Under the watchful eyes of the other two people in the room, the old man picked up the bowl of water, hunched over, and slowly drank it.
Instead of looking relieved like someone finding water after a long drought, he seemed a bit hesitant and cautious.
As he drank, Xie Lian heard a clear "glug glug" sound, like pouring water into an empty jar.
In an instant, he realized something and grabbed the man's hand, saying, "Stop drinking."
The man’s hand trembled, and he looked at Xie Lian with suspicion. Xie Lian smiled and said, "Drinking it won't help, right?"
Hearing this, the man's face changed, and he drew an iron sword from his waist and thrust it at Xie Lian.
Xie Lian stood still, flicked his hand, and with a "clang," gently deflected the sword. The man saw that Xie Lian was still holding his hand tightly, gritted his teeth, and pulled hard.
Xie Lian felt the arm suddenly deflate, like a balloon losing air, slipping out of his grasp.
Once free, the man ran towards the door. Xie Lian was not worried; in a place without external interference, even if the man ran ten meters away, his Ruoye ribbon could still drag him back. Unexpectedly, just as he raised his wrist, a sharp whistling sound passed by him.
It was like an arrow had been shot from behind him, piercing the man through the stomach and pinning him to the door.
Xie Lian looked closely and saw that it was a bamboo chopstick.
Turning around, he saw San Lang casually standing up from the table, walking past him, pulling out the chopstick, and waving it in front of him, saying, "It's dirty. I'll throw it away later."
The man, severely injured, made no sound of pain, silently sliding down the door. What flowed from his stomach was not blood, but clear water.
It was the water he had just drunk.
Both of them squatted down beside the man.
Xie Lian pressed on the wound, feeling it was like a balloon with a hole, leaking cold air. The man's "body" was gradually changing. At first, he looked like a burly man, but now he seemed to shrink, his face and limbs withering, looking more like an old man.
Xie Lian said, "It's an empty shell."
Some demons and ghosts, unable to transform into perfect human forms, would find another way: create an empty shell.
They would use realistic materials to craft a fake human skin.
These skins often mimic real people, sometimes even made from real human skin, with perfect fingerprints and hair. As long as they didn't wear the skin themselves, it wouldn't have ghostly energy and wouldn't fear talismans. That's why the talismans on the door didn't keep this man out.
However, these empty shells were easy to spot because they were hollow. Without someone inside, they could only follow simple, repetitive instructions.
Their behavior was often stiff, unlike real people. They might repeat a phrase, do the same thing, or answer questions incorrectly.
Xie Lian had a practical way to identify them: make them drink a bowl of water or eat something. Since they're hollow, without organs, it sounds like putting something in an empty jar, different from a real person eating or drinking.
The man's body had completely deflated, almost just a pile of skin. San Lang poked it with the chopstick twice, then tossed it aside, saying, "This shell is interesting."
Xie Lian knew what the young man meant. The man's behavior was so lifelike it was like dealing with a real person, showing the manipulator had incredible power. Xie Lian glanced at him and said, "Seems like you know a lot about these strange arts."
San Lang smiled and said, "Not much."
This empty shell came specifically to tell him about Half Moon Pass. Whether true or false, its purpose was to lure him there.
To be cautious, he needed to ask through the Spirit Communication Array. Xie Lian calculated that he had enough spiritual power left for a few more uses, so he activated the array.
Inside, it was unusually lively, not because of work but because everyone seemed to be playing a game, laughing and joking.
Surprised, Xie Lian heard Ling Wen say, "Your Highness, you're back? How have you been doing down there?"
Xie Lian replied, "Not bad. What's everyone doing? So happy."
Ling Wen said, "Wind Master is back, distributing merits. Aren't you going to grab some?"
Indeed, Xie Lian heard several officials shouting, "I got a hundred merits!"
"Why did I only get one merit..."
"A thousand! A thousand! Thank you, Wind Master!!! Hahaha..."
He thought it was like money falling from the sky.
Though his merit box was empty, he didn't know how to grab them, and since the other officials were familiar with each other, they could joke around. If he suddenly joined in, it would be odd, so he asked, "Everyone, do you know about Half Moon Pass?"
As soon as he said this, the lively Spirit Communication Array fell silent.
Xie Lian felt a bit disheartened again.
In the past, when he shared poems or recipes, the silence was understandable since other officials didn't do that, making his contributions seem out of place.
But in the array, officials often asked work-related questions, like if anyone knew a certain ghost or needed help in a certain area. Everyone would offer suggestions or promise to ask around.
Asking about Half Moon Pass was work-related, so why the sudden silence?
After a while, someone shouted, "Wind Master just distributed another hundred thousand merits!!!"
The array became lively again, with officials grabbing merits, ignoring his question. Xie Lian realized this might be complicated, and he wouldn't get answers here.
He thought the Wind Master was truly generous, giving away a hundred thousand merits. Just as he was about to leave, Ling Wen privately messaged him.
Ling Wen asked, "Your Highness, why are you suddenly asking about Half Moon Pass?"
Xie Lian explained about the empty shell that came to him, saying, "The shell pretended to be a survivor from Half Moon Pass, it must have a purpose. I don't know if what it said is true, so I came to ask. What's going on there?"
Ling Wen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I advise you not to get involved."
Xie Lian had somewhat expected this. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been ignored for 150 years, and the array wouldn't have gone silent when he asked. He said, "Is it true that more than half go missing when crossing?"
After a long pause, Ling Wen said, "This matter is best not discussed."
Xie Lian heard the caution in her voice, knowing she was in a difficult position. He said, "Alright, I understand. If it's inconvenient, don't say more. We've never talked about this privately."
Withdrawing his consciousness from the array, Xie Lian stood up, used a broom to sweep the fake skin aside, pondered for a moment, and said, "San Lang, I'm afraid I have to go on a long journey."
Ling Wen's attitude showed this matter was not simple. The empty shell came to lure him, indicating it wasn't a good place. San Lang said, "Sure, brother, mind if I tag along?"
Xie Lian asked curiously, "It's a long and tough journey, why do you want to come?"
San Lang smiled and said, "Do you want to know what the Half Moon Demon Daoist is?"
Xie Lian paused and said, "You even know about that?"
San Lang crossed his arms and said leisurely, "Half Moon Pass wasn't originally called Half Moon Pass. It was the location of the Ancient Half Moon Kingdom two hundred years ago."
He sat up slightly, eyes bright, and said, "The Half Moon Demon Daoist is..."
Xie Lian leaned the broom against the wall, about to sit down and listen in detail. Just then, there was a "knock knock" at the door.
It was late, and the villagers were scared back into their homes by Xie Lian's earlier mention of "possession." Who could be knocking? Xie Lian stood at the door, held his breath for a moment, and felt no disturbance from the talismans. Then came two more knocks, as if two people were knocking simultaneously.
He thought for a moment and opened the door to find two young men in black standing there. One was handsome, the other elegant. It was Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Xie Lian said, "You two..."
Fu Yao rolled his eyes first. Nan Feng immediately asked, "Are you going to Half Moon Pass?"
Xie Lian said, "Where did you hear that?"
Nan Feng said, "Some officials mentioned it on the way. We heard you asked about Half Moon Pass in the Spirit Communication Array today."
Understanding, Xie Lian clasped his hands in his sleeves and said, "Got it. 'I volunteer,' right?"
Both had expressions like they had a toothache, faces twisted, and said, "...Yes."
Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh and said, "Understood, understood. But, just to be clear, if we encounter anything we can't handle, feel free to run away."
He stepped aside to invite them in to discuss further. Unexpectedly, when the two saw the young man sitting inside, their already dark faces turned even darker.
Nan Feng rushed in, standing in front of Xie Lian, and said, "Step back!"