"Patrol Constable, what brings you here?"
As Ye Qianfan spoke with the Daoist, he had already reached the Human-Head Tree.
Li Pu was counting the Tree Tumors, while Shen Lang recorded their number and features with a writing brush.
"Mm, things over there are settled, so I came to check on you two. How's the record coming along?"
Ye Qianfan had originally wanted to tell them about Lower River Village, but he noticed villagers peeking out furtively from the surrounding houses. He had no idea what they were watching.
So he decided not to speak openly. Instead, he would first call the two aside and tell them in private.
After what had happened with Chi Xi, Ye Qianfan no longer trusted anyone.
After all, if even his own colleagues could be Human-Skin Ghosts, how could he be sure those villagers weren't Human-Skin Ghosts too?
"We're almost done."
Shen Lang answered, "There are three hundred and twenty-one faces in total. We found both the Station Chief's and Chi Xi's faces, fairly close to the bottom of the trunk."
"What about the others?" Ye Qianfan glanced at the Tree Tumors Shen Lang pointed out and asked, "Did you see anyone else you know? Even a familiar face counts."
"Not so far."
Shen Lang shook his head.
Li Pu added, "Judging by how these Tree Tumors develop, there's no point looking higher up. We don't recognize any of those faces."
"If there's anyone we know, they must have died within the last two days. They'd probably be somewhere around these roots."
"I've noticed that this Human-Head Tree's growth might be driven by the human-head tumors."
"You can take a look at the Tree Tumors down below too, Patrol Constable."
"All right."
What worried Ye Qianfan most now was the three people who had