When Things Turn Abnormal, Demons Are Afoot

After only a few days of secluded cultivation, Ren Qing returned to the coffin shop.

Naturally, it wasn't because the cave dwelling was damp and freezing, poorly lit, and reeked of rotting plants and animals—enough to make any normal person unable to stay there long.

Fine.

That damned place was no different from being buried in a graveyard.

Ren Qing had Black Rat Dao Child hurry the repairs, while using the intervals to consider how to cultivate the Painting Immortality Method. He also ordered several dozen jin of jujube wood from the market.

Jujube wood burned well. If the fire dissolution could not be completed in a short while, he would not have to worry about waking up halfway through.

Before he knew it, mid-January had arrived, and Water Mouth City was growing thick with the flavor of the New Year.

Just as Ren Qing felt the time was right, his understanding of the Painting Immortality Method sufficient, and all the jujube wood had been delivered to the cave dwelling, he planned to enter seclusion within the next few days.

"A-Qing!"

Carrying an oil-paper parcel, Ren Shanshi rushed excitedly into the back courtyard. Grease had seeped through the paper.

When he saw Ren Qing sitting cross-legged in the middle of the yard, he showed no surprise whatsoever. The influence of divine sense had long made him take every oddity for granted.

"A-Qing, look what your dad brought you!"

Ren Shanshi lifted the oil-paper parcel in his hand and said with a grin, "Those hunters in the mountains have really struck it lucky lately. Mountain game has been coming in heaps—every few days, they catch several beasts. I happened to buy a few jin of venison too."

"Venison boosts virility and stirs the blood. Let's have some meat for once, father and son!"

Ren Qing slowly opened his eyes. Though he found it strange, he replied, "Dad, before this Daoist enters seclusion, I must fast and purify myself. The five pungent spices, wine, and meat must all be avoided, to cleanse body and mind."

Ever since he had grown increasingly adept at using divine sense, he had completely stopped pretending. Between him and Ren Shanshi, they had gradually begun speaking their own minds; there was no longer any need to hide their words away.

Ren Shanshi remained cheerful. "That's fine too. I'll turn the rest into salted meat, and we can eat it slowly over the New Year."

Ren Qing nodded slightly. He felt that, after returning to being himself, he was far more at ease around his nominal father. At the same time, his Dao heart improved day by day, and the Great Dao lay within reach.

"This must be the 'governing through nonaction' spoken of in Daoism. Only by following one's true heart can one nurture the Dao heart."

"A-Qing, what are you talking about?"

Most of Ren Qing's abrupt remarks did not attract Ren Shanshi's notice. Instead, it was principles he could not understand that made his nominal father puzzled.

"Nothing. Dad, this Daoist will help you wash the venison."

"Hehe, all right."

Father and son busied themselves preparing the venison beside the well. As Ren Qing rinsed it with clean water, he casually asked, "Dad, has anything important happened lately?"

Ren Shanshi paused for half a breath before continuing, "I heard two constables died at the yamen. One fell to his death from a hillside the day before yesterday, and another died of illness yesterday."

Ren Qing knew of the matter as well. The yamen was a place Black Rat Dao Child had been keeping a close eye on.

Both men had died by accident, but it was indeed somewhat unusual. They were both martial artists; for a low dirt slope to kill one of them was already bizarre. As for the constable who died of illness, it had only been from a bout of cold.

Ren Shanshi opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, then hesitated. "And also... the main hall of Wish-Fulfillment Abbey has been renovated."

"Dad, what do you mean?"

Ren Qing had only placed watchers around the outskirts of Wish-Fulfillment Abbey, chiefly because he feared Song Baizhou would notice.

Ren Shanshi took a deep breath. "The immortal statue enshrined in the main hall looks rather like Daoist Song. Do you think it could be that one who came alive back then...?"

Ren Qing did not answer. The Yellow Mud Immortal could cultivate by absorbing incense offerings, and its disciples continuously provided it with blood food. Song Baizhou was very likely about to begin becoming an immortal again.

Should he stop it? If that thing truly became an immortal, it would absolutely be trouble.

Ren Shanshi deliberately changed the subject. "A-Qing, you're about the age to discuss marriage. How about I ask Matchmaker Wang later and see if she knows any suitable girls?"

Ren Qing forcefully suppressed his wandering thoughts and looked Ren Shanshi up and down, nodding in considerable agreement.

Recently, his nominal father had diligently practiced the Iron Body Art. Though his stance work was still rather unpracticed, he had grown much sturdier. Even his wrinkles had eased somewhat, making him look more than ten years younger.

After a brief moment of thought, Ren Qing agreed. "But this Daoist must meet that matchmaker first."

Ren Shanshi immediately beamed. "All right, your dad will go find a matchmaker right away."

Watching his nominal father overflow with joy, a faint smile also touched Ren Qing's lips.

Ren Shanshi was not yet forty. With a little tidying up, his looks were not bad at all. He could marry a woman around his age without even needing a betrothal gift—only, his occupation was somewhat lacking.

"Dad, this Daoist needs to make a trip to the market. I'll also be rather busy over the next few days."

After rubbing the venison with a layer of coarse salt, Ren Qing patted the dust from his robe. "I need to buy some things for the New Year—spring couplets, incense, candles, and the like. It's time to prepare them."

"Go on, then. Go early and come back early."

Ren Shanshi was calculating whether to braise the venison in soy sauce or stew it clear, wholly unaware of the scrutinizing gaze of his younger son.

Ren Qing withdrew his gaze and headed straight for the bustling market.

The cries of haggling rose and fell throughout the market, and the New Year atmosphere was especially strong.

Just as Ren Shanshi had said, a great many hunters had appeared in the city.

Freshly processed mountain game hung before the makeshift stalls. Wild boar tusks jutted outward, spotted deer hides were still stained with blood, and a fishy stench filled the air.

Ren Qing frowned slightly. The wild beasts all seemed to have lived for some years. By reason, they should already have developed spirit; in winter, they usually roamed the deep mountains where few people ventured. For hunters to easily catch them in such numbers, there had to be another reason.

He quietly focused his divine sense through his eyes. Countless wild creatures had taken human form.

The wild boar's hind legs hung from hooks, its hooves curled like human fingers, the joints flushed an unnatural pink.

A deer hide lay spread flat across a wooden board. Beneath the fur, faintly raised sinews wound like human blood vessels.

There was even a mountain cat with a human heart growing in its abdominal cavity.

Ren Qing walked over to the stall. The hunter was tying up wild boar meat with straw rope. Seeing someone approach, he said, "What'll you have, sir? This boar was just skinned—fresh as can be."

"I just wanted to ask. Did you hunters bring down all these wild beasts from the mountains?"

The hunter bared two rows of yellow teeth in a grin. Finding Ren Qing particularly agreeable, he said, "You might not believe it, but more than half of them fell into our traps on their own."

"The day before yesterday, I set a snare halfway up the mountain. At dawn, I saw three spotted deer crammed inside it, like they were rushing to be reincarnated."

The companion beside him, who was sorting hides, hurriedly cut in. "Say less."

"What's there to be afraid of? It's not some secret."

The hunter raised his voice without a care. "A few of us figured the Mountain Lord might be throwing a tantrum. That's why these wild beasts have been running about in blind panic."

The Mountain Lord?

Ren Qing knew that the Mountain Lord usually referred to a tiger. Could it be a tiger that had become a spirit?

The hunter's hands never stopped working. "Wild beasts have been frightened down the mountain in previous years too."

His companion could not help rebutting him. "There was one time three years ago, sure, but only the beasts on one mountain were in an uproar. When have you ever seen hunters throughout the whole city getting a share of the bounty? The beasts from the mountains in all four directions—east, west, south, and north—are running wild."

The two began arguing, never noticing that Ren Qing had already left.

"Something abnormal must conceal a demon, but it's happening outside the city. It does not seem to have been caused by the Immortal Ascension Assembly."

"Then what could be the reason?"

"Could it be... related to the prefectural governor?"

Ren Qing selected some items for corpse liberation, then hurried back to his cave dwelling, passing Wish-Fulfillment Abbey along the way.

With only a distant glance, he noticed that several times more people than usual had come to offer incense. They were all believers praying for blessings in the new year, each one devout beyond measure.

The vermilion-lacquered beams and pillars of the main hall were freshly renewed, while the bronze bells hanging from the eaves chimed softly in the wind.

Song Baizhou's immortal statue stood in the center. The City God statue that had once been worshipped there had vanished without a trace.

Ren Qing turned and left. As his gaze swept over the believers smashing their foreheads against the ground, a chill rose in his eyes.

"Everyone has the right to punish heretical, unorthodox paths. Once this poor Daoist finds the chance, I'll kill you."