Soon Ning Beichen arrived at the middle of the dilapidated building. Here, there was a collapsed opening, from which the monster had just escaped.
Ning Beichen entered the building through the opening. Inside, the building's layout was similar to what was seen from the outside: a long corridor with many rooms on one side.
The corridor and rooms were filled with decaying plants, devoid of any life. A living person here would feel as if they were standing in an abyss of suffering.
Ning Beichen swung his bronze ancient sword, cutting down the plants in the corridor, and then began to search room by room.
Ning Beichen didn't care about the monster from earlier; he was looking for Linglong.
Just as Ning Beichen was about to enter one of the rooms to search, he suddenly heard a woman's scream coming from a room opposite.
Ning Beichen rushed over immediately, reached the room where the sound came from, and kicked the door open.
"Linglong."
Ning Beichen rushed into the room. He saw that there were no decaying plants inside, and there was furniture, making it look like a place where someone lived. However, no one was there.
Ning Beichen searched inside but found neither Linglong nor anyone else.
Yet, Ning Beichen was certain that the woman's scream had come from this room; he couldn't have misheard.
As Ning Beichen was feeling confused, another woman's scream came from outside the door.
This time, Ning Beichen rushed out at top speed and saw a red shadow flash past at the end of the corridor.
"Linglong, is that you?"
Ning Beichen immediately ran towards the end of the corridor. However, the red shadow suddenly disappeared again, leaving Ning Beichen empty-handed.
"Something's wrong. This place is very wrong. If it were Linglong, she wouldn't be hiding from me. It's likely something here is trying to lure and mislead me."
Ning Beichen stopped at the end of the corridor, recalling that everything that had happened since he entered here felt strange, making him increasingly worried.
Just then, another sound emerged, but this time it wasn't from inside the building but from outside.
The sound came from outside the building. Ning Beichen immediately walked out and saw a little girl in a red dress sitting on a merry-go-round outside.
What surprised Ning Beichen was that this was a child of seven or eight, not the Linglong he was looking for.
However, this little girl was the first person he had encountered here, and he couldn't just give up.
Ning Beichen leaped into the air and landed by the merry-go-round. He said to the little girl in red:
"Little sister, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
The little girl in red turned to look at Ning Beichen and suddenly gave him a strange smile.
"Follow me."
The little girl said to Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen nodded. Although he could tell this little girl was not normal, Ning Beichen was brave due to his high cultivation and was not afraid of any ghosts or demons.
Weren't these ghosts and demons trying to tempt and deceive him?
Fine.
Ning Beichen would fully comply with their demands and see what they intended to do to him.
The little girl in red, barefoot, jumped off the merry-go-round and walked towards the Ferris wheel in the distance. Ning Beichen followed behind her.
Along the way.
The little girl in red would occasionally let out strange laughter, making one's scalp tingle.
Ning Beichen watched with a cold gaze, his bronze ancient sword held tightly in his hand, confident that no matter what schemes they had, they would be no match for his absolute power.
Before long, the little girl reached the Ferris wheel and pointed at it, gesturing for Ning Beichen to get on.
Ning Beichen glanced at the little girl and then walked towards the Ferris wheel without hesitation.
As he entered the Ferris wheel, it let out a creaking sound and began to turn.
Ning Beichen ignored the rotating Ferris wheel and asked the little girl in red with a cold gaze, "I'm looking for Linglong. Tell me, where is she?"
The little girl parted her lips, gave Ning Beichen a spectral smile, and let out a giggle. Then, she pointed at the Ferris wheel, which immediately began to accelerate its rotation.
"Stop!"
Ning Beichen stomped his foot. The rotating Ferris wheel, as if being pressed down by a massive mountain, could only emit creaking sounds and could not rotate further.
"If you don't tell me, I'll destroy you first."
Ning Beichen had no intention of playing games with a little ghost. He pointed his bronze ancient sword at the little girl in red, and a terrifying killing intent locked onto her.
The little girl in red, feeling the lock of Ning Beichen's bronze ancient sword, trembled with fear. Then, she let out a sharp shriek towards the sky.
A large monster, like a praying mantis, suddenly appeared behind Ning Beichen and quietly raised its scythe-like claws.
However, before it could attack, Ning Beichen's bronze ancient sword had already swung behind him. A flash of sword energy shot out, and the praying mantis-like monster was instantly cut into two pieces.
"I know you understand me. Take me to Linglong, or I will destroy you."
Ning Beichen said to her without politeness.
The little girl in red, seeing the monster cut in half, nodded fearfully, no longer daring to play any tricks.
Before long, the little girl in red led Ning Beichen to an area filled with darkness and pointed inside.
"Big sister is trapped inside. You can go in and find her."
"You can indeed speak. Who are you? Why are you here? What is this place?"
Ning Beichen pressed her.
This little girl looked like a child, but Ning Beichen didn't believe she was truly just a child. She was probably something else entirely.
The little girl in red shook her head, looking confused. After a moment, she said:
"I... I don't know."
Suddenly, she screamed in fear again: "There's a monster, a man-eating monster, so scary..."
"Ah!!!"
Ning Beichen didn't know if she was genuinely ignorant or pretending, but he didn't have the time to investigate further. The most important thing was to find Linglong.
Ning Beichen paid no more attention to the little girl in red and turned to enter the dark area.
Inside the dark area, it was pitch black, but Ning Beichen's senses were incredibly powerful, so visibility had little effect on him.
Before long.
Ning Beichen stopped at a certain spot. After a few seconds, Ning Beichen swung his bronze ancient sword towards the nine o'clock direction to his left.