After Butcher Zhang wrapped half a jin of pig eyes in oiled paper, he wiped his hands on his apron before handing them to Ren Qing.
"A Qing, there's no need for money."
"How could that do? Brother Zhang, you're treating me like an outsider."
Ren Qing refused with a smile. He took out some loose coins and forcefully stuffed them into Butcher Zhang's hand, deliberately or otherwise brushing against him.
The information showed that Butcher Zhang had fifteen years of lifespan remaining and had not mastered any Art. He truly had nothing to do with the Eye-less Method.
Ren Qing breathed a sigh of relief, yet also felt somewhat wary.
From the "Eye-less Method," he could see Hundred-Eyed Old Monk's reverence for human eyes.
Under normal cultivation, once a cultivator of the Eye-less Method tasted human eyes, they would most likely sink into the abyss and be unable to pull themselves out.
Verifying it would be simple. He only needed to ask around whether anyone in Sanxiang City had recently had both eyes dug out.
The problem was that his connections within the Yamen were truly limited.
Ren Qing found a noodle shop to fill his stomach. Seeing the sky gradually darken, he rose and returned to the Yamen.
Wisps of white smoke drifted over the walls of the Fire Refining Hall's courtyard. It seemed Li Mian and the other two had begun burning another batch of corpses.
Ren Qing greeted them, then carried a bucket of well water into the side room.
He first soaked the pig eyes in the well water to wash away the blood, lest he be unable to swallow them.
Then he sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and sank into meditation.
Half an incense stick later.
Ren Qing sighed and opened his eyes. He pinched his temples in silence, only unable to stop himself from muttering after a long while.
"Looks like taking a shortcut has its drawbacks. I still can't enter a cultivation state."
Under normal circumstances, for forty-nine days after swallowing an eyeball, one would endure darkness every moment of every day. After that, visualization would be effortless.
Ren Qing was the exact opposite. His process of mastering the Eye-less Method had been far too brief, leaving him unable to find the right direction.
And the more anxious he became, the more easily it affected his state.
Ren Qing decided to first test the life-extending effect of pig eyes. Perhaps he might find an opportunity through it.
By the moonlight filtering in through the window, he studied the crystal-clear pig eye. After hesitating for a moment, he tossed it straight into his mouth, his face flushing red.
It took Ren Qing several breaths to swallow it with difficulty. The fishy stench lingered in his mouth, and he nearly vomited.
Fortunately, the pig eyes Butcher Zhang had given him were fairly fresh and did not make him feel unwell.
The pig eye turned into a warm current in his stomach, quickly spreading through every part of his body. A comfortable sensation rose in his heart.
Ren Qing sat down where he was.
He naturally began cultivating the Eye-less Method. Darkness once again enveloped his surroundings, while soft rustling emerged from the corners.
Ren Qing felt the warmth travel through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians before being absorbed by his eyes, producing a faint soreness.
But as his cultivation deepened, the movements in the darkness became increasingly distinct, as though someone were whispering within it...
Ren Qing unconsciously furrowed his brow. The familiar footsteps appeared again, slowly approaching him.
Ren Qing hesitated over whether to stop cultivating, but in that brief instant, the footsteps had already come within ten meters.
"Yamen Runner!!!"
The wooden door of the side room was knocked upon, and Li Mian's anxious voice came through.
Ren Qing was immediately jolted awake. The darkness around him receded like the tide, while his back was drenched in cold sweat from cultivation.
It seemed he had to carefully control the timing when cultivating this bizarre technique. If he became immersed in it, something uncontrollable would definitely happen...
He steadied himself and shouted toward the door, "What happened?"
"Yamen Runner, the corpse came alive!!!"
Ren Qing's heart lurched. Ignoring the sweat covering his body and not even having time to check the change in lifespan after swallowing the pig eye, he flung open the door and rushed out.
"What corpse? Which one?!!"
"The one brought in at noon, and the other corpses are acting strange too..."
Li Mian was so frightened that he stammered.
During the first half of the night, the three of them had taken turns guarding the furnace without issue. Who would have thought something would go wrong when they prepared to move the corpses?
The Bookstore owner's corpse had risen without warning and left the Corpse Room, vanishing into the night after only a few steps.
Ren Qing snatched the lantern from Li Mian's hand and hurried toward the Corpse Room, listening to Li Mian recount what had happened.
In just a few steps, he reached the entrance. Upon seeing Ren Qing, Li Heng and Xiao Wu hurriedly moved aside.
The moment he entered, Ren Qing viciously pinched the flesh at his waist with his fingers, using the pain to remain calm.
The remaining Fire Worker corpses still wore bizarre smiles. Their eyes had opened as well, and they stared toward the doorway with unreadable gazes.
There had originally been a rack in the room for the Bookstore owner's corpse, but it now stood empty. The burlap used to wrap the corpse lay scattered around it.
Relying on the vision enhanced by the Eye-less Method, Ren Qing examined the area carefully. He discovered a trail of bloody footprints extending from the Corpse Room to the outside.
If he reported this to the Yamen now, he would have to bear responsibility. He might very well lose his chance to become a Yamen Runner, and with his current strength, he could not protect himself at all in Sanxiang City.
Ren Qing gritted his teeth and said, "Xiao Wu, come with me to find that corpse. Li Mian, Li Heng, stay here and watch the place. Remember, do not act rashly."
The Li brothers nodded. They stared at the Corpse Room in terror, not daring to relax even slightly.
Ren Qing turned to Xiao Wu and asked, "Can you manage?"
Xiao Wu gritted his teeth and replied, "I'm fine, Qing Ge'er."
"Then let's go."
Ren Qing hurried after the bloodstains, but as he was leaving the courtyard, he doubled back into the room and grabbed a handful of pig eyes.
The two followed the blood trail through twists and turns. The Fire Refining Hall was already located in an isolated place, yet the direction the corpse had taken was even more remote.
Damp dew fell through the leaves onto their bodies, while the cold gradually seeped into their bones.
A towering courtyard wall six or seven meters high came into view.
"This is the outer wall of the West District of Government Office."
"Qing Ge'er, that..."
Xiao Wu pointed toward the corner of the wall. A figure stood there motionlessly with its face toward the wall, making their spines run cold.
Ren Qing stared at the figure and barely managed to make it out.
The corpse was already badly damaged, with scraps of burlap still faintly hanging from its body. Its eyes were vacant and hollow, and drops of bloody tears trickled down.
"Qing Ge'er, what do we do?"
Ren Qing gathered his courage and approached.
He circled the corpse several times without finding anything unusual. With a shove of his arm, it crumpled loosely to the ground.
Ren Qing glanced in the direction the corpse had been facing. Could it be that the Hundred-Eyed lurking in the shadows to hunt had caused the corpse to riot?
"Let's carry it back first."
Ren Qing stuffed all the pig eyes into his stomach, their taste making him roll his eyes.
It was too dark for Xiao Wu to see what Ren Qing was eating. He only saw that blood was smeared around the other man's mouth.
The pig eyes were rapidly digested.
Steam rose from above Ren Qing's head. He and Xiao Wu carried the corpse between them, one in front and one behind, following the original path back toward the Fire Refining Hall.
They had only made it halfway when the corpse began to move again.
With chattering teeth, Xiao Wu warned, "Qing Ge'er, the corpse's arms are resting on your shoulders."
Ren Qing had his back to the corpse, so he had not noticed that its hands had swung around his neck, whether deliberately or not.
His eyes were faintly red. The terror he had encountered during cultivation temporarily gave him a heart of steel.
"Damn it."
The horizon was beginning to brighten. If they did not return to the Fire Refining Hall soon, they would likely be discovered.
If I can't sign a contract in three days, I can only humbly beg for recommendation votes.
Esteemed readers, you can make an investment too. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
Before you continue