Last Bus of Route 13 - Chapter 56 - An Unexpected Twist

Zhu Hou’s body!!

At six o’clock, when I came to work, Zhu Hou was still alive and kicking, lying to my face about seeing Di Pi. How could it be that just a few hours later, he’s lying here, lifeless?

Who’s doing the killing?

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. This place was truly unbearable. I turned around and hurried out of the room.

On my way to the first-floor corridor, I ran straight into Shi Tou!

He was standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking the passage to the first floor. With his head lowered, he asked in a cold, low voice:

“What are you doing here again?”

I was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

Shi Tou started walking toward me, step by step. With each step he took, the sweat on my back soaked through my shirt.

Di Pi and Zhu Hou were both dead, yet Shi Tou was still here, alive and acting all strange.

If he’s not the killer, I’ll eat my words!

I took a deep breath and stepped back.

“I’ve told you so many times,” he said slowly, his tone calm yet chilling, “just clock in and out on time for your part-time job. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Why can’t you just listen?”

As he spoke, he took a few more steps forward.

I clenched my fists, ready to fight for my life if it came to that.

When he was about five meters away, he stopped and said coldly, “This job isn’t for you. Go home.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

He left?

Just like that, he let me, a witness, go?

I felt utterly baffled but didn’t dare let my guard down. Only after I heard his footsteps disappear down the stairs did I muster the courage to leave the building.

My fists were still tightly clenched, and my legs trembled as I made my way out the front door. Only then did I feel a slight sense of relief.

Taking a deep breath of the cool night air, I thought to myself, being alive feels amazing!

Since I started driving the last bus of Route 13, this was probably the second time I’d felt so close to death.

Mr. He was dead. Even if I managed to break the curse of The Gate Where a Hundred Ghosts Cry, how much longer would the fate of Route 13 continue to haunt me?

Suppressing the frustration in my heart, I returned to the dormitory. As soon as Old Li saw me, he grabbed me and pulled me into the room. Pointing at the bed where Xiao Liu was tied up like a dumpling, he exclaimed excitedly, “Look, the kid’s back to normal!”

I sat down by the bed, delighted. Xiao Liu was blinking and squirming around. When he saw me, he glared and said indignantly, “Dude, these old guys tied me up without even figuring out what’s going on. Get me out of this!”

I laughed and gave him a playful punch.

“You should be thanking these old guys for keeping you alive the past few days!”

Hearing this, Old Li and Ding-Ge both chuckled along with me.

Old Li leaned in for a closer look at Xiao Liu and said, “This is only his first day of coming back to his senses and talking. If you ask me, we shouldn’t rush things. Let’s keep him tied up for another two days, just to be safe!”

Everyone agreed with this suggestion, especially me. They didn’t understand the danger of The Gate Where a Hundred Ghosts Cry, but I did. If something happened to Xiao Liu, it wouldn’t just be his life at stake-everyone’s lives would be on the line!

Xiao Liu, clueless about the situation, got angry and kept insisting there were no ghosts in this world and that he wasn’t possessed.

We ignored his protests. After moving him back to my room, everyone else went back to rest.

Late at night, my mind was in turmoil. Although Shi Tou had spared me and didn’t kill me, the events at the funeral home couldn’t simply be brushed aside.

Those were two lives-Di Pi and Zhu Hou!

What was Shi Tou’s motive for murder? There must be layers of complexity behind the timing of my arrival.

But if I let this go unchecked, wouldn’t the funeral home turn into a slaughterhouse, just like those inns along the development district highway?

Tomorrow, I’ll report this to the police!

Resolving to take action, I tried to sleep, accompanied by Xiao Liu’s snoring.

“%@￥%￥￥%……”

Just as I was about to drift off, I vaguely heard a woman’s hushed whispers coming from under the bed.

I jolted awake. Here we go again!

This time, I was surprisingly calm. No panicked scrambling or running around like before.

Taking a deep breath, I stayed still, lying on the bed, quietly listening to the indistinct murmurs of the woman’s voice.

The whispers continued for over five minutes. Unable to contain my frustration, I flipped over, pulled the blanket aside, and prepared to lift the bedboard to see what was hiding underneath.

My hand pressed against the bedboard, and my heart started pounding like a drum. I remembered finding strands of long hair under the bed before Xiao Liu got possessed. Could it really be a female ghost under there?

Would she look like the ones in the movies?

Just as I was about to lift the bedboard, a thought struck me: “Don’t lift the wooden board under the bed.”

This was the second warning the boss of the Great East Gate Restaurant had given me.

The first was not to open the door. Xiao Liu had been possessed. If I lifted the bedboard, would I end up like him, unable to resist the urge to harm myself?

That would be foolish. Life might be tough, exhausting, and complicated right now, but I can still see the sun every day, call my parents, and pursue Bai Fan. I still have hope for happiness.

I sighed, withdrew my hand, and smoothed the blanket back into place.

Lying back down, I felt as though I had gained some clarity. If there were whispers coming from under the bed, so be it-let her talk.

If she’s got the guts, she can come out and kill me. Hiding under my bed and muttering to scare people? At the end of the day, she’s just a cowardly ghost.

With that thought, my heart felt lighter. I closed my eyes and pretended there was a beautiful woman lulling me to sleep.

Believe it or not, this little mental trick actually worked. I relaxed and gradually fell asleep.

…

The next morning, I rushed to find Old Liu and recounted the events at the funeral home, including the number of infants in the morgue and everything I had encountered.

Old Liu leaned on his worn stick, listening quietly. When I finished, he said coldly:

“That doesn’t add up. I thought someone might be raising infant spirits, but the number of dead infants doesn’t match. Are you sure you didn’t miscount or make a mistake?”

I shook my head firmly and replied:

“No way. I counted multiple times.”

Old Liu grunted in acknowledgment and said no more.

“Old Liu, you promised that once I confirmed the number of infants, I wouldn’t have to go back to the funeral home, and you’d help me break the curse. You have to keep your word.”

Old Liu nodded and said:

“Didn’t you already mention your colleague’s symptoms have improved? It’s fine now. Let’s go deal with this together.”

I was stunned by Old Liu’s words and asked, “Then what’s the point of counting the number of infants? How does it help break the curse?”

Old Liu let out a cold laugh, took a few steps forward, and said, “It doesn’t help you at all. If I hadn’t said that, would you have gone to check for me? I thought someone might be raising infant spirits.”

“Old Liu! You tricked me!”

Without waiting for my reaction, Old Liu finished his sentence and walked out the door.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly as I watched the stubborn old man’s retreating figure. Shaking my head, I followed him outside.

We returned to the company dormitory. As soon as Xiao Liu saw Old Liu, he acted like he’d found a lifeline and shouted loudly, “Old Liu, make him let me go! His head is full of ghosts, ghosts, ghosts! He insists I’m possessed!”

Old Liu walked up to Xiao Liu, turned his head to the left, then to the right, examining him carefully. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “He’s fine now. You can untie him.”

Finally reassured, I untied the ropes binding Xiao Liu.

As soon as he was free, Xiao Liu shoved me and cursed, “Li Yao, are you out of your mind? Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts-do I look like someone who’d get possessed?”

Before I could respond, Old Liu raised his hand to signal us to shut up.

He walked around the room, inspecting it, and then stopped in front of my bed. I quickly stepped forward and said, “Old Liu, it’s here. Every night, there’s a female ghost whispering something under the bed.”

I pointed to the space beneath my bed as I spoke.

Old Liu nodded knowingly and said, “Today is the 14th day of the lunar month. The bed can’t be opened yet. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

Since Old Liu said so, I didn’t object. Instead, I quickly asked, “So, is the curse of The Gate Where a Hundred Ghosts Cry broken?”

Old Liu nodded. “It’s already dealt with. You’ve been warming yourself by the cremation furnace these past few days, burning off the Yin energy on your body. Tomorrow, we’ll burn the Paper Man, and the curse will be completely lifted.”

I let out a long sigh of relief. The disaster brought by The Gate Where a Hundred Ghosts Cry was finally over!

With that matter settled, I suddenly remembered the funeral home and quickly called the police. Over the phone, I explained the deaths and described the location of the infant mortuary on the second floor.

Half an hour later, the police called me back and asked me to come over.

With the police involved, I felt somewhat reassured. To be safe, I brought Old Liu and Xiao Liu along with me to the funeral home for the investigation.

Two police cars were parked in front of the funeral home. After identifying myself as the caller, a captain in uniform approached me.

The captain frowned as he looked at me. “Repeat the details of your report.”

“I have a colleague named Di Pi. I found his corpse in the mortuary, but that same night, another colleague named Shi Tou threw the body into the cremation furnace to destroy the evidence.”

The captain nodded and said in a low voice, “Go on.”

“There’s a room on the east side of the second floor filled with infant corpse beds. I counted 45 dead infants in total. Last night, I also found the body of Zhu Hou, another colleague who worked in the mortuary, in that room.”

The captain squinted at me, then called Old Liu and Xiao Liu over to question them separately.

I was puzzled. I was the one who reported the case and witnessed everything at the funeral home. Why was the captain questioning Old Liu and Xiao Liu instead of me?

Could it be that the captain suspected me of being the murderer?

Not long after, they finished their conversation. The captain and several officers returned to their cars and drove away.

They just asked me a few simple questions and left? I was so angry I stomped my feet.

“What the hell? Why did the police leave? Aren’t they investigating the case? Did the funeral home boss bribe them?”

Old Liu came over and urged me to go home with him. Frustrated, I followed him back.

On the way, after my repeated questioning, Old Liu finally explained.

“This funeral home has already been investigated by the police. Business has always been poor. The entire funeral home only has three employees: the manager, the cashier, and the cremator.”

I shouted in confusion, “Old Liu, didn’t I tell you? The others were killed by my colleague Shi Tou! Of course, only those three are left now!”

Old Liu shook his head and said coldly, “You were cursed by Liu Yunbo, and it happened to be close to the 15th day of the lunar month. Your Yang Energy was severely depleted, so it’s no surprise you saw evil spirits.”

At first, I didn’t understand what Old Liu meant, but after recalling the police’s words and pondering them repeatedly, I finally pieced it together.

It was truly a chilling realization!

Goosebumps spread across my entire body.

I understood now!

This funeral home had always only had the manager, the cashier, and Shi Tou.

I never had any other colleagues!

Di Pi, Zhu Hou, the old lady who came to cremate herself, her family members, the infant corpses, the people outside holding banners…

They were all ghosts!