"My lord, I was beaten so terribly! I beg my lord to uphold justice and punish the culprits!" The old con artist lay on the ground, gazing at Yang Kai with a pathetic expression, tears and snot streaming down his face as he wailed. "If my lord won't teach them a lesson, I refuse to get up!"
"Then talk while lying down."
The old con artist's face went speechless.
Yang Kai crouched down, his deep gaze fixed on the man, and asked in a low voice, "Let me ask you — how did you get in from the outside?"
Qin Chaoyang also walked over, smiling as he looked at the old con artist. "Qin is quite curious about that too."
Being stared down by two Dao Source Realm cultivators, the old con artist couldn't help but shiver. He hurriedly said, "My lords, there must be some misunderstanding. I came to Maple Forest City to seek reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, while Qin Chaoyang adopted a contemplative expression.
"I came from Wood Forest City," the old con artist said.
Yang Kai couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Wood Forest City is thirty thousand li from Maple Forest City. It's even smaller than Maple Forest City, and the overall strength of its warriors is lower still," Qin Chaoyang explained from the side. His expression suddenly changed, and he barked, "Don't tell me Wood Forest City has already—"
"Wood Forest City is in dire straits, my lords!" The old con artist wore a look of urgent anxiety, but after glancing left and right, he sighed. "It seems Maple Forest City can barely hold itself together either. What are we to do?"
"What's the current situation in Wood Forest City?" Qin Chaoyang's face was grim as he demanded.
"Very bad. Like Maple Forest City, it's been surrounded by demonic energy and demonic creatures. But my lords, you know what Wood Forest City is like — it probably won't hold for much longer. And… there's a demonic human in Wood Forest City who seems to have already reached the Dao Source Realm!"
"
"The Jiang Family Ancestor?" Qin Chaoyang's face changed dramatically.
Yang Kai nodded. "No wonder I didn't see any trace of Jiang Taisheng. I was on guard against him the whole time out there, fearing he might suddenly appear to ambush me, but he never showed. So he wasn't in Maple Forest City — he went to Wood Forest City. Thinking about it, he wants to use all that demonic energy to convert even more people into demonic humans?"
"That's possible, and very likely!" Qin Chaoyang's face had turned ashen. "Wood Forest City may not be large, but it has over a hundred thousand people. If all of them were converted into demonic humans…"
His voice trailed off as a horrifying image flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but shudder.
"Besides coming to Maple Forest City for reinforcements, did you try anywhere else?" Yang Kai asked.
The old con artist nodded. "Of course we did, but Maple Forest City is the closest, and I'm very familiar with it, so I volunteered to come. Who knew I'd nearly not make it through?"
"You've got some skill!" Yang Kai regarded him with a meaningful look.
The old con artist gave an awkward smile. "Just lucky, that's all. Besides, if you hadn't drawn away so many demonic creatures, I never would have made it safely into the city."
Yang Kai smiled and gave a slight nod, then shouted in a low voice, "Take this old con artist away and keep a close watch on him. Don't let him escape!"
As he spoke, he suddenly extended a finger and tapped the old con artist's body. The power of law circulated, surging into the old man's body and sealing his cultivation.
The old con artist stood frozen as if turned to stone.
Qin Chaoyang seemed not to have expected Yang Kai's abrupt change of demeanor either, and was momentarily stunned.
"My lord, you—" The old con artist's eyes went wide as he stared at Yang Kai, his face filled with anguish and indignation.
"Take him away!" Yang Kai noticed the surrounding warriors standing motionless and barked another sharp command.
Only then did two guards from the City Lord's Manor step forward, seizing the old con artist by the arms and carrying him off toward the manor at high speed — it looked as though they intended to throw him into the manor's dungeon.
"My lord, this is a misunderstanding! I only came to seek reinforcements! I'm one of you! My lord, you can't do this to me!" The old con artist screamed and wailed, his voice growing more distant as he was carried away.
"Young friend Yang, you wouldn't be locking this man up just because he's a habitual swindler, would you? There must be more to it?" Qin Chaoyang asked, regarding Yang Kai with a thoughtful gaze.
Qin Yu also studied him with open curiosity.
"Of course not," Yang Kai shook his head. "But this man managed to make it safely through the demonic energy blockade with only a Void King Realm Third Stage cultivation. It seems he's hiding some kind of secret, and I'm quite curious about it."
"Young friend Yang wants to coax that secret out of him?" Qin Chaoyang's eyes lit up.
Maple Forest City was never short on Void King Realm warriors. If they could all move freely through demonic energy the way the old con artist did, there would be no need to fear the crisis before them — everyone could simply fight their way out and slaughter every last demonic creature.