Ren Qing knew that what Huang Ziwan said was not false, after all, he had never seen any Ox-Heads or Horse-Faces from the underworld come to seize souls.
Under normal circumstances, once breath ceased, the soul would gradually dissipate over time.
His gaze remained fixed on the Other Shore Flower fields, and he discovered that aside from the vast spread of Other Shore Flowers, there was also a vine tree standing at the center.
The tree was not very conspicuous against the backdrop of rib bones.
But Ren Qing recognized it at a glance.
It seemed it was precisely Muyi stationed in Annan Town to guard the Other Shore Flower fields.
As the terrain gradually rose, the husky couldn't help sticking out its tongue and panting.
Even though it had mastered fabricated cultivation arts, as long as it had food in its stomach, it could restore its stamina using that, but fatigue was still inevitable.
Seeing that Annan Town was already close at hand, Ren Qing simply retracted the husky into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Huang Ziwan wasn't too surprised, Ren Qing's mustard seed space methods had already been occasionally displayed in the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone.
Lu Xiaoyu was already completely numb, her lips parted as if to speak but then closing again.
She had heard from Lin Cheng that Ren Qing hadn't been a Restraint Officer for very long.
It was already astonishing enough to ascend to the Ghost Envoy realm in such a short time, but compared to the various cultivation arts Ren Qing had displayed, it was clearly far more than just outstanding talent.
However, she noticed that even during idle times while traveling, Ren Qing remained in a state of cultivation, and suddenly it didn't seem so incomprehensible anymore...
Sometimes the gap was so vast, it left no room even for jealousy.
Ren Qing paid no attention to their reactions and merely continued observing Annan Town.
He discovered that the houses here were different from Sanxiang City, primarily constructed of wood.
It was likely due to the surrounding area having few stones and a lack of interest in firing bricks, leading to an evolved custom.
From this, it could be seen that even towns mostly inhabited by mortals could, after decades or centuries of isolated development, form distinct lifestyles, let alone different regions.
Jingzhou and Xiangxiang were perfect examples, so the conditions in the Beast Pen occupied by the Supreme Heavenly Demon were unimaginable.
The sky had already turned dusk.
Just as Ren Qing's group was about to step into Annan Town, a sparrow suddenly landed on their shoulders.
A gentle female voice rang in their ears, it was clearly Muyi casting some kind of cultivation art.
"Since you've arrived early in Annan Town, you must be extra cautious."
"At night, do not leave your rooms..."
The sparrow chirped and flew off, leaving behind Ren Qing and the others dumbfounded. They exchanged glances but did not speak.
Now that they were already in Annan Town, if what Muyi said was true and there was something strange here, then every word and action would have to be taken with care.
But since it involved the Restraint Officers' Hall, it probably wasn't dangerous.
Ren Qing took the lead in stepping into the town, and Huang Ziwan and the other two hurried to follow.
Strangely, aside from Muyi, no other Restraint Officer showed themselves, there was even a vague sense of eyes watching from the shadows.
The people of Annan Town were almost all engaged in farming, and their expressions held some wariness.
Before Ren Qing had walked very far.
A constable immediately came to question them, but once they revealed their Restraint Officer tokens, the constable respectfully made way.
When they reached a street with fewer passersby, Ren Qing couldn't help but ask softly, "Old Huang, what exactly is going on here?"
Huang Ziwan shook his head and said, "I'm not too sure either. Could it really be because we arrived a few days early?"
"Then what's with the rib bones in the flower field?"
Huang Ziwan thought for a moment and said, "You should know already, the Restraint Officers' Hall has performed the Summoning Spirits Art three times. Each time, vast quantities of Other Shore Flowers were planted."
"From that point on, Ksitigarbha's rib bones suddenly began growing from underground, forming a complementary and symbiotic relationship with the Other Shore Flowers."
"Suddenly..."
Ren Qing was deeply surprised.
He had thought it was the handiwork of a Yin Runner realm cultivator, meant to conveniently water the Other Shore Flowers with residual souls, but now it seemed to be a fortuitous coincidence.
Huang Ziwan casually said, "There's a rumor in the Restraint Officers' Hall that although the souls obtained through the Summoning Spirits Art tend to be sinister, they may have inadvertently caused Ksitigarbha's consciousness to begin awakening."
Ren Qing nodded slightly.
He always had the feeling it wasn't that simple, the Restraint Officers' Hall's summoning of spirits surely had another purpose.
Sweat beaded on Lu Xiaoyu's forehead, hearing such unbelievable things from the mouths of these two, it somehow carried a sense of extraordinary plausibility.
In a daze, she accidentally bumped into an elderly woman selling rice candy.
The old woman nearly fell to the ground, but Lu Xiaoyu quickly helped her up.
"Granny, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine..."
The old woman smiled oddly and withdrew, a few pieces of rice candy spilling from her basket. Her gait was very stiff.
Lu Xiaoyu pulled out some silver and was about to hand it to the old woman, but was stopped by a stern-faced Huang Ziwan.
"Lu Xiaoyu, what are you doing?!"
"There was an old lady..."
Lu Xiaoyu was just about to explain to the two of them, when she noticed that the rice candy on the ground had vanished, and upon looking up, the old woman was nowhere in sight.
Hearing this, Ren Qing frowned, he had noticed Lu Xiaoyu's strange reaction too.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't actively used the Double Pupils, and so had only sensed a faint shadow.
Huang Ziwan's expression darkened, and he quickened his pace toward the inn.
There weren't many inns in Annan Town, and they were located rather out of the way. By the time they found one, the sun was almost below the horizon.
As they stepped over the threshold, the innkeeper came up. "Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"
"To stay, one room per person."
Huang Ziwan placed some silver on the counter, enough for them to stay four or five days.
Of course, daily meals would be calculated separately.
"Alright, please come inside."
The innkeeper didn't ask about their background. After brushing the dust off their clothes with a rag, he led them up to the second floor.
Huang Ziwan glanced at Ren Qing and Lu Xiaoyu and casually asked, "Innkeeper, are there any taboos in Annan Town?"
The innkeeper paused for a few moments and said, "You outsiders may not know, but for decades now we don't go out during the Chou hour."
He forced a laugh and continued, "It's hard to say exactly why, but that's just the custom here in town."
The innkeeper led them to the end of the hallway on the second floor, there were many connected rooms on both sides, but it was rather empty, with only the three of them staying.
Ren Qing noticed a copper mirror hanging on the wall, it seemed to be a folk talisman for warding off evil.
Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem like an ordinary tool.
Huang Ziwan thanked the innkeeper, who pretended to tidy the rooms a bit before leaving.
After he was gone, Lu Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask, "What was up with that old woman? I really did come into contact with her."
Huang Ziwan frowned and said, "Other Shore Flowers attract residual souls, once they fully bloom, this should stop happening."
Ren Qing added, "I'm afraid only cultivators can encounter residual souls during the day. Ordinary people probably only encounter them during the Chou hour."
"Which suggests something happens in Annan Town during the Chou hour."
Lu Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, at least there wasn't a threat to life, and as long as they stayed indoors, they'd likely be safe.
Ren Qing walked to the window, and his split soul gradually separated from his body to look outside.
He indeed noticed some residual souls lingering in the street shadows, under normal circumstances, they would dissipate after half a day.
Residual souls couldn't really harm mortals; even contact with yang energy would burn them into invisible ash.
The reason the Restraint Officers' Hall maintained the current state of Annan Town was likely because the Other Shore Flowers needed residual souls as nourishment.
But what exactly happened during the Chou hour remained a question worth investigating.
Ren Qing returned to his room to rest, sitting cross-legged on the bed to visualize his cultivation arts.
As time passed, the surroundings grew quiet.
When the Chou hour approached,
His split soul once again left his body, and instantly the previously silent night turned extremely noisy.
He passed through the window and looked outside.
Ren Qing was stunned, everything before him seemed like the underworld.
Residual souls wandered the streets without awareness, their appearances bearing the marks of how they died, mostly elderly.
Ren Qing didn't attract their attention and simply hovered midair, looking down on Annan Town.
The coexistence of humans and ghosts was truly a rare sight.
Most residual souls had lost all intelligence, mindlessly repeating actions from their lives.
A fine drizzle of ghostly rain fell.
The residual souls were affected by some unknown force and suddenly gathered together, fusing into a fearsome tiger ghost.
The tiger ghost tore at its prey wildly, its body swelling as it devoured.
Ren Qing felt an ominous vibe.
Entities like this tiger ghost could grow ever more terrifying by devouring residual souls, sunlight by day might not even kill them.
And where were the Restraint Officers, why didn't they take action?
At that moment, the ghost shadow separated from his body, appearing restless.
Ren Qing moved his thoughts, and the ghost shadow immediately slithered down the wall into the street, rushing toward the tiger ghost.
The tiger ghost was still preying on residual souls, by the time it noticed the ghost shadow, it was already too late.
The ghost shadow coiled around the tiger ghost like a giant python; no matter how the latter struggled, it was useless, and it was soon completely absorbed.
Ren Qing could feel that both the ghost shadow's body and the Heavenly Dao Worm within were growing visibly stronger.
But when he tried to have the ghost shadow continue hunting similar ghosts, it began to tremble.
Then it returned to his body on its own.
Ren Qing's expression grew uncertain, Annan Town was riddled with strangeness.
Why allow so many residual souls to gather?
If the ghost shadow could feast on them freely, perhaps the Nether Sea Breathing Art could reach mastery in the Qi Refining stage, and the Shadow Ghost Technique could take another step forward.
Ren Qing's split soul chose a secluded corner to watch in case of unforeseen changes.
Huang Ziwan and the others remained still, eyes closed in their rooms, waiting for the Chou hour to pass.
At that moment, Ren Qing noticed three or four people stealthily moving through the streets.
From their appearance, they seemed to be wealthy merchants of Annan Town, all wearing embroidered robes and adorned with jewelry and jade.
Being ordinary humans, the merchants couldn't see the residual souls, some even shattered a few just by walking through them with their yang energy.
They merely felt the midnight chill and instinctively wrapped their cloaks tighter.
As they drew closer to their destination, the merchants' faces grew filled with devout fervor. Up ahead was a dilapidated Daoist temple.
Ren Qing's split soul followed them, using his Double Pupils to observe from afar.
He hoped to figure out just what was going on in Annan Town.