Chapter 11: The Headless Case
1219 Words
Ren Qing exhaled deeply, closed the Travel Notes of the Thatched Cottage, and leaned against the wall with his eyes shut to rest.
He suddenly realized that the one-year lifespan consumed by the human-skin book wasn't actually that costly a price.
After all, the fact that the eerie item from the prison could form a forbidden zone meant it had long developed sentience and was far beyond the Martial Realm.
Even if it was also born from the human-skin book, the difference in essence due to level was like night and day.
Perhaps he was the only one in the world who could wield techniques using eerie items above the Martial Realm.
Luckily, Song Zongwu hadn't noticed.
Unfortunately, the higher the level of the eerie item, the more outrageous the lifespan cost for Ren Qing to master the technique.
As Ren Qing prepared to leave the Martial Building, he suddenly heard an uncontrollable fit of coughing.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
An old constable walked out from the inner room. He looked seventy or eighty years old and needed a cane for support.
“The Martial Building is about to close. You can come again tomorrow.”
“Thank you for the reminder, elder.”
Ren Qing nodded and returned the Travel Notes of the Thatched Cottage to the bookshelf.
He didn’t plan to come back again anyway, as the remaining martial arts manuals were of no use to him.
As long as he successfully advanced to the Half-Corpse Realm, with his eyes mutating into twin pupils, even the most refined techniques would be easily seen through.
The old constable suddenly asked, “I want to ask… is he doing well?”
Ren Qing asked in confusion, “Elder, are you referring to Song Zongwu?”
“Cough cough, yes.”
Ren Qing didn’t know how to describe it and could only reply perfunctorily, “He’s doing well... quite robust.”
The old constable smiled and said, “That’s good. I’m relieved then.”
Once Ren Qing left, the elder's kindly expression twisted with distortion. He weakly shut the main door tightly.
The coughing intensified.
Ren Qing took a long look at the Martial Building. The old constable clearly had some connection with Song Zongwu—they even shared a resemblance.
Could they be brothers?
Ren Qing didn’t intend to dig deeper. Better to focus on exploring the human-skin book further.
Snapping out of his concentration, he realized he hadn't eaten all day. His stomach was rumbling, and he quickened his pace.
When he returned to the Cremation Hall, the furnace was emitting green smoke and crackling sounds—clearly, a corpse was burning inside.
However, before leaving, Ren Qing had already learned from Xiao Wu that the corpse was a drowned fisherman from the city outskirts.
Since the body had been soaked in water for days, it didn’t burn easily, requiring at least double the usual time.
Ren Qing entered the courtyard and noticed some buns and pickles on the stone table.
He began eating as he walked toward the furnace.
He soon spotted Xiao Wu and the others—among them was a familiar figure, silent and quiet.
“Bo Feng?”
Ren Qing couldn’t help but express surprise.
Bo Feng had changed a lot. He exuded a sense of despair, his once-black hair now entirely silver, and deep wrinkles lined his face.
Bo Feng looked up at Ren Qing and said with a bitter smile, “Brother Ren, I’ll be working on Tan Street from now on. Hope you don’t mind.”
Ren Qing asked, “Did the other constables blame you? But the deaths in the prison weren’t your fault.”
Li Mian explained, “Bo Feng volunteered for the transfer. We just found out too.”
Xiao Wu nodded, clearly curious about Bo Feng’s reasons for coming here.
Bo Feng sighed, “There were seven constables in total in the district, and four died in the prison. I knew their entire families…”
At this, he clutched his head in pain.
Bo Feng didn’t want to manage cremations anymore, so he requested the transfer. Ren Qing's performance in the prison had also played a role.
Ren Qing patted Bo Feng on the shoulder and agreed without hesitation.
Tan Street lacked manpower. If things got too busy, it might affect his cultivation. Besides, with Bo Feng there, Ren Qing could act as a hands-off overseer.
Bo Feng gradually calmed down, relieved.
They chatted while eating buns and pickles, building rapport.
When Bo Feng mentioned his former jurisdiction was in the eastern part of the west district, Ren Qing asked about the beheaded corpses in the east.
“You mean the headless case? It's mostly happening in the south district now. No one knows what the murderer’s motive is…”
Li Mian frowned. “So many dead—it might be tied to a larger power.”
Bo Feng shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it. I’ve seen some of the corpses—the neck wounds were identical, clearly the work of one person.”
Xiao Wu curled up in fear and asked, “Wouldn’t they lock down the district after that many deaths? They still haven’t caught the killer?”
Bo Feng glanced around and whispered, “The neck wounds were too smooth—it didn’t look like a weapon did it. More like the heads walked off on their own.”
Xiao Wu’s teeth began to chatter. “D-Don’t scare me…”
Ren Qing comforted him. “The constables must be taking measures. No criminal is flawless. They’ll slip up eventually.”
“True. The beheadings have slowed down recently.”
“Brother Bo, keep an eye on the west district. If you see any headless bodies, let me know.”
“No problem. I know a lot of the constables.”
Bo Feng readily agreed. His seniority showed its advantages—Ren Qing couldn’t match him in connections.
“I’m heading to bed. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Ren Qing got up and headed to the side room, calmly swallowing a pig’s eyeball on the way.
Bo Feng saw this and looked stunned. “What did Constable Ren just eat? It looked like raw meat…”
Li Heng replied matter-of-factly, “It’s a fairly fresh pig eyeball. Once drained of blood, it has no stink—actually has a sweet aftertaste.”
The others looked puzzled. Li Heng blushed. “I saw Constable Ren eat it daily, and got curious.”
Xiao Wu sneered, “Brother Qing’s eyesight isn’t good. The doctor said he should eat eyeballs to nourish them.”
Li Heng tried to explain further, but even his brother Li Mian’s look changed. He looked like he might cry.
As for why Ren Qing deliberately revealed poor eyesight—it was because after advancing to Half-Corpse Realm, he would have to hide his twin pupils.
He didn’t have a good method, but didn’t want to join the Forbidden Guard too early either—not until he was strong enough to protect himself.
Compared to the occasional danger in the Cremation Hall, the risks for the Forbidden Guard were far greater.
Ren Qing even suspected there were far more forbidden zones outside the city than people knew.
- Writer
