Chapter 32 Part 2

“But how do we tell them apart? They’re like a copy-paste job. Every question gets the same answer, even their quirks are identical. We can’t just kill my brother to see if he turns into a ghost after dying, can we?” the sister asked, rubbing her head in frustration.

Zhu Ming leaned forward, pulling out the Ride Permits from the two identical individuals. “Of course not. I encountered ghost entities turning into living people in my last dungeon too. The people they become have flesh and blood. Even if you cut their heads off, it’s just like a real person. They only change when definitively exposed.”

The sister looked at Zhu Ming and said, “Let them keep the Ride Permits. I’m afraid it would be bad if they didn’t have them on their person.”

The Ride Permit had been heavily emphasized in the Civilized Train Etiquette. No one wanted to accidentally harm the real brother. So after checking them, they were returned immediately.

Fanning herself, Zhu Ming said, “Let me think.”

The sister kept her eyes locked on the brothers, not daring to relax for a moment.

“Speaking of which,” Zhu Ming asked, “they were tied up and didn’t resist at all?”

Both brothers replied in perfect unison, “I’m not stupid. What if I get misunderstood and targeted by everyone?”

Zhu Ming chuckled. “True enough. Plus, you can’t do much during the day; the Conductor is still watching.”

After saying this, she stuffed the two Ride Permits back into their hands and announced, “I know how to tell them apart.”

The sister asked hastily, “How?”

“Zhu Ming said, “This is a world ruled by laws, so naturally, we use the rules to tell them apart.”

She was just about to explain her method when a glance at the window glass showed her the reflection of two human heads.

Zhu Ming: “…What the hell?!”

She spun around. Two Yin Yus were peering down from above, smiling as they greeted her: “Hi there, Mingming!”

Zhu Ming felt a profound sense of misfortune wash over her. One Yin Yu was already annoying enough, but now there were two? Which ghost had such bad taste to copy her?

For a moment, Zhu Ming felt like she had just swallowed a mouthful of houttuynia—she really wanted to retch. Although she couldn’t quite manage a retch, her disgusted glare was completely undeniable.

The two Yin Yus acted like they didn’t notice at all. One asked, “I encountered the same situation. It’s been quite vexing for my attendant.”

The other Yin Yu said, “Mingming has a good method to tell them apart? Do tell.”

Zhu Ming sneered. “You tell me to speak, and I just speak? Wouldn’t that make me lose face?”

Suddenly, an idea flipped in her mind. She had thought of a brilliant plan. If she could trick Yin Yu into entering, then she wouldn’t be able to move to another car anymore. No matter how long she frolicked outside, when ‘night’ came, she’d have to return to Car 37.

And since Zhu Ming herself had just transferred in, this was the perfect chance to…

So Zhu Ming cleared her throat and said, “Both of you come in first. This method requires the help of another passenger.”

One Yin Yu asked, “Really? Mingming isn’t trying to trick me, is she?”

The other Yin Yu said, “Mingming is getting more and more cunning now. She wouldn’t take the chance to beat me up, would she?”

Annoyed to the point of death, Zhu Ming snapped, “Mingming this, Mingming that—have you called enough? Get in or get lost, I don’t care! I’m already trying to find a ghost among them, what benefit would I get from tricking you?”

One of the Yin Yus was human and the other a ghost, yet their relationship seemed quite harmonious. They smiled at each other and, one after the other, slipped into Car 37.

It had previously been cleared of some seats by the five-person group, so the two Yin Yus took seats on the left and right.

The Yin Yu on the left said, “Go on, Mingming. How to tell them apart?”

The one on the right added, “Just forget any ideas about tying me up.”

Zhu Ming rolled her eyes dramatically from left to right. She scrutinized the pair carefully; from the strands of their hair to the soles of their shoes, there was no difference. The tear she had made in their white blouse and long skirt was even identical.

As Zhu Ming remained silent, the two Yin Yus waited with infuriating patience. The little sister, unsettled by the newcomers, asked anxiously, “Didn’t you have a method? What should I do?”

Zhu Ming waved her off. “Take your brother to the back. The method for you two isn’t the same as for them.”

The sister was confused, but by now she had no choice but to trust Zhu Ming. She led her brothers further away.

Outside the window, it was the height of summer. Sunshine was bright and brilliant. The lush, dense forest was like a sea of jade-green waves, rippling emerald tides when the wind blew.

The woman in the white dress was a cloud amidst this vast expanse of green. She looked at Zhu Ming with a smile, showing not a trace of suspicion. The window behind them was still open, and the breeze from Yin Yu’s direction came through, once again ruffling Zhu Ming’s hair.

Zhu Ming’s hand slowly moved to the hilt of the knife at her waist. She looked at the two Yin Yus across from her and drawled slowly, “I do have a way to distinguish human from ghost. But for you two, I won’t need to go to such trouble. Because before you entered Car 37, I already knew who the ghost was.”

The Yin Yu on the left countered, “Is that so?”

Zhu Ming offered a mirthless smile. “Honestly, whether I can tell you apart or not doesn’t matter. I could just kill you both. But, after all, we’re both participants. No matter our grudge, I can’t let a ghost interfere. So, Yin Yu, let’s kill this impostor together first, and settle our personal score later.”

The Yin Yu on the right then asked, “So, tell us, which of us is the ghost?”

With a shing, Zhu Ming drew her knife. The pitch-black blade, radiating a chilling cold, pointed directly at the Yin Yu on the left. “No matter how alike, an imitation is never the real thing. So, which one is the ghost is perfectly obvious now!”

The Yin Yu on the left smiled helplessly. “I knew it would come to this.”

The Yin Yu on the right beamed. “Oh my, since Mingming is willing to cooperate with me, I shall accept the gesture.”

In a flash, the moment the words left their mouths, all three moved simultaneously.

The two Yin Yus were completely identical, even their abilities were exactly the same. If they were left to fight each other, it would likely end in mutual destruction or a stalemate. But with Zhu Ming joining the fray now, it took only a moment for the left Yin Yu to be pushed onto the back foot.

Of course, brawling in the car during the day drew the Conductor’s punishment. The unseen and unfelt Conductor diligently took turns swinging the baton to discipline these three unruly passengers.

In tacit agreement, the three tumbled back out the window and continued their chase and fight across the roof of the train. They were two perfectly identical people; amidst all the rolling and dodging, it would have been easy to mix them up. Yet Zhu Ming locked onto the left Yin Yu like a bloodhound and never once targeted the wrong one.

The real Yin Yu was a tenacious one. Hunted by her other self and Zhu Ming, she shamelessly fled when she couldn’t win the fight. Even within the confines of the train’s exterior, she managed to drag it out until everyone was gasping for breath.

Tenacious. Utterly, unbearably tenacious. Zhu Ming crouched down, panting for a moment before rising to resume the chase. Chase a bit, rest a bit, chase a bit more…

Time crept by. Zhu Ming gazed into the distance, and her expression shifted. Shit, they were about to enter a tunnel!

Zhu Ming sprinted back toward Car 37, leaving both Yin Yus behind her. Without needing to ask, the two Yin Yus immediately broke off their fight to race back, not doubting for a second that Zhu Ming intended to lock them both out and wipe them out in one fell swoop!

Throughout the chase, the right Yin Yu had mostly watched the show, contributing the least, while the left Yin Yu had expended the most energy fighting off two opponents. As a result, the right Yin Yu was the first to slip back into the car, with Zhu Ming hot on her heels.

The right Yin Yu didn’t shut the window to block Zhu Ming—after all, the little sister was inside, and she wouldn’t obey a dubious maybe-ghost stranger to keep Zhu Ming out.

But just because Zhu Ming got back in didn’t mean she was stopping. The moment she found her footing, she spun around and rushed forward, jamming the left Yin Yu as she slid headfirst through the window!

Yin Yu’s momentum was abruptly halted. Her upper body snapped backward, and on impulse, she tumbled outside.

Zhu Ming leaned out the window, kneeling to press her weight down. Her left hand braced against the frame, and her right hand shot forward, grabbing a tight fistful of Yin Yu’s collar.

The window was too narrow. The right Yin Yu couldn’t squeeze in alongside and simply stepped back to enjoy the show.

The dense forest rolled by. The train whistled as it sped towards the tunnel. The mountain range was lush and green under the eternal, radiant sun.

Yin Yu’s body and thighs were already completely out of the train. She looked up at Zhu Ming, who was gripping her from above. Her hair whipped wildly like a black banner as she smiled. “Oh dear, I’m about to fall. Mingming, are you going to push me into the tunnel?”

The only thing keeping Yin Yu from falling was Zhu Ming’s hand on her collar and the hook of her calf against the window frame. The moment Zhu Ming let go, she would plummet backward; her calf would never hold under the strain of her dropping body weight. She would leave the train.

Falling off anywhere else would just be falling off, but they were about to enter a tunnel.

She knew exactly what Zhu Ming was thinking. Zhu Ming wanted the darkness to swallow her, to corrode her into a puddle of sludge.

Zhu Ming stared intensely into her eyes and asked, “What exactly are you?”

Yin Yu’s lips curved upward. Her hands gently stroked Zhu Ming’s hand gripping her collar—that hand which was burning hot and powerful, its knuckles white from strain. She didn’t answer Zhu Ming’s question. Instead, she said:

“Do you really want to do this? If I die, there will be no one to open the window of Carriage No. 60 for you. I know you are a smart child—even if they say you are dull and foolish, I knew from the first moment I saw you, you’re just a poor child held in shackles.

Come then, Mingming, make your choice. My life? Or the possibility of the truth!”

With that, Yin Yu let go of Zhu Ming’s hand. She spread her arms wide in the wind, her wildly dancing black hair like a dense, tangled brush stroke of ink. Her swirling skirt was a cloud of white mist. Her body arched deeply backward, the only thing ruling her life or death being the hand clenched against her towering chest.

Zhu Ming stared down at her deeply. In Yin Yu’s eyes, there was no fear. She had abandoned all resistance, and she wasn’t even trying to convince her anymore. She just gazed at Zhu Ming with those hateful, fathomless dark pupils, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Zhu Ming’s grip on her collar grew tighter.

Pop.

The collar of the blouse couldn’t withstand the force, and a button snapped. Silky smooth skin brushed across her fingertips as Yin Yu sank a few inches lower.

The right Yin Yu seemed to have seen enough drama. She remarked, “What is Mingming hesitating over? Surely a few words from a ghost aren’t enough to make you waver? Since we’re cooperating, I’ll naturally have someone open the window of Car 60 for you.”

The Yin Yu dangling in mid-air chimed in agreement—or was she simply asking Zhu Ming a question? “Does Mingming want to cooperate with Yin Yu?”

Zhu Ming didn’t speak. Nor did she move.

The tunnel was closing in. Darkness devoured Car 33, then Car 34… and was about to reach Car 37.