Chapter 7

San Gou has his own bedroom at his aunt's house, but he shamelessly insisted on clinging to his second brother, wanting to share the same bed.

Jiang Yue didn’t mind at all.

"Second Brother, I didn’t tell Aunt about the bus," San Gou said, as if seeking approval.

"You’re somewhat clever," Jiang Yue replied.

"How can it be just somewhat? Second Brother, you underestimate me. In our Pan Shi Ridge, if we go back five hundred years or forward five hundred years, how many people as clever as me can you find?"

"Then tell me, why couldn’t you tell her about the bus?"

San Gou said proudly, "Do I need to ask? If I told her, Aunt definitely wouldn’t let me go to the city with you."

"..."

Jiang Yue was momentarily speechless. What a powerful reason, he had no words to respond.

Alright, this answer is very San Gou.

If San Gou had said that he kept it a secret to avoid causing panic and getting into trouble, it wouldn’t be like him at all.

"Second Brother, now you have to admit you underestimated me, right?"

"Sure, great, you’re very clever. Remember this: if you leak this, don’t even think about me taking you to the city again."

Since San Gou loves to show off his "cleverness," let him keep today’s events buried in his stomach in this clever mode.

"Second Brother, do you think if we hadn’t stopped that bus today, and they hadn’t paused, they wouldn’t have been buried?"

"No," Jiang Yue answered decisively.

"You’re right, that bus was haunted by something evil, it definitely wouldn’t have made it to Star City."

Jiang Yue sighed lightly, neither confirming nor denying.

Whether the evil thing had such strong destructive power, Jiang Yue hadn’t seen and wasn’t sure.

He believed more in the concept of fate and destiny.

Fate is both heavenly will and personal destiny.

Continuous rain causing a landslide is heavenly will.

The people on that bus just happened to be there, which is personal destiny.

Having this calamity in one’s fate doesn’t mean it’s destined to happen.

Most fates have ways to be resolved. But that bus clearly didn’t have the luck to trigger the resolution.

Those who don’t believe in fate might say that if they hadn’t stopped halfway and wasted that half minute, they would have been far enough away to avoid the disaster.

Those who believe in fate would think that perhaps the landslide was brewing to a critical point, needing a trigger.

The weight and aura of the bus and its passengers just happened to trigger the critical point, so they were buried. Whether the bus arrived thirty seconds earlier or half a minute later, it would have been the same.

If it had been one or two people on a motorcycle, it might not have triggered it.

"Then, what about the fact that San Gou and I didn’t get on that bus and escaped the disaster? What does that mean?" Jiang Yue had been pondering this.

San Gou had suffered all day, hadn’t slept well last night, and with Jiang Yue not in the mood to chat, he dozed off.

Jiang Yue was heavy-hearted and had no sleepiness. As his aunt said, the town would have a tough time in the coming days.

Dozens of people on the bus meant dozens of families involved.

Crying and wailing could be heard from time to time, heart-wrenching and especially painful to hear at night.

The pain of losing a loved one, Jiang Yue could empathize with.

Ten years ago...

When he learned that his mother’s archaeological team’s vehicle had plunged off a cliff, the entire family’s pain and despair were overwhelming. It took Jiang Yue ten years to even begin to move on.

Over the years, Jiang Yue had dreamed of his mother countless times, seeing her young and beautiful. He would shout "Mom" until his throat was raw, but never got a response.

But in the past month, the dreams had changed. His mother in the dreams was no longer young and seemed to be hinting at something.

Jiang Yue gently pulled out the family photo from under the bed, held it to his chest, and whispered.

"Mom, what do you want to tell me?"

Jiang Yue even dared not close his eyes, fearing that the dream would appear if he did.

The desperate and painful look on his mother’s face broke his heart, and he couldn’t bear it for even a second.

But at the same time, he was somewhat hopeful!

Maybe... if he continued to have this dream, his mother might provide more clues in the dream.

Even after ten years, deep down, Jiang Yue still harbored a bit of hope.

When the archaeological team’s vehicle plunged off the cliff, the vehicle’s trajectory, the brake marks, and the damaged plants and shrubs at the scene all confirmed it was a traffic accident.

What was puzzling was that no vehicle wreckage could be found at the bottom of the cliff.

It was as if the team and the vehicle had vanished into thin air.

The cliff was deep and often shrouded in fog, but the authorities had sent people down multiple times using various methods and high-tech equipment to search.

Nothing was found.

In the end, it was ruled as a traffic accident, and his mother’s fate remained a mystery.

After a long while, Jiang Yue’s emotions calmed, he took a deep breath, put the photo back under the pillow, and prepared to sleep.

Bang!

Suddenly, San Gou kicked the bed hard, sitting up straight as if he had come back to life.

In a hurried tone, he said, "They’re back, they’re all back!"

He then started grabbing at the air, looking terrified, and hid in the corner of the bed.

"San Gou, what are you raving about?" Jiang Yue thought San Gou was having a nightmare and slapped him.

Surprisingly, it worked.

San Gou’s body twitched, and he woke up completely.

"Second Brother, they’re back, all of them, forty-four people, including the driver. Look, look..." San Gou pointed out the window.

"The driver’s left cheek and arm are gone; and that person, I recognize him, he’s Lao Gen from the grocery store next door, he’s even worse, only half of him is left... That’s Lao Feng from the barbershop, he’s crawling on the ground, his intestines are out, and he’s covered in blood..."

Jiang Yue felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his body and soul chilled to the bone. He quickly covered San Gou’s mouth.

Stop it, San Gou, shut up!

Sssss...

The night light flickered on and off.

Creak, creak, creak...

Outside the window, it was unclear whether it was the wind or some unknown force trying to push the window open.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

On the street, it was unclear whether it was raindrops, the wind sweeping fallen leaves, or something dragging along the ground.

Instead, the dogs that had been barking loudly all night suddenly stopped, as if all the dogs in town had their throats clamped shut.

The temperature in the air seemed to drop by several degrees instantly.

A cold, eerie chill swept in from the window, under the bed, and from every corner of the room, making it hard to bear, and his teeth chattered.

The crying didn’t stop all night, becoming even more heart-wrenching as dawn approached.

Early in the morning, the two brothers hastily ate some breakfast and proposed returning to Star City.

Aunt had wanted to keep them, but given the current situation in town, she wouldn’t want to stay herself if not for her business.

Fortunately, there was a delivery driver from Star City who had been stranded in town overnight and planned to take a detour back to Star City. Aunt found out about this, and they agreed to pay 100 yuan for gas to hitch a ride.

"San Gou, when you get to the city, listen to your sister and Second Brother. Otherwise, I’ll slap you," Aunt said, waving her hand in a threatening manner.

"I don’t listen to others, but I’ll definitely listen to Second Brother," San Gou said happily, not arguing with Aunt.

Aunt quickly took out 100 yuan and handed it through the window to the delivery driver, "Boss Zhou, drive carefully. Here’s the money, don’t ask my nephew for more. And don’t bully my nephew."

"Who would dare to bully someone from the Jiang family? Besides, I’m afraid you’ll take my wheels off next time I come!" Boss Zhou replied.

"Hmph, good to know! Actually, this is for your own good. My two little beasts are not easy to handle; anyone who messes with them might end up on the losing end."

The truck was a double-cab pickup, and the two brothers sat in the back, which was spacious.

Boss Zhou, who had been delayed in town, was eager to get back to the city. He started the engine and slowly drove off.