Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Earthquake II

“That’s not just black, is it?”

“That’s a corpse mark.”

Mingyue hesitated in her heart, but still spoke decisively.

She was afraid of scaring her classmates.

Sure enough, except for Yan Jun, who had participated in the Baoshan Hospital incident, the other students all showed a strange expression of “the wind blew and twisted their mouths” in unison.

“Are you sure?!” Bai Linlang’s face turned pale as she tightly grabbed Mingyue’s clothes, while An Xueru panted heavily, clutching her collar.

Before Mingyue could nod, Jin Yuanbao started digging into the details:

“How do you know that’s a corpse mark, Mingyue?”

“It could just be burn marks, right?”

Because I’ve lost count of how many times the incinerator has been closed.

How could I not have seen this before?

Even the rotten ones are nothing to be afraid of.

Mingyue: “……”

Mingyue didn’t speak, raised an eyebrow at Yan Jun, then looked toward Chen Xiu, who was still peeking out of the window on the other side of the cart. She signaled Yan Jun to go over and inform him—there was no point in making a fuss before figuring out how to handle this. The class leader nodded and left his seat. Mingyue took the trident out of her suitcase and shook it at Jin Yuanbao.

“Just based on the fact that my Ming family funeral home has been cleaning up the government's mess every year, handling the remains of nameless, violent deaths by the tens of thousands.”

“We also handle burial site arrangements for them.”

“You really can’t question my judgment.”

“Stop making noise, hurry up and get your stuff, we’ve got a corpse fraud on our hands.”

Mingyue spoke each word clearly.

“……”

Jin Yuanbao froze.Every moment in the corners of the city, lives are lost, both those with names and those without.

Jin Yuanbao knew this.

But he really didn’t expect that behind the Ming Family Village’s chain of businesses, there was actually this kind of operation.

Impressive.

The death of the nameless is a problem that no government wants to deal with.

If they investigate, it’s a problem of poor administration.

If they don’t, it’s an invisible bomb.

In between, there are also tasks like handling vengeful spirits and negative energy. If not managed properly, a chain reaction will occur.

The Ming family’s services in this area are truly on point.

“No wonder,” Jin Yuanbao said with a smile, trying to appease Mingyue, “Ming Family Village can become the top player in the South Huaxia funeral industry.”

Mingyue wasn’t truly angry. She gave him a glance. “Tch, it's South Huaxia, and you're still calling it the top player.”

She turned her gaze toward Chen Xiu.

As they spoke, Yan Jun and Chen Xiu finished their negotiations, and Chen Xiu immediately dialed the emergency number on the wall of the carriage, his expression serious.

“…Please ensure the other passengers in the carriage do not disembark…”

“We will handle the rest…”

“Thank you for your concern…”

Chen Xiu negotiated quickly, and by this point, the commotion from the next carriage was already audible.

Seeing this, Yan Jun didn’t insist on any “friend or foe” concept. He communicated briefly with Zhao Yibai, who nodded, took out his phone, and called the ghost extermination master for assistance.

There was no need to say more.

When it comes to things like the yin-yang rift, students might be able to stop the rift from widening, but closing the rift is truly an impossible task.

Moreover, if the Ministry of Transportation’s railway is damaged, if there’s no explanation, it’s likely that the Yuzhou Ministry of Transportation will come knocking.The news had to be sent to the ghost extermination master for assistance.

Very well, Mingyue thought, now the leaders of both schools know about the situation.

But, distant water can't save a nearby fire.

The nearest rescue force should be—

Outside the window, gray mist spread, and the words on the top of the carriage still read, "Arriving at Fengdu Station soon." Mingyue took out her phone, hesitated for a moment, and started typing:

[Real-time Coordinates] About 20 kilometers from Fengdu Station, a yin-yang collision and rift has occurred, high-speed train operation suspended.

The message wasn’t long.

But Mingyue typed incredibly slowly.

She didn’t want to send this message to this person.

However, two days ago, the academy had received accurate news that Emperor University had already arrived in Fengdu and was the first university to negotiate with the event organizers.

At this very moment, Emperor University students were likely staying in the outer district of Fengdu. Since they were in direct contact with the organizers, they would be the fastest to notify them, thus quickly bringing in the nearest rescue force.

Some matters had priorities.

Mingyue could still distinguish between them.

Before her finger could click "Send," a piercing scream from the carriage interrupted her!

"Ah, ah, ahhh—!"

Mingyue let out a small "Oh," her hand shaking, almost accidentally hitting "Send All." She looked up and saw two girls from Xiang University sitting at the other dining table, screaming hysterically. In front of them, through the window, two or three black hands covered in corpse marks slowly retreated back into the gray mist.

"Hands, hands—!"

"Corpse, corpse, corpse fraud!"

The two girls shouted incoherently.

Now, the entire carriage could hear it.

Mingyue: "……"

Mingyue pointed at the two girls and said to Jin Yuanbao: "Look, even the students from Xiang University’s Spiritual Academy, who specialize in Puppet Mastery, think it’s a corpse mark."Jin Yuanbao: "…It’s a special technique, a special technique, Ming Ge."

Mingyue chuckled and, biting her lip, vaguely said:

"Strange."

"Isn’t Xiang University known for practicing corpse driving? Are they still afraid of corpse transformation?"

An Xueru, who had just turned pale, couldn’t hold back and burst into a laugh when she heard Mingyue speak.

"Puppet Mastery."

"What corpse driving?" She also took out a yang energy talisman and stood up.

As soon as the two girls shouted, it was like something had triggered a switch.

In an instant, black arms began to crawl up the windows of dozens of carriages on both sides. They had no fabric covering, their muscles decayed and rotted, appearing greenish-black, covered in dirt. The barely visible intact parts were riddled with black, sunken corpse marks, densely packed with black spots.

"Knock knock knock."

"Knock knock knock—knock knock."

"Knock~ knock~ knock~"

Everyone began knocking on the windows, the sound light and lively.

Zhao Yibai: "…"

Chen Xiu: "…"

Both of them simultaneously thought, this is bad!

—Time had passed quickly, and they hadn’t had the chance to explain things properly. Now, it was directly exposed to everyone’s eyes—no explosion of chaos would be a surprise!

Sure enough!

The carriage erupted in a frenzy of screaming!

"Ahhh—!"

"My arm ahhh—!"“Damn! What the hell are you Xiang University people shouting for! Aren’t you supposed to drive corpses?!”

“Bullshit! What the hell are you Jin University people shouting for! Aren’t you supposed to use the Eight Gods Spell?!”

“Damn! We do Puppet Mastery! We’re not using corpses to practice!”

“Shut up! You know how difficult the Eight Gods Spell is! Do you think it’s as simple as grabbing a person and doing it? I’m an external intern, damn it!”

“……”

Chen Xiu and Zhao Yibai exchanged glances.

“Misery loves company.” Chen Xiu patted Zhao Yibai’s shoulder, “Let’s go, get off the train. No need to worry about how to explain this to everyone, hahahaha.” After saying that, he turned around to signal the students from the Spirit-Sealing Academy in the carriage, organizing them.

The windows were still being knocked on by the walking corpses, the thudding sound echoing. Zhao Yibai felt a chill in his heart.

He saw that Chen Xiu was completely unfazed, his face calm and steady. It didn’t seem fake, and Zhao Yibai was even more surprised:

“These windows are about to shatter from all the knocking, so many hands, so many walking corpses.”

“Xiu-ge is amazing, commanding so decisively.”

Zhao Yibai thought that Chen Xiu might humble himself a little, but after finishing organizing the students, Chen Xiu had the seniors lead the way and the interns follow. He inserted the emergency key into the carriage door lock, then turned around and said to Zhao Yibai:

“No need for false modesty.”

“I’ve seen the ghost tide at the hospital before, and I’ve fought ghosts fused into explosive dough.”

“Walking corpses aren’t simple, but…”

Mingyue happened to be walking past Chen Xiu at that moment. Chen Xiu casually patted the younger girl on the head, chuckled a few times, said no more, and followed the line, opening the carriage door and jumping off the train.

Zhao Yibai: “……”

Zhao Yibai felt a strong sense of pressure.

It’s been a year, and Chen Xiu has improved a lot, he thought, feeling quite challenged.

“President, should we get off too?”

A classmate next to Zhao Yibai noticed his expression and carefully asked.Zhao Yibai nodded: “Everyone, follow the Spirit-Sealing Academy. Make sure to bring your things.”

"Puppet Mastery is our trump card, don’t let your skills be exposed just because of a few words. Understood?"

Over at the Spirit-Sealing Academy, after walking through the carriage for just one or two minutes, Mingyue overheard several senior students discussing the cause of the walking corpses’ outbreak.

One said it was because an old road had been repaired and the railway had run over a cemetery.

Another said that the rift beneath the ground was unknown, and perhaps it had allowed old corpses from other places to "drift" in.

Yet another said it was a little appetizer from the underworld organizers to start things off.

Mingyue: "…"

Bai Linlang mumbled quietly behind her, "Calling it an appetizer feels like slicing a dead head with a scalpel."

When the carriage door opened, whoosh, a cold wind blew, refreshing the mind and spirit!

Mingyue shook her head, feeling like her brain’s light bulb had been suddenly turned on by this cold wind—it got a lot brighter!

She slapped a Golden Light Divine Spell on her forehead.

Up ahead, Liu Tianran was wrapping a yin energy talisman around his blade to prevent excessive damage to the "corpse crowd" after hitting them with the weapon. When he turned around and saw Mingyue’s talisman shaking on her forehead, he laughed:

“What are you doing? The Golden Light Divine Spell isn’t for catching walking corpses, why put it on yourself?”

“The Golden Light Divine Spell is ‘powerful stabilization,’ it can stabilize the walking corpses and protect me, duck!”

Mingyue stretched her arms and legs, feeling the yin energy wildly gathering in her left eye’s vortex. She thought to herself, this is way more effective than eye drops.

“…” Chen Xiu scratched a visibility spell, and the color on the talisman was so bizarre that it made one’s eyebrows twitch.

Noticing Chen Xiu’s odd expression, Mingyue leaned in to take a look. She saw that the marks on the talisman “howled” as they twisted and turned, with gray and red mixed together, looking like a child scribbling with two colored pens.

Mingyue: "…"

Mingyue exclaimed, "Wow, Fengdu is amazing. It really is a place with intense yin-yang clashes."

“I’ve lived this long, and I’ve always used visibility talismans to test for yin energy. This is the first time I’ve tested for yang energy marks!”Chen Xiu: "..."

With one swift motion, Chen Xiu pushed the younger girl to the back and began scanning the surroundings.

The high-speed train had already been surrounded by the corpses. Some had full limbs, while others were missing heads or limbs, stumbling and crawling toward the train at an odd angle.

In the yin-yang vision, the cold metallic color of the Harmony Train was veiled by a faint golden aura of yang energy, standing out in the surrounding environment where the yin wind howled, and the gray mist made it impossible to see a hand in front of you.

The walking corpses, mindless, were drawn toward the yang energy, gathering around the train and mechanically knocking on the windows. It resembled a mass of ants, with more corpses climbing out of the cracks in the ground from a distance.

Even though it was known that these weren’t vengeful spirits or malicious ghosts, it still sent a chill through anyone watching.

The students from the Spirit-Sealing Academy were mostly silent. The upperclassmen were calm, while the underclassmen were stunned.

Chen Xiu gave orders: "Guo Tianyang, take ten people and head over to the crack in the ground. Be careful."

"The rest of you, use whatever powers you have."

"Bind these walking corpses. Don’t harm them before they take action. Wait for the underworld to send people, and then we will send these ‘zongzi’ back into the rift one by one."

"Do you understand?"

Everyone responded affirmatively.

A few of the faster upperclassmen had already started binding the walking corpses with the Golden Light Divine Spell even before Chen Xiu finished speaking.

The students from Xiang University’s Spirit-Sealing Academy who arrived a bit later saw flashes of golden light in the gray mist of the wasteland. Many walking corpses had already been pinned in place, like overturned mushrooms, their bodies frozen in the pose of being stuck headfirst in the ground, covered in golden human-shaped mushrooms.

The students from the Spirit-Sealing Academy continued to sweat and work efficiently, handling the walking corpses with great coordination.

Xiang University’s Spirit-Sealing Academy students: "…"

Zhao Yibai: "…"

What the hell, these golden light divine spells all over the ground, and the Calm Heart Talisman too.

Damn, I know that Spirit-Sealing undergraduates practice the Eight Gods Spell, but you guys know way too many techniques! Damn it!

Up ahead, a young girl swung a long iron fork, spinning it around and knocking over three walking corpses with a loud crash. She then bit down on a yang energy talisman, quickly sticking the saliva-covered talisman to the forehead of one of the corpses—

The walking corpse immediately froze.

Zhao Yibai: "…"Her face is so youthful, she must be an external intern!

...

Damn!

Is the external internship at Spirit-Sealing this fierce?!

The president of Xiang University’s Spirit-Sealing Academy had a mental image of ten thousand llamas running through his mind.

Zhao Yibai had barely adjusted his mindset when he saw the intern pull out a short knife, cut her finger, and let a few drops of fingertip blood fall to the ground—

Instantly, a burst of golden yang energy exploded from the gray mist!

That momentum!

It was just like the video of the Jiuquan rocket launch exploding the atomic bomb!

The swift yang energy carried a deadly fragrance, and many of the walking corpses still knocking on the windows turned their heads, swaying toward the source.

This girl has gone crazy!

What’s she doing, dripping yang energy blood!

Is she trying to die!

Zhao Yibai’s heart tightened, and he quickly pulled out the silk thread and bell, turning to his classmate behind him: "Help her."

"…"

The classmate nodded.

However, before the students from Xiang University could act, the intern tore off the talisman from her forehead and stepped on it with one foot!

In an instant, the light burst forth!

An endless river of light spread across the sky, dispersing the gray mist. The golden light from the shattered talisman quickly climbed up the bodies of the surrounding dozen or so walking corpses, the golden light eroding their corpse spots and pinning them down. At a glance, there were a dozen golden mushrooms with human heads growing on the ground.

Using blood as bait, both brilliant and effective.

I’m really smart.Mingyue wiped the blood off her hands, nodding in satisfaction.

She turned around and saw a group of Xiang University Spirit-Sealing students staring at her like wooden statues.

Mingyue: "..."

Mingyue recognized Zhao Yibai's face and quickly greeted him, "Hello, senior."

Then she jumped a couple of steps to the side, making a gesture for Zhao Yibai to pass.

The students from Xiang University were staring at her as if they had seen a ghost.

Zhao Yibai: "You are... an external intern from Spirit-Sealing Academy?"

Mingyue nodded honestly and introduced herself, "I’m Mingyue from the 18th batch of the Comprehensive Department of Spirit-Sealing Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Senior Zhao Yibai."

Zhao Yibai seemed stunned by some huge revelation and asked again, "What talisman did you just use?"

Mingyue thought to herself, looks like the school history didn’t lie, other academies really aren’t as familiar with the Eight Divine Spells:

"Golden Light Divine Spell."

After saying that, she obediently took out a crooked drawing of the Golden Light Divine Spell and softly added, "It doesn’t look that good."

"Senior, please don’t mind."

Golden Light Divine Spell.

One of the Eight Divine Spells.

When did it become a must-have skill for external interns?

Zhao Yibai took it, lowered his head to look—

It really was the Golden Light Divine Spell, no fake at all.

"…"

Zhao Yibai felt like he was about to faint from shock.Heaven's mercy.

How is it that the students of Spirit-Sealing Academy aren't flying to the sky?