Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 54

Quietly, ignoring the accusing looks and words directed at him, Xie Lian shook his head: «There is no proof I can offer you, so it doesn't matter if you believe me or not». It was clear they weren't really going to believe his words, not until they saw the problem with their own eyes, but Xie Lian still wanted to warn them.

It was the best he could do, in that situation.

«The monster didn't lure you here with the intention of inviting you to a meal, I'm just telling you to be a little more careful».

He never received a response, however, because the sound of rushing footsteps came from the far distance, and everyone instantly perked up at the arrival of someone else. There were immediately those who wanted to check it out, but just as they crossed the threshold they stepped back, as what accompanied that running noise was waves of screaming. A voice that didn't sound human at all.

A sound Xie Lian had already heard before, and his face became ashen as he watched everyone's expression turn to anguish.

«What the fuck? It's not some beast is it?!».

Xie Lian narrowed his eyes, turning to the approaching figure: «No, that's a person», he confirmed. However, his one was grim, and that person was running in their direction while howling deafeningly, both hands covering his face.

Dreading the knowledge he had, Xie Lian squeezed through the crowd and stood at the front of the temple, seeing the man was about to run inside at any second; it was as if that mysterious man had no eyes at all, and in his crazed running he ended up crashing into a tree by the entrance, passing out soon after because of the impact.

The entire crowd was understandably shocked, and some gutsier folks even tried to go and examine him, but Xie Lian immediately called out: «Don't go near him, stop!». His tone was so sharp that many of those people jumped, including the street performer he had a scuffle with some days before, but they still asked him what were they supposed to do. Of course, letting a man lie on the ground after suffering such an injury wasn't a wise choice, and the former heavenly official was aware of that.

So, though he had no real desire to approach and confirm his suspicions, Xie Lian nodded in the direction of the man: «I will go take a look, you wait here».

Thankfully, the crowd had nothing to say against that – some even felt relieved – and Xie Lian approached slowly, crouching down. he was about to move the hand covering the man's face to take a look, when he suddenly jumped up and let out two shrieking cries.

Two.

At the same time.

If Xie Lian hadn't been raised to be a mannerly prince, he would have let out a curse; instead, with goosebumps all over his skin and pupils shrunken in alarm, the former god struck out before the man could charge towards the people at the entrance of the temple, sending him flying meters away.

Xie Lian then backed away to shield the entrance of the temple, while the crowd behind him panicked and screamed at the horrifying scene they just witnessed.

They knew what the Human Face Disease was, and it only made things increasingly worse. The painful word of them talking about the royal capital and the many deaths that occurred almost drowned Xie Lian back into his sorrows, but he didn't have time to dwell on his suffering; the next moment, all around them came even more wailing and more wobbling figures started gathering towards the temple.

All victims of the Human Face Disease!

«Don't spread out, if there are more of them outside, I'll all be over!», Xie Lian hastily shouted, killing every intent the people had of scattering around to avoid being infected. He fought off all their complaints and pulled out the branch that had been hanging on his waist, wielding it like a sword: «I get to say whether they can come close, you go back inside».