Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Subway Horror, Part 2 [Revised]

Ming Xiaoling Station is one stop away.

It’s almost midnight, and there are still a few minutes before the boundary between the realms.

A glass door separates two worlds. Outside, the cold, empty night; inside, a battle between the realms of life and death.

The pitch-black ghostly hands, emanating a rotten smell, were wrapped around Ming Yue’s body, clinging to her shoulders. The blood oozing from the walls of the train car splashed down like a waterfall, filling the narrow space with a nauseating, fishy stench.

Ming Yue furrowed her brow. There was a hint of earthy smell. A blurry image flashed before her eyes—a dark, deep pit and broken soil and stone.

“Do you smell it?” The lead male ghost hissed. “Can you taste the despair we felt before dying?!”

“In the pitch-black underground, we worked hard for months, had no money, and even gave up our lives!”

“A student dares to block our revenge? Go to hell!”

With several ghostly hands hanging from her arm, Ming Yue took a deep breath and calmed herself. She touched her left eye to make sure her "yin" vision was stable and wouldn’t suddenly cause an overload. Only then did she meet the lead ghost’s eyes. Ah, look at those two blood-red eyes, like red grapes. They were rather artistic:

“I’m guessing you all are victims of the Line 9 collapse a few days ago. The negligence of the living increased the workload in the underworld, which is really unfortunate.”

“However, your vengeful souls have attached to the land, and yet the Ox-Head and Horse-Face didn’t come to handle this. That’s more of a dereliction of duty.”

“When I go back, I’ll definitely ask the professor to write a report and send it to the judge to have them punished.”

The lead male ghost: “...”

The other ghosts: “...”

A gust of cold wind howled, the blood river flowed, and the blood splashed on the floor, swishing against the walls with the subtle shaking of the train. Aside from this, there was no other sound. A short, vengeful ghost couldn't hold back and whispered: “Big Brother, this little girl seems a bit off.”

The other ghosts muttered:

“Yeah, yeah, first she can see us, then she talks about all these weird things.”

“Who is this judge? I don’t even know about that. Isn’t that just a myth?”

“Big Brother, should we kill her? She seems a little hard to handle.”Male evil ghost: "..." You ask me, who should I ask?

Ming Yue locked eyes with the speaking ghost: "You’re already a ghost, and you still think all of this is just a legend?"

She then shoved aside the severed limbs and broken arms of the vengeful ghosts clinging to her legs. The bloodstained pant leg didn’t hinder her from pulling her foot free from their twisted, pressing bodies.

The sound of squelching, like peeling soft, slimy, rotten flesh from a shell...

She first picked up her student ID, then kicked the severed finger of Zhou Pingping. The finger had already turned black and filthy, lying in the dried bloodstains.

Crack.

Ming Yue crushed it with one kick, turning it into a mush of flesh. The sound of bones shattering sent a chilling echo as the ground was covered with the remains.

"Looks like you’re all new ghosts."

"Most ghosts would turn a blind eye when they see the words 'Seal Spirit Academy'," Ming Yue calmly substituted "fleeing in panic" with "turning a blind eye," flipping open her student ID and turning on the flashlight of her phone, showing it to the ghosts.

The pale light from the phone illuminated the darkness, casting a strange glow from her two-colored, yin-yang eyes, far more terrifying than any ghost.

A few ghosts crowded around the phone light, muttering:

"Jinling University? My neighbor’s daughter got into that school. Her mom was so happy she jumped around for days, so happy she had a stroke. It must be a good school."

"What's this 'Seal Spirit Academy'? Weird name."

The lead male ghost stared blankly at Ming Yue’s student ID, his mind drifting back to his seven-year-old son. He was so cute and kind, always hugging his father's leg and shaking it, asking for candy. But on the day of the accident, his wife had brought him to the construction site to see his father. The boy met with bad luck and, along with the rubble and stones, was buried deep in the abandoned Guangcheng Station, his body mangled and lifeless.

If my son hadn't died, he would have grown up slowly. When it was time to pick a university, he would have...

If my son hadn't died, he might have gotten into Jinling University.

But he died.

But he died!They were killed by that pair of shameless scoundrels! I will definitely kill them, tear their bodies to pieces!

And this female student! She let that bitch go!

The male ghost’s inner thoughts howled, stirring up boundless resentment. The black ghostly power began to turn into blood, and the surrounding child ghosts seemed to feel his pain, hugging his leg and shaking it.

The other ghosts were absorbed by the center of this hatred, their outlines becoming blurry, as they were sucked and melted away by the male ghost.

For a moment, in front of the phone's pale beam of light, several ghosts overlapped like reflections, growing taller and merging with each other, akin to a special effects scene from a blockbuster movie.

The naive Ming Yue: "..."

What’s going on? What did I do?

Is the student ID also a sensitive item?

By the King of Hell, Ming Yue really just wanted to talk about the reputation of Seal Spirit Academy, to make these ghosts hesitate and leave some leeway—

They are all pitiful, all burning in vengeance and frying like oil sticks. It's tragic.

Speaking of which, the real ones who should be grilled like dumplings in a hot pan are the Ox-Head and Horse-Face who let all that accumulated hatred drift into the human world and turn into vengeful ghosts!

The male ghost's son, so small, looked at his father growing taller with confusion. He opened his mouth and let out a howl that shook the whole train car, almost making it derail.

Ming Yue quickly steadied herself against the train’s wall, the red bloodlust power turning into a whirlwind, blowing so hard she almost couldn’t stand. Ming Yue sighed, "Looks like all the work at the village today was for nothing. I’ll have to come back tomorrow." After saying this, she tore open her backpack and pulled out a folding steel tool.

With a flick of her wrist, there was a metallic clink, and the tool unfolded into a steel trident.

Look at it, shining silver-white. Hard to imagine it had been used for years at the Ming Family Funeral Home’s outhouse.

Ming Yue: "Please call it a trident, thank you."

The male ghost completely lost his mind, his entire body turning blood-red and merging with the darkness.

Ming Yue swung the trident a couple of times, muttering, "Uncle, do you know about the concept of Yin defeating Yang and Yang defeating Yin?"

"Seal Spirit Academy produces outstanding individuals. I’m a bit of an embarrassment in my family, my yin-yang eyes aren’t quite working right." I’m afraid I’ll blow up this train car."This trident is something I’m used to handling. It’s covered with the Yang energy of the five grains’ cycle of reincarnation [Note], a special product of the Yang world."

"Why don't you try it?"

After saying this, Ming Yue’s eyes sharpened, and she raised the dung fork, charging forward.

...

...

...

Seal Spirit Academy Dormitory, Jinling University.

Room 405.

An Xueru sat in front of the mirror, removing her makeup. As she wiped away the foundation, her skin beneath was as pale as ice, translucent. She cast a sidelong glance at Bai Linlang, who was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed. With a sigh, An Xueru said, "Don’t worry about it, Dorm Leader."

"Ming Yue has strong Yang energy. Not even a ghost would be able to touch her at midnight."

"It’s only a little past eleven. The Ghost Hour hasn’t even come yet. Don’t worry, let’s just sleep."

Bai Linlang remained still, her fine features cold and indifferent: "What nonsense are you talking about? Would I be worried about her, Ming Yue?"

"Her yin-yang eyes aren’t even working right. Even if she runs into ghosts, she won’t see them." She then glanced at the tightly shut door.

"Yeah, yeah, you wouldn’t worry about her. You’d rather she drop out."

An Xueru started applying makeup remover to her lips, the reddish color from the makeup melting away. "Anyway, the Ming family is always calling her to work at the village. It’s not like she hasn’t come back late before."

"Besides, Counselor Li Xianzhou is on good terms with Ming Yue’s brother. How could he not care about little Ming Yue?"

Bai Linlang: "..." Spare me, Li Xianzhou?

Bai Linlang said seriously, "Our counselor is even less reliable than Ming Yue."

After saying this, she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her contacts to call Counselor Li.An Xueru smiled: "I didn’t expect it. You’ve been in class for months now, and you’ve been pushing Ming Yue around, saying her eyes don’t work, yet now you’re so worried?"

Bai Linlang pressed the keys without looking up: "Her eyes are indeed useless. She doesn’t deserve to be in our Seal Spirit."

"But that has nothing to do with her personally."

"Hello, Teacher Li, this is Bai Linlang from the female dorm 405."

Being on night shift was the most annoying task. Xiao Lin yawned as he made the call log.

On the other end of the line, the staff from the Subway Line 2 were speaking incoherently, as if possessed:

"Really! Officer, you know... there was this huge bang! The car seemed to explode, and it was terrifying..."

"...The inside of the car was pitch black, the walls were all black paint, and smoke was pouring out! There were even holes from forks in the walls!"

"The TV screen on the train was shattered!"

"There was just one little girl inside the car, and as soon as she saw us, she tried to run, but we’ve got her under control now!"

"What? The surveillance? Yes! I didn’t notice the surveillance for this car. Just now, I realized it was broken!"

A magnetic female voice came from the receiver: "Little brother, you stepped in meat paste."

Receiver: "…"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before a piercing scream echoed.

Xiao Lin: "…"

Xiao Lin suppressed the second yawn that almost escaped: "Okay, we’ll be there soon. Which station are you at now?"

The voice on the other end sounded like the staff was in agony, crying for help: "Ming Xiaoling! Comrade, we’re at Ming Xiaoling Station!"

"There’s... there’s a human finger on the ground!""I saw the fingernail in the blood, wah wah wah!"

Ming Xiaoling, isn’t it just at the police station entrance?

Xiao Lin was jolted by the words. He thought, finally, a case! He quickly handled the situation and hung up, calling the captain to send people out on duty.

Ten minutes later—

The police officers were using flashlights to inspect the decommissioned train carriages. The caller wasn’t lying—the surveillance was intact with no signs of human damage, but it inexplicably went black. The carriage was in an expanded state, with the metal skin stretched out as if a large firecracker exploded in the middle of the carriage, causing a loud noise and thick black smoke.

The officer collecting evidence was full of questions. He glanced back at the innocent-looking young girl and muttered:

"Such a big explosion, this little girl’s life is really tough."

Ming Yue, with her keen senses, moved her ears slightly and pretended she didn’t hear. The difference this time was that her left eye was bloodshot, with her grey pupils fluctuating in size, veins crawling across the whites of her eyes. The pain was so intense it felt like it was driving her insane.

Ming Yue felt tense inside.

This situation was far from normal. She had encountered ghosts so many times before, but never like this.

In response to Xiao Lin’s questioning, Ming Yue carefully selected her answers.

"Ah, yes, I ran into a ghost."

"Yes, this is my student ID."

"It’s about the collapse on Line 9 before—the little brat ran away, leaving me, a poor student, to take the fall. How shameless."

"What? Why am I fine? Because I’m from Seal Spirit Academy."

"Officer, you believe me, right? I’m not lying."

Xiao Lin, with a face full of 'Do you think I'm an idiot?': "…"

To hell with your "Officer"!And also, what kind of nonsense is "Seal Spirit"? Sounds like a scammy technical school!

The captain was communicating with the Ministry of Transport about the situation. Fortunately, it was the last train of the night, or else Jinling’s tabloids would have exploded again. The issue with Line 9 had just blown up, and the mess hadn’t been cleaned up yet. If this new incident came out, the Ministry of Transport’s average credibility would likely take another dive this year.

The scene evidence was handed over, and the captain flipped through Ming Yue’s student ID. The words "Seal Spirit" made his eyes hurt.

Captain: "…"

The captain’s mind raced through memories of the powerful and strange beings living around this area. He wondered if they were lying in bed like good children at night, rather than sneaking out to meet with the lonely widow. Slowly, he turned to Ming Yue, furrowing his brow, and asked:

"Wait, Xiao Lin, let me ask one thing first."

"Little sister, what is your relation to Ming Ye?"

Ming Yue’s head was pounding with sharp pain, her left eye completely bloodshot. Her right eye was leaking Yang energy as if it were a fart—hissing and unstable. When she spoke, the sound from her vocal cords seemed to come from the farthest distance:

"Officer, Ming Ye is my brother."

The captain suddenly locked eyes with Ming Yue’s blood-red left eye, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Are you alright? What happened to your eyes?"

Ming Yue felt like her brain was being split apart with knives, each impact ringing in her head. Her voice sounded like it came from the edge of the world:

"It’s fine, I probably just caught a breeze."

Before she could finish speaking, she collapsed with a thud.