Xie Lian immediately stood up and said, “Jin Yi Xian?!”

Of course, the silhouette did not respond, nor did it move, but just stood there. Xie Lian held down the other two people with his hands, one on the left and one on the right, and whispered, "Don't move."

After a while, a gust of night wind blew by, and the silhouette seemed to sigh, disintegrating and disappearing with the wind. Xie Lian stood up suddenly, and at this moment, there was an abrupt knock on the door of the dyeing workshop. The three of them turned around and looked, and Xie Lian asked, "Who?"

A male voice said from outside: "Your Highness, it's me."

Xie Lian went over to open the door. Outside the dyeing workshop was a man with a clear face and a straight face. He came in with his hands behind his back. Xie Lian was slightly surprised and asked, "Lingwen, why did you come here in person?"

Ling Wen straightened his sleeves and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince said that this is a difficult situation. I'm afraid that ordinary priests can't handle it, so I came here to take a look. Hello, Your Highness Qiying, why are you sitting on the ground? What's wrong? Why do you look like this?"

It was a male-shaped spiritual text. Xie Lian walked to the curtain and lifted it up. It was indeed empty. After a while, he turned around and said, "The Jinyi Fairy has revealed himself."

Ling Wen asked curiously: "What?"

Xie Lian said, “That must be it. It’s a young man, very tall, about two inches taller than me. Judging from the shape of his skeleton, he must be a skilled warrior.”

Ling Wen hesitated slightly and said, "Your Highness, are you sure? In all these years, I have never heard of the Jinyi Fairy appearing in front of people. Besides, didn't you say that there is no genuine item among these ninety-eight ghost clothes? Could it be that someone is pretending to be a ghost and deceiving others?"

Xie Lian said, “I’m afraid not. After the commotion just now, in order to prevent the ghost clothes from flowing out and harassing mortals again, we closed the doors and windows and set up a formation so that things inside can’t get out and things outside can’t get in. There are only three of us in this dyeing workshop, so who can be a ghost?”

After a moment's silence, Ling Wen said, "So, the real thing encountered a special situation? Or, the silhouette you saw was the wronged soul attached to another ghost garment?"

Lang Ying and Quan Yizhen squatted on the ground, looking dazed. Xie Lian and Ling Wen stood aside with their arms folded like adults, discussing seriously for a while. Finally, Ling Wen suggested, "I think, why don't we take these ghost clothes to Lingwen Hall first and let the people over there take a look? If it doesn't work, we can ask them at the next meeting. There are always experts in the Heavenly Palace."

After thinking for a while, Xie Lian nodded and said, "Alright, but this is a task assigned to us after all, I still want to complete it thoroughly. Since the real Jinyixian item is inside, I will try it again. If there is no result tomorrow, I will hand over these 98 ghost clothes to you." After all, this matter was not originally under the jurisdiction of Lingwen Hall. Lingwen said, "Your Highness, why are you being polite? By the way, if you deliver it tomorrow, you should send 101 pieces."

Xie Lian was startled, “Why are there three more pieces?” He then realized, “Do you suspect there’s something wrong with the three pieces of clothing we’re wearing?”

Lingwen said: "It's not impossible."

Xie Lian held up the cuff of his Taoist robe, which had been worn to the point of being unthreaded, and said, "I've worn this robe for four or five years, so it must be fine. The one Langying is wearing is newly bought by me, but he doesn't listen to me, so it should be fine too." He told Langying not to work, but Langying chopped wood anyway; he told him to stay at home, but Langying followed him out the door anyway. Lingwen shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. Your Highness, you don't know that the evil spirit of the Jinyi Immortal is very strong. If one of it is here, the evil spirit will spread to other ordinary clothes. In short, to be on the safe side, you should stop wearing the clothes you are wearing today and get rid of them."

Hearing this, Xie Lian hurriedly took off the coats of Lang Ying and Quan Yizhen and said, “Don’t wear them anymore. Take them off. Take them all off. Then, I’ll pack the clothes and send them to Lingwen Hall tomorrow.”

Lingwen said, "Shall I send someone to get it?"

Xie Lian said, “No, no. I’m sorry to bother you every time. I still want you to come here in person. You guys are too busy. I’ll do it myself.”

The next day, Xie Lian packed a lot of clothes with great effort, and went to Xianjing alone, carrying several huge bags.

Lingwen had been waiting in the hall for a long time. Today, the hall was not as busy and crowded as usual. Xie Lian untied several large bags of ghost clothes, and the colorful clothes burst out and spread all over the floor. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. Lingwen walked over leisurely and asked, "Did you get anything?"

Xie Lian sighed helplessly, "Shame on me, I found nothing. I apologize first, there's no one around, so it's inevitable that I'll lose things. Yesterday, a lot of clothes were in a mess, and I don't know if they were missing. I always feel like I missed one or two pieces, but I'm not sure."

Lingwen said, "No problem." He lowered his head and nodded, saying, "It was indeed missed. Your Highness, it seems that the one worn by the little ghost beside you yesterday was not collected?"

Xie Lian made a fist with his right hand and gently hammered his left palm, saying, “Ah, you’re right! I remember now, Lang Ying got used to wearing that dress later, and I forgot to put it away. I’ll go back and get it now.”

Lingwen smiled and said, "No hurry, Your Highness, please walk slowly."

However, Xie Lian did not leave. Instead, he stood still, his expression gradually becoming serious. Ling Wen was about to order his priests to come up and take the ghost robe, but when he turned around and saw that he was still there, there were only two people in the hall, and he asked curiously, "Your Highness, is there anything else you want?"

Xie Lian looked at her with complicated eyes and said, “Nothing. I was just wondering, if I sent the real Jin Yi Xian here, would you take the real thing and hide it as soon as I turned my back?”

“…”

Lingwen's smile faded slightly, but he was still very polite and asked, "Your Highness?"

Xie Lian looked at her calmly and said, “From the beginning, I had a vague idea.”

Lingwen said calmly: "What's your idea?"

Xie Lian said, “Ordinary people and common demons and monsters would not dare to enter the Shenwu Palace without permission. If there is anyone who is familiar with the Shenwu Palace and can steal the things guarded there without being caught, I am afraid that it is you, Lingwen Zhenjun, besides Jun Wu himself.”

After all, Lingwen Palace travels between various palaces all year round and is extremely familiar with other people's territories.

Ling Wen smiled and said, "Your Highness, you are taking things for granted. 'Whoever can do it most easily is the most suspicious.' According to your line of thought, isn't it more likely that the Emperor has embezzled?"

Xie Lian nodded and said, “I admit that I took it for granted. But what started to make me feel something was wrong was that half-made-up girl.”

Lingwen asked, "What happened to the half-made-up girl?"

Xie Lian said, “It took a fake Jin Yi Xian and just happened to come to my door. How could it be such a coincidence? Moreover, it was so suspicious that it almost wrote on its face, as if it was afraid that I would not suspect that she was possessed. Its purpose was too strong.”

"Oh? What's the purpose?"

Xie Lian said, “Didn’t she already say it? ‘Trade old for new.’ What she wants are the old clothes from my Puqi Monastery!”

On the other hand, when Jin Yi Xian was stolen, Shen Wu Temple discovered it very quickly and reacted very quickly, starting to track it down right after it was stolen. Therefore, the thief might not dare to keep it in his hands and would hide it first. So, where is the most difficult hiding place to be found?

Hiding leaves in the forest.

If Xie Lian wanted to hide the Jinyixian, he would turn it into an ordinary linen shirt, throw it into the human market, and stare at it from afar. Normally, no one would want to buy such a rough piece of clothing. But Xie Lian's life cannot be guessed by common sense. He has been wearing a Taoist robe with frayed edges for four or five years, and the money he has is only enough to buy this kind of clothes. Moreover, his requirements for clothes now are that they are warm and clean, and he is not picky. In addition, he has the ability to pick the most dangerous piece of clothing from countless pieces of discounted clothes. Therefore, he happily bought the legendary Jinyixian at a very low price.

Ling Wen said, "Your Highness, what you said is really too much. After all, you are a martial god, so you can imagine that the half-made-up girl who came to your door would be subdued by you immediately. No matter whether her clothes are new or old, she can't take them away."

Xie Lian said, “It’s true that she can’t take everything with her, but who says she has to take everything with her? If nothing unexpected happens, how will she deal with it in the end?”

If Xie Lian thought that the half-made-up lady was holding the real Jinyixian, she would definitely report it to Lingwen. Then, Lingwen would most likely come down personally and tell Xie Lian, like he did yesterday, that to be on the safe side, all the clothes present should be taken back to Lingwen Hall for disposal.

Unfortunately, Quan Yizhen was also there at the time. Moreover, he had gained experience after wearing it once, and was actually sure that the brocade clothes were fake. In this case, it was not so logical for Lingwen to come and take away all the clothes in Puqi Temple.

All the information about Xie Lian was given by Lingwen, and she could ask questions openly and understand Xie Lian's movements at any time. After the half-made-up girl was exposed, Lingwen immediately sent a new message to Xie Lian, telling him that many fakes had flowed out of the ghost market and needed to be dealt with, and gave him a new task, leaving him no time to think about the strangeness. Xie Lian said: "I don't know if those fakes flowed out from you, but you did tell me the news. This step is probably to transfer me away from Puqi Temple and then attack Lang Ying."

Unexpectedly, Lang Ying also followed out.

"I don't know if you expected the Jinyixian to suddenly appear, but it's not difficult for you to adapt to the situation."

With so many ghost clothes, no one knows whether they are real or fake. In the chaos, there is always a chance to steal the real Jinyixian clothes. When Jinyixian reveals his true form, Lingwen can also appear in person and take away the clothes of everyone present openly. In the end, how to verify and judge whether there are real clothes or not, and how to explain the silhouette, are all a matter of a word from Lingwen Palace.

Hearing this, Lingwen made a pause gesture and said, "Your Highness, can you stop for now? So, you think Lang Ying is called like that, right? Do you think the one he's wearing is the Jinyixian? Don't forget, after he put it on, he didn't obey you, right? You said that yourself. You know, the power of Jinyixian is extremely strong, even if he meets the Ghost King, he will not be an exception."

Xie Lian said, “You also said, ‘I encountered a special situation.’ As for what the special situation was, I think you know better than me. I hope you can explain it to me.”

Lingwen frowned slightly, put his hands behind his back, and said softly: "Your Highness, have you already determined that I am a clothes thief? Excuse me, this makes me a little... unhappy."

Xie Lian bowed slightly and said, "I apologize."

Ling Wen said, "I accept it. However, Your Highness, if you insist, it is not impossible to produce evidence. After all, it is still speculation at this point."

Xie Lian said slowly, “I didn’t have any evidence before today, and even before I stepped into the Lingwen Hall. But, I have it now.”

Lingwen made an inviting gesture and said, "Please."

Xie Lian said, “The evidence is that just now, you didn’t even count the number of these ghost clothes.”

Ling Wen's expression barely changed, but his eyebrows knitted slightly. Xie Lian said, "The ghost clothes I sent you are indeed missing, but not just one piece. In fact, I only sent you eighty-eight pieces, which is a full ten pieces less!

"I withheld all the clothes that I thought were suspicious and didn't send them to you, but you didn't notice the problem with the number at all, and you noticed at a glance that Lang Ying's clothes were not sent - so how did you find out that only one piece was missing?"

Lingwen raised his hand and said, "Please wait a moment."

She was not in a hurry, and counted the ghost clothes on the ground again, and found that it was indeed 88. She remained calm and said, "I think this can be explained by 'a hundred precautions have a loophole'."

Xie Lian said, “Okay. Since you’ve been careful and should have looked at them one by one, let me tell you something: Didn’t you notice just now? The clothes Lang Ying wore yesterday were clearly among these eighty-eight ghost clothes!”

Ling Wen said: "Your Highness, what does this mean?"

Xie Lian squatted down, dug out a piece of clothing from the pile of messy clothes, and shook it open. It was a plain white linen shirt. He said, "This is what Lang Ying was wearing yesterday. Isn't it right here? Why didn't you find it after checking it out?"

Lingwen said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince should also know that this linen shirt is not very eye-catching. I didn't see it in a hurry. You can't blame me for being blind."

Xie Lian said, “It is indeed inconspicuous. Then, with your meticulousness, prudence, and caution, how could you rashly conclude that such an inconspicuous piece of clothing was not here without having counted the number of items?”

Lingwen smiled and said, "There are too many clothes, my eyes are dazzled; there are too many files, I am dumbfounded."

Xie Lian said, “You are not dazzled. On the contrary, your eyesight is too good. Let me tell you another thing: I did not bring the dress that Lang Ying wore yesterday. The one in my hand is just another one I copied from the original one. However, my copy was very careful and detailed. How did you tell at a glance that Lang Ying’s original dress was not here?”

Ling Wen was puzzled and said, "Actually, whether it's true or not, I haven't seen it. Your Highness, have you been doing too much official business, and can't help but think too much on weekdays? Why would you spend so much time and energy to make a replica when there is nothing to do?"

Seeing that she had avoided the attack, Xie Lian said, “It’s not over yet. I’ll tell you one last thing.”

He held up the white linen shirt and whispered, "… This shirt is just something I picked up at random. What I meant by 'replicating it exactly like the original' and 'carefully and meticulously' is all nonsense. As you said, why would I make a replica if I have nothing to do? You've been fooled. It's not even the same color as the one Lang Ying wore yesterday. When I showed it to you and asked you about it, didn't you feel anything was wrong?"

“…”

Xie Lian stared at Ling Wen and said, “Ling Wen, now, I just need you to answer me a very simple question: What color was the dress Lang Ying was wearing yesterday?”

Lingwen did not speak immediately, but slowly raised his eyes.

The white linen clothes fell to the ground. Xie Lian said, “As the number one literary god, you handle tens of thousands of documents in the heavenly court every day, no matter how big or small. You shouldn’t have such a bad memory. Why can’t you even remember the color of the clothes Lang Ying was wearing yesterday?”

"You can't answer because you are afraid that I will cheat you again, so you dare not answer easily; because you don't know what color it is; because yesterday, you saw that he was wearing just a ragged cloth bag without a head and sleeves!"

He said word by word: "The Jinyixian's ever-changing appearance is nothing more than a very powerful illusion. However, no matter how powerful this illusion is, it will never work on one person - that is the person who created it.

"No matter how it changes, what the person who made it sees is always its original appearance. Just now, you glanced at the eighty-eight ghost clothes and didn't see the headless and sleeveless strange cloth bag inside. Of course, you can immediately determine that the Jinyixian is not inside!"