CH 3

The bus’ lively atmosphere immediately cooled down as the patrons went silent. The people couldn’t help but stared at the three newcomers until they reached their seats at the back of the bus.

The driver and conductor felt uncomfortable from the silence, so at last, the conductor cleared his throat and said, “Aiya, don’t think about it too much. They were probably filming a TV drama nearby and didn’t have enough time to change their clothes!”

After all, this was a materialistic country, and people didn’t want to mention things supernatural related like ghosts, gods, and monsters; so when the conductor said this, everyone remembered that there was a film and television base nearby, and were reassured.

The bus’ original bustle resumed, only Zhou Yu and the three people sitting in the back didn’t talk.

While looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Zhou Yu couldn’t help but feel his blood run cold as he felt chills run down his back.

He had been staring out the window earlier, so naturally he saw the three people board the bus. Just as they were getting on, a gush of wind blew up one of the men’s clothing, and under the light of the street lamp, Zhou Yu clearly saw that the man had no legs!

Zhou Yu recalled a famous bus incident that occurred in his previous life, which took place in B City.

The circumstances were exactly the same. The legend has it that there were three people dressed exactly like this (clothing from the Qing dynasty) who boarded the last bus of the day. A granny who was riding the bus felt that something was off and resourcefully thought of a way to exit the bus. Afterwards she called the police only to find that the bus had mysteriously disappeared. A few days later, the bus was found in a ravine a few hundred kilometers away. The driver and conductor on the bus were already dead, and their bodies had rotted to a stage where it no longer resembled a corpse that had died just three days ago. What’s even stranger was that the fuel in the bus’ fuel tank was not enough to allow the bus to go so far. When someone opened up the tank, they discovered that there had been no oil in there. It was full of blood.

In his previous life, Zhou Yu was a standard atheist. But after being reburned, he had to believe that some unscientific things did exist, however he didn’t expect this world to be so dangerous that he would bump into ghosts when he head out.

Soon they reached the next stop and Zhou Yu followed the young couple off, but immediately fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

Seeing a young healthy teenager writhing in pain on the ground caused everyone to be panicked. Even the driver and the conductor got out of the bus to see what had happened to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu laid on the ground and said, “Driver Uncle, please call the police! My leg hurts a lot. It must be that old traditional Chinese medicine doctor prescribed me to wrong medicine this afternoon. I must call police and report him! Don’t move me! I’ll stay like this an wait for the police to come to preserve all evidence. You all have to testify for me! You all aren’t allowed to leave!”

The three people sitting in the back row obviously didn’t get out of the car, and Zhou Yu did not dare to glance over. He just felt cold and vaguely felt as if something terrible was staring at him from the car.

So he pretended to look more like a sick person: a pale face, even the lips were colorless.

The old grandpa on the bus also got off. He held Zhou Yu’s hand and felt his pulse, eyebrows twitching. Just as he was about to say something, Zhou Yu grabbed his hand and subtly wrote something on his palm.

The old man stiffened and his lips twitched. His eyes widened with fear as he remained silent.

Even though nowadays people were really enthusiastic and compassionate about helping others, making such a scene would also make people feel disgusted.

The bus driver helped Zhou Yu call the police but didn’t stay. He said a few words of comfort and returned to the bus.

The conductor didn’t give Zhou Yu any face and snorted, “What testimony? I’m afraid you’re trying to blackmail for money. Learning to do bad things at such a young age, you better go home!”

The driver and conductor quickly started the bus and drove away. After all it was already late, they also have to return the bus to the terminal on time, so it was impossible for them to wait around.

Zhou Yu had no other choice but wait for the bus to drive farther away and stand up. But his legs were still soft, so he had to rely on the old man’s as support to stand.

The young couple nearby were shocked and ready to curse at him. They had prepared to testify for him, but it was all a scam!

Zhou Yu took a deep breath and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please don’t be angry. I didn’t want to deceive you either. You may not have noticed this, but the three things that had gotten on the bus, are not human! I saw them with my own eyes, they… they have no legs!

Zhou Yu explained the reason to them, causing his listeners to turn white with fear.

! ! !

Don’t mention the couple, even the old man who has always been a little skeptical, was shocked by the news and felt their hearts trembled with fear.

So the reason on why Zhou Yu pretended to be ill was to trick the others into exiting the bus. It was better to cause a big scene and let the police come. After all, if it were an upright and righteous policeman, he’d give into cases dealing with ghosts and whatnot. Unfortunately the plan had failed, and things look inauspicious for the driver and conductor.

(Orange: I don’t really understand the connection with a good policeman and cases dealing with ghosts…. like will the police brush it off as some random kid being hysterical? Orange doesn’t understand what the author is trying to say… >.<)

This was also how the old granny had dealt with the situation from Zhou Yu’s previous life. According to the legend, the old granny felt that something was wrong and pretended that a young man had stolen her money. She grabbed the young man and dragged him out of the bus and then called the police.

And that was how they managed to escape that incident scot-free.

Thus, Zhou Yu could only gamble and hope that the three ghosts won’t take any actions at this stop.

Except, ultimately, he could only save a portion of the people. Thinking about this, Zhou Yu pulled out his phone and reported the case and told them everything, including the previous call the bus driver had made for him. Regardless of whether the police had believed what he said, they promised that they will send someone to investigate later, therefore, Zhou Yu hung up. This was all he could do.

After reporting the incident, Zhou Yu bid goodbye to the old man and couple and walked nervously home for ten minutes. All the way home, Zhou Yu was afraid that more ghosts would jump out.

After such an encounter, Zhou Yu was drained both mentally and physically. As soon as he got home, he collapsed onto the bed. He felt that this world was really dangerous.

Obviously a rumor that has been debunked multiple times in his past life should just be a random rumor, right? Then why did it happen in this world? No! Maybe it’s not real! Maybe he was just seeing things…?

Zhou Yu’s heart was still disturbed by the incident. He could only wait for tomorrow’s news report. If it’s not mentioned in the news, then it meant that nothing had happened!

As his heart beat erratically, Zhou Yu fell into a deep sleep.

The night was dark and ominous, as if it were covering up something evil and frightening.

******

Inside a dilapidated building, Feng Xing waited for her foster mother to blow out the light and go to sleep before slowly exiting the dark attic room that belonged to her. Quietly, with a sweet smile, she took out the voodoo doll from her bosom.

Very good, in three days time, you will die! Hee-hee!

Feng Xing went downstairs and went into her foster mother’s study. She took out the silver needle she usually uses to make cursed props and fiercely stabbed it into the voodoo doll.

There was a big X scratched onto the doll, and Feng Xing stuck a slip of paper on it. Then she tucked the doll into her bosom, finally ready to go to bed.

(Orange: In case people are confused, placing it in her chest is like sticking the doll into her clothing, but the author uses the words “怀里” which means chest/bosom/embrace.)

On the paper was the name of her adoptive mother in red ink, “Wu Yun Yi,” with the number “three.”

Who will be the next person? How about you then!

Feng Xing’s eyes flashed with intense murder intent as she remembered the yellow-haired girl from the morning, Li Huan.

Everyone, besides senior, should all just die!

******

The next morning Zhou Yu woke up and went to school sporting a pair of panda eyes. There was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t get a good rest last night. After a night of distorted and freakish dreams, his mental state was at an all time low.

After arriving at school, Zhou Yu laid on his seat and fell asleep. After all, he was still a growing child with sleep loss, it was impossible for him to stay up late, so he slept through the entire morning reading period.

Class started after the morning reading period and Zhou Yu continued to sleep. The teacher ignored him. After all, he was a child from a wealthy family, and he was usually a really attentive student who was eager to learn, so the teacher decided to turn a blind eye towards him.

After wasting away an entire morning, Zhou Yu finally felt better. His head no longer hurts and he felt more energetic. His mental state has also improved significantly.

But, Zhou Yu was still concerned about yesterday’s incident. As soon as school was over, he rushed to a nearby newspaper booth and bought a paper.

Unfortunately, there was nothing in the news. It was all just trifling matters and a bunch of gossip.

For a moment Zhou Yu didn’t know whether he should relax or be nervous. He just sighed and decided it was better to head home early these days in order to avoid bumping into any more ghosts. As for yesterday’s matter, he’ll just hope that he was overthinking everything.

Since it was already like this, Zhou Yu relaxed and headed home to take a nap. He stopped by a roadside shop and bought a few lollipops to eat as a way to distract himself.

As he walked past an alley near the school, Zhou Yu heard the sound of girls shouting and scolding.

“Feng Xing! How dare you snitch to the teacher! Were you not beaten enough from last time?”

“That’s right, you trashy bitch, you even dare to betray Huan-jie!”

Zhou Yu frowned. Yesterday he had informed the dean that the bullying that was taking place on campus was getting too serious. He told him to take care of it. He even pressured him by bringing up his parents. The dean hurriedly conceded to Zhou Yu’s demands. But who knew that these students were so excessive to the point where they’d corner their victims into an alley afterschool.

Fearful that something might happen to Feng Xing, Zhou Yu turned into the dark alley.

“What are you guys doing?!” Zhou Yu was shocked as soon as he say what was happening. Those fashionably dressed girls were all holding a small knife in their hand. Feng Xing was in the center of the crowd and Zhou Yu couldn’t make out of her expressions.

It can’t be that she got injured? This group of people really dare to use the knives! Absolutely lawless and undisciplined!

When Li Huan, donned with her blond hair, heard that familiar voice, her hand unconsciously shook and sliced Feng Xing’s cheek with her knife.

Why was it senior again? To show such arrogance in front of her most beloved senior, the usual rebellious Li Huan actually turned fearful.

“Se….Senior! We’re not doing anything! Just causally chatting with her.” Li Huan glanced at Zhou Yu shyly, trying to depict to him her best self, and hid her knife holding hand behind her back.

Yesterday she had already offended Senior, she didn’t want to make Senior unhappy again. Senior Zhou Yu was the ideal target of all the girls in the school, and naturally Li Huan was also one of those girls. She had always liked Senior Zhou Yu very much, so she was extremely cruel to the Feng Xing who also liked senior.

“Get out of my way! Feng Xing, are you alright?” Zhou Yu pushed aside the gathering of girls and asked Feng Xing, concerned for the girl.

Zhou Yu saw Feng Xing covering up her cheeks. The gloomy-looking girl bowed her head and kept silent. This appearance made people feel angry and distressed for her. Zhou Yu was even more disgusted with these brats.

If he didn’t pass by today, then Feng Xing would have been bullied even worse.

After living for decades, this was the first time Zhou Yu felt concerned for a child. Call it fatherly love if you must, but this sensation felt as if they’ve known each other before, therefore making Zhou Yu unable to sit around and watch her be bullied.

The other reason was that he couldn’t bear to see a child get bullied on campus and be traumatized for life. Call him a saint or a white lotus, he just didn’t want to violate his own conscience. There was someone that needed your help right in front of you, and you have the ability to help, why didn’t you help?

Zhou Yu sighed internally, feeling that he was indeed turning older. His heart was much softer than when he was young. The former him would never care so much. Shy and afraid of people, he would had never thought that he would be a person who took initiative to protect others.

Maybe it was because he got a young and healthy body. He has been more optimistic and cheerful than his last life.

“Everyone, although I do not know your names, I am very angry today. You guys are just shamelessly bullying others. Is it fun? I hope you guys would fuck off now! Don’t do this again otherwise I’ll call the police!”

Zhou Yu shielded Feng Xing and glared at the girls with disgust.

The girls who followed Li Huan panicked, their hearts fearful. In this age girls are only afraid of their parents and the police. It was because they were going through their rebellious phase so that’s why they all flocked around Li Huan who came from a really good family, and bullied the weak with her. It was a good life since occasionally they could also earn some pocket money. But if it was about breaking the law, they really don’t dare. So when they heard the word ‘police,’ they all were frightened. They were afraid to be looked down upon for all eternity.

Li Huan’s heart almost shattered. She stared with bitter hatred at the black haired girl hiding behind senior. When she say Feng Xing’s provocative eyes and amused expression her spirit completely collapsed.

“Senior! Don’t be fooled by this bitch! I’ve seen her cruelly kill a kitten! She was also laughing at that time. She’s not a good person! You have to believe me, Senior!” Li Huan roared, her expression twisted and the hatred in her eyes were almost overflowing.