The Prison of the Forbidden Zone

Not long after finishing burning the corpses, Ren Qingsheng, who had finally found a moment of respite, was summoned to the Public Trial Hall.

It wasn't because the midnight corpse disposal had been exposed; rather, the county magistrate had ordered a gathering of lictors, alarming the entire West District of the Government Office.

From what Ren Qingsheng understood, such a large-scale mobilization was more or less connected to the uncanny.

The Council Chamber within the Public Trial Hall was not large, filled with wooden chairs where the fire-refining lictors in charge of various districts in Sanxiang City sat.

They were generally over thirty years old, many with graying hair, and Ren Qingsheng was the only one under twenty.

The room was silent. Ren Qingsheng sat near the door, taking the opportunity to observe each person.

Before long, a clerk walked in with a grim expression.

This clerk, surnamed Zhao, oversaw the lictors of the West District of the Government Office, but he looked more like a shrewd merchant.

"To make a long story short, you should all know something about the East District Prison, right?"

Ren Qingsheng looked around; the other lictors' expressions turned sour, while he was completely baffled.

Clerk Zhao continued, "It's already become a Forbidden Zone. Once the Forbidden Guards finish handling it, you'll be responsible for cleaning out the prison. Each street sends five men, pick the sharp ones."

The lictors agreed one after another. Though they weren't risking themselves, losing too many of their subordinates would erode their credibility.

Ren Qingsheng shook his head helplessly. It seemed the four from Tan Street were definitely doomed.

Still, curiosity stirred within him. Why was the government office making such a fuss over a prison? And what exactly was this so-called Forbidden Zone?

Could it involve ghosts and gods...

"Once you're inside the prison, remember not to expose any skin, and you must clean everything thoroughly, leaving not a single scrap behind."

Clerk Zhao launched into a lengthy speech, all about precautions. The lictors listened with intense focus, some even bowing their heads to take notes.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier and heavier.

Ren Qingsheng could clearly see the fear in the lictors' eyes.

Logically, the corpses they'd dealt with collectively numbered at least a thousand. Why were they so shaken?

"Go back and prepare. Have the lictors going settle their affairs."

Clerk Zhao waved his hand, then turned and left the Council Chamber.

Not long after he left, the lictors began to argue loudly, nearly breaking into conflict, revealing their anxiety.

Ren Qingsheng found a middle-aged fire-refining lictor in the corner and asked, "Sorry to bother you, but what exactly happened in the prison?"

The middle-aged lictor paused, then caught on: "Oh, no wonder you don't know—you're from Tan Street..."

"That prison is in the East District of the Government Office. They say the inmates killed each other and it's all corpses, but two groups of lictors have already gone in over the past few days. The East District doesn't have enough hands, so we have to step in."

Ren Qingsheng couldn't help but ask further, "And what is a Forbidden Zone?"

"If there's a case of large-scale, inexplicable gruesome deaths, that's a Forbidden Zone."

After saying this, the middle-aged lictor hurried off anxiously, and the other lictors did the same.

Ren Qingsheng carefully pondered the clerk's words. Were those seemingly absurd rules and restrictions warning them of something?

He returned to the Fire Refining Hall and immediately recounted the matter to Li Mian and the others.

The Li brothers exchanged glances. Li Mian swallowed his saliva and said, "I've heard old-timers in the government office say that entering a Forbidden Zone is a near-certain death sentence..."

Xiao Wu was so frightened he stumbled back several steps. Fortunately, after the past few days of training, he had grown a bit braver, at least not collapsing on the spot.

Ren Qingsheng rubbed his temples and said, "We can't escape it anyway, so we might as well prepare thoroughly to avoid any mishaps."

"Alright, we'll follow your lead, officer."

Li Mian and the other two had already come to trust Ren Qingsheng, and their nerves gradually settled.

After eating and drinking their fill, they covered every inch of their skin as the clerk had instructed, even donning two thick layers of clothing.

To be safe, they also brought short knives.

Only their eyes were left exposed for sight.

Ren Qingsheng prepared some pig eyes wrapped in oil paper, and to be extra cautious, he swallowed a few first, letting the heat in his body surge continuously.

In anxious waiting, the sun was about to dip below the horizon.

Somewhere in the government office, the sound of a gong rang out.

Ren Qingsheng and his four companions walked out of the courtyard. He gave one last reminder: "Stay close to me. If I don't touch something, don't make any extra moves."

"Got it, officer."

The group exchanged silent glances and followed the gong's guidance to a relatively open area in the West District.

A procession of over a hundred lictors had already assembled, ready to depart.

Ren Qingsheng noticed that his own attire wasn't particularly extreme compared to the others; many were practically trying to wear suits of iron armor to stay alive.

Once assembled, Clerk Zhao seemed about to speak but held back, finally turning and heading toward the East District of the Government Office.

The constables they passed along the way all stopped in their tracks, their gazes complicated.

By the time they reached the prison, the moon had already risen halfway into the sky.

The prison appeared small from the outside, but that was far from the truth—the building extended a full three stories underground, capable of holding over a thousand inmates.

The path to the prison was already surrounded by soldiers, and several Forbidden Guards in light armor and bamboo hats stood beneath a nearby tree.

Ren Qing paused for a moment on one of the Forbidden Guards.

He had encountered this man a few days ago while cleaning up bloodstains; at the time, he seemed to be carrying an old, tattered human skin in his hand.

He had assumed it was related to some cultivation technique, but now it felt more like he was dealing with the prison's eerie phenomena.

Clerk Zhao shouted loudly, "All officers, first bring out the yamen runners' bodies from the second floor, then handle the rest of the corpses."

Ren Qing silently reviewed the details in his mind, then slowly entered the prison with the crowd.

Behind the iron door, it was extremely damp; even through two layers of headcloth, the strange stench of rot mixed with blood could be smelled.

The surface level of the prison was used by the jailers for resting, and aside from some traces of dragged corpses, there was nothing unusual.

But the first underground level was completely different.

The walls were coated in thick gore, mixed with fragments of flesh and blood, like a hell on earth...

The row of cells stretched out empty, but deep nail marks could be seen on the wooden bars, a testament to the prisoners' agony before death.

The Lictors picked up quicklime and began cleaning, while the Fire Workers headed to the next level.

Ren Qing could clearly sense Xiao Wu's tension; his breathing had grown rapid.

He patted Xiao Wu on the head, and the latter finally steadied his nerves.

Upon reaching the second underground level, Ren Qing found that the bodies inside had mostly already been moved by the Fire Workers who had come earlier.

The group still conducted a thorough inspection to ensure nothing was missed.

Finally, at the stairs leading to the lower level, they found the corpse of the dead Fire Worker.

The body was twisted in death, its clothes tattered, and its face filled with terror.

Ren Qing speculated that these Fire Workers must have fled from the third underground level, though he had no idea what they had encountered.

The group worked together to move the bodies, and just then, something the size of a palm seemed to flash past the staircase.

Only Ren Qing noticed it—it looked like a torn piece of human skin?