Chapter 28 Part 1

The ghost glared at Zhu Ming, then at the sugar ball in her palm. Finally, reluctantly, it handed over the food ticket.

Under the boundless golden autumn sky, Zhu Ming smiled. “Don’t worry. The competition won’t be too fierce. After all, the carriage is crowded, and there are too many ghosts to fit comfortably.”

They had to leave some chances for others. Plus, with a sick person in their group, they planned to only eliminate half the carriage’s ghosts this time.

Perhaps because these two women were too arrogant, a ghost finally couldn’t stand it any longer. A tall, thin, silent auntie wearing bell-bottoms came forward on her own initiative and handed over her food ticket. “If you wish to die, then I shall grant your wish.”

The moment she traded her ticket, all the other ghosts who thought they had a shot at competing for the ride permit suddenly fell quiet. It was as if, with her alone participating, the rest had no hope whatsoever.

Such an attitude. How intriguing.

Wenren Tu flipped her wrist and zipped up her backpack, shaking her head at Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming sat back down. “It seems everyone is rather reluctant to trade food tickets. We’re always very democratic. If you don’t want to, forget it.”

This ghost is unusual.

Night arrived as scheduled. The never-stopping Four Seasons Train rushed into the dark tunnel. Amidst the flickering lights: people vanished, ghosts appeared!

Under her high-speed metabolism, Miss Legs’s illness had already healed. She hid behind Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu, pressed against the yet-to-open door, ready to leap into another carriage the instant it opened. But wait—why were there so many ghosts in Car No. 15 too?!

Wenren Tu suddenly remembered something. “Oh, that’s right! Those are leftovers I didn’t finish off last time!”

Miss Legs despaired. She wanted to switch to the door for Car No. 17, but the aisle was already jam-packed with ghosts.

Because of the sudden appearance of the bell-bottoms ghost, the number of ghosts appearing at night wasn’t as high as Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu had anticipated. There were only about a dozen or so.

But with them all crammed into the aisle, movement was difficult. This situation was extremely unfavorable for Miss Legs’s running style. She could only hide in the back and play support, leaving the battlefield to the other two.

Zhu Ming’s gaze towards the mass of ghosts gradually deepened, her expression growing serious. She said to Wenren Tu, “Before, when you weren’t here, I didn’t dare go all out. Now that you’re here, I want to test what my ability is like at full power. A-Tu—if I lose control, I’m leaving it to you.”

A-Tu curved her lips into a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll electrocute you unconscious, just like the first time we met.”

With that, Wenren Tu unclipped the long blade from her waist and tossed it to Zhu Ming. “I can’t use this thing well. I’m lending it to you.”

Zhu Ming’s face brightened as she drew the blade. “Then I thank you.”

Contrary to the two’s expectations, the ghosts inside the carriage weren’t particularly enthusiastic. They seemed rather unwilling to fight. After a moment’s thought, Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu decided to strike first. Otherwise, if they simply left with their food tickets, the next person entering Car No. 16 would have to face a sudden increase in ghosts.

With a flick of Wenren Tu’s wrist, a silver chain shot out from her bracelet. The ghost it hooked was instantly convulsed by electricity.

Zhu Ming circumvented the electrified silver chain, stepping across the seat backs and sweeping her blade horizontally. In a flash, the bell-bottoms ghost, who had been sitting all along, suddenly looked up. Her hand reached out and directly grabbed the tip of the long blade!

Clang—

When the blade struck her palm, it produced the sound of metal clashing against stone. So hard! This ghost isn’t like the previous little sisters. She’s strong!

Zhu Ming stared at the bell-bottoms ghost, whose entire body had turned an ashen white. She immediately flicked her wrist and kicked off a chair back to retreat. A ghost lunged to intercept her, but Zhu Ming flipped over its back, rolling right back to A-Tu’s side.

Wenren Tu retracted her silver chain. The ghosts opposite them saw Bell-bottoms standing up and all collectively retreated a step.

“Seems there’s a tough one here,” Zhu Ming said with a laugh, flicking the blade. “A-Tu, my ordinary attacks can’t break her defense. Want to give it a try?”

Wenren Tu stepped forward. “Might as well.”

Saying so, she shot out the silver chain again. The chain’s length was limited, but Bell-bottoms neither dodged nor retreated. She even took the initiative to step forward, snatching the silver chain right out of the air!

“So arrogant.” Wenren Tu frowned. Torrents of electricity roared down the metal links… only to be stopped completely upon reaching Bell-bottoms. Bell-bottoms looked at her silently and tied the two silver chains together.

Wenren Tu: “WTF?!”

Bell-bottoms yanked the chain, forcing Wenren Tu to stumble a step forward. Zhu Ming couldn’t help but laugh. “Seems her defensive ability isn’t an iron skin or bronze bones. It’s stone.”

This completely restrained Wenren Tu. Gripping a seat back for leverage, Wenren Tu cursed, “Stop watching the show and get moving!”

Zhu Ming’s expression turned solemn. She stressed, “I haven’t used my complete ability for a very long time. A-Tu, if I lose control, don’t hold back.”

Wenren Tu said hurriedly, “Got it, got it! Hurry up!”

Zhu Ming took a deep breath. She bent her knees, crouching low, and shaped her hand into a gun, aiming at Bell-bottoms. An oppressive atmosphere swirled throughout the entire carriage. Everyone retreated further. Bell-bottoms revealed a cautious expression and directly manhandled Wenren Tu, positioning her as a human shield.

She locked her elbow, pressing it horizontally against Wenren Tu’s throat. Wenren Tu could barely breathe, completely immobilized in the tight clutch of this massive, insulated body.

A few lesser ghosts whispered behind them. Wenren Tu was furious with shame. “What are you looking at?! Come over here if you dare, and I’ll fry you! Zhu Ming! Hurry up!!!”

“I know, shut up! I’m on it!”

Finally, scorching Yang energy concentrated into a single point. Pfft— a spark burst forth. Then: pfft, pfft, pfft, like a deflating balloon, it shrank smaller and smaller, until finally, at the tip of Zhu Ming’s finger, a weak, pathetic little flame no bigger than a pinky finger ignited.

Zhu Ming: “…”

Wenren Tu’s vision went dark. Trembling, she said, “Zhu Ming, are you hiding a lighter in your hand to trick me?”

Zhu Ming was shocked. “Seems I went too long without using my ability, and it’s regressed… Oh dear, I was holding back before, you see…”

The result: going all out and holding back yielded the exact same outcome.

Zhu Ming cleared her throat dryly. Withdrawing her hand, her face turned cold. “Even without my ability, it doesn’t matter. Let her go and I’ll fight her myself!”

With that, Zhu Ming pounced again. This time, she used the blade as a feint, tricking Bell-bottoms into loosening her grip on Wenren Tu. The blade was knocked flying, but Zhu Ming flipped over and latched tightly onto Bell-bottoms from behind!

Sizzle, sizzle— As long as it was a being of Yin and evil, nothing wasn’t countered by Scorching Yang energy. Few people in the world could store such potent Yang energy within their bodies—not even Wenren Tu’s lightning could do it. But Zhu Ming could!

Bell-bottoms indeed felt the pain. Her brow furrowed. She kicked Wenren Tu away and grabbed Zhu Ming’s elbow, wrenching it downward.

Zhu Ming’s fingertip ignited a small flame, striking several major acupoints on Bell-bottoms’s body, leaving burning marks. But while the marks were there, they couldn’t burn through. Her defense was truly extraordinarily thick.

Wenren Tu fell to the floor and scrambled up clumsily. Looking up, she saw Bell-bottoms carrying Zhu Ming on her back, about to ram her forcefully backwards into the wall!

The carriage could not be damaged! Zhu Ming’s back slammed heavily against the wall, the impact churning her blood and Qi, the taste of iron blooming in her throat.

“Go deal with the other ghosts!” Zhu Ming shouted at Wenren Tu. Bell-bottoms shifted forward, preparing to ram her again. Zhu Ming seized the moment to loosen her grip and slide down.

She kicked off the wall in an inverted push, using the reactive force to shoot away. Zhu Ming sneered coldly, realizing Bell-bottoms wasn’t entirely without weakness. After clinging to her back for so long, she’d already burned a large patch of skin there.

Bell-bottoms frowned, touching her back. She also realized her state was dire, and she turned to walk in another direction.

A weak spot. Zhu Ming immediately leaped and repeated her strategy, latching onto Bell-bottoms’s back again. If only her defense weren’t so thick. Zhu Ming could then inject the Crimson Flame directly into her body to detonate her from the inside. But judging by her current state, her defense was about to break!

But this time, Bell-bottoms didn’t try to pull her off or ram her. Bell-bottoms grabbed a ghost and dragged it over. She then looked up slowly, her eyes angled askance at Zhu Ming, hollow and icy.

And then, she viciously tore into the ghost in her grip with her teeth.

That ghost let out a blood-curdling scream. Bell-bottoms inhaled deeply, the ghost’s spiritual body entering her stomach, and the burns on her back began rapidly healing!

No wonder the other ghosts feared her so much. The moment they saw her joining the nighttime hunt, they all gave up on competing. It was just those ghosts who had already traded tickets ahead of her who had no choice but to participate. Without them, she would have been the only ghost killing people tonight.

Wenren Tu realized this too, but she could no longer focus on cleaning up the lesser ghosts alone. Because Bell-bottoms, now replenished, was even more ferocious than before. Her limbs emitted creaking, grinding sounds. Both arms and her neck rotated a full 180 degrees. Suddenly, Zhu Ming’s back-hug became a face-to-face confrontation!

Bell-bottoms slammed Zhu Ming against the seat backs again, simultaneously grappling with her hand-to-hand. Crap! This ghost’s strength is comparable to Yun Zouchuan’s! Zhu Ming can’t overpower her!

Even worse, the carriage doors were opening. The window was only about one minute. Miss this minute, and they’d have to fight Bell-bottoms for another round!

Gradually, Zhu Ming was forced backwards, her throat exposed.

Separated by a terrifying Fierce Ghost, Wenren Tu and Zhu Ming met each other’s eyes. Immediately, a silver chain whipped out, wrapping around Zhu Ming’s leg. The instant Bell-bottoms lunged to bite Zhu Ming’s throat, the current surged.

Zzzt—

Bell-bottoms went completely rigid.

No matter how thick your skin, the inside of your mouth isn’t made of stone, is it?!

Zhu Ming was also jolted into convulsions, but thankfully, she was used to it. And lightning had an even stronger restraining effect on demonic evil. So, even as she shuddered, she kept straining her neck forward. At the same time, she pulled her hand back and forcefully shoved her fingers into Bell-bottoms’s mouth.

A small, lazily burning flame slid directly down into Bell-bottoms’s belly.

Wenren Tu decisively cut the power. In the next second, Zhu Ming grabbed the seat back, using her long legs coiled around Bell-bottoms’s waist to torque violently, flipping the ghost to the floor. She threw herself to the ground at the same time.