It was a perfectly normal answer.

Zheng Xiu asked.

Feng Bei answered.

But in this atmosphere, the simple exchange took on a paranormal feel.

[Feng Bei’s answer unleashes a tidal wave in your mind.]

[You are scared out of your wits.]

[Doubt and terror churn within you!]

[Is this Feng Bei a Human or a ghost?]

It was pretty terrifying.

Master Zheng quickly exited the Ghostly Realm, had the on-duty Prison Guard pour him a pot of tea, and took a sip to calm his nerves.

Zheng Xiu hesitated, wondering if he should summon Zizi and the others to the prison late at night for a shoulder and back massage.

Having some activity in the real world, the feeling of Skillful Hands kneading his shoulders, back, and legs, would reduce his sense of immersion and dilute the horror and strangeness.

It was like someone who was a coward but loved horror movies, so they’d play a scary movie on one screen and an action movie on another, letting them balance each other out.

After a moment’s thought, he decided against it. It was already late at night; no need to trouble them.

So, Zheng Xiu placed the lid halfway over his cup, lay back in the Grandmaster’s Chair, and closed his eyes to re-enter the Ghostly Realm.

He was AFK for a few breaths, but nothing had changed in the Ghostly Realm.

Zheng Xiu was still in front of the female corpse and the child-sized human skin.

Little Feng Bei was curled up in a corner, her expression unclear.

From Little Feng Bei’s perspective, Zheng Xiu being motionless for a few breaths probably looked like he was stunned, which was perfectly reasonable.

[Scouting].

[Scouting failed].

No matter. Scout again.

[Sixteen.]

[Scouting successful.]

A decent roll.

[In the darkness, you observe closely and discover that this room has no door.]

[Where the door should be, layers of wooden planks have been nailed shut from the outside. Aside from the hidden door you came through, you cannot escape from here.]

[The corpse’s identity is obvious at a glance. It is Feng Bei’s mother.]

[There is a bed, a table, a door, a window, a corpse, and a human skin. This appears to be an ordinary farmhouse bedroom, now abandoned and unused.]

Although the Scouting didn’t reveal much useful information, it saved Master Zheng a lot of effort.

"Who are you, really?"

The shock in Master Zheng’s heart had been suppressed by the tea. He now asked calmly.

"Feng Bei."

"I know. The ’Feng’ from ’the phoenix arrives,’ the ’Bei’ from ’the northern geese fly south.’ Feng Bei. But what I want to ask is..."

Master Zheng fumbled his way toward Feng Bei.

"Don’t come any closer."

Feng Bei shrank into the corner, trembling all over. She was clearly resisting the approach of the handsome Mighty Painter.

"I’ll just sit off to the side. I’ve been running all night, and I’m tired. I am just looking for a place to sit and rest my feet."

Zheng Xiu secretly used [Scouting] on Feng Bei.

The result was just a single sentence.

[You can hear her breathing. She should be Human, there’s no mistaking it.]

Leaning against the wall, Zheng Xiu sat down, leaving an empty space for one person between him and Feng Bei.

Seeing that Zheng Xiu wasn’t coming any closer, Feng Bei’s thin body stopped trembling.

They sat in silence for a while.

From time to time, strange noises could be heard from outside. It wasn’t quiet.

The roars of the Treasure King could be faintly heard.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG. Then, just as quickly, it fell silent again.

Evidently, the Treasure King was fighting for his life outside, locked in a battle of wits and courage with the butcher.

Zheng Xiu was moved. He asked Feng Bei again:

"Why are you hiding here?"

"..."

"Did you rub that skin off yourself?"

"..."

"Shedding skin is a great Skill, you know. The more you rub, the paler you get."

"..."

After that, no matter what Master Zheng asked or said in the darkness, Little Feng Bei remained motionless, her head buried deep in her knees.

During this time, Zheng Xiu discovered that it really was safe next to Feng Bei.

Although the room stank a bit.

But on second thought, if this room with a corpse in it was where Feng Bei spent her nights... Zheng Xiu couldn’t help but look at the curled-up girl, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

Call it sympathy or pity, but Little Feng Bei had, after all, spoken up to warn him in the previous rounds, trying to save his life.

Zheng Xiu kept comforting himself. ’This is just the "past,"’ he thought, ’from "twenty years ago." All of this is "fake," it’s "not real."’

Time ticked by, second by second.

Outside, it gradually grew quiet, sinking into an eerie silence.

Out of boredom, Zheng Xiu would occasionally make [Medical Principles] and [Scouting] checks on his surroundings.

Among the results, the woman’s corpse was identified by a [Medical Principles] check as the material [Frozen Death Bone], but Zheng Xiu didn’t have the heart to start digging it up in front of Feng Bei.

In the blink of an eye, about two hours had passed.

Nothing happened.

Zheng Xiu, Feng Bei, the corpse, and the human skin all coexisted peacefully.

Zheng Xiu had expected a "Corpse Transformation" event to occur, but it seemed this Ghostly Realm didn’t have such elements.

It looked like he could hunker down until dawn.

"When dawn comes, you can leave."

Feng Bei said abruptly.

Having been silent for a full two hours, Feng Bei had finally spoken. Zheng Xiu quickly asked, "What about you?"

Feng Bei shook her head lightly. "You’re a good person."

Zheng Xiu was taken aback by her words.

He was about to seize the opportunity to ask more questions.

SSSSSS...

A sharp pain shot through his chest.

THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP!

Where the pain was, it felt as if a second heart had appeared, beating so violently it seemed about to burst from his body.

Zheng Xiu pulled open his shirt. In the center of his impressive pectorals, the claw-shaped pattern of veins began to glow with a faint, bloody light.

Feng Bei, who had been indifferent to everything, finally showed a different reaction.

In the darkness, the bloody light glowing from the center of Zheng Xiu’s pecs was like a lightbulb, casting a grim, crimson hue over the room.

SCREE... SCREE... SCREE...

From a distance, the sharp sound of metal dragging broke the dead silence of the night.

As the sound approached, Zheng Xiu’s breath caught in his throat, and he was instantly on high alert.

[Intuition] triggered.

[Your Intuition tells you that it is heading this way. If you stay any longer, your life will be in danger!]

It was coming!

Zheng Xiu quickly buttoned his shirt. Just as he was about to get up, he glanced back and saw a single, cold eye peering through Feng Bei’s messy hair, staring right at him.

He quickly exited again to take another sip of warm tea to calm his nerves.

’Worst case, I’ll just restart!’

’I’ll be a brand-new Mighty Man in a second!’

Zheng Xiu sat back down, deciding to risk it all.

It grew closer.

The sound grew louder.

CRACK!

The sound of a doorframe splintering rang out. Hiding in the darkness, Zheng Xiu pictured an eight-foot-tall monster, dragging a ten-foot-long blade-arm, forcing its way into Feng’s Meat Shop and smashing the entrance.

It was inside!

Feng Bei remained silent.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

Soon, heavy sounds came from just beyond the wall, and dust drifted down from the ceiling.

It was in the next room, chopping something.

With every chop, Feng’s Meat Shop shuddered.

’It doesn’t seem to have found this place,’ Zheng Xiu thought. ’Right, this bedroom can only be entered through the back. The spot where the main door should be is nailed shut from the outside.’ Zheng Xiu’s gaze fell on the strange corpse and the husk of skin named "Feng Bei," and a final thought surfaced.

It was the one that had nailed the door shut from the outside.

What was it chopping out there?

It sounded like bone and meat.

’It can’t be the Treasure King, can it?’

After a few seconds of silent mourning for his brother-in-arms, the Treasure King, Zheng Xiu remained motionless in the dark.

The "THWACK THWACK" sounds stopped, followed by the sound of something heavy being pushed. It was dragging something outside, gradually moving away.

Phew...

Zheng Xiu, who had been holding his breath, let out a slight sigh of relief. Luckily, the creature was huge and made a lot of noise when it moved; otherwise, it would have been hard to guard against. After it left, Zheng Xiu got up in the darkness and walked toward the nailed-shut door.

Feng Bei watched Zheng Xiu’s back with surprise. She slowly raised her hand as if to stop him, but then silently let it fall.

There were a few cracks in the nailed planks. Zheng Xiu peered through one of them into the next room.

The scene in the room beyond made Zheng Xiu suck in a sharp breath of corpse-filled air.

On the other side of the door, the place looked like a slaughterhouse. Nearly ten corpses of Guards with sabers were hanging from the rafters, their faces twisted in gruesome expressions, eyes bulging, and tongues lolling out!

In the center, a bloody chopping block sat on a long table, on which fresh organs, human bones, and minced meat could be vaguely distinguished.

What it had been chopping just now were the corpses of the Guards!

Forcibly suppressing his nausea, Zheng Xiu looked away.

Where had it gone now?

Soon, Zheng Xiu figured it out: after mincing the meat, it was dragging it outside to feed the fish.

To feed Baili.