He used the young girl to hone his skills.

Yan’er suddenly turned her head, her face stricken with panic as she looked at Guan Canghai.
“What did you say! Say it again!” Yan’er glared at him, her wide eyes filled with shock.
“Your child—will never see the light of day.”
Yan’er staggered, clutching at the table for support. She had never dared reveal her pregnancy; how could Guan Canghai have known?
“Confused?” Guan Canghai let out a twisted laugh.
Suppressing the urge to strangle him, Yan’er stared intently at this devil of a man before her. She had always thought, despite his sinister charm and alluring presence, that he wasn’t truly bad—at least, he had treated her well, giving her good food and drink, never truly harming her. Who could have known... it seemed she had been part of his calculations all along.
“Lock her up as well!” Guan Canghai’s eyes were cold and cruel as he looked at Yan’er.
Clang—
Yan’er was thrown into a damp, dark cell. After the rattling of chains faded, silence descended once more. Yan’er tried to calm herself, still lying as she’d been tossed, face down on the straw.
“Sister, sister?”
She heard someone calling, forcing herself to collect her shattered composure, turning toward the source of the voice.
“Sister?” Again, the call.
Yan’er’s spine stiffened. There, in the darkness, were countless pairs of glowing eyes. “Who are you?” she asked warily of the shadowy mass.
“Don’t be afraid, sister. We are just like you.” A girl stepped forward, her features revealed by the dim light.
Thank heavens, they were human! Yan’er pressed a hand to her chest, only now realizing she’d broken out in a cold sweat at the girl’s call.
The girl helped Yan’er up, while the others simply watched, unmoving, as quiet as if awaiting death.
“Come, sit here,” the girl said, leading Yan’er to the shadowed wall.
Yan’er managed a friendly smile, then frowned as she glanced at the others. “Were you all captured as well?”
Silence answered her, save for the girl who had helped her, who nodded but said no more.
Yan’er looked at the group of young girls—she recognized them as those she'd seen passing by her door earlier, and the one now supporting her was the very girl who’d been kicked to the ground by a guard. Yan’er shook her head at herself, even now, in peril, she was still trying to meddle in others’ affairs. Ah, Yan’er, you are nothing and have nothing; even your fate is in others’ hands, just as Guan Canghai said. Apart from this body, you are nothing at all.
Her hand went to her belly, gently rounded with new life. No wonder Guan Canghai hadn’t touched her—he must have known she was pregnant all along. She’d hidden it as best she could, and only three people knew: Yueyang, Xueqing, Mubai. None of them would have betrayed her to Guan Canghai. That meant only the people in the General’s Manor knew—and, in truth, it was no secret there. Had Guan Canghai known from the start? He’d said he would never let her child be born. He must have planned for this all along.
Yan’er clutched at her collar. As a mother, she could never allow this man to harm her child! Never!
“Why have you all been locked up here?” Yan’er asked. As far as she knew, since Guan Canghai had come to Yue City, he hadn’t slaughtered the townsfolk; in fact, people’s lives had even improved.
“We were captured. As soon as they entered the city, they began gathering young girls into the manor and the yamen. We were taken in batches,” the girl said, bowing her head.
“To do what?” Yan’er pressed. It couldn’t be as simple as needing a few maids; the way the girl described it—as collecting girls, in batches—spoke of something far darker.

“We don’t know. There were so many girls at first, but then some were called away and never returned.” The girl huddled closer to Yan’er.
“They died?” Yan’er thought grimly. Most likely, they were all dead.
“Perhaps. But it doesn’t matter to us. We are used to waiting for death.” Another cold voice sounded from a corner of the cell.
Yan’er couldn’t see the speaker, but the despair in her voice was chilling. “What is your name?”
No further answer came. “She is Xiao Lan, and I’m Xiuxiu,” said the little girl beside Yan’er.
Yan’er smiled into the darkness, then turned to squeeze Xiuxiu’s hand, falling silent.
Xiao Lan lowered her head. This woman was beautiful, and she’d clearly seen her emerge from her room earlier when Xiuxiu was kicked. She was not the same as them. Now, even she was locked up. There truly was no way out.
Clang—
Yan’er didn’t know how long she slept before the cell door opened again. All eyes fixed on the entrance, waiting for death’s summons.
The guards said nothing, simply began pulling girls out one by one. Ten were chosen, and then they started to lead them away.
“Stop!” Yan’er called out, not among those selected, but she hurried to her feet.
To her surprise, the guards did not rough her up, or even seem to acknowledge her—simply continuing with their work.
“Let them go!” Yan’er pulled one of the girls behind her.
“Insolence! These girls are wanted by our lord. You truly know not the meaning of death!” a higher-ranked man behind the guards barked.
“Bring Guan Canghai to see me!” Yan’er demanded, her voice ringing with authority she didn’t know she possessed, meeting his gaze with a look that brooked no refusal.
The junior commander, unsettled by her stare, shifted uncomfortably. “The lord’s orders—anyone who disobeys will be beaten to death!”
“Fine! That’s better than waiting here for death!” Yan’er’s sudden, imposing presence drew the eyes of all the girls, their gazes like dozens of shining points, giving her newfound strength.
Clearly, the junior commander was bluffing. He summoned a guard, whispered a few words, and the man hurried out.
Yan’er thought to herself—perhaps Guan Canghai did not mean to kill her so soon. Seeing how these people seemed wary of her, she guessed he had ordered them not to harm her.
Time ticked by as Yan’er stared down these harbingers of death. Footsteps echoed at the door, louder and louder in the silence, until a figure dressed in purple appeared.
Guan Canghai covered his mouth with a silk handkerchief, a look of disgust at the cell’s stench. Yan’er sneered.
“I hear you wanted to see me?” Guan Canghai remained at the cell door, making no move to enter.
“King? What king are you? It seems I’ve been living under a rock,” Yan’er said, casting a glance toward the entrance.
Guan Canghai’s expression tightened, then he forced a smile. “Hahaha! Soon, I shall be the lord of this land, the King of Tianfeng!”
“You’re not yet, and even if you were, you have no authority over the people of Panlong.” Yan’er avoided his gaze, afraid that if she looked into those devilish eyes, her hard-won courage would crumble.

“Oh?” Guan Canghai looked at Yan’er with newfound interest. This woman was surprising him today.
“You’ve captured so many girls from Yue City, their fates unknown. Such cruelty does not befit a king!” Yan’er was clearly the savior these girls had been waiting for. Watching the exchange, it was clear the two knew each other well.
“Let me tell you, you ignorant woman—all those girls are already dead,” Guan Canghai declared without a hint of shame.
Yan’er’s face twisted in horror. “Dead? You kill without mercy! These girls are just ordinary citizens, defenseless. You brought them here only to slaughter them. You’re a monster!”
“So what? No one can stop me from taking what I want.” Guan Canghai extended a hand, and with a burst of inner force, Yan’er was pulled from the group of girls to land at his feet.
Yan’er, wincing in pain, clutched her knee. “Let them go!”
“Take the ones who were chosen,” Guan Canghai commanded, ignoring Yan’er’s plea as his men carried out his orders. He then lifted Yan’er with one hand and strode out.
“Let go of me! Let go!” Yan’er was dragged along the muddy ground like a dog, pain stabbing through her knees until she could hardly breathe.
With a wave, Guan Canghai flung her down at the threshold, then took a silk handkerchief from a maid’s tray to wipe his hands.
Blood and mud mingled under Yan’er’s knees. Tears streamed down her cheeks; the pain kept her from even standing, forcing her to crouch like a slave.
“I’m in a good mood today,” Guan Canghai said with a grin, looking at Yan’er sprawled on the ground like an animal. Tormenting this woman brought him a perverse joy. “Let me show you what becomes of those girls.”
As he spoke, the ten girls were brought in. They stood at the entrance, faces drained of hope. Yan’er saw not fear, but utter resignation in their eyes. Their lack of resistance meant they had already given up on survival. Yan’er didn’t know if it was her own pain or for these young lives, but she could not help but weep.
With a cold laugh, Guan Canghai beckoned, and two girls were pulled toward him like kites on invisible strings. He placed a hand on each of their heads, and a white mist drifted from his body. Soon, the girls’ faces drained of color, their bodies slackened, and their skin withered, aging rapidly before finally collapsing as if they were eighty-year-old women.
Yan’er could not believe her eyes. Crawling to the girls’ sides, she saw that the once vibrant fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds had died of old age in an instant. She looked up at Guan Canghai. “You are a demon!”
“Hahaha!” Guan Canghai ignored her, continuing to seize two more girls. Amid Yan’er’s anguished cries, all ten girls died the same way, their bodies aged and lifeless around her.
“Well, beauty, now you know what happened to them,” Guan Canghai said, wiping his hands, still running a strand of hair through his fingers with wicked charm.
“You feed on the beauty and youth of others to preserve your looks. I wish I could see your true face—is it as hideous as your heart?” Yan’er glared at his fox-like features.
“Hmph, ignorant woman!” Guan Canghai dismissed her. His looks were not maintained by stealing youth; he was simply born this way. These girls were nothing but ingredients for his sinister martial arts.
“Kill me. Pan Yueyang will not besiege the city for my sake. Let the other innocent girls go, and give Yue City peace.” Yan’er wiped her tears with her sleeve.
“Your child is being fed medicine every day on my orders. I will let you give birth to it, but the day it is born will be its last.” Guan Canghai’s wicked smile deepened.
Yan’er froze at the mention of her child. Medicine every day? She grasped at the crucial point—impossible! She had only eaten one meal here. How could it be daily?
“Hahaha, what’s with that face? Was the General’s Manor really so safe?” Guan Canghai taunted her.
Yan’er was stunned. Of course—the place she had eaten most often was the General’s Manor!