Under the watchful eyes of the other two in the room, the Taoist picked up the bowl of water, hunched over, and slowly drank it. His expression didn't seem like a welcome downpour after a long drought, but rather like hesitant and wary.

As he drank, Xie Lian heard distinct "gulp," "gulp" sounds, as if water were being poured into an empty can.

In an instant, he understood clearly, grabbed the other person's hand, and said, "Don't drink."

The Taoist's hand trembled, and he looked at him in confusion. Xie Lian smiled and said, "It's useless even if you drink it, isn't it?"

The Taoist's face changed when he heard that, and with his other hand he drew the iron sword from his waist and stabbed at him. Xie Lian stood still, raised his hand and flicked it, with a "clang" sound, he gently deflected the sword. Seeing that he was still holding his hand tightly, the Taoist gritted his teeth and pulled it away violently. Xie Lian felt that the arm suddenly deflated, like a deflated ball, and it slipped out of his grasp. The Taoist broke free and fled towards the door. Xie Lian was not in a hurry. In this place without any external obstruction, even if the Taoist escaped another ten feet, Ruo Xie would be able to drag him back. Unexpectedly, he just raised his wrist, and a sharp sound of breaking wind passed by him.

The sound was like a sharp arrow shot from behind him, piercing the Taoist's abdomen and pinning him to the door. Xie Lian looked closely and saw that it was actually a bamboo chopstick.

He looked back and saw Sanlang leisurely standing up from the table, brushing past him, pulling out the bamboo chopsticks, shaking them in front of him twice, and saying, "They're dirty. Throw them away later."

Despite this severe blow, the Taoist didn't even cry out in pain, silently sliding down the doorway. What flowed from his abdomen wasn't blood, but clear water.

It was the bowl of water he had just drunk.

They both half-knelt beside the Taoist priest. Xie Lian pressed on the wound, feeling it like a hole in a bulging balloon, letting out a whistling stream of cool air. The Taoist priest's "corpse" was also gradually changing. Just now, he had been a large man, but now he seemed to have shrunk completely. His face and limbs had shrunk slightly, and continued to shrink. He looked more like a little old man.

Xie Lian said, “It’s an empty shell.”

Some demons and monsters, unable to transform into perfect human forms, will think of another way: creating an empty shell.

They would meticulously craft a fake human skin using highly realistic materials. These skins were often modeled after real people, sometimes even made directly from human skin, leaving palm prints, fingerprints, and hair perfectly intact. Furthermore, as long as the practitioners themselves didn't wear the skin, the empty shell remained untouched by ghostly auras and invulnerable to talismans. This was why the talisman on the door didn't keep the Taoist out.

However, such empty shells are often easy to spot, because they are hollow dummies after all. Without a human wearing this skin, they can only act according to the instructions of the operator. Moreover, these instructions cannot be too complicated, but can only be simple, repetitive, and pre-set. Therefore, their expressions and behaviors are usually dull and not very similar to those of living people. For example, they will repeat a sentence or two over and over again, do the same thing, or ask themselves questions and answer them irrelevantly. If they talk to people for more than a few words, they will be exposed. However, Xie Lian has a more practical way to identify empty shells: just let them drink a bowl of water or eat something. After all, the shells are hollow and have no internal organs. When they eat or drink water, it is like dropping something into an empty can or pouring water into it. You can hear a clear echo, which is completely different from the sound of living people eating and drinking.

The Taoist's body had completely deflated, practically a pile of limp skin. Sanlang pressed the bamboo chopstick against his skin twice, then dropped the chopstick and said, "This shell is quite interesting."

Xie Lian knew what the young man was referring to. They had all taken in the Taoist's demeanor and mannerisms; they were more than lifelike; they felt like a living being. The fluent communication and answers he gave him revealed the incredible power of the person manipulating him. Xie Lian glanced at him and said, "Sanlang, it seems you have quite a bit of experience with this kind of unusual technique."

Sanlang smiled and said, "Not much."

This empty shell had come to him specifically to tell him about the Half Moon Pass. Whether true or false, their purpose was to lure him there. To be safe, he needed to enter the Spirit Communication Formation to ask questions. Xie Lian calculated with his fingers that his remaining mana was enough to sustain him for a few more attempts. He then formed a spell and entered the Spirit Communication Formation.

Upon entering the formation, he was surprised to find it unusually lively. And it wasn't because of official business; it seemed everyone was playing some game, laughing and joking. Xie Lian was just beginning to feel surprised when he heard Ling Wen say, "Your Highness is back? How have you been these past few days down there?"

Xie Lian said, "It's alright, alright. What are you all doing? You look so happy."

Ling Wen said, "Master Fengshi has returned and is distributing merit. Your Highness, don't you want to go grab some?"

Sure enough, Xie Lian heard several priests within the formation shouting at the top of their lungs, "One hundred merits! Got it!" "Why do I only have one merit..." "One thousand! One thousand! Ah! Thank you, Master Wind Master!!! Hahahahahahahahaha..." He wondered if this was money falling from the sky and everyone was picking it up. Although his merit box was empty, he didn't know how to grab anything, and the other priests knew each other well, so grabbing for fun was no big deal. His sudden intrusion seemed a bit strange, so he ignored it and asked, "Everyone, do you know this place called Half Moon Pass?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the spiritual formation that was happily competing for merit fell silent.

Xie Lian felt slightly depressed again.

He used to share short poems and secret recipes, and everyone would be silent. Since the other priests didn't share these either, if he did, he might have been out of place. But within the spirit communication formation, priests would often ask official questions, like, "Who knows a ghost? Is it easy to deal with? Who has a territory there? Can you help me?" At these times, everyone would voice their opinions, those who had suggestions offering them, those who didn't saying they'd ask for them later. His question about the Half Moon Pass was official business, so there was no reason for the entire place to be dead silent the moment he opened his mouth.

After a while, someone suddenly shouted, "Master Feng has dispersed another 100,000 merits!!!"

The spirit communication array instantly became active again, with the priests rushing to grab merit, leaving no one paying attention to his question. Xie Lian knew this matter was probably not simple, and he probably wouldn't be able to get any information from within the array. He thought to himself that this Master Wind Master was truly generous, distributing a hundred thousand at once. How impressive! He was about to withdraw when Ling Wen suddenly sent him a private message.

Lingwen asked, "Your Highness, why do you suddenly want to ask about Banyueguan?"

Xie Lian then told him about the empty shell that had come to his door, saying, "That shell pretended to be a survivor who had escaped from Half Moon Pass. He must have had his own agenda. I'm not sure if what he said was true, so I came up to ask. What's wrong with this place?"

Lingwen pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I advise you not to get involved in this matter."

Xie Lian had somewhat anticipated this question. Otherwise, it wouldn't have lasted a hundred and fifty years without anyone paying attention, and the entire court would have fallen silent as soon as he asked. He asked, "Every time we pass a checkpoint, more than half of the people disappear. Is this true?"

After a long pause, Lingwen said, "It's true. But I can't say much about this matter."

Xie Lian could hear the deliberation in her voice, fearing she was feeling awkward. He said, "Alright, I understand. If it's inconvenient for you, then don't say any more. We've never discussed this topic privately before; I just stumbled upon it on my own."

Although the two were talking privately, Lingwen still lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, let me say one more thing. If you want to investigate this matter, don't let the other priests know. Also, don't leave through the heavenly realm."

After collecting his spiritual sense and exiting the spiritual communication formation, Xie Lian stood up, pondered for a moment, and raised his head, saying, "Sanlang, I'm afraid I'll have to go on a long journey."

Lingwen warned him not to be discovered by other priests, which shows that this matter is quite involved. If he goes directly to the sky and then jumps to the Half Moon Pass, it is convenient, but such a trip will be recorded. Moreover, if someone makes any moves in the passage, there is no way to say where he will end up after jumping. It seems that he can only walk to the Half Moon Pass. Since this empty shell has come to his door, it must be to trick him into going there. It must not be a good place. Sanlang said, "Okay, brother, do you mind giving me a ride?"

Xie Lian was startled. He swept the fake leather bag to the side with a broom and said, “The journey is long, the wind and sand are arduous, why did you want to go with me?”

San Lang smiled and said, "Do you want to know what's going on with that Half Moon Demon Dao?"

Hearing this, Xie Lian paused and asked, “You even know this?”

Sanlang folded his arms and said leisurely, "Banyue Pass, two hundred years ago, was the location of the Banyue Kingdom. The Banyue people were immensely powerful and aggressive, often harassing the people of the Central Plains."

He sat up slightly straighter, his eyes shining, and said, "Ban Yue Yao Dao is their national teacher."

Xie Lian leaned the broom against the wall and was about to sit down to listen carefully. At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

It was already late, and the villagers, frightened by Xie Lian's earlier words of "possessed," had retreated into their houses, afraid to come out. Who could be knocking on the door? Xie Lian stood at the door, holding his breath for a moment. He didn't feel the talisman on the door activating, but then there were two more "knock knocks." It sounded like two people were knocking at the door simultaneously.

He thought for a moment, then opened the door. Sure enough, two young men in black were standing at the door. One was handsome, the other elegant. They were Nanfeng and Fuyao.

Xie Lian stared at them for a moment, then said, “You two…”

Fuyao rolled her eyes first. Nanfeng asked, "Are you going to Banyue Pass?"

Xie Lian asked, “Where did you hear that?”

He initially assumed Lingwen had gone to the Central Heavenly Court to question and recruit helpers, but then he realized she had warned him not to let anyone else know, so naturally, she wouldn't say anything. Nanfeng said, "I heard the priests chat on the way, and I heard you asked about the Half Moon Pass in the spiritual communication array today."

Xie Lian understood immediately, tucking his hands into his sleeves, and said, “I see. ‘I volunteer,’ right?”

Both of them had faces distorted with toothache and said, "...Yes."

Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh. "I understand, I understand. But let's make it clear beforehand: this time when we're going to Half Moon Pass, if you encounter anything you can't handle, you're welcome to run away at any time."

Xie Lian's life principle is: Don't force others. Whether forcing others to do something or forcing others not to do something, it is all forcing. Whether something is good or not, you can only know it after you do it. If you force someone to do something, even if he does it, he will not approve of it in his heart; if you force someone not to do something, even if he doesn't do it, he will always think about it in every possible way, and one day he will do it. So, let everything take its course. Come when you want to, leave when you want to. He immediately stepped aside and invited the two of them into the house to talk in detail. Unexpectedly, when the two saw the young man sitting crookedly behind him, their originally slightly dark faces instantly turned ashen.

Nan Feng flashed in, got in front of Xie Lian, and said, "Back off!"

The author has something to say: Actually, everyone uses smart phones, only His Highness uses a PHS, so even if he wants to grab the red envelope, he can't (beat him to death)