Last Bus of Route 13 - Chapter 107 - Undercover

Seeing Xiao Zou’s frightened expression left me utterly confused. He had just introduced me to these three different carving knives, but to me, they were just knives with different names, all used for carving wood. I’m not a professional woodcarver; how could they be any different?

Especially this knife for carving beast eyes, which was much larger than the other two and more comfortable to use. Xiao Zou stared at the wooden figure in her hand, the one I had carved eyes into using the beast carving knife, and she was so nervous that her forehead was sweating.

“Grandpa said that while the wood is the same, the carving knives have spirits, especially these three knives. You mustn’t use the wrong one, or it will cause big trouble.”

Xiao Zou’s grave warning left me momentarily bewildered. I didn’t know what kind of trouble it could cause, but having witnessed so many supernatural events, I couldn’t help but believe in some of these things.

“If it’s that serious, you should have told me what each knife is best for earlier. You didn’t say I had to use a specific one.”

Xiao Zou stomped her foot in frustration. Suddenly, we heard a coughing sound from the back room, and Old Master Zou emerged.

I stood up nervously and asked Xiao Zou, “Your grandpa is coming out. What should we do?”

Xiao Zou quickly tidied up the wood shavings on the floor and said, “Don’t worry about it for now. You should leave.”

I nodded and quickly dashed out of the room. What I intended as a good deed turned out to be more trouble than help.

I went to Old Liu’s house again, but the old man still hadn’t returned. Tomorrow is the 15th day of the lunar month, and I still don’t know what disaster might befall us. Without Old Liu by my side, I felt particularly uneasy.

After all this running around, I didn’t even have time for dinner. I returned to the company, changed into my uniform, and prepared to start my shift.

I timed it perfectly, leaving the dormitory at 10:40 PM to begin my work for the night. As I approached the bus, I saw Captain Wang standing by the door, leaning against it and smoking. When he saw me, he stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and said, “Just got back from a long trip and you’re already working? Aren’t you going to take a break?”

I walked over, nodded with a smile, and said, “I’ve already delayed work long enough. No more breaks, time to get to work.”

Captain Wang patted my shoulder and, with a swift move, jumped onto the bus, sitting down in the driver’s seat. “I forgot to tell you, I’ve officially become a driver for Route 13. From now on, the three of us will take turns.”

I was taken aback for a moment, then stepped onto the bus and stood beside him, saying, “Let me drive. I took time off before, and you covered for me. Now that I’m back, you should go rest.”

Captain Wang pointed to the seat opposite the driver’s seat and said, “Stop arguing. Tonight, you sit there, and we’ll work together.”

Seeing Captain Wang’s insistence, I nodded and sat down. Captain Wang started the bus and drove out of the company courtyard. I sat there awkwardly, not saying a word. Having a leader drive me around was a treatment I had never experienced before.

There weren’t many fellow villagers on the bus tonight. Once we left the city, Captain Wang finally spoke.

“I heard from Xiao Liu that during your trip to Mudanjiang, you helped out the family of a former employee.”

His question made me uncomfortable. I knew Xiao Liu was straightforward and must have forgotten to keep my secret. Now that Captain Wang knew, would he still believe my excuse of taking leave to be a best man?

Given the situation, I didn’t know how much he knew, so I replied slowly, “Yes, I happened to come across them and offered a little help.”

Captain Wang continued driving without turning to look at me. After a while, he said coldly, “I heard you gave them thirty thousand. You’re just a bus driver, not making much, yet you’re quite generous.”

Did Xiao Liu tell him that too?! I was infuriated. It seemed like that kid had sold me out completely!

“Yes, the child has epilepsy and needs to be hospitalized. No matter how little money I have, I’m still better off than they are.”

Captain Wang nodded at my words. From my angle, I could see a rare smile on his face.

“Do you know why I became a Yin-Yang master and why I hate ghosts so much?”

“No, why?” Captain Wang’s sudden question caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but ask back.

“My family situation when I was young was similar to the family you helped. My father passed away from illness when I was very young, leaving just my mother and me. Without a pillar in the family, we were bullied as orphans and widows, and life was tough.”

I listened to his story in silence, not interrupting. It seemed that the usually stern Yin-Yang master, Captain Wang, was opening up to me.

After a brief pause, Captain Wang continued, “Unlike that mother and child, my mother was the one who was ill. She was frugal and never wanted to spend money on hospital visits, enduring chronic headaches for over ten years. Later, the neighbors said my mother had an evil disease, so we sought out a Yin-Yang master who claimed my mother had encountered a headless ghost.”

Hearing this, it really did sound similar to Wei Youzhi’s son’s story. I asked quietly, “And then? Was it really a ghost?”

Captain Wang suddenly laughed and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know. I was young and still in school. I didn’t believe the master’s ghost story, so I cried and begged our relatives and neighbors for money, hoping to take my mother to the hospital for a proper examination and treatment.”

“Hmm,” I responded softly.

“We were poor, and I was just a child. None of the relatives were willing to lend us money. In the end, it was the Yin-Yang master who treated my mother who paid out of his own pocket to take her to the hospital.”

Captain Wang spoke in a calm tone, his emotions steady, as if he were recounting someone else’s story.

“My mother was admitted to the hospital. They ran a full-body checkup on her, but they couldn’t find anything wrong.”

Hearing this, I interjected, “Nothing wrong?”

“Yeah, the doctor said she was fine, but my mother kept complaining about worsening headaches. In her final days, she kept saying she could see a headless figure wandering around our house. Not long after, she passed away.”

Captain Wang’s story was deeply moving, but I still couldn’t understand why he was telling me all this.

After finishing his tale, the bus came to a stop at a station. Once the passengers had boarded and we were back on the road, he continued,

“After that, the Yin-Yang master who treated my mother and lent me money took me in. I became his apprentice, and we traveled around catching ghosts and treating evil diseases. Later, when my master passed away, I learned to drive. Now I drive buses while still catching ghosts.”

“So, it was the evil spirit that killed your mother, and that’s why you hate ghosts so much?” I asked.

Captain Wang nodded repeatedly, gripping the steering wheel with visible force.

“Exactly. That’s why I hate evil spirits.”

He heaved a long sigh, turned to glance at me, and said, “I hate evil spirits, but I deeply appreciate people like my master-and people like you, with a good heart.”

His sudden compliment made me feel awkward and uneasy. I forced a smile in response.

As we chatted, the journey passed quickly, and before we knew it, we had safely reached the paper mill, the route’s final stop.

On the return trip, it was just me and Captain Wang left on the bus. He asked me to drive while he sat across from me.

His story had left me feeling heavy-hearted, and I couldn’t figure out why this tough man was sharing all this with me.

Not long after we were back on the road, Captain Wang crossed his legs, brushed some dust off his pants, and said in a deep voice,

“I wasn’t assigned to your company through normal channels. I was sent here by higher-ups with a specific mission.”

Finally, he got to the point. His words startled me so much that I turned my head sharply to look at him.

“Don’t look back. Focus on driving. I’ll talk, and you just listen.”

I turned my head forward again, pretending to stay calm as I joked, “Captain Wang, what’s your mission? Sounds like you’re some kind of secret agent.”

“I was sent by the higher-ups to catch ghosts-the ghosts haunting this Route 13 bus.”

Catching ghosts. Just as I suspected. Wang Dexi wasn’t just a bus captain; he also had the identity of a Yin-Yang master. From the first day he was assigned here, I had found it odd, and now my hunch was confirmed.

I cautiously probed, “Who sent you here? Why do they want you to catch ghosts here?”

To my surprise, Captain Wang didn’t beat around the bush. He answered directly, “The Director of the Traffic Bureau sent me. Besides catching ghosts, he also told me to keep an eye on you and report to him one-on-one at any time.”

An undercover agent!

Even though my hands were gripping the steering wheel, I couldn’t help but feel a tremor of nervousness.

So the big shot behind all this was the city’s Director of the Traffic Bureau?

Noticing my reaction, Captain Wang let out a cold chuckle and said, “You’re quite something, huh? Just a bus driver, yet you’ve got the city’s Traffic Bureau so concerned about you.”

Seeing that he had revealed his backer, it seemed he had no intention of hiding anything from me. I asked, “You’re telling me all this-aren’t you afraid the higher-ups will punish you?”

Captain Wang laughed at my question. “I’m not one of their people. I was only sent here because I have an interest in catching ghosts. As for your business with them, I can choose to deal with it-or not.”

“What about my trip to Mudanjiang this time? Did you report it?”

“No, don’t worry.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I hadn’t finished reading Wei Youzhi’s diary yet, and it would be troublesome if the people behind the scenes found out.

“I originally planned to get more information out of you after you returned this time before reporting anything. But after hearing Xiao Liu’s report earlier today, I changed my mind.”

So that’s how it was. No wonder Captain Wang had shared so much with me tonight. It turned out that my act of helping Wei Youzhi’s wife had stirred his compassion. I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly-good deeds do bring good rewards. Showing kindness really is the right thing to do!

Although Captain Wang didn’t know about the bus accident from ten years ago or why I had a grudge against the higher-ups, at least I now knew who the hidden big shot was-the city’s Director of the Traffic Bureau!

We chatted briefly about other things afterward. Captain Wang’s attitude toward me had noticeably softened. When we returned to the company, he even reminded me to be cautious about certain details.

I tried to persuade him to stop driving buses, but his hatred for ghosts ran too deep. My advice was clearly in vain.

…

The next morning, the 15th day of the lunar month.

Bun Hairstyle was woken up by a phone call from one of the Little Brothers. Just as his morning grumpiness was about to flare up, something he heard on the call left him stunned and speechless.

After hanging up, the guy hurriedly got out of bed and yanked me up. I yawned and asked what was going on.

Bun Hairstyle frowned deeply and said, “Do you remember the wood carving we got from Old Master Zou yesterday-the human carving with the eyes carved in?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I remember. What about it? Did you sell it?”

Bun Hairstyle widened his eyes and cursed, “Sell it, my ass! That thing came to life!!”