Not everyone on the train necessarily belongs to the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. I pointed to the front of the carriage and said, "Old Xiao, could it be that guy surnamed Min in Car No.1? After all, he's related to Huang Ran and is supposedly the head of the so-called National Religious Affairs Commission. If someone were behind this, he'd be a decent suspect."
"This has nothing to do with him." Before I could finish, Xiao Heshang replied without hesitation. "This matter has nothing to do with Min Tianyuan. He's desperate for this opportunity—even cut ties with Huang Ran. Even if he planned something, he wouldn't choose this time and place to act. If he wastes this opportunity, who knows when the next chance to reincarnate his second brother will come?"
That took me by surprise. I quickly asked Xiao Heshang, "His second brother? Old Xiao, are you talking about Min Tianyuan? He still hasn't reincarnated?"
"That's not something I can explain in a few words," Xiao Heshang said with a glance. "Let's focus on what's in front of us. The most important thing right now is to ensure this train reaches its destination safely. I can't vouch for everyone else, so I called you two over. As long as it's a Jian, I know you can handle it. The rest shouldn't be a problem."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Fatty suddenly asked, "Old Xiao Master, did you just say Jian?"
At that moment, the curtain hanging inside the compartment suddenly rippled, its movements growing more and more intense. Xiao Heshang rushed inside, muttering something to himself. We couldn't make out the words, but the curtain's movement gradually slowed. About two minutes later, it finally stilled. Xiao Heshang emerged from behind it and said, "Go on."
Sun Fatty had been watching him the whole time and now lowered his voice, likely afraid of disturbing whatever was behind the curtain. "Old Xiao Master, since you brought up the Jian, let me ask—what's with the one in Old Mo's carriage? Don't tell us to ask Gao Fatty again."
He grinned as he looked at Xiao Heshang. The latter froze for a moment, clearly flustered under Sun Fatty's gaze. He gave a sheepish laugh. "Little Fatty, I knew I could fool anyone but you. You guessed right—it was arranged by Gao Liang. That Jian had been sealed in the fourth underground level of the Bureau for decades. This was an opportunity to send it home. We'd originally wanted to assign a dedicated handler, but no one was available. So we slipped it in among the ghosts. Its aura had been sealed, and its appearance altered—no one could tell it apart, not even Wu Rendi."
Xiao Heshang's face showed a bit of confusion as he continued. "Everything was fine at first. No one expected its aura to suddenly leak out. The other spirits couldn't handle the Jian's presence and went berserk."
I recalled that other than the red gleam in its eyes, that Jian hadn't appeared all that unusual.
"Whatever. The Jian's gone now. As for how its aura leaked, let Gao Fatty worry about it. We've got more immediate problems."
Xiao Heshang turned to us and said, "The roof of the train is the only place beyond the surveillance cameras and immune to the influence of the Scatter-Yin Zone. I took a quick look earlier—nothing seemed out of place—but I can't say for sure. We need someone to go up and check."
After he said that, Sun Fatty and I exchanged glances. Now we understood why he had summoned us. Sun Fatty rolled his eyes. "So who's going up?"
Xiao Heshang glared. "I'm nearly seventy—you want me to climb up there?"
Sun Fatty pursed his lips, clearly wanting to say something, but I quickly stepped in. "Forget it. I'll go."
Given the situation, I was the best choice—at least in terms of agility and reflexes. I opened the carriage door, ready to climb up.
To my surprise, Sun Fatty followed me out and said, "Wait up, Lazi. I'm coming too."
That caught me off guard. Given his usual instincts, Sun Fatty would have stayed inside to ensure his own safety. I didn't expect him to volunteer. Since he offered and Xiao Heshang had no objections, I certainly wouldn't refuse.
Luckily, the train was moving very slowly. Even with Sun Fatty's massive frame—well over 260 pounds—it didn't take much effort for him to climb up. Though it was past midnight and there were no streetlights on the way, my eyes could still see clearly.
Scanning across the rooftop, I didn't spot anything unusual.
"Lazi, nothing seems off up here. Not to brag, but when I was with the railway police, I climbed more train roofs than I can count—they always looked like this. Not a single extra nail out of place. Old Xiao's getting paranoid. A few wandering ghosts go missing and he panics? There're still over a thousand of them down in the carriages. Let him start worrying when half of them disappear."
Even though Sun Fatty was running his mouth, he was moving slowly, bent low and carefully inspecting every inch of the roof.
Not everyone on this train was from the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. I pointed to the front of the carriage and said, "Old Xiao, could it be that guy surnamed Min in Carriage No. 1? After all, he's related to Huang Ran and also the chairman of the so-called Religious Affairs Commission. If he did it, that would sort of make sense, wouldn't it?"
"This has nothing to do with him." Before I finished, Xiao Heshang cut in with firm conviction. "This has nothing to do with Min Tianyuan. He's focused entirely on this opportunity—even Huang Ran has been sidelined. Even if he had any schemes, he wouldn't make a move right now. If he wastes this opportunity, who knows when the next one will come that might let his second brother reincarnate."
I was shocked. "His second brother? Old Xiao, are you saying Min Tianyuan? He hasn't reincarnated yet?"
"This isn't something I can explain in a few words. Let's deal with what's in front of us first." Xiao Heshang gave me a look and said, "Right now, the priority is making sure the train arrives safely. I can't guarantee the others are all clean, so I had to bring you two over. You guys can handle Jian—anything else should be easy."
Just as he finished, Sun Fatty cut in, "Master Xiao, did you just say Jian?"
At that moment, the curtain in the carriage twitched—first a little, then increasingly violently. Xiao Heshang rushed behind the curtain and muttered something unintelligible. A few moments later, the curtain calmed, and after about two minutes, it stopped moving completely. He stepped out and said to us, "Go on."
Sun Fatty, who had been staring at Xiao Heshang, now lowered his voice, clearly afraid of agitating whatever was behind the curtain. "Master Xiao, since you brought up Jian, I've got to ask—what's going on with that Jian in Old Mo's carriage? Don't tell me you don't know and we should go ask Gao Fatty."
Xiao Heshang looked momentarily startled, and Sun Fatty's piercing gaze clearly made him uneasy. Awkwardly, he chuckled and said, "Fatty, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. You're right. That Jian was arranged by Gao Liang. It's been sealed in the Bureau's underground Level Four for decades. We wanted to take this opportunity to send it back to its homeland. Originally, we wanted to assign a director to watch over it, but there just weren't enough people. So we slipped it in with the ghosts. We sealed its vital meridian and altered its appearance. No matter who looks, it just seems like a normal ghost—hell, even Wu Rendi might not spot the flaw."
At this, Xiao Heshang's expression turned confused. "It had been fine until now. No one expected its Aura of the Arcanobeast to suddenly leak. That aura is what drove the surrounding ghosts insane."
Thinking back, apart from the red gleam in its eyes, that Jian didn't seem to have any obvious features.
"Whatever. The Jian's gone now. As for why its aura leaked, let Gao Fatty and the others worry about it. We've got more pressing things to do."
Xiao Heshang turned to us. "The train roof is the only place not covered by cameras and unaffected by the residual Yin energy. I checked earlier—nothing looked off—but I can't be sure. Someone has to go up and take a proper look."
After that, Sun Fatty and I exchanged glances. Now we understood why he called us over. Rolling his eyes, Sun Fatty asked, "Who's going up?" Xiao Heshang glared at him, "I'm nearly seventy! You expect me to climb on the roof?"
Sun Fatty pursed his lips, clearly wanting to protest, but I cut him off. "Forget it. I'll go."
Given our skill sets, I was the obvious choice—faster reflexes, better movement. As I opened the door to climb up, Sun Fatty unexpectedly followed. "Wait for me, Lazi. I'm coming too."
That surprised me. Normally, in this kind of situation, Sun Fatty would choose to stay put and prioritize his own safety. Still, since he insisted and Xiao Heshang had no objection, I didn't argue.
Fortunately, the train was still moving slowly. Even with Sun Fatty's 260-pound bulk, he climbed onto the roof without much difficulty. It was the middle of the night and there were no streetlights around, but my eyes adjusted quickly. Looking across the roof, I didn't notice anything unusual.
"Lazi, there's nothing strange up here," Sun Fatty said. "Back when I worked railway police, I was on the roof a lot—same flat expanse, not even an extra nail. Old Xiao's being paranoid. So what if a few stray ghosts are gone? There are over a thousand down below. Let half of them vanish, then worry."
He was running his mouth as usual, but his body language didn't match—he moved slowly, crouched low, scanning every inch of the roof carefully.
I ignored him and walked the length of that carriage. We didn't find anything. Considering the souls disappeared behind the third carriage, this section likely wasn't the problem. We continued forward, checking carriage by carriage.
When we reached the center of the eighth carriage, I felt something off beneath my foot. I scraped the spot back and forth and sensed an inconsistency. Kneeling down to inspect, I finally spotted something suspicious.
The area around my foot had been cut into a circle about 20 cm across, then welded back and polished, even repainted. But due to time constraints, a welding bump remained unpolished. Since I was wearing thin-soled shoes, I'd felt the unevenness underfoot.
"Da Sheng, come here. I think there's something wrong with this spot," I called out.
Sun Fatty squatted next to me and examined the circle. "Lazi, trains differ, but I've never seen anything like this—like a rooftop skylight. Let's just pry it open and see."
He stepped back, letting me in. I didn't hesitate. Drawing my short sword, I slipped the blade into the weld line. It went in easily. With a quick flick, I cut around the circle.
Beneath the steel cover was a hidden compartment, containing a small, upside-down blood-red porcelain bowl. A tiny hole had been pierced in its base, from which a thread of gray-green gas emerged—lingering unnaturally in place. Through the haze, I could see what looked like fresh blood staining the underside of the bowl.
As I worked, Sun Fatty had wisely backed away. Once he saw there was no immediate danger, he came closer and stared. "Lazi, what is that? Is that little bowl what captured those thirty-some ghosts?"
"I don't know," I replied. "Let's ask Old Xiao—he might know."
I took out my phone and called Xiao Heshang. After I described the situation, he paused. "Are there bowls like that on every carriage?" he asked. I hadn't checked them all yet, so I said no.
Then silence.
After a while, he said, "Lazi, you and Sun—"
Before he could finish, I heard the sound of breaking porcelain beside me. I turned to see Sun Fatty had collapsed, trembling uncontrollably. The red bowl lay shattered around him.
"Lazi! What was that sound? Don't tell me the bowl was smashed!"
I shouted into the phone, "It's broken! Da Sheng passed out!"
"Don't get close! Come back immediately!" Xiao Heshang yelled. But he was too late. I had already run to Sun Fatty's side.
His face was dark gray, and his muscles twitched as though invisible hands were pulling them in all directions.
He suddenly opened his eyes and stood up stiffly. His eyeballs had turned milky white, like two ping-pong balls jammed into his sockets.
I realized he was possessed—very likely by the bowl. I dropped the phone and reached for my baton.
I'd seen possessions before, but never expected Sun Fatty to fall victim. Before I could draw my baton, he lunged at me, hands reaching for my throat. We were too close. His fingers almost touched my neck when I bit my tongue and spat a mouthful of blood at him.
Normally, that would force the ghost out. But this time, it only made him pause. His face grew even more twisted.
Before I could react, he lunged again. His hands closed around my throat.
I spat another mouthful of blood—still no effect. His grip tightened. I finally yanked out the baton and slammed it into his face.
Smack—he staggered. The blood was less effective, but the baton worked. I took the chance to break free and struck his leg.
He went down but soon sprang back up.
Before I could strike again, an old voice said behind me, "It's useless. He's not possessed by just one spirit. There are four or five. Your attacks are being shared."
Startled, I turned and saw an elderly man—Min Tianyuan. He must've climbed up from Carriage No. 1. He leaned on a cane, smiling calmly.
No time to process that. Sun Fatty lunged again.
I swung hard. He barely flinched and came back at me again. No pain, no fear.
I'd lost count of how many times I hit him. Finally, my baton broke. Sun Fatty paused, then leapt, hands stabbing at my chest.
I reached for my gun—but couldn't bring myself to shoot.
As I stumbled backward, Min Tianyuan's smile vanished. His brows twitched, and a spectral figure burst from his body—rushing straight toward Sun Fatty.