Last Bus of Route 13

“What?!”

I was genuinely shocked to hear that Captain Wang had taken over driving the bus in my absence, leaving me with my mouth agape.

Xiao Liu, however, seemed unfazed and said, “At first, I really disliked this new captain. But after spending some time with him, I realized he’s actually a decent guy. Ever since you took leave, he’s been worried about me overworking and has been voluntarily swapping shifts with me, personally taking the wheel.”

Things are definitely not as simple as Xiao Liu makes them out to be. Captain Wang has been unusually attentive to Route 13 since his first day on the job. He’s even offered to help me catch ghosts more than once, flaunting his Yin-Yang master status. There must be some hidden agenda!

…

I was constantly worried about how to get through the impending disaster on the 15th day of the lunar month. After chatting with them for a while and resting for the morning, I hurried to find Old Liu. Unfortunately, the old man was nowhere to be found; his house was empty!

With only one day left until the 15th, and Old Liu’s whereabouts unknown, I was in a state of panic.

Back at the company, Bun Hairstyle wanted to drag me out for drinks. But with fate looming over me, I was in no mood for drinking. Seeing my worried expression, Bun Hairstyle chuckled and asked, “Still worried about the scheming behind the scenes?”

I sighed, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag, saying, “Not entirely. The 15th day of the lunar month is almost here, and I’m a bit scared…”

Bun Hairstyle didn’t know about the blood disaster I face every 15th of the lunar month; he thought I was afraid of the mastermind behind the poisoning.

He sat beside me and said, “Now that you’re back, I really need to have a serious talk with you.”

“Go ahead,” I replied, crossing my legs and tapping the ash from my cigarette.

“During this time, aside from managing my loan shark business, I’ve been working on your situation.”

I smirked and said, “What is there to work on? Your Deputy Chief friend has been dealt with. What else is there to stir up?”

Bun Hairstyle seemed annoyed by my dismissive tone, and grumbled, “What kind of talk is that? If I can’t do it, I have Sister-in-law. She’s got connections in the heart of Jiang city, the heart, you know?”

“Oh, oh,” I nodded, pretending to understand. I knew he meant high-ranking officials when he talked about connections in the heart.

“So, what’s the deal? What are you saying?”

Seeing my softened attitude, Bun Hairstyle smiled and said, “I’m not telling you who Sister-in-law pulled strings with, but once they communicated upstairs, they basically all know each other. Let me tell you, from Bai Fan’s car accident to the hearse poisoning, they were indeed targeting you intentionally. You better behave.”

“Behave? How am I supposed to behave? I’m just a bus driver. How am I not behaving?”

Bun Hairstyle rolled his eyes and pointed at me with his finger, saying, “Stubborn, really stubborn. With your intelligence, if you were in the underworld, you’d be thrown into the Songhua River to feed the fish after the boss gave you a hint.”

I actually had a suspicion in my mind, but I didn’t voice it. I took another drag of my cigarette and stared at Bun Hairstyle.

After scolding me, Bun Hairstyle leaned in and whispered, “Don’t touch the ten-year-old car accident case!”

Just as I suspected.

“What else did they say?”

Bun Hairstyle stomped his foot in frustration and said, “That’s it, just that one sentence, and only because of Sister-in-law’s influence. I’m telling you, if they’re saying not to move, it means even they can’t protect you. It might be the top brass.”

Finally, the pieces fell into place. It’s all revolving around the car accident from ten years ago. The big boss behind the scenes is intimidating me, trying to stop my investigation, while the ghost in the shadows is pushing me forward. It’s like a battle between a person and a ghost, with me, a small fry, caught in the middle like a pawn wedged between the cracks!

Who the hell am I supposed to turn to?

I lost even the interest to smoke, extinguishing the half-burned cigarette and said, “Bun Hairstyle, I still stand by what I said. Don’t get involved in this mess. Now that everything is clear, it’s beyond what connections can solve. You’re in the underworld; going head-to-head with the authorities is just blocking your own escape route.”

Bun Hairstyle, usually carefree, let out a rare sigh upon hearing this.

“True, but pulling out isn’t easy. The poison in the hearse was a real attempt to silence you, but don’t you find it strange that there’s been no danger since then?”

Indeed, logically speaking, if the hearse incident was a failed attempt to silence me, there should have been a second attempt. Yet, after that, we returned to normal life, as if the matter had ended.

I couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know what’s going on?”

“If someone that powerful wanted you dead, you’d have been gone ages ago. The reason they haven’t touched you is because someone has leverage protecting your life!”

Bun Hairstyle said this while squinting his eyes, lowering his voice like a secret agent.

“My friend at the Deputy Chief’s office mentioned this. Right after the hearse incident, someone sent a file folder with copied documents to the city through the petition office. You know, once it reaches the petition office, it gets checked. The person who saw the contents was stunned. They wouldn’t say what was inside, but hinted that your name was mentioned.”

I gasped, my mind racing to piece together the whole situation. A file, a file folder-I suddenly remembered the last file folder Old Wu had.

Before Old Wu fled, he mentioned that the secret of the car accident was in the third file folder and said if he got caught, the information could save his life.

I wondered, could it be that Old Wu deliberately copied the file folder and mailed it to the city as leverage to protect my life before he left?!

That must be it!!

I had always cursed Old Wu for running away, but I never imagined he still had some humanity left!

I took a deep breath, reflecting on my precarious situation, living on the edge between human and ghost threats. One wrong step could cost me my life.

After pondering for a while, I said, “Well, if the big boss has quieted down, it means the leverage worked. So, there’s nothing to worry about. You should pull out.”

Bun Hairstyle smirked and said, “They’re investigating the person who sent the file folder now. If you don’t behave, once they find that person, it’ll be your end.”

“Yeah,” I sighed again, feeling an overwhelming heaviness in my heart. My head hurt, and I didn’t want to discuss this topic with Bun Hairstyle any further.

Bun Hairstyle noticed my gloomy expression and pulled me up, saying, “Come with me, let’s go to the development district to pick up some goods and clear your mind.”

With that, he dragged me along.

“What goods are we picking up?” I asked.

Bun Hairstyle didn’t reply immediately. He threw on his jacket and headed out. It wasn’t until we were in the car that he explained, “Sister-in-law has a business with a woodcarving shop. We’re going to pick up some art pieces from the woodcarver.”

And so, we sped off towards the development district.

I expected a large, formal shop with many woodcarvers, but to my surprise, the woodcarving shop was tiny, with a narrow entrance barely half a meter wide. Anyone slightly larger, like Bun Hairstyle, would have to squeeze sideways to get in.

Despite it being daytime, the shop was dark with the curtains drawn. Inside, an old man, appearing to be in his seventies with a long beard and an artistic aura, sat on a small stool, meticulously carving a piece of wood with a chisel.

As Bun Hairstyle and I entered, we saw the small space was filled with wood carvings of various sizes, including animals, people, finished pieces, and works in progress. Strangely, none of these carvings had eyes.

The old man, possibly with poor eyesight, wore reading glasses. Upon hearing us enter, he looked up and smiled, saying, “Xiao Qiang, you’re here. The batch of goods you’re waiting for is just missing this last piece I’m working on. If you’re not in a hurry, have a seat and wait a bit; it won’t take long.”

Bun Hairstyle, usually brash, showed respect to the elderly, saying, “No rush, Old Master Zou. Take your time.”

He pulled over a stool for me to sit.

We watched Old Master Zou carve the wood. Though his movements were slow, each stroke was precise, leaving us in awe and admiring the craftsmanship of this seasoned artist.

Feeling restless, I stood up to stretch and took a look around at the other works in the room. I couldn’t help but ask, “Old Master Zou, why don’t you carve eyes on your wood sculptures?”

Before Old Master Zou could answer, Bun Hairstyle chimed in, “Old Master Zou is a legend in the woodcarving world. Have you heard the story of ‘adding the finishing touch’? If Old Master Zou carved eyes on these sculptures, they’d come to life.”

Bun Hairstyle’s words were playful, clearly joking, and Old Master Zou couldn’t help but chuckle.

I stared at a row of wooden figurines on the shelf, each with detailed hands and feet, even the fingernails were visible, like miniature versions of real people.

As I looked closer, one particular figurine caught my attention. Despite lacking carved eyes, its features were so lifelike that it gave me chills. I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling as I pondered, “Why does this wooden figure look so much like Bai Fan?”