return char array

This is how I do it:

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  while (!Serial) {}  //wait for Serial Monitor to be opened on boards such as Leonardo/Micro/etc.
  char buffer[4];  //create a buffer array large enough to hold the string and terminator
  test(buffer);  //pass the buffer to the function
  Serial.println(buffer);  //buffer now contains the string
}

void loop() {}

void test(char testBuffer[]) {
  const char string[] = "abc";
  strcpy(testBuffer, string);  //copy the string to the buffer
}

Please always do Tools > Auto Format on your code before posting it to the forum.

Please always use code tags(</> button on the toolbar) when you post code or error/warning messages.