Old Tang
The Last Bus on Route 13
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Tang Xiansheng 3 |
| Alias(es) | Old Tang (老唐); Brother Tang 1 3 |
| Species/Race | Deceased human; appears as a ghost 4 6 |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Bus company; formerly served in the army alongside Old Wu and Liu Yunbo 3 15 |
| Occupation/Role | First Route 13 driver; former long-distance driver. Claimed to work in bus maintenance during his friendship with Li Yao 3 4 |
| Status | Died in a reservoir bus crash ten years before Li Yao’s assignment to Route 13; subsequently appears to Li Yao 4 5 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1, “The last bus no one wanted to drive” 1 |
Background / History
Military service and the reservoir crash
Old Tang served in the army with Old Wu and Liu Yunbo. According to the chief of Tiger Waist Mountain Village, the men visited the village after leaving the army, having once been exceptionally close before falling out over treasures. A photograph at the chief’s house shows the three together 14 15.
Ten years before the main events, Tang became Route 13’s first driver and died when his bus entered the reservoir with its passengers. The company’s archived records list Tang Xiansheng, Wang Kai, and Xiong Wei as drivers whose buses crashed into the reservoir while carrying large groups on the fifteenth day of the lunar month 3 4 10.
Friendship with Li Yao
During Li Yao’s first year at the company, Old Tang became his closest friend. The two shared food and liquor, and Li regarded Tang as his only genuine friend among his coworkers. Tang kept to himself and explained his absence from company meetings by claiming that maintenance staff did not need to attend 1 3 4.
When Li was assigned the paper mill night service, Tang privately warned him that three drivers and their passengers had died in reservoir crashes within six months. He also claimed that the city had paid compensation and suppressed the news 1.
After Li’s frightening first shift, Tang telephoned him and invented a fortune-teller’s assurance that his strong fate would repel ghosts. The reassurance gave Li enough confidence to return to the depot. Tang then admitted the lie, explaining that he had feared Li would become too frightened to drive back. He also said that each doomed driver had encountered an old woman who left a vegetable basket aboard the bus 2.
Exposure and conflicting warnings
Tang recommended Liu Qingzhu as a spiritually accomplished master who could help Li. Soon afterward, Old Wu denied that anyone named Tang worked on the current driving team and identified Tang Xiansheng as the first Route 13 driver, dead for ten years. Li then realized that he had never seen Tang speak with another coworker and that their meetings had always taken place alone 3 4.
Tang’s written referral directed Li to Liu Qingzhu at 2386 Huaiyuan Road. This conflicted with Sixth Uncle’s recommendation of Liu Yunbo at the same complex, leaving Li uncertain whom to trust 4 5.
Tang later appeared in front of Li’s bus near the reservoir and boarded after Li stopped. He claimed that Sixth Uncle had died in the original crash and urged Li to stop driving the last bus. He also described a fatal fire at 2386 Huaiyuan Road, saying that Liu Qingzhu had remained there to watch over a troublesome dead man surnamed Liu 5 6.
Sixth Uncle offered the opposite account: he called Tang inhuman and said Liu Qingzhu, rather than Liu Yunbo, had died in the fire. He directed Li toward the company’s abandoned office building, claiming that its archive room contained Tang’s secrets 7.
Investigation of his past
Li’s search of the archive produced records linking the reservoir crashes to large passenger groups and the lunar fifteenth. Three folders stood apart in the filing cabinet, but Li initially took only one 10 13.
The photograph found at Tiger Waist Mountain subsequently exposed Tang’s connection to both Old Wu and Liu Yunbo. The village chief independently confirmed that Tang had been dead for ten years and disclosed their shared military history 14 15.
Tang’s referral continued to trouble Li even after Liu Qingzhu had repeatedly helped him. Li questioned why a ghost had introduced him to the master and whether that assistance concealed another purpose 37.
Personality
Old Tang presents himself as a concerned, familiar companion, repeatedly addressing Li as “brother.” He checks on Li during his first night shift, waits with food and drinks, and listens seriously to his account of the strange passengers. Li initially sees their shared preference for solitude as a reason for their closeness 1 2 3.
He is willing to deceive Li to influence his behavior: his fortune-teller story is an admitted fabrication intended to overcome Li’s panic. He also reacts angrily when Li refuses to open the bus door for him. His apparent concern and concealment of his death make his intentions difficult for Li to judge 2 4 6.
Relationships
- Li Yao — Closest friend before the revelation of Tang’s death. Li’s affection turns into anger and distrust, though Tang continues to offer warnings and advice 3 4 6.
- Old Wu / Wu Baoku — Former army comrade. Old Wu reveals Tang’s identity as the deceased first driver; the village chief places them within a once-close group divided by treasures 3 15.
- Liu Yunbo — Former army comrade and photographed acquaintance. Their concealed connection undermines Li’s assumption that Tang and Liu Yunbo belong to wholly separate sides 14 15 16.
- Liu Qingzhu / Old Liu — The spiritual master Tang recommends to Li. Tang claims that Liu Qingzhu has spent ten years watching over a dangerous dead man at the residential complex 3 6.
- Sixth Uncle — Gives warnings that directly contradict Tang’s account. Each identifies the other as dead or inhuman, while Sixth Uncle points Li toward records concerning Tang 6 7.
Notable Quotes
“Buddy, I was afraid you'd scare yourself too badly to come back, so I made up that fortune-teller. Don't be mad!” 2
“You'd better stop driving this last bus while you still can.” 6