Big? A Great Demon!!

Sparrow Dao Child returned empty-handed. He had clearly seen the peddler turn into a street corner, yet when he approached, the man had vanished without a trace, leaving only a puddle of melted wax behind.

Ren Qing had no time to care about anything else. The person hidden in the corpse's Mud Pellet Palace was about to crawl out!

Urgh, urgh, urgh.

Strange whimpers drifted over, jarringly out of place amid the surrounding clamor.

Ren Qing then witnessed a hair-raising sight. Flesh and blood slowly squeezed out through the hole in the corpse's forehead. How should he put it? It resembled an alternative kind of childbirth.

The flesh stuck together, forming limbs longer and narrower than those of ordinary people.

The process lasted only a few moments before the two monsters completely detached themselves from the corpses. Their bodies were skeletal, skin stretched taut over bone; at first glance, they looked like weathered human hides.

Their heads had been compressed, twisting their features into a tangled mess.

He could vaguely make out traces of what they had looked like in life, but they looked more like... felines?

No.

They had grotesquely deformed cat faces.

The monsters let out hoarse mutters, their gazes fixed toward the east.

Once they confirmed that the surrounding crowd had not noticed them, they dropped onto all fours and crawled close to the ground, plunging eastward into the streets and alleys without pausing once.

"Are they... demons?"

Ren Qing felt that the monsters somewhat resembled beasts transformed into human form, yet they were fundamentally different.

Through Sparrow Dao Child, he confirmed that neither monster remained in the city. It was also highly likely that the three constables who had died earlier had undergone something similar.

"They definitely aren't cultivators of the Immortal Ascension Sect. After all, once one enters the path to immortality, divine consciousness is nurtured."

"As for whether they were concocted by some path to immortality... it doesn't feel like it."

Ren Qing was utterly baffled. He silently followed Ren Shanshi all the way home.

Bang.

Ren Shanshi immediately bolted the front door. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, and his knuckles had gone white from gripping the doorframe. Only after a long while did he let out a heavy breath.

"Qing, this isn't something the two of us can meddle in."

Ren Qing's heart stirred, and he could not help asking, "Dad, do you know something?"

Ren Shanshi's gaze flickered. His lips moved soundlessly, as though words were lodged in his throat.

He rose and checked the passage leading to the backyard once more before lowering his voice. "Qing, do you remember that serious illness you had a month ago? You burned with fever until you were delirious. Even the doctor said you couldn't be saved..."

Ren Qing nodded. That had been when he had just ascended into this world.

"It was then..." Ren Shanshi's Adam's apple bobbed. "Head Constable Chen came to the shop and said... said that the yamen happened to need a constable. He asked whether you would be willing to go after you recovered."

"I thought it was utterly bizarre at the time. You were already unconscious, and the doctor had even said you might never wake up, yet they wanted you to take up a post."

Ren Qing patted Ren Shanshi on the shoulder, and only then did the latter's taut muscles gradually relax.

"I secretly looked into it afterward." Ren Shanshi's voice drifted, and his eyes wandered toward the coffins piled in the corner. "Every yamen runner had suffered some mishap before taking office. Illnesses were everywhere, and there were all kinds of accidents too."

Ren Qing frowned. "Could it be that the cold I caught half a month ago was the yamen's doing?"

Ren Shanshi's face turned white as paper. Gritting his teeth, he said, "It should have nothing to do with that. I heard—only heard, mind you—that only the dead can enter the yamen."

"What?"

"More than twenty years ago." Ren Shanshi gasped for breath, as though reliving a terrifying memory. "Before Chen Qi became a constable, he drowned to death once! I remember it crystal clear. The whole neighborhood was talking about it then, saying the Chen family's boy was gone."

"My father—your grandfather—had even prepared a coffin for Chen Qi. Yet not long afterward, Chen Qi was standing alive and well on the street again, serving the yamen."

"And those two people who choked to death just now—one of them I knew. He once passed out by the roadside after drinking, with a mouthful of rice stuck in his throat. He nearly died."

Ren Shanshi seized Ren Qing's arm, his grip frighteningly strong. "I've always believed I didn't remember wrong. Chen Qi died long ago! He came back to life after dying! Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?"

Ren Qing could sense that although Ren Shanshi's words were disjointed, they did not sound fabricated.

Only the dead could enter the yamen?

Ren Qing's heart sank. Then, as though only just realizing it, he asked, "Dad, mountains surround Water Mouth City. Is there only one official road outside the city that carriages can pass through?"

"Yes. To the east."

The cat-faced monsters had also left the city eastward, so... could they be connected to the prefectural governor who was about to arrive?

Big?

A great demon?

Was it a coincidence?!!

"Enough, enough. Let's not talk about this."

Ren Shanshi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "How can ordinary folk like us discuss matters of the yamen? We just need to live our own lives well."

He did not know that his son was already calculating a way out.

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes, considering whether he should leave Water Mouth City.

But if even the imperial court was compromised, then though the renowned orthodox sects might be thousands of miles away, what place besides the desolate wilds could be considered safe?

Even if he hid deep in the mountains to cultivate in seclusion, he would ultimately still have to rely on the Immortal Ascension Sect's orthodox inheritance to feel his way forward.

Ren Qing thought to himself, I need to figure out the imperial court's inner workings, as well as the distribution of forces in the Immortal Realm. Otherwise, I'll be completely in the dark wherever I go.

And Water Mouth City lay close to the river. There might well be an underground river beneath it, so he needed to have the Black Rat Dao Child search for one.

Then hesitation rose in his heart. Would running away damage his Dao heart?

Infinite Heavenly Venerable.

How could a Dao heart be such an inconvenient thing? Only when this poor Daoist was caught between advance and retreat would he be in harmony with the Great Dao of heaven and earth!!

Ren Shanshi changed the subject. "By the way, Qing, my external martial arts have been progressing well lately. The Black River Martial Arts Hall north of the city is recruiting disciples again, and I'm planning to practice weapons with them."

There was some unease in his voice. He had not even realized that the identities of father and son had silently reversed.

Ren Qing raised his eyes and noticed the expectation in Ren Shanshi's gaze. "You can, but be careful."

Ren Shanshi immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew you'd agree. Funny enough, the Black River Martial Arts Hall has had a rat infestation lately. The wooden boards inside have been gnawed to a complete mess, and I can help repair them to earn a little extra."

The corner of Ren Qing's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

A rat infestation?

Could the materials the Black Rat Dao Child used to set up its dwelling have been stolen from the Black River Martial Arts Hall?

On second thought, the Black Rat Dao Child had always been cautious. This showed that there really were no Immortal Ascension Sect cultivators near that martial arts hall, so Ren Shanshi would not be in danger.

He had no time to concern himself with his bargain-bin father. Next, he needed to prepare for the remaining four Rebirth Ascension Methods.

Unlike Liberation by Violence, Fire Dissolution, and Water Dissolution, Medicine Dissolution required spiritual materials capable of reviving the dead and regenerating flesh from bones. He still knew little about Staff Dissolution, while Garment Dissolution and Coffin Dissolution were somewhat a matter of benefiting oneself at another's expense.

Speaking of benefiting oneself at another's expense.

Ren Qing suddenly remembered that Zhao Xiaoliu, as a constable, had been buried at Wish-Fulfillment Abbey.

Logically speaking, the Rebirth Ascension Method would ensure that a cultivator remained in a state of suspended death.

But if Zhao Xiaoliu's Niwan Palace also contained a monster, then whether he lived or died would no longer be up to Wish-Fulfillment Abbey.

This poor Daoist should be able to make use of him.

Beside him, Ren Shanshi chattered on about interesting stories from martial arts practice. He also had another plan in mind: outstanding martial skills would let one make a living anywhere.

Water Mouth City was far too unsettled. If necessary, he would take Qing and leave their homeland behind.

Mm.

It would be best to wait until Qing had taken a wife first. He needed to urge Matchmaker Wang along.