The brakes failed, and without warning, the bus hurtled toward the reservoir. Worst of all, even the steering wheel had stopped working.
It was the most terrified and helpless I had ever felt in my life!
I stamped on the brake and kept wrenching the steering wheel, but the bus seemed to have a mind of its own, charging straight toward the reservoir.
The villagers inside noticed something was wrong and began to panic. The younger women started wailing, their shrill cries rivaling pigs being slaughtered for the New Year.
In fact, the moment I realized the brakes and steering had failed, I instinctively looked for a way out.
It was hot that day, and the window beside me was almost fully lowered. If I wanted to, I could jump through it before the bus plunged into the reservoir.
But that thought stayed in my head for less than a second.
Although I had never liked socializing, I wasn't a bad person at heart. If the driver ran at a moment like this, the whole busload of villagers would be doomed.
A pilot had to be the last to leave after an emergency landing, and a captain had to be the last to leave a sinking ship.
I might have been nothing but a lowly bus driver, no captain of anything, looked down on and called uneducated, but I had a conscience and a sense of responsibility!
Tangwazi Reservoir had been abandoned and unmanaged for years. Only a token row of wooden stakes lined its edge. I knew that once the bus hit the water, it would all be over.
Just as the bus crushed the wooden stakes and was about to plunge headfirst into the reservoir, I suddenly felt an enormous tug from behind.
That force actually hauled the bus to a stop, sending everyone inside pitching toward the front under the tremendous inertia.
Most of the villagers were knocked down and suffered injuries, but fortunately, the bus stopped with its nose less than half a meter from the water!
My hands shook nonstop on the steering wheel, and my heart kept pounding.
I wasn't dead?
After taking a moment to recover and making sure the bus was reasonably stable, I pressed the brake with every ounce of strength I had, opened the rear door, and hurriedly turned to shout to the villagers behind me:
"Get off! Don't push! One at a time, slowly!"
The moment the villagers saw the door open, they forgot all about my warning. They surged toward it like mad, making the bus rock from side to side again.
My heart leaped into my throat. I wanted to shout at them not to push, but perhaps I was too nervous-I couldn't get a single word out.
Only after the last villager got off safely did I finally breathe a sigh of relief. The leg I had kept pressed against the brake was trembling and had gone completely numb.
I tried slowly moving my foot away. When the bus stayed still, I cautiously crawled out of the driver's seat. Yes, crawled.
I had no strength left. Crawling was all I could do.
I crawled out of the bus and collapsed beside it, feeling that the stars in the sky were especially beautiful that night.
The frightened villagers had long since fled to the road, where they stared at the reservoir, the bus, and me, still shaken.
Yet not one of them came over to help me up. Not a single one.
I let out a long breath and staggered to my feet.
I called Old Wu. When he heard about my narrow escape, he was so frightened he stammered on the other end.
An hour later, Old Wu arrived with some people and took me back along with the towed bus.
The next day, the mechanic's inspection report left me utterly hopeless.
Nothing was wrong. Everything on the bus was normal, with no damage or faults whatsoever!
I stood in Old Wu's office in a daze. He lit a cigarette, held it between his lips, and stared at me with a troubled expression.
"Brother Li, have you recovered a little?"
I nodded blankly and asked quietly:
"Brother Wu, are the villagers who rode the bus all right?"
Old Wu took a helpless drag on his cigarette. "They're fine. Just some scrapes. As long as nobody died, it's fine!"
After saying that, Old Wu's eyes shifted. He leaned forward and lowered his voice:
"Brother, there's nobody else here. Tell me the truth. Had you been drinking before driving last night?"
I gave a faint, helpless smile.
"Brother Wu, I've been with the company for a year. When have you ever seen me drink and drive? Besides, I drive the night shift. I value my life."
At that, Old Wu crossed his legs and pushed the report across the desk.
"I already told you, there's nothing wrong with the bus. After Mechanic Liu checked it, I specifically got two other people to look it over. I even had them check the fucking seats. They all said there was nothing wrong!"
When I said nothing, Old Wu sighed and continued:
"Brother, you're the most honest guy on our team. I've always thought well of you. Even if I believe you, how am I supposed to write a report for the higher-ups saying a bus with nothing wrong with it charged into a reservoir on its own?"
I wasn't in the mood to bullshit with Old Wu about how to write his report. All I could think about was finding Master Liu Yunbo as soon as possible. We had agreed to meet after my shift last night, but the incident had delayed me.
I made up my mind. Even if it bankrupted me, even if I had to pawn my underwear, I was quitting no matter what.
I had truly experienced the horror of that last bus. It was far worse than I had imagined, because this time, I had actually caught the scent of death.
Seeing how distracted I was, Old Wu cursed, "You motherfucker," then waved his hand helplessly and said:
"All right, go back. Take a few days off, and make it quick. I'll have the outside driver come over this afternoon. When you get back, don't do anything but sleep. Got it?"
Without a word, I turned and left the office, coming face-to-face with Liu Sheng, Fatty, and the others as they were about to enter.
As soon as Fatty saw me, he hurried over, put an arm around my shoulders, and said gravely:
"What happened, Brother Li? I heard you nearly drove into the reservoir last night!"
I had to admit, Fatty really delivered when you paid him. I had given him five hundred yuan for his son's one-month celebration, and now he was treating me like family.
"Nothing. Bad road," I replied quietly.
Fatty wanted to say more, but I deliberately moved his hand away and walked straight past him.
I had no interest in anyone's concern right now. Surviving last night didn't mean I would live a long life. Until I saw Master Liu Yunbo, I wouldn't have a moment's peace.
2386 Huaiyuan Road.
Once again, I arrived at the residential compound full of hope. It looked just as it had before, with crumbling bricks and tiles and a layer of pitch-black plaster on the walls.
And there was the blind old man.
Just as he had half a month earlier, he sat at the compound entrance, slowly waving his fan.
Knowing how terrifying his all-white eyes looked when he opened them, I softened my footsteps, hoping not to attract his attention. Before I could step into the compound, someone called out behind me.
"Hey, aren't you the young fellow who came looking for Liu Qingzhu last time?"
It was none other than the woman who had shown me the way when I came looking for Liu Qingzhu before.
"Yes, ma'am, that's me, but I'm not here to see him this time."
Not wanting to talk to her, I answered, lowered my head, and kept walking.
The woman seemed to have more to say, so I hurried through the compound entrance in a few quick strides.
She seemed very familiar with Liu Qingzhu, but Liu Qingzhu had burned to death in this building ten years ago. What did that make her?
Before long, I reached Master Liu Yunbo's home on the third floor. Unfortunately, no matter how much I called and knocked, there was no response.
I had arranged to meet the master after my shift on the fifteenth, but after last night's incident, my legs had been so weak that I couldn't walk.
Whatever the circumstances, I was the one who had missed our appointment. It was only natural that the master wasn't home now.
When I left the compound, I hadn't expected to find the woman still standing at the entrance. Seeing me, she hurried over and said with a smile:
"You're such an impatient young fellow. You vanished before I could finish!"
I hadn't expected her to wait for me. As I looked at her uncertainly, she continued:
"When Liu Qingzhu went out this morning, he told me you'd come today and asked me to pass on a message!"
I froze.
"What? He told you I'd come today?"
"Yes. He asked me to pass on four words: don't answer the door!"
"Don't answer the door?"
I repeated it, looking at her in confusion.
The woman said nothing more. She smiled at me, then went to attend to the blind old man nearby.
All the way back to the dorm, I kept turning it over in my mind.
The last time I came, Liu Qingzhu had called out, "Don't carry a crowd!" And last night's incident had happened when I was carrying the most passengers. Was that a coincidence?
Back at the company, Old Wu called to tell me the outside driver would arrive that evening, and that he had arranged for us to share a room.
Naturally, I didn't want to drag an innocent person into this deadly, haunted job, so I refused outright.
But Old Wu was absolutely determined. Nothing I said got through to him. He insisted that this man alternate shifts with me.
In the end, he just told me to get the newcomer's bed ready, then hung up on me.
At seven that evening, a newcomer really did arrive at the dorm. He was only a little over 160 centimeters tall, but as fat as a gas cylinder.
Unlike the crafty Fatty on our team, this man had a kindly face and a ready smile. At a glance, he seemed like an honest fellow without a scheming bone in his body.
When the short, fat man entered and saw me lying on the bed, he hurried over to shake my hand.
"Hello, buddy. You're Li Yao, right? I'm your new shift partner. My name's Lu Yiheng!"
Before I could react, still lying in bed, he had already grabbed my hand.
I quickly pulled it back and said coldly:
"Go back where you came from. You can't drive Route 13!"
Lu Yiheng wasn't embarrassed by my cold reception. He kept smiling as he said:
"Buddy, I can drive it. I drove taxis for five years and heavy trucks for five years. This time, I've come prepared to drive buses for another five!"
Figuring this fat man was stubborn too and I wouldn't be able to get rid of him anytime soon, I stopped bothering with him.
Seeing that it was getting late, I got out of bed, dressed, and hurried to Master Liu Yunbo's home again.
Unfortunately, Liu Yunbo still wasn't home. I squatted outside his door, waiting anxiously, but caught a faint, foul, fishy smell.
After searching around, I discovered that the smell was actually coming from my bracelet. I took it off and examined it carefully. The beads were still vermilion, but strangely, their once-hard texture had softened. Even a light touch left a dent.
I brought my phone's light closer for another look, and broke into a cold sweat.
The bracelet had actually started rotting!
I remembered my younger cousin's joke: "Human eyeballs keep for exactly half a month when exposed to air."
I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm myself, and stuffed the bracelet into my pocket. I wanted to ask Master Liu about it properly when I saw him.
I waited in fear until past midnight, but he still didn't return. With no other choice, I headed back to the company.
When I reached the dorm, I thought I had entered the wrong room. The floor had been scrubbed spotless, the beds were neatly made, and all the trash and junk scattered across the floor had been cleared away.
Just as I stood there in astonishment, the short, fat man pushed open the door. Seeing me, he smiled and said:
"When did you get back, buddy? I just got back myself!"
Startled, I checked the time and asked, "It's past one in the morning. What were you doing out so late?"
"I was driving. I just finished my shift!"
His answer gave me a fright.
"What? You drove Route 13? Where did you get the keys?"
The fat man nodded with a grin. "Captain Wu gave them to me this afternoon."
I sighed. I had planned to send him packing once I finished dealing with my own affairs, but I had never imagined he would drive the route on his very first night.
In the end, I was still a step too late.
Wiping away my sweat, I asked worriedly:
"Were there many passengers tonight? Did anything strange happen?"
"Nothing strange. There's no traffic at that hour, either. It's just that, surprisingly, there wasn't a single passenger today."
The fat man spoke with a cheerful smile. Clearly, he had enjoyed his first day on the job.
I sighed inwardly. Last night, I had nearly had an accident with a whole busload of passengers. Word had probably spread throughout Tangwazi Village already, so it was perfectly normal that nobody had taken the bus today.
The fat man opened the wardrobe to change his clothes, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said:
"Oh, right, it wasn't quite nobody. When I was heading back from the paper mill, I realized there had actually been one passenger!"
Surprised, I asked, "Why did you only notice on the way back?"
The fat man said unhurriedly:
"I didn't notice her on the way there. Just as I was about to head back, she knocked on my window. It was an old lady. She'd left her vegetable basket on my bus!"
My expression changed the moment I heard that, and I cried inwardly:
This is bad!