After the Ghost Market ended, Ren Qing returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall.
Sanxiang City still appeared calm on the surface, but the sense of crisis brought by Ksitigarbha's soul summoning had, without anyone realizing it, already begun to spread overhead.
Even Ren Qing couldn't help but feel a growing urgency.
Right now, he was extending his lifespan rapidly. It wouldn't be long before he reached fifty years of lifespan.
But the remaining time was still not much, he very likely wouldn't be able to complete the second aberration of the Twin Nightmare Ghosts. He might as well take a gamble.
The Heavenly Dao Technique required only seventy years of lifespan to advance to the Golden Core stage.
After the breakthrough, not only would his artifact refinement efficiency improve, but he would also gain lifespan.
He was gambling that the lifespan gained would be enough to complete the second aberration of the Twin Nightmare Ghosts.
Otherwise, with just one aberration, it would be very difficult for a soul to generate another.
Ren Qing began to keep watch on the movements of the Restraint Officers' Hall from various angles, in order to gather information.
He walked through small alleys and side streets, paying attention to the conversations of nearby passersby, and ended up discovering that Xiao San'er was chatting with someone in a shop.
Xiao San'er had already been in the Blood Dog Gang for some time, and the changes in him were quite noticeable.
The once short boy had grown nearly as tall as Ren Qing's shoulder, clearly having used martial arts training to temper his body during his time in the Blood Dog Gang.
Xiao San'er's right eye had been gouged out by the leader of the Mud River Society, so he simply wore an eyepatch, which added a hint of menace to his appearance.
Ren Qing could tell that, compared to the kind-hearted Xiao Wu, Xiao San'er had a more cunning and agile mind, hence why he had gotten involved with a gang.
Ren Qing didn't have any opinion about it, nor did he wish to interfere.
Xiao San'er greeted street vendors with practiced ease and laughter, easily collecting his monthly allowance.
The vendors were somewhat afraid of Xiao San'er, not only because of his connection to the Blood Dog Gang, but also in part because of Xiao Wu.
Ren Qing shook his head. In his past life, two brothers like these would likely have gone their separate ways over this, maybe even costing Xiao Wu his constable job.
But in Sanxiang City, gangs were originally the Restraint Officers' Hall's secret network.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he noticed Xiao San'er quickly walking over, clearly having recognized Ren Qing.
Xiao San'er's face was filled with joy.
He had only briefly interacted with Ren Qing, but had often heard his older brother mention him, always speaking highly of him.
Even within the Blood Dog Gang, there were rumors that the Manager Ren from the Corpse Burners' Hall, who used to handle street affairs, had cultivated Restraint Officer techniques and was no longer an ordinary person.
On the surface, the fall of the Mud River Society had been the result of official intervention.
But in reality, Ren Qing had walked into the martial arts hall and, upon exiting, had handled dozens if not hundreds of gang members on his own.
Xiao San'er had been trapped inside the martial arts hall at the time, and he knew clearly that the Mud River Society had real cultivators among them, and not weak ones either.
But such a figure had been completely helpless before Ren Qing.
Xiao San'er spoke with quickened breath: "Lord Ren, you... I'm..."
Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was clearly nervous and started stammering.
Ren Qing felt that while Xiao San'er was still a bit immature, he was indeed very sharp.
Many in the Mud River Society had their eyes gouged out, but Xiao San'er had managed to keep his left eye, and even came into contact with part of the Blindless Method.
"We'll talk in another place."
Ren Qing thought for a moment and walked toward a quiet alley nearby, his pace unhurried. Xiao San'er quickly followed.
Inside the alley, Ren Qing looked Xiao San'er over, and the latter's heart leapt into his throat.
"Xiao San'er, what's your name?"
Xiao San'er's face lit up and he quickly replied: "Lord Ren, my name is Zhou Zuosan. I'm the third child in the family. I have two younger siblings."
Ren Qing nodded.
This was a common situation all across Xiangxiang, families with many children.
When a pregnant woman was due, she only needed to ask the government, and the Temple of the Fertility Goddess would send someone, even if it was a remote mountain village.
Childbirth was relatively safe, and since food was controlled by the authorities, prices weren't high. Having more children meant more hands for labor.
"Zuosan, help me with something."
"Just say the word."
Ren Qing's gaze shifted to the bustling crowd on the street.
He knew the Other Shore Flower couldn't be brought into Avici Hell.
And based on the escort mission at Annan Town, the Other Shore Flower would likely be consumed in Sanxiang City by a cultivator who had mastered the Summoning Spirits Art.
That meant, with Ksitigarbha's soul summoning, there were bound to be all sorts of strange incidents.
"It's not too much, just help me keep an ear out for news in the western part of the city. If you find anything unusual, have Xiao Wu inform me."
Ren Qing trusted Xiao San'er not just because he was clever, but because he had come into contact with the Blindless Method. Even with only one eye, his perception exceeded that of ordinary people.
"No problem. I know a lot of vendors from other districts. If something happens, I'll go to you first."
Ren Qing tossed Xiao San'er a money pouch.
Xiao San'er accepted it curiously, inwardly wondering if something big was about to happen in the city.
Why had the Blood Dog Gang also told them to stop stirring up trouble? It had become rare to even see the hall leaders in the city.
"Make sure not to act on your own. Just focus on gathering information."
After a moment's hesitation, Ren Qing had the ghost shadow merge into Xiao San'er's shadow, returning to the main body every two days to guard against unexpected events.
After a few more instructions, he turned and walked toward the government office.
Xiao San'er scratched his head, his boyish face full of confusion.
"So strange, so strange..."
He began wandering around the west city area just as Ren Qing instructed.
The targets were mainly tea houses, their attendants were easy to talk to, and a little silver could get a lot of information.
But after days of asking around, Xiao San'er came up empty-handed.
This left him unsure of how to report back, after all, the instructions came from Ren Qing, who had even saved his life.
Xiao San'er thought for a bit and decided to try somewhere else.
He wouldn't learn anything useful in tea houses full of gossip from the upper class, it'd be better to ask around the butcher shops affiliated with the Blood Dog Gang. Maybe he'd have better luck.
He entered the west suburbs of the city, and the smell of stewed meats immediately hit his nose.
He swallowed and pulled out some coins to buy some spiced meat to try, chatting with the butcher shop's boss as he did.
As a Blood Dog Gang member, even if Xiao San'er wasn't high-ranking, he was still respected by the butcher shop boss.
Not only did he get the meat for free, but the boss was also very open with him.
The butcher boss frowned and said: "Things have been pretty stable lately, nothing too strange. Lots of little things, though."
Xiao San'er's eyes lit up: "Big Brother Liu, tell me in detail."
The butcher boss treated it like small talk, gossiping about neighborhood rumors, relatives, and so on.
Xiao San'er didn't show any impatience and listened earnestly.
"Oh right, one thing..."
"A few days ago, I went to the suburbs to collect livestock. I heard a baby crying in the courtyard, but the couple were both over forty. Who knows where a baby came from."
Xiao San'er keenly picked up on something odd: "Maybe it was a grandchild?"
"They never had children. And I took a peek inside, they didn't look like they had a baby at all."
The butcher boss sipped his tea and continued: "Maybe it's a recent adoption. Who knows."
Xiao San'er nodded slightly. After a bit more small talk, he said his goodbyes when it was clear nothing else useful would come up.
Lost in thought, he ended up wandering to the suburbs.
There weren't many farms in Sanxiang City, but every household here raised pigs or sheep, and butcher shop owners came regularly to collect livestock.
Xiao San'er checked the time, there were still people around, so he followed the butcher's description and found the courtyard.
He was very cautious, not barging in. Instead, he listened from outside the wall, hoping to get a sense of what was going on.
After a long while, he heard nothing, and even got pelted by a few stones thrown by passing kids.
He sighed. Just as he pulled his ear away from the wall, a faint sound of a baby crying reached his ears.
For some reason, Xiao San'er suddenly remembered a story his grandfather had told him when he was a child, and chills crept up his spine.
Legend had it that once a tiger lived past fifteen years, it lost the strength to hunt, but it would hide in the grass, mimicking the sound of a crying child to lure in passing woodcutters and hunters.
He took a deep breath, looked around, and found a crack in the wall at the corner.
Xiao San'er peeked through.
The courtyard was empty, only the sound of crying echoed within, and it was coming from the pigpen.
He blinked, and at the door of the inner room, a bizarre infant had somehow appeared...
Xiao San'er looked again, but the baby was gone. His whole body broke out in goosebumps.
Even though he was mentally mature for his age, he was only fourteen. Terrified, he turned and ran back toward the city.
He kept glancing back at the courtyard as he ran, not watching the road, until he accidentally ran into three people.
He fell to the ground and instinctively looked up.
All three wore bamboo hats. Seeing such a careless kid, they weren't angry, in fact, one of the women helped him up kindly.
Xiao San'er bowed and apologized, then darted off.
The burly man glanced after him and then grumbled to the woman: "Yan Jun, what's up with the Restraint Officers' Hall lately, making us inspect livestock in every district..."
"Xu Yang, stop complaining. A lot of the reserves have taken this task."
Yan Jun shook her head, she didn't really understand what was going on either.
The reserves were taking on strange tasks, and even getting temporary Blood Hearts issued. Usually, you only got the communication artifact when leaving the city.
The three held official documents and began knocking on doors house by house.
Though they grumbled, it was still the Restraint Officers' Hall's orders. Even dealing with ordinary residents, they guarded themselves with techniques.
Before long, Yan Jun and the others arrived at the courtyard where Xiao San'er had just been.
The crying was gone. Yan Jun knocked hard on the wooden door, and after a moment, a nervous-looking old woman came out.
The couple's eyes were sunken and dark, their gaze filled with deep suspicion. Only after confirming the three were from the authorities did they let them in.
In the shadows nearby, a figure emerged, Ren Qing stepped out slowly.
His expression was grave.
Wait, didn't Yan Jun and the others see it?
That old woman who opened the door... was a half-human, half-goat monster.