FIMA Ch63: Train

The black bulletproof car stopped in front of a spacious estate in the suburbs.

In the distance, the shadows of trees in the estate were mottled under the night sky, with two red lanterns hanging on the trees on either side of the stone path. There was no sound or figure, and a strange sense of eeriness pervaded the silence.

However, this place seemed to have an excellent geomantic location, as even with Gu Siyuan’s half-baked mystic skills, he could feel the unusually abundant spiritual energy, feeling refreshed as he approached.

This was the old residence of the Xie family in S City.

In the car’s back seat, Gu Siyuan slightly raised his chin and said indifferently: “Go on, explain everything and start your job.”

“…” Xie Xuanxing was still in a daze.

Maybe losing to Xie Yuchen today had fried his brain. Otherwise, how could he, the former number one talisman-making genius in S City, agree to be someone’s follower?

He pouted and looked up, just in time to meet Gu Siyuan’s indifferent and stern gaze, as if he could see through him.

…His heart suddenly moved, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Xie Xuanxing grasped the door handle on his side of the car, pushed it open, and stepped out.

Just as he was about to head into the Xie family estate, the gate suddenly opened, and a familiar old figure emerged, followed by a few unpleasant sneers: “Third Elder, oh no, you aren’t anymore. Just leave quietly, or you’ll really lose face if things get ugly…”

“Hahaha, yeah, you’re so old you can barely walk. Let me give you some advice: take your grandson and find a place to retire peacefully!”

The old figure was quite indignant. He had been ready to leave but turned back upon hearing this, angrily scolding, “You little brats, have you forgotten how you used to bow and scrape, begging for advice from me and Xuanxing…a bunch of bullies who pick on the weak. Back then…”

“Grandpa!” Xie Xuanxing’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately rushed towards the gate.

Xie Cang stopped his scolding and turned his head, a rare look of embarrassment appearing on his face as he muttered, “Xing’er…where did you go earlier?”

Xie Xuanxing’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the two men at the gate, “How dare you treat my grandfather like this?”

Xie Xuanxing had always been influential in the Xie family, and the two men were startled by his gaze.

However, once they recovered, they felt a surge of inexplicable anger and annoyance.

“What are you showing off for? You think you’re still the Xie family’s top genius? Hmph, you’re not even fit to carry Young Master Yuchen’s shoes!”

“Hmph, you couldn’t match up to Young Master Yuchen’s few months of casual learning even after over ten years. You only had a voice because his bloodline was damaged, otherwise, you’d have no say at all!”

“Now that Young Master Yuchen is with Young Master Han in the capital, you’ll never catch up to him. By the way, you and your grandfather have been expelled from the Xie family for disrespecting the family head!”

Xie Xuanxing squinted his eyes and sneered, “Expelled from the Xie family?”

“Yes, now that you know, hurry up and get lost!” The two men waved dismissively, as if shooing away flies.

Xie Xuanxing stared expressionlessly at their faces, his hand slowly reaching towards his waist.

“Just perfect!”

At that moment, a cold, low male voice sounded.

Xie Xuanxing turned his head and saw Gu Siyuan, who had approached at some point, his gaze softening slightly.

Gu Siyuan raised his eyes to look at him, his expression clear and cold: “Now we don’t have to negotiate with your family. Looks like I had the foresight.”

Xie Cang looked at the two of them talking in riddles and tugged at Xie Xuanxing, asking, “Who is this?”

“He is Gu Siyuan,” Xie Xuanxing said softly, then added, “Gu Beilin’s younger brother.”

Xie Cang immediately reacted, “The younger brother of the Northern Sky Wolf? Isn’t he a good-for…?” He stopped mid-sentence, catching his grandson’s gaze.

However, looking at this person’s cold and stern appearance, with a solitary and imposing aura like a pine on a cliff, he didn’t seem like the rumored useless wastrel?

Gu Siyuan sneered, ignoring the old man’s prejudice.

He turned to the two men at the gate, his gaze sharp and mocking, “Since they are no longer part of the Xie family, from this moment on, these two are employed by our Special Bureau.”

The two men frowned, unsure how to respond.

But Gu Siyuan clearly didn’t need a response; he was just passing on the message.

He nodded at Xie Xuanxing, his dark eyes indifferent but with a hint of amusement, “Let’s go, quite a bargain, two for one!”

“…” Xie Xuanxing.

At this rate, his hot-tempered grandfather would be furious if he found out the truth!

The next moment, Xie Cang grabbed Xie Xuanxing, saying aggressively, “Let’s go. If this place won’t keep us, somewhere else will. Special Bureau, right? I’ll join right away.”

“…” Xie Xuanxing.

Grandpa, you better not regret this.

The Special Bureau is just a cover; being a follower is the real deal.

Gu Siyuan ignored their exchange, striding towards the sedan.

Xie Cang also tugged at Xie Xuanxing, “Let’s go, what are you waiting for?”

“Oh,” Xie Xuanxing nodded.

However, before leaving…

Xie Xuanxing turned back, looking calmly at the gate of the Xie family estate.

After a while, Xie Cang was sitting in the front passenger seat, with Xie Xuanxing and Gu Siyuan in their original spots.

As the bodyguard Brother Li revved the engine to leave, there was a loud “boom” from the direction of the Xie family gate.

Gu Siyuan leaned against the car window, glancing indifferently at Xie Xuanxing.

Tsk, still a spicy beauty.

Inside the Xie family estate.

A group of people hurried to put out the fire and replace the gate and signboard.

The family head, Xie Hao, listened to the two men’s report, his eyes narrowing as he sneered, “The Special Bureau? So what if they joined? They’re just a handful of half-trained people. If there’s a major supernatural case, won’t they still have to ask the big families and sects for help?”

Someone nearby immediately echoed with a laugh, “Exactly, Young Master Yuchen is with Young Master Han now. The Han family is one of the four major families. Even if those two joined the Special Bureau, what can they do? The Northern Sky Wolf might be legendary, but he’s just a young lad!”

Another person asked, “Should we inform Young Master Yuchen in the capital about this?”

Xie Hao shook his head, unconcerned, “No need to make a special effort. Yuchen went to the capital to further his cultivation and improve his talisman skills. There’s no need to distract him with this. I’ll mention it casually when he calls.”

“Understood.”

Two hours later.

On a slow train passing through S City to its final destination, the capital, a relatively quiet carriage suddenly echoed with a suppressed low roar, “What, you want us to be your followers?”

Gu Siyuan lazily raised his arm, pushing away the rough old finger pointed at him, and said indifferently, “Not exactly.”

Xie Cang exhaled and nodded, sitting back down, “That’s more like it.”

“I don’t want you, just him,” Gu Siyuan added coldly, glancing at Xie Xuanxing.

“…” Xie Cang.

What, you think the old man isn’t good enough for you?

Bah, is that even the point!

He almost got tricked by this kid. The main issue is that he wants his genius grandson to be a follower, isn’t it?

Xie Cang felt even more furious.

On the side, Xie Xuanxing, who was leisurely drinking tea from a thermos, saw Gu Siyuan’s knack for being infuriating and quickly grabbed his grandfather, lowering his head to explain something to him in a whisper.

Gu Siyuan glanced at the two of them but didn’t say anything, closing his eyes to rest.

They still had seven or eight hours before they reached the capital.

Originally, bodyguard Li had booked high-speed rail tickets, which would only take a little over four hours from S City to the capital.

But the old man, Xie Cang, firmly refused, insisting that he would never take a train or high-speed rail in his life. If something happened, he wouldn’t even have a chance to use his magic to escape.

Bodyguard Li told him that trains are very fast nowadays.

The old man confidently declared that he could handle the speed of a train. Once, on a train somewhere, he encountered a gang of thieves using the Five Ghosts Transport Technique to steal.

He had chased them off the train and jumped down himself, then enthusiastically suggested that if they didn’t believe him, he could demonstrate on the train later.

Bodyguard Li, a retired special forces soldier with considerable combat skills but just an ordinary person, had always had a mysterious admiration for mysticism practitioners.

So, he directly betrayed Gu Siyuan, surrendering to the old man and buying four hard-seat tickets for a regular slow train that would take eight hours.

On the slow train, the crowd was a mix of all sorts.

However, due to the long journey and the fact that they boarded late at night, the initial noise and chaos gradually subsided, and everyone started to rest, trying to ensure they were in their best condition when they reached the capital in the morning.

Because of the quiet, everything in this carriage became particularly clear to Gu Siyuan.

For instance, the sound of Xie Xuanxing’s clear voice; the snoring of bodyguard Li; the impatience of someone seven rows back, waiting in line for the restroom.

It had been nearly half an hour since the person in front closed the door.

Gu Siyuan suddenly opened his eyes.

The train seats were arranged in pairs by the windows.

As Gu Siyuan opened his eyes, a young curly-haired guy sitting across the aisle, who had been playing games on his phone, also paused his game and squinted towards the restroom.

The older man with a beard sitting next to him whispered, “Go check it out. I’ll stay here in case it’s a diversion.”

The curly-haired guy nodded, stood up, put his phone in his pocket, completely unconcerned about being cursed out by his teammates.

Gu Siyuan had some thoughts.

However, he didn’t stare at the person directly but pretended to play on his phone, casually glancing at the curly-haired guy with his peripheral vision. These two weren’t ordinary people; staring too directly would draw attention.

The curly-haired guy went to call the train policeman, exaggeratedly stating that the person in the restroom had been inside for almost an hour and they were all about to burst from waiting. The people waiting nearby echoed his words.

The train policeman, a young guy who seemed new to the job, immediately knocked on the restroom door, calling out to the person inside. After knocking for a while, there was no response.

The young policeman got nervous, fearing that the person inside might have had a sudden medical emergency, passed out, or worse…

The curly-haired guy patted his shoulder, reminding him to use the key to open the door.

Moments later, with a “click,” the restroom door was opened.

The young policeman, along with the passengers waiting outside, were shocked by the scene inside, stepping back in fright. Some of them screamed belatedly.

People sleeping or playing on their phones in the carriage were startled, asking repeatedly, “What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

A few brave passengers, sitting close to the restroom, even stood up to check out the commotion.

The curly-haired guy quickly patted the young policeman’s shoulder, frowning, “Stop standing there, call your supervisor and block the passengers, or there might be a stampede.”

“Oh…okay!” The young policeman, still shaken, grabbed his walkie-talkie, hurriedly said a few words, then stretched out his arms to block the curious passengers, preventing them from getting closer.

However, the carriage had two ends, and he clearly couldn’t handle it alone.

Someone in the adjacent carriage saw something and also screamed loudly.

Gu Siyuan glanced at the awakened bodyguard Li, “Go help him for a while.”

Bodyguard Li nodded.

After speaking, Gu Siyuan stood up as well.

Xie Xuanxing, sensing the strange situation in the restroom, took out a stack of talismans from his bag and followed behind Gu Siyuan.

Bodyguard Li, with his tall and muscular frame, scared off quite a few people.

The three of them walked smoothly to the restroom.

Li said to the young policeman, “You go over there. I’ll handle this side.”

Perhaps feeling a sense of security from Bodyguard Li, the young policeman nodded and ran to the other side to stop the passengers, greatly reducing the pressure.

It was summer, and everyone was dressed lightly.

The man in the restroom was no exception, so his collapsed state on the floor appeared extremely horrifying.

His whole body was curled and deformed, like a pile of sludge, lying on the ground. The exposed skin had inch-wide black and red marks, as if someone had wrapped a discolored black cloth around him and then forcibly pulled both ends, squeezing and deforming him, breaking his bones until he died.

But this was clearly impossible because the restroom had been locked from the inside, and there was only one person in it.

Moreover, there was no black cloth; the black marks on the corpse were directly embedded in the skin, as if some corrosive toxic gas had caused it.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

First day in this world. No transition, just straight into strange happenings. Quite thrilling.

The curly-haired guy checking the corpse in the restroom saw Gu Siyuan and Xie Xuanxing standing at the door, one aloof and stern, the other as bright as the moon, and couldn’t help but tilt his eyes, “Who are you two with?”

As he spoke, he noticed the stack of talismans in Xie Xuanxing’s hand, quite extravagant. “You seem to have boarded from S City too. I heard there’s a Xie family there who can draw talismans?”

Xie Xuanxing lightly responded, then looked at the corpse, saying gently, “This was done by a Shadow Demon, but Shadow Demons are usually mild-mannered and avoid crowds. Why would it board a train and kill someone?”

The curly-haired guy frowned as well.

Gu Siyuan touched his nose, pointing indifferently at the corpse, “This person has two scents on him, one from the black gas, and another like decaying earth, as if he was just dug up from somewhere. Did he have something the Shadow Demon coveted?”

Hearing this, the curly-haired guy’s expression changed. He immediately started searching the corpse.

In the end, besides a phone dropped on the floor, a pack of tissues, and a crumpled train ticket from H City to L City, he found nothing.

At that moment, something else happened in their carriage, with a series of chaotic noises and a child’s loud crying.

The curly-haired guy pocketed the dead man’s phone, immediately got up, shut the restroom door with a bang, asked the train policeman for the key to lock it again, and instructed, “Don’t open this restroom for now.”

After that, he ran towards the carriage.

Xie Xuanxing took out a talisman, pinched it lightly between his fingers, muttered something, and slapped it onto the restroom door.

Finished, he said to Gu Siyuan, “Let’s go too!”

Gu Siyuan nodded, picked up the deformed train ticket from the ground, gathered the few strands of spiritual energy from his original self into his eyes, and walked back to the carriage.

With one glance, their carriage was now a chaotic scene.

Under the dim night lights on the ceiling, a huge black shadow could be seen crawling and wriggling, extending tentacle-like appendages that touched a passenger holding a cup of hot instant noodles, causing the passenger to spill the boiling noodles onto the person in front, resulting in screams and cries;

Ahead, on a small cart selling sunflower seeds and soda, sat a little girl in red clothes, her face covered in layers of powder, giving her a ghastly white appearance. Her empty eyes stared at a few children in their seats, laughing eerily. The frightened children cried loudly while their parents searched in vain for the cause;

And on the sealed windows on both sides, numerous bizarre and distorted ghostly figures, male and female, young and old, pressed against the glass, staring intently at the lively passengers inside the carriage.

Several of these ghosts, seemingly provoked by Gu Siyuan’s gaze, broke through the glass and entered the carriage.

Old man Xie Cang, out of options, pulled several talismans from his pocket, casting them one by one onto the windows, drawing curious looks from the passengers.

Meanwhile, the recently arrived train conductor and attendants, as if pre-warned, ignored Xie Cang’s actions, calmly and methodically assisting the distressed passengers.

Gu Siyuan walked straight through the ghost-infested carriage, not even pausing at his own seat, until he reached seat 3435 and stood still.

He looked at the two-person seat where a middle-aged man with a small mustache was leaning against the window, snoring loudly, and asked coldly, “Is anyone sitting here?”

The man seemed deeply asleep, without any reaction.

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes and called again with a cold face, “Is anyone sitting here?”

The snoring man finally turned his head in a daze, half-opening his eyes to look at him, wiping his mouth as he mumbled, “Hmm… no, sit wherever you want…”

As he turned his head, Gu Siyuan saw his full appearance: about forty years old, with a neatly trimmed mustache and a shallow scar near his right eye.

How convenient.

Gu Siyuan’s lips curled into a cold smile, “Hand it over.”

The mustached man leaned back against the window, seemingly deaf to the world.

Xie Xuanxing frowned.

After a moment of silence, Gu Siyuan’s toe moved slightly.

The mustached man thought he was leaving and felt a slight relief.

The next second, a strong force hit him, and with a “bang,” he was thrown from his seat, crashing to the floor of the carriage, unable to get up for a while.

Gu Siyuan leisurely sat in the seat, swapping places with the man.

This sudden commotion made the already restless carriage even more tense.

Why did they start fighting out of nowhere? Why does this young man look so intimidating, like some train bandit or gang member?

Passengers were panicking, and a female passenger across the aisle screamed in fear.

As a result, the ghostly figures in the carriage grew agitated.

Xie Xuanxing didn’t know why Gu Siyuan suddenly acted so ruthlessly, but he quickly reacted, loudly reassuring the passengers, “No need to panic. We are government officials on a special mission, currently apprehending a thief. Please remain calm and stay in your seats.”

Hearing this, the carriage’s tension eased slightly.

The curly-haired young man, who had been calming down the attendants, stepped over to them.

Gu Siyuan noticed Xie Xuanxing’s actions, his lips curling into a slight smile.

Under the dim light, it was as if a magnificent flower had bloomed on an ice sheet that had never seen sunlight for years.

Xie Xuanxing paused, feeling as if a flower had bloomed in his heart as well.

Just then, Gu Siyuan nodded lightly and said indifferently, “Well done. You’re a qualified assistant.”

“…,” Xie Xuanxing thought to himself.

Actually, you didn’t have to say anything.

Gu Siyuan turned to look at the scarred mustached man on the ground and said coldly, “Si Tuqi, hand over the small cauldron.”

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the carriage seemed to change.

The mustached man trembled and quickly explained, “What… what Si Tuqi? I don’t know him. I’m not some thief. Sir, you must be mistaken…”

Gu Siyuan’s heel, clad in leather shoes, moved slightly and accidentally stepped on the man’s fingers, then ground down hard, “Cut the crap.”

The mustached man’s face contorted in pain.

The curly-haired young man walked over just in time to hear their conversation. He squinted at the man on the ground, “Hmph, so you’re Si Tuqi. You’ve made us search high and low. Hand over the item.”

“…,” the mustached man thought.

Do young people these days not listen to explanations at all?

Meanwhile, Xie Xuanxing had picked up the bag from the mustached man’s seat and rummaged through it. Finally, at the bottom, he found an item wrapped in layers of coarse paper.

His eyes lit up as he handed it to Gu Siyuan, “Is this it?”

The mustached man’s expression changed dramatically.

Young people have no sense of morality these days. They don’t listen to explanations, gang up on people, and even rummage through other people’s bags.

Gu Siyuan took it and unwrapped the coarse paper layer by layer, revealing a small bronze cauldron the size of a fist, with fresh dirt still clinging to it.

The moment the small cauldron was revealed, all the ghosts in the carriage became instantly agitated.

At that moment, Gu Siyuan’s grip loosened, and the cauldron was snatched away.

He looked up coldly.

It was the bearded man who had been sitting with the curly-haired guy earlier. He held the cauldron and laughed at Gu Siyuan, “Not bad, not bad. You’ve done well. I’ll let your brother know you were useful.”

Gu Siyuan was about to say something when the train’s intercom announced a stop at L City, which was also the destination of the deceased in the restroom.

He turned to Xie Xuanxing, “Get the old man. We’re getting off early.”

The four of them stood on the desolate train platform in the dead of night.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow in displeasure and snorted, “They ran fast!”

Xie Xuanxing looked at him, “You mean the bearded man and the curly-haired guy?”

Gu Siyuan nodded. That small cauldron was connected to a half-formed ghost king, back in H City.

“No worries, they’ll come looking for us,” Xie Xuanxing said calmly.

Gu Siyuan looked at him.

Xie Xuanxing held up a package wrapped in coarse paper, looking composed, “They’ll come back. When we got off, I retrieved this. How could we just give away what you found?”

“…,” Gu Siyuan thought.

Very satisfying!

But… why does this strangely feel like freeloading?