The Corpse Grew Legs and Ran Away

Butcher Zhang wrapped half a catty of pig eyes in oil paper, wiped his hands on his apron, and then handed them to Ren Qing.

"A Qing, no need for silver."

"How can that be, Brother Zhang, you're being too polite."

Ren Qing refused with a smile, took out some loose coins, and forced them into Butcher Zhang's hand, brushing against him intentionally or not.

The information showed that Butcher Zhang still had fifteen years of lifespan and had mastered no techniques whatsoever—he was indeed unrelated to the Eye-less Method.

Ren Qing breathed a sigh of relief, but a trace of wariness lingered.

From the "Eye-less Method," he could see the Hundred-Eyed Old Monk's reverence for human eyes.

It seemed that under normal cultivation circumstances, once a practitioner of the Eye-less Method tasted human eyes, they would likely sink into it, unable to extricate themselves.

Verifying this was simple enough—he only needed to inquire whether anyone in Sanxiang City had recently had their eyes gouged out, and he'd have his answer.

The problem was that his connections within the yamen were far too limited.

Ren Qing found a noodle shop to fill his stomach, watched as the sky gradually darkened, then got up and returned to the yamen.

Wisps of white smoke drifted over the walls of the Fire Refining Hall courtyard, suggesting that Li Mian and the other two had already begun burning the latest 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 rinse off the blood, making them less unappetizing to swallow.

Then he sat down 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, and only after a long while did he mutter to himself.

"It seems taking shortcuts has its drawbacks—I just can't enter the state of cultivation."

Under normal circumstances, the forty-nine days after swallowing the eyeballs would be spent enduring endless darkness, after which visualization would become effortless.

Ren Qing was the exact opposite. His mastery of the Eye-less Method had been far too brief, leaving him without direction.

And the more anxious he grew, the harder it became to settle into the right state.

Ren Qing decided to first test the effect of the pig eyes in extending life and prolonging fate—perhaps that would provide a breakthrough.

By the moonlight filtering through the window, he examined the glistening pig eyes, hesitated for a moment, then tossed them directly into his mouth, his face flushing red.

It took several breaths before Ren Qing managed to swallow them with difficulty, the stench of raw meat lingering in his mouth, nearly making him vomit.

Fortunately, the pig eyes Butcher Zhang had given him were fairly fresh, so they didn't cause any physical discomfort.

The pig eyes turned into heat in his stomach, quickly spreading throughout his body, and a wave of soothing comfort washed over him.

Ren Qing sat down on the spot.

Naturally, he began cultivating the Eye-less Method, and darkness once again enveloped him, with rustling sounds emerging from the corners.

Ren Qing felt the heat flow along his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, absorbed by his eyes, bringing a faint ache.

But as his cultivation deepened, the movements in the darkness grew more pronounced, as if someone were whispering among the shadows...

Ren Qing's brow furrowed involuntarily. The familiar footsteps reappeared, slowly drawing closer to him.

He hesitated over whether to end his cultivation, and in that brief moment, the footsteps were already within ten meters.

"Officer!!!"

The wooden door of the side room was knocked urgently, and Li Mian's panicked voice rang out.

Ren Qing was jolted awake instantly. The surrounding darkness receded like a tide, and cold sweat from his cultivation soaked his back.

It seemed that cultivating this eerie technique required precise timing—if he sank too deep, something uncontrollable would surely happen...

He steadied his mind and called out toward the door, "What's wrong?"

"Officer, the corpse came back to life!!!"

Ren Qing's heart jolted. Ignoring the sweat drenching his body, and not even pausing to check the change in his lifespan after swallowing the pig eyes, he threw open the door and rushed out.

"What corpse? Which one?!!"

"The one brought at noon! And the other corpses are acting strange too..."

Li Mian stammered in terror.

In the first half of the night, the three of them had taken turns watching the furnace without incident, but when they tried to move the bodies, things went wrong.

The Bookshop Owner's corpse had risen from the Corpse Room without warning, vanishing into the darkness in just a few steps.

Ren Qing snatched the lantern from Li Mian's hand and strode swiftly toward the Corpse Room, listening to Li Mian recount the events.

He reached the door in a few steps. Li Heng and Xiao Wu quickly stepped aside when they saw Ren Qing.

As soon as he entered, Ren Qing pinched the flesh of his waist hard with his fingers to keep himself calm.

The remaining Fire Refining Hall corpse still wore that eerie smile, its eyes now open, staring at the doorway with an inexplicable gaze.

The shelf that had held the Bookshop Owner's corpse was now empty, with the hemp cloth used to wrap the body scattered around.

Relying on the enhanced vision granted by the Eye-less Method, Ren Qing examined the scene closely. He noticed a trail of bloody footprints stretching from the Corpse Room out into the open.

If he reported this to the government office now, he would have to take responsibility and likely lose his position as a runner, and with his current strength, he couldn't even protect himself in Sanxiang City.

Ren Qing steeled his resolve and said, "Xiao Wu, you come with me to find that corpse. Li Mian, Li Heng, you two stay here and watch. Don't do anything rash."

The Li brothers nodded, staring at the Corpse Room with trembling fear, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Ren Qing turned to Xiao Wu and asked, "Can you still manage?"

Xiao Wu gritted his teeth and replied, "It's fine, Qing Ge'er."

"Then let's go."

Ren Qing hurriedly followed the trail of blood, but as he left the courtyard, he doubled back into the room and grabbed a handful of pig eyes.

The two followed the blood, twisting and turning. The Fire Refining Hall was already remote enough, but the direction the corpse led was even more desolate.

Damp dew fell on them through the leaves, and the cold gradually seeped into their bones.

A six- or seven-meter-tall courtyard wall came into view.

"This is the outer wall of the West District of Government Office."

"Qing Ge'er, look..."

Xiao Wu pointed to a corner of the wall, where a figure stood motionless, facing the wall, sending chills down their spines.

Ren Qing stared at the figure, barely making it out.

The corpse was already mangled, with a few tatters of linen still clinging to it. Its eyes were hollow and lifeless, and trickles of bloody tears streamed down.

"Qing Ge'er, what do we do?"

Ren Qing mustered his courage and approached.

He circled the corpse several times, finding nothing unusual, and when he pushed it with his arm, it collapsed loosely to the ground.

Ren Qing glanced at the direction the corpse had been facing. Could it be that the Hundred-Eyed, hunting in the shadows, had caused the corpse to stir?

"Let's carry it back first."

Ren Qing stuffed all the pig eyes into his stomach, and the taste made him roll his eyes.

It was too dark for Xiao Wu to see what Ren Qing was eating; he only noticed that the other's mouth was bloody.

The pig eyes were quickly digested.

Steam rose from Ren Qing's head. He and Xiao Wu lifted the corpse, one at the front and one at the back, and headed back along the same path toward the Fire Refining Hall.

Halfway there, the corpse stirred again.

Xiao Wu's teeth chattered as he warned, "Qing Ge'er, the corpse's arm is on your shoulder."

Ren Qing had his back to the corpse, so he didn't notice that its hands had swung onto his neck, whether intentionally or not.

His eyes reddened slightly. The fear he had faced during his training had temporarily given him a strong nerve.

"Damn it."

The sky was just beginning to lighten at the horizon. If they didn't return to the Fire Refining Hall soon, they might be discovered.

If I can't sign a contract in three days, I can only humbly beg for recommendation votes.

Dear officials, you can invest a little—every bit counts, even if it's just a mosquito leg.