Before long, Ren Shanshi had set the dinner table beneath the banyan tree.
"Sit down, hurry and try my cooking. It may not compare to a restaurant's, but it has a proper home-cooked flavor."
"Th... thank you for the trouble."
"Why be so polite with me?"
As the two exchanged a few words, Ren Qing cultivated by absorbing qi at the side. Whenever he paid attention, he could not help feeling as though he were watching a period drama from his previous life.
"Father, this poor Daoist saw that you were in quite a hurry earlier. Did something happen at the martial arts hall?"
Ren Qing currently had almost no eyes and ears outside. Before undergoing a second consecration, Daoist boys would easily give themselves away when faced with the demons all over the streets.
"The instructors have vanished without a trace. The martial arts hall needs to close its doors for a few days, but I don't know the specifics."
Ren Shanshi could not help asking, "Yun Niang, you said there was a Bear Man in the martial arts hall just now. Is that thing really so wicked?"
"I... I heard the Bear Man's voice."
Yun Niang unconsciously rubbed the rim of her bowl and haltingly mentioned that, back in Three Rivers Prefecture, she had heard local elders say that enlightened Bear Men would put on an act and knock at doors. They would also hide atop roof beams or behind doors.
Ren Shanshi's heart sank. Silently, he added some food to Yun Niang's bowl. "Don't think about it. Eat first."
Ren Qing frowned slightly. Through his limited spiritual-sense observation, the Wraith Servants should have been maintaining order in Water Mouth City. Logically, things should not descend into chaos until at least the Regional Examination began.
Could it be related to the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce tearing down Li Yao's wanted notice?
He muttered coldly, "When yin and yang fall into disorder, spirits and fiends emerge; when the Five Elements lose their order, mountain monsters are born."
Yun Niang raised her eyes toward Ren Qing. Unable to make out his face, she merely assumed he was frightened and speaking nonsense. Her gaze softened several degrees.
She did not know how to comfort him either. Only after a long while did she say, "A... A-Qing is right."
Ren Qing felt uncomfortable all over under Yun Niang's gaze, yet he was also somewhat surprised.
Was Yun Niang's effect in tempering his Dao Heart really so immediate? Wonderful, wonderful indeed!
None of the three liked talking, and the backyard soon held nothing but the clatter of bowls and chopsticks.
Only after the table had been cleared did Ren Shanshi suddenly say, "Black River Martial Arts Hall has already closed its doors. Yun Niang has nowhere to go for now. A-Qing, I plan to let Yun Niang stay in the vacant room for a few days. What do you think...?"
"Fine."
Before Yun Niang could say anything, Ren Qing had already nodded in agreement.
Cultivation required Dharma, wealth, companions, and land. Ren Qing now understood this deeply. In his previous life, he had buried his head in cultivation—how could his Dao Heart have been as pure as it was in this life, tempered through others?
"O... okay."
Yun Niang could only agree. Indeed, only at the Blessed Life Coffin Shop could she feel a brief measure of peace, and the day's events had left her exhausted in both body and mind.
While there was still some daylight left, Ren Shanshi tidied up the side room before hurrying out again.
When he returned, his expression was exceptionally grim.
Though he had not gone to the martial arts hall, he had sought out several acquaintances to inquire about news.
In just half a day, two more elderly martial artists had vanished without a trace.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes, Fish Immortal pillowed on his knees as his aura gradually withdrew to the utmost limit.
Only the sound of the east wind passing through bamboo leaves remained in the backyard.
Night soon arrived, and Water Mouth City had long since sunk into profound silence.
The cold wind battered the tightly shut doors and windows of every household. At this moment, every trace of movement had disappeared without a sound.
On the street beside the Blessed Life Coffin Shop, a mass of shadow so dense it could not be dissolved darted about, silently sweeping past one residence after another.
Listening closely, one could hear faint, scattered chewing sounds coming from within the shadow.
Suddenly, a candle lamp lit up in the neighboring residence.
Then came a baby's crying, followed by a man's curses.
"Who the hell is making noise in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Save up some virtue!"
"If the yamen weren't so useless..."
The light shone through the window and illuminated the shadow, revealing a blood-soaked Bear Man.
The Bear Man stood well over two meters tall. Unlike the demons participating in the Regional Examination, it wore no clothes. Its entire body was covered in bristle-like fur, and its eyes brimmed with ferocity.
Its opening and closing jaws were tearing into a corpse.
The man inside the residence seemed to notice something amiss. The candle was quickly extinguished again, and faintly, someone could be heard desperately covering a child's mouth to stifle its cries.
The Bear Man paid no attention.
After a long while, the chewing gradually stopped.
Plop.
Half a bloody human head rolled out of the shadow and landed on the ground covered in a thin layer of snow.
The head's eyes were wide open, its temples bulging high. If Ren Shanshi saw it, he would certainly recognize it—it was the disciple who had still been packing up at the martial arts hall during the day.
"Hungry."
An arm covered in sparse black fur grabbed the head, then withdrew back into the shadow.
Only after finishing its meal did the Bear Man continue along the residences.
"Heehee, hehe, eat, study..."
Like a child barely over a year old, the Bear Man deliberately imitated human speech, yet its voice carried the rough rasp of a beast. It echoed through the night, making one's scalp tingle.
Everywhere it passed, even the accumulated snow seemed stained a deep crimson.
The direction the Bear Man faced was precisely the Blessed Life Coffin Shop. Yet it had not noticed in the slightest that another demon stood atop the courtyard wall less than half a meter away.
"It should not be far from Enlightenment. No wonder Black Lady specifically brought it to Water Mouth City."
Dou Sangu stared coldly at the Bear Man, considering whether he should stop it from approaching the coffin shop. After all, the Great Medicine inside was something he had coveted for a long time.
The Bear Man's cultivation was nowhere near enough to participate in the Regional Examination. In truth, it was still far short even of the Children's Examination.
All demons first had to undergo the Children's Examination to gain Enlightenment, then the Regional Examination for Transformation. Put plainly, this Bear Man had been brought to Water Mouth City specifically to eat people and increase its cultivation.
Dou Sangu narrowed his eyes, shaking his head restlessly again and again.
One had to know that Black Lady, standing behind the Bear Man, possessed a higher cultivation than he did. She at least had a chance of earning a place on the golden list, while he would most likely fail to pass the Regional Examination.
Black Lady had indeed not broken the rules either.
Before the Regional Examination began, the rules forbade demons from actively eating people. However, the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce had removed the wanted notices early, so they were no longer under the government's jurisdiction.
Under Dou Sangu's watch, the Bear Man had already turned into the depths of an alley.
"No."
"Though the Great Medicine is guarded by a demon, the bear demon has tough hide and thick flesh. Even I would find it difficult to ambush and kill it. If Black Lady discovers the Great Medicine afterward, I will have no chance of competing with her."
"Not to mention, there are many Demon Cultivators in the city ranked among the top three on the golden list!!"
Dou Sangu's expression shifted unpredictably. He had only a ten to twenty percent chance of facing the Transformation Regional Examination. If he could not obtain the Great Medicine, there would be no possibility of advancing further.
He could also sense that the Great Medicine's age had been steadily increasing.
When he first discovered the Great Medicine, it had only been forty or fifty years old.
And now? It was at least three hundred years old. Just thinking about it felt unbelievable.
"Or should I try stealing the Great Medicine amid the chaos? It might work."
Dou Sangu forcibly suppressed his instinct to avoid disaster and approached the alley step by step. Yet just as he was about to enter, he calmed down again, his narrow tongue licking across his eyeballs.
"I should still wait until they both suffer losses, then reap the fisherman's profit."
Dou Sangu's legs had gone somewhat weak. His innate divine ability had never been so wary before.
Even when facing the prefectural magistrate, it had never reached this extent. Just who was inside?
Before you continue