Chapter 80 - 77: The Legend of the Returning Ruins

Chapter 80: Chapter 77: The Legend of the Returning Ruins

The old man with the long braid sat up on the bed and said in a heavy voice,

"I feel it too. This car is filled with an ominous aura."

The woman with the coiled hair said,

"This train... it just looks wrong, doesn’t it?"

CREAK.

The door was pushed open.

A train attendant came in to deliver meals.

The woman with the coiled hair jumped down, took five steak dinners, and placed them on the table.

But no one touched the steaks.

The long-braided old man said in a heavy voice,

"That attendant just now... he wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t human.

It seems we’ve encountered an anomalous event."

The red-robed youth stared at the doorway and muttered,

"Finding that kid in a place like this is going to be difficult."

Just then, the door was suddenly thrown open, quite violently.

It was a scrawny young man wearing thick, black-framed glasses.

He was dragging a blonde girl, drenched in a cold sweat, his face filled with terror. He shouted at the five people in the room,

"I’m sorry! Don’t eat the food they give you! Don’t eat the food they give you!"

After he finished speaking, the scrawny youth immediately dragged the blonde girl away and ran to the next car.

"I’m sorry! Don’t eat..."

"If anyone’s hungry, I have bread!"

"I’m sorry..."

The five people in the room stared at each other.

A ferocious smile spread across the red-robed youth’s face.

"Found him."

...

The seats in the hard-seat car were very stylish.

Solid wood chairs with cushions, and the tables were also in a medieval style.

It was their first time on such a vintage-style train, and they found it incredibly novel.

Especially the free meal on the train—it was steak and red sausage!

Zhong Shu ran into the hard-seat car and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Don’t eat the food they give you! Don’t eat it!"

The train attendant, pushing an empty food cart, heard this. His body froze in place, and his head turned mechanically to fix a venomous, ice-cold stare on Zhong Shu.

The passengers thought Zhong Shu was a madman and picked up their knives and forks, ready to enjoy their lunch.

Zhong Shu snatched the knife and fork from the nearest burly man and said in a trembling voice,

"I-I’m sorry, you can’t eat it! You absolutely can’t eat it!"

The burly man had a short temper and grabbed Zhong Shu by the collar.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

If Zhong Shu had been a bit tougher, perhaps the man would have been more wary.

But Zhong Shu looked like an easy target, so the man blew up on the spot.

The other passengers looked over.

In such a stylish train car, they could admire the scenery, enjoy a fine meal, and watch some drama.

’This trip is turning out to be quite interesting.’

Pairs of mocking, amused, and indifferent eyes fell upon them.

"Zhong Shu?"

A surprised voice called out.

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice.

It was a man and a woman who looked like a couple.

The burly man stared at the pair and said menacingly,

"What, is this kid a friend of yours?"

Of course, they knew Zhong Shu.

They were colleagues.

Zhong Shu was a scriptwriter, and the man and woman were actors in a theater troupe.

Just yesterday, these two had given Zhong Shu a hard time.

The entire troupe was on vacation, so they had also decided to take a train trip.

However, their destination wasn’t the South Sea, but Anbo City, not far from Liancheng. It was a county known for its hot spring resorts.

The actress had a look of disgust on her face.

"I don’t know him. He’s just a psycho."

The actor, afraid he would attract the burly man’s hostility because of Zhong Shu, quickly waved his hands.

"We don’t know him well. He’s not with us. Do whatever you want, we won’t stick up for him."

The train attendant pushed the food cart forward with mechanical steps and said,

"Please feel free to eat. All food on this train is perfectly normal."

The actor, loving the drama, egged them on.

"The attendant said the food is fine, and you’re still here spreading rumors.

Zhong Shu, have you gone stupid from writing too many scripts?"

Zhong Shu’s face flushed bright red.

"I’m sorry, you can’t eat it! It’s all tainted!"

"Well, I’m gonna eat it, so what?"

The burly man grabbed the steak, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing heartily.

After finishing, he gave Zhong Shu a defiant look.

But Zhong Shu’s expression sent a chill down his spine.

It was the look a conscientious doctor gives a terminally ill patient, filled with the deep guilt of being unable to save them.

Zhong Shu’s eyes were full of pity as he whispered,

"I’m sorry..."

Suddenly, the sound of vomiting filled the car.

Several passengers who had finished their steaks clutched their stomachs and collapsed in the aisle.

These passengers were either very old or naturally frail—mostly the elderly and children.

The remaining passengers’ expressions turned to terror as they stared in disbelief at the steaks and red sausages on their small tables.

The spectators had become part of the spectacle.

The burly man suddenly clutched his stomach, sweating bullets from the pain. He ignored Zhong Shu and glared fiercely at the train attendant.

"Is the food here contaminated? No wonder it’s free! Is it expired?!"

A bizarre smile hung on the attendant’s lips.

"Passengers, please remain in your seats. Everything here is perfectly normal."

The male actor quickly threw away the steak in his hand and said angrily,

"Your food is poisoned! I’m definitely going to file a complaint!"

The actress angrily took out her phone.

"I’m calling the police! We have to call the police! Dammit! Why is there no service?! This piece of junk train!"

The burly man, enraged, stood up and went to grab the attendant’s collar.

"You still fucking say it’s normal? You motherfucker!"

The attendant casually lifted a hand and swiped it across the man’s neck.

The next second, a torrent of blood sprayed from the man’s neck.

He clutched his throat, staring at the attendant in terror as his strength slowly faded and he collapsed to the ground.

The car erupted into chaos.

Screams filled the air.

Many people left their seats to try and escape, their footsteps a chaotic scramble.

The attendant repeated mechanically,

"Everything here is perfectly normal. Please remain seated."

After saying this, the attendant reached for a passenger nearby who had just left his seat.

That passenger looked at the attendant in terror.

"Don’t, please, I’m begging you."

The little girl next to him pleaded,

"Don’t kill my daddy!"

BANG!

A gunshot rang out.

The attendant stared blankly, touching the hole in its chest.

Flames were still burning there.

The attendant slowly turned its head to look at Zhong Shu, who was trembling as he held a flintlock gun.

Zhong Shu swallowed hard.

"I-I’m sorry..."

The hole in the attendant’s chest slowly healed itself.

Its expression returned to being vacant as it pushed the food cart and walked toward the next car.

Everyone who was still alive turned to look at Zhong Shu.

’This man has a gun! His gun can drive that bizarre attendant away!’

Zhong Shu looked at the little girl.

Her father’s face had already turned black from eating the food.

Even if the attendant hadn’t killed him, he wouldn’t have survived.

The little girl’s miserable cries added a layer of oppressive gloom to the car’s horrifying atmosphere.

Zhong Shu clutched the flintlock gun, looking at the girl’s father, and muttered guiltily,

"I’m sorry...."

The male and female actors stared at Zhong Shu in disbelief.

...

The burly twins, the long-braided old man, the woman with coiled hair, and the red-robed youth in the wheelchair all watched this scene in astonishment.

’The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun couldn’t even kill the attendant!’

The red-robed youth said in a heavy voice,

"This attendant is immortal and indestructible... it reminds me of a certain legend."

The long-braided old man asked,

"Master Xie, you are vastly knowledgeable. Could you please enlighten us?"

The red-robed youth said,

"All living things are separated by life and death.

The living reside in the Mortal World, the dead in the Underworld.

But there are two mysterious places where one can transcend life and death upon arrival.

One is what the Buddhist Sect calls the ’Yin Yang Shore.’ A body from the Other Shore is called a Corpse Ghost.

The other is what the Daoist School calls the ’Boundless Returning Ruins.’ A spirit from the Returning Ruins is called a Living Soul.

Later generations thought the Other Shore and the Returning Ruins were just similar philosophical concepts about life and death proposed by the Buddhist and Daoist schools, not knowing that these two places truly exist in the world.

If I’m not mistaken, the attendants on this train are Living Souls, and the train’s final destination is the Returning Ruins."

Hearing this, everyone’s faces turned pale with horror.

"Then how are we supposed to get off the train?"

"Once we reach the Returning Ruins, I’m afraid we’ll never be able to get out!"

The red-robed youth glanced back at the others, who were clearly starting to panic, and said,

"If we merely arrive at the Returning Ruins, it’s not so bad. The Prayer Beads in my hand can guide us back to the Mortal World."

Only then did the others relax slightly.

But unexpectedly, the red-robed youth spoke again.

"But I’ve heard another legend.

The Returning Ruins and the Other Shore are the domain of a Tyrant.

The Corpse Ghosts and Living Souls are the Personal Guards of his bedchamber.

If we were to encounter that Tyrant... heheh, we would die without a place for burial."

Everyone’s expressions turned grim once more.

The red-robed youth said,

"That kid is as good as ours. He has now offended this train.

What we need to do is use the time he’s diverting the train’s attention to gather more clues."

The woman with coiled hair thought for a moment and said,

"This train’s next stop is Dongpu Station. Does that count as a clue?"

The woman with coiled hair picked up a route map and handed it to the red-robed youth.

"I picked it up when we boarded."

The red-robed youth glanced at it.

The route map listed all the train’s stops.

Meiqi Country Hami Station, East Sakura Kyoto Station, Russia Petersburg Station, South Korea Hengjiang Station, Xia Country Liancheng Station, and the next stop was indeed Dongpu Station.

The red-robed youth glanced at the long-braided old man.

"Where is Dongpu Station?"

The long-braided old man thought for a moment.

"It’s near South Sea City. It’s an abandoned train station."