There weren't many Restraint Officers going to Annan Town.
Counting Ren Qing, there were only three people, with one being a reserve, mainly because Annan Town already had Restraint Officers.
Ren Qing deliberately went early to wait outside the south city gate, and along the way released the husky from the Prison Within the Abdomen.
The husky was already over four meters in length, its fluffy fur combined with its adorably dopey look made it completely unlike a wild wolf.
As soon as it got to the outside world, it became extremely cheerful, constantly bounding up and down.
Ren Qing gave it a warning look, and the ghost shadow beneath his feet extended out, directly merging into the silly dog's shadow, allowing for indirect control.
The husky's expression turned from suspicious to uncertain, then quieted down.
When Huang Ziwan and the other arrived at the gate, they saw the husky that looked somewhat like a wolf but not quite, and their expressions turned slightly blank.
He had originally planned to walk for a few days and tough it out, but hadn't expected that Ren Qing had somehow gotten hold of an exotic beast with such an intimidating exterior.
Lu Xiaoyu followed behind Huang Ziwan with her mouth agape.
Because her cultivation technique involved vegetation, she had been assigned to Annan Town. As a reserve, she could also earn some Blood Crystals.
Ren Qing was the first to climb onto the husky's back; it felt like sitting on a sofa, and its fur even insulated him from the cold wind.
"Let's go. If we wait too long and people gather, we might attract unnecessary trouble."
Huang Ziwan decisively mounted the dog, it was much better than walking to Annan Town on foot.
Lu Xiaoyu could only follow suit.
Huang Ziwan patted the husky, feeling the flesh beneath was solid, and the faint smell it gave off had a unique meat aroma.
"Brother Ren, this... wolf of yours, did it grow up eating cultivator flesh?"
The husky showed no wariness at all, its tail constantly wagging.
"That's right. It's good enough to be a mount."
Ren Qing knocked the husky on the head. "Go. Follow the main road to Annan Town. If we don't stop day or night, it'll take two to three days at most."
Husky: (-`ェ′-)
After the shadow merged into the husky's shadow, although it couldn't fully control its actions, it could still exert some influence.
The husky darted forward like a streak, adapted to cultivation-based fabricated techniques, weaving through the gravel-paved main road like a blur.
Ren Qing had the ghost shadow attach to the husky's back and then closed his eyes to cultivate.
Relying on the primary and secondary souls of Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and with the ghost shadow's protection, even if suddenly attacked, he could still respond in time.
At first, Huang Ziwan and Lu Xiaoyu were a bit cautious, but soon they relaxed on the dog's back.
Of course, they couldn't be as at ease as Ren Qing.
Traveling this way was quite convenient.
Even wild beasts didn't dare to approach. The husky's body was so large it could overshadow trees, casting a huge shadow as it passed.
On the main road, the occasional traveler, upon seeing the husky galloping past, had their legs go weak with fear.
Ren Qing had thought he'd reach Annan Town while meditating and contemplating techniques.
But the husky's speed suddenly started to slow until it stopped right at the center of a crossroads.
Huang Ziwan opened his eyes and looked at the empty forest ahead with confusion, his expression growing tense.
Ren Qing tried to calm the husky.
He had thought the silly dog was just slightly fatigued from days of travel.
But the husky kept its eyes locked firmly on the forest, baring its teeth and growling, barking like it was facing a mortal enemy.
Ren Qing's mood became heavy.
After all, this husky had drunk the blood of a ghost wolf, its beastly instincts were sharp enough to detect prey dozens of miles away.
He triggered his thoughts.
The ghost shadow stretched out like a rope, starting to search for any trace or clue.
But still, there was no result.
Huang Ziwan jumped down from the dog's back and said in a low tone, "This place is near Mount An, outside Annan Town. It's very likely that Zhang Mu disappeared somewhere around here."
He hesitated, then asked, "Have you sensed anything abnormal?"
"Not really."
Ren Qing turned to look at the husky. Clearly, communicating with a silly dog wasn't going to work.
Lu Xiaoyu didn't dare to say much. She stuck closely to the two Restraint Officers, afraid of accidentally encountering some unmanageable danger.
Huang Ziwan couldn't help but say, "This place shouldn't be related to a forbidden zone. Otherwise, with someone at the Yin Runner level involved, there's no way they wouldn't have found even the slightest clue."
Ren Qing asked, "What exactly caused Zhang Mu's disappearance?"
Lu Xiaoyu blurted out, "It was jadegrass..."
Huang Ziwan explained, "It's a relatively well-known spice. Since it grows by the roadside around here, it's said that Zhang Mu went to pick some and then never returned."
"Later, the Restraint Officers checked all the jadegrass within hundreds of miles and still couldn't find any so-called forbidden zone."
Upon hearing this, Ren Qing took out the yellowed paper strip.
He handed the note to Huang Ziwan. "Smell it, does it have the scent of jadegrass?"
Huang Ziwan brought it to his nose. Sure enough, it had a very faint scent of jadegrass.
This inexplicable connection made a chill run down his spine.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then placed a corner of the paper strip in his mouth and pressed it with his tongue.
Huang Ziwan's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He didn't know what he saw, his gaze turned blank, and his cheeks puffed up instinctively, saliva and venom brewing in his mouth.
Ren Qing hurriedly took the paper strip back, and Huang Ziwan finally returned to his senses.
Huang Ziwan said with a wry smile, "The Restraint Officers had previously collected these strips, but I fear they didn't realize... the strangeness inside."
He swallowed and continued, "I saw countless lines forming an image before my eyes. I couldn't see clearly, but it was clearly about that unknown forbidden zone."
"It probably only reveals the abnormality when within a specific area."
Ren Qing picked up the paper strip.
It was about palm-sized. Huang Ziwan had only touched the corner.
He tried putting the other side into his mouth, and his tongue immediately tasted an odd spice flavor, a bit like mint.
As the taste spread across his tongue, Ren Qing's eyes began to heat up.
Suddenly, the noises of the forest faded away.
Black and white lines appeared midair, forming a picture of unknown content, like a suspended ink painting.
The interweaving and twisting of the lines made one dizzy.
Ren Qing's Double Pupils began to spin.
Back then, even ordinary Double Pupils users could interact with the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone, let alone Twin Nightmare Ghosts.
This time, he was more cautious, afraid that his soul would again fall into a forbidden zone by accident.
The lines quickly changed, and the image became orderly. He could vaguely see what seemed to be a very dimly-lit kitchen.
Ren Qing couldn't help but feel puzzled, but forbidden zones could manifest in any form, that was normal.
He noticed the kitchen looked magnified by tenfold. The stove resembled a mountain, and even a bowl of water looked like a small lake.
Steam rose from the stove; something seemed to be cooking inside.
"What kind of cultivation technique's Supernatural Remnant is this forbidden zone built around?"
Ren Qing tried to look more closely, but the flavor on his tongue faded, and the image before him slowly disappeared.
The paper strip ignited and burned by itself.
Huang Ziwan was just about to warn Ren Qing, but the latter waved his hand, clearly still conscious thanks to the interplay of his primary and secondary souls.
Ren Qing kept staring forward. A gigantic figure stepped toward the stove.
The giant's body was made entirely of moldy rice stalks, crawling with countless maggots, resembling the herb-picking giant from the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone.
The stove lid was lifted, and a blast of hot steam gushed out.
Inside, there was only a bowl of steamed pork.
The meat was sliced thin from chopped human limbs, and instead of the usual stir-fried rice, the topping was human eyeballs.
The giant finally sprinkled in some jadegrass.
Upon seeing the eyeballs, Ren Qing suddenly thought of the Mud River Society.
If Fei Long really had swallowed dozens or hundreds of eyes, even if he hadn't reached Ghost Envoy realm, his body should have been heavily mutated.
Could the lines on Fei Long's body really be connected to the forbidden zone? Was the giant collecting ingredients?
It sounded absurd.
But forbidden zones couldn't be judged by common sense, maybe his guess was closer to the truth than it seemed.
Ren Qing opened his eyes. Huang Ziwan asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Old Huang, you should have a Blood Heart, contact nearby Restraint Officers."
Huang Ziwan pulled out a Blood Heart from his chest, pinched it, and it began to pulse rapidly.
In the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, several Restraint Officers arrived at their location. Leading them was Miss Bai, who held a long sword.
Ren Qing explained everything he had seen, including the anomalies on Fei Long's body, how to handle it was no longer his concern.
The Yin Runner realm folks would naturally have to worry about it.
Miss Bai was quite interested in the husky but didn't give Huang Ziwan and the others any trouble.
After all, they still had to go to Annan Town. Although the blooming of the Other Shore Flower was still a while away, the sooner they arrived, the better.
The Other Shore Flower only bloomed for ten days, and it couldn't come into contact with filth or blood. Transporting it through Avici Hell carried serious risks.
Being able to prepare ahead of time in Annan Town would mean lower risk.
The husky took the chance to eat dozens of pounds of freshly hunted meat, then bolted again toward Annan Town.
From dawn till dusk, after passing through the mountains, the outline of Annan Town came into view.
The population of the whole town wasn't large, it was the smallest of the three main towns in Xiangxiang, with only about thirty thousand people.
But it had the most farmland. As far as the eye could see, vast patches of fields spread out, though the winter had just passed and no seeds had been sown yet.
You could say at least half of Xiangxiang's grain came from Annan Town, with another thirty percent coming from Heshan Town's terraced fields.
The stationed Restraint Officers would use the convenience of Avici Hell to dispatch grain.
Even in the face of drought or floods, cultivation techniques ensured stability, maintaining peace in Xiangxiang.
Ren Qing looked toward the hill north of Annan Town. Even in the cold winter, large patches of flowers and plants grew there, it should be the Other Shore Flower.
He immediately used Double Pupils to observe, and couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Every stalk of the Other Shore Flower was black-gray in color and carried residual souls, as if their growth required the irrigation of soul remnants.
And the hill where the Other Shore Flower was planted clearly had massive ribs embedded in it, it must have been dismantled from Avici Hell.
Ren Qing finally understood why the Other Shore Flower had to be planted in Annan Town.
Ksitigarbha's rib cage had been used to store residual souls, who knew how many had been gathered within?
As long as someone nearby died, they would be absorbed.
Huang Ziwan noticed what Ren Qing was thinking and said calmly, "There is no reincarnation in this world. When people die, their souls scatter like an extinguished lamp."
"Of course, cultivators are an exception. Our souls are devoured by Supernatural Remnants."