Ren Qing took out a bamboo hat and put it on. Since there truly was a Supernatural Remnant hidden in the village, then this could no longer be treated as an ordinary trip home.
He warned Yan Jun and the other two in a serious tone to be cautious in all things, then quickened his pace, heading toward Bazi Village along the mountain path.
When the group could see the village entrance, they saw a caravan of peddlers.
The middle-aged peddler leading the group was pulling a mule cart. At first, he didn't notice Ren Qing and the others and stopped at the village entrance.
When Ren Qing approached, the middle-aged peddler's expression immediately changed.
The three of them were dressed tightly wrapped, wearing bamboo hats, giving off the impression of bodyguards traveling through Xiangxiang.
These days, any bodyguards able to travel outside the city likely had some skills to back them.
But Bazi Village was remote, what goods could possibly be delivered here?
The villagers had never seen the village so lively. Their faces were filled with suspicion and confusion as they stopped to watch.
Fortunately, Ren Qing and the others weren't carrying weapons. The middle-aged peddler then mustered the courage to ask, "You three heroes, may I ask what brings you here..."
"We were sent by the yamen."
Ren Qing's words stopped there, and the middle-aged peddler instantly understood.
He watched Ren Qing and the others walk into Bazi Village, then decisively said, "We're heading back the way we came. This batch of mountain goods will have to wait."
"But..."
"There's no 'but.'"
The other peddlers hesitated slightly, but the middle-aged peddler only had to say two words, and everyone immediately began packing up their things.
"Restraint Officer."
To these peddlers who traveled Xiangxiang, encountering a Restraint Officer surely meant life-threatening trouble, so they could only act with extreme caution.
Ren Qing's actions naturally drew the villagers into murmuring discussions.
Bazi Village could not be self-sufficient, so they occasionally went to Sanxiang City to replenish supplies.
For them, a peddler's arrival was like a holiday, but now a sudden change had occurred, inevitably giving rise to some complaints.
Yan Jun asked nervously, "Ren Qing, should we go in first?"
"Wait a bit."
Ren Qing deliberately lowered his bamboo hat.
In his eyes, the shadows of some villagers were extremely dim, almost barely there.
And the water drawn from the well was thick black-red liquid.
The poultry were even fighting and biting at corpses.
But up until now, although the village was strange in every way, no traces left behind by a Supernatural Remnant had yet been detected.
A moment later.
An elderly man with stumbling steps hurriedly came toward the village entrance, loudly scolding the nearby onlookers to disperse.
Ren Qing didn't know much about the old man, only that his name was Ren Shisan, about fifty years old, and had served as village head of Bazi Village for several decades.
Ren Shisan obviously knew the yamen had sent people and hurriedly invited them to his own courtyard.
He also had his son Ren Xing go stand at the door, to prevent villagers from coming to cause trouble.
The interior of the house was relatively simple, but there were a few landscape paintings hanging on the wall, and the four treasures of the study were arranged on the wooden table.
Ren Shisan was a scholar by background, and he spoke with the cadence of an old Confucian. He politely served tea and poured water.
"Honored officials, the journey must have been long and tiring."
Ren Qing still remained expressionless, giving off an aura of "strangers keep away."
"Elder, has there been any trouble in Bazi Village these past few days?"
Yan Jun and the other didn't speak, since the one primarily responsible for the mission was Ren Qing, and his strength far surpassed theirs.
Ren Shisan gave a bitter smile and said, "There were indeed strange occurrences a while ago, but recently everything returned to normal. There should be no need to trouble you officials."
Ren Qing asked about sleep paralysis, and found that Ren Shisan's descriptions didn't differ much from the content on the paper slip. Similar incidents had long since disappeared.
If he hadn't used the heavy pupils to detect abnormalities, he might've really thought this was a false report.
Ren Qing glanced at Yan Jun and Li Mu. It seemed the Supernatural Remnant would have to be found by himself, who knows what techniques might be involved.
He didn't go into detail with Ren Shisan, only informing him that they would be staying for a few days.
Ren Shisan quickly had his daughter-in-law tidy up the guest room in the courtyard. Most of the idle houses in the village were quite dilapidated.
Ren Qing didn't plan to acknowledge his relatives for now, but casually asked, "By the way, how's Old Man Ren's family doing?"
Ren Shisan froze for a moment, then replied, "Still alright. After the eldest son of the Ren family died, the youngest son didn't go take a post at the yamen and stayed home to farm and care for his elderly mother."
He couldn't help but praise a few words, with a tone that mixed in some dissatisfaction with his son Ren Xing.
Ren Qing paused mid-step, a sudden feeling of unreality washing over him.
There was absolutely no mistake about the situation at his home. The roster of dead yamen officials still listed both his elder brother and father.
How could there be an extra youngest son?
A thought stirred in Ren Qing's mind. The strange events in Bazi Village began in early March, slightly after the day he left the village, could there be a connection?
His eyes narrowed slightly, forcing himself to calm down, though Yan Jun and Li Mu had already noticed something was off.
But the two only assumed Ren Qing had some connection to Bazi Village and didn't know his background.
Ren Qing restrained his temper and stayed in the guest room, then informed Yan Jun and Li Mu of what he had seen through the heavy pupils.
Yan Jun responded by using her technique to turn her hair into pythons, spreading them through the grass to investigate. If any villagers came near, she could revert it to blue silk.
As the sky darkened slightly, the three quietly snuck out from the guest room.
Each of them had a python tied around their wrist, not only did this allow Yan Jun to communicate easily, but snapping it would alert her as well.
Ren Qing had the two of them head to the well at the village center, while he went alone to investigate the other "self" at his home.
Even if something went wrong, since they were all within Bazi Village, they could support each other at any time.
Ren Qing went directly to the location of his old home, where a simple fence enclosed the courtyard, with sparse plantings of melons and fruits.
The room inside was still brightly lit.
He jumped onto the eaves, then shifted aside a tile to peer in through the gap. He vaguely saw two figures moving.
Ren Qing couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Although the viewing angle was limited, he clearly saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man, slender in build.
His appearance was nearly identical to Ren Qing's before cultivating any techniques, like it had been carved from the same mold.
Ren Qing's birth mother, Madam Chen, ignored the youth who kept shuffling about. She was sewing clothes by candlelight. Though her face was covered in wrinkles, her hands threading the needle remained exceptionally steady.
The youth yawned stiffly and said, "Mother, I'll go to sleep now. You should rest early too."
Madam Chen kindly nodded, but didn't respond, continuing to carefully mend the clothes.
Ren Qing noticed that although Madam Chen was shrouded in candlelight, her shadow appeared extremely faint, as if it could vanish at any moment.
He let out a cold chuckle. In any case, if there was a problem, then he'd solve the problem.
Ren Qing dropped down into the courtyard, then slipped through the window beside the side door into the house. He saw the youth lying on the bed, fast asleep.
The Dragon-Snake Spine slowly drilled out from the center of his palm and stabbed directly toward the youth.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The Dragon-Snake Spine cut across the youth's thigh, leaving a long, narrow wound.
But the youth's eyes remained closed, yet the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.