Arriving at the Final Stop

"A person like me?"

The conductor laughed, but her smile was filled with immense malice. "Then, little monk, do you know that for people like me, whether you live or die is entirely up to us right now?"

"This Monk believes that you want us to live."

Tang Luo said this with great confidence.

"Little monk, you're quite clever," the conductor said.

Tang Luo pointed at the corpse of Lin Zi'ang: "When he died, the anger of the corpse-manipulating benefactor did not seem fake. Of course, this anger was more like being upset over a 'loss'."

"I am a Corpse-Driving Master!"

The bus jolted violently, and the driver cursed, "You damn bald donkey!"

"This Monk has hair," Tang Luo said. "How can I be considered a bald donkey?"

The term "bald donkey" originated in certain places where wandering monks loved to lead donkeys while begging for alms.

Many monks who tarnished the reputation of the clergy were idle, demanding alms aggressively, or resorting to theft and deception. Therefore, whenever the local commoners saw these wicked monks leading donkeys, they would shout from afar: "Run! The bald head with a donkey is coming!"

Over time, "bald donkey" became a derogatory term for monks.

Tang Luo had hair and was not leading a donkey, so naturally, he could not be considered a bald donkey.

Even during his journey to the West, if one were to be strict, he would at most be called a "bald dragon."

"We do want you to live," the conductor said, kneeling on the seat in front and leaning over. "But you don't know that sometimes, living is far more painful than dying."

"Besides, we want the living, and we want the corpses too. Don't think you can just come and provoke—"

"Ha!"

Before the conductor could finish her sentence, a shout from the depths of the dantian interrupted her.

Auntie Shufen, who had never let go of her broom, successfully dodged the obstacles.

It cut through the air with a perfect whistle, accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, and landed squarely on the conductor's face.

It was the kind of broom specifically used for sweeping floors at home.

It wasn't plastic; it was a solid piece of wood.

If you pulled out the bristles, it would feel much like a golf club.

The conductor let out a shrill scream.

Her body fell backward, crashing into the aisle.

She covered her face with her right hand, blood flowing continuously from between her fingers.

Clearly, the injury was not light.

"Hey!"

Having succeeded with one strike, Auntie Shufen let out another low shout.

The blood-stained broom swept horizontally, swinging like a baseball bat toward the three corpses standing in a row.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Three sounds, like watermelons shattering, occurred almost simultaneously.

Under Auntie Shufen's swing, all three corpses had their heads exploded!

A silver-tipped spear with a wax head!

A sharp screech of brakes rang out, and the bus came to a sudden halt.

The driver stood up, looking at the back with an expression of astonishment.

What was going on?

Someone actually dared to resist?

Did they not know how to write the words "death" or "fear"?

"Ahhh! Die, just die!"

Before the driver could manipulate the corpses to do anything, the conductor had already begun to scream shrilly.

The young man and the old woman who had been sitting in their seats suddenly sprang up, pouncing toward Auntie Shufen with an "agility" that defied all reason.

In her desperation, Auntie Shufen could only swing the broom in her hand wildly.

The tip of the broom collided with the young man first.

The moment his body made contact with the broom, it instantly shriveled up.

From a complete person, he turned into nothing more than a sheet of skin!

A vivid, lifelike human skin!

This skin had not lost its "momentum" despite being shriveled, and it wrapped directly around the broom.

In an instant, the broom became as heavy as a thousand jun.

Auntie Shufen could not hold onto it and let it drop.

The old woman's body also shriveled up, turning into a skin that draped itself over Auntie Shufen.

Auntie Shufen, who was half-standing, had nowhere to dodge.

The skin moved with such speed that she could only watch helplessly as that eerie face filled her entire field of vision.

A viscous, icy sensation covered her entire face.

It felt just like a snake coiling around her skin.

"Ahhhhh!"

It was a scream even more shrill than the one before.

The skin that had barely covered her face suddenly turned into a lifeless object and slid off Auntie Shufen's body.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

The crisp sound of a bell rang out amidst the screaming.

The driver, whom they had expected to come and help, was already crouching there, his hand—adorned with a bell—pressed against the conductor's face.

A twisted smile played on his face.

As the conductor struggled continuously, the crisp sound of the bell echoed.

Black aura rose from her head and the driver's hand.

Accompanying it was a stench so foul it was almost suffocating.

The moment they smelled it, K and the other two collapsed to the side and began to retch.

A moment later, the bell stopped ringing.

The driver let go, and the conductor's upper body slowly straightened, followed by her lower body, as she stared straight ahead.

Her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes were devoid of pupils, showing only the whites.

"Since you're going to die anyway," the driver said with a smile, "you might as well be put to some use."

He shook the bell on his wrist.

The three headless corpses and the conductor's corpse began to move, lining up in a row.

They spread their arms and legs, partitioning the bus into two separate spaces.

"Don't cause any more trouble for me, or I wouldn't mind bringing back a few more corpses." The driver's voice drifted over from the other side.

Through the gaps, they could see him return to his seat and start the bus.

He was dutiful; even with dead people inside and dead people outside, he would drive to the final stop.

Tang Luo quite appreciated such free labor.

As for the others, they had practically vomited their bile out.

The stench of the corpses did not dissipate, and the three of them, their faces deathly pale, continued to retch.

They had no energy left to cause any more trouble.

Accompanied by the sounds of vomiting, the bus continued to move forward.

As they retched, Auntie Shufen and Mi Ke suddenly felt that it wasn't as unbearable anymore.

In fact, the dizzy, nauseated feeling that had left them exhausted began to fade, and strength slowly returned to their bodies.

"Are we okay?"

The two raised their bodies in surprise, only to see K still collapsed there in great agony.

On the other side was the monk Xuanzang, who had kept his distance from them.

Noticing their gazes, he turned his head and offered a slight smile.

"Consecration?!"

Auntie Shufen almost cried out in surprise.

Fortunately, she held it in just in time.

This was no little monk, but a true master!

Tang Luo pointed to the front and shook his head, signaling the two not to make a scene.

After a moment of thought, the two decided to trust the master who had performed the Consecration for them and quieted down.

Thus, K was the only one left still vomiting.

After he dry-heaved heart-wrenchingly for a while longer, he could no longer hold on and nearly passed out.

The cessation of the vomiting was likely within the driver's expectations.

He continued to drive.

The vehicle transitioned from the desolate mountain road into the territory of Fengmen Village.

Sparse, scattered houses could be seen on both sides of the road.

Their ancient architecture resembled clawing, fanged monsters in the night.

The sight made Auntie Li Shufen and Mi Ke shudder with fear.

Not long after entering the village, the car made a few turns and finally came to a stop.

The engine cut out, and the vibrations ceased.

The driver's voice drifted from the front of the vehicle: "The final stop has arrived... I mean, the final stop of your lives has arrived. Oh, I suppose you won't be able to hear that."

"I didn't expect you to be so poetic."

Tang Luo said.

"Hm?"

The driver realized something was wrong.

The corpse poison he had released should have been enough to leave these people half-crippled.

Even if they hadn't fallen unconscious, it was impossible for them to answer him with such a steady, powerful voice.

He immediately shook the bell in his hand.

The driver commanded the corpses blocking his vision to move aside; he wanted to see exactly what was going on.

A faint, oily green light flickered in his eyes, allowing him to see through the darkness.

It seemed that the strangely dressed man with white clothes and white hair was the one speaking?

"Bang!"

A crisp gunshot rang out before the driver could even see what was happening.

His vision went black, and his headless corpse collapsed, slamming heavily into the carriage.

A foolish corpse-driver, he had no idea of the power of firearms!

The corpses standing on the seat backs lost control and fell at the same time.

The sounds caused K, who was nearly unconscious, to open his eyes once more.

In the darkness, he saw a hazy figure in white, seemingly holding—a gun?

Not a cold weapon from ancient times, but a modern firearm.

"Master, why does a monk use a gun?"

K heard the auntie named Li Shufen ask.

"Who says a monk cannot use a gun? You are clinging to appearances, benefactor."

Tang Luo replied as if it were only natural.

As the saying goes, wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart.

At his level, one does not get hung up on forms or external objects.

Whatever is convenient is the way to go.

That driver, as a corpse-handler, did indeed possess some impressive methods.

But he was still human, and humans die just the same when shot in the head.

"Let's go, this is the final stop." Tang Luo stood up and said.

Bringing them to the final stop and assisting in completing the mission had provided Tang Luo with some merit.

If only he could encounter such "kind-hearted people" in every mission.

Recalling Jack the Ripper from last time—what a piece of trash, only knowing how to lurk in the shadows.

I, Tang Xuanzang, despise such cowardly schemers the most.

Stepping out of the bus, the rain that had been falling since the start of the mission had stopped, and a bright crescent moon could be seen hanging high in the sky.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Tang Luo surveyed his surroundings.

The large open space beneath their feet was not concrete, but a "gravel ground" covered in loose stones.

Footsteps were clearly audible when walking upon it.

There was no wind, nor were there any sounds of frogs or insects.

In the open space, besides the bus Tang Luo and the others had exited, two other identical buses were parked.

The front of the vehicles faced a rather exaggerated, wide-opening gate.

There were no gaps in the center; it was completely sealed.

It felt like the gate to some kind of castle.

Beside the gate, there was a small room resembling a reception or guard booth.

There were no lights inside, and the door was tightly shut.

Surrounding the area was a concrete wall over two meters high, with shards of glass still vaguely visible along the top.

Behind the vehicle, the area was empty, devoid of any structures.

This was the terminal station of Fengmen Village.

The entire space was rectangular, roughly the size of a soccer field.

For a mountain village terminal that only serviced three buses, this footprint was undoubtedly too large.

The iron gate was naturally left open, allowing a view of the fields on the other side of the road.

Further off in the distance were the mountains.

As for the two sides, one side offered a view of a three-story building.

The other side was likewise nothing but mountains.