Last Bus of Route 13 - Chapter 86 - Farewell

Staring at the blood-stained words on the wall, I was driven to madness. Why?

Old Lady Qiu was dead, and counting the village chief of Huyaoshan Village, I had already caused the deaths of two people. I leaned against the corner of the wall, utterly lost. Old Wu followed me in from outside, and upon seeing Old Lady Qiu’s lifeless form, he was struck dumb with fear.

“How… how did Old Lady Qiu die?”

I didn’t respond to Old Wu, just stared blankly at Old Lady Qiu sitting in the Taishi Chair.

Old Wu also saw the bloody words on the wall and was rendered speechless.

With a weary voice, I asked, “Old Wu, what’s the secret behind the Route 13 bus accident? Why won’t you let me investigate?”

Old Wu sighed deeply, furrowing his brows and gritting his teeth, “Brother, it’s not for myself. You still can’t look into this accident!”

I finally lost all interest in Old Wu. People had died right in front of us, blood-stained words were left on the wall, and yet Old Wu remained stubborn!

Suddenly, I remembered Shuilian. With Old Lady Qiu gone, Shuilian mustn’t be harmed. Without another thought, I dashed towards Shuilian’s house, ignoring Old Wu.

To my relief, Shuilian had regained her senses, bewildered and repeatedly asking why she had been tied up. Seeing she was alright, I untied the ropes binding her.

Freed from the ropes, Shuilian asked in confusion, “Brother Li, tell me what happened?”

I sighed helplessly, “Just now, Old Lady Qiu tried to hang herself, and you wanted to jump into the river. We had no choice but to tie you up.”

Upon hearing this, Shuilian’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? Is Old Lady Qiu alright now?”

My heart heavy with sorrow, I wiped away a tear and said, “Old Lady Qiu is dead.”

Shuilian was so shocked she collapsed to the ground. I didn’t say more, quickly pulling Old Wu outside.

By dawn, the entire village knew of Old Lady Qiu’s death. People flocked to Old Wu’s ancestral home, surrounding it completely.

With no children of her own and her death linked to me, it was only right for me to handle the funeral arrangements.

Old Wu and I provided the funds, while the village chief organized the necessary funeral supplies, and we buried her on the hillside.

With Old Lady Qiu gone, what about the little girl?

Worried about the little girl, I hurried to Old Lady Qiu’s house after the funeral, only to find the yard littered with paper scraps. Upon closer inspection, they were all paper cutouts of chickens and ducks.

Alarmed, I rushed into the house.

In the kitchen, I found the little girl curled up in a dark corner against the wall.

She no longer had the lively spirit she had when she used to come find me. Seeing me, she didn’t come out, but instead asked softly from her hiding spot, “Uncle, is my grandmother buried properly?”

Her question nearly brought tears to my eyes. I nodded, holding back my emotions.

She stayed in the darkness, and I couldn’t see her expression. After a while, she said, “I’ve lived with Grandma for over ten years. She always feared I’d encounter danger and never let me go out. But after you came, I’d sneak out to find you every night once Grandma fell asleep. I thought she never knew, but she discovered me the first time I snuck out.”

As the little girl spoke, I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer, and they flowed freely.

“Even though Grandmother found out that I sneaked out every night, she never scolded me. Instead, she went to bed even earlier, so I could come to play with your mobile phone sooner. Later, I noticed that the people coming to your yard didn’t seem like good people, so I asked Grandmother for help to chase them away. At first, she refused, but eventually, she agreed.”

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, nodding repeatedly.

“Little sister, I’m sorry. It’s my fault your grandmother got involved.”

The little girl continued in a calm tone, “Grandmother said that person was a ghost. After her first attempt to catch the ghost for you failed, she came back looking grim, saying this ghost was tough to deal with and might cause trouble. I was too naive and thought Grandmother wasn’t trying hard enough to help.”

I wanted to say thank you, but the words wouldn’t come out. At this point, what good would a thank you do?

“The night before last, I went to your house to find you, but it was empty. I knew you left because you were afraid of that ghost. After I found you lost in the mountains and brought you back, I begged Grandmother for help again because I didn’t want you to leave! But this time, she refused no matter what. I pleaded with her all night long before she finally agreed to try once more.”

I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer, tears streaming down like a waterfall. I wanted to step forward and embrace the little girl.

She quickly said, “Uncle, don’t come over!”

I was taken aback, standing still, afraid to move.

“Besides not letting me leave the house, Grandmother treated me well in every other way. During the day, I would fold paper at home, and at night, when Grandmother came back, I would sit by her side and watch her cut Paper Men…”

As the little girl spoke, she seemed to tremble, her voice growing faint.

I stood there, heart aching, overwhelmed with guilt and unsure what to do.

“Grandmother also said that if she could catch the ghost this time, she would let me go to the city with you. But now, Grandmother is gone… Uncle, did Grandmother finally catch that ghost?”

I wiped away my tears, nodding as I replied, “She did, little sister, she did. Grandmother was amazing; she caught the ghost in the end.”

Hearing this, the little girl’s spirits seemed to lift.

“That’s good. I knew Grandmother could do anything… Uncle, now that the ghost is gone, are you safe? Thank you for letting me play with your mobile phone all these days.”

For some reason, the little girl’s voice grew softer, as if she were very weak. My heart was in my throat as I anxiously watched the darkness in the corner.

“Uncle, Grandmother is gone, and I can’t live either. I’m going to find her… Actually, I really wanted to see what the city is like…”

The little girl’s voice began to break, revealing her frailty.

I wanted to rush in, but I didn’t want to go against her wishes.

“Little sister, I’m going back to the city today. I’ll take you there to have fun.”

The little girl peeked out, finally smiling, dimples appearing on her cheeks. Her big eyes blinked like the first time she saw me, but soon after, her expression turned pained, and she retreated back into the shadows.

“Uncle, I know you’ve been trying to catch that ghost, and I also know that grandmother didn’t succeed in the end because… I saw him last night. Uncle, he’s a man… he looks…” The little girl’s voice trailed off into silence.

A minute passed, then two, and I stood there foolishly waiting for her to continue, only to realize something was wrong. My heart sank, and I rushed into the dark corner. There was nothing but darkness and dampness, and the little girl was gone. All that remained was a small red paper man lying on the ground!

I picked up the red paper man, feeling a heart-wrenching pain, as memories flooded my mind. I remembered lying on the bed reading a novel, while the little girl lay beside me playing on the mobile phone, so peaceful and content. But in the blink of an eye, everything had vanished into thin air!

I let out a long sigh, my anger reaching its peak. Ghosts! Whether you’re Sixth Uncle or Old Tang, I swore to myself, whether I escape the curse of Route 13 bus or not, I will rid this menace and avenge Old Lady Qiu and the little girl!

I clutched the red paper man and collapsed in the corner, sobbing until an hour later when Old Wu found me. Seeing my state, he was startled and quickly helped me up and dragged me into the car.

Shuilian, seeing that I was leaving, stood by with tears in her eyes and said to me, “Brother Li, I know where you work. When I get a chance to go to the city, I’ll come find you.”

I nodded, feeling reluctant to part with Shuilian’s pitiful figure, and with nothing to leave as a memento, I handed her my mobile phone. Shuilian took the phone and burst into tears, unable to bear the farewell scene, and turned to run back.

Old Wu sighed and started the car, driving along the village road out of the village.

On the way, Old Wu noticed my low spirits and didn’t speak to me. I quietly asked, “How’s Xiao Liu doing these days?”

Old Wu nodded while holding the steering wheel and said, “He’s doing great. I’m planning to award him the ‘Outstanding Individual of the Month.'”

I sighed with relief and continued, “Old Wu, if Sixth Uncle isn’t dead, then the ghost that’s been killing people must be Old Tang. Do you think it’s him?”

Old Wu paused at my question and slowly replied, “It’s not him, definitely not him. I served with Old Tang in the army. He was so timid he wouldn’t even kill a chicken when he was alive. He wouldn’t dare kill anyone as a ghost!”

I recalled the little girl’s last words to me, that the ghost who came for me was a man, and I scoffed, “If it’s not him, not Tang Yao, then it must be Sixth Uncle. Old Wu, I’m telling you, he left bloody words on the wall for me to investigate the car accident, which means he’s connected to it. So I’ll investigate. Only by uncovering the truth about the accident can I confirm his identity! Don’t try to stop me anymore.”

Old Wu sighed deeply, realizing that in my current state of dejection, it was impossible to persuade me otherwise, so he remained silent.

After a while, Old Wu seemed to remember something and asked softly, “By the way, the night I drove you into the village, I ran into Old Lady Qiu on the highway. I intended to ask her to look after you, but she refused. How did she end up helping you?”

I didn’t respond, trembling as I pulled out the red paper man from my pocket and silently vowed: Little sister, I’ve returned to the city, and I will avenge this!