Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Subway Horror III

Jinling University is a double-first-class institution, but the names of its research academies are mostly arranged according to disciplines—such as Computer Science, History, Medicine, Business School—with some academies named after alumni sponsors.

At a glance, the Seal Spirit Academy seemed out of place, standing like a single patch of green among a sea of flowers. Its location was also remote, situated at the back of the New Communications Building in the Luoxia Campus. Behind a grey wall adorned with strange graffiti, the entrance to the Seal Spirit Academy could be found.

Forget about finding it at night, even during the day it was easy to get lost.

It felt like a little abandoned cemetery.

The academy was practically isolated from the rest of the university, with personnel management completely disconnected. Therefore, some insiders directly referred to it as "Seal Spirit University."

But this university was indeed miserable. Its entrance was narrow, and the building looked shabby. On either side of the gate were inscriptions, in the style of couplets, bearing the academy's motto:

Upper line: Strong and methodical,

Lower line: Prudent and virtuous,

Horizontal line: Balance Yin and Yang, maintain order.

The couplets: "…"

Where is there a couplet shorter than the horizontal inscription?

The student body was only a few dozen per class, and there weren’t even enough to form an elite class. Despite such small numbers, it was divided into three departments: the first was the General Department, the second was the Information Department, and the third was the Equipment Department. Outsiders, when mentioning this academy next to Jinling University, would often scratch their heads and after a moment of thought, suddenly exclaim:

"Oh, you mean that academy where every student wears colored contact lenses?"

"Yeah, red, blue, green, yellow—quite rare, huh?"

Jinling University also showed some courtesy by building a separate dormitory building for Seal Spirit, though the management there was chaotic. The rooms were divided by grade, with boys and girls living on the same floors. Whenever there was a fight between some "fey," the entire floor would rush out in pajamas to listen by the walls.

And now, the incident of Ming Yue returning late in Room 405—after Bai Linlang had just finished reporting to the counselor—other dorms started visiting one after another.

"Don’t worry, Ming Yue is upright and has plenty of Yang energy, she won’t run into any ghosts."

"But… we all know Ming Yue’s Yin-Yang Eyes don’t always work properly. She can only listen in class this semester, she can’t actually practice. What if she runs into a ghost?"

The head of the White Dorm was looking pale.

"Sisters, I just went downstairs to buy a late-night snack, and I saw Old Wang, the one who teaches incantations, and Li Xianzhou rushing out of the academy!"

"What? Really?"

The academy chat group was also buzzing with comments about Ming Yue’s late return.[Class Leader Yan Jun]: Everyone, let's go through what we know and estimate what kind of vengeful ghost might appear in Jinling City. If we need to go out to search for someone in the middle of the night, at least we’ll have a direction.

[Equipment Department Jin Yuanbao]: There are quite a few. Over in Baoshan, several internship students died at a hospital. I saw it from a distance during a practical class that day. The karmic chain was red and dripping with blood.

[General Department Jun Weiran]: The collapse on Line 9. This morning, the news about embezzlement of public funds just broke.

[Information Department Chang Guangyuan]: Hold on, brother. Let me check our department's intel.

[Class Leader Yan Jun]: Thanks =v=

In Room 405, Bai Linlang sent off the last curious student and sat restlessly. An Xueru made a face and went to bed.

Ming Yue was abruptly woken up by a sharp pain in her forehead. She opened her eyes, ready to grab the dung fork and fight back, but was pinned down by a finger from the incantation professor pressing into her forehead, rendering her unable to move. “Don’t move.”

Ming Yue: “...”

Ming Yue stared blankly at the elderly man with an orange peel face, Wang Yangming. “Professor Wang!”

Her eyes rolled uncontrollably. The room around her was completely white—white walls, white bed, white blanket—it was clearly a hospital.

Wang Yangming let out a hum as he completed the final rune. Li Xianzhou casually wiped the blood from Ming Yue’s forehead with some disinfecting gauze. “Don’t forget to thank Professor Wang.”

Ming Yue immediately sat up, touching the incantation scar at the corner of her left eye. As soon as she touched it, sharp pain shot through her skull. “What is this...?”

Wang Yangming held a porcelain cup and slowly sipped his tea, saying, “The infant spirit has been subdued. You, as my student, have turned misfortune into fortune. Your Yin-Yang Eyes have now become fully functional.” After saying that, he looked at the bewildered Ming Yue and smiled, “You can finally practice in my class from now on.”

Ming Yue: “...”

Ming Yue stared at Professor Wang in disbelief.

Hearing the words “infant spirit,” she recalled the final battle with the fierce ghost in the train car of Line 2. The infant spirit had opened its enormous blood-red mouth and devoured the giant male ghost, digesting it. The explosive Yin energy shot out, and her unrefined Yin-Yang Eyes only managed to use the simplest form of Yang energy to break through, piercing like a blade into the massive dark balloon of Yin energy, causing a sharp pain that made her scream.

Remembering this, Ming Yue couldn’t help but shudder. After thanking Professor Wang, she turned to the counselor and said, “Professor Li, I can explain why I came back late—” She glanced outside, where the sky was just beginning to show the faintest light of dawn, around 4 or 5 a.m.Li Xianzhou raised an eyebrow, pressing down on the student's shoulder. He didn't say any comforting words. "If you feel your body is fine," he said. After that, he clapped his hands, and the police officers who had been waiting outside the room walked in. Ming Yue quickly took a sip of water to soothe her throat. "Officer, I'm ready. You can start asking questions now."

Captain: "…"

Uncle?

The captain, both amused and helpless, took the notebook from Xiao Lin's hands, pulled out a chair, and began the questioning. Ming Yue answered every question without hesitation.

"Yes, I have a pure Yang constitution. Since I was young, I've been sensitive to Yin energy. I don't know how many ghosts I've encountered."

"Last night, around 11 p.m., I took the Line 2 subway. There was one other person besides me."

The captain paused, his pen halting. "Who was the other person?"

Ming Yue carefully considered her words. "Six days ago, the mistress of the suspect in the Line 9 collapse. The victim came to find her, trapped that woman for several hours, and planned to kill her as a sacrifice once it was past midnight."

Captain: "…"

The captain silently muttered a few principles of Marxism in his mind, recalling the old advice from the senior officers in the police force regarding these "extraordinary people." He carefully recorded everything on paper.

Ming Yue read the words backward as she watched the captain write "mistress" down. She quickly corrected him in a serious tone: "Uncle, that's a lover. 'Mistress' sounds too colloquial."

Captain: "…"

The captain gritted his teeth. "Don't worry about it. Continue."

Ming Yue obediently nodded. "Okay."

She then briefly explained her actions during the incident.

"…When I got on the train, I noticed the surveillance was broken. I don’t know if it was the victim's doing or if it was because of the carelessness of the staff."

"The TV was playing news about Guangcheng Station. When the words about embezzling public funds appeared, oh my god, the temperature dropped drastically. It felt like standing in a field in the middle of winter."

"But at that time, I couldn’t see the victim. So, I threw my student ID on the floor, hoping that they would show mercy on the basis of the reputation of the Spirit Sealing Academy and let that poor soul go."The captain quickly followed up with a question: “Wait, Ming Yue, you couldn’t see... couldn’t see the ghost? What does that mean?”

Once the question was asked, the captain seemed to witness his firmly held scientific materialism crumble after thirty years of belief.

Ming Yue blinked. “Uncle, you didn’t ask me about the Spirit Sealing Academy, but I assume you know about it—having the Yin-Yang Eyes is one of the essential requirements for admission.”

“But my Yin Eye is problematic. My eyesight has always been bad since childhood. During the day, I’m basically blind. I can only see things at night using the Yin energy.”

“The victims had been in the carriage for a long time. The Yin energy was all over the place. After I got in, when the Yin energy became thick enough, my left eye could barely function—so, it took me a while to see them clearly.”

“God, it scared me to death. The whole wall was covered in it.”

Captain: “…”

The image of "the whole wall" was a particularly strong visual.

Ming Yue vividly described: “...That woman was really a useless piece of trash. I pushed her out of the subway, but she kicked me back. It was too much.”

“...Then, not long after, the victim in the carriage started eating the other victim alive.”

“I thought the father in the father-son pair was the big fish, but it turns out the kid was the real tiger shark.”

“In the end, I stabbed him with a fork and even poked my left eye,” she said, pointing to the needle marks on her face from the curse.

The captain furrowed his brows, quickly sketching the shape of the curse next to his notes, wondering if he should suggest that the Transportation Department spray this pattern on all Line 2 trains during their next annual meeting to ward off evil spirits, thus preventing accidents from happening every few days. He then ordered Xiao Lin:

“Go, check the death records from the Guangcheng Station collapse, compare the characteristics, and focus on checking for any father-son pair.”

Xiao Lin nodded and left. Before he did, he gave Ming Yue a meaningful look, scanning her up and down.

Li Xianzhou, protective of Ming Yue, shot a cold smile at the young officer, causing Xiao Lin to quickly run away.

Captain: “...Ahem.”

Can you stop bullying my subordinates in front of me?

After another round of questioning, the captain took down Ming Yue's contact information, making her promise to be available at any time. Only then did he gather his team and leave. As they were about to leave, Ming Yue called out to the captain: “Uncle, I’m really sorry! If I were better at this, the carriage might still be usable if I had fixed it.”"Don't worry about the reimbursement! My family will cover it!"

The captain’s figure grew distant, his mind suddenly flashing to a subway budget.

No wonder the old leader said that the ghost-hunting family in the northern part of the city is a prestigious clan, one that could enrich an entire district just by pulling a few strings.

Captain: "The leader really didn’t lie to me."

In the hospital room, the three of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Wang Yangming drank tea so slowly that it seemed like he was swallowing and then spitting it out repeatedly. Ming Yue glanced at the counselor, Li Xianzhou, who was rubbing his dark circles and yawning. She felt a bit guilty in her heart. "Li teacher, why don't you and the professor go back and rest first?"

Li Xianzhou lazily yawned. "We go back and rest, and you’re still going to go trouble that bitch?"

Ming Yue: "… What?"

Li Xianzhou: "Stop pretending. I asked the subway staff—not the guy who called the police—before the incident happened. When they were checking the last train, they reached the second-to-last carriage and heard your screams, then the carriage exploded. The vengeful ghost you interacted with, did it tell you the mistress’s name? Was it Zhou Pingping?"

Ming Yue: "…"

Li Xianzhou continued, "But just now, when the police took your statement, you didn’t mention this crucial clue. What, are you trying to delay the investigation, then handle it yourself?"

"Being brave is a good thing, but don’t stop doing good deeds just because you got bitten by a dog."

"And you, you got lucky. Your Yin-eye meridians are a bit more open now, it’s really a stroke of luck."

At this point, Professor Wang Yangming finally put down his enamel cup and added an explanation: "Just now, I used the developer powder to restore the scene. I judged that the 'infant spirit' you mentioned should be a case of Down syndrome. The body had grown, but the mind was like that of a few months old—matching the characteristics you described: 'Seven years old, with low intelligence and behavior.' The ghost transformation was exactly the 'big infant spirit' with pure Yin power. It worked out well, filling in some of your Yin-eye deficiencies."

"Congratulations, you don’t need to be eliminated from the Spirit Sealing Academy."

Ming Yue: "…"

Ming Yue forced a smile. "Professor Wang, you speak so directly."

Li Xianzhou crossed his arms. "Answer my question directly."

Ming Yue lowered her head, then after a moment, replied: "Teacher, you’re right. But compared to that, I think it’s more important to report and submit a report about the ghost police in the Guangcheng Station area."Li Xianzhou coldly looked at her for a moment and replied, "Stop with your nonsense."

Ming Yue gave a sincere smile and, following Li Xianzhou's instructions, pulled the blanket over her head and went to sleep.

However, things were not going to end as easily as Li Xianzhou had hoped.

Ming Yue was never truly a kind-hearted saint.

Her good intentions were limited, and by the time she had pushed Zhou Pingping out on the subway, the little bit of kindness she had was already drained—actually, she had initially planned to take Zhou Pingping out, say a few comforting words, and then report her.

But she miscalculated and ended up getting trapped herself.

The incident took place at Ming Xiaoling Station, which was quite a special location. It wasn’t far from the Emperor’s Tomb in Purple Mountain, with abundant dragon energy and no evil spirits. It was also an old subway station that housed many benevolent old ghosts. Ming Yue had poor eyesight since childhood, but her other senses were exceptional, especially her hearing. She often walked on the streets with earphones, not because she liked music, but because she didn’t want to hear the idle spirits gossiping.

In Ming Xiaoling, there happened to be some of her ghost brothers whom she had chatted with.

During the subway battle, she had already counted the ghosts surrounding Zhou Pingping. They didn’t make up the full 15 people who died in the collapse accident—there were definitely more wandering ghosts elsewhere.

While waiting in Ming Xiaoling Station for ten minutes, Ming Yue asked her ghost brothers to spread the word station by station, saying:

"There was a case of a wronged ghost crossing boundaries at Mingjia Village Station. The person killed was the culprit from Guangcheng Station a few days ago. But the person didn’t die and managed to escape."

Like a Canadian goose draped in a blood-red chain of causality.

At that moment, her ghost brothers were silent for a moment, taking in her vivid metaphor.

Once the news was out, the wind would carry it to where it needed to go.

Wandering ghosts loved gossip too, and Guangcheng Station was a fairly recent incident that was neither too big nor too small.

Ming Yue had originally planned to return to Ming Xiaoling Station to inquire about the details. Since Li Xianzhou had seen through her plans, she figured it was better not to go.

However, whether or not this was retribution was uncertain—it depended on fate.

If fate was on Zhou Pingping’s side and she managed to escape, Ming Yue wouldn’t take any further action privately. Instead, she would actively cooperate with the police to corner Zhou Pingping.If fate was not on her side, and Zhou Pingping lost her life, Ming Yue would remain silent, silently dispersing the karmic consequences for those poor souls who perished.

The cycle of the heavens is inescapable, and one cannot always separate the cases of yin and yang. Some things happen when crossing boundaries, but it’s for a greater sense of fairness.

Ming Yue turned over and stared out the window, watching the fish-belly white sky turn red as the morning broke.

That evening, Zhou Pingping was intercepted at Jing Song Airport, acting insane. When the police arrived, she was banging her head on the air, her face covered in blood, constantly pleading for the spirits to stop haunting her. The police tried to control her, but she escaped, running headfirst into a pillar at the airport, killing herself instantly. This incident shocked countless passengers and became the headline news for the next day in the intercity news of Jinling City.