The King of Curses

Chapter 231 Murder on the Train
"Yes, it is not easy to open up this area in the underground space of the city. The builders put a lot of effort into it."

Cen Dongsheng agreed very much.

"Did this place exist in ancient times, or was it built later?"

"My guess is it's a bit of both."

Maybe it was originally just a relic left by the ancients, and was expanded on this basis by later generations.

Even with advanced modern technology, creating such a huge landscape would still be a huge project, and the cost would be astronomical... In other words, it is not impossible, but it is very unrealistic.

But if a powerful spell-binding master were to do it, it would be another matter.

Song Yutang withdrew his gaze from the window and suppressed his surprise.

"Master, regarding what that 'Lame Old Seven' said just now..."

"Oh, right." Jiang Yunmei pointed at herself and asked curiously, "Is that really my fault? I thought I recovered well."

"That old man is definitely not honest."

Cen Dongsheng replied.

"If nothing else, I can be sure of one thing: this city has been very unstable recently."

"Ordinary people sneaked into the entrance of the ghost market" - this matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either. In the eyes of the curse master, the lives of a group of ordinary people are nothing, but this sign itself means something unusual.

That group of people were clearly blocked by a barrier, but they still managed to get in by accident, which shows that the balance between the two worlds is collapsing.

"He also mentioned the 'dragon vein'. I've never heard of this term..."

"interested?"

Cen Dongsheng laughed. It was a rare opportunity to do what a master should do again. Just like when he first served as Song Yutang's guide, he started chatting about the general education course for the spell master.

The so-called dragon veins actually refer to undulating mountains in ancient times. Because the shape of mountains is similar to the legendary dragon in many aspects, Feng Shui compares mountains to dragons; by identifying the shape, the long-term and direction of the mountains are determined, so as to identify and find Feng Shui treasures and measure the rise and fall of a region.

"However, this is only the part that ordinary people can see."

Cen Dongsheng tapped his forehead with his fingers.

"In the eyes of those spell-forbidden masters who are proficient in feng shui, the real dragon vein is located underground. It is a kind of huge energy, an abstract summary of the inherent power and regularity of nature."

“Does this make sense?”

"There is some truth to this. The core of the earth has energy, as does the underground. It can also affect the natural landscape above. Some spell-binding masters can even borrow the energy of the earth veins."

For example, as far as he knew, the headquarters of the Super Working Committee in Tianhai City was built where a certain earth vein flowed with the efforts of local Feng Shui masters.

"In addition, for earth immortals, identifying and utilizing dragon veins is a required course."

With the help of the power of spells, the "small world" in the body can stimulate interference with the "big world" outside, thereby creating natural phenomena far beyond the control ability. This is the strength of the earth immortal spell masters. Using dragon veins is also one of the means.

Because of this, some organizations will choose to build their bases away from dragon veins to avoid being blown up.

"It can be considered a natural nuclear power plant. It has clean and huge energy, but it is also quite dangerous..."

"That's a decent metaphor."

It has been mentioned before that the major groups of curse masters will have conflicts over regional interests, and dragon veins are one of them; several forces have fought for the dragon vein gathering place for a period of time.

Cen Dongsheng didn't remember whether the Super Working Committee joined this struggle, but he knew that the Wanxian Dynasty had participated.

As for the most famous person in this battle, it was the leader of a curse master organization called the Earth Master Association—

This man called himself "Dragon Slayer" and was the most famous special-class curse master during the first wave. For a period of time, he was even better known than An Zhizhen or Zhang Shidao.

However, this person did not become the "ancestor", but died before the arrival of the second wave. The competition for the dragon vein came to an end after his death, and was tacitly divided among several major forces.

Also, eight years later, the dragon vein is no longer an important resource that needs to be fought over; its so-called "threat" is no longer a dangerous time bomb under close monitoring.

"There is an 'unstable dragon vein' in Sanyin City... I don't know if this sudden intelligence is true or false. Will it be related to the subsequent battle for the dragon vein?"

Due to insufficient information, Cen Dongsheng could not come up with an answer for the time being.

After all, he was not an eyewitness to the evolution of the early society of curse-breakers, and apart from knowing a few important figures and nodes, he knew nothing about the details.

"Master, tell me, that old man is clearly hiding something from us, but he specifically mentioned the word 'dragon vein'. Is he hinting at something?"

"It's possible."

"Lame Old Seven"... Cen Dongsheng silently memorized this name in his heart.

……

Everyone admired the scenery for a moment.

The train shuttled through this huge underworld. Judging from the direction it was traveling, it should have made a big circle around the underground river.

"According to the record on the ticket, we will arrive at the station in ten minutes."

At this time, they heard a scream coming from the corridor.

It was like the scream of the first victim in a horror movie, mixed with the paper waiter's mechanical reply of "Don't panic".

"Can you see it?"

"Yeah. Someone found a body in the middle of the train."

With Jiang Yunmei around, they could still get all the information without leaving the house. However, since the incident had come to them, Cen Dongsheng had no intention of backing down.

……

He pushed the door open and saw a strange team of paper people walking in a queue, blocking the corridor. Sharp screams were heard again from the connection between the carriages.

Cen Dongsheng casually pushed the paper people aside and walked towards the direction where the sound came from.

He saw a couple standing by the window. The man was about forty years old, with an ordinary appearance and a beer belly; the woman was very young with a charming figure. She was lying in the man's arms, crying, and had a somewhat pitiful appearance. It was she who had screamed just now.

"Stop yelling. It's annoying to hear."

The man patted the woman's shoulder and frowned.

"But...but..."

The woman raised her head, and at this moment, a group of paper people rushed over from behind, saying "We will take care of it" and "Please rest assured, guests", but the way they gathered together and moved made people's scalp tingle. After seeing this scene, she couldn't help closing her eyes and screaming again.

This woman... is an ordinary person? If not, then her level as a spell-binding master is too low, and in the man's perception, she is just like a water strider.

Cen Dongsheng ignored him and continued forward.

"What should I do? What should I do?" "Someone's dead." "Hurry up and notify the manager." The paper people were spinning in place like malfunctioning machines, like a dance troupe performing a funny dance.

The paper figures blocking the way ahead tried to reach out their hands to stop him, but they could not stop the man's firm steps; after two more steps forward, he finally saw the dead man.

There was a big hole in the train window, and the cold wind from the lake rushed in. A body was lying in the middle of the aisle, looking miserable.

A half-broken rhino horn comb was inserted into the deceased's temple, with blood-soaked hair tangled between the teeth of the comb. The body was in a kneeling position with its hands tied behind its back.

This man was about 30 years old and had a handsome appearance. He was covered in blood and wounds, and had obviously been tortured before his death. He was wearing a robe that was not common among modern people. Cen Dongsheng had just finished checking the wound when he heard a sharp voice from behind, as if he was pinching his throat.

"Be careful not to get your hands on the blood on the ground. People might think you're the murderer, and that could get you in trouble."

The middle-aged man in a mink jacket had a broad face and was taciturn. On his shoulder squatted a weasel with red eyes, and there was a vivid cunning in its expression.

The strange thing is that the person who spoke just now was not a human, but the yellow fox lying on his shoulder.

"Do you know the victim?"

Cen Dongsheng pointed at the corpse on the ground.

"You can tell from his clothes that he is a deacon of the Geomancer Association."

The weasel held up its tiny hands, its posture as proud as a human with his hands on hips, its fur-covered mouth slightly grinning, its face spotted with black spots, and its whiskers moving.

Geomancer Association?
Cen Dongsheng's heart moved.

I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but he just thought of this name; having said that, the man’s face showed just the right amount of confusion.

"The geomancer would be...?"

"You know about the 'Sanyin Ghost Market Joint Operation', right?"

"As the name suggests, he is the one who is in charge of this place."

"Yes, and among all the operators, the most important one is the Geomancer Association, which is said to be an organization brought together by a group of Feng Shui masters."

The weasel's introduction was brief and to the point, its tiny claws pointing toward the dead man's robe.

"See this symbol? This is the symbol of the Geomancer Association."

Cen Dongsheng took a closer look and saw a bright red spiral cloud-shaped mark on the robe.

Where have I seen this pattern before... The man's mind raced and he quickly recalled that he remembered there was an identical symbol on Lame Old Seven's neck.

The member who claims to be the driver of the Netherworld Train is also a member of the Geomancer Association?
At this time, the middle-aged man who was hugging the woman not far away heard their conversation and came over to talk to them.

"According to you, the members of the Geomancer Association died on their own territory? Isn't that terrible? This place is too unsafe."

The middle-aged man frowned.

"I was planning to come here to do some business. Who could be the murderer?"

He looked at the hole in the window.

"From the lake?"

The weasel standing on the mandarin jacket glanced at the man, sneered, patted his butt and sat on the man's shoulder.

"It is terrible. But compared to the 'small matter' of this man being murdered by someone, there are worse things happening right now."

"You mean, we'll be suspected?"

"——Why?"

The middle-aged man raised his voice.

"We are the guests who paid to get on the bus. We were frightened. They should apologize to us!"

"The Geomancer Association is a local tyrant. In order to find out the truth about the harm done to their own people, they have to interrogate them."

"They are not the police... Are there still police in the world of curse masters?"

"There are no police, but there is always order." The weasel replied, "But to enforce this order, we need the ability to control the situation."

"What a disappointment."

Cen Dongsheng laughed.

"Not only was he unable to protect his subordinates on his own territory, he couldn't even hold the barrier at the door."

"...Oh? What do you mean?"

"I saw with my own eyes that a group of ordinary people sneaked in through the entrance of Yongning Station."

The weasel stroked his beard like an old man, and after a while, he sneered.

"Huh, this is really..."

No one spoke, but the answer was clear.

It is really outrageous that the local management organization has repeatedly shown such negligence and abnormalities. This Shanyin black market is obviously in an "extraordinary period" with undercurrents surging.

Several passengers on the train looked at each other, and suddenly noticed that the paper people in the corridor were no longer flying around like headless flies. The noisy sounds suddenly stopped, and they were neatly separated into two rows, motionless and silent, waiting for someone. Soon, they heard a steady sound of footsteps approaching.

The person who came was wearing the robe of the Geomancer Society, just like the deceased. He was a little older and had long hair. When he saw the corpse kneeling on the ground with a miserable death look, his eyes froze slightly, and then he looked at Cen Dongsheng and others.

The man bowed deeply to express his apology.

"Dear distinguished guests, I'm sorry to bother you. I'm Zhou Ruian, a steward of the Earth Masters Association. Unfortunately, there was an 'accident' on this train. To ensure safety, we plan to stop the train and search it. Please move on first."

"We are still planning to go to the ghost market, you won't abandon us, right?"

"Of course not. We, the operations team, will do our best to ensure that your trip to the Ghost Market goes smoothly."

Zhou Ruian raised his hand and pointed to the underground river not far from the track. The outline of a black-sailed boat was looming in the foggy darkness.

"I came here by boat, and I will arrange for a ferryman to escort me later. Next, please go to the boat and have a chat. I have prepared some good tea to help you get rid of the bloody smell in this car."

"So, you knew that someone had died in this car?"

"...To be honest, all of us members of the Earth Master Association have amulets on us. If a member encounters an accident on the job, we will notify the headquarters. I rushed here only after receiving the communication."

Zhou Ruian sighed and looked at his dead colleague with a heavy expression.

"I just don't know who would do such a cruel thing..."

"——Aren't you here just for your Geomancer Association?"

The weasel interrupted him rudely.

"To be honest, I'm now worried about whether the ghost market can guarantee the safety of its customers. After all, the person in charge can't even protect his own people... Or is it better for us not to go with you, so as not to be targeted by the murderer?"

Zhou Ruian was not angry. The respectful smile on his face remained unchanged, but the light in his pupils brightened a little. He slowly withdrew his hand.

"That won't do. This place is dangerous. It's inconvenient for you to act on your own. Please do as I say."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then..."

The wind that flowed in through the broken window was howling, and the atmosphere between the host and the guest was tense and tense.

"...Some people don't know what's good for them."

(End of this chapter)