Chapter 46: Corpse Artisan!

He muttered a curse under his breath: 'Fuck!'

K reached out, instinctively about to use Fierce Wind Cut, but there was no pale blue light on his raised hand.

(angry)!

He cursed again.

K recalled that when he rushed out of the 'ghost thing', he had used a skill.

K obtained Fierce Wind Cut from the previous mission; despite always practicing, the skill remained level one.

It is still cooling down.

Damn monk!

If it weren't for that damned monk showing up there at the worst possible time.

How could he have just used up his only combat skill for no reason?

'Sir donor, you look like you really hate this poor monk?' Facing K's resentful gaze, Tang Luo gave no face, directly asking.

Hey, little bro, what's wrong?

Why are you staring at me for no reason?

'I said not to let people on board!' The ticket inspector turned to glare at the driver and shouted sternly.

'Oh, this isn't... I'm also a bit scared?' The driver felt somewhat unwillingly, 'Having a few more people aboard adds some atmosphere.'

'Want to be scared and make money at the same time.' The ticket inspector snorted disdainfully, looking at Tang Luo and company, 'Let me be frank: these three are corpses; we earn extra cash hauling bodies. Got it? If you don't want to be kicked off, shut up; otherwise you can walk out here in the boonies yourselves.'

Looks quite fierce.

But it let K and the others' hearts, which had been up in their throats, instantly settle.

K carefully examined the three people.

He discovered they had feet, and moreover, thin ropes were fixed to the chairs.

The bus seats aren't plain plastic; they're covered with black cloth, giving a slightly fuzzy feel.

That thin rope is also black.

It was already dark, raining outside, and the interior lights weren't turned on.

This made visibility poor, so not noticing the rope is normal.

However, there are still many loopholes in that statement.

For example, why would a corpse emit a purring sound?

The ticket inspector stood up, pulled a small recorder from under the seats near the three.

That purring sound was indeed coming from here.

'... Making money off you guys really isn't easy!'

The ticket inspector looked at the old lady and the young man and said.

The young man kept his head down, silent.

The old lady lifted her head, put on a placating smile, and clasped her hands in a bow.

She then turned toward Tang Luo and the others, gesturing with her hands.

Probably a mute?

Are the three corpses brought by them?

'If you want to get off, you can do so now.'

The ticket inspector stood with hands on hips, feet apart, like a compass.

Several people said nothing.

It was unclear whether they were thinking or simply not intending to get off.

However, the driver didn't give everyone time to thoroughly analyze and weigh pros and cons; he had already started the vehicle and gotten back on the road.

In the jostling carriage, the corpses swayed left and right, but thanks to the ropes they didn't fall over.

After finally getting through that long-neglected stretch of road, the vehicle became 'steady' again.

Although it still made big turns because of the mountain road, at least it no longer bounced up and down.

Lin Zi'ang's face turned pale, as if he hadn't recovered from the earlier jostling.

Actually, the more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

Although the ticket inspector gave an explanation, various doubts still lingered.

Why use a bus to transport corpses?

Is there no hearse?

Even if using a bus, you could put them in coffins, slightly conceal them, and fix them to the roof, right?

Do you really have to put them on board to pose as passengers?

The reason for letting Tang Luo and company aboard is, at least, barely plausible.

It's what the driver said—because he also felt creeped out, wanting more people, more atmosphere?

At the moment his brain heated up wanting to make money; later, the more he thought, the more frightened he became, so he let Tang Luo and the others aboard.

At least that belongs to a normal situation.

But aside from that, everything else exudes eeriness.

'Get off! I want to get off!'

Lin Zi'ang shouted loudly.

'To hell with whatever mission—if you don't finish it once you won't die—he now just wants to get off!'

'It's pouring rain, it's pitch dark—what stop are you getting off at?'

The driver's voice came from the front: 'I'll take you to the terminus before you get off.'

He didn't just not stop the car; on the contrary, everyone could feel that the originally moderate speed suddenly began to increase.

Lin Ziang violently shoved open the side window, and cold wind and rain poured in.

He couldn't control anything; he lunged, and he barely managed to fling himself out of the narrow window that could barely fit a person.

Unfortunately, Lin Ziang obviously lacked the ability to perform a graceful fish‑leap, like jumping through a hoop, roll, and land successfully.

I don't know what tripped him somewhere.

Lin Ziang's body hung upside down like a vegetable, two‑thirds outside the car and one‑third inside.

His face slammed hard against the car body, and his legs kicked wildly without restraint.

With the fabric tearing with a "shla" sound.

Lin Ziang's body slipped, and he successfully broke free from the car.

But his posture when getting out of the car was wrong.

As soon as his hands touched the ground, it was his head's turn.

The force of the fall and the car's inertia let Lin Ziang's neck break directly.

His face was completely pressed against his shoulder.

"You're crazy!"

The driver shouted a curse and stepped on the brake.

He pushed open the window, looked back, and saw a human body not far behind the car.

After a few twitches, it lost all movement.

"You're sick!"

The driver cursed again, then decisively opened the door and jumped out.

Not long after, he hoisted Lin Ziang's corpse back onto the car and threw it heavily onto the aisle.

Everyone remained silent.

Shufen and Mi Ke turned their heads away, not looking at the corpse to avoid vomiting themselves.

The driver stared at them, and his hypocritical smile completely vanished.

The ticket seller also stood beside him, likewise looking at Tang Luo and the others.

Unlike the driver, she was now smiling.

"You're too greedy."

In the silent atmosphere, the ticket seller said.

"You brought it on yourself, don't waste it." The driver said, "Heaven does not grant what is not taken; one invites disaster."

"Heaven does not grant what is not taken?" the ticket seller laughed, "If there really were a Heavenly Lord, what should be sent to us is a bolt of lightning to strike us all dead."

"Hehe."

The driver smiled falsely, raised his hand, and rotated his wrist.

A clear bell sound rang out.

On his wrist he wore a strange ornament with two little bells hanging from it.

From the start, no matter how the driver moved, he never made a sound.

Until just now.

The bell chimed.

The three white‑robed people who had been sitting in their seats suddenly stood up.

The ropes binding them were broken by their struggle.

Their raised faces were deathly pale, eyes wide open, showing only the whites.

Corpses, without a doubt three corpses.

And this driver is someone who can control corpses.

Corpse Driver?

Corpse Operator?

Hmm, that title doesn't sound very good.

Let's just call him a Corpse Driver.

The three corpses stood in a row, not approaching, merely blocking the aisle.

"If you don't want to die, sit quietly." The driver said, then turned back and continued driving.

The ticket seller yawned and lazily sat back down in his seat.

From time to time he glanced at Tang Luo and the others, revealing a feeling that was both mocking and sympathetic.

It fully expressed: "Oh dear, I warned you, but you insisted on coming up to seek death."

Those who court death will die.

"Heaven will rain, a daughter will marry, those who court death cannot be stopped"—that's the meaning.

The speed was high—a bus, on a rainy night approaching darkness, traveling at this speed on a mountain road.

Basically it amounted to seeking death.

At the same time it eliminated the possibility of Tang Luo and the others escaping by jumping out the window.

The lesson of the preceding vehicle lay right there in the aisle.

The aisle was blocked by the three corpses with bluish‑white faces and eyes showing only white.

No matter how sharply the car turned, the three corpses remained completely still.

That old lady and young man paid no attention to what was happening inside the car.

They were neither accomplices nor corpses.

It makes it hard to judge their identities.

The ticket seller sat sideways, occasionally glancing at Tang Luo.

Only the rumbling engine and the 'patter-patter' of the rain echoed.

The oppressive atmosphere almost made one suffocate.

"Besides the blessing, do you have any other attack skills?"

Sitting beside Tang Luo, K lowered his voice, ensuring his words were muffled so that Tang Luo and the others could hear.

At the same time, it wouldn't reach the ticket seller and driver in the front of the vehicle.

"Tathagata Divine Palm," Tang Luo said.

"……Good."

K said that 'good' with difficulty, "Wait another ten minutes; when I shout, we'll act together."

In ten minutes, his Gale Cutting will finish cooling down and can be used again.

"Why should we attack?" Tang Luo said, "They're giving us a free ride to the terminus, helping us complete our mission—this is fate, a good thing."

"……"

"Damn, that makes perfect sense; K simply couldn't refute it."

"I curse your fate, you second aunt!"

K roared inwardly.

He had already determined that this was a nutcase.

Upon careful thought, that's right!

Even if gods and demons walked the earth, would they dress like this?

It's not like they're omnipotent big shots who can move heaven and earth or destroy it.

This suave, luxurious 'monk's robe'.

It's basically a case of trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog—a classic example of pretending to be cool and ending up looking foolish.

"I was wrong, I really was wrong; from the start I shouldn't have taken this monk as combat power. If I hadn't regarded the monk as combat power, I wouldn't have carelessly boarded the vehicle…"

"No matter what you think, I'll act later."

K suppressed the murderous intent toward his pigheaded teammate and said.

"Hmm." Tang Luo nodded, "How about I, the poor monk, give you a blessing first?"

Give this K a blessing.

Later, when the fight starts, it could also save him once, gaining some merit power.

As for the 'merit cost' required for the blessing, Tang Luo will of course control it.

But he won't stop the 'blessing undertaking' just because of this small consumption.

It's like opening a shop for business—without input (cost), how can you reap output (profit)?

"I…" K really wanted to lash out.

"Master, why don't you give me a blessing?"

Mi Ke turned over and stammered.

Treating a dead horse as a living one.

"Good." Tang Luo nodded.

K didn't want to say more and turned his head away.

Damn bald donkey, just deceiving such ignorant newcomers, giving them a bit of final psychological comfort.

"What blessing? Why not let the little monk try giving me a blessing too?"

Just now I gave Mi Ke a simple blessing, but we haven't yet delved into deeper methods of blessing.

Then the ticket seller suddenly stood up, walked over, and said.

K's face changed—had she actually heard their whispered conversation?

Tang Luo looked at the ticket seller, shook his head, and said, "The poor monk's blessing—people like you probably can't withstand it."