Translator: CinderTL
There was no reason for Disciples of the Door to exist only in their territory. Supernatural events occurred worldwide.
But the immediate problem before them was the exact identity of the Disciple and their connection to the Feng Family.
According to their previous deduction, the Feng Family had used the opportunity of sending refugees out of Grey Stone Town to secretly confine the Disciple, who was on the verge of being completely consumed by the Gate, in the last carriage of the train.
But an unforeseen event occurred during the journey. The Disciple was completely consumed by the Gate, causing the Ghost behind it to break free and slaughter everyone on board.
"How could an Eastern Disciple possibly be connected to the Feng Family?" Fatty suddenly raised his voice, as if struck by a thought. "Could the Feng Family be secretly colluding with the Easterners?"
Following this line of reasoning, a bold hypothesis began to emerge. Huai Yi stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked slowly, "Could the events on Train No. 5 have been related to the Easterners?"
"But have you considered their motive?" Chen Qiang, who had remained silent for most of the discussion, posed the most crucial question.
After all, the train was filled with refugees, not important figures, weapons, ammunition, or other vital supplies.
What could a group of refugees possibly do?
But just as everyone was stuck, Jiang Cheng's eyes suddenly widened. He immediately pulled out the newspaper Wu Dali had given him earlier.
Sitting beside him, Lin Wan'er seemed to read his mind. She took out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and then placed it on the table, pushing it toward Jiang Cheng.
Holding the newspaper and staring at the phone for a moment, Jiang Cheng finally spread the paper flat on the table. He took a deep breath, raised his head, and said in a suppressed voice, "If I'm not mistaken, the Eastern Disciples are after these refugees."
"What?"
Without Jiang Cheng even needing to call them over, everyone naturally gathered around. Jiang Cheng dipped his finger in tea and circled a passage in the newspaper.
"Look here. This article reports the route of Train No. 5 in May."
Then, he turned to the phone, which displayed a map. Before coming, Lin Wan'er had downloaded a map of the area onto her phone, and it was proving useful now.
He zoomed in on the map and marked the approximate route of the train. When the line connected the two towns, a collective gasp filled the air.
Everyone stared intently at the small phone screen. Midway along the route, slightly to the right, a name highlighted in bold caught their attention: Mine (Gold).
"It's a gold mine!" Linghu Yong exclaimed, his thoughts instantly connecting. Many previously unclear details now made perfect sense. "Those missing disaster victims aren't dead. The Eastern Disciples captured them and forced them to work in the gold mine!"
"No wonder the last carriage was filled with the elderly, the weak, and the sick," Fatty added, his voice growing increasingly agitated. "They lacked the strength for heavy labor, so they were just a burden. They simply disposed of them."
Given the historical context, everyone believed such atrocities were entirely possible.
"Do you remember what the disaster victims on the train looked like?" Jiang Cheng continued. "They were covered in wounds. I examined them. Many were slashed with knives. Some had limbs severed with clean cuts." He paused, lowering his voice. "That knife was incredibly fast."
There was no doubt that once these refugees outlived their usefulness, only death awaited them.
The gold mine was the Easterners' secret, and these refugees were bound to be silenced. The mangled bodies left behind by the train, hacked and burned beyond recognition, were silent accusations.
The silent figures on the train lingered in everyone's minds, refusing to fade.
They were all fellow countrymen, once living, breathing people just decades ago—fathers, wives, mothers, children.
"I found this too, which might serve as further evidence," Jiang Cheng said, opening another newspaper. In an inconspicuous corner, a news item reported the mysterious disappearance of a father and son who had gone hunting in the mountains. This was the third such disappearance in recent times.
The article also listed the approximate locations of the disappearances. When compared to the map on his phone, they all clustered near the gold mine.
It was likely they had stumbled upon the Easterners' secret and been silenced, or perhaps captured and forced into the gold mine, sharing the same fate as the refugees.
In the end, none survived, which was why no one ever revealed the truth behind Train No. 5.
"That's roughly right, but there's a crucial point that doesn't add up," Chen Qiang said, looking at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng nodded as if he knew what Chen Qiang would ask. "You're referring to the Eastern Disciple."
"Exactly. If the Eastern Disciple had truly been completely corrupted, causing the Gate within him to spiral out of control, the Ghost behind it should have killed indiscriminately. Why would it only target the elderly and infirm refugees while letting the rest—including the Easterners who had abducted the refugees—escape?" Chen Qiang shook his head. "It doesn't make sense."
"There's nothing that doesn't make sense," Luo He said calmly. "Because the Gate never lost control. It remained under the Disciple's control."
His voice was as flat and still as he was—a stagnant pool of water, utterly unruffled. Jiang Cheng even suspected Luo He had figured this out long ago but simply hadn't revealed it.
"The Disciple never lost control?" Fatty's face was a mask of confusion, as if he were asking, "Who am I? Where am I? What are you all talking about?"
It was Jiang Cheng who finally broke the silence, clearing up the confusion. "This entire affair was a transaction between the Feng Family and the Eastern Disciple."
"The Feng Family secretly smuggled the Eastern Disciple onto the last car of the train, intending to frame the missing refugees as a supernatural event."
"After they forced the train to stop midway, the Eastern Disciple, who had been lying in ambush nearby, boarded and seized the valuable young laborers. They then herded the remaining, worthless elderly, infirm, and disabled into the last car."
"There, the Eastern Disciple used their Gate ability to kill them all before driving the empty train to the next station under the cover of night."
Fatty mentally replayed the entire scenario like a movie, finding no major flaws—everything made perfect sense.
So this was the truth behind the disappearance of Train No. 5 in May.
"Those traitorous Feng Family bastards!" Fatty seethed, his teeth grinding at the thought of the refugees' suffering. "They got exactly what they deserved!"
"Karma always comes back around," Pi Ruan agreed, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "Heaven spares no one. What goes around comes around—it's just a matter of time."
(End of the Chapter)
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