Chapter 47: Arriving at the Terminal

"Someone like me?"

The ticket clerk burst into laughter, yet her smile was full of hatred, "Little monk, do you know? People like me can make you live or die as I wish."

"The poor monk feels that you want us to live."

Tang Luo said confidently.

"Little monk, you're quite clever," said the ticket clerk.

Tang Luo pointed at Lin Zian's corpse and said, "When he died, the anger of the corpse-controlling patron didn't seem feigned; of course, this anger was more like because of a 'loss,' so he got angry."

"I am a corpse courier!"

The bus jerked violently, and the driver shouted, "Damn bald donkey!"

"The poor monk has hair."

Tang Luo said, "How can that be considered a bald donkey?"

The term "bald donkey" originated in some places where wandering monks liked to lead donkeys while begging.

Many monks who tarnished the reputation of the clergy idled about, openly extorting, stealing, and deceiving; thus, when locals saw these evil monks leading donkeys, they would shout from afar, "Run! The bald-headed donkey-leader is coming!"

Over time, "bald donkey" became a derogatory term for monks.

Tang Luo has hair and doesn't lead a donkey, so he naturally cannot be called a bald donkey.

Even when traveling west, if one is strict, at most he would be called a "bald dragon."

"We want you to stay alive," the ticket clerk said, kneeling on the front seat and leaning forward, "but you don't know that sometimes being alive is more painful than being dead."

"Moreover, we want the living, we want the corpses; don't presume to challenge us—"

"Ha!"

Before the ticket clerk could finish speaking, a loud shout from deep within the dantian cut her off.

Aunt Shufen never let go of her broom and successfully dodged the obstacle.

It drew a perfect howl, accompanied by the sound of breaking air, and landed on the ticket clerk's face.

It was the kind of broom used specifically for sweeping floors at home.

It wasn't plastic; it was a solid piece of wood.

If you removed the bristles, it felt like a golf club.

The ticket clerk let out a shrill scream.

Her body fell backward, collapsing into the aisle.

She covered her face with her right hand, and blood kept flowing from between her fingers.

Obviously, the injury was not minor.

"Hey!"

After landing the move, Aunt Shufen let out another low shout.

The blood-stained broom swept sideways, swinging like a baseball bat at the three corpses standing in a row.

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

Three sounds, like a watermelon splitting, almost ran together.

Three corpses, and with a single swing from Aunt Shufen, all were blown apart at the head!

"Wax Head Silver Spear!"

A sharp braking sound rang out, and the vehicle came to a sudden stop.

The driver stood up, looking astonished at the rear.

"What's going on?"

"Someone actually dared to resist?"

"Do they not know how to write the words 'death' and 'fear'?"

"Ahhh! Die!"

Before the driver could control the corpses to do anything, the ticket clerk already let out a shrill shout.

The young man and old woman who had been sitting in their seats suddenly leapt up, their unnaturally vigorous bodies lunging at Aunt Shufen.

In the panic, Aunt Shufen could only wave her broom wildly.

The tip of the broom first struck the young man.

Upon contact with the broom, his body instantly shriveled.

From a whole person, he turned into a sheet of skin!

A lifelike human skin!

And this skin, without losing its 'power' from shriveling, directly wrapped around the broom.

Instantly, the broom became as heavy as a thousand jin.

Aunt Shufen couldn't hold onto it, and it fell.

The old woman's body likewise shriveled into a sheet of skin, which covered Aunt Shufen.

Half-standing, Aunt Shufen had nowhere to dodge.

The skin moved fast; she could only watch helplessly as that eerie face filled her entire vision.

A sticky, cold sensation covered her whole face.

It felt like a snake coiling around her face.

"Ahhhh!"

It was an even more shrill scream than before.

The skin that barely covered the face suddenly turned into a true corpse, sliding off Auntie Shufeng's body.

Ding ding ding…

The clear bell sound rang out amidst the screams.

The driver who was expected to come help was already crouching there, his hand holding the bell pressed against the ticket inspector's face.

His face bore a twisted smile.

As the ticket inspector kept struggling, the clear bell sound reverberated.

Black vapor rose from her head and the driver's hand.

Accompanying it was a stench almost enough to make one suffocate.

Upon smelling it, K and the three others immediately slumped to one side and began vomiting.

Moments later, the bell sound ceased.

The driver released his grip; the ticket inspector's upper body slowly straightened, then the lower body, staring straight ahead.

A section of her cheek caved in, and both eyes had no pupils, only whites.

"Anyway, we're going to die anyway." The driver said with a laugh, "Might as well make use of the trash."

He shook the bell on his wrist.

Three headless corpses and the ticket inspector's corpse began to move, lining up side by side.

They spread their arms and legs, dividing the bus into two spaces.

"Don't cause trouble for me anymore, or I won't mind bringing back a few more corpses." The driver's voice came from the other side.

Through the gap, one could see him return to his seat and start the vehicle.

Conscientious and responsible, even if there were dead inside and outside the bus, he would drive to the terminus.

Tang Luo greatly appreciated such free labor.

As for the others, they almost vomited up their bile.

The corpse stench did not dissipate; the three people's faces turned deathly pale, and they kept vomiting.

They simply had no extra energy to keep causing trouble.

As the vomiting sounds continued, the bus kept moving forward.

As they vomited, Auntie Shufeng and Mi Ke suddenly felt less awful.

Even the earlier dizziness and the feeling of weakness from vomiting gradually faded, and strength returned to their bodies.

"Are you okay?"

The two raised their heads in surprise, only to see K still lying there in agony.

On the other side was the monk Xuanzang, who had distanced himself from them.

Noticing their gazes, he turned his head and gave a faint smile.

"Enlightenment?!"

Auntie Shufeng nearly exclaimed.

Fortunately, she held it in in time.

This isn't a little monk, but a great master!

Tang Luo pointed ahead, shook his head, and signaled the two to stay quiet.

After thinking, the two decided to still trust the master who had given them enlightenment, and calmed down.

Thus, the only one still vomiting was K.

And after he retched with heart-wrenching dry heaves for a while, he could no longer hold on and nearly fainted.

The cessation of the vomiting sounds was probably within the driver's expectations.

He continued driving.

The bus also entered the range of Feng Gate Village from the desolate mountain road.

Sparse houses could be seen lining both sides of the road.

Their somewhat antiquated shapes looked like clawing, fang-baring monsters in the darkness.

Seeing them, Auntie Shufeng and Mi Ke felt a chill run down their spines.

Not long after entering the village, after a few turns, the bus finally came to a stop.

The engine turned off, and the vibrations ceased.

The driver's voice came from the front: "We've reached the terminus... I mean, you've reached the end of your lives, oh, I guess you can't hear me."

"I didn't expect you to be so artistic."

Tang Luo said.

"Huh?"

The driver sensed something was off.

The corpse toxin he released was enough to half-disable these people.

Even if they hadn't passed out, they couldn't possibly answer him with such force and composure.

He immediately shook the bell in his hand.

The driver moved the corpses blocking his view aside, wanting to see what was going on.

A hint of oily green simultaneously appeared in his eyes, enabling him to see in the dark.

It seemed the strangely dressed white-clad, white-haired man was speaking?

"Bang!"

The clear gunshot rang out before the driver could see what was happening.

Everything went black, and a headless corpse collapsed, slamming heavily into the carriage.

Stupid corpse hauler, they simply don't know the power of firearms!

Those corpses standing on the backs of chairs lost control and fell down at the same time.

A few sounds, surprisingly, let the nearly unconscious K open their eyes again.

In the darkness, he saw a blurry white-clad figure, seemingly holding——a gun?

Not the gun of ancient cold weapons, but a gun among modern weapons.

"Master, why would a monastic still use a gun?"

K heard the aunt named Li Shufen ask this.

"Who said monastics can't use guns? Patron, you're attached to appearances."

Tang Luo took it for granted.

"As the saying goes, wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart."

Someone of his level would not be bound by form and external things.

However convenient, that's how it comes.

That driver, as a corpse hauler, indeed possesses some remarkable skills.

But he's still a person; a person shot in the head will die just the same.

"Let's go, this is the terminus." Tang Luo stood up and said.

Again bringing them to the terminus, assisting in completing the mission, and also providing Tang Luo with some merit power.

If every mission could encounter such a "kind-hearted person".

How nice that would be.

Recalling last time's Jack the Ripper, with all those stinking fish and shrimp, one knows the lurking evil is in the corner.

I, Tang Xuanzang, am most annoyed by this old lurking jerk.

Stepping out of the vehicle, the rain that had been falling since the start of the mission had stopped, and a bright crescent moon could be seen hanging high in the sky.

The moon bright, stars sparse.

Tang Luo surveyed the surroundings.

The large open ground beneath their feet was not concrete, but a vast expanse of crushed stone, a "gravel ground".

Footsteps on it were clearly audible.

There was no wind, no frog croaks, no insect chirps.

On the open ground, besides the bus that Tang Luo and company had gotten off of, there were also two other identical buses parked.

The front of the vehicles faced an extravagant folding door.

In the middle there was no latticework, but it was completely closed.

It felt like the gate of some castle.

Beside the gate there was a small room similar to a reception or guard room.

Inside there was no light, and the door was tightly shut.

Around it were cement walls over two meters high, with faintly visible glass shards on top.

Behind the vehicle was an empty expanse with no buildings at all.

This is the terminus of Fengmen Village.

The whole area presents a rectangle, as large as a football field.

As a terminus for a mountain village with only three buses, this land area is undoubtedly too large.

The iron gate is naturally open, allowing one to see the fields across the road opposite.

Further out, it's mountains.

Speaking of the two sides, on one side a three-story building can be seen.

The other side is likewise mountains.