With more than a hundred extra people needing to be settled, the temporary camp became exceptionally bloated, and food supplies immediately ran short.
Li Yaoyang went to Camel Peak Mountain to inspect the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone, no longer bothering with the chaotic situation.
After the crowd had been inspected by several Forbidden Guards, Song Zongwu handed them directly over to Ren Qing.
Thinking back to his time in the Fire Refining Hall, Ren Qing had been the one acting as a hands-off shopkeeper. Now, however, he had no choice but to take on all the dirty, exhausting work.
Sigh...
For the time being, he could only put off mining and devote all his energy to handling affairs.
The newly arrived yamen runners were fairly easy to deal with, after all, there were only a little over twenty of them in total.
Ren Qing took the opportunity to meet them face-to-face and carefully inspected each one with Information Flow. Sure enough, he found nothing unusual.
The hunters were somewhat more troublesome.
Several of them had been injured in beast attacks, so an empty wooden cabin had been specially set aside for them.
Ren Qing had Wang Sheng lead the hunters over while he hurriedly instructed the yamen runners to prepare food. Several campfires cooked at once, turning the camp into a smoky mess.
Then he rushed without pause to arrange the prisoners.
Ren Qing considered it for a long while.
After turning it over and over in his mind, the only place that could accommodate them was the Karst Cave. After more than ten days of excavation, its interior had become fairly spacious.
Locking them inside the cave and cutting them off from the outside would also make them easier to manage.
Of course, he first had to use Information Flow to confirm the prisoners' circumstances.
Ren Qing inspected the information of more than a hundred people in succession. His head began to throb faintly, yet he still found nothing. It seemed Song Rong had already given up.
He did discover that several physically maimed prisoners had once cultivated an Art. Their left arms all hung limp, as though the bones had been pulled from them.
According to Information Flow, the Art they cultivated resembled the Divine Feet Scripture, but none of them had even entered the threshold.
This Art was called the "Snake Molting Method."
Snake Molting Method
Created by Daoist Mu She. Cultivating this method required soaking in a particular medicinal solution from childhood, making the entire body soft and boneless before one could successfully cultivate it.
It reminded Ren Qing of the Snake Scale Gang in Sanxiang City's eastern district. Perhaps the two were connected in some way.
He had the constables seal the Karst Cave's entrances and exits, and specifically assigned people to guard the prisoners. He would consider how to arrange the mining tomorrow.
Even after finishing all this, Ren Qing still could not quite put his mind at ease.
He brought some dry rations toward the hunters' wooden cabin. Before he even got close, he caught a whiff of medicine.
Ren Qing could not help taking a deep breath, his right hand touching the Blood Heart in his robes.
There was nothing wrong with the yamen runners or prisoners, so the problem was very likely with the hunters. He still remembered the dozen or so people who had vanished from Pingding Village.
If some sudden change arose, he only hoped it would not affect the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone.
When Zhou Wuqian, who had been silently smoking dry tobacco outside the cabin, saw Ren Qing approach, he knew Ren Qing was one of the camp's overseers and hurriedly went up to greet him.
"Sir Constable, this old man is Zhou Wuqian. I once held a post in the yamen and served as the county magistrate's horse driver for several years."
Ren Qing nodded and asked, "Old Zhou, how are the injured hunters?"
Zhou Wuqian glanced at the other hunters, unconsciously straightening his back as he answered, "Sir Constable, you know as well that the beasts have been exceptionally vicious these days."
Pointing inside, he continued, "A few young lads were bitten by beasts on the road. Now they can only rest and recuperate..."
Ren Qing's brows furrowed slightly.
With an awkward laugh, Zhou Wuqian added, "Sir Constable, we certainly would not dare ask your yamen for reward money while we recover. We will find medicinal herbs ourselves."
"Where are you from, and what beasts attacked you?"
"Reporting to Sir Constable, Taoxing Village. We ran into several hungry wolves when we came out."
Wolves?
Why wolves again?
"Let me inspect the injuries first."
Ren Qing patted Zhou Wuqian on the shoulder, and the two entered the wooden cabin one after the other.
More than a dozen hunters lived inside, making it exceptionally cramped.
They stared at Ren Qing with uncertain, suspicious eyes, then voluntarily shifted aside to make room for him. The atmosphere fell utterly silent.
Ren Qing noticed freshly dried medicinal herbs by the window. These herbs were fairly common in the mountain forests and could treat external injuries.
Three hunters lay flat in a corner of the cabin, continuously groaning in pain.
Two had injuries to their chests and abdomens. The remaining one's injuries were more severe; both his hands and feet had been bandaged, likely from being surrounded and attacked by beasts.
Simply treated medicinal herbs had been applied to the wounds and were replaced every half day.
The injuries were not fatal unless they led to tetanus or rabies.
"Have something to eat. The camp's meat supply will depend on all of you from now on."
Ren Qing took out the dry rations and handed some to every hunter, mainly so he could inspect their information through the opportunity.
There was still nothing unusual, so normal that it was almost too normal.
If Ren Qing and Song Rong had traded places, he would never have let such a good chance to infiltrate the camp slip away.
"Many thanks, Sir Constable..."
Zhou Wuqian accepted the dry rations with delight. It seemed that aside from those rather frightening Forbidden Guards, the yamen runners were quite easy to speak with.
Ren Qing bent down to touch the wounded men, pretending to listen to the pulse in their necks.
They were all ordinary hunters, and none looked like they were possessed by an Art. Their minds remained unaffected in conversation.
If Song Rong used eyeballs to control others, those subjected to the Art would inevitably become as mad and muttering as Wang Bingquan the fish seller.
After confirming that he had overlooked nothing, Ren Qing rose and headed outside.
Could it be that Song Rong had feared the numerous Forbidden Guards and thus given up on entering the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone?
Ren Qing vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but all he could do for now was be more cautious. He could not delay the progress of sealing the Forbidden Zone because of this.
Fortunately, Mu Yi had transformed into a Treant. She could stand guard in the camp.
The next few days were relatively peaceful. Once the yamen runners no longer had to perform backbreaking labor, their living conditions improved much faster.
The prisoners were gradually put to work excavating the mountain, though only in unimportant side branches.
They were not permitted to leave the Karst Cave in their daily lives. Yamen runners brought food and water inside, then carried the filth produced there back out.
To prevent the prisoners from stirring up trouble, Ren Qing broke everyone apart and reassigned them every day. Even when they relieved themselves, yamen runners watched over them.
The camp gradually fell into proper order.
What Ren Qing found deeply strange, however, was that the large beasts in the vicinity had all vanished without a trace. Now the hunters could only catch wild rabbits and field mice.
Zhou Wuqian believed this was because frequent hunting had driven them away.
Whenever Ren Qing had free time, he went out to search for clues with his Double Pupils. Once he traveled somewhat farther from camp, he did indeed find signs of beasts.
He reported this to Song Zongwu. After that, large numbers of Gu Insects appeared within ten li of the camp, allowing Li Yaoyang to detect the slightest rustle of wind or movement of grass.
To be fair, even Ren Qing himself could not see any flaw.
He continued conducting routine patrols every day and finally returned to mining, hoping to find an opportunity for the Human Skin Book to break through.
He could also try using the Great Miao Saber to excavate the Stone Wall.
After such long training, Ren Qing could feel his saber technique transforming.
As long as he could use the Stone Wall to advance another step, he would truly have entered the threshold.
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