Ren Qing woke with his whole body aching, especially the bones in his legs.
He guessed that the Divine Feet Scripture was stimulating his body's growth. Fortunately, as long as it happened imperceptibly, he did not need to worry about others noticing.
After all, he was only seventeen. It was not too late for him to grow taller.
Taking advantage of the early morning, Ren Qing practiced his saber techniques in the courtyard. Whenever his strength was drained dry, he recovered by eating meat.
The effect was certainly inferior to Pig Eyes, but it was better than nothing.
Now that sources of Pig Eyes were scarce, if the Bloodhound Gang still refused to get involved in the stewed offal business, the pace at which he extended his lifespan would likely be greatly reduced.
The sound of roosters crowing rose up.
Bo Feng and the others gradually woke, and the Yamen slowly came alive.
Ren Qing did not act rashly. He specifically sought out Bo Feng to ask about Sibu Hall.
Sibu Hall was kept sealed within the Yamen, with quite a few people imprisoned inside. Yamen Runners were not permitted to approach without orders.
In Ren Qing's impression, Sibu Hall was a place for temporarily detaining Yamen Runners.
Most of those inside were Yamen Runners who had committed offenses and were awaiting judgment, or people temporarily confined like the Fire Workers from Hexing Street.
Even Bo Feng had never entered. His information had come from patrolling constables, so its accuracy was questionable.
Ren Qing headed toward Sibu Hall. Along the way, he deliberately and casually made contact with Yamen Runners, hoping to find a cultivator who had mastered an Art.
Unfortunately, he gained nothing.
However, regarding the Hundred-Eyed, he had already narrowed his targets to Yamen Runners older than forty. With some time, it should not be difficult to find them.
Ren Qing was in no hurry. As long as he could obtain Pig Eyes discreetly, he could reduce the Hundred-Eyed's threat to a minimum.
He soon arrived at Sibu Hall.
The building looked ordinary enough on the outside, but the Yamen guarded it with extreme strictness. Five constables patrolled the entrance alone.
Ren Qing circled Sibu Hall to investigate. With the vision granted by his Double Pupils, he discovered that every room's doors and windows had been tightly locked with sturdy iron chains.
He vaguely saw that some rooms seemed to be occupied, but the light was too dim for him to tell whether Yamen Runners were being held inside.
Ren Qing knew that many places in the Yamen were not as simple as they appeared. They might even store Eerie Objects.
Fortunately, Sibu Hall was not overly secure, which at least indicated there was no great danger within.
Ren Qing did not hesitate further. He went straight to a secluded corner, climbed over the wall into Sibu Hall, and carefully erased his footprints.
Was this place really meant for detaining Yamen Runners? Why was it so eerie and terrifying?
He clearly felt the temperature drop considerably after entering the building. It was probably because the place lay on the sunless side.
Ren Qing stepped across the wooden floorboards. Several carrion-eating Rats gave wary squeaks, warning their companions to be cautious.
He turned into a passage leading deeper inside. Tightly shut doors lined both walls, and there were clearly people living behind them.
Hearing footsteps approach, those people began repeatedly slamming their bodies against the walls, their cries sharp enough to tear hearts and split lungs.
The commotion was so great that Ren Qing's hairs stood on end. Signs of Werewolf Transformation emerged in his legs as he prepared to flee at any moment.
Yet the patrolling constables showed no reaction at all. They did not even turn their heads.
Ren Qing forcibly steadied himself. After seeing man-eating martial artists and living Human Skin, he had nearly been frightened by a group of lunatics.
He leaned close and listened carefully through the wall. All he heard were crazed mutterings.
"Don't kill me. Human flesh doesn't taste good."
"I saw it. That monster is in the darkness. It's watching me smile."
"Kill him! Only by killing him!!"
Ren Qing immediately formed a guess. Sibu Hall most likely held ordinary people who had gone mad after coming into contact with the eerie.
After all, the voices belonged to both men and women, while no women had ever served as Yamen Runners.
Ren Qing could not help remarking, "It would be more fitting to call this Sanxiang Mental Hospital."
Once the veil of terror had been lifted, his fear vanished into thin air.
He searched around Sibu Hall and found an area that was relatively quiet. As expected, this was the place used to temporarily confine Yamen Runners.
Most of the rooms were empty, and the furnishings inside appeared sufficient to house seven or eight people.
After searching for nearly half a shichen, Ren Qing finally found the group of Fire Workers from Hexing Street in a deeper corner.
They were imprisoned in one room. Candlelight burned within, and a faint scent of sandalwood drifted out, showing that their treatment was not too bad.
Ren Qing openly approached the door. A man's voice sounded from inside. "Brother, do you know when we can get out? Having no deadline is truly agonizing."
"Yeah. Besides, outside the city has nothing to do with the plague..."
"Shut up. Can you talk nonsense about something like that?"
Ren Qing breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like the three of them, all right. Had his worries merely been excessive suspicion?
Lowering his voice, he said, "The Yamen is keeping a tight watch right now. Getting out anytime soon is unrealistic, but if you need anything, you can tell me."
The more mature-sounding Fire Worker said, "You must be new to Sibu Hall. This is the first time I've heard your voice."
According to Ren Qing's memories, among the Fire Workers who had returned to Sanxiang City back then, there had indeed been a man in his forties.
Ren Qing continued, "It really is my first time here. I haven't offended any of you, have I?"
"Of course not. But it gets terribly cold here at night. Brother, please help us fetch a few more quilts. Many thanks."
Ren Qing chatted with them for roughly a dozen minutes. He tried several times to draw information from them, but the older Fire Worker kept his mouth sealed tight.
However, whenever they mentioned the plague outside the city, their tones inevitably brimmed with terror, and they even began to stammer.
With no other options, Ren Qing decided to leave Sibu Hall. At least he had confirmed that no eerie phenomenon had occurred.
It had taken him a long time to wind his way in, but getting out only took a few minutes.
Just as Ren Qing was about to climb over the wall, his pupils suddenly contracted. He froze where he stood.
The memories in his mind began to blur again. This included the scene in the teahouse where he had seen the Hexing Street Fire Workers. The older Fire Worker had actually vanished from his memories.
Ren Qing pinched his temples and leaned against the wall, using his fingers to record it on the wall's surface.
But whenever he closed his eyes, he forgot it in the blink of an eye. In the end, he could only barely retain it by linking together unrelated memories.
Ren Qing suspected that there had been more than three Fire Workers from Hexing Street.
What could affect memories, even forcibly erase living people one by one from Sibu Hall in the Yamen?
There should not have been any Eerie Objects on them. Otherwise, the Forbidden Guards would certainly have noticed.
Could it be some kind of Forbidden Zone?
One had to know that Eerie Objects above the Half-Corpse Realm possessed intelligence. If a great number of cultivators died within a Forbidden Zone, what kind of existence would those Eerie Objects become?
The Double Pupils in Ren Qing's eyes turned. His right hand involuntarily gripped the hilt of the Great Miao Saber, while even his legs became covered in Werewolf Transformation.
It took him more than a dozen breaths to calm down, yet the sense of urgency in his heart still hung over him like dark clouds.
Logically speaking, when the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up—but when the nest was overturned, how could any egg remain whole?
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