"What the hell?"
Lin Baici frowned, straightened up, and looked around.
The train had stopped at a station five minutes ago. Had a passenger gotten off and forgotten to take their luggage?
No, that wasn't it!
This kind of intense hunger couldn't be caused by losing a few thousand yuan's worth of stuff.
"Could there be a God's Taboo Object on this train?"
Lin Baici rubbed his stomach and decided not to investigate.
It was past eleven. Some people had started making instant noodles, getting ready for lunch.
The rich aroma of seasoning wafted through the carriage, keeping Lin Baici from falling asleep. He put on his headphones, listened to Jay Chou, and continued reading his novel.
Song Li wasn't the type to cling to someone. Once she realized Lin Baici wasn't interested in her, she gave up too. She started chatting with her simps, sending a few selfies, acting cute, and feeding them a fresh helping of dog food.
The one having a rough time was 18D. He tried several times to strike up a conversation with Song Li, offering her snacks and drinks, but all he got in return were perfunctory little "Mm-hmms."
As noon approached, the children's shouts, passengers' conversations, and music from people playing Douyin videos out loud blended together, making the carriage as noisy as a marketplace.
Suddenly, an auntie's furious yelling drowned out all the other noise.
"This is a public place! Why can't I watch Douyin?"
The auntie was in her forties, with dyed red hair styled in curls. She wore a pale purple dress, and the skin on her neck sagged beneath a gold necklace.
"You can watch it, but please wear headphones!"
The speaker was a middle-aged man with glasses.
Normally, he would have let it go—better not to make trouble—but his wife was feeling very unwell today. She was carsick, and more than eight months pregnant, so she needed plenty of rest. He'd asked the auntie in the row ahead to keep the volume down, but she'd ignored him and carried on as she pleased.
So the two of them started arguing.
"Whether I wear headphones is up to me!"
The auntie was adamant. "And what if wearing headphones damages my hearing? Are you going to take responsibility?"
"So you just don't care about anyone else?"
The man with glasses wasn't very good at arguing.
"If you can't stand the noise, switch seats with someone!"
The auntie rattled off her words like a machine gun. "Everyone else can put up with it. You're the only one who can't. How precious are you? A delicate flower in a greenhouse?"
"It's not me! You're bothering my wife!"
The man with glasses tried to explain.
In truth, everyone was annoyed by the auntie blasting Douyin at full volume. The whole carriage could hear it, but nobody had spoken up.
After all, it might turn into an argument.
"Look at your wife's belly. She's eight or nine months along, right? Why aren't you staying home and taking care of the pregnancy? Why go wandering around? If she's uncomfortable, she brought it on herself!"
The auntie shot back.
"Stop arguing!"
The pregnant woman looked miserable. She tugged at her husband's arm, urging him to sit down.
"We're going back to our hometown!"
The man with glasses had parents back home, who could help take care of the baby after it was born.
"You're not young anymore, and your wife's pregnant, yet you're making her travel a thousand miles. You're too cheap to rent a car or fly home? Your life is a damn failure!"
The auntie started making personal attacks.
"What kind of thing is that to say?"
The man with glasses' face flushed red.
That remark had hit a sore spot.
When you reached middle age, the last thing you wanted was to be told you'd amounted to nothing and couldn't earn a decent living.
"What? You want to hit me?" The auntie jumped up and stood on her seat, acting even more brazenly than the man with glasses. "Go on, try it!"
She slapped her cheek.
"Unless you pay me enough to bankrupt you, I lose!"
Some nearby passengers watched the show, while others advised the man with glasses to let it go.
The auntie was clearly no good. If he kept arguing with her, he was bound to be the one who suffered.
The man with glasses had never argued with anyone in public before. Humiliated, embarrassed, and flustered, his whole face flushed red. "I... I'll expose you online!"
"Go ahead! Take my picture and expose me as much as you want! Post it on a bunch of websites!"
The auntie wasn't scared in the least. "My son's a famous lawyer in Haijing. If you dare expose me, I'll sue you!"
The auntie wasn't stupid either. She'd seen passengers filming her with their phones, so she said this to intimidate them.
"Stop arguing!"
The pregnant woman was in a lot of pain.
The man with glasses backed down. Like a stray dog with a broken leg, he slumped over, his expression even more dejected.
The auntie, victorious, crossed her legs smugly and went back to watching short videos at full volume.
Lin Baici took off his headphones.
Before going to Longchan Temple, he wouldn't have been able to get involved in something like this. But now...
"I'm a God Hunter!"
Lin Baici stood up and walked over to the auntie.
Song Li and 18D looked at Lin Baici.
What was this guy up to?
Did he want to get chewed out?
The two of them could already picture Lin Baici slinking back, looking utterly humiliated.
"Auntie!"
Lin Baici stopped beside her. His attitude was lukewarm; he wouldn't even bother with the polite "ma'am."
Whoosh!
Everyone turned to look.
"Who are you calling Auntie?"
The auntie snapped at him. "Are you blind? Do I look that old?"
Lin Baici chuckled. He didn't even call her Auntie again. Leaning over with one hand on the seatback, he activated Sanskrit Chants and Buddhist Sounds and spoke to her in a low voice.
"At your age, can watching short videos help you live longer? You should recite scriptures, do good deeds, and work hard to build up your virtue. That might help you live a few more years!"
With Sanskrit Chants and Buddhist Sounds empowering his voice, Lin Baici's words took on a wise, rational quality, imbued with a Zen-like serenity.
The auntie's mind was as if the Buddha himself had struck her over the head with a staff, awakening her with a single word.
"That's right! Watching these short videos won't help me live longer. I should listen to scriptures, do good deeds, and accumulate virtue!"
The auntie's eyes lit up.
If Lin Baici hadn't looked so young, she would have called him Master.
"The simplest good deed is not causing trouble for others!"
Lin Baici gently coaxed her. "For example, blasting noise and disturbing people!"
"That's right! That's right! I was wrong!"
The auntie hurriedly muted her phone. The smug satisfaction she'd felt after winning the argument also vanished.
She felt so childish.
Winning or losing—
It didn't matter.
"Thanks for understanding!"
Lin Baici smiled faintly and turned to leave.
Divine Grace really was amazing!
The Divine Grace Sanskrit Chants and Buddhist Sounds imbued a God Hunter's voice with Zen-like serenity. Their words could calm the mind, dispel fear, and sever three thousand worldly worries.
It could also help listeners let go of everything, leaving them without desires or attachments.
Put simply, it put them into sage mode.
Of course, the Buddhist sounds only affected listeners temporarily. The effect might last just a few dozen minutes, or as long as a day or two, but it would eventually wear off.
Lin Baici had no intention of convincing the auntie to become a nun. He just wanted the trip to stay quiet.
The people nearby stared at Lin Baici in astonishment.
What had that big male student done?
That clearly troublesome auntie had actually listened to him and muted her phone?
Amazing!
Lin Baici returned to his seat and sat down.
Song Li and 18D were both baffled.
"What did you say to her?"
Song Li was curious enough to kill a hundred cats.
The passengers in the rows ahead and behind them pricked up their ears too.
"Nothing much. I just reasoned with her!"
Lin Baici brushed her off.
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
Song Li clearly didn't.
The man with glasses had reasoned with her too, even threatening to film her and expose her online. In return, she'd ripped into him. What made you think you could do any better?
It couldn't just be because you were handsome, could it?
Lin Baici shrugged.
It was nearly noon, and plenty of people had started eating.
The bento boxes on the high-speed train were pretty expensive. Even the cheapest cost forty or fifty yuan, so few people bought them. Most ate instant noodles they'd brought themselves, while others, not wanting the hassle, filled their stomachs with bread, ham, biscuits, or something similar until they could eat after getting off the train.
A meal cart came by, and a train attendant asked if anyone wanted a bento box.
"Give me one."
The guy in 18D wasn't willing to go without, especially in front of a pretty girl. He couldn't let himself look broke.
"Which set would you like?"
The attendant stopped and explained the different bento options.
"I'll have the chicken rice."
18D opened WeChat.
His eyesight was good enough to spot the price: 45 yuan. It was not only expensive, but also the cheapest option.
What a rip-off.
After scanning the code and paying, 18D glanced at Lin Baici. His face showed no particular expression, but inside, he felt superior.
The attendant left. 18D opened his bento box, mixed the rice and vegetables together, and took a couple of bites. Then a girl stopped in front of him.
"Handsome, could I switch seats with you?"
18D looked up without thinking, then froze.
So big!
Her chest blocked his view of her face.
Lin Baici turned to look too, equally stunned.
He'd thought Jin Yingzhen was unbeatable, but this girl was even more outrageous. Had all the fat in her body been packed into her chest?
"Switch seats?"
18D finally got a good look at the girl.
She was around twenty, with a pure, fresh look.
At first glance, she looked a lot like Aragaki Yui. Her mouth was small, and her eyes were bright. Most of all, when she looked at someone, there was a seriousness in her gaze that gave her a powerful presence.
She wore light blue and white sneakers. Her long legs were wrapped in loose, tapered track pants, and she had on a sun protection shirt, unzipped over a flesh-colored sports bra.
"Yeah, switch seats!"
The girl had a strong voice and a sweet smile.
She wore her long hair in a high ponytail. It bounced with every turn of her head, giving her a lively look.
She was an exceptionally beautiful girl!
She was also the prettiest woman 18D had ever seen in his eighteen years, and he suddenly felt awkward.
Normally, 18D would have agreed without a second thought. But today...
He turned to glance at Song Li.
At least let me get her WeChat first!
18D figured that if he tried hard enough, he could win this girl over and get his four years of University Life off to a great start.
Lin Baici noticed 18D's reluctant little glance and couldn't help shaking his head.
If you knew she had HIV, you'd stay as far away from her as possible.
The girl saw 18D hesitate and didn't press him. She turned to Song Li. "Beautiful, could I switch seats with you?"
As a woman, Song Li's instincts told her that this girl had definitely come over for Lin Baici. She didn't want to switch, but the girl's next words changed her mind.
Before you continue