Running Away With a Bucket Is Nonexistent

Ren Qing stood frozen in place, constantly weighing the gains and losses in his mind.

The reason he could discover it was partly due to coincidence, but more importantly, the Information Flow allowed him to achieve meticulous precision with his memories and elevated his thinking ability.

There were likely only two Fire Workers left on Hexing Street. Perhaps after they were all erased, nothing unusual would occur.

But what if?

If it caused large-scale casualties among the Yamen, it might very well make it impossible to maintain the surface stability of Sanxiang City.

Given the danger level of this world, Ren Qing could hardly stay untouched, and he might lose the chance to quietly bide his time and develop.

Ren Qing wiped the writing off the wall.

He knew he had to inform the Forbidden Guard about Sibu Hall in an appropriate way, without implicating himself.

Go notify Clerk Zhao?

No, Clerk Zhao didn't have enough clout to guarantee the source of the information wouldn't be leaked.

Contacting the Forbidden Guard directly—

Whether he could even find them aside, with this bizarre situation of memories being altered, even if Ren Qing told the Forbidden Guard, they wouldn't believe him.

It seemed only Song Zongwu was reliable.

From the description of the Asura Method, it could be inferred that the practitioner must have good character. Besides, back in the prison, the other party had concealed the fact that Ren Qing had mastered techniques.

Most importantly, Song Zongwu didn't have any technique to probe someone's background; otherwise, his own Eye-less Method would have been detected back then.

From this, it was clear that before a cultivator reached the Ghost Envoy Realm, the body's distortion from techniques wasn't too obvious.

But the problem was, finding one person in the vast Sanxiang City was no easy task—like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Suddenly, a thought stirred in Ren Qing's mind, and memories of the Asura Method surged forth.

[The Asura Method was created by the Nameless Ascetic Monk. Its cultivation requires being born with both arms missing and enduring the Five Great Buddhist Precepts without falling, eventually growing back both arms upon completion.]

Nameless Ascetic Monk.

The Five Great Buddhist Precepts.

Could it be possible that Song Zongwu was either a monk by origin or raised by monks?

And monks have fixed daily habits, such as reciting morning prayers.

Ren Qing glanced at the early sun that had just risen. The time wasn't too late; maybe he could really use this to find Song Zongwu.

From what he knew, although Sanxiang City had no large Taoist temples or Buddhist monasteries, there were over a dozen small shrines.

No, the Yamen itself had a place like that—it was called the Immortal Buddha Shrine.

The Immortal Buddha Shrine was used to conduct rites for the dead. It did have statues placed inside—namely, the Great Unity Saves from Suffering Heavenly Venerate and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

Moreover, no one usually went there, so it wasn't easily disturbed.

Ren Qing quickly climbed over the wall and jogged toward the Immortal Buddha Shrine.

Better to try than not; if he couldn't find Song Zongwu, then he'd have to put the plan to cut and run on the agenda...

To get there as fast as possible, Ren Qing had no choice but to speed up, to the point that passing Constables looked startled.

What happened, running so fast?!!

Before long, a dilapidated building came into view, with a bronze cauldron for incense and candles in the open space.

But there wasn't a single person nearby.

In truth, the Immortal Buddha Shrine's role within the Yamen was somewhat awkward.

According to Sanxiang City's rules, any corpse involving a violent death had to be burned by the Yamen, so the Immortal Buddha Shrine was more like a comfort for the deceased's relatives.

The Yamen could tell outsiders: "Although the body has been reduced to ashes, we've also performed the rites."

Ren Qing regretted coming as soon as he reached the Immortal Buddha Shrine.

Cobwebs hung everywhere from the eaves, the floor tiles were all broken and cracked—who would come here for morning prayers?

But since he was already here, he had to take a look. Besides, Ren Qing had no other choice.

Entering the main hall, two statues stood on either side of the wall. They were indeed the Great Unity Saves from Suffering Heavenly Venerate and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but they were covered in dust, and the gold leaf was tattered.

Ren Qing searched the main hall several times, only to find a dozen neatly arranged spirit tablets.

The tablets belonged to those who had died violent deaths recently. About every half month, a new batch would replace the old ones, and the old ones would be given to the families.

He then went around to the side hall.

Though called a side hall, it looked more like a woodshed.

The dim interior reeked of mold and rotting wood, as if abandoned for a long time. Aside from a single statue, there was nothing else.

Ren Qing sighed. It seemed he would have to use returning to his hometown as an excuse to temporarily leave Sanxiang City and come back after half a month.

Just as he turned and stepped out the door, he suddenly felt a gaze land on him.

Ren Qing's expression stiffened as he looked at the statue. It stood two meters tall with six eyes and four arms—he hadn't found the wrong one...

Six blood-red eyes opened, and an overwhelming Aura pressed down like a physical force.

Dust filled the air.

Ren Qing did not dare offer the slightest resistance and fell to the ground in compliance.

Song Zongwu restrained his aura and asked in a deep voice, "Who disturbs me?"

Ren Qing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It had only been this long, and the man had already forgotten him completely, proving that Song Zongwu truly hadn't cared.

But why was he posing as a statue inside a Buddhist temple? Could it be that he was comprehending his state of mind to cultivate a technique?

He quickly explained, "Senior Song, this humble one is Ren Qing. We met in the Dungeon Forbidden Zone."

"I remember now. You were possessed by an Eerie Object and barely survived."

Song Zongwu looked Ren Qing up and down. The latter narrowed his eyes even further, terrified of being discovered for having mastered the Eye-less Method of the Half-Corpse Realm.

After a long moment, Song Zongwu leaped down from the lotus throne. "Not bad. The Human Skin Book follows the path of a Skin Refiner. Though your potential is limited by entering through an Eerie Object, at least you hold fast to your original heart."

A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Ren Qing's back.

He had already prepared himself for being found out for mastering a technique. At worst, he would throw himself into becoming a Forbidden Guard and forcibly break free of the novice period.

Fortunately, the mutations of the Double-Pupil User and the Wolf-Foot User were both relatively concealed.

Ren Qing opened his mouth. He very much wanted to ask about the Human Skin Book, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Senior Song, what business did the Fire Workers of Hexing Street have leaving the city?"

"None of your concern."

Song Zongwu was slightly displeased, casually stretching his four arms to work his joints.

Ren Qing's expression turned serious as he asked, "Senior Song, have you ever encountered an Eerie Object like this before?"

"If you come into contact with it, the related memories are altered. Even a Forbidden Guard cannot detect it."

Song Zongwu said nothing. His face grew increasingly dark, and then he directly grabbed Ren Qing and rushed out of the Immortal Buddha Shrine.

"Senior Song, you..."

"I have mastered the Diting Art. Even if there are lies in this world that can fool me, they wouldn't come from a brat like you. We'll go to Sibu Hall first."

The moment Song Zongwu's words fell, Ren Qing noticed a slight change in the Information Flow.

[Song Zongwu] [Age: Eighty-six] [Lifespan: Two hundred fifty-three years] [Arts: Asura Method (Four-Armed Yama), Diting Art (Six-Eyed Prison Breaker)] [???] [The Diting Art is inscribed beneath the abdominal skin of the mythical beast Diting, obtained by the Nameless Ascetic Monk. Cultivating this method requires severing the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch in childhood, then awakening the sixth sense of consciousness to complete it.] [Six-Eyed Prison Breaker was promoted from Four-Eyed Gluttony]

Truly a formidable man.

Thanks to Northeast & Ma Jia, and Buy Girl's Little Matchstick for the rewards.