Use the is_set operator to check for existance.
{section show=is_set($module_result.path[3][node_id])}
bla bla 1
{section-else]
bla bla 2 {/section}
or if you want to choose among many expression until you find one that exists you can use first_set, it will return the first parameter that exist.
{first_set($module_result.path[3][node_id],false())} will return false (the second parameter) if no value exists.