Last Bus of Route 13 - Chapter 83 - Catching the Ghost

Old Lady Qiu’s method wasn’t complicated. She handed me a black candle and three white Paper Men, instructing me to light the candle and place it on the windowsill when I got home. If the flame turned from yellow to green, I was to throw the Paper Men onto the ground immediately.

I was more than willing to go along with this bait plan. After tucking the candle and Paper Men into my coat, I headed home to prepare.

I trusted Old Lady Qiu’s methods. The thought of finally capturing this ghost and confirming its identity filled me with an inexplicable excitement.

The curse of Route 13 had been haunting me relentlessly, and this ghost, which had been playing tricks on me all along, was finally about to meet its match.

Although I still didn’t know the root cause of the Route 13 curse, I suspected it was deeply connected to the three accidents at the reservoir a decade ago. This ghost was undoubtedly involved.

My current situation felt like being lost in a fog. Everyone warned me of the danger, yet I couldn’t see my enemy. So, if Old Lady Qiu could catch this ghost and reveal its identity, I could uncover many secrets.

Once home, I wasted no time. I quickly followed Old Lady Qiu’s instructions, lighting the black candle and placing it on the windowsill. Lying on my bed, I watched the yellow flame with bated breath. Would it really turn green?

Time ticked by slowly. The first half of the night was manageable, but the latter half was excruciatingly dull. The night was eerily quiet, with nothing out of the ordinary. Boredom set in as I stared at the candle, yawning repeatedly.

Was the ghost not coming tonight?

Unable to stay awake any longer, I decided to close my eyes for a moment, then open them to check the candle again. I repeated this cycle until, without realizing it, I fell asleep.

When I jolted awake, it was already 2:30 AM. The black candle had burned down by two-thirds. As I glanced at the flame, I was shocked into full alertness. At some point, it had turned completely green!

Still groggy from sleep, I frantically searched my pockets for the white Paper Men Old Lady Qiu had given me, but they were nowhere to be found.

The candle continued to burn, dwindling with each passing moment, and the flame grew weaker.

Amid my frantic search, the wooden window beside my bed inexplicably creaked open on its own!

I ignored it, still in a panic, desperately rummaging for the Paper Men as sweat dripped down my face. There was no wind tonight, so how had the window opened? The ghost was definitely nearby!

The more I panicked, the more disorganized I became. I distinctly remembered putting the white Paper Men in my pocket. How could they disappear after just one nap?

Tonight was supposed to be a stifling, windless night, yet suddenly a strange wind began to howl eerily. The wooden window swung open and shut, and to my despair, the green-flamed candle on the windowsill was blown out!

With the candle extinguished, the room plunged into darkness.

I sat dumbfounded on the bed, one hand still in my pocket, as the darkness unleashed the fear lurking in my heart. Was the ghost right beside me?

I quickly scrambled out of bed in the dark, feeling my way along the wall to the cabinet. I knew there were candles and a lighter there-I needed some light.

My palms were sweaty as I gripped my mobile phone, but the lighter refused to ignite, leaving me in a state of anxious desperation.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak…”

A strange sound suddenly filled the room, a soft and persistent noise that made my skin crawl, like thousands of insects crawling around.

“Click, click, click…”

I kept trying to strike the lighter, which usually worked flawlessly, but today it stubbornly refused to light.

I forced myself to suppress my fear, reassuring myself: Old Lady Qiu said the ghost doesn’t want to harm me. It’s okay, it’s okay!

I put down the lighter and leaned against the cabinet, facing the oppressive darkness.

Summoning courage from somewhere, I shouted into the room:

“Old Tang, Sixth Uncle, Tang Yao, I know it’s one of you! If you’ve got the guts, come out!”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than I felt something grip my ankle tightly!

In the dim light, I looked down in panic. There, on the floor, lay a woman in white with long hair, her face obscured by her hair, one hand clutching my ankle, the other desperately crawling forward.

I screamed in terror and tried to yank my leg free, but the woman’s grip was surprisingly strong, and I stumbled and fell to the ground.

My right foot was still held fast, and then I saw another identical white-clad, long-haired ghost crawling toward me!

This was bad!

With my foot trapped, there was no way to escape. If this ghost reached me, I’d be torn apart!

Cold sweat soaked through my clothes. Old Lady Qiu said one ghost would come for me-why were there two?

As I pondered this, something even more horrifying happened. Behind me, yet another white-clad, disheveled ghost crawled toward me.

Three of them!!!

These three ghostly women crawled like spiders, emitting that eerie “squeak, squeak” sound as they moved.

I screamed wildly, kicking desperately at the head of the ghost holding my foot.

The ghost seemed impervious to pain; I kicked her head askew, but she still clung to my ankle with an iron grip.

The second ghost reached me, grabbing my right arm with frantic strength.

With one leg and one arm restrained, I was powerless to struggle, watching helplessly as the third ghost stretched out her arms to grab me.

In despair, I closed my eyes, bracing for the worst.

Then, suddenly, I heard a cat’s meow, “Meow.”

“Meow…”

I opened my eyes to see a large, plump Black Cat leap from the windowsill into the room, charging at the three ghosts!

The Black Cat’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness, like two luminous pearls. I couldn’t make out its body, only those two eyes floating in the air.

I was trapped, thinking the cat’s intervention would be futile, but to my surprise, as soon as the Black Cat arrived, I felt the grip on my ankle loosen.

The ghost let go!

I looked down and saw no trace of the ghost, quickly pulling my foot back and retreating in a frenzy.

The Black Cat and the ghostly women didn’t engage in any fierce battle. Gradually, the grip on my arm loosened.

In the blink of an eye, the three ghostly women vanished without a trace!

I quickly scrambled to my feet, grabbed the lighter, and tried again. This time, it finally worked. Once I lit the candle on the table, I could finally see everything in the room clearly.

Panting heavily, still shaken, I held the candle and looked around the room, astonished at what I found.

On the floor lay three white paper men!

I crouched down to take a closer look at these three paper figures, and it startled me again. Weren’t these the paper men Old Lady Qiu had given me?

No wonder I couldn’t find them earlier; how did they end up on the floor?

Looking more closely, the arrangement of the three paper men-two in front and one behind-matched exactly where the three ghostly women had been!

“Meow…”

As I was lost in thought, the fat cat beside me meowed at me.

I recognized this Black Cat; it was the one from the east room of Old Lady Qiu’s house.

After meowing, the Black Cat lazily jumped onto my bed and curled up to sleep.

My mind was in turmoil. What was going on? Were the three ghostly women who came for my life actually incarnations of the paper men?

Strangely enough, ever since the Black Cat entered the room, not only did it scare away the ghostly women, but even the howling wind outside had stopped.

All in all, tonight was a close call, but it turned out well!

Exhausted and drenched in sweat, I sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the three paper men in my hand.

The Black Cat slept beside me, and I clutched the candle tightly, afraid it might go out again.

I sat there until the rooster crowed and the sky gradually brightened. I heard the sound of the outer door opening and thought it might be Shuilian bringing me breakfast, but to my surprise, it was Old Lady Qiu who came in!

Seeing Old Lady Qiu, I felt a mix of emotions. She had given me these three paper men to catch ghosts, so how did they turn into ghosts to catch me last night?

But if Old Lady Qiu intended to harm me, why go through so much trouble? And why would her Black Cat come to save me?

Old Lady Qiu glanced around the room, then fixed her gaze on the paper men in my hand for a moment before asking slowly:

“You were asleep last night, weren’t you?”

I didn’t speak, just nodded slightly.

Old Lady Qiu came over, took the paper men from my hand, and said with a smile:

“Young man, knowing there were ghosts around and still being able to sleep, you’ve got quite the nerve.”

Her words made me a bit embarrassed, so I asked her:

“I saw ghosts last night, but not just one-there were three ghostly women in white!”

“Hehe,” Old Lady Qiu chuckled and said, “Ghostly women? Weren’t they just these three paper men? I noticed the paper men were activated at home, so I quickly sent little white to help you.”

I was taken aback by her words. Little white-was she referring to this fat Black Cat?

Old Lady Qiu tore the three paper men into shreds and said:

“Don’t worry too much. There’s nothing wrong with the paper men I gave you. It’s just that while you were asleep, the ghost following you took them and used them against you. This ghost is no ordinary one.”

I had harbored some suspicion towards Old Lady Qiu, but her explanation made sense!

And the fundamental mistake was that I fell asleep last night!

“Are you saying the ghost can use your paper men?”

Old Lady Qiu nodded.

Just as I was about to continue asking, something else occurred to me. I looked around and whispered:

“Goodness, if we’re discussing this openly, hasn’t it heard everything?”

“It’s not here since it’s just dawn, no worries.”

I took a deep breath and pressed on:

“Old Lady Qiu, it was indeed my fault last night, but do you think using the same method to catch it tonight would work?”

Old Lady Qiu shook her head and said:

“No, definitely not. Tonight, you don’t have to do anything. Leave it to me!”

While we were talking, Shuilian came in with a tray to bring me breakfast. As she entered, she saw me deep in conversation with Old Lady Qiu and stared at us in surprise.

Seeing Shuilian enter, Old Lady Qiu said nothing more and went home.

After she left, I told Shuilian about the little girl’s safe return and emphasized that Old Lady Qiu had nothing to do with the disappearance.

Shuilian finally relaxed, and I instructed her not to come over for dinner tonight. Initially, she disagreed, but seeing my insistence, she reluctantly agreed.

After washing my face and eating breakfast, I hurried to Old Lady Qiu’s house to plan the strategy for capturing the ghost tonight.

Perhaps disappointed by my performance last night, she only handed me a Black Candle and instructed me to light it on the windowsill just like the night before, telling me there was nothing else I needed to do but wait for her!

Although I was unsure, I had no other option. Once back home, all I could do was wait.

As darkness fell, the little girl came by again.

My mind was uneasy, and fearing for her safety, I didn’t let her stay long and hurriedly sent her away.

After lighting the Black Candle, I lay in bed gazing at the cement ceiling, my heart filled with unease.

As the night deepened, after the terrifying experiences of the previous night, I couldn’t sleep at all.

I intentionally left the window by my bed open, thinking it would provide an escape route if needed-I could even jump out if it came to that!

I’m not sure what time it was, but as I watched the flame of the Black Candle, it slowly turned green!!

I gasped in shock. It’s here!!!!

I swallowed hard, my heart racing uncontrollably, yet I forced myself to lie still on the bed.

Before long, I noticed the flame on the windowsill’s Black Candle slowly drifting as if someone was blowing on it!!!

Clutching the corner of my blanket tightly, I hoped the candle would not go out before Old Lady Qiu arrived.

As the flame flickered wildly and began to shrink, just as it was about to go out, a loud “bang” sounded from the yard!

“Tap tap tap…”

The outer door was pushed open, followed by a series of rapid footsteps.

Entering the room were rows of Paper Men!!!

These Paper Men moved quickly, forming a circle by holding hands at the window.

I watched in astonishment, my heart tightening. Was the ghost inside the circle formed by these Paper Men?

Before I could think further, these Paper Men suddenly began to shake violently, as if something inside the circle was struggling to break free.

I was worried for these Paper Men.

“Tap tap tap…”

Another row of Paper Men entered and quickly formed another circle outside the first.

Once the two circles of Paper Men surrounded it, the struggling force noticeably weakened.

Moments later, Old Lady Qiu finally arrived.

Seeing the two teams of Paper Men, she chuckled and said, “Oh my, catching you isn’t easy, is it?”

I quickly asked, “Old Lady Qiu, is the ghost that’s been haunting me trapped inside this circle?”

Old Lady Qiu nodded, “Yes, though I can’t see its form now. But come dawn, we’ll all be able to see it.”

I finally breathed a sigh of relief. We had caught it!

Old Lady Qiu didn’t say much more. She came over, sat on the bed with me, and we both watched the circle of Paper Men on the ground.

We kept vigil, waiting for dawn. During this time, Paper Men from both teams kept falling, and Old Lady Qiu frowned but reassured me that it was nothing to worry about.

Even though the Paper Men were falling, there were enough of them, and dawn was approaching. We just needed to hold out until morning!

Was it Old Tang trapped in the circle? Sixth Uncle? Or Tang Yao?

My heart was taut with tension, my eyes fixed on the circle.

Usually, dawn seemed to come quickly, but now, as I longed for it, it felt like an eternity!

The Paper Men fell faster and faster, and my heart was in my throat. I could only silently pray that they would hold on!

By four o’clock, only two frail Paper Men remained from the two teams!

If the Paper Men fell, tonight’s efforts would be in vain. But fortunately, the sky was already brightening, and it wouldn’t be long until it was fully light!

I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my skin, hoping that these last two Paper Men would hold out until dawn!

A few minutes later, another Paper Man fell. Just one left!

Sweat dripped down my forehead as I held my breath, afraid even to breathe too hard, lest I blow it over. The sunlight began to spread across the horizon. Just a little longer, and we’d make it!

The last Paper Man wavered, teetering as it faced off against the ghost. Though it swayed, it stood firm, and it seemed like it would last until dawn!

At this critical moment, I heard a creak-the outer door opened. It was Shuilian, bringing breakfast.

The door opening let in a breeze, and that final Paper Man couldn’t withstand it. With the gust of wind, it toppled to the ground!!!