Song Rong's True Intentions

The group arrived at Pingding Mountain.

As they neared the mountain village, their spirits lifted, and they even began chatting and laughing.

If they could settle in the village for the night, it would be relatively safe—they only needed to hold out one more day before rendezvousing with the Forbidden Guards.

But Ren Qing's expression grew increasingly grim, and he deliberately slowed the group's pace, taking the chance to survey the surroundings.

The villagers who had suddenly left hadn't returned after nearly an hour—something unexpected must have happened.

Or were they driven away by something?

Xiao Wu scratched a mosquito bite on his face, unable to contain his excitement. "We're finally at the village."

"Li Quan, are you home?!!"

Guo Qing shouted loudly, charging up the winding path toward the village at the mountaintop.

But the only response was utter silence, broken only by the eerie howl of the mountain wind threading through gaps in the thatched huts.

The twisted, grotesque trees around them cast shadows that seemed strangely ominous.

Guo Qing refused to believe it and dashed into the village, with Wang Wen and the others hurrying after him.

Ren Qing stopped Xiao Wu and Zhu Ding. Standing at the village entrance, he used his Double Pupils to continuously probe the environment, quickly locating where the footprints clustered.

He approached, bent down to examine the prints, and found they were all the same depth, with even the stride intervals nearly identical.

"What's wrong, Qing Ge'er..."

Xiao Wu's voice trembled, but when he noticed Ren Qing remained calm, he steadied himself.

"It's nothing. I'll take a look around, then find a house to stay in for the night."

A suspicion formed in Ren Qing's mind as he followed the footprints deeper into the village.

Zhu Ding, lost without a lead, leaned in and whispered, "Officer Ren, why is the village empty?"

"Don't scare yourselves. They might have left temporarily for some urgent matter."

Ren Qing reached the end of the footprints—a centuries-old towering tree where the villagers must have gathered.

The tree itself showed no abnormalities, but Ren Qing noticed strip-like marks on its trunk, as if dried mucus had left traces.

He followed the marks carefully, then picked up a fragment of insect remains, which surprisingly contained bits of flesh.

It was a snail.

Song Rong...

His target was indeed in the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone, and he had set out days before the Forbidden Guards—he might have already found the zone.

As for why he risked being discovered by the Forbidden Guards to return to Pingding Village and control the villagers, Ren Qing couldn't figure it out.

Ren Qing instinctively clutched the Blood Heart issued by the Yamen in his arms. If he wanted, he could use it to contact the Forbidden Guards and summon them.

But now that he understood the situation, it actually steadied his nerves.

On his way here, his Double Pupils hadn't detected any insects or animals with eyes, meaning Song Rong didn't dare recklessly set up surveillance.

Given Song Rong's cautious nature, faced with this situation, he would never show himself easily.

Add to that his advanced age—even life extension couldn't reverse his frail body—he'd be even less likely to expose himself in the open.

Ren Qing just needed to stay alert against wild beasts, and it should be safe enough.

Just then, Guo Qing walked out of a nearby thatched hut, his face full of shock.

He said to Ren Qing, "Officer, all the houses in the village are empty, and there's even food still set out on the tables..."

Wang Wen, a step behind, thought the villagers had been relocated by the Forbidden Guards, so he didn't pay it much mind.

"Since there are no signs of a struggle, the villagers must have left on their own."

The group discussed briefly, and seeing that Pingding Mountain was about to be swallowed by darkness, traveling at night was out of the question.

Ren Qing quickly instructed, "Let's settle in for now and set out again at dawn."

He chose a larger thatched hut and soon used a flint to light the firewood, the warm flames gradually driving away the chill.

They could heat their dried rations over the fire; otherwise, the food would be too hard to bite into.

The mountain moisture was sealed outside, with the temperature difference between day and night nearing ten degrees.

Xiao Wu yawned, and the exhaustion from a full day of travel hit everyone at once, making them all drowsy.

Ren Qing felt fine—thanks to his Strange Mouth, he kept Pig Eyes digesting in his stomach, providing a steady stream of energy.

"I'll arrange the night watch so everyone can rest."

With seven people, Ren Qing grouped himself with Xiao Wu and Zhu Ding, while the remaining Fire Workers and Constables split into pairs.

Each group would stand watch for about an hour, keeping their focus sharp.

Ren Qing reminded them, "Remember, even if you need to relieve yourself, don't stray far from the house. There might be wild animals in the mountains."

Everyone agreed, propping the wooden door shut with furniture to keep the mountain wind from blowing it open.

Those not on watch lay down by the campfire and soon fell asleep, snoring occasionally.

Zhu Ding stood warily by the window, pacing a few circles whenever drowsiness set in.

Xiao Wu splashed water on his face, then walked over to Ren Qing and said, "Qing Ge'er, you should rest for a bit. Zhu Ding and I can keep watch."

"How can I rest? In extraordinary circumstances, there's no room for the slightest slack."

Ren Qing's gaze swept across the forest outside the window, faintly catching sight of bats flitting past the treetops.

Xiao Wu didn't disturb him further. He added some firewood to the campfire and went to stand guard.

Ren Qing quietly pondered Song Rong's intentions for coming to the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone. It felt like there was only a pane of paper in the way, but he just couldn't pierce through it.

He switched his line of thinking.

If I were Song Rong, what reason would I have to go to the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone...

Song Rong's cultivation could only advance through Eerie Objects of the same aberrant path. Could it be that the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone contained Ghost Envoy Realm Eerie Objects from the Hundred-Eyed and Skin Peeler?

Impossible. The Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone had never displayed such abilities.

Song Rong would never act without certainty.

Unless he had confirmed that the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone held the Eerie Object he wanted—perhaps one unrelated to either the Hundred-Eyed or the Skin Peeler.

Ren Qing realized that Song Rong used eyeballs to possess animals. His expression suddenly turned complicated.

To remotely control animals, even indirectly, relying solely on the Hundred-Eyed's illusion-casting ability was unrealistic.

This meant Song Rong had a third technique.

In fact, the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone had also shown a similar ability—controlling Fire Workers from a great distance. The two must belong to the same aberrant path.

It seemed the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone indeed contained the Ghost Envoy Realm Eerie Object Song Rong wanted.

Ren Qing felt fortunate to possess the Information Flow.

From this, it was clear that devouring Eerie Objects to master techniques came with too many drawbacks. Otherwise, how could Song Rong be trapped in the mere Half-Corpse Realm?

No matter how meticulously Song Rong schemed, once he entered the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone, his life and death would be left to fate.

Ren Qing had no good countermeasures. He could only reunite with the Forbidden Guards first and leave the rest to them.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The watch shift was relieved. Ren Qing lay by the campfire, feigning sleep while secretly diverting some of his focus to visualize the Eye-less Method.

In the darkness, a pack of Mountain Wolves was charging toward Pingding Mountain.

Thank you to book friends 160506141214740, Mu Longtu, and You Guo Zhi for the rewards.