Four-Armed Yama Song Zongwu

Outside the prison, Clerk Zhao's face was etched with anxiety. He paced toward the dungeon but turned back at the iron gate.

By now, the fire workers should have nearly brought back the first batch of corpses.

But there was no good way around it; he could only wait patiently.

Moments later, dozens of yamen runners scrambled out from within the iron gate.

Clerk Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to scold them when he noticed that all these runners were lictors—not a single fire worker among them.

He stepped forward and grabbed one of them, asking, "What exactly happened inside?"

The lictor collapsed to his knees, legs weak, and rasped, "From underground... came... screams. Qian Han went to check—all the fire workers are dead!!!"

"And Qian Han?!!"

The lictors shoved a thin figure forward: "Here, here..."

Clerk Zhao hoisted him up and said, "Speak quickly."

Qian Han muttered to himself, "The human skins came alive. They're eating people. Not a single fire worker who tried to escape survived."

"I understand."

Clerk Zhao turned and walked toward the Forbidden Guards, a belly full of anger. Hadn't they said the dungeon's anomalies had been cleared? How could there be mass casualties now?

But when he reached the three Forbidden Guards and met the cold gazes beneath their bamboo hats, he swallowed the words he'd been about to say.

The guard in the middle, his voice slightly aged, said, "It's not yet time to act. As for the dead runners, double the consolation silver after this is over."

"Mm... fine."

Clerk Zhao turned and left, his face ashen.

Once Clerk Zhao was far off, the old Forbidden Guard cast a chilling look at the guard beside him, his tone dripping with killing intent.

"Li Yaoyang, just how many anomalies are still hidden in the dungeon?"

Li Yaoyang let out a light laugh, then spread his hands and said, "Old Song, how would I know..."

Before he could finish, Song Zongwu suddenly threw a punch, knocking him to the ground. The Aura radiating from him was almost tangible.

Li Yaoyang showed no anger at all. Instead, he continued, "Old Song, the Dungeon Forbidden Zone was formed by the 'Human Skin Book.' The anomalies inside have the ability to possess people."

"If something happens to us and the Forbidden Zone keeps expanding, who knows how many people in Sanxiang City will die." The Forbidden Guard holding a longsword spoke up; from her voice, she was a woman.

Song Zongwu didn't strike again. He calmed himself and asked, "So what's the situation in the dungeon right now?"

"Hold on."

Li Yaoyang sat cross-legged on the ground. Soon, a rustling sound came from beneath the earth, and then a centipede crawled out.

The centipede was a full palm-sized, clad in deep purple armor, looking highly venomous.

Li Yaoyang gently picked up the centipede, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it without hesitation.

"I can confirm there are still three Human Skin Fragments."

Song Zongwu's body emitted the sound of bones grinding. He looked like a starving old wolf, baring his teeth as he said, "When do we strike?"

"Don't rush. The Human Face hasn't appeared yet. It might be hiding in the cracks between every brick. If we don't find the source of this anomaly, the Forbidden Zone will never be broken."

Song Zongwu's face darkened. "Are you afraid I'll die in there?"

"That's not it. But I'm worried you might lose control and go on a killing spree."

After saying this, Li Yaoyang looked at the woman. "Miss Bai, whatever you do, don't draw your sword. We don't want to harm the innocent."

"So my swordsmanship really is that strong, huh."

The dungeon was thick with the stench of despair.

Everyone's faces were numb. Though they didn't blame Bo Feng, they had no heart to comfort him either.

They might die at any moment, ending up as dried human-skin corpses.

Ren Qing had no intention of waiting for death. He closed his eyes and recalled the details he'd seen earlier.

Bones, human skin, straw, and a few centipedes clinging to the walls...

Centipedes?!!

There wasn't even a rat in the dungeon, which meant no living thing could exist in the Forbidden Zone. Where did the centipedes come from?

Ren Qing thought of the Forbidden Guards he'd seen outside. Could they be some kind of surveillance formed by a technique?

"Human skin... human skin... human skin..."

Ren Qing couldn't help muttering a few times. Suddenly, a thought stirred. He realized those pieces of skin could probably be assembled into a whole one.

"Could it be that the human skin isn't complete, so the Forbidden Guards are waiting for something?"

It seemed the human skin wasn't wary; it had simply cornered the survivors and was devouring them bit by bit.

Having vaguely guessed the answer, he decisively summoned his Information Flow. Just as he was about to consume his lifespan to choose a branch of the Eye-less Method, a cry of alarm came from beside him.

Xiao Wu couldn't suppress the terror in his heart. He grabbed Ren Qing's arm and said, "Qing Ge'er, I just saw the human skins. They haven't gone far."

"Don't look flustered."

Ren Qing squinted his eyes, afraid there might not be enough time to advance to Double-Pupil User—the Human Skin had already set its sights on him, the only real threat...

Advancement would surely plunge him into darkness, and even a moment's opening would be seized upon.

"Remember, don't leave the staircase."

Ren Qing pulled a gleaming short blade from his waist and carefully examined every corner, guarding against a sudden ambush.

The others had no awareness of the situation at all, most of them in a dazed stupor.

Time passed bit by bit. Ren Qing had already eaten the Pig Eyes to maintain his strength, but the Human Skin remained utterly patient.

He had to turn passivity into action.

Ren Qing closed his eyes, feigning exhaustion, and pricked up his ears to listen.

A Human Face slowly crawled through the gaps in the wall bricks. It seemed to catch the scent of blood and couldn't help extending part of its body.

At that moment, Ren Qing opened his eyes, locked onto the Human Face, and pushed off with both feet.

He stabbed the knife toward the Human Face, pinning it directly to the wall.

The Human Face twisted in extreme malice. The blade cut a gash across its body, and blood seeped out.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The Human Face instantly lunged at the crowd nearby. Ren Qing could track its speed, but his body couldn't keep up.

A Fire Worker lost his life before he even reacted. After absorbing one person's life, the Human Face healed its wound.

It fixed its gaze on Ren Qing again, while the rest of the Human Skin crawled into the staircase.

The Fire Workers fled in panic, and people began trampling each other.

Dozens of figures swayed.

Ren Qing felt a chill on his arm—the Human Face had already merged into it. But instead of absorbing his flesh, it rapidly burrowed toward his head.

"Damn it."

Ren Qing stabbed himself several times with the dagger, but it didn't stop it. He could feel the Human Face had already reached his neck.

In this moment of crisis, the Information Flow appeared before his eyes.

[Human Skin Book]

[Created by Eunuch Huang Ling. To cultivate this method, one must completely peel off their skin, take a specific medicinal primer to regrow it, and repeat seven times to complete the practice.]

[Can consume one year of lifespan to waive the cost and master it.]

Ren Qing didn't even consider how many years of lifespan it would take. He directly confirmed, and instantly a tingling, numbing pain spread through his body, growing more intense with time.

The Human Face hesitated for a moment, sensing that Ren Qing now carried an aura of the same origin.

In that split second, the white-haired old man crashed through the wall and charged in. He directly tore the Human Face off Ren Qing's neck.

Fortunately, the Human Face hadn't yet fused into his flesh, or it would have been at least a serious injury.

"Everyone, step back half a meter. I am Song Zongwu."

Song Zongwu's appearance was like a demon's—six eyes on his face, an extra pair of arms beneath his armpits, and his entire body covered in solid muscle.

The world's setting will begin to unfold next. Dear readers, you can also look forward to the Human Skin Book.