Chapter 1765: Hostage

At this moment, the chubby sphere suddenly said, "Phoenix Chick, there's one thing I really don't understand. Since Jing Teng is so important to the Ghost King, why doesn't he act personally? Why send a bunch of weaklings to their deaths first?"

The skinny monkey rolled his eyes. "If you were the richest person in the world and someone opened a small shop at the entrance of your hometown village, would you personally hold a meeting to deal with them?"

The chubby sphere scratched his head and chuckled honestly. "You have a point. But don't let it be like those human stories where the antagonist doesn't eliminate the protagonist at the start, but instead keeps sending subordinates to their deaths and providing experience, only to be ultimately defeated by the protagonist..."

"Bah, bah, bah!" The skinny monkey slapped him. "I told you to stop reading those trashy human stories. You talk as if you're taking the imperial examination!"

"Imperial scholars aren't tasty; they're too sour," the chubby sphere said, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

The skinny monkey was clearly not in the mood to discuss the taste of imperial scholars. He lowered his voice and said, "Let's discuss how we're going to act later. We'll do it like this..."

***

Meanwhile, Zu An and his group finally found out the whereabouts of Xiao Ying's parents. It turned out they had been searching for Xiao Ying all these years, exhausting their family fortune without success.

Xiao Ying's father had passed away from an illness caused by years of hard work.

Only Xiao Ying's mother remained at home. In their search for Xiao Ying, the couple had long ago sold their ancestral home and everything else they could. It was said that she now lived off a single, meager acre of land, residing in a crude hut built nearby—a place so remote that even ghosts wouldn't venture there.

When the group finally reached the mountain and found the dilapidated hut, they saw an old woman sitting by the doorway from afar, dressed in a bright red, vibrant outfit, staring blankly at the horizon. The deep wrinkles on her face seemed to tell the story of a lifetime of hardships and suffering.

"A fierce ghost?" Zu An and Qiu Honglei were startled. From what they had seen on their journey, red clothing was often associated with fierce ghosts, and it had become an instinctive reaction for them.

Just then, Xiao Ying suddenly burst into tears and rushed forward, "Mother!"

The old woman seemed hard of hearing; she didn't hear Xiao Ying at first. Only when Xiao Ying rushed in front of her did she react.

She numbly turned her head to stare at Xiao Ying, a flicker of confusion in her cloudy eyes.

"Mother, don't you recognize me?" Seeing her mother's appearance, Xiao Ying felt a pang in her heart. She had been dead for so many years, and even her mother had aged significantly.

"Yingzi, is that my Yingzi?" A sudden spark of clarity lit up the old woman's cloudy eyes.

"It's me, Mother! Your unfilial daughter came back too late," Xiao Ying sobbed.

"It's good that you're back, it's good," the old woman cried, tears streaming down her face. "Where have you been! If only you had returned two years earlier, your father would have seen you."

Xiao Ying grew even more distraught upon hearing this, and mother and daughter quickly embraced, weeping together.

"And these people?" After the mother and daughter shared their sorrow of separation, the old woman suddenly noticed the others.

"They are friends who brought me back. It's because of them that I was saved," Xiao Ying wiped her tears. Seeing her mother's joy, she didn't even dare to tell her that she was already dead.

Fearing her mother might suddenly realize that her appearance hadn't changed, she quickly changed the subject. "Mother, the clothes you're wearing are quite beautiful."

"Are they beautiful?" The old woman was somewhat comforted. "These are the burial clothes your father bought for me with the last of our family's money years ago. I can feel that I'm going to die soon, and I'm worried I won't have the strength to put them on then. There are no neighbors around here, and even if there were, who would dress an old woman for her burial? I'd surely be dirty and smelly then, so I put them on ahead of time to avoid bothering anyone..."

"Mother..." Xiao Ying could no longer hold back and sobbed loudly, hugging her tightly.

Only then did everyone understand the scene they had witnessed earlier: it wasn't an old woman who liked to look pretty, but rather one who was wearing her burial shroud, quietly awaiting the arrival of death.

Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei immediately burst into tears, and Wei Suo couldn't stop wiping his eyes.

Zu An couldn't help but think of his parents from his previous life, wondering how heartbroken they must be now.

Hearing the weeping around him, he felt particularly stifled. He walked straight outside. Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei were busy comforting Xiao Ying and her mother, so they didn't notice him.

Zu An went to a small mountain hollow, watching the clouds roll and unroll in the distance, his mood slowly calming down.

Just then, two dark figures suddenly appeared beside him.

One of the chubby figures said, "This kid is really damn handsome. If I had a face like that, wouldn't I be unstoppable in the Yin-Yang world?"

"Unstoppable, my foot! In our Yin-Yang world, strength is supreme. The more powerful one is, the more handsome one appears. Looks are secondary," the other slender figure couldn't help but retort.

"That makes sense, but can't one be both handsome and powerful?" the chubby Crouching Dragon couldn't help but ask.

"How could such a being exist in the world? Even the Heavenly Dao wouldn't allow it," the slender Phoenix Chick said with dissatisfaction.

The two instinctively glanced at Zu An and shook their heads. This kid was handsome enough, but he had no spiritual energy fluctuations whatsoever; he was just a powerless pretty boy.

"Why do women like guys like this? Are they all blind?"

Zu An had initially thought two formidable enemies had arrived, but who knew they were just two comical characters. "Do you need something?"

Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick exchanged glances. "It's not that we need something; it's that you have a problem."

"I don't seem to know either of you, much less have any grievances," Zu An calmly observed the two. Their bodies exuded a dense ghostly aura, making them seem not entirely human.

He recalled Jing Teng mentioning that ghosts able to move freely outdoors in broad daylight were usually very powerful.

"Blame it on you appearing next to that woman," the sphere-like chubby Crouching Dragon chuckled menacingly.

At this point, the slender Phoenix Chick hastily interjected, "Enough talk! Jing Teng isn't far from here. It'll be troublesome if she finds out and rushes over. Let's grab him and leave, find a safe place, and then interrogate him slowly."

"Alright!" Crouching Dragon nodded eagerly and immediately reached out, gripping Zu An's shoulder.

Zu An had intended to retaliate, but hearing their conversation, he decided to wait and see.

The moment Crouching Dragon's hand gripped his shoulder, Zu An instantly felt a surge of icy energy invade his body through his shoulder. He secretly activated the Primordial Chaos Scripture, dispelling the cold energy immediately, while outwardly feigning restraint.

"He truly is a powerless pretty boy," Crouching Dragon said with disdain, having easily captured Zu An.

Phoenix Chick also breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's get out of here first."

With that, the two quickly left with Zu An and entered a cave they had prepared beforehand.

"We're safe now," Crouching Dragon exhaled in relief.

Phoenix Chick scanned the surroundings. "I'll go set up traps now and figure out how to lure Jing Teng here. You keep a close eye on him and interrogate him. Be careful."

"Don't worry, what's this pretty boy going to do, turn the world upside down?" Crouching Dragon dismissed the concern.

Phoenix Chick agreed, realizing that dealing with Jing Teng was more important. He quickly vanished to make preparations.

Only then did Crouching Dragon look at Zu An. "Hey, pretty boy, from now on, you'll answer whatever we ask. If you cooperate obediently, I can spare you some physical pain."

Zu An feigned panic and asked, "Who... who are you?"

"Heh heh, we're not human. We are two of the Ghost King's great ghost generals. My name is Crouching Dragon, and my companion is called Phoe—" He stopped mid-sentence, glaring irritably at Zu An. "Am I asking you questions, or are you asking me?"

"Ghost generals?" Zu An pondered silently. He seemed to recall hearing that the Ghost King had eight great ghost generals, each a top-tier expert dominating their own territory. However, the current guy didn't quite fit the image.

"What do you want to ask?"

"That's more like it," Crouching Dragon said, growing even more contemptuous as Zu An cooperated. He thought, 'This pretty boy truly can't be relied upon. I haven't even used torture, and he's already confessing.' As he spoke, he took out a piece of candle and lit it. "Don't even think about lying to me. This item can tell if you're speaking the truth or a lie. If it's a lie, the flame will flicker."

As he spoke, the candle was already lit, and its flame seemed fixed, not moving at all.

Zu An was greatly surprised. "Such a thing exists? Why doesn't the Ghost King use this to assess the loyalty of his subordinates?"

"Who would dare be disloyal to the Ghost King? This item naturally has no use for him." Crouching Dragon answered instinctively, then felt something was off. Why was the other person asking him questions again?

He cleared his throat and hastily asked, "Why did all those sent by the Ghost King to capture you earlier fail?"

"Because they were too weak," Zu An replied.

Crouching Dragon instinctively glanced at the candle flame; it was motionless, meaning it was the truth.

"How exactly did you defeat them? Logically, your strength shouldn't have allowed you to do that."

Zu An replied, "Your information is wrong. Our strength is considerable."

Crouching Dragon thought, 'So that's it.' "Has Jing Teng's power already returned to its peak?"

Zu An was a little surprised, wondering if Jing Teng's peak strength was indeed very formidable. Still, he replied, "She hides too many secrets. I'm not clear on that."

Crouching Dragon glanced at the candle; truth.

His heart jolted. 'The problem is indeed with Jing Teng!' he thought.

"Just how strong is your Ghost King? What's his combat power equivalent to, compared to you ghost generals?" Zu An asked curiously.

"The Ghost King is an invincible being; even all eight of us ghost generals combined are no match for him—" Mid-sentence, Crouching Dragon realized. "Brat, I'm supposed to be asking you the questions!"

Zu An ignored him and continued to ask, "I just saw your companion leave. Are you trying to lure Jing Teng here?"

"That's right," Crouching Dragon said, a hint of pride in his voice. "Even though you're a weakling, you're handsome. That woman Jing Teng seemed quite concerned about you, caring for you along the way. As long as we use you as a hostage, she'll definitely take the bait. We've already set up forty-nine traps around here. No matter how strong she is, once she comes, she'll have no choice but to surrender."