Song Zongwu did not inform Ren Qing about the matters regarding the Restraint Officer reserve position, only saying the location would be at the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Ren Qing had always been very curious about the Restraint Officers' Hall.
He had already thoroughly explored the entire yamen, but still could not access the Restraint Officers' Hall, he didn't even know its specific location.
It was precisely because Restraint Officers were usually so elusive that sightings were rare. Some constables went several years without encountering a Restraint Officer.
After briefly explaining a few things, Song Zongwu left the Corpse Burners' Hall.
He told Ren Qing to wait patiently, forcing the latter to return to the tedious life of accumulating lifespan.
To prevent possible interruptions in pig eyeball supply, Ren Qing began trying to consume raw fish eyes.
He discovered that as long as the quantity was sufficient, the lifespan extension effects were actually not much different.
The only trouble was that Ren Qing didn't have a supply channel for fish eyes and had to rely on Xiao Wu to purchase them at fish markets.
But fishmongers wouldn't remove the eyes to sell separately as it would damage the appearance.
Therefore, he had to buy whole fish in large quantities, which made the cost not low.
Ren Qing felt somewhat of a headache and could only pin his hopes on Restraint Officer resources. Otherwise, his cultivation might stagnate when reaching Ghost Envoy Realm.
Fortunately, he didn't need to consider too much at present.
The Blood Dog Gang hadn't given him trouble over the braised food business for the time being, even slightly increasing his profit share at month's end.
This showed the words "Restraint Officer" still carried weight within gangs.
Unconsciously, another dozen or so days passed. Ren Qing's lifespan had accumulated to nearly eight years, not far from advancing.
Ren Qing felt somewhat conflicted about which technique to advance to Ghost Envoy Realm.
First, he excluded the Divine Leg Sutra and Human Skin Book since these couldn't be openly displayed.
It seemed Ren Qing could only choose between the Taotie Method and the Blindless Method. Looking at it this way, logically he should advance the Blindless Method.
After all, he was most familiar with it, and after reaching the Ghost Envoy Realm, he could easily master the Twin Nightmare Ghosts ability.
But the cost to exempt the Blindless Method was greater, requiring fifteen years of lifespan to advance, compared to the Taotie Method's ten.
Ren Qing had some more concerns.
He feared the Secondary Stomach mutation path of the Taotie Method might be mediocre and not significantly improve his strength at all.
Ren Qing pinched his throbbing temples and forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts.
Overthinking now was useless.
Perhaps after reaching the Ghost Envoy Realm, his lifespan would increase somewhat, allowing both techniques to be advanced.
While he was still immersed in the alternative "seclusion" of continuously consuming eyeballs, the time for selecting Restraint Officer reserves quietly approached.
Before Ren Qing even realized it, while still practicing blade techniques in the courtyard, Song Zongwu grabbed him and headed toward the Restraint Officers' Hall.
They traveled by leaping across rooftops to avoid attracting constables' attention.
Ren Qing also spotted many hooded outsider cultivators.
They followed behind Restraint Officers timidly, clearly also headed to the Restraint Officers' Hall.
As they neared their destination, Song Zongwu softly reminded: "The location of the Restraint Officers' Hall is somewhat special, to prevent Supernatural Remnant riots."
"After becoming a reserve, you'll be able to learn its secrets."
"Understood. Thank you, Senior Song."
They arrived at a remote corner in the center of the yamen, where only some artificial rock formations stood.
Not daring to ask more, Ren Qing tentatively said: "Senior Song, don't Restraint Officers usually need to stay at the Restraint Officers' Hall normally..."
"Why are there no Restraint Officers around here?"
Song Zongwu shook his head and said: "No one likes staying at the Restraint Officers' Hall."
"So that's how it is, then..."
"Quiet, the other cultivators are coming."
Song Zongwu said solemnly.
Seeing this, Ren Qing looked up and saw hooded Restraint Officers arriving one after another, all stopping before the artificial rocks.
Could these artificial rocks be the location of the Restraint Officers' Hall? That seemed impossible.
Ren Qing resisted asking further and kept using his double pupils to examine the surroundings, trying to find secret doors or mechanisms to enter the Restraint Officers' Hall.
But he found nothing.
After a while, over a dozen cultivators had gathered.
They removed their hoods that concealed their appearances, all wary of each other.
Ren Qing's gaze swept quickly over them.
Logically speaking, cultivating techniques could cause one's appearance to differ from normal people, but mutations usually still felt natural.
But gang-affiliated cultivators were completely the opposite, clearly a bunch of demons and monsters.
Not only did they master techniques by consuming Supernatural Remnants, they also cultivated without any restraint, causing negative effects from mutations.
For example, there was a Blood Dog Gang woman who practiced the Divine Leg Sutra.
She had probably consumed too much beast blood, causing uneven leopard fur patches all over her body, with hands having only three fingers in a leopard claw shape.
Her beastly eyes couldn't even blink normally.
Then there was the most burly man, estimated to be over two meters tall.
His skin had a deep black tone, with two upright bull horns on his forehead.
But he walked with a limp because his feet had mutated into bovine hooves.
Of course, some cultivators looked relatively normal, probably not from gangs, likely having just entered Half-Corpse Realm.
Ren Qing looked around and noticed most gang techniques seemed related to animalistic mutations, possibly because the threshold was slightly lower.
He didn't conceal his double pupils at all, immediately drawing the Restraint Officers' attention.
Besides being brought by Song Zongwu, the unprecedented mutation path of "Double Pupils" was hard to ignore.
The cultivators whispered among themselves, instinctively keeping more distance from Ren Qing.
It seemed even before the reserve selection began, they already felt fear.
Song Zongwu glanced at Ren Qing and asked: "Didn't I say they're all defective goods? Can't possibly fail at the reserves, right?"
"Don't worry, I did survive sealing a forbidden zone after all."
Ren Qing guaranteed confidently, not noticing the amusement in Song Zongwu's eyes.
From start to finish, Song Zongwu never mentioned how many reserve positions there were. In fact, there had been years with no qualifiers.
Just then, a half-snake Restraint Officer man swayed over.
His walking posture resembled willow branches in wind, likely practicing the "Snake Molting Method" Ren Qing saw at Falling Camel Mountain.
"Elder Song, long time no see."
Song Zongwu nodded at him: "Indeed it has, Zhang Qiu."
"Elder Song, can you give any hints about which area of the Restraint Officers' Hall we're going to?"
Zhang Qiu kept flicking his tongue while looking at Ren Qing.
"How would I know? If you're afraid of danger then don't enter."
Song Zongwu ignored him after that, so the other Restraint Officers didn't dare approach to chat either.
Zhang Qiu left awkwardly and returned to his original position.
He spoke with a snake-person youth around fifteen years old, but his expression grew increasingly gloomy, clearly not a pleasant conversation.
Ren Qing muttered to himself: "That snake youth isn't an orphan raised by gangs."
"He's Zhang Qiu's nephew. Probably worried about accidental death in the Restraint Officers' Hall."
"So that's how it is..."
Ren Qing's mouth opened slightly. Wasn't this supposed to be just formalities?
What dangers could there possibly be?!!