Facing the passengers’ questioning, the uncle still ignored them, staring straight at the woman in the red skirt. “Who are you? What’s your surname?!”
Casually folding a yellow talisman paper, the woman blinked and stated her name in a slow, cheerful tone: “Xun Fang, my name is Xun Fang.”
The uncle furrowed his brows tightly. “Surname Xun?”
“That’s right, surname Xun. Does that disappoint you? What about your name, then?” Xun Fang raised her chin with interest. “Let me guess, your surname should be Chen.”
The uncle’s expression shifted abruptly.
Xun Fang nodded with satisfaction. “Looks like I didn’t remember it wrong.”
Glancing at the bewildered passengers present, Xun Fang continued:
“Three years ago, a train murder incident was published in the newspaper. A passenger killed 15 other passengers. The carriage where it happened was right here.”
“At the time, the newspaper interviewed the security inspector of this carriage. Because he failed to detect the blades and firearms on the killer, that security inspector was fired and penalized.”
“Later, to make up for his mistake, the security inspector identified the killer in court. I think Mr. Chen looks a lot like that security inspector…”
Struck where it hurt, the uncle’s face gradually turned livid.
Pausing for a moment, Xun Fang looked at the passengers with their varying expressions and continued to add:
“This Mr. Chen is the only one among us who has a connection to the murder case from back then. Initially, I only suspected that he might be colluding with the ghosts in order to atone for his sins and save his own skin.”
“But wouldn’t his act of refusing to let everyone paste the talismans practically confirm this possibility?”
Xun Fang’s remarks shook the passengers present.
The girl wearing headphones asked doubtfully, “If you knew so much, why didn’t you tell everyone right from the beginning?”
“Oh my, I was only guessing at the start, after all.”
Chen Renping glared fixedly at Xun Fang. “I am not colluding with any ghosts. It’s just that the passengers who died here are all innocent people; they shouldn’t end up with their souls scattered to the winds.”
“Innocent?! You actually call them innocent?!”
The wife, who had been in a daze all along, roared in disbelief. Unable to control her emotions, she lunged fiercely at Chen Renping. “Look at those two corpses on the ground! You pity the ghost—who is going to pity me and my child?!!”
Suppressing her hands, Chen Renping frowned and pushed her back to her seat. “Calm down!”
Clutching the boy in her seat, the wife cried heartrendingly, “Give me back my husband!!!”
“Wuwu wuwu, I want Daddy! Wuwu…”
The commotion kicked up by the wife and boy turned Chen Renping—who pitied the ghost—into someone who was hated by everyone inside and out.
The passengers who had originally stood by Chen Renping quietly distanced themselves from him by a few steps.
Xun Fang: “That’s why I suggest everyone stay away from this uncle, especially when going through the tunnel.”
The plump matron nodded. “Let’s all sit toward the back and leave him sitting in the front all by himself!”
“I agree.”
“I agree too…”
For self-preservation, some passengers even proposed tying Chen Renping up with rope.
Yet others felt it was going too far, seeing as the man hadn’t yet committed any substantive act to harm them.
Glared at by eyes full of hostility, Chen Renping’s face turned dark and ashen. He shook his head. “I didn’t harm you. You’d all better not blindly trust this woman.”
However, his pale explanation sounded like a counter-accusation.
His attempt to stop the talisman from suppressing the ghost had already made his stance clear, and no passenger was willing to trust him anymore.
“Get away from us!”
“That’s right, go sit over there!”
“There are so many of us, we aren’t afraid of you!”
“Traitor!”
“Why wasn’t it you who died instead of my husband? My child is still so young… Wuwu…”
Amidst the resentful gazes, Chen Renping closed his mouth, let out a deep sigh, and walked toward the front seats.
Xun Fang picked up the talisman papers to redistribute them. Some passengers accepted them, while others—such as the headphone girl, who still held doubts—refused.
When it came to Su Cheng’s turn, she didn’t take any.
Xun Fang didn’t force the issue. Saying a simple “Come find me if you change your mind,” she returned to her seat.
For some reason, Xun Fang didn’t give Su Cheng the impression of being a generous character who would share good things with others.
Were those talismans really effective?
Su Cheng’s thoughts bounced back and forth between Xun Fang and Chen Renping as she began to piece the information together.
If what Xun Fang said was true, then the “ghosts” killing the husband and the bald man were passengers who had died in the massacre three years ago.
Was Chen Renping really colluding with the ghosts?
Not necessarily.
Su Cheng always felt that Xun Fang harbored a faint, latent malice and mockery toward Chen Renping.
Ever since Chen Renping exposed his knowledge of the train’s situation, Xun Fang had been subtly casting doubt on him, gradually guiding the passengers to create a rift with Chen Renping and intentionally isolating him.
Why was Chen Renping worthy of Xun Fang’s special treatment?
It wasn’t likely just because she simply disliked him; the underlying reason wasn’t yet clear.
Su Cheng let out a soft inner sigh, her thoughts still a complete tangled mess.
The information she grasped was far too scarce, leaving her capable only of blind guessing without arriving at any definitive answers.
After distributing the talismans, Xun Fang led a group of passengers to sit in the rear seats, close to the youth’s location.
The sudden arrival of this crowd caused the youth to irritably scratch his hair, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Su Cheng was still considering where to sit when she suddenly heard someone whisper:
“Why is there such a strong smell? Is this restroom always this stinky?”
“I have air freshener in my luggage, I’ll take it out and use it!”
“Hurry up and get it, I’m choking to death here!”
“Should we just go sit in the front?”
“There’s blood all over the floor in the front, plus the traitor is sitting over there. I definitely don’t want to go over.”
“Did the person who said they have freshener find it? Spray it quickly…”
The passengers’ luggage was piled up on the overhead racks at the back of the carriage.
There were boxes and backpacks of various sizes on the luggage racks. The large boxes were heavier and cushioned the bottom, totaling five or six large suitcases.
Su Cheng keenly noticed that whenever a passenger rummaged through the luggage, the youth’s body would tense up slightly.
An idea instantly sparked in Su Cheng’s mind.
Feigning the appearance of looking for her luggage, she joined the other passengers in rummaging through the luggage rack.
Her hands touched every single box and backpack one by one.
Muttering, “Where is my luggage?”, she secretly observed the youth’s expression.
Until her hand brushed against a black suitcase, her peripheral vision catching the youth involuntarily clenching his fist.
It’s this one!
Su Cheng deliberately said, “It looks like there’s something underneath this box…”
Seeing that she was about to touch the black box again, the youth instantly snapped and lost his cool!
“Don’t touch it!”
“That’s my stuff!”
The youth abruptly stood up, raising his voice.
He aggressively reached out to yank Su Cheng away, but Su Cheng quickly dodged out of the way.
Looking aggrieved, she said, “I just wanted to see what was pinned underneath, I had no intention of messing with your luggage.”
Rejecting this explanation, the youth stared fixedly at Su Cheng and issued a final warning: “It’s been you time and time again. Get away from me and my things!”
Su Cheng shrugged nonchalantly.
This attitude completely infuriated the youth, and a fierce, ruthless look flashed deep within his eyes.
The more the youth failed to keep his emotions in check, the more successfully Su Cheng achieved her goal.
Someone like the youth, who only wanted to completely hide himself in a corner, would only show his cloven hoof when he could no longer control his emotions.
“Oh my~ Stop arguing, hurry back to your seats, the train is about to go through the tunnel again.”
Xun Fang beckoned to Su Cheng, pointing to the empty seat beside her. “Sit here.”
“No thanks.”
Xun Fang’s smile froze. Especially upon seeing Su Cheng walk over to take a seat at the front, her gaze darkened for a fraction of a second as she curled her lips.
Su Cheng walked over and sat down beside Chen Renping.
“You believe me?”
Chen Renping was extremely surprised.
Without answering, Su Cheng took the bracelet out of her pocket.
“Do you know Mu Ling?”
Hearing that name, Chen Renping’s pupils shrank violently.
During the days and nights plagued by nightmares, the names of the dead passengers had long since been etched into his heart.
“Where did you get this thing?”
Looks like he knows Mu Ling.
“I picked it up.”
Chen Renping’s gaze flickered with a complex, heavy mix of emotions.
After hesitating as if making up his mind, just as he was about to speak, he heard the train rumble…
Rumble, rumble—
The train entered the tunnel once again.
Why did it have to enter the tunnel right when Chen Renping was about to speak…?
Su Cheng clenched her fists in helplessness, struck by a frustrated, powerless annoyance akin to watching an ad right before the climax of a TV show.
Bzzzt.
The lights abruptly went snap and went out.
During this 30-second countdown, who would the ghost choose this time?
29, 28, 27, 26…
The Soul-Guiding Needle in Su Cheng’s hand began to shake, pointing toward the rear.
Were the ghosts targeting Xun Fang’s group?
Lowering her gaze in thought, Su Cheng suddenly felt a gust of wind brush across her face.
A shock ran through her heart. Gripping the motionless Soul-Guiding Needle tightly, she thought: This is inside a train carriage, where on earth is wind coming from?!
Her eyes suddenly felt cold and gloomy, as if an invisible “person” had blown a breath of chilly air directly onto her eyeballs…
Her eyelids drooped uncontrollably as a heavy wave of exhaustion washed over her.
Did the ghost choose her instead of Xun Fang?
The surrounding environment faded into the dim, grayish hue of a flashback videotape.
People were sitting in the originally empty seats, passengers chatting, mixed with the sound of children giggling.
Su Cheng looked down: the black wristband on her wrist had vanished, replaced by a familiar bracelet carved with the owner’s given name.
Looking at her attire, her trench coat had transformed into a yellow dress.
Su Cheng quickly reacted—she had entered Mu Ling’s body.
This was on the train from three years ago.
Suddenly, a scream shattered the peace.
“Ahhhhh—”
Following the shrieks, red blood flowed along the aisle…
The passengers plunged into panic.
“Ahhhhh!”
“There’s a killer! Run!!”
“Help—”
“D-Don’t kill me…”
A thin, frail man wearing a smiling mask brandished a sharp blade, mercilessly slicing the knife across passengers’ necks.
He didn’t make the slightest sound, acting like a killing machine executing orders to massacre.
Panicked, the passengers fled in terror.
“Bang!”
A gunshot rang out.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Fleeing passengers in the aisle fell one by one.
Clearly possessing a handgun, the masked man had chosen to use a knife while killing.
He was reveling in the feeling of harvesting other people’s lives…
This was a pervert devoid of humanity.
Su Cheng’s body shook, the terror in her heart leaving her paralyzed on the ground.
Helplessness. Despair.
These weren’t her reactions, but Mu Ling’s.
Wanting to escape yet fearing exposure to gunfire in the aisle, her legs grew weak as she instinctively searched for a hiding spot.
Mu Ling’s figure was slender and petite. She crawled underneath a seat, shrinking back to hide.
Don’t see me, don’t see me…
Her fingertips trembling, eyes tightly shut, she repeated her silent prayers over and over…
Bodies continuously collapsed onto the floor with dull thuds, and terrified screams abruptly ceased.
The carriage fell dead silent.
This was a silence born of death, far more frightening than screams.
Did the masked man leave?
Her heart pounded frantically…
Shoes wrapped in plastic bags passed by her seat, the blood-stained plastic bags making a swishing sound as he moved.
He had left.
He hadn’t noticed her.
She let out a slow breath, tears flowing uncontrollably while her fingertips still trembled.
With her tense body relaxing slightly, a surge of surviving-the-catastrophe relief welled up in her chest.
Just a little longer, once the police arrived, she would be saved.
Yet she always felt something was amiss; her heart was still beating violently, as if sounding an early warning.
Faint chuckling suddenly echoed by her ear.
Stupefied and sluggishly raising her head, she met the bizarrely smiling mask.
“Hi there, little mouse~ I almost let you get away.” The man smiled lightly, as if exchanging casual greetings.
Her eyes widened slightly, her breath choked off, her mind turning completely blank…
So the strange feeling was because a mocking gaze had been fixed right above her head the entire time…
The masked man hadn’t left; he had been crouched on the back seat looking down at her.
He watched her cry, watched her feel relieved, and then spoke up just as she let her guard down, pleasurably shattering her hopes.
Her heart was squeezed tighter and tighter by boundless terror, and the voice choked in her throat could no longer be suppressed…
“Ah—!”
A blood-dripping blade mercilessly sliced across the young girl’s neck…
A few more red moles were added to the smiling face on the mask.
With wide-open eyes, Su Cheng bolted awake from her seat like waking from a nightmare!
Her first instinct was to touch her neck, and feeling no wounds, she let out a slight sigh of relief.
Rumble, rumble—
Bzzzt.
The lights restored, the train had already exited the tunnel.
The needle direction on Su Cheng’s Soul-Guiding Needle still pointed downward.
Su Cheng suddenly recalled that last time, the needle had pointed downward first and then shifted to the bottom-right.
She had fallen into a misconception: aside from indicating the rear, pointing downward…
…was another possibility that it was pointing at her.
So last time, a ghost had already been right beside her?
Whether it was psychological or not, Su Cheng suddenly felt a chill down her spine…
Was there a ghost behind her?
Could it be Mu Ling?
The dream just now was clearly Mu Ling’s pre-death memories.
She could sense that Mu Ling held no malice toward her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have simply subjected her to an immersive experience of a memory just now.
“Someone died again…”
This time, the dead were the wife, the boy, and the matron who had been sitting together.
There were actually three of them.
The three of them leaned closely together, eyes wide open, staring in terror toward the same direction.
Their heads were still attached to their necks, bearing only a bright red bloodstain; a gentle push would send their heads tumbling to the floor…
Why were there three people this time?
Su Cheng could already confirm that the killing ghost was not Mu Ling.
She recalled the other 14 passengers besides Mu Ling who were killed by the masked man.
If they were the ones committing the murders across these instances, perhaps some were vicious, while others—like Mu Ling—held no murderous intent toward humans.
Her first task was the reenactment of an old case.
The “old case” definitely referred to the serial murder case from 3 years ago.
The number of passengers in both instances was 15. Did “reenactment” mean that the exact same number of people would die inside the train again…?
Turning her head, Su Cheng saw Chen Renping’s expression grow even more solemn.
He definitely had the vital information she wanted to know.