While the ghost fires were strange, they didn’t show any murderous intent. They simply drifted toward him silently, blocking him from continuing onward. Xie Lian tried going around them, but the ghost fires immediately changed direction and continued to block him.
Xie Lian heard many voices, all talking at the same time:
“Don’t go there.”
“Don’t go.”
“There are bad things ahead.”
“Turn around, don’t continue onward!”
The voices were stoic and densely layered, washing over him like a tide and giving Xie Lian chills. He found himself surrounded. In the sea of ghost fire, Xie Lian noticed a ball of flame that was especially bright and especially silent.
A ghost fire didn’t have eyes, but when Xie Lian looked at this one, he could almost sense its burning gaze staring back at him.
It seemed this particular ghost was the strongest of those present; all the other ghost fires were only following it.
“Move,” Xie Lian said coldly.
The ghost fire didn’t move.
“Why are you blocking my way?” Xie Lian demanded.
The ghost fire didn’t answer. All the other, smaller ghost fires simply repeated, “Don’t go there!” over and over again. Xie Lian didn’t want to bother with all this, so he struck out with a hand. He didn’t disperse their souls; the strike was only meant to break apart the formation of the ghost fires blocking him, like waving away a band of fireflies or a school of little goldfish.
Xie Lian quickly passed through them, dry branches and broken leaves crackling under his feet. Yet when he looked back, the ghost fires were swiftly catching up to him, poised to form another wall.
“Don’t follow me,” Xie Lian warned.
The brightest, hottest ghost fire was leading at the very front, and it did not heed his words. Xie Lian raised his hand like he was going to strike again.
“Keep following me and I might just disperse your souls!” he warned fiercely.
With a threat like that, many of the ghost fires were frightened, fluttering and shriveling away. However, the leading ghost fire only faltered for a moment in midair before it continued to trail him, no more than five paces behind. It seemed to be telling Xie Lian, “It doesn’t matter if you disperse me”—or perhaps it knew that Xie Lian wouldn’t really do it.
A sudden and inexplicable anger filled Xie Lian. In the past, what little minion would have dared continue to harass him if he shouted at them? They would’ve disappeared in a flash with their tail between their legs. Now, not only did people step all over him whenever they liked, even this tiny ball of ghost fire wouldn’t obey him and took his threats as nothing.
Xie Lian’s eyes reddened from anger. “Even a little ghost like you is like this… You’re all like this… Everyone’s like this!” he mumbled.
It was a little funny to be so enraged by something so small, yet Xie Lian was genuinely filled with furious indignation. Unexpectedly, after his grumbling, the ball of ghost fire seemed to understand his anger and anguish, and it stopped in midair, no longer trailing him. It slowly led the hundreds of little ghost fires away, and they disappeared into the night soon after.
Xie Lian exhaled, turned around, and continued onward.
After walking for seven or eight hundred paces more, he could faintly see the eaves of a building within the beguiling fog ahead. It appeared to be an old temple of the deep mountains. When Xie Lian approached and looked closer, his eyes widened slightly.
It was…a Temple of the Crown Prince.
This was a broken-down Temple of the Crown Prince, of course. It had already been pillaged and wrecked by mobs, and the establishment plaque had fallen to the ground, broken in half. Xie Lian paused in front of the temple’s entrance for a moment, then he stepped over the sundered establishment plaque and went inside.
The divine statue within the great hall had long since vanished—perhaps it had been smashed, or burnt, or thrown into the sea. The altar was empty and desolate, and only the scorched base of the statue remained. On either side, the words, “Body in Abyss, Heart in Paradise,” had been slashed some thirty times. Like a lovely woman whose face had been scarred by knives, it was no longer a beautiful sight, only chilling and hideous.
Xie Lian kept his composure and sat on the ground inside the great hall, waiting for White No-Face to appear. After an incense time, a figure really did emerge from the beguiling fog outside the temple.
However, it didn’t look right—the figure had none of White No-Face’s habitual ease, and its hurried steps were very unlike White No-Face’s silent creeping. The one approaching mustn’t be him, nor anyone Xie Lian knew.
But then who could it be?
Xie Lian was on high alert, but he only got a clear look when the person finally rushed into the Temple of the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, this person didn’t match any of his guesses—no matter how Xie Lian studied him, he was only a human passerby, nothing suspicious or notable about him.
However, Xie Lian still didn’t relax his guard. Who knew if this was one of White No-Face’s disguises?
As could be expected from two people who had suddenly run into each other inside a broken-down temple out in the wild, Xie Lian was cautious of the man—and the man was similarly cautious of Xie Lian.
A moment passed, then the man finally ventured to ask, “Um…Daozhang? Do you know what this place is?”
Xie Lian knitted his brow slightly and looked up. “You don’t know what this place is? Then how did you get here?”
“I got lost!” the man said. “I’ve walked around and around, but I just can’t seem to get out of this forest!”
Xie Lian knew that this man hadn’t gotten lost at all. If he really wasn’t White No-Face in disguise, then he had most likely been lured in by something.
“Stop walking around. You won’t be able to get out that way,” Xie Lian said.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
But Xie Lian didn’t respond further, just continued to meditate. If this man had been lured in by White No-Face, panicking would be pointless. There would be no leaving if he didn’t want to let them go, so it’d be better for Xie Lian to wait quietly and see what he planned on doing.
The man was tired from running around, so he sat on one side of the room to rest, the two of them now at peace with each other. It wasn’t long before another figure emerged from the fog and entered the temple—another confused traveler. Seeing that there were people inside, he quickly approached them.
“Hey, pal! Can I ask what this place is?”
The two travelers started chatting, and a premonition started growing in Xie Lian’s mind.
It wasn’t over. More would come.
Sure enough, dozens of people arrived at this Temple of the Crown Prince within the span of two hours, one after the other. There were all kinds: men, women, seniors, children, some by themselves, some in groups of three or four, some whole families, and most of them had come here after getting lost. The reasons for their getting lost were numerous and bizarre—some had even been strolling down a city street and had inexplicably found themselves lost in this forest. It was completely incredible. Xie Lian even noticed that one was the same street performer who had been so adamant about competing against him in boulder shattering. He didn’t look very well; it seemed the competition had injured him badly. The two of them spotted each other but didn’t say a word, only nodded in acknowledgment.
It was easy to see that these were all ordinary people, and they had all been intentionally brought into the deep mountains by White No-Face!
The alarm in Xie Lian’s head was sounding louder and louder, but still, he didn’t move. He dug out a cold steamed bun from his sleeve and bit into it forcefully, chewed forcefully, and then swallowed forcefully. He had to conserve all his energy to face the great battle that was likely coming.
