Last Bus of Route 13

Old Wu was caught off guard by my sudden question, and he looked down at his feet, bewildered.

“Where’s my shadow? Is it because the light’s bad that there’s no shadow?”

“How can you say that? Look, mine’s right here, long as ever,” I replied, pointing at my shadow on the ground.

Old Wu muttered under his breath, “Damn it, never mind, let’s just get going.”

He grabbed me again, pulling me towards the roadside with a firm grip.

Old Wu held on tight this time, and no matter how I tried to shake him off, it was impossible.

“Old Wu, could it be that you’re dead and don’t even know it?”

Old Wu paused, startled, and turned back to take a swing at me. I quickly raised my hand to block him.

“Stop talking nonsense. This place is really eerie. We’ll be fine once we’re out.”

He dragged me to the highway, where a white Haval was parked. Without a word, Old Wu opened the back door and shoved me inside.

Though reluctant, I couldn’t resist and got into the car.

No matter what, sticking with Old Wu seemed the safest option.

Tonight’s events made me realize that Old Tang and Sixth Uncle had an unusual relationship. Why was Old Tang so determined to prove Sixth Uncle was dead, and why did Sixth Uncle suddenly appear claiming Old Tang was a ghost?

I didn’t have a good impression of either of them, making it hard to choose sides. Old Wu had his issues, but his stance was clear-he consistently kept me out of it!

Old Wu drove while I sat in the back, staring at him intently.

“Old Wu, aren’t you strange? You won’t tell me the truth but always meddle in my affairs.”

Old Wu chuckled coldly and replied:

“You must be tired of living. I’ve scolded you, hit you, but you never listen. It’s been ten years since the car accident, and you’re still fixated on it. Tell me, who did you come to Tangwazi with today?”

I wrapped my coat tightly around myself and replied softly:

“With your old comrade, Old Tang.”

Screech…

Old Wu slammed on the brakes, stopping in the middle of the road, and turned back to me in shock.

“Who? Tang Xiansheng?”

The unexpected stop sent me lurching forward, my head hitting the front seat. I rubbed my head, annoyed, and said:

“Yeah, why are you so worked up?”

Old Wu squinted, his eyes drifting as he pondered something.

“Old Tang’s back? This is bad, really bad!”

He started the car again, accelerating rapidly.

I sat in the back seat, puzzled, and asked:

“Old Wu, I’ve been telling you since day one that Old Tang’s ghost is haunting me. Now you say it’s serious? You’re slow to react.”

Old Wu kept his head down, silent, but his side profile showed a deeply serious expression.

The car sped into the city, and as soon as we entered the city limits, Old Wu took a sharp turn onto the highway. Dazed, I watched him enter the highway and nudged him in surprise.

“Hey? Old Wu, where are you going? Why are you taking the highway instead of heading back to the company?”

Old Wu replied coldly:

“Old Tang’s definitely back to take your life. You can’t stay at the company now. I’m taking you somewhere safe for a few days.”

“Old Tang’s back to take my life?”

Old Wu’s words startled me. Seeing my skeptical expression, he continued, “Think about it. Old Tang’s been dead for ten years. Why is he haunting you specifically? And let me tell you, if you hadn’t lied to me before, there’s another ghost in Tangwazi Village.”

I was taken aback and tentatively asked, “Another ghost? Are you talking about Sixth Uncle? He came to take me with him before you arrived.”

Screech…

As soon as I finished speaking, Old Wu slammed on the brakes again.

With a thud, my head once more collided with the front seat. Hearing the mention of Sixth Uncle, Old Wu seemed even more tense than when Old Tang was brought up. He anxiously turned to me and asked, “What did you say? You saw Sixth Uncle just now?”

“Yeah, just a few minutes before you came.”

Old Wu sighed and said, “You saw the contents of the second file folder. You know what Sixth Uncle’s deal is, right? With both Sixth Uncle and Old Tang appearing as ghosts, if I hadn’t shown up in time, you’d be dead a hundred times over.”

Old Wu had a point. If he hadn’t come to take me away just now, would I have been doomed no matter what choice I made tonight?

I took a deep breath, realizing I had been on the brink of death without even knowing it.

Old Wu didn’t speak again for the rest of the drive, and I remained haunted by the earlier events. I had no idea where Old Wu was taking me, but under the dim light of the car, I finally saw Old Wu’s shadow cast inside the compartment.

The car continued its relentless journey down the highway. Feeling a bit more at ease, I succumbed to drowsiness and drifted off to sleep.

I don’t know how much time passed, but I vaguely remember waking up once. In a haze, I noticed the car had stopped by the roadside, and Old Wu was outside, quietly conversing with an old lady wearing a red scarf. But before long, I fell asleep again.

It was Old Wu who woke me up after dawn. Before I even opened my eyes, the smell of chicken, duck, and cow manure hit me, intensifying my sense of annoyance. What kind of rural backwater was this?

Grumbling, I got out of the car and stretched, taking a good look around. To my surprise, what lay before me completely overturned my disappointment.

The place was stunningly beautiful! Towering mountains surrounded a clear lake, birds chirped in the blue sky, ducks and geese sang on the grass, and smoke curled from a few chimneys.

In that moment, I felt like I had stepped into a painting, forgetting all my troubles and worries.

Old Wu saw my dumbfounded expression, coughed softly, and said, “This place is called Huaihu Village. The entire village is encircled by these mountains, so there’s only one road leading in. Hardly anyone knows about this place. I’ll have Xiao Liu drive the Route 13 bus for now. You can stay here for a while.”

With that, Old Wu started walking ahead. I grabbed my luggage from the car and hurried to catch up.

I took out my mobile phone, intending to call Bai Fan, but realized this place was so remote that there wasn’t even a single bar of signal.

“Old Wu, why is there no signal here? How am I supposed to contact you?”

Old Wu kept his head down, focused on walking, and replied in a low voice, “There’s not just no signal, there’s no electricity either.”

“No electricity?”

Our generation is so reliant on phones and computers. We can’t even go a day without internet, let alone electricity.

Seeing my persistent questioning, Old Wu just said that staying alive was more important and impatiently scolded me a few times.

We walked along the lakeside for a while and arrived at an old house that looked like it was about to collapse.

Old Wu pointed at the house and said, “You’ll stay here. The conditions are a bit rough, but you won’t have to worry about food and drink. I have a friend who will bring you meals every day.”

With that, I followed Old Wu into the house. Wow, this place was really rundown. There were two rooms, one to the east and one to the west. The door to the west room was tightly shut, and the east room had nothing but a bed and a cabinet. Sitting on the bed, I could see the sun through the wide cracks in the wall!

I stared at Old Wu in disbelief and said, “Old Wu, I feel like you’ve sold me off to the mountains to be someone’s wife!”

Old Wu rolled his eyes at me and said, “This house has been in my family for generations. We moved to the city since my great-grandfather’s time, and no one’s lived here for ages. Just make do for now. Once I figure out the situation with Old Tang and Sixth Uncle, I’ll come back for you.”

With that, Old Wu turned to leave.

I quickly grabbed his arm. “Old Wu, you’re leaving me in this big mountain. What am I supposed to do every day? And how do I contact you?”

Old Wu shook his head and said, “You don’t need to do anything. Just stay inside and sleep. These are deep mountains all around, so don’t wander off and get lost.”

He paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and his face tightened. Pointing to the closed door of the west room, he said, “Oh, and don’t go into that room!”

Don’t go into that room?

I was immediately anxious. “Old Wu, are you kidding me? You’re leaving and telling me a ghost story? I’m staying right across from it, and you tell me not to go in there? I might as well sleep on the grass outside. What’s in that room?”

Old Wu shook his head and said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s nothing in that room, no ghosts either. It’s just an old family saying. Just do as you’re told.”

Old Wu didn’t want to argue with me. No matter how much I questioned him, he ignored me, got into his car by the lake, and drove off.

I stood in front of the old house, staring hopelessly at the beautiful scenery, but it didn’t interest me at all.

The village was vast, but there were few people. Old Wu left in such a hurry that I didn’t even get to ask him which city this place belonged to.

I reluctantly went back inside and started cleaning. To my surprise, despite the house being in shambles, it had all the essentials. The kitchen had an old copper basin, and the cabinet held two floral porcelain bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.

I entered the bedroom and opened the cabinet on the floor, and a cloud of dust hit me in the face.

It clearly hadn’t been opened in years. The cabinet had a partition in the middle, with a stack of moldy quilts on top and a cracked mirror underneath.

I pulled the quilts out and spread them on the grass outside to air them out, holding the mirror in my hand and playing with it curiously. The mirror’s frame was made of brass, and from its appearance and style, I could tell it was an antique.

After a long night on the road, I was exhausted. After a simple cleanup, I lay down inside.

Lying on the bed, my habit of summarizing kicked in. The terrifying events of last night still lingered in my mind. Did the appearances of Old Tang and Sixth Uncle have anything to do with that car accident years ago?

Old Wu had shifted the curse of the Route 13 bus onto me, so I didn’t feel grateful for his help now.

But complaining wouldn’t help. Resting in this idyllic village for a while might be good. I was truly exhausted, emotionally drained.

As I thought about it, I drifted off to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but I woke up with drool all over my face.

When I woke up, it was already dark outside.

I turned my mobile phone into flashlight mode, sat on the bed, pulled out a tissue, and picked up the broken mirror to wipe the drool off my face.

Outside, the wind had picked up at some point, and the fierce gusts made the wooden window by the bed creak loudly.

I shut the window tightly and continued to wipe the drool while staring at the mirror. As I was wiping, I suddenly felt something was off in the reflection.

I frowned and leaned in closer, and it startled me so much that I tossed the mirror far away.

Because I discovered…

There was another face in the mirror besides mine!