Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Born a Demon Seed
Ren Qing couldn’t help but be stunned. Although it wasn’t confirmed, that Veteran Constable was very likely the Hundred-eyed Man hiding in the shadows.
To think this person was Song Zongwu’s son... and he had clearly succeeded in extending his life, so why would he suddenly die?
Ren Qing, his mind filled with questions, followed Song Zongwu toward the Martial Arts Arena.
The two walked in silence. Ren Qing didn’t ask about Song Rong, but a few guesses began to form in his mind.
The prerequisite for the Asura Skill was to experience the five great precepts of the Buddhist Sect without falling from grace.
These so-called five great precepts were: first, no killing life; second, no stealing; third, no sexual misconduct; fourth, no lying; and fifth, no drinking alcohol.
Since Song Zongwu’s Asura Skill had reached the level of a Four-armed Yama, it certainly couldn’t have been achieved just by practicing in seclusion. It made sense that he once had a family.
As they approached the Martial Arts Arena, they could see the Martial Arts Tower in the distance, cordoned off by constables.
Song Zongwu, wearing a Conical Hat, flashed his Forbidden Guard token and led Ren Qing straight into the Martial Arts Tower.
Inside the Martial Arts Tower were only five old Fireworkers, all over forty. Upon seeing Song Zongwu, they respectfully bowed their heads.
These old Fireworkers had served in the Government Office for over twenty years. They no longer had to deal with the miscellaneous affairs of the various districts, instead specializing in examining strangely deceased corpses, which was why they were also called forensic doctors.
The leader, Chen Huogong, said softly, "Song Rong passed away a few days ago. He usually kept to himself indoors, so his body was only just discovered..."
Song Zongwu nodded, his face showing no signs of joy or sorrow.
Ren Qing frowned and asked, "A few days ago? Which day, specifically?"
Chen Huogong thought for a moment before replying, "Judging by the body’s decomposition, it should be two days ago."
’Two days ago?’ Ren Qing muttered to himself. ’Isn’t that the same time as the incident at Si Bu Hall? I wonder if there’s a connection.’
"You masters may leave first," Song Zongwu said flatly.
"Yes, sir."
The old Fireworkers turned and left.
They didn’t know the relationship between Song Zongwu and Song Rong. They just found it a little strange, as the corpse itself didn’t seem to have anything unusual about it.
After the Martial Arts Tower was empty, Song Zongwu slowly began to explain Song Rong’s history.
Song Rong had been weak and frail since childhood, so his Lifespan was limited; he wasn’t expected to live past twenty.
But his temperament was that of a natural-born Demon Seed. His mother died in childbirth, and as a child, Song Rong took pleasure in torturing and killing cats and dogs. He even... went after infants.
At that time, Song Zongwu wanted to discipline Song Rong, but he was facing a tribulation for his promotion to Three-armed Judge. Fearing he would die in a densely populated town, he had no choice but to prepare to flee into the wilderness.
Song Zongwu left the five-year-old Song Rong in the care of a temple and hastily went into seclusion.
His seclusion took him more than twenty years. When he returned to the temple, it was filled with dried bones. Song Rong was long gone.
Song Zongwu had thought Song Rong died after his Lifespan ran out, but instead, he found him at the Sanxiang City Government Office.
And now, Song Rong was forty-three years old.
Ren Qing was speechless. If Song Rong was so vicious and cruel as a child, he would surely be even more unrestrained after mastering a Magic Technique.
Song Zongwu said in a deep voice, "I always suspected Song Rong was using living people as sacrifices to extend his life, but I could never find any clues."
According to Song Zongwu’s principles, he naturally wouldn’t act until he could confirm Song Rong was killing for Life Extension, which led to the series of beheading cases.
Ren Qing could hear a hint of regret in Song Zongwu’s voice.
’He probably left the *Grass Hall Travelogue* in the Martial Arts Tower in the hopes that a Cultivator who read it would admonish Song Rong, but the latter showed no restraint.’
Of course, this was just speculation. He still needed to examine the corpse to confirm the situation.
Ren Qing pushed open the wooden door to the inner room. What met his eyes was a desiccated corpse sitting at a table. The stench of decay assaulted his nostrils.
He used his Double Pupils to observe it carefully. At first glance, the corpse seemed normal, but he had a faint feeling that something was wrong.
Song Zongwu said, "If he really extended his life by killing people as I suspect, he would have needed to take at least four or five hundred lives."
"Elder Song, there’s something wrong with the body."
Ren Qing pointed to the livor mortis spots covering the skin. "Even though the color of the spots changes over time, they should all be more or less the same."
Song Zongwu looked closely. It was just as Ren Qing had said; the spots were varying shades of color, which was indescribably strange.
"Do you mind if I cut the body open?"
"Go ahead."
Ren Qing took out a small knife he carried and made an incision where the spots were densest, revealing the flesh and blood underneath.
The two looked at each other, their expressions filled with disbelief.
The flesh was clotted and lumpy, completely lacking the fibrous texture of muscle. It was as if it had been pieced together.
Without hesitation, Ren Qing cut open the skin in various places. The flesh inside was in different states of decay, and some of it wasn’t even human.
The two said in unison, almost at the exact same time, "The Human Skin Book?"
The most likely candidate for creating such a realistic-looking corpse out of thin air would be a Skin Peeler of the Human Skin Book. That path of mutation primarily involves the human body.
Ren Qing instantly understood: Song Rong had to be the Hundred-eyed Man.
’No wonder he could hide in the Government Office so silently that not even Song Zongwu could see through his disguise. He must have used a layer of human skin to cover up the characteristics of a Hundred-eyed Man.’
’And he used the Skin Peeler’s ability to gouge out his own eyeballs, then attach them to animals or insects for remote control.’
’It’s even possible that Song Rong was the one who created the forbidden area in the Prison.’
’But why would Song Rong fake his own death to escape? Could his goal be the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area?’
After a moment’s hesitation, Ren Qing told Song Zongwu what he knew about the No-Eyes Technique.
He emphasized the part about extending one’s life by eating raw human eyes. Song Zongwu naturally connected this to the beheading cases that had caused such an uproar.
Song Zongwu understood that Ren Qing’s and Song Rong’s No-Eyes Technique came from the same source, just with different paths of mutation.
Anger flashed in his eyes. He turned his six eyes on Ren Qing and stared, saying, "Ren Qing, have you ever eaten a raw human eye?"
With a serious expression, Ren Qing said, "Elder Song, I have never eaten a human eye, nor have I ever had such a thought."
Song Zongwu possessed the Heavenly Listening Skill. Knowing that Ren Qing wasn’t lying, his tone softened.
"That’s good. You must not go astray."
He recalled the difficulty of mastering the No-Eyes Technique and couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
Ever since Song Rong had intentionally spread the No-Eyes Technique, most who tried to cultivate it had met a bad end.
One had to know that the initiation for the No-Eyes Technique required enduring forty-nine days of boundless darkness. The fact that Ren Qing was able to hold true to his principles showed that his temperament was indeed excellent.
His talent, fortune, and temperament were all superb. He would definitely have a chance to break through to the Yin Messenger Realm in the future.
’It’s just a pity he mistakenly consumed a Mysterious Object, which prevents him from mastering any body-related Magic Techniques. Otherwise, he could even look forward to reaching the Yang God Realm.’
A bold idea suddenly occurred to Song Zongwu. ’After all, Ren Qing’s Human Skin Book Skill is only at the Martial Artist Realm. Maybe he can break through the limitation of the Mysterious Object?’
He stopped thinking about it and prepared to leave to search for Song Rong.
"Focus on cultivating the Taotie Technique for the next few days. If you need any resources, you can come to me."
"Thank you, Elder Song."
Ren Qing was delighted. He could tell from Song Zongwu’s attitude that he was acting as a senior mentor. Even if he hadn’t formally become his master, there probably wasn’t much difference.
Song Zongwu headed out of the Government Office.
Ren Qing, however, stayed behind in the Martial Arts Tower, hoping to find some clues left by the Hundred-eyed Man in the inner room. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
As for the fake corpse, he had the constables outside contact Bo Feng, and it was carried away to be incinerated.
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