Chapter 26 Part 1

As long as she was willing to bet Food Tickets, there was nothing the braided girl and her two companions wouldn’t agree to.

But they never expected Zhu Ming’s hand could be that terrible, and her card skills were practically non-existent!

The male university student was one card away from winning with a straight. The braided girl discreetly stomped his foot, signaling him to hold back. Zhu Ming noticed nothing. When they played singles, she happily slapped down an Ace. “Anyone got something for this?”

The three shook their heads.

Zhu Ming slapped down another card. “A King!”

They shook their heads again.

Zhu Ming, elated, continued, “A Ten! A pair of Sevens! Three Threes with a Four! A Six! Hahaha, I win!”

The braided girl offered a fake smile. “You’re an amazing card player. We might not even be able to beat you. Shall we make a real bet?”

Zhu Ming looked at her suspiciously. “But I feel my hand wasn’t that good. You guys wouldn’t be letting me win on purpose, would you?”

The braided girl said hurriedly, “How is that possible? What benefit would that give us? You’re overthinking it.”

“Alright then, let’s play a few more hands first,” Zhu Ming said. “I’ll bet candy, but I don’t want your Food Tickets.”

The male student was puzzled. “Why not? What do you want then?”

Zhu Ming smiled faintly, her voice brimming with warmth. “Since this bag of candy was a gift, I should prepare some return gifts. What if you lose your Food Tickets and get upset, then refuse to play with me anymore? So let’s bet on other things first. Bring out whatever snacks you have. Once I’ve gathered enough return gifts, then I’ll bet for your Food Tickets.”

The braided girl stared at Zhu Ming, her smile practically frozen on her face. This high-ponytailed woman was the reincarnation of a trouble-spirit! And with that half-dyed hair, definitely not a good person!

But!

If she didn’t agree, and Zhu Ming refused to keep playing, then they’d get nothing at all.

The braided girl squeezed out a smile. “Alright, we’ll do as you say. Don’t worry, we’re just playing to pass the time on this boring ride. No other meaning.”

Zhu Ming’s smile was radiant. “Good, good. I was afraid you might find me troublesome. I didn’t expect you to be so patient and gentle. Unlike me—if I run into a troublemaker, I usually just resort to force.”

Braided girl: “…”

To prevent this troublemaker Zhu Ming from noticing anything amiss, the trio had to carefully manage their play. They had to let her win and lose amidst her terrible skills, while also preventing her from discovering they were deliberately going easy on her.

Exhausting. So draining. All their years playing cards, and this was the first time it was this tiring.

The braided girl felt her skin becoming noticeably rougher.

After several hands, the wins and losses were fairly even. Zhu Ming had won the most. The braided girl tentatively probed, “You’re playing so well. Why not strike while the iron is hot and bet Food Tickets? Don’t worry, even if we lose, we’ll still play with you. We won’t ignore you.”

Zhu Ming, thoroughly enjoying herself, agreed readily. “Sure! Although I lost to the three of you last hand, I’m confident I can turn the tide and counter-attack, one against three! However…”

The braided girl’s heart leaped into her throat. “However what?”

Zhu Ming leaned back, her left hand resting on the back of the chair, her right leg crossing over her left. In her upraised right hand, matching the curve of her rising smile, she pinched a piece of candy. “I lost three candies to all three of you in that last hand. To celebrate our budding friendship and boost morale for the next games, let’s eat some candy together!”

The three students fell silent again. They stared at Zhu Ming with an identical deep, dark gaze. A stifling atmosphere solidified over the small card table.

Zhu Ming didn’t retreat an inch, the smile deepening at the corner of her mouth. She flicked the candy. “Could it be there’s a problem with these candies? But I distinctly remember the little girl’s mother saying it was fine to eat a little of your food… Hmm, did I overlook something? With everyone being so kind-hearted, you wouldn’t deceive me, right?”

The braided girl took a deep breath and said, “How could we deceive you? It’s just a piece of candy. We’ll all eat some together. It’s nice.”

The three university students seemed to reach a decision. Together with Zhu Ming, they peeled the wrappers open. To reassure her, the three ate their candies first.

Zhu Ming held the candy, preparing to put it in her mouth. The little girl watched quietly, licking her own lollipop.

Just as the candy reached her lips, Zhu Ming suddenly frowned and cried out, “Oh! My tooth hurts!”

Braided Girl and Company: “…”

Zhu Ming furrowed her brow, shaking her head with a long sigh. “Gosh, I almost forgot about my cavity. Just seeing candy gives me a phantom toothache. No, no, I can’t. You guys eat this one for me.”

With that, Zhu Ming tossed the candy onto the card table. Turning her head, she smiled at the dumbfounded little girl. “Little sister, even if you’re not human anymore, remember to brush your teeth morning and night. Otherwise, you’ll end up like Big Sister here with cavities and unable to eat sweets.”

The little girl barely managed to smile. “Big Sister is so right.”

“Well, that’s just me, a gentle and thoughtful big sister.” Zhu Ming then scooped up the loose snacks she’d won from the braided girl’s trio and tossed them to the little girl’s family. “Here’s a loving return gift from Big Sister. Eat up, or you’re not giving me face.”

The little girl asked with innocent purity, “But if we eat these, what will Big Sister eat?”

Zhu Ming replied, “I’ll just eat whatever else I win from them later. With my great card skills, am I worried they won’t lose?”

The beautiful, intellectual wife-ghost—whose current appearance was neither beautiful nor intellectual—snatched up the little girl and cast a silent glance at Zhu Ming. “And what if Big Sister keeps losing? Be good, let’s save these for Big Sister first.”

The braided girl shot a venomous glare at the family of three. When she faced Zhu Ming again, her patience was almost entirely spent, her brow dark with gloom. “Have you had enough of your polite give-and-take? Can we get back to playing cards now?”

“Fine, fine, look at how impatient you are. This time, let’s bet on your Food Tickets.” Zhu Ming was always magnanimous.

Another round of shuffling and drawing. The trio exchanged glances, their eyes brimming with emotion: Finally, it’s almost over. Finally, we can stop playing along with this troublemaker!

“A three-of-a-kind with one kicker!” Zhu Ming threw down four cards, then wiggled the remaining three in her hand. “Anyone want to beat this?”

Three heads shook.

A certain unstoppable momentum of victory began to re-enact itself. Zhu Ming was ecstatic. “Pair of Kings! Want it? Three-Four-Five-Six-Seven! Want it? A Six! Want it? A Nine! Wow, I win again, again, and again!!”

The braided girl and her companions put on fake smiles and applauded repeatedly. “So amazing, so amazing! Since you won, our Food Tickets are yours.”

Zhu Ming accepted them, grinning broadly.

Not much time had actually passed by now, but Zhu Ming was already starting to feel hungry again.

The trio, desperately wanting to stop playing cards with Zhu Ming, enthusiastically invited her to eat some of their small snacks. Even if she couldn’t eat candy, surely a few little crackers were fine?

Zhu Ming: “Can’t! I’m on a diet these days!”

Braided girl: “…” She had never, in all her ghostly existence, met a woman this troublesome and fussy.

The scenery outside the window remained unchanging. Zhu Ming leaned back against her seat to rest. Gradually, she noticed the view outside beginning to shift.

As the train continued its steady, relentless advance, the distant mountains drew closer. The train was about to plunge into a tunnel entrance carved at the base of a mountain!

The monotonous scenery was finally changing. On either side of the tunnel entrance stood two identical guard posts. The increasingly towering mountains as they drew near still stretched boundlessly into the distance on both sides.

The first rule from the Invitation Letter: Beware the Dark!

And that tunnel entrance, like the gaping maw of a demon beast, was pitch-black, without a trace of light!

Woo-woo—

The train whistled, plunging into the tunnel mouth without the slightest hesitation.

One car, two cars, three cars… Zhu Ming watched as the Car No. 17 ahead was swallowed by darkness, and immediately after, her own Car No. 18 followed.

In that single instant, the entire carriage fell into an absolute, impenetrable darkness. The previously bustling and relatively peaceful carriage went utterly silent, the last vestiges of human presence vanishing.

Click. Clack.

The lights flickered a few times, alternating between moments of absolute darkness and murky yellow, as if the overhead lamps were old and malfunctioning.

In that brief window of changing light, a cold, icy hand grabbed Zhu Ming’s wrist.

Buzz—

The murky yellow lights fully steadied. Within this tunnel of unknown length, only the interior of the carriage was lit. Outside was an abyss of thick, dense darkness. Nothing could be seen, no light existed out there. It gave one the surreal illusion that there was no way to know where this train was actually heading. Perhaps… toward the center of the earth.

Zhu Ming looked up at the three at her table. Whether the braided girl or her two companions, all had revealed their true forms.

Deathly pale, greenish faces. Deep, cavernous pupils. An overwhelming ghostly aura they could no longer conceal radiated from them, leaving no doubt as to their identity.

They were ghosts. Or rather, everyone in this entire carriage, save for Zhu Ming, was a ghost! The others, however, had now vanished. Only the two tables of ghosts from whom Zhu Ming had accepted Food Tickets remained, here to collect their spoils.

The braided girl’s mouth split wider and wider as she let out a piercing shriek of laughter. “Finally, this moment has come! Since you took my Food Tickets, repay me with your life!”

Zhu Ming twisted her wrist. Where she gripped the girl’s bluish-black ghost hand, a sizzling smoke began to rise. The braided girl shrieked and quickly retracted her hand.

Zhu Ming offered a faint smile. “But I’m an Awakened one.”

Suddenly, a chill touched her waist. The soft, milky-sweet little sister stared at Zhu Ming with eye sockets now empty black holes where her eyeballs had fallen out, emitting a shrill, childish giggle. “But Big Sister, I was also an Awakened when I was alive. Your little tricks can’t kill me. Next life, remember not to trust little kids so easily. Although, you probably won’t have a next life!”

With that, her two hands transformed into sharp claws, lunging for Zhu Ming’s abdomen. Zhu Ming twisted her body away with lightning speed while simultaneously grabbing the little ghost’s hair and yanking her head back.

The little sister’s arms and legs were simply too short. Her hair sizzled and smoked from the contact. She screamed, “Attack, now!”

Her ghost parents, who had similarly transformed, immediately flanked and charged from left and right.

So this was the so-called “nighttime.” The daytime rule against fighting in the carriage no longer needed to be followed. The ghost’s powers, as well as her own abilities, were restored!

Zhu Ming swung the little ghost like a weapon, smashing her wildly into the two ghosts at her sides. She had already flipped over the seat back, breaking out of their encirclement. The braided girl, shrieking “She’s behind you!”, was the first to lunge after her.

Only now did Zhu Ming notice that the braided girl, in her revealed ghost form, had no legs. Her legs were cleanly severed below the knees. Yet, relying on her two hands, she crawled with shocking speed, even faster in pursuit than the two-legged ghosts.

The doors at the front and back of the carriage remained tightly shut. The aisle was narrow. Zhu Ming grabbed a luggage rack, launched herself into the air, and flipped over the heads of the ghosts again, a repeat of her earlier maneuver.

Upon landing, Zhu Ming let out a fragile cry, “Oh dear,” and plopped down into a seat, as if she had twisted her ankle.

The braided girl’s face lit up with vicious glee. “Let’s see where you run now!”

Zhu Ming didn’t run. Instead, she shouted, “Wait! You’re all killing me for the Ride Permit, right? But I only have one permit, and there are six of you ghosts. If you kill me, how do you plan to divide it?!”

The six ghosts halted in their tracks. The glances they aimed at each other grew increasingly sinister.

Yes. How would they divide it?

As luck would have it, the moment Zhu Ming finished asking this, the stomachs of the three university-student ghosts let out a series of conspicuous, loud gurgles. Instantly, their already ghastly faces grew even uglier.

The candy they’d eaten during the “daytime” was beginning to take effect.

Clunk, clunk. The carriage shuddered slightly.

Zhu Ming said with surprise, “Oh my, what’s the matter? Did you eat something bad? I really wish you hadn’t interfered. See? Little Sister’s family worked so hard to persuade me not to accept anyone else’s Food Tickets. If you hadn’t meddled, I’d have been their guaranteed meat on the chopping block. But now, look… tsk, tsk, tsk… A ghost’s heart, never satisfied like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. You put in so much effort to join this ‘nighttime’ party, you can’t possibly be willing to give up easily, can you?”