Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Chapter 25 025, Shell

"Well, Doctor, I don't think you'll believe this, but if it hadn't been for this damned heavy rain making taxi fares too expensive, we never would've chosen to wait at the bus station in downtown Yard City. After we got on the bus, we didn't notice anything wrong,"

"You mean Yard City, over two hundred kilometers north of New York?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"No, please continue."

"Right, at first, we did the same as you, tossing a Coin and simply taking a seat. At that time, there were two other... people? I can't be certain."

"They got off?"

"Yes, a woman in a drab dress with withered hair got off first, then at the next stop, another person got on. He must've been a programmer because he was wearing a plaid shirt and carrying a laptop bag."

"And then?"

"Then, the remaining person gestured to the programmer to come off the bus as he got off."

"He didn't follow them off, so something terrifying happened afterward?"

"Exactly..."

Du Wei and the black man quickly went back and forth, summarizing the events.

He began to think.

Considering the eerie Scarecrow from earlier, the woman in the drab dress could also be some kind of Evil Spirit.

After a moment of thought, he asked, "Tell me what happened next."

The black man licked his lips, recalling with terror, "At first, we didn't think anything was wrong, but when the bus stopped again, we saw that person once more."

"He gave off a strange feeling, I can't remember what he looked like at all, I only knew he was male. That programmer was curious, asking how he had caught up to the bus, then the programmer realized something was wrong."

"But by then it was too late. As he approached the bus door, the man gestured for him, and the programmer moved his legs to get off, just like a puppet."

"I wasn't sitting where I am now, so I was close to the programmer. I grabbed him and hastily closed the bus door."

"Because I saw that outside was a cemetery, my grandmother was a believer of the Turin Cult, so... you probably understand..."

Du Wei nodded, "Continue."

The black man took a breath and said, "Then, the bus kept moving forward, stopping again in the same place. That ghostly man was still standing by the cemetery, and we all were terrified, desperately pulling at the rear door."

"However, the man who had gestured suddenly appeared inside the bus; his body was rapidly decaying. Can you imagine that sight? I even saw a bunch of worms crawling out of his mouth, and the whole bus's lights turned a ghastly pale."

Du Wei calmly asked, "And then that man, whose face you can't remember, took the programmer away?"

The black man's expression was very strange, "I can't be sure because the lights kept flickering and finally plunged into darkness. When the lights came back on, they had disappeared, and everything was as if nothing had ever happened."

At this point, he pointed at the bus lights overhead.

Because he suspected that the bus itself was an Evil Spirit, or a similar entity, just like the Antique Clock hanging in his own home—a type of strange existence.

The driver, in a sense, could be considered a medium.

Du Wei didn't want to find out what would happen after touching the medium,

because that would mean facing unknown dangers.

So far, the investigation had yielded enough information.

As for limiting its actions, Du Wei only planned to wait until after the rain stopped.

By now, he had roughly deduced the pattern of the haunted bus—it was related to the torrential rain.

Simultaneously, anywhere it was raining heavily, the bus could appear, which was evident from the places where Linda and the black couple had boarded.

Therefore, it was very possible that the bus might stop in a normal city once the rain ceased.

Thinking of this, Du Wei furrowed his brows.

A thought flashed through his mind: what if the rain never stopped?

Or rather, if the bus kept appearing in cities where it was raining...

In that case, it would be an endless loop of bus routes.

If it were so, he might have to resort to the last method available.

But Father Tony had limited knowledge of the bus, so whether that method would be effective was another matter.

Du Wei took a deep look at the driver holding the steering wheel and turned, intending to return to his seat.

And then, at that moment...

Suddenly...

The sound of a sharp brake hissed into the air.

The already slowing bus came to an abrupt stop.

Du Wei instinctively looked outside and saw around ten white youths, around seventeen or eighteen years old, standing outside the bus, holding black umbrellas, and simultaneously lifting their heads to look at him.

In an instant, their eyes met.

Du Wei entered a state of Spirit Vision directly, even with the bus doors still closed, which was completely different from his previous experiences.

His expression turned somewhat unsightly.

The bus doors slowly opened...

The next stop had arrived...