Chapter 5: The Black Chain

The timing of this text message really caused me 10,000 points of damage.

It's over. I've found the wrong person. The old man in the note said that Lao Liu, whose name is Liu Yunbo, is not the Lao Tang who said Liu Qingzhu!

Just as I turned to leave, the broken wooden door in front of me opened.

Before I saw the person who opened the door, suddenly, a hand reached out from the door and tightly grasped my wrist.

This is a dry, bloodless hand like a dead branch, which looks like it will break when under force, but its strength is tremendous. I tried to pull it out, but it was actually pulled inward a few points.

In a hurry, I had an idea and shouted loudly,

"Lao Tang asked you to save him!"

The person inside the door seemed to hear my shout, released his hand that was holding me. Although it only lasted for a dozen seconds, my wrist was already covered with bruises.

I rubbed my wrist, turned around and was about to run. A very hoarse voice came from inside the door, "Look at you, a young man, there are quite a few dirty things on you."

This made me pause for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and slowly retracted the front foot I had just taken.

The wooden door was fully opened, and an old man in tattered clothes, skinny as a stick, stared at me with a stick. Most of the old man's hair had fallen out, leaving only two white sideburns.

What made my heart tighten was that the old man's right eye was actually completely green, looking like a green gem embedded in a dead wood!

"Huhu..." The old man lowered his head and coughed twice, looked up and looked at me.

"Did you just say Lao Tang is Tang Xiansheng?"

For some reason, now I feel like I'm being imprisoned by some kind of magic, only feeling stiff and unable to move.

I nodded and said, "Yes, he asked me to come to you for help."

I deliberately said the opposite. Lao Tang is not a human, so the person he introduced is definitely not trustworthy. If I honestly said I came to deliver myself, I'm really afraid that this old man will bite me in a few bites.

"Click... click click" The old man chuckled with his right hand covering his mouth. This laughter shuttled back and forth in this dilapidated and dim hallway, making people shudder!

"Little rascal, you are in big trouble, and still have the mind to pass on the message for him?"

The old man's words made me not know how to refute. After thinking about it, did he mean that he was about to take action?

I unconsciously took two steps back, and he continued, "Have you been meeting a string of strange people recently?"

I really wanted to laugh when I heard his words, thinking to myself, "You have a green eye. Do you ask me if I always meet strange people?"

But these words I definitely dare not say, just "um" and my palm is sweating. My mind is not on talking nonsense with him, just thinking about how to run out quickly.

Suddenly, I had an idea and sighed, "Old man, Lao Tang met a powerful figure and asked me to tell you that from now on, I will be the one to pass on the message between you two."

The old man was stunned for a moment. I saw that his green gem-like eyes moved slightly.

"Come, come in and show you something."

Having said that, the old man turned around and was about to enter the room. When I saw the old man turn around, I cursed in my heart and quickly ran away. At the corner of the stairs, I heard the old man shout, "Don't come if there are many people...."

Behind that, I couldn't hear clearly. I just ran down the eighth floor with all my might.

This whole journey was pitch-black, and my clothes were torn in several places, but I couldn't care less.

After leaving the building hole, I felt like I had been reborn, leaning on my knees and panting heavily.

Suddenly, a pair of hands patted me on the shoulder from behind. I was scared to "ah" and quickly dodged.

Looking back, I saw that the person who patted me was a short, fat uncle. With the faint light at the door, I could barely make out the face of this uncle.

This uncle is about fifty years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks simple and honest, but I don't know what happened to him. There is a scar between the right eye and the eyebrow.

The uncle saw that he scared me, and smiled embarrassedly and said,

"Excuse me, young man. I saw you hunched over and leaning on your knees, thinking you were drunk and vomiting here."

I thought it was the old man chasing after me. Seeing that it was this kind uncle, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and whispered,

"It's okay. I looked for the wrong person and almost scared to death."

The uncle said "Oh," and said, "I have lived here for more than ten years. Who are you looking for? I'll see if I know him."

I gasped and said, "I'm looking for Master Liu Yunbo, who can catch ghosts."

When the uncle heard this, he suddenly laughed and said, "This is really fate. I am Liu Yunbo, but I'm not old, and I can't catch ghosts either."

I was so happy that I almost jumped up when I heard that the person in front of me was the Master Liu Yunbo that I took the risk to find. I quickly held his hand and said,

"You must save me. I was recommended by Uncle Liu from Tangwa Village."

When Liu Yunbo heard this, he nodded and said, "Oh, since it was introduced by Uncle Liu, then you can tell me inside."

Although I could hardly see that this short and fat middle-aged man would have the ability to catch ghosts, now there are many strange things happening, and I have no other choice.

I looked timidly into the doorway I just ran out of. Liu Yunbo seemed to see my concerns and smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm here. You don't have to be afraid."

I tremblingly followed Liu Yunbo into the dim hallway again.

But seeing his broad shoulders and steady steps, I seemed to have a bottom in my heart and wasn't so scared.

Liu Yunbo's home is on the third floor. There is nothing in the room except a black-and-white photo hanging on the wall and a bunch of old furniture.

Just after sitting down, I couldn't wait to say, "Master Liu, I know you are a capable person. I have provoke something dirty, and you must save me."

Then I detailed the strange things that happened when I drove these two days, including Lao Tang and the just-wronged Liu Qingzhu.

When Liu Yunbo heard this, he looked me up and down and said slowly, "Have you ever heard the saying that the water ghost will pull the substitute ghost that is circulating among the people?"

I have heard of the saying that the water ghost will pull the substitute ghost since I was very young.

There is a big river not far from my home. A few years ago, a girl who went to the river to wash clothes was drowned. Since then, a person will be drowned in this river every year.

The villagers all said that the ghost of the person who was drowned in the river would be detained in the river. Only by finding a new ghost to replace it can it be reincarnated.

Liu Yunbo continued,

"Ten years ago, the first driver drove the whole car of people into the reservoir. I think it was an accident. The second driver and the whole car of people were the substitute ghosts pulled by the people in the previous car. The third car of people was also like this."

I heard this, and felt a sense of enlightenment. I nodded quickly and said, "This really makes sense. Now that I am the fourth driver, do you think it's still too late for me to quit my job?"

Liu Yunbo shook his head and didn't reply immediately. My heart was on the verge of popping out.

"Why? It's too late? Am I doomed to die?"

He moved his fat body hard to stand up from the chair and said, "No, you can't quit. You still have to drive this car."

My greatest wish now is not to win the lottery of 5 million, but to return to the peaceful and plain life before, and stay away from the 13th Route as far as possible.

When I heard that I still had to continue driving, I felt as if a big stone had been pressed on my chest.

"Let me put it this way. The first trip of this car in ten years was made by you, which is equivalent to a contract between you and the 13th Route. If you don't handle things properly and just leave, it won't be so easy to get out unscathed."

When I heard this, I was dumbfounded. So, the 13th Route was bound to me, or rather, the third car's accident water ghosts placed all their expectations on me?

I quickly asked,

"Is there no other way?"

Liu Yunbo turned around and went into the bedroom. After a while, he came out with a black bead bracelet and handed it to me, saying,

"This bracelet can keep you safe for a while. You must remember to wear it every time you go to work. Come to see me on the 15th day of the lunar month after work this month."

Before I could speak, Liu Yunbo waved his hand and said, "Okay, you go back first. It's not good to stay here for too long."

Although I still had a lot of questions, I was afraid to annoy him, so I didn't dare to ask any more questions. I bowed deeply to him, put the bracelet in my pocket, and turned to say goodbye.

After leaving the community, I looked at this life-saving treasure carefully.

This is an ordinary bracelet that just connects more than ten ink-black beads together.

I don't know what the material of these beads is. It doesn't look like wood, nor like jade.

It was already 9:30 p.m. when I returned to the dormitory. I didn't plan to go out to work anymore, but thinking of Master Liu Yunbo's instructions, I still went downstairs with courage.

I put on the bracelet on my wrist, and looked down every three to five minutes for fear of losing this life-saving treasure.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, I drove the 13th Route out of the station as usual. Just like usual, the villagers talked and laughed and got on the bus one after another. I originally thought that if I saw Uncle Liu, I would tell him about today's events.

Unfortunately, he didn't take the bus tonight.

I had held in a pee before going out, and after arriving at the paper mill safely, after all the villagers got off the bus, I quickly relieved myself on the side of the road.

In the dark and bumpy country road at night, I fell down hard when I turned around to get on the bus.

I muttered to myself, "If one is unlucky, one will even fall when walking. This saying is really true."

On the way back to the station, I kept thinking about what Master Liu Yunbo said to me. In the blink of an eye, I drove to the reservoir and saw someone standing in the middle of the road in front of the car by the headlights.

I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat and stepped on the brakes hard.

Fortunately, the brakes were applied in time and I didn't hit anyone. I gasped for breath and was just about to curse when I suddenly noticed that my right wrist was empty.

The black bracelet was gone!

I clearly wore it on my wrist, how could it be gone? I slapped my head.

"My goodness, it must have fallen off when I got off to relieve myself."

While I was feeling creepy, I looked in front of the car and was scared to the point where all the hair on my body stood up.

The person standing in front of the car was not someone else, it was the first driver of the 13th Route, Old Tang, who had been dead for ten years!!