The Unremarkable Little Taoist Master

The old daoist priest sighed and said, “Why do I feel like ever since I met you, every day has been filled with trivial matters? Isn’t exorcising demons and banishing evil my true calling?”

I chuckled and replied, “Come on, old man, think about it. Who knows if there are that many demons in the world just waiting for you to defeat them? A simple life is what life is all about.”

“You should really check your brain, old man. I feel like your IQ has run away from you.” Amid the old man’s furious ranting, our laughter rang out.

At that moment, we laughed and released the pressures we carried. We boarded a bus heading to the county town, and the vehicle slowly started moving. I closed my eyes and began to rest a little.

I’m not sure how long it was before I opened my eyes from the darkness, only to find the long-distance bus still slowly driving along.

Using the bright moonlight, I glanced at my watch-it was midnight. Looking outside, I saw mountains dotted with sparsely populated, desolate scenery. There were only a few passengers on the bus, all resting with their eyes closed.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at the drowsy ticket seller and the weary driver. Suddenly, with a creaking sound, the bus came to an abrupt stop. I looked around in confusion as the doors slowly opened, and an old man stepped inside.

The old man staggered onto the bus, rummaging through his pockets before pulling out a crumpled bill. In the moonlight, I could see the true nature of the money-it was a ghost note, glaringly bright even in the dark.

I looked up at the old man, who gave me a simple, foolish smile. I noticed the thick aura of death surrounding him, which made me even more certain that this old man was a ghost.

But I felt powerless. If I stood up and declared that the old man was a ghost, I might very well find myself sent to a mental hospital. I fixed my gaze on the old man, watching his every move. If he made even the slightest odd gesture, I would act without hesitation.

The old man closed his eyes, appearing just like any ordinary person. If it weren’t for the thick aura of death surrounding him, I might not have doubted that he was a ghost.

The bus continued to move slowly while I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the old man. He remained still, eyes shut. I wasn’t sure how long we had been driving when, suddenly, with a creaking sound, the bus came to a halt.

Many of the passengers were jolted awake by the unexpected stop, bewildered as they looked outside. The driver quickly stood up and addressed everyone, “Please don’t panic. The bus has broken down unexpectedly. I’m going to get out and fix it, and we’ll be back on the road shortly.”

The driver opened the door and hopped off. I then heard the sound of the bus compartment opening-I assumed he was retrieving tools to repair the vehicle. The old daoist priest, groggy, opened his eyes and suddenly turned his gaze toward the old man, who wore a strange smile.

Then, in an eerie manner, the old man vanished from his seat-he truly disappeared, without even the daoist priest managing to catch sight of him.

At that moment, I was extremely curious. According to the daoist priest’s earlier comments and the aura of death emanating from the old man, he didn’t seem particularly powerful, more like an ordinary wandering spirit. It didn’t appear that he posed a significant threat.

I wondered what strange ability he possessed that allowed him to evade even the daoist priest’s detection.

Nervously, I turned to the old man and asked, “Old man? Was that elderly person a ghost?”

The old daoist priest nodded but didn’t speak, his eyes still glued to the spot where the old man had been sitting.

However, there was not a single trace to be found, as if the old man had never been there at all. This left him quite astonished. How could this be? It defied logic. Could it be…

Suddenly, the bus interior was engulfed in darkness. I felt an intense chill spread throughout the compartment, as if I had fallen into an ice pit, making me extremely uncomfortable. A strong aura of death permeated the entire bus, while the old daoist priest quietly moaned in despair beside me.

This was not a regular bus; it was a ghost bus. Earlier, I hadn’t sensed the deathly aura from the passengers because these people had only recently passed away and hadn’t truly become ghosts yet. However, now that it was past midnight, everyone in the compartment had successfully transitioned.

The old man from earlier, if I guessed correctly, might have been a ghost official. His leaving meant I no longer felt his presence, as he was a special entity.

With no other choice, the old daoist priest took out a talisman and began to chant a spell. The talisman glowed with a golden light, illuminating the entire bus. Under this light, I saw the tragic faces of the people who once lived.

The various scenes of suffering were beyond words to describe. I jumped up in shock and immediately sat down next to the old daoist priest. He looked at me with disdain, like a rabbit startled by a loud noise, his face contorting into an expression of utter contempt.

I sighed helplessly and forced a smile that was more painful than tears. I said to the old daoist priest, “Let’s get off the bus quickly and figure out what to do next.”

He nodded and silently walked behind me, as we slowly made our way toward the bus door.

Suddenly, the ticket seller in the front seat opened her gaping mouth wide and lunged at me. The old daoist priest extended two fingers and lightly pointed at her. It was as if she had received a tremendous blow. With a scream, she collapsed back onto her seat, her face pale and filled with terror as she stared at the old daoist priest.

He shook his head, as a ghost that couldn’t even be considered a hungry ghost seemed like child’s play to him. Seeing me defeat the ticket seller, whom they thought was incredibly powerful, caused the other spirits on the bus to stare at me in fear, no longer daring to approach and prevent my escape.

We continued onward, slowly making our way off the ghost bus. As we moved, we felt jumpy, fearing other disturbances might occur, but surprisingly, everything went smoothly, and nothing else happened.

The ghost bus rolled away slowly, leaving us in confusion. After this little episode, I felt utterly hopeless about buses, as if I had encountered every ghost bus in the world, which was quite embarrassing.

We gazed at the endless road ahead, feeling a deep headache. It was late at night in this desolate wilderness, and I had no idea how to proceed. Reluctantly, the old daoist priest had to use his spirit summoning technique to move forward.