Chapter 9

It was very clear that Jiang Youlin treated him with some special regard.

But no matter what, there was finally some hope. In the bus, with only a few people left, it was impossible to feel at ease. Moreover, since Jiang Youlin was a veteran actress, she must have some means. Regardless of what those means were, following her would certainly bring more peace of mind.

The seventeen people who decided to go down the mountain, including Ye Xiang, were led by Luo Haosheng and the tour guide. From their conversation, the tour guide's surname was Mu, but that wasn't important; it was just a character name.

The seventeen people each carried their luggage bags, and the tour guide led the way. After all, the mountain road was winding, and the driver, who knew the route best, was dead. Relying solely on a very vague tourist map, whether they could get down the mountain was uncertain. At the same time, the tour guide suggested that everyone mark their path as they went, just in case.

Of course, every actor knew that sooner or later, they would have to return to the bus. After all, the movie was called "The Haunted Bus," so the plot would definitely revolve around "The Haunted Bus."

Luo Haosheng, who was walking at the front, looked at his "lover" Kang Xueyan with a worried expression. Not far behind them were Ye Xiang and Jiang Youlin.

It was already past midnight, and the surroundings were very dark and quiet. Frankly, whether the actors could rely on a rough map to walk down the mountain was very questionable, and it was more likely that they couldn't. Currently, everything seemed to be purely for the sake of the plot.

"Xueyan," at this moment, Luo Haosheng lowered his voice and said to Kang Xueyan, "Actually... when the driver died..."

"What?" Kang Xueyan also showed a tense expression. Her performance was very natural, clearly demonstrating her acting skills.

"At that time, my scream wasn't because I found the body, but because... I had a nightmare." He continued with his lines, "I dreamed that the blood-covered driver walked up to me and shook my body violently. Then... I woke up..."

It's coming...

Although their voices were very low, Ye Xiang had already known the lines. He knew that the next dialogue should be like this—

Luo Haosheng: Xueyan, do you remember that old beggar? He told me that the car was heavily haunted. Now, I regret not listening to him. It seems he was telling the truth. Then, he...

Kang Xueyan: He... what?

Luo Haosheng: At that time, he was beaten by Xia Yun. I felt a bit sorry for him and helped him up. Then, he whispered in my ear, 'To drive away the haunting, you must... must... remove the filth... must...'

Filth?

What is filth?

Ye Xiang felt extremely puzzled. However, it could be inferred that this was definitely a matter of life and death.

Then, he saw Luo Haosheng continue to whisper to Kang Xueyan, presumably discussing what "filth" was. Based on Ye Xiang's deduction, the filth was likely the source of the haunting. After a person died, if they died with unresolved issues, their spirit would linger, and there would be a cause and effect. The concept of cause and effect was very important in horror movies. Whether it was the Hong Kong movie "The Village of the Damned" from the 1990s or the globally popular Japanese movie "The Ring" from the past, there was always a cause and effect. Of course, there were also movies like "The Grudge," where someone would be cursed and die just for stepping into a haunted house.

Removing the filth naturally meant eliminating the root cause of the ghost's killing.

Filth... what is it? A curse?

At this moment, Jiang Youlin spoke again, "Xia Yun, follow me closely, no matter what happens, don't let go of my hand."

Hearing this, Ye Xiang felt very warm. In this world of a horror movie, receiving such care, though he didn't know the reason, made him extremely grateful. He secretly vowed that if he could survive this time, he would definitely repay Jiang Youlin well, even though he didn't know her real name. When he saw the horror movie poster, he only noticed the first two names and was then attracted by his own name, which was suddenly added.

According to the script, Du Yan should have been following Zhang Nianzhou, and there were many lines between the characters Xia Yun, Zhang Nianzhou, and himself. However, since Du Yan chose to stay on the bus, there was no way to deliver those lines. In this situation, no death coupons would be deducted. Now, Ye Xiang and Jiang Youlin were holding hands, and no death coupons were deducted, possibly because the script didn't have a strict requirement.

According to the original plot, Du Yan's disappearance would happen soon. Generally, if there was a time jump, the script would note the time. It was now 12:15 AM, and Du Yan's disappearance was around 12:20 AM. That meant there were five minutes left before Du Yan's disappearance according to the original script.

Du Yan's disappearance was also very mysterious.

In the original script, he wasn't far from the group but was walking in the middle. The situation was as follows—

Original script time: 00:18.

Xia Yun: This mountain road is so difficult to walk on. I just bought these shoes a few days ago!

Zhang Nianzhou: Who killed that driver? There's no reason for the passengers to kill the driver. We just met on the first day, and it wasn't a robbery.

Du Yan: It's hard to say. You can't know a person's heart just by their face. There might be a murderer among us. Haosheng, can we get down the mountain smoothly?

Luo Haosheng: I'm not confident either. We can only take it one step at a time. Fortunately, the tour guide has a compass.

Zhang Nianzhou: If it doesn't work, we should go back to the bus and wait until dawn. I feel something strange about this mountain, and it's making me uneasy.

Xia Yun: What nonsense? Nianzhou, do you believe what that old beggar said?

Zhang Nianzhou: I didn't believe it at first, but... maybe he was right? It's all your fault, Xia Yun. When he was about to say more, you kicked him.

Xia Yun: What? You're still blaming me?

Zhang Nianzhou: Of course, who else's fault could it be? You have such a bad temper! The driver's death was so strange, there must be something wrong! The more I think about it, the more I believe the old beggar was right!

Xia Yun (thinking of Jiang Youlin's strange behavior in the dark, feeling increasingly scared, but still pretending to be fearless): You're talking nonsense! Is this my fault?

Zhang Nianzhou: Of course, it's your fault!

(Xia Yun stepped forward and grabbed his collar. The others quickly came to mediate.)

Luo Haosheng: What are you two arguing about at a time like this?

Kang Xueyan: Stop it, let's talk things out!

Xia Yun: He listens to nonsense and blames me. If you're going to say that, you didn't stop me from kicking the beggar at the time! How did it become my responsibility now?

... (The argument is omitted.)

Time: 00:22.

Luo Haosheng: That's enough! Everyone, let's stop talking! Hmm? Where's Du Yan?

Xia Yun: Right, he didn't come to mediate just now...

Kang Xueyan: Where's Du Yan? Has anyone seen our companion? He has a small mustache, tall and thin...

And just like that, Du Yan mysteriously disappeared. In the script, he reappeared later as a corpse.

Of course, now that Du Yan was staying on the bus, it was unknown how he would disappear. However, the argument with Zhang Nianzhou would still be performed.

During the argument, almost everyone's attention was drawn, and they all came to mediate. Some were curious about the old beggar. In the end, no one noticed Du Yan.

Next, Zhang Nianzhou began to scold Xia Yun. Ye Xiang naturally pretended to be angry, grabbing the other's collar with one hand while still holding Jiang Youlin's hand with the other.

Then, naturally, everyone came to mediate.

"Stop arguing, aren't you friends?"

"Everyone is in a hurry to get down the mountain, why are you so talkative?"

The crowd became noisy. However, after a while, the meaningless argument ended, and everyone continued on their way.

But at this moment...

"Hmm? Wait, where's that guy with the baseball cap?"

"Yeah, he was the one who wanted to go down the mountain with you earlier, right?"

Ye Xiang's heart suddenly tightened.

Baseball cap? Could it be... could it be...

He quickly turned around and carefully scanned the crowd. Indeed... Liu An, the guy with the baseball cap, had disappeared!

This made Ye Xiang fall into great panic.

So it was like this...

Du Yan escaped, so it became Liu An who took his place?

Deep fear began to envelop his heart, and Ye Xiang immediately felt a chill run down his back.

Then...

The plot would become...

Tour guide Miss Mu anxiously said, "Yes, I noticed Mr. Liu earlier. I had his phone number registered, but there's no cell signal on this mountain..."

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Miss Mu continued, "Let's go look for him! He might be behind us!"

A muscular man also nodded, "Let's all go look for him! I remember that guy, he always wore a hat and didn't talk much. I remember he was standing next to me, but I didn't notice him because of the argument. There might be a murderer on this mountain!"

Miss Mu added, "Yes, yes! I'm worried about that!"

Then, everyone decided to split up and search for Liu An.

And all of this... perfectly followed the original plot of Du Yan's disappearance! In the original plot, after Du Yan disappeared, everyone split up to search for him! And it was during the search for Du Yan that Xia Yun had an incident!

(Please give more recommendations and add the book to your favorites after reading!)

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