The driver knelt at the front of the bus, its body twisting incessantly.
It wanted to struggle, but it could not move.
Xu Zhihan stood before it, his fingertips hanging loose, his face almost bloodlessly pale. Lu Wenchuan watched him, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
He was already at his limit.
But Xu Zhihan did not stop.
He looked at the driver kneeling on the floor and asked, "Who raised you?"
The driver's chest split open, revealing nothing but the ashes of burned tickets.
It let out a hoarse laugh.
"I came into being on my own."
Xu Zhihan lowered his eyes.
"You're lying."
The driver screamed as an invisible force pressed its body lower.
Lu Wenchuan stepped beside Xu Zhihan and pressed the tip of his blade against the driver's neck. "Stop wasting time. Who's behind this?"
Black vapor began leaking from the driver's body, as though something was trying to silence it.
Lu Wenchuan noticed immediately.
"This trick again."
Lightning and fire surged along his blade, temporarily suppressing the black vapor. The driver howled in pain, and the bus shook with it.
The noise made Xu Zhihan's brow tighten.
"Stop screaming."
The driver's voice cut off abruptly.
Lu Wenchuan glanced at him. "That ability of yours is perfect for keeping people in line."
Xu Zhihan ignored him.
The driver was forced to lift its head. Its mouth opened and closed, squeezing out a few words.
"Old... Gods..."
The Old Gods Society again.
Lu Wenchuan's gaze darkened.
Xu Zhihan continued, "Your objective."
The driver's body trembled violently.
It seemed to want to speak, but could not get the words out. The black vapor in its chest began forming a tiny mark. As soon as it appeared, the driver screamed as though it were burning alive.
Lu Wenchuan's expression shifted. "It's going to destroy itself."
Xu Zhihan raised his hand and pressed it against the mark.
The moment his fingertips touched it, the black vapor burrowed toward his hand.
Lu Wenchuan immediately caught his wrist. "Don't touch it."
Xu Zhihan looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan's hand was bloody, but his grip remained firm.
"That thing almost blew up the testing room just now, and you're still touching it?"
Xu Zhihan's tone was cold. "Let go."
"No."
Their eyes met.
The bus was still collapsing around them, black fog pouring in through the windows. Anyone else would have had no time to argue. But Xu Zhihan looked as though he genuinely wanted to deal with Lu Wenchuan too.
Lu Wenchuan did not back down either.
Normally, he yielded when he could and laughed things off when possible. This time, however, he would not loosen his grip at all.
Xu Zhihan said coldly, "You can't stop me."
Lu Wenchuan nodded. "I know."
"Then why try?"
"Every second I can buy counts."
Xu Zhihan looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan wore a rare look of seriousness.
"Xu Zhihan, if you want to investigate the Old Gods Society, I'll do it with you. If you want to investigate the divine spark, I can help with that too. You don't have to put yourself on the line every time."
Xu Zhihan frowned.
Those words were irritating.
Especially that phrase, "with you."
He was not used to anyone speaking to him like this.
Even less used to someone reaching out to stop him despite knowing they could not.
Xu Zhihan wanted to shake him off, but Lu Wenchuan had his wrist locked in his grip. Blood seeped between Lu Wenchuan's fingers onto his skin, faintly warm.
Xu Zhihan glanced down for a moment and suddenly felt even more irritated.
"Your hand is bleeding."
Lu Wenchuan froze for a moment.
Xu Zhihan added with a cold expression, "It's dirty."
Lu Wenchuan: "..."
He nearly laughed in exasperation.
"Fine. I'm dirty."
While he was distracted, Xu Zhihan pulled his hand free.
Lu Wenchuan's expression changed. "Xu Zhihan!"
Xu Zhihan did not touch the mark again.
He raised his eyes toward the driver.
"I'm done asking."
The driver froze.
The next second, Xu Zhihan raised his hand and pressed it straight toward the roof of the entire bus.
Lu Wenchuan immediately understood what he intended to do.
He would not investigate the mark.
He would interrogate the bus itself.
That was even more ruthless than touching the mark.
The entire bus shook violently as the resentment within its body was forcibly drawn out. One incomplete face after another surfaced, only to be suppressed by Xu Zhihan.
He did not destroy those fragments of souls.
He was separating them.
Separating the black vapor belonging to the Old Gods Society from the trapped souls.
It was difficult.
And enormously draining.
Lu Wenchuan gritted his teeth and turned to guard the door. The black fog was still surging inside, trying to interrupt Xu Zhihan.
"Seventh Team, get the living people to safety!"
He pressed his earpiece, his voice cold and utterly devoid of humor.
"The door is open. Three living people have already gotten out. Everyone outside, fall back thirty meters. Stay away from the black fog."
A team member's urgent reply came through his earpiece.
"Understood!"
Lu Wenchuan turned to look at Xu Zhihan.
Xu Zhihan stood amid the black vapor, his silhouette slender, yet he did not retreat. The souls surrounded him, but not one dared touch him.
The driver knelt on the floor, its body cracking apart bit by bit.
At last, it began to feel afraid.
"Don't interrogate me! Don't interrogate me! I was only following orders!"
Xu Zhihan's voice was very soft. "Then give your life back to whoever gave the orders."
As his words fell, the black vapor around the driver snapped apart inch by inch.
The souls inside the bus regained their senses and lowered their heads one after another.
An old man asked in a trembling voice, "Can we leave now?"
Xu Zhihan did not turn around.
"Yes."
The old man cried.
The other souls began to cry too.
Xu Zhihan's brow furrowed deeply.
"Don't cry."
The bus immediately grew much quieter.
Lu Wenchuan nearly failed to hold back a laugh.
Only Xu Zhihan could find their crying too noisy at a time like this.
The last wisp of black vapor was stripped away and condensed into a damaged mark. It struggled in midair, trying to escape into the black fog.
Lu Wenchuan slashed his blade down, pinning it to the floor of the bus.
"Got it."
Xu Zhihan raised his hand and clenched it through the air.
Half the mark shattered. He sealed the remaining half inside a charred bus ticket.
This was a clue.
He could not destroy it completely.
Once that was done, he finally reached his limit and swayed forward.
Lu Wenchuan immediately reached out.
This time, Xu Zhihan did not evade him.
He fell straight into Lu Wenchuan's arms and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Lu Wenchuan's expression changed.
"Xu Zhihan."
Xu Zhihan was still conscious.
His vision was simply going dark, and the crying around him sounded very far away.
He caught Lu Wenchuan's sleeve, his voice terribly hoarse. "The people?"
Lu Wenchuan said quietly, "All the living people got out."
"The souls?"
"They can leave too."
Xu Zhihan closed his eyes briefly.
"Then that's enough."
Holding him, Lu Wenchuan could no longer suppress the anger rising in his chest.
"You really can put yourself through all this just because dealing with trouble annoys you."
Xu Zhihan leaned against his shoulder, his voice very soft. "You're being noisy again."
Lu Wenchuan lowered his head to look at him.
There was still blood at the corner of his mouth, and he was unbelievably pale, yet he could still complain about the noise.
Lu Wenchuan was so angry he wanted to laugh, but could not.
The bus began to collapse.
As the black fog dispersed, the streetlights in the real world outside lit up again.
The Seventh Team had already taken the three survivors to safety. The high school student sat by the roadside, still shaken, staring toward the bus with reddened eyes.
"Was that the guy who saved me?"
A team member answered quietly, "Yes."
The student choked up. "Will he be all right?"
No one answered.
The bus came to a complete stop.
Its body began turning to ash from front to back.
The souls stepped off the bus one after another, bowing their heads toward Xu Zhihan. No one cried anymore; even their words of thanks were very quiet.
Xu Zhihan did not see them.
Lu Wenchuan had already carried him off the bus.
The Seventh Team members' expressions changed when they saw them.
"Captain!"
Lu Wenchuan's voice was grave. "Call Song Zhixia."
"We already did!"
Xu Zhihan stirred, seemingly trying to get out of his arms.
Lu Wenchuan looked down. "Move again, and I'll sling you over my shoulder and carry you back."
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes, his gaze cold, though he had little strength left.
"You wouldn't dare."
Lu Wenchuan looked at him, his tone unusually firm.
"I dare."
Xu Zhihan stared at him.
A few seconds later, he closed his eyes.
"Suit yourself."
Lu Wenchuan froze for a moment.
Was that a concession?
He carried him toward the car, his expression still grim, but his steps much steadier.
Xu Zhihan rested against his chest, still clutching the charred ticket.
The remnants of the Old Gods Society's mark on the ticket were still faintly darkening.
Lu Wenchuan glanced down at it.
"Got your clue?"
Xu Zhihan didn't open his eyes. His voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible.
"Yeah."
"Satisfied?"
Xu Zhihan paused.
"It'll do."
Lu Wenchuan let out an incredulous laugh.
"You nearly got yourself half-killed, and all you've got is 'it'll do'?"
Xu Zhihan kept his eyes closed, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Don't exaggerate."
Lu Wenchuan said quietly, "Fine. No exaggerating."
He settled him into the back seat and buckled his seat belt for him.
Outside the car, the night bus vanished completely.
The distant sky had begun to turn gray.
The night was nearly over.
Lu Wenchuan got into the driver's seat and glanced at Xu Zhihan in the rearview mirror.
Xu Zhihan's eyes were closed, his fingers still clenched around the ticket, refusing to let go.
Lu Wenchuan watched him for a few seconds, then suddenly said softly, "Xu Zhihan."
There was no response from the back seat.
Lu Wenchuan looked away and started the car.
"That habit of yours, saving people-it's pretty bad too."