tions beneath a facade of compliance." Jiang Qiyun let out a light chuckle.I couldn't help but furrow my brow, turning to stare at him. His eyes were easy to spot in the darkness."Jiang Qiyun, you sti...Those ethereal blue lights gradually came into focus, revealing themselves to be a few palace lanterns.

Like a ghost jellyfish, it hovered in mid-air, gently floating and circling around a solitary figure.

My heart is in my throat, I really want to back out now. At least the guys chasing me in the hallway are human, if they catch me maybe I can still argue, plead for mercy, or something. But here, it's all little demons! Little demons who don't make sense!

If there's another ghost or demon, I don't have confidence that I can handle it.

But the door behind me was shut tight, and I didn't know how to open it from inside. Earlier, I only thought about how there must be a way out if there was a way in.

Now I'm sure there's a way out — didn't that little imp just say so Someone moved his brother's can.

Would it really take me to catch a little ghost and nail it down, then interrogate it I'm not good at that sort of thing.

Those azure palace lanterns drifted over slowly, and the grinning, bristling Xuan Yue gradually shrank its transformed form, letting out two soft snorts.

The person walking over was Mu Wanchen.

He walked in the dim light, three cold palace lanterns floating around him. The vast darkness was gradually being driven back with each step he took, and I watched as he slowly approached me.

Like a soul-beckoning emissary, a barely perceptible smile lingered on his lips as he gazed at me.

"...How did you get here" His voice was clear and soft, not the slightest hint of reproach.

“A bunch of little ghosts appeared at the door, I was so scared that I ran away without thinking. Afraid you wouldn't know there were so many little ones here, and that I’d been tricked, I asked Xuan Yue to bring me to find you……” I whispered back.

Mù Wǎn Chén let out a soft hum and shook his head. "These little ghosts are too weak in cultivation. They can't do much besides scaring people... However, to have such a large place for raising ghosts here is quite unexpected of me. I just came in to take a look."

“These little ghosts won’t attack you They were just about to gang up on me.” I ran to Mu Wanchen’s side, only to find that within the range illuminated by those palace lanterns, there was no trace of ghostly presence.

What's going on

They're afraid of me, wishing to stay as far away as possible. How could they possibly attack me" Mu Wanchen reached out and took the tray cover from my hand, frowning. "What are you doing with this thing"

"Ah... I see the little ghost is afraid of this! Is this a magic weapon" I quickly explained.

Mu Wanchen took a look, then casually tossed it aside: "What kind of magic weapon is this It's just silver. Little ghosts are afraid of the silver needles on your body."

"Yeah, yeah, but why" I was a little confused.

Mu Wanchen frowned slightly: "……Their bodies should have been treated with a secret method, laced with poison. The vengeful spirits attached to the wood were also constantly immersed in this poisonous liquid, which is why they fear silver."

Huh

I looked at Mu Wanchen with suspicion: “Because silver can test for poison Come on, this kind of method only appears in magical martial arts and brainless palace intrigue dramas. You actually believe it”

"Faith, how can you not have faith" He gave me a playful glance. "It's you who only knows half the story, little princess."

"I... I'm a believer in science! Occult is also science!" I argued.

Mu Wanchen reached out his hand to me, and I immediately took it, holding onto his arm. That's how I felt safe.

"Before... not too long ago, maybe about a hundred years ago, our country was still very backward. Back then, some poisons, like arsenic, could be tested with silver needles... Because the refining method wasn't pure, the arsenic contained impurities of sulfur, which would turn the silver black." He explained patiently.

"Nowadays, poison is much more refined, so the saying about using silverware to test for it has become 'incorrect'."

But the Dragon King... he's older than me. His way of thinking is still stuck in the old ways, and he even intentionally uses outdated methods. That's what he considers "orthodox."

"These little demon corpses are incomplete, he must have collected them from all over the place over the years."

Oh... I see.

"I heard that those who raise little demons will be retaliated against. Why are there so many corpses and souls of little demons gathered here, but no major disasters have appeared" I asked in wonder.

"Because they weren't raised that way." Mu Wanchen answered simply.

"What does that mean"

"They are just slaves, tamed beasts." Mu Wanchen snorted disdainfully: "These little fools probably think it was their 'master' who saved them, huh"

I have a hundred thousand "whys" bubbling inside me, but this isn't the right place to ask them.

Rows of iron racks, cold poison soaking the decaying corpses, little devils hiding in the ebony within the corpses, too afraid to come out.

The few palace lanterns around Mu Wanchen, emitting a faint blue light, made the little goblin with a flat nose tremble. I almost felt sorry for him.

"That little guy, he seems like he might know something. Maybe we should figure out a way to take him somewhere and question him I'll try to coax him." I squeezed Mu Wanchen's arm.

He frowned and said, "What are you wasting your breath talking to a little ghost for"

"He just accused me of having a grudge against him! No way, I can't stand this injustice, I need to get to the bottom of this!" I pouted.

Mu Wanchen didn't say anything. He took out a finger-sized bamboo tube from his waist and said to the little ghost, "If you don't want your soul to fly apart, just roll yourself in."

The little ghost shrank back behind the shelf with a hiss. Mu Wanchen's soul-sealing talisman on his back reacted faster, shooting out like a spider silk arrow. It snapped open a tiny net, covering the little ghost's head and tugging it backwards forcefully!

In a few steps, the little demon roared and turned into a wisp of blue smoke, drilling into the bamboo tube.

"Let's go outside and talk... It's getting late, you should be staying inside and sleeping." Mu Wanchen pulled me out.

I... I just felt so nervous and scared in front of him, it's like a joke now.

He strolled through the darkness, a place thick with eerie presence. I was like an ostrich, burying my head in his embrace.

“This secret door is a reverse mechanism. There's a fish-shaped lock here. Pull it, and the mechanism opens. When I came in, I intentionally locked it, leaving a small gap. Unexpectedly, you pushed from outside with force, and now it’s completely shut... The air here isn't good; staying too long will make you feel uncomfortable. Let's go.” Mu Wanchen reached out to pull on the lock.

What fish shape or not, I didn't even look, just wanted to leave here as soon as possible.

A small door slid open to the left, a crack in the giant canvas outside ripped open to the right, and between them appeared a space just big enough to squeeze through.

At the end of the outer corridor, there was still someone! Mu Wanchen reached out and covered my mouth, pinching a spell to form a barrier that enveloped both of us.

I stuck to the wall, unable to move. Sounds were already approaching from afar—

"I saw a girl over there on the monitor, where is she now"

"Who are you asking me I don't see any ghosts here!"

I think I understand a little, you're looking for me Also said that there are no ghosts, you come and try, I have hundreds of ghosts behind me!

Two dull thuds... rang out and fell at the safety passageway near the employee elevator in the hallway.

What's going on

I looked over there, the safety passage door creaked open, and out came two figures dressed in white robes, wearing square, tall hats, with blue-black faces...

Ghost

I widened my eyes, just about to pinch Mu Wanchen's arm, when I saw Shi Niang Mu Xiaoqiao poking her head out from behind the door.

>s are usually very kind to them. They only take a small amount of blood using a syringe and accumulate it gradually. The black dog blood we see in the ghost market, even a small tube, is incredibly ex...