Chapter 162: The Theory of Three Spirits and Seven Souls
Even if he had lost his memories.
Clang! Clang!
The Twilight Train entered a dark tunnel.
Sandy stared at her father.
Her eyes gradually became misty.
"Dad..."
"Why don’t you spend more time with me?"
"Why?"
A curious voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Huh?"
Sandy turned her head.
A Chinese man dressed in a long black robe was sitting nearby at seat C03.
He was clearly a man, yet his long hair had been tied into a braid.
He smiled at Sandy.
"Does your father have amnesia?"
"Is it incurable?"
Sandy’s expression immediately turned cold.
"None of your business."
She was about to scold him when the man merely shook his head.
"What a pity."
"My secret method only works on those whose condition hasn’t completely deteriorated."
He looked at the old man.
"Do you know that memory is the carrier of the soul?"
"If there is a problem with memory, it isn’t necessarily the body that needs to be healed."
"It may be the soul."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
The man didn’t answer.
Instead, he took out a strange black-covered book and handed it to her.
"Look."
"If you’re interested, come find me here tonight."
With that, he stood up and walked away.
Sandy stared at the book in her hands.
Her expression gradually froze.
Written across the cover were several ancient characters.
The Theory of Three Spirits and Seven Souls.
She opened the book.
Inside was a concise explanation.
Humans possess three spirits and seven souls, each governing different functions.
The three spirits—Heaven, Earth, and Human—govern wisdom, emotions, and vitality.
When a person approaches death, the three spirits gradually disperse, resulting in various mental and physical illnesses.
The three spirits belong to Yang, while the seven souls belong to Yin.
To save those standing at the brink of death, I devised the method of Yin collection and Yang supplementation.
When the three spirits weaken, one may absorb the seven souls of others to replenish Yin, thereby strengthening the Yang of the three spirits and restoring the dying body.
Sandy stared at the ancient words.
She understood almost none of it.
Yet there was one sentence she understood perfectly.
It could save her father.
Her fingers tightened around the book.
She quietly pressed it against her chest.
Her expression became complicated.
But when she looked at her father sitting beside her...
Her hesitation slowly disappeared.
She gritted her teeth.
Her eyes became determined.
Ding!
[Favorability 75 CG Playback Complete.]
The system notification echoed inside Shen Yu’s mind.
After a moment of silence, Shen Yu looked toward Sandy.
There was a strange light in his eyes.
"The seven souls nourish the three spirits..."
"What kind of evil technique is that?"
"I’ve never heard of it."
The long-haired man in the black robe was most likely a sorcerer.
In traditional Yin-Yang theory, everything was believed to follow a natural balance.
Using another person’s seven souls to strengthen one’s own three spirits...
That sounded like nothing less than sorcery.
"For her father..."
"So in the end, Sandy chose to do it?"
Shen Yu narrowed his eyes.
His mind quickly replayed everything that had happened in the previous train compartments.
The three spirits didn’t need much explanation.
They likely represented Sandy’s father—
The body of the train itself.
As for the seven souls...
The sudden drop in temperature when they entered the tunnel.
That was likely Flying Poison, one of the seven souls responsible for regulating body temperature.
The strange slime in the second carriage represented Hidden Arrow, responsible for digestion.
The torn opening in the third carriage represented Swallowing Thief, responsible for the body’s ability to heal injuries.
And the fourth carriage...
Quail Yin.
The soul governing reproductive functions.
In other words—
Lust.
Each abnormal phenomenon represented an imbalance among the seven souls.
Body temperature dropped uncontrollably.
Digestion became impaired.
Wounds refused to heal and continued spreading.
Desire became uncontrollable.
And all of it pointed toward one horrifying possibility.
Sandy’s method was influencing others and extracting their seven souls in order to replenish her father’s weakened three spirits.
Was that truly a cure?
Or merely a desperate form of survival?
Shen Yu couldn’t agree with Sandy’s choice.
But he couldn’t deny that he understood why she had made it.
He narrowed his eyes.
If his deduction was correct, then four of the seven souls had already appeared.
That meant the remaining three were likely—
Cleansing Filth, responsible for excretion.
Stinking Lung, responsible for respiration.
And Corpse Dog, responsible for the five senses.
In other words, the next dangers could involve uncontrollable bodily functions, respiratory failure, or the complete loss of one’s senses.
None of those situations would be easy to deal with.
Shen Yu stroked his chin.
He was already trying to figure out how to obtain more information from Sandy.
Then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Twilight Express began slowing down.
The train gradually entered a platform.
The station itself was extremely simple.
There was only one old hanging sign.
Twilight Station.
The slanted light of sunset fell across the platform.
The entire station was gray.
Lifeless.
It looked almost like an old television screen that had lost its color.
Woo! Woo! Woo!
The Twilight Express finally came to a stop.
Sandy turned toward Shen Yu with a teasing smile.
"What?"
"Aren’t you getting off?"
"Do you need me to invite you down, baby?"
Shen Yu glanced at her.
Sandy tilted her head.
"Don’t you have anything for me?"
"Or don’t you have anything to say?"
Shen Yu looked at her firmly.
"If you can come back..."
"I’ll give you a little gift."
Sandy’s eyes brightened.
"What is it?"
"I’ll tell you when you come back."
"Now hurry up."
"Get off."
Clank.
Without another word, Sandy walked toward the rear door of the pink carriage and pulled it open.
Flump!
Behind the door, Matsumoto Kika and Meilin were still tangled together.
The sudden opening caused both women to stumble forward and tumble onto the floor in a daze.
Sandy blinked.
Matsumoto Kika rubbed her eyes.
"Huh?"
"Wasn’t I with Shen Yu?"
She looked down.
"Why are you hugging me?"
Meilin stared back at her.
Her expression slowly changed.
"No way..."
"No way!"
"The person who touched me in my dream..."
"It was you?"
"You...!"
Matsumoto Kika’s eyes widened.
Meilin looked utterly disgusted.
She immediately stood up and rushed toward the bathroom.
She turned on the hot water and vigorously scrubbed her hands.
She looked extremely uncomfortable.
She clearly didn’t want to remember anything that had happened earlier.
"Baka..."
"Baka!"
Her angry muttering echoed through the carriage.
Shen Yu’s mouth twitched.
He finally understood how Matsumoto Kika had spent the previous trial.
As for Meilin...
He decided not to think about it any further.
The two women were actually doing relatively well.
Because only a few minutes later—
A huge figure staggered into the carriage from the rear.
It was Menlo.
His face was pale.
His nearly two-meter-tall body looked unusually weak.
His cheeks had sunken slightly, and his steps were unsteady.
It looked as though he had lost a tremendous amount of energy.
"You..."
"Why are you all in the front carriage?"
He looked around in confusion.
"Oh..."
"Wow..."
"Just now..."
Menlo seemed ready to explain what had happened.
Matsumoto Kika immediately raised a hand.
"Stop."
"Don’t say another word."
Her face turned dark as she glared at Shen Yu.
"Don’t tell us anything."
"Let’s find the transfer card for this station first."
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sound of her wooden sandals echoed across the carriage.
Matsumoto Kika was the first to leave.
She stepped onto the gray platform of Twilight Station.
Menlo, looking utterly defeated, followed behind her.
Shen Yu was about to step off the train when a voice suddenly came from behind.
"Shen Yu."
"Come here for a moment."
He turned around.
Meilin was standing near the bathroom.
Her face was still flushed.
She beckoned toward him.
One bare shoulder was visible, suggesting she still hadn’t put her top back on.
"You..."
For some reason, Shen Yu’s steps instinctively slowed.
He had only just recovered from the previous ordeal.
If something was wrong with Meilin—
"If you have something to say, say it from there."
He didn’t move closer.
Meilin’s expression immediately darkened.
"Then take off your shirt."
"Throw it over here."
She crossed her arms.
"Are you taking it off or not?"
Shen Yu hesitated.
Then he went into the pink carriage and found a new jacket.
He put it on.
Afterward, he removed his original shirt and tossed it toward Meilin.
Whoosh.
The shirt landed in her hands.