Decaying World Novel Chapter 252:

Staring at the pale red soil of the island, Lin Hui felt a strange, rootless unreality wash over him.

He was entirely disconnected from the fact that he had just casually slaughtered hundreds of thousands of non-humans. Drawing his sword had long since beco muscle mory—he had simply executed the Typhoon Sword Technique as he always did, watching its terrible power consu and shred hundreds of thousands of lives.

It was like firing a gun in a shooting ga. Zero tactile feedback.

But now, standing on this island drenched in blood, the true weight of what he had done finally settled over him.

No pulsation of life. Does that an I didn't save a single soul on this trip?

Perhaps Black Cloud's intelligence had been flawed. If these non-humans hadn't truly hard anyone, killing them wouldn't trigger a pulsation of life—no lives saved, no reward.

Forget it. Overthinking gets

nowhere. Lin Hui resolved to treat it like any other completed mission and head back.

"Your Excellency," Ouyang Yining said softly from behind, "our n have just reported a rchant fleet and a small pirate fleet in the nearby waters. Would you care to take a look?"

"Any benefit in it?" Lin Hui caught her aning at once.

By the rules he'd read, rescuing a rchant ship at sea entitled the rescuer to half its cargo. The rules for pirate ships were harsher still: capture one, and everything—ship, cargo, and crew—went to the victor.

"There's sothing else," Ouyang Yining added via voice transmission. "We found human slaves from your holand aboard the ships."

"Human slaves?"

"Yes. Tuyue maintains a side trade in human slavery—usually run jointly by the Python Clan and the Tiger-n," Ouyang Yining replied. "But since this batch is from your holand…"

Lin Hui was silent for a mont. "Handle it however you see fit," he said quietly.

The more he saw of the world, the more certain he beca: Tuyue was absolute scum.

"Understood." Ouyang Yining nodded.

With the mission wrapped up without a hitch, she had settled smoothly into the role of his standing assistant—handling all his affairs in Black Cloud going forward.

"Then what do we do with the human slaves?"

"How are they normally handled?"

"Resold. The major districts of Black Cloud have plenty of buyers. Finding one won't be a problem," Ouyang Yining replied.

"What about sending them back?"

"That would be quite expensive. Few fleets return to Tuyue, and passage fees are exorbitant."

"Then free them and let them fend for themselves. I don't owe them anything. Saving them was already more than enough," Lin Hui said dismissively.

"If Your Excellency simply sets them free, they won't last long in Black Cloud," Ouyang Yining said carefully.

"Why?"

"Every position here requires a background endorsent. Human slaves have no verifiable histories, so most employers won't take them. They'd be pushed into the most degrading labor, grinding their lives away for next to nothing," she explained.

Lin Hui hadn't expected soone like Ouyang Yining—a newly advanced Blood Ancestor—to understand the struggles of the underclass so well.

"Forget it. Arrange it as you see fit," he said, his voice heavy.

"Understood."

Ouyang Yining relayed a few brief orders to her subordinates.

Glancing back at the island, Lin Hui found himself thinking of the rman who had been the first to charge—a warrior brandishing a bident, lunging at him in blind fury.

"Did he really not know he was going to die? That after his death, nothing would be left?" he murmured.

Ouyang Yining understood what he ant.

"Does Your Excellency feel his sacrifice was pointless?"

"No. I'm just pondering the aning of life," Lin Hui replied.

"The aning of life?" Ouyang Yining's grip tightened slightly on the hilt of her saber. "That kind of question is a luxury—reserved for those who have lived in comfort for so long they've mistaken peace and happiness for constants of nature. Perhaps Your Excellency is simply powerful enough to afford such an enviable dilemma."

"Then let

rephrase the question," Lin Hui said with a faint smile. "Why do you think we live in this world?"

"To pursue strength!"

"There is a limit to strength," Lin Hui said.

"Then surpass the limit!"

"And if you cannot surpass it?"

"Then that is my fate!"

"So your fate is to charge forward until you either break past the limit or die trying?" Lin Hui pressed.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Ouyang Yining asked.

"True… there's nothing wrong with it. After all, everyone else is doing exactly the sa, right?" Lin Hui smiled.

Ouyang Yining didn't answer. Sothing about the exchange had unsettled her—a quiet realization that the man before her was fundantally unlike any other Excellency she had served.

"Let's go." Lin Hui stepped lightly off the ground and rose into the air.

Ouyang Yining followed, gliding gracefully toward the Moth Carriage suspended overhead. But after flying only a dozen ters, she stopped abruptly.

"Your Excellency, there is sothing you should know. Among the captives from those three pirate ships, so claim to be disciples of your Clear Wind Temple."

"Hmm?" Lin Hui paused and turned. "Did they give any nas?"

"Mingde."

"Say that again?" Lin Hui's eyes went wide.

"Mingde! Along with Daoist Mingchen, Mingxiu, and Weiwei—four people in total. The Black Army found this out while tallying their origins and identities."

"Let's go see!" Lin Hui's heart surged.

For years, he had searched for any word of his old master, never imagining he'd find him here, on the distant Jade Sea. He had no reason to doubt Ouyang Yining—she could hardly have known those nas.

Soon, on the deck of one of the all-tal black pirate vessels, Lin Hui watched as the Black Army escorted four figures out of the hold.

Three gaunt, bedraggled old n and a long-haired woman with black ash sared across her face. They wore the rough, coarse garnts of human slaves, utterly inadequate against the frigid, damp air hanging just above freezing over these waters.

As they were brought up, they looked thoroughly bewildered. When they saw Lin Hui standing among the crowd, sothing nagged at them—he looked strikingly like soone they had once known. But out here on the Jade Sea, with this man so clearly a figure of authority, they dismissed the resemblance as a coincidence.

"This lowly one greets Your Excellency. What are Your Excellency's orders?" Mingde stepped forward as their representative, moving to kneel.

But a gentle press of Wind Force stopped him before his knees could touch the deck.

"Master, how did you… end up like this!?"

Lin Hui's figure blurred, appearing at Mingde's side in an instant, steadying him with both hands. His voice trembled faintly.

Master!?

That single word made Mingde go still. The voice—almost exactly as he rembered it from years ago—stirred sothing long-buried. He raised his head slowly, studying the young man's face.

"Are you… Lin Hui!!?"

"Yes, it's ! Master, didn't you leave to travel? Why are you in a place like this!?" Lin Hui's heart ached as he took in Mingde's emaciated fra.

He had always repaid those who treated him well. Mingde was soone he genuinely respected. Seeing him reduced to such a state stirred equal parts grief and anger.

Beside them, Daoist Mingchen, Mingxiu, and Weiwei were all dumbfounded.

Lin Hui!?

Weiwei had been the last of them to leave Xinyu Town—she had bid Lin Hui farewell herself before departing in pursuit of true love, which made her the most familiar with him. Hearing him confirm his identity, she felt a wave of sheer, bewildering absurdity rise in her chest.

She couldn't process it—she was half-convinced she was dreaming. The Jade Sea was unimaginably far from Tuyue. How could Lin Hui be here, surrounded by an elite Black Army escort? Each detail made sense on its own, but together they assembled into sothing uncanny and impossible.

Mingxiu and Daoist Mingchen took it more easily. Neither was particularly close to Lin Hui, so they simply chalked it up to remarkable luck—a forr Clear Wind Temple disciple who had risen to prominence. They had never given much thought to Mingde passing the Temple Master position to Lin Hui in the first place. As long as they were rescued, little else mattered. If they could ride this connection to so comfort going forward, all the better.

Trembling, Mingde finally began recounting his experiences over the past few years.

Shortly after leaving Xinyu Town, he had stumbled into a battle between Circulation realm martial artists. His timing was dismal—he took heavy injuries in the chaos. He sought out a friend in the Python Clan to recover, but was betrayed. He had written to the Clear Wind Temple, but the letter had almost certainly been intercepted; it never arrived.

Listening, Lin Hui marveled at the sheer improbability of it. If he hadn't taken this mission, if the four of them hadn't been trapped in precisely this stretch of Black Mist, they might never have crossed paths again.

"This is no place to talk. Follow

back to the city first!" Lin Hui said quickly.

"Right, right—back to Tuyue first. The Black Mist lingers in these waters. Even now that it's dispersed, who knows when it might flare up again. We should move quickly," Mingde said, nodding.

"Master, we aren't returning to Tuyue. I've already relocated the Clear Wind Temple to Black Cloud. The foundation of the Clear Wind Dao is now firmly established in Black Cloud City," Lin Hui corrected.

Black Cloud!?

The four of them stood frozen, gazes sweeping over the Black Army soldiers flanking Lin Hui before finally settling on Ouyang Yining—elegant, cold-featured, and utterly formidable. They were completely out of their depth.

"Let's save the stories for later. We can chat after we get back and you've had ti to rest. Now that we've found each other, there's no way I'm letting Master and the rest of you wander off again. Co back with

and see our new ho first!" Lin Hui said earnestly.

"Your Excellency, how should we deal with the crew and captains of these pirate ships?" Ouyang Yining interjected.

"Dispose of them however you see fit," Lin Hui said casually.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Ouyang Yining understood imdiately.

Wasn't this exactly what she had eagerly tagged along for?

Unfortunately, His Excellency had killed with such overwhelming speed earlier that the enemies had been shredded instantly, leaving nothing behind. But there were so acceptable ingredients aboard these pirate ships. Devouring them directly would go a long way toward stabilizing her Blood Heart.

Back in Black Cloud, freely preying on Palace Master realm experts was far from easy. Anyone at that level had powerful factions standing behind them—one wrong move, and she would face imdiate consequences.

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