Full Carriage of Passengers

"Evil Spirit Lane?"

Xiao Ran confirmed he hadn't misheard the station name, but he didn't remember seeing it on the bus stop sign.

This couldn't help but give Xiao Ran a bad premonition.

He tightened the cloak around himself, temporarily releasing the fusion with the trainee. He then activated the Black Swan Brooch on his chest with the trainee to ensure he could detect danger immediately if it arose.

He also put on the E-class Cursed Ring on his finger, ensuring it was ready to be activated at any moment.

Finally, he gripped the short knife in his hand, hiding it beneath his wide cloak.

He found a seat a little further from the driver and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, the vest-wearing man who had been lying on the ground seemed to have recovered. He looked up in a daze, then stared at the ticket in front of him, frozen for a moment before coming to his senses. He looked up and saw Xiao Ran sitting in a chair, his eyes lighting up.

"Brother, brother, where is this?"

The man quickly walked over and sat in the empty seat next to Xiao Ran.

Perhaps due to the shock he had experienced, the vest-wearing man couldn't stop talking once he sat down. He first spoke about how he had inexplicably appeared here, then about the voice of the Miyuan City trial in his mind, and then how he had stumbled into a female ghost and ran onto the bus in a panic.

"I had just crawled out of the bushes when that woman turned her head, yes, turned her head, her head turned around, but her body didn't move..."

The vest-wearing man gestured wildly as he spoke, while Xiao Ran's gaze surveyed the bus.

The seats were made of yellowed wood, and old posters remained on the walls.

Although they were a bit worn, Xiao Ran noticed that every part of the bus was meticulously cleaned. Even the metal plates under the seats were polished to a shine.

Recalling the driver's curses when he hit the monster earlier, it was clear the driver cherished this bus dearly.

On the partition behind the driver's seat, a picture frame hung.

[Riding Rules]

1: While the vehicle is in motion, please do not stick your head out of the window. 2: Keep the vehicle clean and tidy. 3: This vehicle does not encourage respecting the old and cherishing the young; please do not offer your seat. 4: There are currently no ticket inspectors on this bus; purchasing tickets is based on self-awareness. 5: There is a rumor of a Weird Tale: if you see someone carrying a coffin onto the bus, please leave the vehicle immediately, regardless of whether it is your stop. If the coffin is red, please relax and write your will; it will make dying a little easier.

"Weird Tale!"

Xiao Ran's gaze was drawn to the fifth rule. He remembered the prompt mentioning the importance of paying attention to local Weird Tales, and he hadn't expected to find one on a bus.

"Brother, do you... have a phone? Can I borrow it to make a call?"

After rambling on, the vest-wearing man's emotions gradually calmed down. "I was just lying down in the car to rest, and suddenly I ended up in this place. I didn't bring my phone or wallet."

Xiao Ran didn't refuse and handed him his phone. However, when the man took it and looked, he found there was no signal at all. He looked embarrassed and returned the phone to Xiao Ran.

"What is this place? What is Miyuan City??"

The vest-wearing man continued to probe.

Xiao Ran shook his head. He didn't have a habit of lecturing others. Not to mention that the man wasn't even an initiate yet, so saying more would be pointless. Besides, he himself only had a vague understanding of Miyuan City. He could only say, "I'm not sure either, but you'd best follow the prompts."

Seeing Xiao Ran's cold demeanor, the vest-wearing man was momentarily speechless and sat beside him, nervously looking around.

In just this short while, the vehicle began to slow down.

Xiao Ran, sitting by the window, looked out. Outside the window was an endless graveyard.

Gradually, scattered lights appeared in his vision. These lights were a sickly green, more like the phosphorescent fires of legend.

"Screech... screech..."

The sound of brakes grew closer. Xiao Ran saw a white lantern hanging by the roadside. There was no bus stop, but there was a platform resembling one.

"Just as I thought!!"

Seeing this, Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes. "I knew it wouldn't be this easy. Clearly, the platforms I saw at the station weren't all of them. Or rather, those platforms were for us initiates to see. The unseen platforms are the truly dangerous places."

"We're stopping!!"

The vest-wearing man noticed the bus slowing down. He raised his head and looked out the window. Seeing the ruins and the distant flickering green lights, his body stiffened, and he sat frozen on the chair, afraid to move.

"Ding dong, welcome to Bus No. 404. We have arrived at Evil Spirit Lane. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door."

As the announcement blared from the speaker, the bus had already approached the platform.

"Screech screech... splat!"

"Clang!"

The front and rear doors opened, and wisps of white smoke drifted in from outside.

"Huh... what's that smell!"

The vest-wearing man covered his nose and mouth with his vest. A strong stench assaulted his nostrils, a smell that was hard to describe.

It was like mixing half a bucket of rotten crayfish with half a bucket of fish guts and other animal offal collected from the market, sealing the lid, and leaving it in the scorching summer heat for a few days. The first whiff of air when the lid was opened.

"So smelly~!"

The man in the tank top waved his hand, feeling like he was going to vomit. He gagged a few times before he could barely adjust.

"Is no one getting on?"

After a while, the bus door remained open, and the man in the tank top was already getting impatient. This place was too smelly, he didn't want to stay a moment longer.

He glanced back at Xiao Ran beside him and found that Xiao Ran wasn't speaking, his eyes just fixed on the front door of the bus.

This guy... he's dressed so strangely, he doesn't look like a normal person.

The man in the tank top mused inwardly.

"Passengers on board, please hold on tight. Next stop: [Bone Spirit Street]. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door."

Only after the bus door slowly closed did the man in the tank top completely relax. He glanced around at the empty seats and immediately had the urge to change his spot.

Although Xiao Ran looked normal, the man in the tank top felt an unsettling feeling sitting next to him.

And he hadn't noticed it at first, but now that it was quiet, the smell emanating from Xiao Ran made the man in the tank top increasingly creeped out. Even though the smell was faint, he could still detect it – it was the smell of death.

Just like his seventh uncle, who died in his room last winter and wasn't discovered for three days.

Thinking of this, the man in the tank top muttered, "I'm going to check the back," and prepared to stand up.

But at this moment, Xiao Ran grabbed his clothes.

"Don't move!"

Xiao Ran's expression turned grim. He glanced sideways at the empty carriage, his expression becoming more and more serious.

The man in the tank top looked at Xiao Ran with confusion and was about to say something when a drop of water suddenly landed on his face. He instinctively wiped it away, and a chilling sensation spread through his body.

He instinctively looked up and muttered, "Is it leaking?"

However, when he looked up, a woman's face had appeared above him at some point.

That face was obscured by dark hair. Between the messy strands, a pair of blood-red eyes were staring directly at him.

The man in the tank top felt his body stiffen, a chill rushing from his heels to the crown of his head. A glance at his surroundings made his scalp tingle.

As the bus started moving.

The streetlights outside shone through the car windows. The previously empty carriage was now filled with 'people'.