Chapter 86 - 83: Sea Coachman

Chapter 86: Chapter 83: Sea Coachman

In a private compartment.

Jiang Chaosheng toyed with the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun.

"Nice work. Very impressive."

Zhong Shu scratched his head.

"It wasn’t me, it was Li Xinyuan."

Fearing Jiang Chaosheng wouldn’t know who Li Xinyuan was, Zhong Shu began to explain.

"Li Xinyuan is..."

’He wanted to say that Li Xinyuan was just an underworld kingpin. And one from his own novel, at that.’

’Who knew if the Li Xinyuan in this world had even acclimated yet? For all he knew, he could be suffering from something like altitude sickness, unable to fight anyone.’

Before he could finish, Jiang Chaosheng spoke.

"I can feel him."

Jiang Chaosheng glanced at Zhong Shu.

"You’ve got quite the fearsome character hidden away inside you."

As the Manager of Antique Shop Zero, how could he not know what kind of being emerged from the Twin Dials?

In Zhong Shu’s novel, Li Xinyuan was top-tier in terms of combat prowess, the equivalent of an "Urban Dragon King."

Taking out a few mere mortals probably didn’t even require one-ten-thousandth of his true power.

Jiang Chaosheng clipped the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun to his waist, hiding it beneath his trench coat.

He liked this Taboo Item; it felt natural in his hand.

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"Any interest in joining the Taboo Association?"

Zhong Shu was taken aback for a moment.

"The... The Taboo Association?"

’Is this an organization founded by the man before me?’

He had a gut feeling.

If he returned to Liancheng with Li Xinyuan and went back to being a lowly screenwriter, his life would turn into one of those urban power fantasies.

After all, Li Xinyuan’s intelligence and combat power were both at the absolute peak for a human.

But if he joined the antique shop owner’s Taboo Association, he would be stepping into a bizarre and fantastical world.

That world would be mystical, dazzling, and exceedingly dangerous.

Zhong Shu pondered for a moment.

"Sir, what is the Taboo Association?"

Jiang Chaosheng’s fingers tapped on the train window.

"An organization that specializes in dealing with things like this."

Zhong Shu froze.

’An organization dedicated to taking down strange steam trains like this one?’

’If that’s the case, I’m very interested.’

’Because, as a person, he... ’

As Zhong Shu was hesitating, the train suddenly began to shudder violently.

Jiang Chaosheng glanced out the window.

Without them realizing, the train had already traveled into the deep sea.

Previously, looking out the window, they could see seabirds circling the Sea Train.

Now, those seabirds were gone.

Jiang Chaosheng suddenly frowned.

"The rain... why did it stop?"

Zhong Shu asked doubtfully,

"Rain on the sea is like that. It comes and goes in bursts. There’s nothing strange about it."

Jiang Chaosheng shook his head, his expression growing grim.

"What I mean is, the Elder Dragon in the sky that brings the rain... it seems something has trapped it."

A shiver ran down Zhong Shu’s spine.

’There’s... a dragon in the sky?!’

The words had barely left his mouth when a fierce wind kicked up, and the sky turned black.

The dark clouds were thick and vast, with no end in sight. They pressed down, seeming to loom right on top of the train.

Countless streaks of purple lightning crisscrossed within the dark clouds.

Immediately after, the heavens opened up in a downpour.

This was not the Old Dragon King’s rain.

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes and looked toward the sky.

Within the dark clouds, a black Dragon Soul was struggling amidst the lightning.

The Sea Train had a powerful suppressive effect on Soul Bodies, which was why the Old Dragon King didn’t dare to enter, choosing only to conjure rain from within the clouds.

He never thought this place would be so strange that it could trap the Elder Dragon.

Jiang Chaosheng said softly,

"The Returning Ruins. We’ve arrived."

He paused, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"But only the site is left. Has the true Returning Ruins vanished, just like the Underworld and the Land of the Yellow Springs?"

He remembered the properties of the Sea Train.

It awakens once every fifty years.

After awakening, it would depart from Meiqi Country, pass through all corners of the world, and finally bring a train full of passengers, living or dead, to this ocean, with its final destination being the Returning Ruins.

Jiang Chaosheng had a feeling the Returning Ruins were probably gone, too.

’It didn’t make sense for every other mythical place to be gone while only the Returning Ruins survived.’

Jiang Chaosheng was just trying his luck.

If he couldn’t enter the Returning Ruins, finding its former site would be good enough.

"ROAR!!!"

A terrifying roar came from the front of the train.

Jiang Chaosheng stood up.

’Time to get to work.’

...

「The Locomotive」

The train crew all stopped fighting, freezing in place like robots that had lost power, their expressions locked.

The old man with the long braid, the young woman with her hair in a bun, and the twin strongmen all stared warily at the door to the driver’s cabin.

A confident smile played on the lips of the red-robed youth.

’It seems our side’s overwhelming power has finally lured out the master of this train.’

The door to the driver’s cabin slowly opened.

When the five members of the Taiping Dao saw the Sea Coachman appear, they all recoiled in disgust.

’This monster... how can it be so hideous?’

It had a vaguely humanoid form, but with the head of an octopus.

Its six eyes glowed with a savage red light.

Black slime dripped continuously from its body.

’Nauseating. On a physical level.’

The red-robed youth feigned composure and spoke with a casual air,

"Hello, I am..."

The Sea Coachman suddenly opened its maw and let out a roar that shook one to the core.

"ROAR!!"

The five from Taiping Dao all paled.

They were highly sensitive to killing intent.

This monster was a complete lunatic, a maniac that knew nothing but slaughter. It had gone berserk, and there was absolutely no possibility of reasoning with it!

And this was indeed the case.

Perhaps this conductor had once been human.

But he had been assimilated by the Sea Train and had become the Sea Coachman, so now he could only act on the instinctual duties of his role.

The Sea Coachman’s mission was to deliver its passengers to the Returning Ruins within a fixed period of time.

Perhaps many years ago, in the era when Deities still existed, certain mysterious Extraordinary Beings needed to take the Sea Train to the Returning Ruins.

But those Extraordinary Beings were now gone.

The Sea Coachman could only instinctively gather passengers from all over the world who had stumbled upon the Sea Train and take them to the Returning Ruins.

As time went on, the Sea Coachman had also gone mad, which explained the terrible service on the train.

Now that the Returning Ruins had disappeared, the Sea Coachman could no longer find its final destination, and this had profoundly agitated it.

Its murderous instincts could no longer be contained; it needed to slaughter every passenger on the train to vent some of its rage.

The Sea Coachman paid no attention to the five members of the Taiping Dao. Its gaze swept past them, its six eyes locking onto the space behind them.

The five from Taiping Dao slowly turned around.

They saw a tall, slender figure.

He wore a black suit and a black trench coat. As he walked, the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun could be seen beneath the coat.

The red-robed youth narrowed his eyes.

’The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun is on him? Did the Sea Coachman feel threatened by the Divine Fire, the symbol of unending life? Strange. Where’d that four-eyed lackey get to?’

The woman with her hair in a bun snapped sharply,

"Who are you?"

Jiang Chaosheng didn’t answer.

The old man with the long braid said grimly,

"Worthless dog."

The red-robed youth’s mind raced.

A theory popped into his head.

’He must have coveted the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, so he killed that four-eyed kid and stole it. This man is no simpleton. He must have also figured out that the only way off this train involves whatever is in the driver’s cabin. That’s why he’s come to the driver’s cabin, to have a final battle with that thing. And because that thing sensed the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun getting closer, it couldn’t help but come out to fight him itself.’

The red-robed youth shook his head mockingly.

’A mere mortal like him has no idea how terrifying the thing in the driver’s cabin is.’

The red-robed youth said in a low voice,

"Lackey, give me that gun. You might still have a chance to get out of here alive."

Jiang Chaosheng glanced at them as he continued to walk over.

The red-robed youth’s eyes narrowed in an instant.

’In that man’s eyes, I saw surprise... excitement... and Greed!’

A slow smile formed on Jiang Chaosheng’s lips.

"I was wondering. Ever since I boarded this train, I’ve felt something luring me here.

Turns out, the five Taboo Items are on you people.

How strange. I could have sworn I sensed these Taboo Items were in the West.

You little rats are quite capable.

How did you manage to so completely distort my perception of the Taboo Items?"