The man was a tall guy, running like crazy. He knocked down several pedestrians on the street. They all said in dissatisfaction: "What are you doing!" "Why are you running so fast in such a hot day..." "This is the first time I see someone walking without a face."

As they talked, several people started laughing, but no one was really angry. Unexpectedly, the man rushed forward and crashed into a tall and gorgeous carriage, and blood splattered on the spot!

He fell on his back, and the passers-by who were joking started to scream. The carriage owner was also startled and stuck his head out to ask, "Who hit him? Who hit him?"

The incident happened suddenly, so Xie Lian had no choice but to put the young man aside and quickly stepped forward to ask, "What happened?"

The man hit his head against the hard carriage and seemed to have fainted, with his messy hair covering his face. Many people were watching cautiously. Before Xie Lian could get close, he suddenly jumped up again and screamed, "I can't stand it anymore! Kill, kill! Someone come and kill me! Come quickly!"

A few big men among the passers-by couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Whose madman is this? He escaped without being locked up. Take him back, take him back..." They wanted to grab him, but as soon as they surrounded him and saw his face clearly, they also shouted several times and hurriedly dodged: "What kind of monster is this!!!"

The madman ran towards them, shouting, "Kill me now!!!"

The men were extremely shocked. Just then, Xie Lian came up. When they saw that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they rushed behind him as if they had been pardoned. Without thinking, Xie Lian raised his leg and kicked the madman, causing him to somersault in the air and fall flat on his face. Several of them pointed at the ground and said, "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince! This man... this man... he has... he has!!!"

Xie Lian also saw it without them telling him—this person actually had two faces!

To be more precise, it was a face that had grown another face. This second face was squeezed onto half of the madman's cheek, the size of an adult's palm. The madman was a young man, but this face looked like a wrinkled old man, extremely ugly!

Xie Lian was extremely shocked, and all he could think of was one sentence:

What kind of monster is this? !

He immediately grabbed the sword at his waist and drew it out. This sword was the strange sword given by the Emperor Shenwu - Red Mirror. Ever since he met the strange man in white, he always carried this sword with him, in case he needed it someday. Maybe one day he could see the true face of that thing. Now it just came in handy. The long sword was unsheathed, and the sword light was brighter than snow. However, when he looked down, the scene reflected on the blade had not changed at all. It was still the same person, and the two scary faces were still there. In other words, this madman was not any kind of demon or monster, he was a human!

But, is there really someone in the world who looks like this? If he was born with this appearance, how could it not be known in the Imperial City of Xianle for so many years? Xie Lian was in doubt when suddenly, someone beside him said tremblingly, "He...how did he become like this?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Lian sheathed his Red Mirror Sword back into its sheath and turned around to ask, “Do you know this guy? Wasn’t he like this before?”

Several people said, "We know him. We worked with him. Of course it's not like that. He used to have... no such thing on his face!!"

Seeing the crowds gathering more and more, almost blocking the street, Xie Lian looked solemn, took a deep breath and said loudly: "Everyone, don't come close, it's okay, disperse!" The bandaged boy helped him separate the crowd, but Xie Lian didn't notice. He was busy communicating with Feng Xin and Mu Qing: "Hurry to the Imperial City Shenwu Street!"

Putting his hand down, he saw another person hesitating and stammering beside him. Xie Lian took the initiative to step forward and asked, “Do you have anything you want to say?”

Seeing the prince asking questions, the man finally mustered up the courage and said, "Your Highness, there is one thing I don't know whether I should say or not..."

Xie Lian had no time to wait for him to exchange pleasantries, so he said simply, “Just say it!”

The man said, "A few days ago, I had a few small pits on my chest, three big ones and two small ones. I didn't feel anything, neither itchy nor painful, but it felt quite comfortable when I scratched it. I didn't care much, but after seeing this brother, I felt a little... a little bit of something, haha." He laughed dryly, unbuttoned his clothes, exposed his chest, and said, "Do you think I'm okay?"

As soon as he took off his clothes, everyone fell silent. What were those dimples on his chest? They were clearly full of facial features, and one could make out a vague female face!

The man looked down and was horrified: "How could this happen?! It wasn't so... so..." Lifelike? Lifelike? No matter which word you use, it's utterly terrifying!

Everyone was horrified. This person couldn’t help but grab Xie Lian’s clothes and shouted, “Your Highness, save me!”

At this moment, Feng Xin and Mu Qing received a message from the spirit world and rushed over from the tower. Seeing this, both of them frowned, and Feng Xin shouted, "Get out of here, what's going on?"

Xie Lian didn't have time to explain, so he patted the man's shoulder and said soothingly, "It's okay. Just calm down." His tone was gentle and firm, serious and calm. The man thought he had it all planned out, and was even more convinced that this little thing would be a piece of cake for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so he felt relieved. However, Xie Lian's heart was in turmoil.

This kind of "human face" actually grows gradually! And there are more than one person with this symptom - let's call it a symptom, so can we guess that there are actually more?

He immediately gave Feng Xin and Mu Qing a brief summary and said, "Inform the palace and pass the order down to search the whole city to see if there is anyone else with something similar. Make sure no one is left out!"

Because this thing was too horrifying, the king took it very seriously after receiving the news and sent a large number of people to search and investigate, with extremely high efficiency. Late that night, it was confirmed that in the entire Xianle Imperial City, there were five people with relatively clear human faces on their bodies. These five people either saw it but didn't take it seriously, or the "human face" grew in a difficult-to-see part, and it didn't hurt, so they didn't notice it. In addition, there were more than a dozen people who had shallow pits and bulges on their bodies, suspected to be "human faces" that had not yet taken shape.

Among the more than 20 people, most were women and teenagers. After being sent to Xie Lian, they were all nervous and greeted each other, comforting each other casually. Xie Lian was originally explaining something to others, and noticed this, feeling that something was wrong, and asked, "Do you all know each other?"

The official who had been busy all night took a look at the book and said, "Your Highness, many of these people live in the suburbs of the imperial city, so they live relatively close to each other. Maybe they have some interactions with their neighbors on weekdays."

Many of them live in the same place? Mu Qing was shocked and said, "People who live close to each other all have human faces growing on their bodies? Is this thing contagious???"

Xie Lian thought of it faster than he did, but he couldn’t speak as fast as he said. He immediately said, “Separate them! Disband the crowd, and no one should hang around here. Find a place to isolate everyone here!”

"There is a strange disease, it's contagious." Once these six words were leaked, they were more effective than any dispersal or evacuation of soldiers. Not only did the crowd disperse, but most of the houses on the street were empty. Xie Lian ordered the officials and soldiers who came to obey his deployment to be fully armed and take precautions. He brought these twenty-odd people to the wilderness of the imperial city where some of them lived.

There were large tracts of forest near the suburban residential area, called the Buyou Forest. The ministers intended to build an area here to temporarily house the "patients". However, as they walked into the forest, while others were busy setting up camp, Xie Lian felt a sense of foreboding. Feng Xin and Mu Qing also noticed it. Feng Xin was the first to say, "Your Highness, could this be Lang Ying..."

Xie Lian put his hands behind his back and frowned, “Yes. It’s right here.”

Could it be that this dark forest was the place where Lang Ying dug the pit himself and buried his son's body?

The three of them noticed this and looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they couldn't tell what it was, they had a vague guess that drove them to start looking for the place where Lang Ying had buried the body. However, it had been several months since that day, and there were so many trees in the forest, so how could they remember which tree the body was buried under?

Just at this moment, an indescribable stench wafted over.

The stench was somewhat like the smell of a rotting corpse, but it was even more suffocating. One breath would make one faint. The others also smelled it and stepped back, covering their noses and fanning themselves, saying, "What's that over there?" "What's going on? It stinks more than being pickled in a jar for ten years..."

Xie Lian rushed forward and followed the horrible smell. He found a familiar crooked tree. The ground beneath the tree bulged slightly, forming a gentle mound. The soldiers gathered with swords raised to protect him. Xie Lian raised his hand to stop them and said in a deep voice, "Be careful. Ordinary people should not come over here."

Feng Xinze, who was not an ordinary person, picked up a shovel and stepped forward. After a few shovels, the mound of earth became a pit. The stench became stronger, and he shoveled more carefully. After a few more shovels, a little black thing appeared under the soil, which seemed to be wriggling slightly.

He slowed down his movements, and the soldiers were as if they were facing a great enemy. Suddenly, the ground bulged up, and a swollen, bloated, huge figure broke out of the ground, revealing itself to the people holding torches.

The stench suddenly increased, and many people vomited on the spot. Xie Lian's pupils also shrank.

That thing could no longer be described as a "human". Nothing else looked more human than it. No one could tell that this corpse, which could almost be described as "huge", was once just a skinny child!

An urge to vomit surged up his throat, and Xie Lian turned his head to look to the side. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were also stunned, and both blurted out: "What is this?!" "Is this a curse or just the decay of the corpse??"

No matter what it was, Xie Lian knew what to do now. He said, “Everyone, get out of the way! The farther the better! Burn this thing to ashes!”

After saying that, he raised his hand, and a flame burst out. The flames shot up into the sky, and in the thick smoke, at this moment, a shrill horn sounded from the distant city wall, wailing for death!

The three of them looked up at the same time. This was a sign that the enemy was coming. Feng Xin cursed, "Damn it, they came at this time!"

Mu Qing's face was gloomy and uncertain under the firelight. He said, "Maybe they did it on purpose?"

Xie Lian said decisively, “Mu Qing, stay and deal with this. Feng Xin, come with me and fight them off first. Remember not to let them see any flaws!”

That night, the two men hurried out of the city and had a quick fight.

Although they were caught off guard in this battle, they still won; although they won again, all the Xianle people, including Xie Lian, did not feel the joy of victory at all.

This sudden "strange disease" was called "human face plague" and spread rapidly in the Xianle Imperial City, causing panic among the people.

The king also considered blocking the news, but the first patient rushed out on the street, and there were countless witnesses, so it was impossible to hide it from the beginning. Moreover, the spread and outbreak of the human face epidemic were extremely fast. In just six days, more than 50 people were found to have suspected symptoms.

At the same time, Yongan's attacks became more frequent. Under the attack from many sides, Xie Lian had almost no time to go to Yongan to make it rain. Most of the mana and energy that was originally used to do this was consumed in the isolation zone of the imperial city.

In the cool and dark forest, there were large tracts of tents and sheds. Xie Lian walked among the patients. This quarantine area has grown from more than 20 people at the beginning to nearly 100 people now. It is getting bigger and bigger. Xie Lian comes here every day when he is free, and uses his magic power to relieve the terrible symptoms of the patients here. But relief is not a cure after all. What people hope is that he can cure himself. As Xie Lian was walking, a young man lying on the ground suddenly raised his hand, grabbed his clothes, and said, "Your Highness, I won't die, right?"

Xie Lian was about to speak when he felt that this person looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, wasn’t he the passerby who gave him an umbrella the day he learned that Xianle was short of water and it was raining in the Imperial City?

Thinking of that day, that rain, and that umbrella, Xie Lian felt a warm feeling in his heart. He squatted down, patted the man’s hand, and said seriously, “I will definitely do my best.”

The man seemed to have gained hope of survival, his eyes flashed with joy, he said "OK" repeatedly, and lay down again. From the eager eyes of these people, it was clear that they deeply believed that he could do it. Therefore, every time he met their eyes, Xie Lian felt a little guilty about himself and wanted to find a solution faster.

After walking around the quarantine area, Xie Lian found a place to sit. Mu Qing lit a bonfire, and he sat there in deep thought. In the distance, a few servants left with a stretcher, whispering to each other, but they didn't know that Xie Lian had heard everything:

"Which one is this?"

"The fourth or fifth one."

The patient carried on the stretcher was a dead patient in the Unforest Forest. In fact, it was very difficult for the human face plague to kill people. However, it was terrible if they didn't die. If they didn't die, they would have to carry this thing with them for the rest of their lives. Just thinking about it made people lose the courage to live. Especially some young women who cherish their looks. If they had the disease on such an important part as their face, they would most likely choose to die in the end.

One person sighed: "Alas! When will this end?"

Another person said, "With His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here, we won't lose the battle, don't worry."

The man complained, "I'm not worried about losing the war, but given the current situation, what's the point of not losing the war? People like us still have a hard time living. Sigh... Forget it, forget it. I'm not complaining. Just ignore what I said, ignore what I said."

If Feng Xin was here, he would have gone over and cursed. Mu Qing glanced at Xie Lian and continued to make a fire without saying anything. After the two men had completely walked away, he said calmly, "What a humble person's view. He can only blame others. Do you want a martial god to take charge of everything?"

Xie Lian shook his head. What the man said made sense. He was the God of War, and the army with him was invincible. However, at this time, what was the use of just winning a battle? The army was originally established to protect the people, but the people in the rear were suffering from the plague. Wouldn’t the original advantage become a joke?

At this time, the campfire flickered slightly, and a man sat down next to Xie Lian. It was Feng Xin who came back. Xie Lian immediately asked, "How is it?"

Feng Xin shook his head and said, "It's the same result as your previous investigation. Lang Ying is nowhere to be found on Beizipo, nor are there any strange people in white clothes. I don't know where they are hiding, and I can't verify whether they are doing anything wrong. Also, the people in Yong'an are really good, and no one has contracted the human face plague."

Mu Qing poked his fire and said, "The Imperial City and Beizipo are so close to each other, it is impossible that no one is infected. It is obvious that they must have been the one who did it."

Many people secretly thought so, and it made sense. However, even if they knew that it was the Yongan people, or more specifically, Lang Ying who was behind it, they could not find any evidence because the other party was hiding so deeply.

They suspected that the Human-Faced Plague was caused by a curse, and that the body of Lang Ying’s son was the source of the curse. However, if it was a curse, this curse was really beautiful, and it did not leave any traces for them to trace back. What could prove this suspicion? Nothing. Who knew if this Human-Faced Plague was just a new plague that came naturally? Unless they caught the object of their suspicion, Xie Lian would have no way to determine what the Human-Faced Plague was.

He also hurriedly reported his guess to the Heavenly Court. However, it was said long ago that Xie Lian was sent to the mortal world to break the law. Things are different now. In the past, if you wanted to report something, you just walked into the Shenwu Hall and told Jun Wu loudly in his ear, but now you have to follow the routine. You must know that the so-called routine, if you are lucky, you can pass it and pass it to the priest; if you are unlucky, you may be forced to go through an extremely tedious and complicated procedure, which will be delayed indefinitely. After that, it is nothing more than sending a priest to deal with it, and Xie Lian himself is a priest. Except for Jun Wu, there is no one in the Heavenly Court who can match his magic power. The priest sent down may not be as strong as him. Jun Wu has such a heavy burden on his shoulders. In the words of the human world, he is very busy, and it is impossible for him to come down to help him personally. Therefore, this report is just symbolic, and he does not really hold any hope.

However, what Xie Lian was thinking about right now was not these, but another question. He said, "If it was Yong'an who sent out the curse in order to defeat the imperial city, then the most effective attack would be to attack the army. As long as the army is defeated, wouldn't it be like the city gates are wide open? But in fact, the human-faced plague has not spread to the army at all."

It's not that there are no patients with the epidemic in the army, but relatively speaking, the number is really extremely small, only three or four people, and after being sent to quarantine, the situation was immediately under control and did not spread. Feng Xin always said whatever he thought, and said: "Maybe they think that even if they defeat the army, they will definitely lose with you, so they simply don't deal with the army, but directly deal with the civilians."

Hearing this, Mu Qing laughed. Feng Xin said, "What are you laughing at?" Mu Qing said, "Nothing. You always come up with very reasonable opinions. I have no objection."

Feng Xin was most annoyed by his style of pretending to be polite even though he wanted to hurt people, so he simply ignored him and said, "If they really did it, I would look down on you. If you have the guts, show your ability on the battlefield. What's the point of using some insidious tricks to harm innocent people?"

Hearing this, Xie Lian agreed with it deeply. He sighed and said, “These past few days, I have been wondering how one can be infected. First, we need to know how it is transmitted so that we can control it.”

Feng Xin said: "Isn't it very clear? If you get close to each other, have more contact, drink water, eat, sleep together, etc., it will be contagious."

Xie Lian rubbed his brows and said, “On the surface, that’s true. But let’s take the military for example. Soldiers in the military also drink water, eat, and sleep together. Their contact should be closer and more frequent than that of ordinary people. But why are there so few soldiers who are infected?”

Mu Qing frowned and said, "You mean, under the same conditions, some people will be infected and some will not, depending on their constitution. What you want to ask is what kind of people can resist the human face plague."

Xie Lian looked up and said, “Mu Qing understands me. That’s right. If we can find this out, we’ll be able to stop the spread of the Human Face Plague.”

Mu Qing nodded and said, "Okay. Let's look at it the other way around. What kind of people are more likely to get the human face plague? Among all the patients in Buyoulin, what kind of people are the most common?"

Xie Lian had walked through the isolation zone of the Buyou Forest countless times in the past few days, so he could answer the questions even with his eyes closed. He immediately said, “Women, children, teenagers, old men, and young men who are not very tall.”

Feng Xin asked doubtfully, "Could it be that only those with weak bodies will be infected? Should we ask the king to issue an order to call on all the people in the imperial city to exercise diligently?"

“…”

“…”

Xie Lian and Mu Qing both glanced at him, neither of them seeming to want to answer. After a pause, Feng Xin said to himself, "That's not right."