The Decaying World-Chapter 131 - 122: Getting Acquainted, Part 2

"You’re too kind," Han Xiaoyue said with a polite smile.

The two of them went inside alone through a side door.

Lin Hui walked with his parents, and the two groups naturally split, one walking ahead of the other.

Along the way, Liu Shenglan subtly questioned Han Xiaoyue about her personal life, family situation, relatives, and disposition.

She came from one of the Inner City Great Clans and was extremely familiar with the Original Blood Nobility. She’d even had some dealings with fringe groups like Han Xiaoyue’s, whose Original Blood was about to fade completely. This made her the most suitable person for the task.

Meanwhile, Lin Hui, holding Lin Xiaoliu, listened to his parents ask about his progress with Han Xiaoyue—if she was pregnant, how many babies she was having, what their names would be...

He listened with a look of utter exasperation.

After the whole ordeal, more than four hours later, Han Xiaoyue was settled into the loft of the pavilion in Lin Hui’s own courtyard.

They weren’t in the same room, but they shared the same small courtyard.

Only after the three elders had pried out all the information they wanted did they leave in satisfaction to discuss it. They urged Han Xiaoyue and Lin Hui to rest quickly, and even sent over numerous nourishing soups.

This left Lin Hui not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It was more than a little awkward. He and Han Xiaoyue had only just met and barely knew each other, yet here they were, arranged like this...

"I’m sorry, my parents are a bit too eager... It must have been awkward for you."

Lin Hui explained helplessly to Han Xiaoyue in the courtyard.

"It’s fine. I expected as much," Han Xiaoyue said, her gaze placid. "What did surprise me, though, was how open-minded they are about my appearance."

"Well, I explained to them over and over that I don’t care, so they came to accept it. After all, I’m the one getting married, and your face wasn’t always like this," Lin Hui said.

The two of them walked up the stone steps to the loft. Lin Hui opened the door and entered first.

"I used this place to refine elixirs for a while, so there’s bound to be a lingering medicinal scent. If it bothers you, you can stay in one of the side rooms instead."

"It’s fine. It’s merely a place to stay," Han Xiaoyue said calmly.

She seemed perpetually calm and unruffled, as if nothing in the world could startle or frighten her.

"Then where’s your luggage? Your change of clothes?" Lin Hui asked, turning his head.

He’d noticed from the moment they met that she hadn’t brought anything with her, arriving only in the clothes on her back.

"Is it not okay to sleep like this?" Han Xiaoyue asked, confused.

"Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable to sleep without changing?" Lin Hui blinked.

"It’s fine. I use cultivation in place of sleep," Han Xiaoyue replied, her expression unchanging.

"...Is the Inner City that... cutthroat?" Lin Hui was at a loss for words.

"Cutthroat?"

"It means the competition is fierce, a real rat race."

"No, the Inner City is very laid-back. The higher your status, the more idle you are. The gains from cultivation are too weak, while the power boost from one’s Original Blood concentration trumps all else. So, not many people truly dedicate themselves to arduous training," Han Xiaoyue said, shaking her head slightly.

"Then you..."

"I’m used to it," Han Xiaoyue answered calmly.

He could tell she’d had a very difficult past. Otherwise, someone of Original Blood from the Inner City, even one with a severely diluted bloodline, would never have developed such an arduous habit.

And the scars on her face... ’She surely didn’t disfigure herself.’

Lin Hui suddenly found he had nothing more to say.

He could only lower his head and silently start to help make the bed, but the maids had already prepared it perfectly, leaving him with nothing to do. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He was about to turn and leave.

But just as he turned, he saw Han Xiaoyue casually pull open the collar of her robe and retrieve two books from her chest.

’...So those generous curves I saw a moment ago were just from the books??’

Lin Hui was speechless once again. And here he’d thought Han Xiaoyue didn’t care about others’ opinions.

"There was nowhere else to put them," Han Xiaoyue explained earnestly. "I don’t like to carry things in my hands."

"Right, right," Lin Hui said, lost for words. His gaze swept over the titles of the books she had taken out.

Brief History of the Taixu Sect and Linsha Chronicles.

This Lin Sha again. Come to think of it, at first Lin Hui had thought Lin Sha was connected to the Shayue Sect, so he’d asked his older sister, Liu Xiao, about it. Liu Xiao had replied that this person wasn’t from the Shayue Sect, and she’d never heard of any famous historical figure with that name—at least, none that she could recall.

Seeing Han Xiaoyue with this book again, his curiosity was piqued once more.

"Speaking of which, that book you’re reading is a biography, right? Who exactly is this Lin Sha? Could you tell me about her?" he asked.

"It’s perfectly normal that you haven’t heard of her," Han Xiaoyue replied calmly, turning to sit on the bed. "She’s someone I deeply admire. But she’s not actually famous."

"...Not famous, but she has a published biography?" Lin Hui was confused. This world wasn’t like the information age of his past life; publishing a book was incredibly inconvenient.

"Because I’m the one who published it for her," Han Xiaoyue replied.

"..." Lin Hui detected a wealth of unidentifiable emotion in that statement.

"I don’t want her sacrifices to be forgotten by everyone in the end. So, this is the only thing I can do for her," Han Xiaoyue continued, raising her head to look at Lin Hui.

"Would you like to hear it? Her story?"

"I’m listening..." Lin Hui pulled over a stool and sat down. He had always been curious about Han Xiaoyue. According to the background check his father had conducted, her past seemed simple and clean. But interacting with her, he always felt she was hiding far, far too much.

"Let me ask you something," Han Xiaoyue began. "If there was a task, and you knew that no matter how hard you struggled, how much you fought, how desperately you strived, you could never change its preordained outcome, would you still try?"

"Why not? I enjoy the process of putting in the effort. Besides, if you don’t try, how can you ever know for sure it can’t be changed? It’s a necessary part of trial and error," Lin Hui replied.

"What if a single attempt required you to gamble away the better part of your life? Would you still be willing?" Han Xiaoyue pressed.

"In that case, probably not," Lin Hui said, shaking his head. "My life isn’t long. I should naturally spend my time on more worthwhile pursuits."

"Lin Sha wasn’t like that." Han Xiaoyue shook her head and gently pulled the thin quilt over her legs.

"She was a genius of the highest caliber... But her path was different from that of a normal prodigy. She and dozens of other geniuses were selected to undergo special training, cultivation, and brutal competition. After a long century of growth, they finally reached the pinnacle of their lives. And then..."

She paused, her gaze falling.

"And then, just like the dozens of others, she failed and died silently in some forgotten corner of the world..."

"She didn’t achieve anything spectacular, nor did she succeed in that difficult task. But I couldn’t stand the thought of her vanishing into time with nothing to show for it. So I wrote this book for her..."

"Well, now I know of her. So what you set out to do has worked," Lin Hui replied.

"Yes... Many times, I feel that I’m actually... a rather lucky person..." Han Xiaoyue murmured this inexplicably, then lowered her head and said no more.

Seeing this, Lin Hui’s eagerness to hear the story faded. He decided not to disturb her further, quietly letting himself out and closing the door behind him, leaving her to rest alone.