Forbidden Read!
Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Inside the Pu Qi Temple, the Strange Story of BanYue Pass

***

Under the gazes of the other two people in the room, the cultivator took out a bowl of water. With his back bent, he started drinking it slowly. Through his body language, he did not seem like someone who happened to meet rain down in the middle of a long dry season, but rather a hesitant and alert man.

Simultaneously, while he was drinking water, Xie Lian clearly heard the sound of a plash, plash, plash, as if water was being poured into an empty jar. 　　

Instantly, he realized something. Grabbing the other hand, he said, "Stop drinking."

The cultivator's hand trembled as he looked at him confusedly. Xie Lian smiled and said, "It's useless even if you drink. Right, right?"

After hearing what he said, the cultivator's skin color suddenly changed. With his other hand, he unsheathed the iron sword that was on his waist and directed it to stab Xie Lian. Xie Lian stood on the spot, motionless, before she raised her hand to block him. With a 'clang' sound, he quickly blocked the tip of the sword.

When the man saw how he was still holding his hand firmly, he gritted his teeth and withdrew his hand. Xie Lian only felt the hand suddenly deflate, as if it was a ball with leaking air, completely withering away before sliding free from her grasp.

As soon as the man escaped, he fled to the door. Xie Lian was not worried because in a place like this where no external force could block her, even if the man tried to run ten feet, Ruoye could still drag him back.

However, just as he raised his wrist, a sharp 'desing' sound passed through him.

The voice sounded as if someone had shot a sharp arrow from behind him. It immediately pierced through the man's stomach and nailed him to the door. Xie Lian looked at him before realizing that it was actually a bamboo chopstick.

He turned to look, and found that San Lan had stood up from the table, her attitude relaxed and calm. Through it, San Lang released the bamboo chopsticks he used. He swung it twice in front of him before saying, "It's dirty. I'll throw it away later."

While that cultivator, despite suffering heavy injuries, not once did he let out a cry of pain. Instead, he leaned silently against the door and slowly fell to the floor. What gurgled and flowed out from his stomach was not blood, but clear water.

The same water he just drank from the bowl.

The two were crouching next to the cultivator. Xie Lian punched the wound a few times, and felt as if the wound was similar to a hole in a punctured balloon, with air blowing out entirely. Moreover, the cultivator's 'corpse' also started to change. His previous appearance was clearly seen as a strong man. Now, it seemed that he had shrunk down and gotten rid of the entire layer of fat on his body. His face and limbs became a little wrinkled as his size shrank, so his appearance was now more like that of an old man.

Xie Lian said, "This is an empty shell."

Some demons and ghosts were unable to transform themselves into perfect human forms. Thus, they would think of another way: to make an empty shell.

They will use some very human-like ingredients to carefully create fake human skin. More often than not, this kind of 'skin' would be taken from a real person. Sometimes, they would even directly use one's skin. In this case, their palm lines, fingerprints, and hair would look flawless perfectly.

Moreover, for an empty shell like this, as long as they did not put on the skin themselves, it would not be contaminated with ghostly aura, so they would not be afraid of those talismans that ward off evil. It also explained why the talisman at the door did not prevent the man from entering.

However, empty shells like these can also be easily seen, because after all, they are nothing but empty puppets. If no one wears skin, then it can only move according to the commands it receives.

In addition, the command cannot be too complicated and must be simple, such as repetitive movements or those that someone made before. Thus, the appearance of the shell would normally appear relatively dull and lifeless, unlike an actual living person.

For example, they will repeat a phrase or two, do the same thing over and over again, answer their own questions, or answer to evade. If they had to have a conversation with people, they would quickly expose themselves.

However, in terms of distinguishing an empty shell from an actual person, Xie Lian had a more practical method. Making them drink a bowl of water or eat something, that's enough. After all, the shells were hollow, so they would not have five innards and six bellies[1]. When they eat something or drink water, the result will be the same as someone dropping something or pouring water into an empty jar. They will be able to hear a clear echo, something completely different from a living human being when eating or drinking water. 　

[1] It's really "Five innards, six bellies". ⁇ (liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys), ⁇ (bile, small intestine, stomach, large intestine, bladder, San jiao (the three parts that make up a person's torso).

The cultivator's body had completely deflated. At this moment, he looked like a soft puddle of skin. San Lang used his chopsticks to poke the skin a few times, before he threw away the chopsticks and said, "This shell is a bit interesting."

Xie Lian knew what the teenager meant. The two of them had observed this man's expression and behavior and remembered him. Not only did he behave like a human, he was truly like a living person. When he spoke to her, she could answer quickly and smoothly. It could be said that the person who controlled it had incredible spiritual power. Xie Lian glanced at San Lang and said, "It looks like San Lang also found out about this."

San Lang smiled, "Not much."

The empty shell specifically sent itself to the doorstep to inform him of this BanYue Pass matter. Regardless of whether the information was genuine or fake, the goal was to lure it into the Ban Yue Pass.

To be safe, he had to enter the spiritual communication array and wonder. Xie Lian clamped her fingers and calculated that the remaining spiritual power was enough for her to use for other purposes. Thus, he also uttered a secret password and entered the apiritual communication array.

As soon as he entered the array, he met a rare occurrence filled with bustling excitement. Moreover, the excitement was not the kind of liveliness that was accompanied by busy official affairs, but more like they were all playing games, where they happily laughed and giggled together. Xie Lian felt really amazed before hearing Ling Wen say, "His Majesty is back already? How were your days in the mortal realm?"

Xie Lian said, "Not bad, not bad. What's up with everybody? They're very happy."

Ling Wen said, "The Wind Master has returned and spread the reward. Is His Majesty going to go and take some as well?"

Sure enough, Xie Lian heard many Heavenly Officials in the spiritual communication array shout until their voices sounded hoarse.

"Hundred reward! I've taken it!"

"Why did I only get one reward..."

"Thousand! A thousand! Uh! Thank you, Master Wind! Ahhaha..."

Xie Lian thought, could this be a coin that fell from the sky as everyone rushed to pick it up?

After which, he stopped thinking about it and asked, "Does anyone know about the place called 'BanYue Pass'?"

The moment those words came out, the spiritual communication array that previously sounded excited and excited as it was scrambling for rewards instantly fell silent.

Once again, Xie Lian felt a little depressed.

Previously, when he told them a secret poem or recipe, it didn't matter if the other Heavenly Officials didn't give his response because they didn't talk about such things either. Because when Xie Lian started the conversation, she was indeed like a square peg in a round hole.

But, in the spiritual communication array, there was often a Heavenly Official who asked questions with regards to official affairs. For example, 'Does anyone know about this ghost? Are they easy to handle?' or, 'Is there any territory near here and can provide assistance?'

At such a time, everyone would give their own opinion. People who have advice will offer their advice and give a response, someone who does not give a response will wonder if they will have another chance to do so after they return.

So, when Xie Lian asked about the BanYue Pass, it could be considered an official affair. There should be no reason for everyone to be silent as he opened his mouth asking that, just like what had happened in the past.

After a while, someone suddenly shouted, "The Wind Master threw another hundred thousand merit!!!"

The array of spiritual communication instantly became lively again. One by one, the Heavenly Officials began to fight over the reward, which also meant that no one cared about the question he had just asked. Xie Lian knew that the problem she was facing might not be an easy one, so she probably wouldn't be able to ask any further inside the array.

In his heart, he thought the Wind Master was truly generous, because a hundred thousand merit in a single throw was quite amazing. Xie Lian was just about to exit the array when suddenly, Ling Wen personally sent her a message.

Ling Wen asked, "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly ask about the BanYue Pass?"

So, Xie Lian told him about how the empty shell had sent itself to her temple doorstep and told the matter. He continued, "The shell pretends that he is a survivor of the BanYue Pass, so it is indisputable that he came with a purpose. I didn't know if what he said was right or wrong, so I came here to ask. What happened to that place?"

On the other hand, Ling Wen pondered for a moment before he said, "Your Majesty, with regards to this matter, I suggest that you not take part."

Xie Lian had expected to be told that way. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the matter to last for a hundred and fifty years without anyone asking about it. Moreover, the moment he asked about the matter, the entire Heavenly Court became silent. Xie Lian said, "Every time a group passes the BanYue Pass, more than half of the people will be missing. Is that true?"

After a pause, Ling Wen replied, "It's hard to talk any further about this matter."

Xie Lian could hear the consideration in Ling Wen's tone of voice. One thing he could confirm was that Ling Wen must have been in a difficult situation. He said, "Alright, I understand. Since this is uncomfortable for you, then you don't have to say more. Besides, the two of us have never had this conversation in private."

After calming down, Xie Lian left the spiritual communication array. He stood up and swept the fake skin to the side with a broom as he muttered to himself. Then, raising his head, he said, "San Lang, I'm afraid I'll travel to a faraway place."

In Ling Wen's attitude, one could tell that this was no small matter. Since the empty shell had sent itself to his door, then surely he wanted to lure him away, so the place couldn't possibly be pleasant. However, San Lang said, "Alright, gege. If you don't mind, take me with you?"

Feeling a little strange, Xie Lian asked, "This journey will be very long with the sand wind that bothers and makes it difficult, why do you want to come?"

San Lang laughed and said, "Do you want to know what happened in BanYue Pass?"

Xie Lian fell silent before saying, "You even know about it?"

San Lang crossed his arms and said in a relaxed tone, "BanYue Pass was originally not named 'Ban Yue Pass'. Two hundred years ago, it was the location of the ancient Kingdom of BanYue."

He fixed his sitting position to be slightly upright, and, with his eyes as bright as stars, he continued, "Demon Cultivator BanYue, in fact..."

Xie Lian put a broom against the wall and was just about to sit down and listen. However, at the same time, a knocking sound was heard from outside the door.

Now, it's night. All the villagers were fearfully already back at their homes, afraid to go out of the house remembering Xie Lian's words about the 'hard' cultivator'. So, who might knock on their door?

Xie Lian stood beside the door and held her breath for a moment, but she did not feel anything strange coming from the talisman on her door. After which, he once again heard two more knocks. From the sound of this knock, it seemed like there were two people simultaneously knocking on the door.

He thought for a moment before opening the door. Sure enough, two teenagers dressed in black stood outside his door. One looked cheerful and handsome, the other was graceful and refined. They were Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Xie Lian spoke, "You two..."

Fu Yao started and rolled her eyes. Right after, Nan Feng asked, "Are you going to the BanYue Pass?"

Xie Lian said, "Where did you hear that from?"

Nan Feng replied, "Some Heavenly Officials talk about it on the street. I heard that you asked about the BanYue Pass today in the spiritual communication array."

Xie Lian immediately understood. With both hands covered in his sleeves, he said, "I understand. 'I volunteered', right?"

Both of them displayed distorted expressions, as if caused by a toothache. "...Uhm ...Aye." Yeah."

Xie Lian could not help but laugh. "I understand, I understand. But let's agree on this first, if we find something we can't handle out there, don't hesitate to run away at any time."

He then shifted his body to the side and invited them in to explain the details. But who would have thought, as soon as the two of them saw the juvenile sitting on his side, their originally dark skin instantly turned pale.

Nan Feng rushed inside, placing himself in front of Xie Lian before he shouted, "Retreat!"

Seriate...