

At that moment, although he seemed to be standing amid the crowd, he also felt as though he had drifted to the other side of the mortal world.

Here and now, perhaps no one had more right than he did to utter the four words, "the human world is impermanent."

Chen Xu recalled how, earlier on Little Peak Mountain, when he had mentioned the bizarre Head Exchange he encountered last night, Mr. Zhou had told him, "Your opponent's cultivation in wicked arts is limited. Even a single head-swapping technique would require layer upon layer of preparation before he could bring it to a close at the most crucial moment."

So, Lin Qi had actually spent several years laying the groundwork.

He had chosen Chen Xu, outwardly drawing close and befriending him, while secretly employing wicked arts to steal his fortune.

From the year Chen Xu passed as a Child Scholar and took the Courtyard Examination onward, Lin Qi had unleashed every sort of scheme.

After several years of attrition, Chen Xu's fortune had grown weaker and weaker, while his bad luck became ever heavier. He repeatedly failed the examinations and had once sunk into despair.

Only then had Lin Qi finally come last night at midnight... or rather, in the early hours of this morning, at the turning point between midnight and dawn, when the old gave way to the new, to seize the fruits of his victory and perform the final step of the head-swapping technique—

He wanted to cut off Chen Xu's head.

Fortunately, he had failed.

The students, who were presently lamenting that Lin Qi had died young on the very day of his twenty-second birthday, did not know that today was also Chen Xu's birthday.

Only, Chen Xu had turned eighteen.

Had their birthdays not fallen on the same day, creating an especially fitting resonance in the unseen, Lin Qi might not have set his sights on Chen Xu in the first place.

A smile rested on Chen Xu's lips. Though his heart was filled with emotion, it did not hinder his joy at this moment.

Precisely because the human world was impermanent, he had to fight his way upward all the more, until he possessed the strength to fully control his own fate!

Lin Qi was dead, and the Cauldron Scripture had actually issued a notification:

[You eliminated evil and settled debts, gaining one measure of exhilaration and three measures of melancholy. Recorded in Embers Kitchen. Reward: 100 Firework Value.]

Chen Xu had used the method Mr. Zhou taught him to scatter Lin Qi's soul to the winds, and the Cauldron Scripture had actually rewarded him for it!

At this moment, the various values related to Chen Xu in the Cauldron Scripture had changed again.

The main thing was that, in the short while he had not checked, Chen Xu's Accumulated Likes had increased once more.

Only, this time the increase was small. Presumably, Old Madam Lai's meat-and-scallion pancakes were nearly sold out.

[Accumulated Likes: 656]

[Free Attribute Points: 17]

[Firework Value: 399]

Watching his Accumulated Likes steadily approach 1,000, Chen Xu's heart brimmed with anticipation for the future.

That anticipation stirred waves within his heart, yet his gaze remained calm and resolute.

His first time killing someone had felt rather good.

A moment later, a crazed, hysterical cry suddenly erupted from Lin Qi's room. "Lin Zhongliang, it was you! It must have been you who harmed our Qi'er! If you hadn't suddenly come back, how could my Qi'er have died?

"You never cared to come home before, yet the moment you return, you kill my son! Why didn't you simply stay away forever?"

Madam You cried out in agony, "You deserve to die, you bastard! Wuu wuu wuu..."

Madam You's sudden outburst truly startled all the County Academy students.

In the families of scholars, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, one normally had to observe a certain degree of etiquette and bearing.

The Lin Family was even a prominent local household in Jichuan County. Someone of Madam You's status should have been even less likely to suddenly make such an unseemly scene.

Her crying and shouting left the students in the covered corridor feeling exceedingly awkward, even from some distance away. For a time, they did not know whether they should continue mourning Lin Qi or quickly avoid Madam You's cries so that this elder would not lose face.

Xu Wenyuan said awkwardly, "Auntie must be overcome with grief, to the point that her mind has become muddled. Brother Muxian... died from a sudden illness, so how could Uncle be blamed? Shouldn't we go and try to persuade her?"

The other students looked at one another. Someone quietly advised Xu Wenyuan, "Don't be foolish. Listen carefully. Where is Auntie scolding Uncle? She is clearly cursing the locust tree while pointing at the mulberry tree."

Xu Wenyuan froze, but quickly understood.

Yes, no wonder Madam You had suddenly erupted with that seemingly nonsensical accusation.

Who was she scolding if not Father Lin? She was clearly using Father Lin as a screen to curse Daoist Master Xuanjing!

Only, Daoist Master Xuanjing was a renowned expert of Qiyun Temple. Madam You ultimately lacked the nerve to point at his nose and curse him directly.

The students looked at one another.

They had originally come to visit the sick, perhaps even with the thought that they might be seeing Lin Qi for the last time.

Logically, now that Lin Qi had died of illness, they should remain here to comfort Father Lin and Mother Lin, and help handle his funeral arrangements.

But who could blame them when the situation was so awkward?

There were some matters that one should not meddle in, no matter how close the relationship. Their fellowship as classmates had gone far enough.

At once, one of the students suddenly said, "Everyone, Brother Muxian has suddenly suffered this calamity of illness, and the Lin Family must have countless matters to attend to. Staying here would likely only add to the chaos. We might as well leave first and return to pay our respects once the Lin Family issues an obituary, to see Brother Muxian off on his final journey."

As he spoke, he clasped his hands and turned to leave.

The others hurriedly followed. One said, "Precisely, precisely," while another said, "That is exactly what we should do."

Xu Wenyuan looked despondent. Though hesitant, he still followed the larger group.

As for Chen Xu, there was even less need to mention him. He merely followed silently behind the others. After they explained the situation to the Lin Residence steward, he left the Lin Residence together with them.

They had come as a group, and they departed as the same group.

Only Lin Yuan, Wang Mochuan, and several others were absent from the crowd, yet no one mentioned them. After leaving the Lin Residence, everyone tacitly went their separate ways.

Xu Wenyuan wanted to see Chen Xu off, since Chen Xu was still limping.

In truth, after taking the medicine Mr. Zhou had given him, Chen Xu's right leg had basically recovered completely.

But in order to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble, he continued pretending to limp for the time being.

Chen Xu declined Xu Wenyuan's kind offer, then hired a carriage himself. Its wheels rumbled along as it carried him back to his small home in Ping'an Alley.

At his doorstep, Chen Xu saw someone who was both expected and unexpected.