Forbidden Read!
Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Inside the Pu Qi Temple, the Strange Story of BanYue Pass

San Lang glanced at him, chuckling as he said, "I'll be gone for a while."

After casually saying that line, he turned around and left. Logically speaking, Xie Lian should have chased after him to ask that, but he had a strange feeling that since the young man had already said he would only leave for a short while, he had a strange feeling, then he won't be gone too long. He'll definitely be back. So, Xie Lian took the initiative and returned inside the temple.

Xie Lian rummaged through the items she had collected last night while wandering the alleys of the city; her left hand clasped a metal pot, while her right hand found a cooking knife. He looked at the pile of fruits and vegetables on the offering table and then got up from his seat.

After about one incense stick later, the sound of footsteps actually sounded from outside the Pu Qi Temple. These footsteps did not sound gentle nor rushed, and after hearing them, one could easily imagine a youngster walking in a relaxed manner.

At this moment, the thing that Xie Lian was holding in her hand had already turned into two plates. He looked left and right at the thing on the plate, before sighing deeply. Not wanting to see him again, he peered outside and, as he had expected, he saw San Lang again.

The young man stood outside the temple. Perhaps it was due to the scorching sunlight back then, he had taken off his red outerwear and tied it casually at the waist. He only wore a thin white shirt for his top, with his sleeves rolled up, making him appear rather clean and dexterous. His right foot stepped on a rectangular piece of wood, and his left hand twisted the garden scissor machete.

The machete was probably borrowed from one of the villagers. It looked dull and heavy, yet in his hands, it looked light and extremely sharp. Many times, San Lang cut some pieces of wood from the wooden planks, such as peeling fruit.

When he lifted his eyes and saw Xie Lian come out, he said, "I'm making something."

Walking closer to take a look, Xie Lian realized she was actually making the door. Exact size. With exceptional craftsmanship, the door looked beautiful and elegant. Because of how the teenager seemed to come from a rich background, Xie Lian thought she would be the type who could neither do physical work nor distinguish rice from wheat[1]. Who would have thought that he was so quick to use his hands?

[1] The Chinese idiom describes a person who knows nothing about common things and cannot do physical work, in other words is useless in mind and body in a sense.

"I've troubled you, San Lang," said Xie Lian.

San Lang smiled, not adding any more comments. Quickly throwing the machete aside, he immediately went to install the door. Then, he knocked on it a few times before telling her, "Since you're going to draw a talisman, why not draw it on the door? Isn't that better?"

After saying that, he casually lifted the curtain and entered.

It seemed that the barrier talisman in the curtain was actually acting like there was no barrier to him, and San Lang did not seem to care at all. 　　

Xie Lian closed the newly created door, but then she could not resist opening it again, only to close, open, and then close it again. Admiring how well the door was made after opening and closing it a few times, he was suddenly shocked by how irrational he acted. At the other end, San Lang was already sitting inside the temple. Xie Lian left the door and took out a plate of steamed bread that was an offering this morning from the villagers before putting it on the offering table.

San Lang stared at the bread. He did not say a word but quietly started laughing again, as if he had seen something. Xie Lian acted as if nothing had happened and poured two more bowls of water. Just as he was about to sit down, he saw what was under the sleeves of the rolled up San Lang shirt. His arm had a series of small tattoos, and all the characters present in the tattoo were very strange. Noticing his gaze, San Lang lowered his sleeves and chuckled as he said, "I got it when I was a kid."

Since he had lowered his sleeves, it meant that he did not want to discuss the topic further. Xie Lian understood. He sat down before raising his head to look at the painting again, and said, "San Lang, you draw very well, did someone teach you at home?"

San Lang poked some bread with his chopsticks. "Nobody taught me. I'm just drawing for my own pleasure."

Xie Lian asked, "How do you know how to draw a painting of 'Crown Prince Xian Le that pleases the Gods'?"

San Lang laughed, saying, "Don't you say before that I know everything? Of course I know how to draw it."

Although this was a somewhat shameless answer, his attitude was generous, as if he was not worried about raising Xie Lian's suspicions, nor was he afraid of being asked further. Xie Lian smiled and ended the topic. And at the right moment, a commotion appeared from outside. The two raised their heads together and glanced at each other.

Just to hear someone from outside banging on the door loudly, yelling, "Eternal Master! Oh my God, this is terrible! Eternal Master, help us!"

Xie Lian opened the door and saw a crowd of people standing in front of the temple, surrounding the entrance. Upon seeing him open the door, the village chief exclaimed in delight, "Eternal Master! This guy looks like he's going to die! Please, hurry up and save him!"

As soon as he heard someone was about to die, Xie Lian rushed to take a look, only to find that the person surrounded by the villagers was a cultivator. His hair was messy and his face dirty. His clothes and shoes were torn and tattered, as if he had been on the run for several days. It seemed like he had just lost consciousness and fainted here before he was taken away. Xie Lian said, "Don't panic. He's not dead."

He leaned over to examine the person's body. During the process, he realized that the person was carrying several objects with him, such as eight trigrams and an iron sword, all of which were effective luring tools. It seemed that this person was not an ordinary jianghu[2] cultivator. Xie Lian's heart couldn't help but sink into reality.

[2] ⁇ (jianghu): Jia nghu is a community of martial artists in wuxia stories and, more recently, forbidden societies such as the triad.

Not long after, the cultivator woke up before asking in a hoarse voice, "...where is this?"

The village chief replied, "This is Pu Qi Village!"

The man mumbled, "...Exit. I got out, I finally managed to escape... "

He looks around. Suddenly, his eyes widened before he fearfully said, "B-Help, please! Please help!"

Xie Lian had anticipated this kind of reaction. He said, "Counter cultivator, what's up? Who should I help? What was? Don't be in a hurry, take your time and say it clearly."

The villagers also said, "That's right, there's no need to be afraid. We have a great Immortal Master here, he will definitely solve all your problems!"

Xie Lian, "???"

In fact, these villagers had never seen him do Divine things, yet they all solemnly believed that he was a living god. Xie Lian also did not know what to say as she thought, 'resolving all her problems is something impossible to guarantee.'

To the man, he asked, "Where did you come from?"

The man said, "I'm from BanYue Pass."

Hearing him, everyone present turned to look at each other. "Where is BanYue Pass?"

Xie Lian said, "BanYue Pass is in the Northwest region. Very far from here. How did you get here?"

The man said, "I went through great hardship until I was able to escape all the way here."

He spoke indistinctly, and his emotions were extremely unstable. In this situation, the more people around him, the harder it was to speak. With everyone talking at once, that person would not be able to speak clearly and neither would he be able to hear clearly. Xie Lian said, "Let's talk after going inside."

He gently helped the man to get inside, then turned to talk to the villagers. "Can everyone please go home and stop watching?"

However, the villagers were very enthusiastic when they asked:

"Eternal Master, what happened to him?"

"Yes, what's going on?"

"If there's any trouble, we'll all help!"

Unfortunately, the more enthusiastic they were, the more they could not help. Feeling helpless, Xie Lian lowered her voice and solemnly said, "This is. It can be possessed."

The villagers were shocked after hearing those words. Possession is no joke. It would not be good for them to continue watching, so they all quickly dispersed themselves. Xie Lian, unsure whether to laugh or cry, closed the door. San Lang was still sitting beside the offering table, his hands twirling the chopsticks for fun. He squinted at the man, his gaze somewhat observing. Xie Lian told him, "It's nothing. You can continue eating."

He let the man sit, but he stood up. "Counter cultivator, I am the master of this temple, and I can also be considered as a cultivator. Don't worry, if something happens, you can say it. And, if there's anything I can help you with, maybe I can lend you a little bit of strength that I have. With regards to what you mentioned earlier, what happened to BanYue?"

The man gasped. It seemed, after entering a quieter room and hearing Xie Lian's calming words, she was finally able to calm down. He said, "Have you ever heard of that place?"

However, Xie Lian replied, "I've heard of it. BanYue Pass is an oasis in the middle of the Gobi Desert[3]. The night scenery in BanYue is very beautiful, and can be described as a pretty charming sight. That's how the place got its name."

[3] It is a large desert region in Asia.

The man said, "Oasis? Is beautiful? That was two centuries ago. Now, calling it a BanMing Pass[4] would be more appropriate!"

[4] Word games. ⁇ (barnyu): means 'half moon', while ⁇ (bainmng ): means half life.

A little confused, Xie Lian asked, "What do you mean?"

The man's skin turned pale to the point of frightening. He said, "Because no matter where they come from, at least half of those who go there will disappear without a trace. Wouldn't it be more fitting to be called 'BanMing Pass'?"

It was something he had never heard before. Xie Lian said, "Who did you hear that from?"

"I didn't hear that from anyone. I watched it with my own eyes!" Seated, the man continued, "There is a troupe that wants to travel through the place. They already knew of the crimes that were happening there, and asked our entire division to escort them on their way. In the end..."

His voice was filled with sadness as he said, "In the end, only I am left."

Xie Lian raised her hand and gestured for her to sit well and not be too agitated. "How many people are in that group?"

"My entire sect, plus that entourage, is about sixty people!"

About sixty people. When the female ghost Xuan Ji had wreaked havoc within the span of a century, what Ling Wen Palace finally reckoned with was that the total number of people killed did not exceed two hundred more. But listening to what this cultivator said, this kind of event seemed to have happened for over a century. If there are a lot of people missing at any time like that, then adding the whole number will make this no longer a small problem. Xie Lian asked, "When did the BanYue Pass first turn into a BanMing Pass?"

The man said, "About a hundred and fifty years ago, perhaps it first began; when the place became a den of demons."

Xie Lian wanted to ask in detail about the murders that happened to their group and about this 'demon nest. But, from the beginning until now, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Up here, Xie Lian had no way of suppressing her stolen feelings inwardly. So, he ended the topic and started to furrow his brows slightly.

Just then, San Lang suddenly spoke.

He said, "You managed to escape from the BanYue Pass?"

The cultivator said, "Yes! Agh, a very difficult escape!"

San Lang let out a 'oh' sound as a sign of understanding, then said nothing more. However, it only took one question for Xie Lian to be able to understand what felt so wrong.

Turning around, he warmly said, "Then, after escaping from such a far away place, you must be thirsty."

The man was startled, but Xie Lian had already placed a bowl of water in front of him, saying, "This is there water, fellow cultivator. Why don't you drink?"

Gazing at that bowl of water, an agitated expression flashed across the man's face. Xie Lian stood to the side, both hands hidden behind her sleeves, quietly waiting.

If this man really came from the Northwest, while fleeing in a hurry, he would definitely be thirsty and starving. And looking at his appearance, it seemed like he did not have time to eat or drink on the street.

However, after he woke up, he had spoken so much yet had not asked for food or drink for that long since. Despite seeing all the food and drink on the offering table after entering the temple, he did not show any desire or ask them. He did not even glance at the food and drink in the slightest.

He looked like he was not someone alive.

Seriate...