Chapter 58

Lu Xiaodeng instinctively raised her hand to block, and the three wooden skewers pierced her hand, snapping with a crack.

The old man paused, looked down at the broken skewers, and casually threw them away, immediately stepping back a few paces. He grabbed three more skewers, pointed at the giggling children, and shouted at her, "If you dare to come over, I'll kill all these kids."

Seeing no reaction from her, the old man shouted again, "They are all under my soul-drawing spell now. Even if they want to run, they can't. Just give up and surrender."

"Are you a cultivator?" Lu Xiaodeng finally reacted, suddenly realizing, but she couldn't sense any aura from him.

"Hmph." The old man snorted coldly, smugly saying, "I am Ge Bi, the personal disciple of the Ghost Spirit Sect's master. I can kill you with just a flick of my wrist."

Lu Xiaodeng clapped her hands and said, "Wow, a personal disciple, that's really impressive."

"Quickly end your own life, or these kids will die for sure." Ge Bi held the skewers to the children's necks, ready to kill them with a slight pressure.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaodeng frowned. She didn't know these kids, so why was he using them to threaten her? And as a personal disciple of the master, why was he using such a petty tactic? It felt very strange.

So she asked, puzzled, "Can I ask, what do these kids have to do with me?"

Ge Bi's hand trembled, and one skewer scratched the child's neck, causing blood to flow down. He shouted, "See that? It's bleeding. They will die. I am an evil cultivator and can kill without blinking. Don't believe me? Try me."

Lu Xiaodeng stared at him, then suddenly burst out laughing, "You old man are so funny. I don't even know them, why should I end my own life?"

"Are you not a good person?" Ge Bi was stunned. At this moment, he expected her to curse him for being despicable and doing such a thing. Why was her reaction so different? Was she not a good person at all?

Seeing how foolish he was, Lu Xiaodeng took out the Soul Devouring Fan from her pocket, planning to release some poison for him to inhale. But unexpectedly, when she took out the fan, Ge Bi's eyes widened. "Why do you have my senior brother's fan? The master gave it to him when he left."

Lu Xiaodeng blinked at him, suddenly changing her mind and deciding not to release the poison for now. She tapped the fan in her palm and smiled, "Didn't Yuan Zhi tell you? This is the token he gave me as a betrothal gift. I came here to find him. We agreed to meet in the city, but I haven't seen him yet."

"Impossible..." Ge Bi stared at the Soul Devouring Fan, hesitating. Although his senior brother was playful, would he really like a kid like her instead of the beautiful women in the sect?

"I really came to find your senior brother. But you, his junior brother, are so old, almost ready to die." Lu Xiaodeng smiled, not angry at all that he had tried to kill her, and not trying to make him release the children.

Ge Bi thought for a moment, took out a pill, and swallowed it. After a while, his bones crackled, and his skin and flesh began to ripple and twist. Lu Xiaodeng couldn't help but compare this to the Beast Transformation Pill. It was similar, but his was for changing appearance.

His white hair turned black, his beard fell off, and his height remained the same. In a short time, he shed his old skin, revealing a youthful face, looking about sixteen or seventeen years old. As he changed, the unique aura of a cultivator also appeared. Indeed, he was a cultivator, but Lu Xiaodeng couldn't tell his level.

"How about that? This is my true appearance. Not old at all, right?" Ge Bi said smugly, his face flushed and his teeth white, a handsome young man.

What a gullible person, he must be a new evil cultivator. Lu Xiaodeng smiled, "You look really good, better than your senior brother."

"Aren't you my senior brother's intended? It's not nice to praise me like this." Although it felt good to hear, he pretended to be upset, thinking his senior brother would be angry if he heard.

"It's fine. I don't like him anyway. I came to return the fan and tell him not to bother me anymore." Lu Xiaodeng waved her hand, not being polite at all.

Ge Bi's spiritual energy had recovered. Being at the late Qi Condensation stage, he threw away the wooden skewers and, with a flick of his hand, held a long, thin bone skewer, playing with it. "I know where my senior brother is. Why don't you follow me to find him? I can take these kids back with me. I tricked them here with great effort, so I need to bring them all back."

"That's so troublesome. Why take these kids?" Lu Xiaodeng frowned, clearly unwilling.

Ge Bi couldn't help but sneer inwardly: Does she really think I'm an idiot, falling for her trick so easily? What betrothal token? It's probably for soul absorption, but it didn't work. This person is definitely suspicious. A simple test revealed that she just wanted to save the kids.

He had just finished sneering and was about to start the next test when Lu Xiaodeng said, "It's not like herding sheep. We have to walk slowly. Just use a flying tool to carry them, and take me along too."

She agreed? Ge Bi said awkwardly, "I don't know how to use a flying tool. Besides, it's not far. Let's just walk."

"Put them in my cauldron, and you carry it. That way, we can move faster. After I return the fan to your senior brother and tell him I don't like him, I need to go back. Girls can't stay out after dark. I need to get back to the city before it gets dark." Lu Xiaodeng looked at the kids and put down her cauldron.

Ge Bi was speechless, "Cultivators don't care about staying out after dark. Your rules are too strange."

Lu Xiaodeng replied, "I'm not a cultivator. I don't have spirit veins to cultivate. Do you want to take me to find your senior brother or not? If not, I'll leave. You're not very decisive."

"Is there something wrong with your cauldron?" Ge Bi found the cauldron suspicious, but this girl really had no cultivation. However, his wooden skewers couldn't even pierce her skin, which was tougher than iron, making him puzzled.

He had already used his divine sense to check the surroundings and found no cultivators. She had just happened to pass by in the city, so it wasn't a planned encounter.

Ge Bi had thought he could kill her in one strike, but after failing, he didn't want to fight here. The kids were urgently needed. If he let the clay figures fall from their hands, they would wake up and run away, forcing him to hurt them, which would be troublesome. He needed them alive.

With this girl here, if she insisted on saving the kids, she would likely destroy their clay figures first. His senior brother had specifically instructed that to keep getting living children, they couldn't let the locals discover them. They had to be treated like livestock, killed slowly over time.

This was too troublesome. He wasn't suited for such cautious tasks.

After much thought, Ge Bi decided to trick her back. When others were around, he could kill her as he pleased. He could also capture her and search her soul to find out her background.

So he said, "It's not that I don't trust you, but you are too suspicious. If I place a restriction on you, I'll take you there."

"No, no restrictions. But I can prove who I am." Lu Xiaodeng would be crazy to let him place a restriction on her. She had another way and secretly took out a Beast Transformation Pill. She had many of these two-browed sharp-eared rabbit demon cores, which were relatively cheap and effective.

Suddenly, a wave of energy pushed Ge Bi several yards away. When he looked again, he saw that the person in front of him had changed, with rabbit ears on her head. He had never seen such a strange person before. After a moment of shock, he exclaimed, "You are a spirit-transformed demon beast!"

Why did evil cultivators always think this way? Lu Xiaodeng, though dissatisfied with only having rabbit ears, found it amusing that evil cultivators always thought the worst. She remembered how angry You Xin had become when she denied it last time, so she decided not to deny it this time. She touched her ears and smiled, "Yes, but I'm in a weak period after spirit transformation. I have no cultivation at all. Don't bully me."

That explained it. No wonder she had his senior brother's fan. His senior brother was truly despicable, trying to trick a spirit-transformed demon beast. If he could marry such a demon beast, it would be a great help.

Even the fact that the wooden skewers couldn't pierce her skin made sense. Demon beasts were known for their thick skin. Even a rabbit at the spirit transformation stage would be far superior to humans.

Great, while she doesn't like my senior brother, I can try to win her over. Even if it doesn't work, I can take her back and have the senior brothers kill her. Her demon core, flesh, and soul are all valuable materials. I'll definitely benefit.

Now, Ge Bi found the kids annoying. If they weren't free, he would have sent them away. He immediately agreed to carry the cauldron, putting all seven kids inside. They stood or sat, obediently staying in the cauldron, which he carried on his back.

The soul-drawn children didn't resist, still giggling and obediently staying in the cauldron as he carried them to their destination.

Lu Xiaodeng followed him, hands behind her back, head swaying, making her big ears flap. She wasn't worried about what would happen at the evil cultivators' lair. She thought her seniors were already there to deal with them, and she would just watch. By the time she arrived, the fight might already be over.

Feeling no pressure, she walked lightly, picking and eating unfamiliar grass along the way. This made Ge Bi even more convinced that she was a rabbit demon beast, as no human would do such a thing.

Even when her ears disappeared after half a cup of tea, he only thought it was because she was in a weak period and couldn't maintain her transformation for long. Ge Bi felt that this trip was very rewarding, but the only downside was that the cauldron was too heavy.