Mysterious Revival

The city’s nights are most comfortable this season.

A cool evening breeze swept the streets, with more pedestrians out for a stroll.

But in a certain part of the city, a woman in a red qipao, graceful in figure and charming in appearance, stood quietly by a secluded intersection, not moving, as if waiting for something.

The evening wind tousled the woman’s black hair.

Under the dim streetlights, her pale skin seemed almost sickly, as if devoid of blood.

“Hey beauty, are you alone? Where do you want to go, I’ll give you a ride?”

A car passed on the road and stopped temporarily by the roadside. The window rolled down, and a young man called out.

He had a look of admiration in his eyes, as such a beauty was a rare sight for him. Even small talk with such a woman would be something to boast about later.

“No need, the place I’m going isn’t somewhere you can take me,” Sister Hong said with a slight, teasing smile.

Upon hearing this, the young man confidently declared, “How could there be a place a car can’t reach? Beauty, as long as you say the word, I’ll take you there, even if it’s another city, and I won’t charge you a penny.”

Sister Hong continued to smile and refused politely, “I’ve already found a driver who will take me there, so I won’t trouble you.”

“Beauty, if your driver isn’t here yet, why not hop in my car first?” The young man eagerly persisted, hoping to chat more with the alluring woman in the red qipao.

Sister Hong shook her head, “That’s not possible. This driver is very important. If I miss him, there won’t be another chance. I appreciate your kindness, but you should leave quickly, or there will be trouble.”

Reluctantly, the young man had to leave.

But just after that car left, other vehicles also stopped by the roadside as they passed, warmly greeting Sister Hong and offering to buy her a drink.

Sister Hong seemed very patient, still wearing a smile and politely declining.

One after another approached her, yet Sister Hong was tireless, even accumulating a few bottles of drinks and small gifts.

She was too eye-catching.

Especially with her graceful figure in the qipao, drawing the passionate gaze of any man.

But who would have thought that beneath the red qipao was not a living body, but a cold Puppet Person?

However, most men only saw the beautiful exterior, paying no heed to the horror hidden beneath the qipao.

Around 9:50 or so.

Yang Jian arrived as agreed, appearing out of nowhere on the pedestrian path near the intersection, and then walked unhurriedly to the corner, where he stopped.

Sister Hong stood across the road, smiling at him, “You’re right on time.”

“How much longer until that bus comes?” Yang Jian asked.

“About five more minutes,” Sister Hong estimated.

Yang Jian spoke, “Let me make it clear: I only promised to take you to the destination. After this is done, I will drive the supernatural bus away. It’s your business how you escape afterward; I won’t wait for you.”

Sister Hong shook her head, “That won’t do. You should know I need someone to drive the bus because I want someone to control it. If it were just about getting to a location, I could drive the supernatural bus myself and wouldn’t need your help, so you must wait for me for a while.”

“The risk of waiting is too great. Your offer isn’t enough for me to take that risk unless you pay more, and I might consider it.” Yang Jian said with a calm expression.

“You’re sure a greedy person. I’m homeless and alone now. Do you really have the heart to charge me?” Sister Hong said softly.

Yang Jian replied coldly, “The fact that I’m willing to make this trip already gives you face. Do you think I don’t know how dangerous this trip is? Now you’re haggling with me; then go find someone else. I don’t care to make this trip.”

Sister Hong sighed, “It seems like every era is the same; without money, you can’t move a step. It’s not that I don’t want to pay you; it’s just that I don’t have anything worthwhile to give you. Besides, ordinary supernatural items wouldn’t catch your eye. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll offer myself to you. I’m homeless anyway, and would like to have a good home. What do you think?”

Yang Jian remained silent, watching her performance from across the street.

He even suspected that Zhang Youhong was a performer before becoming a ghost handler, maybe even a famous leading lady.

“What a boring person you are, you money-grubber. Since you love money so much, here, take this Copper Coin.” Sister Hong, seeing Yang Jian’s lack of reaction, helplessly took out an old copper coin from the sleeve of her qipao and tossed it over.

The copper coin flew across the air, over the road, and landed accurately in Yang Jian’s hand.

Yang Jian felt the old copper coin in his hand, sensing a chill emanating from it.

No doubt, it was a supernatural item.

“What does it do?” Yang Jian didn’t look at it further and asked directly.

The most important aspect of a supernatural item isn’t its appearance, but its function.

Sister Hong smiled, “I’ll tell you when I return.”

“A single supernatural item isn’t worth risking my life for you. I’ll wait for you for ten minutes at most at the destination. After ten minutes, I will leave,” Yang Jian said seriously.

“No, that’s too short,” Sister Hong said.

Yang Jian replied, “You gave me this Copper Coin without revealing its use. The fact that I’m willing to wait ten minutes is already quite good. When the supernatural bus stops, even regular ghost handlers can’t last three minutes, let alone ten. My willingness to wait for you for ten minutes is already a fair price, worthy of what you’re offering.”

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll trick you? Women can be very petty,” Sister Hong smiled again.

Yang Jian replied, “Then you’d better make sure to kill me when you trick me. If you fail, it’ll be you who dies. I’ll drop everything and gather all the team captains from headquarters to hunt you down. Even though you’re a ghost handler from the Republic of China Period, you can’t withstand the top experts of this era gathered against you.”

He wasn’t afraid of threats, maintaining a tough attitude.

Being strong would evoke fear, while constant compromise would only make one seem weak and easy to bully.

“You certainly don’t respect the elderly. Our older generation of ghost handlers sacrificed everything to deal with supernatural incidents, but now, when we ask the younger generation for a little help, it’s so troublesome. I don’t even know if my past decisions were right or wrong,” Sister Hong said.

“Your help requires people’s lives; no one is that generous to risk their lives for a stranger. But since you brought up the sacrifices of the older generations for handling supernatural events, fine, I’ll give face to you seniors and add another five minutes, a maximum of fifteen minutes,” Yang Jian said coldly.

Sister Hong was about to speak.

At that moment, on a nearby street, a bus appeared out of nowhere, unexpectedly driving silently on the road.

It’s here!

The conversation between the two immediately ended, and they simultaneously looked at the bus.

The bus was slowing down, and although there was no stop by the road, it parked at the roadside.

“Just fifteen minutes, I agree with you, you stingy fellow. Now the bus is here, there’s no time to chat with you, we have to get on.” Sister Hong said.

“Good talk.”

Yang Jian extended his hand, and a long red spear appeared out of nowhere in his grip. Though he had taken the supernatural bus several times, he always made thorough preparations each time.

The next moment.

The bus slowly opened its door, but this time only the boarding door opened, while the off-boarding door remained closed.

This meant that on the supernatural bus in Dachang City, one could only get on, not off.

Sister Hong immediately boarded the bus.

But the number indicating passengers on the bus flickered and jumped from 7 to 8.

The number represents the ghosts inside the bus.

This meant Sister Hong was deemed a fierce ghost once she got on the supernatural bus.

“It’s indeed quite lively.” Sister Hong said with a smile, and then found an empty seat to sit down.

“You must be joking, the person who got on at this stop is human? But the number clearly changed just now, suggesting this woman in the qipao is a ghost.”

There were other passengers on the bus, but none of them were ordinary people; they were ghost controllers on the brink of ghostly resurrection, watching Sister Hong board with uncertain surprise, seemingly seeing this situation for the first time.

But soon after.

Yang Jian also boarded, and the number inside the bus changed again, turning from eight to nine.

“The number changed again, did another ghost get on? No, it’s not a ghost. Damn it, it’s ghost-eye Yang Jian; how come he’s on the bus?” Someone became agitated the instant they saw Yang Jian board.

Most of them were independent ghost controllers who hadn’t joined the headquarters due to the lack of methods to delay ghostly resurrection, hence opting to gamble on the supernatural bus ride.

These people did not join the headquarters not due to high-mindedness, but because most of them had unclean hands, having committed crimes, and couldn’t join the headquarters even if they wanted to.

That’s why they feared the headquarters’ captain, worried that their secrets might get exposed and then killed by the captain.

“Every time, there’s some fearless ghost controller rushing to the bus. Last time, all the ghost controllers on the journey died, now it’s a new batch again.” Yang Jian glanced briefly but didn’t pay much attention, directly heading to the driver’s seat.

The driver’s seat was currently empty; the corpse that was seated there last time had vanished.

Even when the bus was full, no one dared to sit in this driver’s seat.

Because this seat isn’t prepared for passengers but for the driver.

“Obviously, there are plenty of empty seats; Yang Jian directly headed to the driver’s seat. He and that woman in the red qipao aren’t just on the bus to delay ghostly resurrection; there’s something else. This isn’t good, a headquarters captain is on a mission, and we’re caught up in it.”

Seeing this, someone’s heart started to harbor doubts.

But regardless of what anyone on the bus thought.

The supernatural bus soon started, continued moving, and finally vanished into thin air on the streets of Dachang City.

“The bus stops in reality for too brief a time. Even appearing in Dachang City, I still couldn’t immediately notice. To get on the bus, one must either know the route map or intentionally stake it out; otherwise, it’s hard to encounter it.”

Yang Jian saw that the scenery outside had already changed; he knew he had departed from reality.

Glancing at Sister Hong.

Without a doubt, Sister Hong knew the supernatural bus’s route map. Even without anyone driving it, the bus would operate according to a specific trajectory.

“Driving the supernatural bus involves dealing with the supernatural. Last time I took over, you said you’d teach me to drive; I hope you can tell me something different this time.” Yang Jian said.

Sister Hong smiled: “If the supernatural bus were so simple, that’d be great. You simply forcibly controlled part of the bus with strong methods, but that doesn’t mean you can drive it. Driving this supernatural bus requires qualification, and without that, recklessly operating it could lead to misfortune.”

“Even though strength is key, the method is equally important.”

“Tell me, what’s the qualification for the supernatural bus all about,” Yang Jian continued to ask.

Sister Hong replied: “Do you feel comfortable sitting where you are now?”

Yang Jian frowned: “The driver’s seat is different; is there something special about it?”

He had long known that aside from the driver’s seat which had a soft cushion, all other seats were hard wooden boards.

“Why don’t you tear open the seat and have a look?” Sister Hong suggested.

Yang Jian hesitated, but with Sister Hong’s reminder, he felt the driver’s seat was abnormal. Nonetheless, to uncover the truth, he raised his red spear and swung it, slicing the seat open.

Instantly, his face changed dramatically.

Inside the seat was a hidden corpse, rather plump and fleshed, embedded perfectly like a meat cushion.

“The corpse hasn’t decayed over time and remains supple; this isn’t an ordinary corpse, it’s a ghost.”

Yang Jian’s face darkened.

He had been sitting atop a ghost just now, separated only by a thick layer of cloth.

Sister Hong smiled: “You’ve seen it; the seat is different from the others because it hides a ghost. No one can fully control the supernatural bus; the true controller is the ghost inside. The so-called bus driver is connected to the ghost, manipulating the bus through it.”

“Of course, you can forcefully manipulate it. Though the effect is similar, such imprudent actions can’t last long. After a few times, the fierce ghost within the seat will resurrect, and then the bus will chase you down.”

“Trust me, even if your powers are decent, you won’t want to face this bus.”

Sister Hong’s words were still filled with dread for the bus.

“How do you establish contact with the ghost?” Yang Jian asked.

He understood that contacting the ghost was what Sister Hong referred to as the qualification.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com