When Ren Qing woke up, his whole body ached, especially the bones in his legs.
'He figured the Divine Sutra was stimulating his body's growth. Thankfully, as long as the change was gradual, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone noticing.'
After all, he was only seventeen; it wasn't too late for a growth spurt.
Ren Qing took advantage of the early morning to practice his Saber Technique in the courtyard. When his stamina was depleted, he recovered by eating meat.
The effect was nowhere near as good as pig eyes, of course, but it was better than nothing.
The supply of pig eyes was scarce at the moment. If the Blood Dog Gang continued to stay out of the braised food business, the progress of his Life Extension would likely be greatly hindered.
A rooster's crow echoed through the air.
Bo Feng and the others began to wake up, and the Government Office gradually came to life.
Ren Qing didn't act rashly. He made a point of finding Bo Feng to ask about the situation at Si Bu Hall.
Si Bu Hall was a sealed-off area within the Government Office. Many people were locked up inside, and Government Constables were forbidden from approaching without direct orders.
As far as Ren Qing could recall, Si Bu Hall was a place for the temporary detention of Government Constables.
This mostly included Government Constables who had committed offenses and were awaiting trial, or those placed in temporary confinement, like the Fireworkers from Hexing Street.
Even Bo Feng had never been inside. The information he had came from patrolling constables, so its accuracy was questionable.
Ren Qing headed in the direction of Si Bu Hall. Along the way, he casually interacted with various Government Constables, hoping to find a Cultivator who had mastered a Magic Technique.
Unfortunately, he came up empty.
As for the Hundred-eyed Man, however, he had already narrowed his search to Government Constables over the age of forty. It shouldn't be too difficult to find his target, given enough time.
Ren Qing wasn't in a hurry. As long as he could discreetly acquire pig eyes, he could minimize the threat posed by the Hundred-eyed Man.
He soon arrived at Si Bu Hall.
The building's exterior looked rather ordinary, but the Government Office's security was extremely tight. A full five constables were patrolling the entrance alone.
Ren Qing circled Si Bu Hall, surveying the area. Through his Double Pupils, he saw that the doors and windows of every room were securely locked shut with heavy iron chains.
He could vaguely make out figures inside some of the rooms, but the light was too dim to be sure. He couldn't tell if they were imprisoned Government Constables.
Ren Qing knew many places in the Government Office weren't as simple as they seemed; some might even be used to store Mysterious Objects.
Fortunately, the security around Si Bu Hall wasn't impenetrable, which suggested it wasn't a place of extreme danger.
Without much hesitation, Ren Qing found a secluded corner, vaulted over the wall into Si Bu Hall, and carefully erased his footprints.
'Is this place really for locking up Government Constables? Why does it feel so gloomy and terrifying?'
He clearly felt the temperature drop as soon as he entered the building, which was likely due to it being on the side of the building that didn't get any sun.
As Ren Qing stepped onto the wooden floorboards, a few scavenger rats let out wary squeaks, warning their companions to be cautious.
He turned down a hallway leading deeper into the building. Both sides were lined with closed doors, and it was clear people were living inside.
Hearing his approaching footsteps, the people inside began to slam their bodies against the walls, their movements accompanied by bloodcurdling screams.
The sheer commotion made the hair on Ren Qing's arms stand on end. Signs of his Werewolf Transformation appeared on his legs, and he was ready to flee at a moment's notice.
Yet, the patrolling constables outside didn't react in the slightest, not even turning their heads.
Ren Qing forced himself to calm down. 'After seeing a cannibal Martial Artist and a living human skin, I'm getting scared by a bunch of lunatics?'
He crept closer to a wall and listened carefully. All he could hear was frenzied muttering.
"Don't kill me! Human flesh doesn't even taste good."
"I saw it... The monster is in the dark... It's looking at me and smiling."
"Kill him! We have to kill him!!"
Ren Qing immediately had a theory. It was highly likely that Si Bu Hall was used to lock up civilians who had been driven mad by contact with the supernatural.
After all, he heard both male and female voices, and women had never served as Government Constables.
Ren Qing couldn't help but mutter, "Actually, Sanxiang Mental Hospital would be the most fitting name."
Once the veil of terror was lifted, his fear vanished.
He searched around Si Bu Hall and found a much quieter section. Unsurprisingly, this was the area used for the temporary confinement of Government Constables.
Most of the rooms were empty, their furnishings suggesting they could accommodate seven or eight people each.
Ren Qing searched for nearly an hour before finally finding the Fireworkers from Hexing Street in a room tucked away in a deeper corner.
They were confined to a single room. A candle was lit inside, and the faint scent of Sandalwood drifted out, indicating their treatment wasn't too harsh.
Ren Qing walked up to the door without concealing his presence. A man's voice called out from inside, "Brother, any idea when we'll be getting out of here? This uncertainty is killing us."
"Yeah, it's not like what's happening outside the city has anything to do with a plague..."
"Shut up! You can't just say things like that!"
Ren Qing breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like there were three of them, just as there should be. 'Was I just being paranoid?'
He lowered his voice and said, "The Government Office is on high alert right now. Getting out anytime soon is unrealistic, but you can tell me if you need anything."
The most mature-sounding of the Fireworkers spoke up. "You're new to Si Bu Hall, aren't you? I haven't heard your voice before."
Ren Qing recalled that among the Fireworkers who had returned to Sanxiang City, there was indeed a man in his forties.
Ren Qing continued, "It is my first time, yes. I hope I haven't disturbed you gentlemen."
"Of course not. It just gets terribly cold in here at night. Could we trouble you to get us some more blankets, brother? We'd be very grateful."
Ren Qing chatted with them for ten minutes or so, trying several times to pry information from them, but the older Fireworker was extremely tight-lipped.
However, whenever the plague outside the city was mentioned, their voices inevitably filled with fear, and they would start to stammer.
Seeing he could get no more from them, Ren Qing decided to leave Si Bu Hall. At least he had confirmed that nothing overtly supernatural was happening.
It had taken him a while to navigate the twists and turns on his way in, but getting out only took a few minutes.
Just as Ren Qing was about to vault back over the wall, his pupils suddenly constricted. He froze.
The memories in his mind began to blur again, including the image of him seeing the Hexing Street Fireworkers at the teahouse. The older Fireworker… had simply vanished from his recollection.
Ren Qing pressed his temples and leaned against the wall, trying to trace what he remembered onto its surface with his finger.
But if he so much as blinked, he would forget. In the end, he only managed to hold onto the thought by linking it to a chain of unrelated memories.
'I suspect there were more than three Fireworkers from Hexing Street.'
'What could possibly affect memory like this? What could forcibly erase living people from Si Bu Hall right under the Government Office's nose?'
'They can't be carrying a Mysterious Object on them, or the Forbidden Guards would have definitely detected it.'
'Could it be some kind of forbidden zone?'
'Mysterious Objects at the Half-Corpse Realm and above possess Spiritual Wisdom. If a large number of Cultivators died inside a forbidden zone, what kind of entity would their Mysterious Objects become?'
The Double Pupils in Ren Qing's eyes spun. His right hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his Great Miao Blade, and his legs became covered by his Werewolf Transformation.
It took him more than ten breaths to calm himself, but the feeling of urgency hung over his heart like a dark cloud.
Normally, you'd expect the higher-ups to handle it when the sky is falling. But when the whole nest is overturned, no egg can remain unbroken.