Lin Hui sat on the bed in the dim inner room.
He held the bowl of corn and yam paste his mother had left him that morning, spooning it into his mouth one bite at a time, forcing it down. Outside the window, the continuous sounds of children playing in the alley drifted in—they seemed to be playing with stones. Further away, carried on the wind, he could faintly hear someone playing an instrument similar to an erhu, its sound mournful and desolate.
Bang.
The wooden door to the inner room slammed open. His father, Lin Shunhe, entered with a face full of rage.
"When your mother gets back, we're moving immediately! This Lin family compound—we're never coming back here again!"
Lin Hui was bewildered. He was still pondering what he should do, what he could do, when his father suddenly burst in and announced they were moving.
"Don't you worry about it. Son, your opportunity fell through, but don't be afraid, don't worry. I still have a way! I still have a way!" A trace of ruthlessness flickered across Lin Shunhe's usually dull face, as if he had made some sort of decision.
"You're my only son! I'll never let you be left with nothing!" Lin Shunhe repeated.
He began searching for wooden crates to pack.
In this day and age, in the outer city, a large and prosperous clan meant you weren't to be trifled with. It meant safety. While the Lin family wasn't fabulously wealthy, they were much better off than ordinary commoners.
When many people had nothing but chaff and water to drink, apart from the Myriad Blessings Meat, the lowest members of the Lin family could at least get coarse-grain rice with a bit of meat. If it weren't a last resort, his father would never have spoken of leaving the clan.
After packing for a while, Lin Shunjiang, the father of Lin Hongzhen from the main branch, arrived. Lin Shunjiang was a portly middle-aged man, completely different in style from Lin Shunhe. His small eyes darted around, revealing a subtle shrewdness.
He and Lin Shunhe went to a corner to talk privately for a while. He seemed to be trying to persuade him, but in the end, he left alone, sighing repeatedly.
His father continued to pack in silence. By the time his mother, Yao Shan, returned home, the sky was already growing dim.
"Husband, what on earth is going on?" Yao Shan asked anxiously, her face weary as she entered and put down her work bag.
Lin Shunhe opened his mouth. Seeing his wife's worried face, his own features quivered, and tears instantly welled in his eyes. He had no idea how to tell his wife that his father, Lin Chaoyi, had forcefully snatched away the opportunity they had saved up for so many years.
The years of hard work from both of them were completely wasted. This would undoubtedly be a huge blow to his wife as well.
"It's alright, don't say it... Sigh." In truth, Yao Shan had already heard some rumors before she came home. Now, she merely received confirmation from her husband.
She glanced at her son in the courtyard nearby, gathering the dried laundry.
"It's fine... I know what kind of person your father is... Whatever decision you make, just like back then, I'll follow you."
"Shanshan..." Hearing this, Lin Shunhe could no longer hold back. He grabbed his wife's hand, his eyes red. "Don't worry... I will never let you two suffer again! I swear!"
"I believe you!" Yao Shan gently hugged her husband. The two fell silent for a moment, as if frozen in time.
In the courtyard, Lin Hui glanced over and saw this scene, shaking his head slightly. Although the life was mediocre, the family atmosphere was good.
His mind had been a muddle before, so that was that. But now that his memories had returned, he should properly plan for the future. Never mind becoming successful—he had to at least guarantee basic safety, food, and shelter first. He couldn't rely on his parents for everything.
Lin Hui wasn't an ambitious person. His only wish was to find a quiet place, find something to study, and enjoy the pleasure of researching things, of discovering mysteries others couldn't.
In his previous life, he loved to play with things like Luban locks, Rubik's Cubes, and the like. But in this environment, he naturally couldn't indulge in such idle pursuits.
Thinking of this, he instinctively raised his right hand and looked at its back. There, clearly etched into the skin, was a complex, blood-red pattern resembling a rhombus.
He had only just discovered this thing. From his memories, this pattern wasn't on his hand. It had clearly only appeared after he awakened his memories. He just hadn't discovered its function yet.
It can't just be an ordinary tattoo, can it?
Lin Hui pondered.
In the afternoon, they ate a hasty meal—meat buns, along with the previous five-spice pig's head meat and some unknown wild vegetables stir-fried. The food was delicious, but apart from Lin Hui, neither Lin Shunhe nor Yao Shan had any appetite. They just watched as their son wolfed down most of the dishes.
The night passed without event. Early the next morning, just as the fog had dissipated, some Lin family members were seen peering around outside, watching as Lin Shunhe's family of three, with all their bags, rented an ox-cart. They spent the morning moving all their belongings away, leaving the compound.
His father, Lin Shunhe, had clearly arranged everything in advance. He led his wife and son to a small, square courtyard made of gray-white stone, and they quickly moved their things from the ox-cart. Next came settling in, relighting the stove, and replacing household items.
His parents didn't let him do any of it. They just told him to rest and even gave him a small bag of melon seeds—spiced and with a sweet aftertaste, very tasty.
Lin Hui wanted to help, but after being pushed away several times, he gave up. He took the melon seeds, walked out the gate, and sat on a yellow rock outside, watching the people and carts come and go on the mud road.
The new house was further from the town center. It was in the opposite direction from the Lin family compound, as if on symmetrically opposite sides of the town.
"Huizi, what're you doing sitting out here?"
He hadn't been sitting long when, from the passing crowd, a lanky, roguish-looking young man with his jacket unbuttoned approached, asking with a familiar air.
"Peng Shan? What are you doing here?" Lin Hui had been studying the blood seal on his hand. Hearing the voice, he looked up and was amused.
The newcomer was named Peng Shan. Like him, he was an idler from a family with some background. As fellow loafers, the two got along well. After all, they were kindred spirits with similar personalities, and over time, they slowly became friends.
Peng Shan came from the prominent Peng clan, another large clan in town, even bigger and wealthier than the Lin family. Peng Shan himself had lived a life of comfort and was perfectly happy. But unexpectedly, a few years ago, his doting father fell ill and passed away, leaving him and his four sisters unable to support their branch of the family. They could only live off their savings, squandering their inheritance.
After being swindled out of a lot of money by his clansmen, the guy finally wised up. He took his sisters and moved out. Now he was busy trying to find good matches for his sisters, hoping to find good homes for his family. All things considered, while he had no real skills, his nature was pure, and he was a good person.
"Don't ask... sigh." Lin Hui briefly explained the move.
"Moving out is the right move!" Peng Shan was delighted to hear it. "Let me tell you, big clans are nothing but trouble. Everything is 'consider the clan, consider the clan.' I fucking considered the clan, but when they went out, they sure as hell didn't consider me!"
"Isn't that the truth." Lin Hui nodded.
"So what if I idled around for a few years? I'm still young, there's always a chance to turn things around! Those blind bastards in the family, who do they think they're looking down on!" Peng Shan cursed a few times, then changed the subject.
"Anyway, you're at the age where you should be working. How 'bout it, found anything yet?"
"Not yet, but my dad says he has a way," Lin Hui shook his head.
"We definitely can't qualify for the government's public selection. The Shayue Sect's requirements are high, so don't even bother. And the Chen family is a lost cause. For guys like us, we can only find a second-rate place to get by. Huang's Emporium—their chain of wine shops. You interested? They're hiring a lot of people right now."
"Nope. What's so great about being a delivery boy?" Lin Hui shook his head.
"Then let's pay some money to rent land, and we'll farm!" Peng Shan proposed. "I've been looking into it lately, already got some ideas."
"Heh." Lin Hui was noncommittal. He knew Peng Shan's personality too well. With his lazy disposition, farming? It was more likely that the land would farm him.
"Don't be like that! Sigh, looking down on me!" Peng Shan was speechless, but didn't argue further. "But my eldest sister does have a lead. The work isn't hard, just helping sweep and keep things clean."
"A cleaner?" Lin Hui said.
"Ah, right, right! A 'cleaner'! That's a great word for it." Peng Shan gave him a thumbs-up.
"Not interested," Lin Hui refused again.
"Sigh, you won't do this, you won't do that. With your skills, so picky... what can you do?" Peng Shan was exasperated.
"You're not doing it either, are you?" Lin Hui retorted.
"..." Peng Shan was choked.
The two of them sat on the rock together, watching the cargo carts and pedestrians on the yellow mud road. Among the passersby, they occasionally saw young men and women about their age.
They wore work clothes, coming and going. Some wore long shirts, others short tunics. Many had the names of workshops, restaurants, or family clans on them. A few even bore the mark of the Shayue Sect—a cross-shaped symbol of two intersecting crescents.
"Sigh... really, in this world, with Door-Breaching Ghosts by day and Mist Wraiths by night... living is so hard, why bother working so hard every day?" Peng Shan lamented.
"What if... we go learn martial arts?" Lin Hui suggested. He felt very little sense of security. The Door-Breaching Ghosts and the Mist Wraiths that knocked at night made him feel more and more apprehensive about the future.
If his memories hadn't awakened, it would be one thing. But now, he couldn't just place his hopes on a jade talisman he'd received.
"Martial arts? What's the use of that? Can you beat a sect-initiate?" Peng Shan scoffed. "Never mind anyone else, just take your cousin, Lin Hongzhen. She's new to the sect, but as soon as she was 'touched,' she immediately became tough as copper and iron, impervious to poisons! What she gained in one night, a martial artist might not achieve in a lifetime!"
"Is it really that bad?" Lin Hui's memories on this topic were fuzzy. Hearing this, he was stunned.
"What else? These days, only families with absolutely no other options bother with martial arts. If you have a way in, the government, the Chen family, the Shayue Sect—getting into any of the three is a life-changing opportunity!" The more Peng Shan said this, the more precious that stolen Chen family spot seemed.
Lin Hui also felt increasingly uneasy, unconsciously tracing the blood seal on the back of his hand.
"But, if there's really no other way, going to a martial arts hall or a temple to be a helper isn't a bad choice. The pay is low, but you can't beat the easy life," Peng Shan's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of the bright side.
"Is there any way to deal with the Door-Breaching Ghosts and Mist Wraiths?" Lin Hui suddenly asked again.
"The three major powers can. Only them. No one else. Why else do you think everyone is trying to squeeze in?" Peng Shan shook his head. "As for the others, the only use for martial artists is to run faster when they're in danger. That's the main reason most people learn it, so all the martial arts halls in town basically just teach lightness techniques."
"Running fast... that's good." Lin Hui was tempted.
"At our age, it's too late to learn martial arts." Peng Shan shattered his fantasy. "We can only learn the shoddy, low-level external styles with no requirements. That's what the poor learn. The harder you train, the shorter you live."
Lin Hui was silent.
Neither spoke. They just watched the people bustling to and fro. The busy people and the two idlers formed a stark contrast. But as they watched, they noticed more and more ox-carts piled high for moving. And from the direction they were heading, it seemed they were all going toward the inner city.