Chapter 18

Under the watchful eyes of the other two people in the room, the Daoist man picked up the bowl of water, bent his waist, and slowly drank it. His appearance didn't seem like a good rain after a long drought. On the contrary, it seemed like he was hesitating and on guard.

At the same time he drank it, Xie Lian heard a clear 'gulp', 'gulp' sound, as if water was being poured into an empty jar.

In that instant, his heart became as bright as snow. Grabbing the other's hand, he said, "Don't drink anymore."

The Daoist man's hand trembled as he looked at Xie Lian in bewilderment. Xie Lian smiled and said, "It's useless even if you drink, isn't it?"

Hearing this, the Daoist man's complexion changed. His other hand unsheathed the iron sword at his waist and stabbed towards Xie Lian's face. Xie Lian stood still and raised his hand. With a 'dang' sound, he lightly flicked away the edge of the sword. The Daoist man saw that Xie Lian was still tightly holding his hand and clenched his teeth. Xie Lian only felt his arm suddenly deflate like a deflated ball. With a 'chi' sound, it broke free from Xie Lian's grasp. As soon as the Daoist man broke free, he fled towards the door. Xie Lian wasn't in a hurry. In this kind of place where there were no external obstructions, even if the Daoist man escaped another ten feet, Ruoxie would still be able to drag him back. Unexpectedly, just as he raised his wrist, an extremely sharp sound of something breaking through the air passed by his side.

That sound was as if someone had shot a sharp arrow from behind him, directly piercing through the Daoist man's abdomen and nailing him to the door. Xie Lian focused his eyes and saw that it was actually a bamboo chopstick.

He turned his head to look and saw that San Lang had calmly stood up from the table. Brushing past him, San Lang pulled out the bamboo chopstick and waved it in front of Xie Lian's face a few times before saying, "It's dirty. I'll throw it later. "

As for the Daoist man who had suffered such a heavy injury, he actually didn't cry out in pain at all. Instead, he silently leaned against the door and slowly slid down. What flowed out of his abdomen wasn't blood, but clear water.

It was precisely the bowl of water he had just drunk.

The two of them squatted down beside the Daoist. Xie Lian pressed on the wound and felt that the wound was like a punctured balloon. Cold air was leaking out, and the 'corpse' of the Daoist was also gradually changing. Just now, he was clearly a burly man, but now he seemed to have shrunk a size. His face and limbs were somewhat shriveled, and they were still shrinking. He looked like a small old man.

Xie Lian replied, "It's an empty shell."

Some demons and ghosts were unable to transform into a perfect human form, so they would think of another method: creating an empty shell.

They would use some very realistic materials to meticulously make a fake human skin. Such a skin bag would often refer to a real living person. Sometimes, it would even be made directly from a person's skin. The palm prints, fingerprints, and hair would naturally be perfect. Moreover, this kind of empty shell, as long as they didn't wear this layer of skin, they wouldn't be contaminated by the ghost aura, and they wouldn't be afraid of the evil warding talismans. This was also the reason why the talisman on the door didn't block this Daoist outside.

However, this kind of empty shell was often very easy to see through. After all, they were hollow dummies. If no one wore this layer of skin, they could only act according to the commands of the manipulator. Moreover, these commands couldn't be too complicated. They could only be simple, repetitive, and pre-set tasks. Therefore, their expressions and behavior were usually more sluggish, not quite like a living person. For example, they would repeatedly say one or two sentences, do the same thing, or answer their own questions. If they didn't answer the question, they would be exposed after a few more words. However, Xie Lian had a more practical method to distinguish between empty shells: Let them drink a bowl of water or eat something. After all, the shell was hollow and didn't have any internal organs. When they ate or drank, it was like throwing something into an empty jar or pouring water into it. One could hear a clear echo, and it was completely different from the sound of a living person eating and drinking.

The Daoist's corpse had already completely shriveled up. It was more or less a pile of soft skin. San Lang used the bamboo chopstick to poke the skin twice before throwing it away. He said, "This shell is a bit interesting."

Xie Lian knew what this youngster was referring to. This Daoist's expression and behavior were all seen in their eyes. Not only was it lifelike, it was practically a living person. When communicating with him, the Daoist was able to answer fluently. It could be seen that the manipulator's power was astonishing. Xie Lian glanced at him and said, "It seems that San Lang has also dabbled in this kind of special technique."

San Lang smiled and said, "Not much."

This empty shell had specifically come knocking on his door and told him about the matter of Ban Yue Pass. Regardless of whether it was true or false, its purpose was to lure him to Ban Yue Pass. In order to be safe, he still needed to go on the spiritual communication array and ask. Xie Lian pinched his fingers and calculated that his remaining power was enough to support him using it a few more times. Thus, he made a hand seal and went on the spiritual communication array.

As soon as he entered the array, the inside was unexpectedly lively. Moreover, it wasn't because they were busy with official business. Instead, it seemed as if everyone was playing some kind of game, laughing and giggling. Xie Lian was quite amazed when he heard Ling Wen say, "Your Highness has returned? How have you been down there these past few days? "

Xie Lian said, "Not bad, not bad. What is everyone doing? Why are they so happy? "

Ling Wen said, "The Wind Master has returned and is currently dispersing his merits. Shouldn't Your Highness go and snatch some?"

Sure enough, Xie Lian heard several Heavenly Officials inside the array shouting themselves hoarse, "One hundred merits! I snatched it! "" Why does mine only have one merit … "" One thousand! One thousand! Ah! Thank you, Wind Master!!! Hahahahaha … "He thought to himself, could it be that this is money falling from the sky and everyone is picking it up? Although his merit box was completely empty, firstly, he didn't know how to snatch it. Secondly, the other Heavenly Officials were all familiar with each other, so snatching and playing around wasn't a big deal. But him suddenly inserting himself was a bit strange. Thus, he didn't mind it. He minded his own business and asked, "Everyone, do you know of Ban Yue Pass?"

As soon as these words came out, the spiritual communication array that was excitedly snatching merits instantly went silent.

Xie Lian once again felt a bit depressed.

In the past, when he sent out some poems and secret recipes, it was fine if everyone went silent because the other Heavenly Officials also didn't send out these things. In that case, the words he sent out might indeed be out of place. However, inside the spiritual communication array, there were often Heavenly Officials opening their mouths to ask some official questions. For example, who knows which ghost, is it easy to deal with? Whose territory is there? Can you help me out? At this time, everyone also expressed their own opinions. Those who had suggestions gave their suggestions, while those who didn't said that they would help you ask when they had time. Him asking about Ban Yue Pass was also considered official business. There was no reason for everyone to go deathly silent the moment he opened his mouth.

After a long while, someone suddenly shouted, "Wind Master has scattered another one hundred thousand merits!!!"

The spiritual communication array instantly became lively again. The Heavenly Officials all went to snatch merits, and no one cared about the question he had just asked. Xie Lian knew that this matter wasn't simple. He probably wouldn't be able to ask anything inside the array. He thought to himself that this Wind Master was really generous, scattering one hundred thousand merits in one go. How amazing. Just as he was about to withdraw, Ling Wen suddenly sent him a private message.

Ling Wen asked, "Your Highness, why did you suddenly ask about Ban Yue Pass?"

Xie Lian then told her about an empty shell that had come to find him. He said, "That shell pretended to be a survivor that escaped from Ban Yue Pass. He must have a purpose. I don't know if what he said is true or false, so I came to ask. What's wrong with this place? "

Ling Wen muttered to herself for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, I advise you not to get involved in this matter."

Xie Lian had more or less expected that there would be such a sentence. Otherwise, it wouldn't have continued for a hundred and fifty years without anyone asking about it. Moreover, when he asked about it, the entire court fell silent. He said, "Is it true that more than half of the people who pass the pass go missing?"

After a long while, Ling Wen said, "It's not good for everyone to say too much about this matter."

Xie Lian could hear the deliberation in her voice. There was definitely something difficult going on. He said, "Okay, I understand. Since it's not convenient for you, then don't say anything more. We've also never discussed this topic in private. "

Withdrawing his spiritual sense, he exited the spiritual communication array. Xie Lian stood up and used a broom to sweep the fake skin bag to the side. After muttering to himself for a moment, he raised his head and said, "San Lang, I'm afraid I'll have to go on a long journey."

From Ling Wen's attitude, it was clear that this matter involved no small matter. Since this empty shell had delivered itself to his door, it must have wanted to trick him into going. It definitely wouldn't be a good place. However, San Lang said, "Okay, gege. You don't mind taking me with you, right?"

Curious, Xie Lian asked, "The journey is long, and the sandstorms are tough. Why do you want to go?"

San Lang smiled and said, "Do you want to know what's going on with that Half-moon Demonic Path?"

Xie Lian paused and said, "You even know about this?"

San Lang crossed his arms and unhurriedly said, "Half-moon Pass wasn't originally called Half-moon Pass. Two hundred years ago, it was the location of the Half-moon Ancient Country."

He slightly straightened his body, his eyes bright as he said, "Half-moon Demonic Path is … …"

Xie Lian leaned the broom against the wall and was about to sit down to listen in detail. At this time, a series of knocking sounds came from outside the door.

At this time, the sky was already dark. Those villagers had all been scared by Xie Lian's previous words of 'bewitched' and had shrunk back into their houses, not daring to come out. So who would be knocking? Xie Lian stood at the door and held his breath for a moment. He didn't feel any strange movements from the talisman on the door. Then, he heard two more knocking sounds. Listening to these sounds, it seemed like two people were knocking at the door at the same time.

He pondered for a moment before opening the door. Sure enough, two black-clothed teenagers were standing at the door. One was handsome, the other elegant. It was Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Xie Lian said, "You two … …"

Fu Yao was the first to roll his eyes. Nan Feng opened his mouth and asked, "Are you going to Half-moon Pass?"

Xie Lian asked, "Where did you hear that?"

Nan Feng said, "Several Heavenly Officials chatted a bit on the road. I heard that you asked about Half-moon Pass in the spirit communication array today. "

Xie Lian understood. With both hands hidden in his sleeves, he said, "I understand. 'I'm willing', right? "

Both of them had a twisted expression on their faces as they said, "… … That's right."

Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh and said, "I understand, I understand. However, I'll say this in advance. If you encounter anything you can't handle on the way, you're welcome to run away at any time. "

At that moment, he stepped aside and invited the two of them into the house to talk in detail. Who knew that when the two of them saw the teenager sitting crookedly behind him, their originally dark complexions instantly turned ashen.