Cultivation: Tax Evasion!

Ren Qing's soul fragment checked the Wuwei Daoist Altar once more.

While the damaged walls could indeed regenerate on their own, the three Dao Ancestor statues could not, and what that implied was unclear.

He wanted to go outside the altar, but the two seemingly aged wooden doors remained firmly shut, likely requiring a specific key.

Of course, it was also possible that once Dao Births Dao advanced again, the problem would resolve itself.

Ren Qing's soul fragment lingered in the Wuwei Daoist Altar for most of the night. During that time, there were no further occurrences of Dao-preaching.

The next day, he set aside his current tasks and headed toward the location indicated by the mission.

Since it might involve the Wuwei Daoist Altar, Ren Qing took it seriously.

The destination was the Wu Escort Agency in the southern part of the city.

As for why Ren Qing suspected this mission had something to do with the Wuwei Daoist Altar, it wasn't just that the escorts had mysteriously gone missing.

He also vaguely remembered that Wu Mo, the eldest son of Escort Chief Wu, had participated in the recent imperial examination, and was rumored to have the talent to take first place.

The Wu Escort Agency was moderately well-known in the city. It employed dozens of escort guards, mainly transporting goods between nearby towns.

The issue had started half a month earlier, after Escort Chief Wu returned from escorting a shipment to Heshan Town.

The journey itself was uneventful, but after they returned to Sanxiang City, the men who participated in the escort began vanishing mysteriously.

Not a single body was found. As of now, the yamen had no clues.

Ren Qing didn't rush to the escort agency.

The mission had already been taken by two reserve officers. After three days of investigation, and because it involved a Supernatural Remnant, the Restraint Officers were called in.

Ren Qing used a Sun Feather to contact the reserves, then made his way toward the escort agency.

The Wu Escort Agency was located in a more remote section of the southern city, with a relatively small footprint.

As Ren Qing strolled down the street, he spotted two reserve officers in wide-brimmed hats hiding in the shadows of an alley.

They noticed the Restraint Officer token on his waist and hurried over.

One was a man and the other a woman. The woman had an unfamiliar face, and the spell she cultivated seemed to relate to her fingers, both hands appeared translucent and wooden green in color.

When Ren Qing saw the man, his expression shifted in surprise.

It was Lin Cheng, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Lin Cheng, didn't expect it to be you."

"Mm... it's... you..."

Lin Cheng stared wide-eyed at Ren Qing, mouth hanging open without knowing how to respond.

They had become reserve officers at the same time, and in just a few months, Ren Qing was already a formal Restraint Officer.

It was unbelievable, cases like this were exceedingly rare within the Restraint Officers' Hall.

Lin Cheng recalled his uncle's earlier advice.

Zhang Qiu had said that if Ren Qing could earn the favor of Song Zongwu and reach the Ghost Envoy realm through independent cultivation, he must be a rare talent worth befriending.

Lin Cheng hadn't even gotten the chance to visit Ren Qing, and now he seemed out of reach.

Most surprising of all, becoming a Restraint Officer in under a year meant Ren Qing had secured three Ghost Envoy realm endorsements.

Ren Qing was undoubtedly recognized by the Hall as a Ghost Envoy realm candidate.

The woman nudged Lin Cheng with her elbow and respectfully said, "Senior, I'm Lu Xiaoyu, reserve officer at the Half-Corpse realm."

"I cultivate the Withered Finger Technique. My hand bones have already undergone woodification, allowing me to extend them, within ten meters."

Lu Xiaoyu was no stranger to missions and understood how things worked.

She knew Restraint Officers could be unpredictable, and if she didn't curry favor, she couldn't even hope for help in dangerous situations.

Lin Cheng's expression was complicated. He cupped his hands in greeting and gave a brief summary of his own spell.

He didn't mention reaching the Ghost Envoy Realm, likely because of weak foundations and the risks of revealing it too soon.

Their interaction seemed distant.

Lin Cheng understood that the gap between them was now immense, so he lowered his posture completely.

Ren Qing sat at a food stall with a view of the escort agency and ordered three bowls of iced tea. "Lu Xiaoyu, tell me what's going on in the escort agency."

The middle-aged vendor, under the effect of Mirror-Faced, didn't hear Ren Qing's words and busied himself serving tea.

Lu Xiaoyu, intimidated by Ren Qing's casual display of strength, took a moment to compose herself before replying, "Of the escort group from half a month ago, only Escort Chief Wu remains, gravely wounded."

"What's the nature of his injuries?"

Lin Cheng shook his head and added, "We're not sure. We tried to visit Escort Chief Wu, but Wu Mo turned us away with all sorts of excuses."

Though Wu Mo hadn't passed the imperial exam yet, he was a licentiate, and that title alone let him push back against reserve officers.

"We'll see."

Ren Qing downed his tea in one gulp, tossed a few coins on the table, and headed to the Wu Escort Agency.

Whether the escort agency was connected to the Wuwei Daoist Altar or not had to be confirmed firsthand, but all this deliberate secrecy was definitely suspicious.

As the three approached, a guard at the door tried to block their way, but found himself frozen in place, as if wearing iron shoes. His mouth wouldn't open.

Ren Qing scanned the courtyard, noting every detail, even the weeds in the corners.

He turned to Lu Xiaoyu and whispered a few words.

Around thirty or forty escorts put down their training equipment. Womenfolk huddled in corners. Everyone turned their gaze to Ren Qing.

"The yamen is investigating the disappearances. Please cooperate."

"Please, honored sir, come in."

The elderly steward quickly greeted them, signaling discreetly with his eyes.

Even though they vaguely knew Restraint Officers were strange and powerful figures, six escorts followed closely behind them.

You couldn't survive the jianghu without guts.

Ren Qing walked straight toward the side wing, but paused suddenly at a junction.

His Double Pupils quickly spotted bloodied bits of skin and powdery bone fragments in the corner of the wing wall.

These signs were typically left by large carnivorous beasts.

And similar traces were all over the wing area, meaning Chief Wu's situation might not be so complicated after all.

Ren Qing pointed at the wing room and asked, "Who stays in that room?"

The escorts looked at each other in confusion and remained silent.

The steward smiled awkwardly and said, "That's... the storage room... the storage..."

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. Most likely, the heavily injured Escort Chief Wu was in there, the agency had clearly been hiding something.

He stepped forward.

Some escorts tried to stop him, but their bodies collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.

Lin Cheng hesitated. Weren't missions involving Supernatural Remnants supposed to be approached with caution? Why was Ren Qing so direct? What if the Supernatural Remnant went out of control?

At that moment, the room at the end opened.

A young man in his early twenties stepped out, expression aloof. "Sir, I am Wu Mo. We met during the recent examination."

"Oh."

Ren Qing studied the youth. He had no memory of him but could see he had some talent.

"There have been disappearances at our agency. Shouldn't the yamen be catching actual criminals? What's the point of troubling us? Once my father recovers, he'll personally report to the yamen..."

Before Wu Mo could finish, Lu Xiaoyu walked up with a large burlap sack and casually tossed it on the ground, several heads rolled out, all with their eyes wide open in death.

"Lord Ren, the bodies really were buried in the back yard."

The escorts were in an uproar. Wu Mo stared in disbelief.

Just then, a long spine emerged from the Restraint Officer's palm, splitting open the wing's door.

A strong medicinal scent wafted out.

But Ren Qing immediately noticed something was off, the smell was meant to cover the stench of blood.

He unleashed his full aura without reservation.

The figure on the bed tried to flee but was nailed to the floor by the Dragon-Snake Spine. Blood flowed down the wall and out the door.

The commotion brought the other escorts running.

There was no Escort Chief Wu, impaled on the Dragon-Snake Spine was a monster resembling a mountain fiend, snarling with a twisted face.

Ren Qing was slightly disappointed. He thought Chief Wu was related to the Wuwei Daoist Altar, but it turned out to be all bark and no bite.

He figured Chief Wu had intentionally consumed a Supernatural Remnant. After all, mastering a spell could elevate one's status instantly.

But under the influence of the Supernatural Remnant, his mentality changed, he began killing and eating people.

Wu Mo stood frozen in shock.

He had never imagined his father was involved.

Even though Chief Wu forbade anyone from approaching, he thought it was just a rare contagious illness.

He had planned to call for a physician, he never expected it to be a demon.

Ren Qing retracted the Dragon-Snake Spine and grabbed Chief Wu by the neck.

Glancing around, he declared, "This man was possessed by a demon and murdered escort guards. He will be handled by the Restraint... yamen."

Family members burst into sobs.

The escorts were filled with dread. If the demon had grown hungry days earlier, the entire agency could have been wiped out.

Chief Wu stopped struggling. A look of relief crossed his face before he was swallowed by Ren Qing's aberrant mouth and imprisoned within the Prison Within the Abdomen.

The three left the agency decisively.

The remaining members had mixed reactions to Chief Wu's death, but they all pinned their hopes on Wu Mo making the honor roll, so the agency wouldn't collapse.

When the exam results were posted, firecrackers exploded all over Sanxiang City.

Clerk Zhao personally led the constables through the streets. Whenever they neared a successful candidate's home, they would loudly recite the name in a singing voice.

As he read out the top scorer, they happened to reach the Wu Escort Agency.

"Wu Escort Agency, Wu Mo has taken first place~~~"

Cheers erupted all around. Several escorts still wore funeral garb.

Wu Mo stood at the doorway, haggard, accepting congratulations from friends and family. To outsiders, it looked like a great honor.

But not far away, a short figure squatted in a corner.

Du Gu wore tattered clothes. His right hand was wrapped in bandages. His eyes burned with resentment as he looked at Wu Mo.

He had taken the exam too, but failed and fell ill afterward. Seeing Wu Mo's smooth path filled him with bitter anger.

"If only I were Wu Mo..."

Suddenly, Du Gu felt an unbearable itch in his right hand. He couldn't resist removing the bandages.

His hand looked like it was made of stone.

As if it had been taken from a statue.

"And that mutton soup shop on the corner... not a shred of meat in sight."