The group of white-clothed men were headless and wearing prison uniforms. Each of them held a head, as if they were a group of beheaded prisoners. They slowly walked towards the ox cart, and the heads in their arms were still grumbling. Xie Lian whispered to the other two, "When they approach later, don't make a sound."

San Lang glanced at Ruo Xie who was hanging in the air, tilted his head and asked, "Brother, you are actually a strange man?"

His tone was full of interest. Xie Lian said, “Not bad. I can’t say they are extraordinary people, but they know a little bit. They can’t see us now, but if they get closer, it’s hard to say what will happen if they make a sound.”

The old man driving the carriage was dumbfounded when he saw the white silk flying and the headless man walking. He was shocked when he heard the words and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no! I'm afraid I can't hold it in."

"..." Xie Lian said, "Well, I'm sorry." He quickly made a move and tapped him from behind. The old man immediately leaned on the cart and fell asleep. Now, he finally didn't have to worry about him screaming out of fear and being discovered. Xie Lian gently caught him and put him on the ox cart. He turned around and said to San Lang, "It's okay. Don't be nervous."

It was dark, and I couldn't see Sanlang's expression clearly. I could only see that he nodded. Xie Lian then sat in front of the car, picked up the rope, and coaxed the cow gently. The group of ghosts in prison clothes came over and wanted to pass, but they felt that there was something blocking the middle of the road. They all said in a rough voice: "This is really weird! Why can't we pass!"

"Really! I can't get through it! Damn it!"

"Damn it, we are ghosts ourselves, what ghosts can we see?"

Xie Lian finally managed to coax the cow down, and passed by this group of headless ghosts in prison uniforms. Hearing them holding their heads and making noises, he just found it very funny. The ghosts also had many complaints: "Um, did you take the wrong one? Why do I feel like the one in your arms is my head?"

"Why is the cut on your end so uneven?"

"Alas, the executioner was a novice. He took five or six strikes before he finally cut it off. I even suspected he did it on purpose."

"Your family didn't give him some money, did they? Next time, remember to give him some money in advance. I'll pay him right away!"

"There won't be a next time!"

…

The Ghost Festival on July 15th is the biggest festival in the ghost world. On this day, the ghost gates are wide open, and all the demons and ghosts that usually lurk in the darkness come out and revel, and living people must avoid them. Especially on this night, staying indoors is the best choice. Once you go out, the chance of running into something is much greater than usual. Xie Lian always has a problem with his teeth getting stuck when drinking cold water, and he can't see ghosts when wearing Taoist robes. Now he ran into something. There were green ghost fires floating in all directions, and many ghosts were chasing the ghost fires. There were also some expressionless, mumbling ghosts in shrouds squatting in front of a circle, reaching out to take the paper money, gold ingots and other offerings burned by their descendants. This scene can be described as a group of demons dancing wildly. Xie Lian walked through it, thinking that he must check the almanac before going out in the future, when he suddenly felt something strange behind him. He looked back and saw that the young man sat behind him.

Xie Lian asked, “Are you okay?”

Sanlang supported his chin with one hand and said, "Something happened. I'm scared."

“…” Although there was really no trace of fear in his voice, Xie Lian still comforted him, “Don’t be afraid. You’re behind me, nothing can hurt you.”

The young man smiled but said nothing. Xie Lian suddenly realized that he was actually staring at him. After a moment, he finally realized that the young man was staring at the curse shackle on his neck.

This cursed yoke is like a black collar around a person's neck. It cannot be hidden at all and easily makes people have some bad associations. Xie Lian was about to speak when the old yellow ox pulled the ox cart and came to a fork in the road. Xie Lian saw that two dark mountain roads diverged here and immediately pulled the ox's rope.

You have to be extremely careful at this fork in the road.

On the day of the Zhongyuan Festival, sometimes, when people are walking, they will find that there is a road in front of them that does not exist normally. Living people cannot walk on such a road. Once you walk on the wrong road and walk into the territory of the ghost world, it will be difficult to return.

Xie Lian had just arrived and could not tell which of the two mountain roads to take. He remembered that he had just bought a large bag of rags and some sundries in the town, including a fortune stick. He thought to himself, let me tell your fortune, so he took out the fortune stick from his bag, shook it in his hand, and explained to San Lang while shaking it: "The first one is left, the second one is right, whichever road is better, we will take it." He used a little magic power, silently recited three times, and two fortune sticks fell out of the tube. He picked it up and looked at it, and fell silent.

Very bad luck!

Both lots are bad, which means that both roads are very bad. Doesn't that mean you will die no matter which one you choose?

Xie Lian was helpless, and said to the lottery stick, “Oh, lottery stick, today is the first time we meet, why are you so heartless? Let’s do it again, and give me some face.”

So he changed to holding the cylinder with both hands and shook it again. He shook out two more sticks, picked them up and looked at them. They were still all bad signs, very unlucky!

Xie Lian decided not to waste any more mana. At this moment, San Lang beside him suddenly said, “Let me try?”

It didn't matter whether he tried or not, so Xie Lian handed him the lottery box. San Lang took it with one hand, shook it casually, and two lottery sticks fell out. He picked them up and handed them to him without even looking at them. Xie Lian took them and saw that both lottery sticks were excellent.

Xie Lian was slightly surprised. Because, with his bad luck, he often seemed to bring bad luck to other people. He didn’t know if it was true, but he had been complained about this before. But this young man was not affected at all by him, and directly shook out two very good lots. He sincerely praised: “My friend, you have very good luck.”

Sanlang threw the lottery tube back and said with a smile, "Really? Well, I think I'm lucky too. It's always been like this."

Hearing him say "It's always been like this", Xie Lian rubbed his brows, thinking that the gap between people is indeed like a natural chasm. San Lang asked again: "How do we get there?"

In this situation, he could only leave and could not stay. Xie Lian had originally planned to pick one at random, and said, “Since both are top picks, then just go with whatever you want.”

After pulling the rope a few times, the wheels of the ox cart slowly started rolling again. Xie Lian had been on high alert, ready to deal with any unexpected situation. Who would have thought that it would be a smooth journey. Soon, the ox cart slowly climbed out of the forest and came to the open mountain road. He had chosen the right road.

Puqi Village was already at the foot of the hill, with clusters of lights shining brightly and warmly. The night breeze blew by, and Xie Lian looked back. Sanlang seemed to be in a very good mood, lying back down, resting his head on his hands, gazing at the bright moon. The boy's eyebrows and eyes looked unreal under the faint moonlight.

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian smiled and said, “Friend, have you ever had your fortune told?”

As he walked along the way, he finally began to feel a little suspicious.

It was fine that he was well-informed and experienced, but when walking among ghosts at night, this young man was a little too calm. Although it could not be ruled out that some people were born with a calm temperament, Xie Lian still felt that it was necessary to confirm it a little.

Hearing this question, Sanlang turned around and said, "I haven't calculated it."

Xie Lian asked, “Then, do you want me to help you calculate?”

Sanlang looked at him and said with a smile, "You want to help me calculate?"

Xie Lian said, “I kind of miss it.”

Sanlang nodded slightly and said, "Okay."

He sat up, leaning slightly towards Xie Lian, and asked, "How do you want to settle this?"

Xie Lian asked, “How about reading your palm?”

Hearing this, Sanlang's mouth curled up slightly. It was hard to tell what the smile meant, but he just said, "Okay."

As he spoke, he stretched out his left hand towards him.

The fingers of this left hand were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, very beautiful. And it was definitely not the kind of weak beauty, but rather a hidden strength. No one would want to be strangled by such a hand. Xie Lian remembered the slight change in his expression when San Lang touched him just now, and paid special attention to avoiding physical contact, not touching his hand directly, but just lowering his head to observe carefully.

The moonlight was pure white, not too dark, but not too bright either. Xie Lian watched for a while. The oxcart was still crawling slowly along the mountain road, the wheels and wooden axles creaking. San Lang asked, “How is it?”

After a while, Xie Lian slowly said, "You have a good fate."

San Lang asked, "Oh? What's the good way?"

Xie Lian raised his head and said in a gentle voice, “You have a strong and persistent temperament. Although you have encountered many setbacks, you always stick to your original intention. You can often turn misfortune into fortune and turn disaster into blessing. This number brings long-lasting blessings, my friend. Your future will surely be full of flowers and bright.”

The above sentences are all made up and nonsense. Xie Lian can't read palms. When he was demoted, he often regretted why he didn't learn palm and face reading from the imperial masters in Huangji Temple. If he had learned it, he wouldn't have to play music and perform on the streets and break stones when he was trying to make a living in the human world. And the reason why he wanted to read was not to see the fate of this boy, but to see if this boy had palm lines and fingerprints.

Ordinary demons and ghosts can transform into fake bodies and pretend to be alive, but the subtle details of the body, such as palm lines, fingerprints, and hair tips, are generally not so detailed. However, this young man not only has no fluctuations of magic power, but also has very clear palm lines. If it is really a demon or ghost in disguise, then only the "ferocious" level or above can achieve such a perfect disguise. However, how could a ghost king of that status come with him to a small mountain village to ride a bullock cart to kill time? Just like the priests in heaven are all busy with all kinds of things, they are also very busy!

Xie Lian pretended to be very confident and made up a few sentences, but finally he couldn’t make up any more. San Lang stared at him intently, and while listening to his nonsense, he laughed softly, his laughter was very intriguing, and he said, “Anything else? Hmm?”

Xie Lian thought that he would not make up more stories, so he asked, “What else do you want to be?”

San Lang said, "Since it's fortune telling, doesn't it also involve fortune telling about marriage?"

Xie Lian coughed lightly and said solemnly, “I’m not very good at learning the art, so I’m not very good at calculating marriage. But I think you don’t have to worry about this.”

San Lang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you think I don't have to worry about this?"

Xie Lian smiled: "There must be many girls who like you."

San Lang asked, "Then why do you think there will be many girls who like me?"

Xie Lian was about to answer him, but suddenly he realized that this kid was trying to get him to praise him directly. He felt helpless and amused, not knowing what to say. He rubbed his brows and said, "Sanlang."

This was the first time Xie Lian called him "San Lang". The young man laughed and finally let him go. At this time, the ox cart had already climbed into the village panting. Xie Lian turned around, held his forehead slightly, and quickly got off the cart. San Lang also jumped off the cart. Who would have thought that when Xie Lian looked up, he found that he had been lazily lying on the ox cart all the way. Now that the two of them stood together, the young man was actually taller than him, and the two of them couldn't even look at each other. San Lang stood in front of the cart and stretched. Xie Lian said, "San Lang, where are you going?"

San Lang sighed, "I don't know. We can sleep on the street, or find a cave to make do with."

Xie Lian said, “No way?”

Sanlang spread his hands and said, "I can't help it. I have nowhere to go." He glanced over, laughed twice and said, "Thank you for telling my fortune. I appreciate your good words. See you later."

Xie Lian felt ashamed when he mentioned fortune-telling. Seeing that he really turned around, Xie Lian hurriedly said, "Wait, if you don't mind, do you want to come to my temple?"

Sanlang paused, turned halfway around, and said, "Is it okay?"

Xie Lian said, “That house wasn’t originally mine, but I heard that many people often stayed overnight there in the past. It’s just that it may be much more shabby than you imagined, so I’m afraid you can’t live there.”

If this young man is really a runaway, we can’t just let him run around like this. Xie Lian suspected that he only ate half a steamed bun all day. If a young man keeps doing what he wants, he will faint on the street sooner or later. After hearing what he said, Sanlang turned around and didn’t answer. Instead, he walked in front of Xie Lian and leaned forward. Xie Lian didn’t understand what he was going to do, but he felt that the distance between them suddenly became very close, and he felt a little overwhelmed.

The young man stepped back again, and he even picked up the large bag of scrap copper and iron that Xie Lian had brought back, and said, “Let’s go.”