Chapter 45

The hood was pulled down.

His rain-drenched hair clung to his forehead like curled black snakes.

K used the rainwater to wipe away the spiderwebs clinging to his body.

"Did you find anything?"

Tang Luo asked.

He had just arrived when he saw K bolt out of one of the houses.

Like an enraged bull, head lowered, eyes shut, not even looking where he was going.

So, Tang Luo had simply reached out and pinned him down.

"Those two houses are weird; it's a ghost trap." K said viciously, turning to glance at the houses. "Let's get out of here, fast."

"Oh?"

Tang Luo said, "Interesting."

Hearing the interest in Tang Luo's voice, K immediately retorted, "Monk, focus on completing the mission! If we provoke something we shouldn't, we won't even know how we died."

He had barely managed to escape.

He had no desire for the monk before him to go back in.

It wasn't that he was worried about Tang Luo's safety.

It was that if Tang Luo provoked something, he would be dragged down with him.

K had already been in there once.

To go back now—did he really think the "existence" inside the house had no temper?

What if it chased them out?

As he spoke, K reached out to grab Tang Luo's arm to stop him from going over, then paused for a moment.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Just then, the sound of a car horn rang out.

"The bus is here!"

K couldn't be bothered with anything else; he let go of Tang Luo and sprinted toward the station.

Tang Luo looked at the two lonely houses, decided against entering, and turned to follow him.

Although the houses were at the end of the road, at the "end" of one's line of sight.

Because of the winding mountain road, the houses weren't actually that far from the station.

Otherwise, at this hour, K might not have even reached the houses yet.

After running for a while, K saw a bus parked at the original stop.

It was facing the direction he was running from.

The bus had seen better days, looking quite aged, with an overall orange-red color.

Half of the windows were filthy.

The other half, where the driver sat, was very clean.

Diagonally above the driver's head, a rectangular white sign was posted, with the words "Fengmen Village" written in red.

On the other side was "East Station."

In the middle was a two-way arrow.

Above the arrow was the bus number, 330.

All in red.

Clearly visible.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Seeing K standing in front of the bus, staring instead of boarding, the driver honked again.

K gestured to acknowledge him and walked to the side of the bus, where Lin Zi'ang and the others were standing on the platform, not yet having boarded.

Seeing K and the returning Tang Luo behind him, their tense expressions immediately relaxed.

"Where are you going? Are you getting on or not!"

The driver's voice drifted down from the bus.

"Master, does this bus go to the terminal station?" Auntie Shufen asked.

"That's right, to the terminal at Fengmen Village. It's the last bus; if you aren't getting on, then walk yourselves," the driver said.

"Getting on, getting on, getting on!"

Auntie Shufen shouted, scrambling to board the bus first.

This was not the spacious, brightly lit bus of the modern era.

There was only a single door near the front for both boarding and alighting.

Inside, there were no hanging straps, handrails, or seats facing the sides of the vehicle.

On one side was a single row of seats, and on the other, a double row.

The conductor's station was located just behind the door.

To the driver's right, there was also a seat by the window.

Tang Luo was the last to board.

As soon as he stepped on, he saw a group of people standing in the narrow aisle.

They weren't moving forward.

The conductor glared at them with an unpleasant expression: "Trying to ride without money?"

Yes, no money.

None of them had any money.

Why were they able to stay in a hotel and change clothes during the last mission?

That was because Master Xuanzang had a knack for begging.

Even in the world of the dead, money was required.

Naturally, riding the bus now required money as well.

This was quite awkward.

Dignified God and Demon Walkers, reduced to the point of not being able to afford a bus ride.

Was this a distortion of human nature, or a loss of morality?

Or perhaps, it was simply that their human nature wasn't distorted enough, and their morality wasn't lost enough.

K, already in a foul mood from being trapped in a ghost maze, was about to lose his temper.

So what if they didn't have money?

He was determined to ride this bus today!

Fortunately, the driver spoke up at that moment: "Forget it, forget it. It's the last bus, we're in the middle of nowhere, and it's pouring rain. Just get on."

With that, he closed the door.

This prevented the birth of a "seat bully."

The conductor shot the group a fierce glare and said nothing more.

"Thank you."

Auntie Shufen didn't mind at all, saying it with a cheerful expression.

"Hold on tight, there are plenty of mountain roads ahead," the driver said.

The bus, which hadn't turned off its engine, slowly began to move.

Through the filthy rear window, one could see thick, black smoke billowing out.

It was practically like a tractor.

Besides the five of them, the driver, and the conductor, there were five other people on the bus.

One was an old woman with white hair; though her hair was white, she had few wrinkles.

Beside her sat a young man.

Both were very quiet.

The other three were wearing white long robes, resembling ancient attire.

They also had long hair and kept their heads bowed, never looking up.

They gave off a strange vibe.

Hmm... Tang Luo could join these three and form an ancient-costume squad.

These five people were sitting toward the front.

Tang Luo and his companions naturally sat toward the back.

Auntie Shufen and Mi Ke sat together.

Behind them was Lin Zi'ang, the fake-breast appraiser whose primary skill was trash-talking.

Behind Lin Zi'ang was Tang Luo.

K sat in the very last row, in the middle, slightly elevated above the other seats.

From there, he could observe the entire situation inside the carriage.

Ever since he saw those three people in ancient costumes upon boarding, he had felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Ever since being trapped in the ghost maze, his heart had never truly settled.

Just as the driver said, there were many mountain roads, and it was pouring rain outside.

The speed of the bus remained slow throughout.

The sky darkened rapidly, almost plunging into the black of night.

"Driver, about how much longer until the terminal station?" Auntie Shufen asked.

"Quite a ways, maybe an hour or so," the driver replied.

The carriage fell silent once more.

Before long, a faint snoring sound could be heard.

It was coming from the three men in ancient costumes who had their heads bowed.

These people had already fallen asleep.

No wonder their heads were hanging low.

"Hiss—"

The science student sitting in front of Tang Luo suddenly gasped, peering forward and then looking toward the back.

After hesitating for two seconds, he lowered his voice and said to Tang Luo, "Monk, have you ever heard of the Tianjing 330 Bus Incident?"

"What?"

Tang Luo shook his head.

K, sitting behind, looked at Lin Zi'ang, clearly having overheard his words.

Mike and Auntie Shufen in front also turned their heads.

The Tianjing 330 Bus Incident?

"It's... it's just..."

Lin Zi'ang lowered his voice and briefly described the entire event.

Simply put, it was a cold case from reality.

Compared to Jack the Ripper, this incident felt more like some kind of supernatural occurrence.

In 1995, a major supernatural event occurred at a bus stop in Tianjing; the 330 bus mysteriously disappeared, and the next day, a series of shocking and strange phenomena were discovered on the vehicle.

In short, a bus had gone missing.

It was eventually found near a reservoir over 100 kilometers away, with three severely decomposed corpses discovered inside.

The case had many suspicious points, forming the classic elements of a supernatural event:

First, the discovered bus could not have possibly traveled over 100 kilometers after running for a day, and the fuel tank contained not gasoline, but fresh blood.

Second, the corpses found had severely decomposed in less than two days, which was impossible even in the summer, yet autopsies confirmed it was not man-made.

Third, surveillance footage from all intersections leading to Miyun on the day of the inspection showed nothing.

Fourth, before the bus went missing, a passenger reported to the police that they had seen ghosts on the bus.

The so-called ghosts were three long-haired people wearing ancient costumes!

At the time, it was claimed they were drunken extras from a nearby film set heading home.

But an old woman among the passengers noticed these people had no legs, so she pulled the young man next to her off the bus.

It was said that the truth of the case was eventually revealed, and it was actually just an ordinary case spread through rumors.

Of course, as for what the specific situation really was.

Lin Zi'ang was not very clear on that either.

He just happened to have heard this ghost story, and the more he looked at the situation in the carriage, the more it resembled the version he had heard.

Coupled with the heavy rain and the winding, twisting road clearly leading to some mountain village.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, he blurted the story out.

"Damn it!"

K cursed under his breath; the signs of a survival mission were already very obvious.

This kind of mission did not require much brainpower to think through or analyze.

Yet, it was also an extremely dangerous task.

Struggling to survive left one breathless.

A single moment of carelessness could lead to death.

Get off the bus, just give up on the mission? I've only failed once, I still have chances, K thought to himself.

But looking at the woods receding outside the window, he didn't dare to gamble.

Before reaching the terminal, he had already encountered a "ghost wall" at a house by the side of the road.

He had barely managed to break through without incident.

If he got off now and stayed on this desolate mountain road instead of going to the terminal, who knew what other dangers he might encounter?

It is not as if choosing to abandon the mission allows one to find a corner and safely hide away.

The mission world contains crises that exist outside of the missions themselves.

Sometimes, these are even more dangerous than the missions.

"No, that won't work."

A dark light flashed in K's eyes. If I don't bet correctly, getting off the bus alone is too dangerous. I still need to stay with these people; that monk doesn't look weak, and the others can serve as cannon fodder.

Since one will encounter danger regardless, it is naturally better to have companions.

Moreover, a mission at least provides a clear objective.

"How about we get off the bus?"

After listening to Lin Zi'ang, Mi Ke whispered.

"If we don't do the mission, we'll die, right?" Lin Zi'ang asked.

"You might die," Tang Luo said, "but not on the first one."

He briefly explained the punishment mechanism of the God and Demon Game.

Just then, the bus jolted violently.

It nearly lifted everyone off their seats.

"It's going to be a bit bumpy for the next ten minutes or so. I don't know what's wrong with this stretch of road; they've been trying to fix it for years and still haven't finished," the driver said.

Over the next few minutes, the bus swayed and jolted back and forth.

Lin Zi'ang and Mi Ke's faces turned pale, and they looked like they were about to vomit.

Auntie Shufen, however, remained composed.

In her own words, riding a tractor over mountain roads back in the day was what you'd call bumpy.

"Something's wrong!"

K's expression turned extremely ugly.

But it had nothing to do with the shaking bus.

He possessed at least that much physical fitness.

Even though he hadn't completed six missions to receive a comprehensive enhancement, once someone becomes a God and Demon Walker, everyone knows they need to train themselves desperately.

"Those three people, are they still asleep?"

K stared at the three passengers in ancient attire before him.

With such violent swaying and pitching, these three people were leaning this way and that, yet they still had their heads lowered, snoring away?

The faint sound of snoring, mixed with the rattling of the carriage, reached K's ears.

"These three are suspicious!"

K couldn't help but shout out loud.

The group lurched forward suddenly.

Following K's shout, the bus slammed on the brakes and came to a halt.

The conductor turned his head, his gaze fixed on K with an eerie expression.