The Decaying World-Chapter 120 - 113: Exploring, Part 1

Auspicious Tower.

One of the main buildings of Jixiang Residence, it was just an ordinary five-story building among the many white structures of the Inner City.

However, the small, silver ornaments hanging from the edges of each floor made it clear to any passerby that this place was not cheap.

Lin Hui had changed into casual clothes—a plain white robe, a Hei Yu hanging from his waist, his long hair tied up with a silver hairpin, and two longswords strapped to his back.

"Are you crazy? Who brings weapons to a blind date!?" Wang Yueheng, standing beside him, was speechless. He could feel a headache coming on.

"Why am I here? Isn’t it so I can focus on my sword practice without interruption? That being the case, why should I compromise for this?"

Lin Hui’s reasoning was sound.

"...You make a damn good point..." Wang Yueheng felt that such a straightforward person was incredibly difficult to deal with. Fortunately, he didn’t dwell on it. After all, neither of them intended to actually get together, so this was less of a blind date and more of a transaction.

Thinking this, his mood instantly improved.

"Let’s go." He took the lead and stepped into the restaurant.

Compared to Lin Hui’s plain white, he was dressed like a peacock. His silver-hemmed white robe was open, revealing his chest. He wore dark red metal earrings with a flame pattern, his skin was as smooth as jade, and his delicate features held a hint of playful charm. His waist-length hair was tied in the middle with a furry silver ribbon.

At a glance, you’d think a vixen from a storybook had just walked out.

Such beauty was conspicuous even in the Inner City. As a result, ever since Lin Hui had met up with him, he had been enduring numerous hostile and jealous stares.

Lin Hui really wanted to explain to people that this guy was, in fact, a man. But he figured many in the Inner City probably didn’t care about gender anyway.

Upon entering the first floor, they found the main hall wasn’t crowded. One or two attendants stood waiting by each table. There was little noise, as everyone spoke in hushed tones or communicated directly through voice transmission.

The only sounds in the air were the footsteps of attendants and the faint clinking of chopsticks against plates.

"The appointed place is on the fourth floor. Follow me." Wang Yueheng led the way up the spiral staircase.

"What’s her name?" Lin Hui asked, following behind.

"Didn’t I tell you?" Wang Yueheng paused. "Her surname is Han. Full name, Han Xiaoyue."

"Alright," Lin Hui acknowledged.

"Also, you need to be mentally prepared. She was injured in the past, so her appearance might be a bit..." Wang Yueheng warned. "Try not to react. Keep your cool. You’re not actually marrying her anyway. We’re all just getting what we need out of this, remember?"

"Mm... okay. Don’t worry, I have good self-control," Lin Hui said calmly, though a flicker of curiosity rose in his heart.

’What kind of injury would make Wang Yueheng warn me in advance not to lose my composure when I see her?’

Neither of them spoke for a while as they continued upward. Attendants they passed along the way would stop and bow slightly, gentle and silent.

Someone came forward to ask if they needed a guide, but Wang Yueheng refused.

"I come here to eat often because of you. I know this place like the back of my hand," he explained.

"The way you said that is just asking for a misunderstanding. Can you be a little clearer? Look at you. Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?" Lin Hui said, exasperated.

His reputation was already bad recently, and now he was always seen with this guy Wang Yueheng... HISS...!

Suddenly, he realized something and looked up at Wang Yueheng, whose face was prettier than any woman’s.

At the same moment, the other man seemed to realize something too and turned to look at him, likewise sucking in a sharp breath.

Both of them instinctively took a few steps away from each other.

"Sorry, I’m still into women!" Wang Yueheng said hurriedly.

"Don’t worry, I’m not interested in you. I am, however, interested in beating you up," Lin Hui’s expression turned cold.

"Heh." Wang Yueheng wanted to retort, but remembering he really couldn’t beat the other man right now, he gritted his teeth and pointed at Lin Hui.

"You just wait! I’ll fight you after I break through!"

"How long until you break through?"

"Five years at most!"

"Fine!" Lin Hui laughed to himself. ’Five years? By then, I’ll have perfected my Typhoon Swordsmanship. I’ll probably be able to crush Wang Yueheng with one hand.’

Soon, they reached the fourth floor.

Wang Yueheng led the way to a private room farthest from the staircase.

He extended a finger, and a flash of white light at its tip touched the heavy, black wooden door.

Transparent ripples immediately spread across the door’s surface, like waves in water.

CLICK.

It seemed to be some kind of recognition mechanism. The door automatically unlocked and swung inward.

The private room’s decor was simple.

A rectangular wooden table stood in the center, flanked by wooden chairs. Both the table and chairs were carved with ornate patterns.

The surrounding walls were filled with hollowed-out compartments containing numerous books, densely packed with at least several hundred volumes.

The four corners of the ceiling above glowed with a soft yellow light, but there were no visible lamps; the source of the light was unknown.

In a corner stood a two-meter-tall, silvery-white mermaid statue. The mermaid held a water jug, from which wisps of white smoke poured forth.

The moment the door opened, Lin Hui’s gaze fell upon a person sitting on the left side of the wooden table.

It was a woman with long, black hair, her back to them.

She held a pipa-like instrument and was gently plucking it with her head bowed, producing intermittent, pleasant musical fragments.

The woman wore a long, crimson dress. Her skin was fair, and a jet-black pattern was faintly visible on the nape of her neck between strands of her hair. He couldn’t tell if it was a tattoo or something else.

Lin Hui knew that many Martial Arts and Summoning abilities could leave marks on the body, but he didn’t recognize this one.

Seemingly having heard the noise, the woman set her instrument aside and turned slightly to look at the two people at the door.

"Heng’Er, did you bring him?" Her voice was gentle, not particularly beautiful, but it carried a very determined tone.

’What the hell is Heng’Er??’

Lin Hui glanced at the blushing Wang Yueheng, feeling like he’d been tricked.

"Come in and talk," Wang Yueheng said, shutting the door and pulling Lin Hui to a seat across from the woman.

As he sat down, Lin Hui finally got a clear look at her face.

He had imagined many possibilities for her appearance, but he never expected her face to be... so ugly!

The left side of her face was passable; he could make out her left eye and half of her nose and mouth. But the right side of her face was truly horrifying.

It was like a desiccated corpse, the skin stretched taut over the muscle in a paper-thin layer. From the front, it looked like half a skull.

"A bit frightening, isn’t it?" the woman said gently. "It’s alright. You don’t have to hold back. I’m used to it."

"It is a bit ugly," Lin Hui nodded honestly, ignoring Wang Yueheng, who was repeatedly poking him with his foot.

Then, as Wang Yueheng shot him a look that clearly said, "You actually dared to say that," he continued.

"But it doesn’t matter. We’re both just here to get what we need. Appearances are irrelevant."

"You don’t mind?" The woman was surprised for a moment, then began to study Lin Hui seriously.

"Why should I mind? I need a placeholder, and so do you. We just need to cooperate when necessary. How does your appearance affect our mutual cooperation?" Lin Hui said calmly.

In his past life, he had surfed the internet and seen all sorts of strange diseases; a disfigurement of this degree didn’t really faze him.

"Very good..." The woman smiled faintly, and the skeletal half of her face twitched along with it, looking ferocious and terrifying.

"A placeholder... Yes, that’s a very precise description. I like it."

She extended her hand.

"Let me reintroduce myself. Han Xiaoyue."

"Lin Hui." Lin Hui reached out and gently shook her hand.

"Then it’s settled. From now on, you’re my fiancé?" Han Xiaoyue said.

"Likewise," Lin Hui nodded.

"Should we exchange tokens? It will be convenient for fending off others," Han Xiaoyue continued.

"Here, take this." Lin Hui casually took off the Hei Yu he had brought and tossed it to her.

"You really are casual about this... This jade is probably worth just a few hundred coins from a street stall, isn’t it?" Han Xiaoyue said with a sigh. Catching the Hei Yu, she took out a piece of Hongyu from her waist pouch, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it toward Lin Hui.

"This is my personal Jade Pendant. Be sure to keep it safe. I’ll want it back when we eventually part ways."

"Alright."

After exchanging tokens, the two fell silent, not knowing what to talk about.

After all, they were complete strangers, both with cold personalities, who only enjoyed cultivation.

If Wang Yueheng hadn’t pulled the strings, the two of them probably would never have been sitting here discussing marriage.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

The awkwardness began to spread.

Wang Yueheng, sitting to the side, felt like his whole body was itching. The situation was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey, why don’t you two introduce yourselves? Talk about what you like, what you do in your free time," he couldn’t help but say.

"Cultivating, practicing my sword, and Alchemy," Lin Hui answered swiftly. "Those are the things I like."

"Cultivating, reading, and playing my instrument," Han Xiaoyue also replied. "That’s how I spend my days."

"..." Watching the two of them, Wang Yueheng suddenly felt his scalp go numb.

’Aren’t they embarrassed at all???’

"So, shall we just do our own things now?" Han Xiaoyue suggested.

"Excellent!" Lin Hui’s eyes immediately lit up.

Immediately, one of them sat cross-legged and began to cultivate, while the other took a book from her sleeve and started to slowly flip through it.

Both of them acted as if no one else was there, completely ignoring Wang Yueheng as if he didn’t exist.

After sitting there blankly for a while, Wang Yueheng felt his skin crawl. He was completely on edge.

Helpless, he could only get up stealthily, pull the door open, and escape.

The moment he was out the door, he felt a sense of relief wash over him, his heart easing.

Thinking back on the pair in the private room, he realized they seemed unexpectedly compatible.

’I can’t take it. I really can’t. The world of lunatics is clearly too far removed from mine...’

He beat a hasty retreat.

He felt uncomfortable even just being near the two of them.

’How can they stand such an awkward atmosphere and just do their own thing??’

After Wang Yueheng left, Lin Hui cultivated his Inner Strength for a while inside the private room. Feeling that he genuinely couldn’t make another inch of progress, he had no choice but to stop. When he opened his eyes, he saw a small book in Han Xiaoyue’s hands.

Linsha Chronicles.

"Can I ask you something about the Inner City?" he asked after a moment’s thought. "In exchange, you can ask me anything you want."

"Of course, it’s fine if you’re not willing," he added, just testing the waters. There was still a lot he didn’t understand about the Inner City. If this noble lady of the Inner City were to tell him about it, he might be able to form a more complete picture of the place much faster.

That was, of course, assuming she was interested in exchanging information with him.

"It’s fine. It’s just a chat. What would you like to know?" Han Xiaoyue replied gently, putting down her book.

"Since you enjoy reading, I was wondering if you could tell me how the entire Inner City came to be?" Lin Hui asked.

"It was carved out," Han Xiaoyue said. "According to the records, in a very distant, ancient era, all things were eternally shrouded in mist. Humanity lived in a state of confusion, and survival was incredibly difficult."