Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Song Rong’s True Intentions
The group arrived at Pingding Mountain.
As they neared the mountain village, their spirits lifted, and they even started to joke and laugh.
If they could spend the night in the village, it would be relatively safe. They just needed to hold on for one more day before meeting up with the Forbidden Guards.
Only Ren Qing’s expression grew more and more solemn. He deliberately slowed the group’s pace, taking the opportunity to observe their surroundings.
’Those villagers who left so abruptly haven’t returned after more than half an hour. They must have run into some kind of trouble.’
’Or are they being compelled by something?’
Xiaowu scratched a swollen mosquito bite on his face and couldn’t help but say excitedly, "We’re finally at the village."
"Li Quan, are you home?!"
Guo Qing shouted as he ran up the winding path straight toward the village on the mountaintop.
But his only reply was utter silence, save for the strange whistling of the mountain wind as it passed through the gaps between the thatched huts.
The bizarrely shaped trees surrounding them, shrouded in shadow, looked strangely unsettling.
Unconvinced, Guo Qing charged into the village, with Wang Wen and the others hurrying after him.
Ren Qing stopped Xiaowu and Zhu Ding. He stood at the village entrance, constantly scanning the environment with his Double Pupils, and soon found a place where footprints were concentrated.
He walked closer and bent down to examine the footprints, discovering they were all of a uniform depth. Even the distance between the steps was nearly identical.
"What’s wrong, Brother Qing..."
Xiaowu’s voice trembled, but when he noticed that Ren Qing remained relatively calm, he managed to compose himself as well.
"It’s nothing. I’m just going to look around, then find a house to stay in for the night."
A theory formed in Ren Qing’s mind as he followed the footprints deeper into the village.
Having lost his nerve, Zhu Ding couldn’t help but draw closer and ask in a low voice, "Constable Ren, why is there no one in the village?"
"Don’t scare yourselves. They probably had to leave for a while on urgent business."
Ren Qing followed the footprints to their end: a towering, ancient tree that had been growing for several hundred years. The villagers must have gathered here.
The ancient tree itself looked normal, but Ren Qing noticed streak-like marks on the surface of the trunk, which appeared to be dried slime.
Ren Qing followed the marks and inspected them closely. He then picked up the remains of an insect, which surprisingly contained a few bits of shredded flesh.
’A snail, of all things.’
’Song Rong...’
’His target really is the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area. He even set out several days before the Forbidden Guards. He might have already found the Forbidden Area by now.’
As for why he would risk being discovered by the Forbidden Guards to return to Pingding Mountain Village and control the villagers, Ren Qing couldn’t figure it out.
Ren Qing subconsciously gripped the Blood Heart the Government Office had issued them beforehand. If he wanted to, he could contact the Forbidden Guards and have them rush over.
However, now that he had a clearer picture of the situation, he felt his Heart Spirit settle.
His Double Pupils hadn’t detected any eyeball-bearing insects or animals on the way here, which meant Song Rong didn’t dare to recklessly plant his spies.
Therefore, given Song Rong’s cautious nature, he would never show himself easily in a situation like this.
Moreover, he was already ancient; even with Life Extension, he couldn’t reverse his body’s decline. This made it even more unlikely for him to expose himself.
Ren Qing figured that as long as he stayed vigilant against wild animal attacks, he should be quite safe.
Just then, Guo Qing emerged from a nearby thatched hut, his face a mask of astonishment.
He said to Ren Qing, "Constable, all the houses in the village are empty. Some of them even have meals still laid out on the tables..."
Wang Wen, who was a step behind, assumed the Forbidden Guards had relocated the villagers, so he didn’t pay it much mind.
"Since there are no signs of a struggle, it means the villagers left of their own accord."
The group conferred for a moment. Seeing that darkness was about to envelop Pingding Mountain, they knew traveling at night was impossible.
Ren Qing quickly gave an order, "Let’s settle in for now. We’ll set out again first thing tomorrow morning."
He chose a larger thatched hut and quickly used a flint to light some wood. The warm flames gradually drove away the gloomy chill.
It was a good opportunity to heat their rations over the fire; otherwise, they would be too hard to eat.
The mountain dampness was kept at bay outside. The temperature difference between morning and night was nearly ten degrees.
Xiaowu yawned, and suddenly the exhaustion from a full day of travel hit the group. They couldn’t help but feel drowsy.
Ren Qing felt fine, however. Thanks to his Abnormal Mouth, his stomach was constantly digesting pig eyes, providing him with a steady supply of energy.
"I’ll arrange the night watch first, so everyone can get some rest."
Since there were seven of them, Ren Qing formed a team with Xiaowu and Zhu Ding, while the remaining Fireworkers and constables were split into pairs.
Each team would stand watch for about an hour, which would help them stay focused.
Ren Qing added a reminder, "Remember, don’t wander far from the hut, not even to relieve yourselves. There might be wild beasts in the mountains."
Everyone agreed readily. They used furniture to barricade the wooden door, preventing the mountain wind from blowing it open.
Those not on watch slept by the bonfire, their snores occasionally breaking the silence.
Zhu Ding stood vigilantly by the window, getting up to walk a few laps whenever he felt sleepy.
Xiaowu splashed some water on his face, then walked over to Ren Qing and said, "Brother Qing, you should go rest for a bit. Zhu Ding and I can handle the watch."
"How can I rest? In a situation like this, we can’t let our guard down for even a moment."
Ren Qing’s gaze swept over the mountain forest outside the window, where he could faintly see bats flying past the treetops.
Xiaowu didn’t disturb him any further. He added some firewood to the bonfire and went to stand watch.
Ren Qing silently mulled over Song Rong’s motive for coming to the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area. He felt like the answer was just out of reach, separated by a paper-thin barrier he couldn’t seem to break through.
He decided to try a different line of thinking.
’If I were Song Rong, why would I go to the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area...’
’Song Rong’s Cultivation can only advance by using Mysterious Objects from the same Mutated path. Could it be that the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area contains Ghost Envoy Realm Mysterious Objects of the Hundred-eyed Man and Skin Peeler paths?’
’Impossible. The Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area hasn’t shown any similar abilities at all.’
’Song Rong would never do something he wasn’t sure about.’
’Unless he’s certain the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area has the Mysterious Object he wants, and perhaps it has nothing to do with the Hundred-eyed Man or the Skin Peeler.’
Thinking of Song Rong’s ability to use eyeballs to possess animals, Ren Qing suddenly had a realization, his expression becoming extremely complicated.
’To control animals remotely, even indirectly, relying solely on the Hundred-eyed Man’s ability to create Illusions is unrealistic.’
’This means Song Rong has a third Magic Technique.’
’Actually, the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area has also displayed a similar ability—it can control Fireworkers from a great distance. The two must share the same Mutated path.’
’It seems the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area really does have the Ghost Envoy Realm Mysterious Object that Song Rong wants.’
Ren Qing was glad he had the Information Flow.
From this, it was clear that the drawbacks of mastering a Magic Technique by devouring a Mysterious Object were immense. Otherwise, how could Song Rong be stuck in the measly Half-Corpse Realm?
No matter how cunning Song Rong’s schemes were, once he entered the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area, his survival would still be left to fate.
Ren Qing didn’t have a good way to handle the situation. He could only plan on meeting up with the Forbidden Guards. How things were handled after that would be none of his business.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
The watch was handed over. Ren Qing lay by the bonfire, pretending to sleep, but in reality, he was dedicating a part of his Heart Spirit to the Contemplation of the Eyeless Method.
And in the darkness, a Mountain Wolf Pack was rushing toward Pingding Mountain.
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