The news of the old constable's death at the Martial Arts Field did not cause much of a stir.
In truth, throughout the entire Yamen, there were countless people who had spent decades with Song Rong without knowing his real name.
The duty of guarding the Martial Arts Building was handed over to an older Yamen Runner, while that copy of Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage was naturally taken away by Song Zongwu.
Taking advantage of the free time, Ren Qing's routine became more regular.
Aside from medicinal baths once in the morning and once at night, he had not neglected visualizing the Eye-less Method either.
He could clearly feel his Art steadily improving.
His skin and flesh gradually became firmer. While they could not withstand slashes from sharp weapons, their resistance to blows from clubs and staves had increased considerably.
As for the Divine Feet Scripture, he lacked beast blood to assist his cultivation, and several unfamiliar Fire Workers from Hexing Street had arrived in the courtyard.
No matter how he looked at it, it was somewhat inconvenient, so he simply postponed his nighttime cultivation beneath the moonlight.
In addition, Ren Qing would visit the Martial Arts Building to browse martial arts manuals. The moves might not necessarily be useful, but they still contained the experience of those who had come before.
Ren Qing devoted the rest of his energy to the Taotie Method.
Around noon, the Fire Refining Hall began to fill with the fragrance of meat.
The passing Yamen Runners felt uncomfortable all over. It was clearly a place for burning corpses, so the scent of meat became all the more horrifying the deeper one thought about it.
Bo Feng and the others had long since grown accustomed to it.
Still, Ren Qing's actions during this period could not help but make them worried.
The Li brothers and Xiao Wu had always thought of Ren Qing as frail and weak.
He used to cough uncontrollably whenever he carried heavy objects, and had even fainted outright before.
They had assumed that after recuperating, Ren Qing's body had mostly recovered. Even the occasional medicinal bath was perfectly normal.
Yet medicinal baths were not enough for him; he had even come up with the idea of supplementing himself with food. This was clearly the behavior of a desperate man grasping at straws.
Ren Qing himself, however, looked as though nothing was wrong. He squatted in a dim side room, with a crack left in the window for ventilation.
The period from afternoon to evening was specifically reserved for cultivating the Taotie Method.
Song Zongwu would also stand guard at his side, lest something like his intestines rupturing and his belly rotting suddenly occurred. If it became serious, it could even threaten his life.
Cultivating a technique was no child's play. Danger lurked everywhere.
In just a few days, Ren Qing had visibly put on more than ten jin, especially his belly, which had swollen like he was six months pregnant.
Song Zongwu reclined sideways on the bed, taking intermittent sips of wine.
Before Ren Qing stood a large iron pot, boiling more than ten jin of pork, mostly lean meat from pork legs.
On a table not far away lay over a hundred jin of pork, ready to be tossed into the pot at any moment.
Ren Qing reached into the scalding pot, grabbed a chunk of pork weighing several jin, dipped it in some seasoning, and began wolfing it down whole.
At the same time, he asked indistinctly, "Senior Song, have you found any trace of Song Rong?"
Song Zongwu shook his head. "Difficult. No strangers have come and gone in Sanxiang City or the surrounding villages."
Ren Qing swallowed the pork. "With the Hundred-Eyed's abilities, he can easily blind others' eyes. Finding him will not be simple."
"There's no helping it. For now, Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone takes priority."
"Burp~"
Ren Qing had eaten a massive amount of food, leaving his stomach stuffed to the brim, so discomfort was unavoidable.
But cultivating the Taotie Method could only be done this way. After all, he could not openly use Information Flow to improve it without any concealment; no matter how one looked at it, that was unrealistic.
Ren Qing could not help feeling fortunate about the stewed offal business with the Bloodhound Gang.
Otherwise, buying pork in bulk would have been extremely troublesome just from running around the various districts.
Now, he only needed to stay in the Yamen each day, while Butcher Zhang's workers delivered the goods. He merely had to send Xiao Wu to receive them.
Seeing Ren Qing grab another piece of pork and stuff it into his mouth, Song Zongwu could not help reminding him, "Don't rush. Cultivating a technique is not something that can be accomplished in a short time."
"It's fine, Senior Song. I understand my own body very well."
Ren Qing changed from a sitting posture to lying down, so that his stomach would not press against his internal organs. Otherwise, he could easily injure himself.
Song Zongwu seemed to want to speak, but stopped himself. He had only given Ren Qing the Taotie Method a few days ago—could Ren Qing be hoping to master it before heading to Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone?
Thinking about it, that was impossible.
Forget it. If it truly did not work out, he would simply have Ren Qing remain in the Yamen to cultivate the Taotie Method. He only needed to notify Clerk Zhao when the time came.
"I'll buy some medicinal herbs to help digestion. With how anxious you are, your stomach may burst from being overstuffed."
"Thank you, Senior Song."
Ren Qing sighed.
He had already memorized the Taotie Method from cover to cover, yet its contents did not specifically explain how large the stomach had to be stretched.
But the important part of the Taotie Method was its Visualization Method.
He had not comprehended the Visualization Method—at least, he had not displayed it before Song Zongwu. Otherwise, why would he need to torture himself so deliberately? He would have long since mastered it through Information Flow.
Unwilling to accept this, Ren Qing closed his eyes and recalled the contents recorded in the Taotie Method, imitating the breathing of the exotic beast Taotie through his mouth and nose.
His mind gradually focused, and a humming sound followed from his body.
Ren Qing could feel his stomach writhing like a living thing, grinding the food in his abdomen into smaller particles.
Now.
Can consume thirty days of lifespan to master it while exempting the cost
Song Zongwu had been preparing to head to the apothecary when his expression suddenly turned startled.
Ren Qing had just shown no reaction at all, yet the sounds coming from him were now growing increasingly obvious, and even the surrounding furniture began to tremble slightly.
The Taotie Method?!!
That can't be...
Ren Qing's swelling visibly subsided. His belly was like a punctured balloon, returning to normal in mere moments.
After steadying himself, Song Zongwu was once again shocked by Ren Qing's talent.
No wonder the Eye-less Method had broken through to the Half-Corpse Realm at a speed far beyond imagination. Did that not mean he could advance to Ghost Envoy Realm within a year?
Song Zongwu shut the gaps in the doors and windows, lest outsiders notice anything unusual.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Ren Qing finally stopped making strange noises. However, he still did not move, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
A terrifying hunger surged into his heart, nearly destroying his reason.
Seeing this, Song Zongwu said, "Ren Qing, hold fast to your true self. All Arts are lesser paths; only the self is the Great Dao."
Immediately, Ren Qing felt his mind clear. The all-pervading hunger receded like a tide, and his hunger vanished without a trace.
Ren Qing Age: Seventeen Lifespan: Six years, three hundred and eleven days Arts: Eye-less Method (Double-Pupil User), Divine Feet Scripture (Wolf-Foot User), Human Skin Book, Taotie Method
Another tender sapling had appeared within the Mutation Tree, but if Ren Qing wished it, he could reach the level of a Vice-Stomach User in an instant.
Ren Qing let out a long breath. "This technique truly was not difficult to master, though I still have Senior Song to thank for acting as my Protector."
Song Zongwu maintained a calm appearance and did not praise him aloud, so that Ren Qing would not develop an arrogant mindset from relying on his talent.
"Cultivation emphasizes body and soul. Sometimes, a cultivator's physique is more compatible with a technique, and they may indeed master it more quickly."
Ren Qing could not help asking, "Senior Song, if my Art advances again in a short period of time, there should not be any consequences, right?"
Song Zongwu replied with slight helplessness, "You should still focus on stabilizing your foundation. Otherwise, when calamity strikes, you may easily die and suffer Dao annihilation."
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