theysayivemetaghost | CHAPTER 46

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When he was alive, his name was Qi Dazhuang. He was an honest and law-abiding driver. After dying of illness, he was appointed to drive a psychopomp bus because of his skills. He was able to accumulate some virtue for his wife and children so that they could live a better life.

In order to prevent them from harassing their still living relatives, Difu assigned psychopomp drivers to posts that were far from where they had lived. From his remote city, Qi Dazhuang came to H City and drove steadily and safely every night.

The contract he had signed with Difu was for fifty years. In fifty years his children would have grown old, and Qi Dazhuang would be able to go reincarnate in peace.

Day after day, year after year, he drove uneventfully. Sometimes he met a fierce ghost and had his bus looted. Fortunately, he was a temporary employee of Difu and had means of protecting himself. In an emergency he could call on an official. He didn't have to be afraid of fierce ghosts.

But recently he'd received a notice from his superiors saying that a group of imprisoned fierce ghosts in H City was about to escape. A temporary Difu employee like him, with a little bit of power, was a favorite with fierce ghosts; if they ate him they could seriously increase their skills. He had to look out for the Farther Shore Estate, Benevolence Middle School, the Fourth Hospital's former site, and the Normal University's old campus. Most of the ghosts boarding at these locations would surely be fierce ghosts. He must exercise caution and call for help as soon as possible if he noticed anything wrong, before the fierce ghost could do anything. Otherwise the rescuing ghosts might be eaten when they arrived.

As soon as Qi Dazhuang received this notice, he got a call, saying there was a human who wanted to catch a ride to the Farther Shore Estate.

Qi Dazhuang had a receiver on his bus; ghosts could send messages to it with just a thought. Ghosts who had just died were often confused about whether they were humans or ghosts. It was normal for them to get it wrong.

But the Farther Shore Estate...

Qi Dazhuang gripped his alarm device and took a bus full of ghosts to some university to pick up the new ghost.

He didn’t expect that it really would be a human getting on the bus!

How could a human have sent a signal? Why did a human have to hitch a ride on a ghost bus? Couldn't he take a taxi?

Although he was stricken, as a temporary employee of Difu, he had to maintain a dignified appearance. Maintaining a serious expression, he looked coolly at the person who had gotten on the bus.

Was he someone who knew the inside story and was about to die? Or was he a Celestial Master sent by Difu to help him control the fierce ghosts?

But it was neither of those. Seeing the man about to blindly sit down on seats full of ghosts, Qi Dazhuang quickly warned him, "The seats have just been painted. Heh. Heh. Heh."

The last three "heh"s hadn't been on purpose. He hadn't spoken for a long time; Qi Dazhaung was just clearing his throat.

The person who had gotten on was very compliant. Hearing he couldn't sit on the seats, he obediently stood in the middle of the bus. The passengers on the bus were very curious about this living person. One blew mischievously on the back of his neck.

It wasn't good for a living person to have close contact with so many ghosts. It would decrease his life span. Qi Dazhuang warned the passengers to take care not to disturb other passengers unlike themselves. As a temporary employee of Difu, his words had some use. The passengers quickly stepped back, sat in their seats, and kept glancing at the living person.

Getting off the bus, the living passenger walked idiotically towards the gloomy community. Qi Dazhuang couldn't help saying, "I hope I can see you again tomorrow."

How did that come out so badly? He really hadn't spoken to a living person for too long. He wasn't used to it.

The Farther Shore Estate was terrifying. As soon as the passenger was off the bus, Qi Dazhuang stepped on the gas pedal without waiting for him to finish speaking. He secretly prayed for the passenger, hoping to see him next time, even if it was as a ghost. At least he wouldn't have been eaten by fierce ghosts, unable to ever reincarnate.

Harboring these worries, a few days later Qi Dazhuang received a second notification. The living passenger from last time had survived the Farther Shore Estate and wanted to go to Benevolence Middle School.

Was he really an unassuming Celestial Master? Doubtfully, Qi Dazhuang prepared a seat for him; to prevent the ghosts from sitting on it, he specifically stuck on a note reading: "Teacher Shen's Seat."

He'd thought that the Yin energy of the Farther Shore Estate was scary enough; he hadn't expected Benevolence Middle School to be even more frightening. How many fierce ghosts were sealed in there? Qi Dazhuang, temporary employee of Difu, shivered when he saw it, but Teacher Shen wanted to go inside.

Qi Dazhuang had his responsibilities. There was nothing he could do but order him to be out at two. He hoped Teacher Shen could survive until two in the morning.

However, Teacher Shen didn't show up that night. Qi Dazhuang received a notice saying that he didn't need to pick him up. That night he took a bus full of ghosts to the Naihe Bridge, then clocked out.

Finding an abandoned car parking lot, Qi Dazhuang pondered the circumstances at daybreak. Benevolence Middle School's Yin energy was so heavy; he probably really would be eaten. He hoped that by dying at his post he could get better benefits for his wife and children...

Thinking these sad thoughts, Qi Dazhuang found a spot on the bus where he could avoid the sun and went to sleep.

Once again, he didn’t expect that Teacher Shen would still be alive! He energetically got on the bus at a shopping mall and even brought a second living person with him, saying he was his classmate from university. They had met a ghost and needed a ride.

Met a ghost, indeed. There was a short-haired fierce ghost following them, her Yin energy so heavy that Qi Dazhuang shivered. He couldn't say a word.

He only hesitated for a moment, and the living person Xia Jin sat right down on a female ghost. Qi Dazhuang was stunned, but to keep face for Difu he could only keep quiet.

Anyway, the ghosts on the bus were all law-abiding ghosts on their way to reincarnate. Even if they wanted to get off the bus, the sun would soon scatter their souls. They wouldn't dare.

Except that the female ghost really did dare: she absorbed Xia Jin's life force, then used his body to tempt Teacher Shen, trying to absorb another living person's Yang energy. After eating two portions of life energy, this female ghost would be able to turn into a fierce ghost.

This couldn't go on. The heavy Yin energy would harm the man called Xia Jin. Qi Dazhuang was getting ready to stop the bus and use his temporary employee's tool to temporarily subdue the female ghost, but Teacher Shen punched a portion of life energy right into Xia Jin, forcing the female ghost out. She floated for a while in the air, and then her soul scattered.

The passengers screamed and clutched each other for safety, afraid of coming into contact with Teacher Shen. The short-haired fierce ghost sitting in the back looked calm, as if she'd seen it all before.

Teacher Shen, having lost a portion of life force, was still radiant with energy. He helped Xia Jin onto a seat to sleep. How exuberant was his life force? He had punched out enough for a whole living person!

Qi Dazhuang watched in confusion as the two living people gamboled off the bus early. The short-haired fierce ghost on the bus said to him, "I'm not going back to the Farther Shore Estate. I'll go straight to the Naihe Bridge."

"You want to go to Difu?" This was Qi Dazhuang's first time seeing a fierce ghost voluntarily go to reincarnate.

"Yeah." The short-haired ghost nodded. "I hope in my next life I can meet someone as nice as Teacher Shen."

She smiled faintly, then plucked out a bit of her hair, which flew into the Farther Shore Estate. She must have been sending a message to someone.

Arriving at the Naihe Bridge, Qi Dazhuang found out that this was one of H City’s troublesome fierce ghosts. If she had made trouble, several Qi Dazhuangs wouldn't have been enough to deal with it; but instead she’d peacefully chosen to cross the bridge herself, leaving the world of the living to enter the underworld.

Qi Dazhuang secretly congratulated himself on his luck, but hearing that there were still more than twenty fierce ghosts in H City, the Difu staff all gave him sympathetic looks, quietly trying to boost his morale, hoping he could survive.

Heavy-hearted, Qi Dazhuang had no business for several days. None of the ghosts in H City dared to get on the bus. Word spread quickly among ghosts; everyone knew that at night there would be a living person riding the bus who could punch ghosts to death. Until that person bought a car, it was safer to be a wandering soul for a while.

Every day, Qi Dazhuang looked at the empty ghost bus. His feelings were very complicated. If he had still been alive, he would definitely have lit a cigarette and pondered the nature of life.

Fortunately, only a few days passed before Teacher Shen needed the bus gain. He went to the former site of the Fourth Hospital. This time, Qi Dazhuang wasn't worried about him anymore. How could anything happen to Teacher Shen? Sure enough, the next day a young fierce ghost boarded the bus. He was covered in burns, and there was a bedplate on his back. Crying, he said he couldn't take it anymore. If he continued to live with Teacher Shen, sooner or later his soul would be destroyed. It was better to reincarnate while he could.

Qi Dazhuang didn't think this was unusual. He calmly took him to Difu.

Teacher Shen was a marvelous person.

A few days after that, Teacher Shen brought along a fierce ghost from the Republican period, calling him Teacher Liu. At the sight of Teacher Liu, Qi Dazhuang couldn't help shivering. Even the officials couldn't match up to a Republican era fierce ghost. No wonder Difu's officials hadn't dared to follow the bus to grab the ghosts. They were afraid of this Republican ghost!

With over a hundred years of accumulated magic power, he could consume several of them.

Qi Dazhuang was very nervous. But Teacher Liu politely sat beside Teacher Shen, looking ingratiating. There was none of a fierce ghost's domineering air. Later there was a living corpse who got on the bus... Ah, better to say nothing. It was too dire. Watching the living corpse screaming as Teacher Shen cut her nails, he quietly looked away and played the driver who knew his place and saw nothing.

That night, a male ghost covered in wounds dragged himself onto the bus and went to Difu. He was hugging himself and trembling all over, saying something idiotic about insects being gone, power being scattered. One look and Qi Dazhuang knew this was one of Teacher Shen's students. He smiled knowingly.

Although he didn't take any wandering souls, the fierce ghosts came one by one. There was a beautiful girl in red called Mu Huaitong, who came to reincarnate holding hands with a girl in white. She said her wish had been fulfilled, thanks to Teacher Shen.

Mu Huaitong was also holding two law books. Gnashing her teeth, she said that Shen Jianguo would be single all his life.

Qi Dazhuang became more and more accustomed to this, and more and more natural in front of Teacher Shen. He even dared to speed in the city streets and frighten Teacher Shen. All the ghosts in the area said he was quite a guy. Anyone who could scare Teacher Shen was truly a god among ghosts.

The final twenty-one fierce ghosts of H City got on the bus. Teacher Shen stood next to a Celestial Master whose powers were no match for his, waving from outside the bus, looking misty-eyed. How could such a person transcend so many fierce ghosts?

On the way, Qi Dazhuang asked this question. After a moment of silence, Teacher Liu gave Qi Dazhuang the human skin notebook he had possessed.

"My desire has been fulfilled. There's no use bringing this notebook to Difu. It's better to give it to you to study. Teacher Shen's lesson plans are recorded in it. I hope they can help fierce ghosts who have lost their way reach the Naihe Bridge. They’ll know that the human world contains Teacher Shen, so it's better to go to Difu."

Qi Dazhuang flipped through the notebook and suddenly felt that his heart was full of righteousness. He would never be afraid of his bus being taken over by a fierce ghost again.

After all the fierce ghosts had transcended, Teacher Shen left H City, and the psychopomp bus returned to normal.

If anyone accidentally boards an empty ghost bus at night, please don't be afraid. There's a driver on that bus who has read Teacher Shen's lesson plans. He is a very kind-hearted driver who will take you home safely.

And maybe when you wake up the next morning, you'll find some never-before-studied Marxist principles in your head.

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