Chapter 715

"Salt..."

When Xiao Ran heard Shao Hongzhang say that, he was very surprised. He immediately thought of the Li Family salt shop's method of curing corpses in ashtrays.

"Are you sure it's salt?"

"Absolutely."

Xiao Ran's thoughts stirred at once. As for the rain Shao Hongzhang had mentioned, there was no way that could happen.

If you could really summon a downpour and destroy this place, why would Huang Chao go to all this trouble?

Still, if this place really was made of salt, perhaps Golden Toad Son could escape from the stone statue after all.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran patted Shao Hongzhang on the shoulder. "Take another good look."

Then he strode into the shrine.

It was not yet night, so Xiao Ran simply sat in a corner and rested with his eyes closed. About three hours later, the sky outside gradually darkened.

At that point, Golden Toad Son's consciousness began to stir within the statue.

Xiao Ran immediately told him about Shao Hongzhang's discovery and asked whether he could use that method to escape the statue.

But to Xiao Ran's disappointment, Golden Toad Son replied, "It won't work. My body isn't here. The version of me inside this statue is probably just my consciousness, trapped here. I suspect my real body is outside."

He paused to consider this. "And it's not just my body. The others—and maybe even you—may have undergone more than a simple change in appearance."

"You mean... all of this is an illusion?" Xiao Ran's brows twitched.

"Not exactly."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Real and unreal, true and false. From what you told me last night, Huang Chao deliberately separated us from you. This place is a trap he prepared specifically for you. You'll have to find the answer yourself."

Xiao Ran nodded.