Headless Case

Ren Qing let out a long breath, then closed Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest.

He suddenly realized that the year of lifespan the Human Skin Book had consumed was not actually such an expensive price.

The fact that the Eerie Object in the prison could form a Forbidden Zone meant that, in life, it had definitely not merely been in the Martial Human Realm. It had long since developed intelligence.

Even Eerie Objects produced by the same Human Skin Book were fundamentally worlds apart as their realms increased.

Perhaps he was the only one in the world who could use Eerie Objects above the Martial Human Realm to master Arts.

Fortunately, Song Zongwu had not noticed.

Unfortunately, the higher an Eerie Object's realm, the more outrageous the lifespan Ren Qing needed to consume in order to use it to master an Art.

Ren Qing was preparing to leave the Martial Arts Building when he suddenly heard an uncontrollable fit of coughing.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The Old Constable emerged from the inner room. He looked seventy or eighty years old and had to rely on a cane even to walk.

"The Martial Arts Building will be closing shortly. You may come back tomorrow."

"Thank you for the reminder, sir."

Ren Qing nodded and returned Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage to the shelf.

He did not plan to return. The remaining martial arts manuals were useless to him anyway.

As long as he successfully advanced to the Half-Corpse Realm and his eyes underwent Aberration into Double Pupils, even the most exquisite techniques would likely be easy to see through.

After noticing Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage, the Old Constable abruptly asked, "May I ask... is he doing well?"

Ren Qing did not answer. The Old Constable simply continued to himself, "Cough, cough, cough. Is Song Zongwu doing well?"

Ren Qing did not know how to describe it, so he could only brush it off. "He's doing quite well. Mm... he's in very good health."

The Old Constable smiled. "I see. Then I can rest easy."

After Ren Qing left, the Old Constable's kindly expression immediately twisted into something exceedingly grotesque. Weakly, he shut the front doors tight.

His coughing only grew worse.

Ren Qing cast a deep look at the Martial Arts Building. That Old Constable surely had some connection to Song Zongwu, and the two even looked somewhat alike.

Could they be blood brothers?

Ren Qing had no intention of digging into it. He would be better off spending more time exploring the Human Skin Book.

Coming back to himself from his focused state, he remembered that he had not eaten all day. His stomach was already growling with hunger, and he could not help quickening his pace.

When he returned to the Fire Refining Hall, he saw bluish smoke rising from the furnace as it crackled and popped. A corpse was clearly being burned inside.

However, before leaving, Ren Qing had already learned from Xiao Wu that the corpse belonged to a fisherman who had drowned in the outskirts of the city.

Since the corpse had soaked in water for several days, it was difficult to burn. The required time would increase by at least more than half.

Ren Qing entered the courtyard and found some steamed buns and side dishes still sitting on the stone table.

The food was supplied by the Yamen. Strangely enough, there was little fertile farmland outside the city, yet the grain storehouses within the city were all filled to the brim.

He ate as he headed toward the furnace.

Ren Qing quickly spotted Xiao Wu and the others. There was also one more familiar figure among them, though he stood in silence without saying a word.

"Bo Feng?"

Ren Qing could not help feeling surprised.

Bo Feng had changed greatly. His whole body exuded despondency. Not only had his formerly black hair turned entirely silver-white, but his face was also covered in deep, crisscrossing wrinkles.

Bo Feng looked up at Ren Qing and said with a bitter smile, "Brother Ren, I'll be working on Tan Street from now on. Please don't look down on me."

Ren Qing could not help asking, "Did the Yamen Runners under you blame you? But what did the deaths and injuries in the prison have to do with you?"

Li Mian explained, "Bo Feng requested the transfer himself. We only just found out."

Xiao Wu nodded, clearly very interested in why Bo Feng had come here.

Bo Feng sighed. "There were only seven Yamen Runners on that street. Four died in the prison, and I know every last one of their families..."

At that point, he covered his head in pain.

Bo Feng no longer wanted to be the Fire Workers' supervisor, so he had voluntarily transferred to Tan Street. Naturally, Ren Qing was also part of the reason. The latter's performance in the prison had truly been plain for all to see.

Ren Qing patted Bo Feng on the shoulder and agreed without hesitation.

Tan Street was mainly too short-handed. If they truly became busy, it could very well affect his cultivation. Furthermore, with Bo Feng holding down the fort, Ren Qing could comfortably act as a hands-off boss.

Bo Feng's emotions gradually settled, and his expression became one of relief.

The group chatted over steamed buns and side dishes, using the opportunity to grow closer.

When Bo Feng mentioned that the street he had previously overseen lay toward the eastern side of the West District, Ren Qing could not help asking about the head-chopped corpses in the East District.

"You mean the Headless Case? It's mainly concentrated in the South District now. No one knows what the murderer behind it is trying to accomplish..."

Li Mian frowned tightly. "So many people have died. It may be connected to some faction."

Bo Feng shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it. I examined several of the corpses. The cuts at their necks were completely identical, so they should have been made by a single person."

Xiao Wu curled up slightly and asked with some fear, "After someone dies, the district is definitely sealed off. They still haven't found the murderer?"

Bo Feng could not help looking around before lowering his voice. "The cuts at the necks were far too smooth. They did not look as if they had been made by a sharp weapon at all. Instead, it was more like the heads grew legs and ran away by themselves."

Xiao Wu's teeth began to chatter. "Don't... don't... scare me."

Ren Qing reassured him, "The Yamen must have taken appropriate measures. Besides, no boat can sail without letting in wind. If the culprit keeps committing crimes, they'll inevitably leave clues behind."

"True enough. I feel like there have been fewer Head-Chopping Cases lately."

"Brother Bo, keep an eye on the West District. If any headless corpses appear, let me know."

"No problem. I know quite a few constables in the Yamen."

Bo Feng agreed repeatedly. The advantage of having an experienced Yamen Runner was on full display. At the very least, Ren Qing was far inferior in terms of connections.

"I'm going to sleep first. If anything comes up, we'll discuss it early tomorrow morning."

Ren Qing rose and headed toward the side room, casually swallowing a Pig Eye without changing expression.

Bo Feng happened to see it, and his expression turned incredulous. "What did Officer Ren just eat? Why did it look like raw meat?"

Li Heng was already used to it. "They were actually rather fresh Pig Eyes. Once the blood is washed out, there's no fishy smell at all. They even leave a faint sweetness in the mouth."

The others wore strange expressions. Li Heng's face flushed bright red as he said, "I saw Officer Ren eating them every day, so I was curious for a moment."

Xiao Wu spoke disdainfully, "Qing Ge'er's eyesight is bad. The doctor said he should eat eyes to nourish his eyes, so that's why he eats them."

Li Heng still wanted to explain himself, but even his own elder brother Li Mian was looking at him strangely now. He felt so aggrieved that he nearly burst into tears.

As for why Ren Qing deliberately, whether intentionally or not, showed that his eyesight was poor, it was because once he advanced to the Half-Corpse Realm, he would inevitably need to conceal his Double Pupils.

He had no particularly good solution for this, but neither did he want to join the Forbidden Guards too early. At the very least, his strength had to reach the point where he could protect himself.

Compared to Fire Workers, who only occasionally encountered danger, the risks Forbidden Guards had to bear were far too great.

Ren Qing even suspected that there were quite a few Forbidden Zones outside the city.

Those Hexing Street Fire Workers who had been transferred out of Sanxiang City were said to be dealing with an epidemic in some village, but it was very likely related to Forbidden Zones. They were probably facing grim odds.