Zang Laotou, seeing that the others dared not step forward, clutched his broken arm and walked to Xiao Man.
"Take her back to Ghost King City and guard her well. Do not lay a hand on her." Zang Laotou finally understood. They could capture her, but they couldn't harm her, otherwise, the strange power emanating from Xiao Man might injure them.
"Yes, General Zang."
Several ghost attendants, using poles like they were hoisting prey, carried Xiao Man and headed towards Ghost King City!
"Hey, brothers, the way you're carrying me is so unsightly. Why don't you put me down, and I'll walk myself?" Xiao Man shouted. "You look like cannibals who haven't digested their food!"
The ghost attendants pretended not to hear Xiao Man's words. This person was truly bizarre. They couldn't attack her, yet they could capture her. Those who intended to harm her ended up injuring themselves. Now, they could only take her away, daring not to lay a hand on her. Of course, they also couldn't give her a chance to act, because whether Xiao Man attacked or they attacked, they would be the ones to suffer in the end!
"Hey, can you at least make a sound?"
The lead ghost attendant glanced back at Xiao Man and gave a cold "chirp" before continuing to have her carried swiftly towards Ghost King City.
The few ruffians who usually followed Xiao Man, seeing her being carried away, looked at each other in confusion. "They are ghost attendants, right?"
"Not just ghost attendants, there's a ghost general too!" the leader of the ruffians shivered. "What did Boss Xiao do to warrant a ghost general capturing her?"
"Look at how she usually acts. How many people who bothered her ended up alive?"
"So, she committed a taboo and is being taken to Ghost King City for public execution?"
"A ghost general personally took action to capture her. It seems she can't escape." The ruffians all shook their heads. "But she's truly formidable, to have actually injured a ghost general. Ghost generals are all peak Nascent Soul experts!"
"It's a pity, now that she's been captured and taken to Ghost King City, she's doomed!"
Ghost King City, the dungeon of the City Lord's mansion.
Xiao Man was roughly thrown to the ground, making her grit her teeth in pain.
The cell door was locked, and the ghost attendants left. The dungeon was silent. Xiao Man cut the ropes binding her, sat up, and walked to the cell door, her gaze fixed on the lock.
"This lock cannot be opened." A man's voice, deep and low, came from the adjacent cell. "The cells and locks here are specially made, designed to deal with cultivators."
Xiao Man turned to the next cell. "Who are you?"
"An nobody." The man, leaning against the wall, was disheveled and bearded. "What did you do to get yourself captured?"
"I don't know." Xiao Man shrugged. "But it should be related to me killing Zang Xu."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately sat up. "Zang Xu? The son of Lieutenant General Zang Feng?"
"So that old man's name is Zang Feng." Xiao Man suddenly realized. "Zang Feng is a great general of the demon race?"
"You don't know?"
Xiao Man shook her head.
The man leaned back against the wall again. "Then why did you kill Zang Xu?"
"He wanted to kill me, so for self-preservation, I had no choice but to kill him."
"With your abilities, you shouldn't have been able to kill Zang Xu. After all, Zang Xu is a half-demon. Once he demonizes, his cultivation can rival Nascent Soul. Although it's brief, it should be enough to kill you."
Xiao Man didn't deny it, but she had been unconscious at the time and didn't know who killed Zang Xu. She vaguely remembered seeing Wen Mohan.
"It seems someone you know killed him." The man said lazily. "However, Zang Feng only has this one son and placed great hopes on him. And then you killed him. Hahaha, interesting, truly interesting!"
"It seems, my friend, you know quite a bit about the demon race."
"Kid, do you know where you are right now?"
"Ghost Realm." Xiao Man knew very well.
"Do you also know that the Ghost Realm is where the demon race resides?" Seeing no surprise on Xiao Man's face, the man assumed she already knew. "Are you a half-demon?"
"No, I'm human, a cultivator."
The man sat up straight again and looked Xiao Man up and down for a long time, appearing incredulous. A human cultivator could actually enter the Ghost Realm, and she didn't seem to have been affected by the ghostly energy of the Ghost Realm at all.
"You're truly not a half-demon?"
"No."
"The Ghost Realm is not suitable for humans to survive. Humans who come to the Ghost Realm will be affected by the ghostly energy, which will drive them mad." The man straightened up and looked at Xiao Man. "But you look perfectly normal, showing no signs of being affected by the ghostly energy."
"Does ghostly energy harm the human body?"
"Yes. Even a human cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage cannot stay in the Ghost Realm for long. If they stay too long and are tainted by ghostly energy, they are very likely to fall into a demonic deviation." The man moved closer to the bars. "How long have you been in the Ghost Realm?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Well, Zang Feng, that old man, brought me here. As soon as I arrived, I fell into a desert and stayed there for a long time. I only came out recently."
Disbelief flashed in the man's eyes. "You entered the vast desert!"
"The vast desert, does it have a history?"
"Did you encounter anyone?"
"Are there people in there?" Xiao Man retorted.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of disappointment crossed the man's eyes. Didn't encounter anyone? No, if she didn't encounter anyone, how did she escape the vast desert?
"How did you get out of the vast desert?"
"I reached the end, and that's how I got out." Xiao Man sat down by the wall, resting her head on her hands. "I don't know how long I walked in there, so I don't know how long I've actually been in the Ghost Realm."
"Did you truly encounter nothing in there?"
"Yes, piles of white bones, does that count?"
"No."
"Does Chen An count?"
"What is Chen An?"
"A child."
The man's spirit was jolted. He moved closer. "You encountered a child named Chen An in there?"
"Yes."
"Not an adult?"
Xiao Man shook her head. "Are there adults in the vast desert?"
Seeing Xiao Man's demeanor, which didn't seem faked, the man asked, "Did that child tell you his name was Chen An?"
"Chen An is the name I gave him." Xiao Man said softly. "Why, do you know him?"
"I've entered the vast desert countless times, but I've never seen him. Why were you able to see him?" The man clasped the dividing wooden wall, his curiosity piqued.
"Perhaps, you had no fate."
The man choked, seemingly surprised by Xiao Man's answer. After a moment, he nodded in agreement. "After you encountered him, did anything strange happen?"
"No."
"Did he say anything to you?"
"No."
"Did he give you anything?"
"No."
"Strange. Could it be that he just came out to play with you?" The man rubbed his chin, frowning in confusion. "It shouldn't be. Ordinary people who enter the vast desert have no chance of coming out alive, unless... you're lying!"