Chapter 365

Chapter 365

◎Rhinoceros Light Reveals Spirits◎

Xiao Ye wasn’t sure if he had gained second sight, but he was certain that the person he’d just seen had vanished. He didn’t stop the car. Instead, while continuing to drive, he grabbed several talismans from the glove compartment and stuck them onto the side windows, the steering wheel, and even onto himself.

He made it home safely. As soon as the car came to a stop, Xiao Ye rushed out without grabbing his things: "Naonao, Naonao! Quick—tell me if I’ve opened my second sight! I just saw someone disappear out of nowhere! At the bus stop on Huasheng Road, a girl suddenly vanished!"

Ji Nanxing glanced at him. "You haven’t opened your second sight."

Xiao Ye: "If I haven’t, then what I saw was a living person. A living person who suddenly disappeared. Before vanishing, she looked like she was getting on something. So what I couldn’t see must have been a ghost... a spirit bus?!"

Ji Nanxing put down his things. "Where did you see this?"

Xiao Ye: "At the bus stop on Huasheng Road, about ten minutes ago. Come on, let’s go check it out now—we might find something."

Ji Nanxing got in the car, and Xiao Ye hit the gas. With few people on the road at night, they reached the bus stop in less than ten minutes.

Ji Nanxing stepped out and surveyed the surroundings. "There’s lingering *Yin* traces. You probably saw a spirit bus."

Xiao Ye: "What happens if a living person boards a spirit bus? Will there be a news report tomorrow about someone found dead miles away in an abandoned bus?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head. "It's unpredictable. We don’t even know what kind of spirit bus that girl boarded."

Some spirit buses merely pass through, collecting wayward spirits. Some of these spirits are lucid and may even pay the driver to visit their living relatives. These are usually harmless—if a living person accidentally boards one, they’ll most likely wake up in some forgotten corner by sunrise, unharmed.

Others prowl cities specifically targeting those with low Yang energy. If a living person mistakenly boards such a bus, their living soul essence could be devoured or they might be taken as a replacement ghost. Once aboard, failing to get off in time could mean death.

Ji Nanxing scanned the area and noticed a surveillance camera nearby. He sent the location to the Management Bureau, requesting they retrieve the footage.

The Bureau had supernatural-detecting equipment capable of tracking Yin entities or spirit buses through city surveillance, provided there was a target.

After confirming that colleagues at the Bureau were already reviewing the footage, Ji Nanxing climbed back into the car. "Drive straight ahead. I’ll try to trace the lingering *Yin* traces."

Pursuing both leads would increase their chances of finding the girl.

Following the trail of *Yin* energy, they drove all the way beyond the Third Ring Road until the trail vanished near a lake.

Xiao Ye turned the headlights toward the water. "Does the *Yin* energy end here?"

Ji Nanxing nodded.

Xiao Ye: "Did the bus drive into the lake with her?"

Ji Nanxing took out a small paper figure and carefully placed it inside an ultra-thin plastic sleeve retrieved from behind his phone case before tossing it into the water.

The figure gave a papery swish as it dove in, searching underwater for a moment before eventually floating back up after a long while.

Xiao Ye: "Well? Was there anyone in there?"

Ji Nanxing: "No one. The spirit bus must have vanished—it didn’t take any living person with it."

With the *Yin* trail broken and no sign of the girl, staying longer was pointless. They climbed back into the car and headed home.

On the way, a message arrived from the Bureau. Ji Nanxing opened it: "The girl disembarked at an intermediate stop. The spirit bus likely wasn’t harmful—it must have realized she was alive and let her off."

Xiao Ye sighed with relief. "Good thing nothing happened. Let’s go home. Thank god exams are done. If we’d pulled this late-night stunt during the school term, I wouldn’t have made it to class tomorrow. Naonao, doesn’t the Bureau handle spirit buses? Leaving them unregulated could easily snatch someone with bad luck—that could claim countless lives."

Nowadays, the living might carry more Grudge than the dead. Working late into the night is common, and young people’s health is worse than retirees’. Allowing spirit buses to roam unchecked could bring disaster.

Ji Nanxing: "These phantom buses don’t follow any pattern and rarely appear—sometimes only once every few years or even decades. Let’s see if the Bureau can find any information about the girl, whether her strong Yin energy was accidental or due to her own condition."

If it was accidental, that could mean she encountered a ghost or was haunted. If it was her own condition, then her health might be deteriorating—either she was about to suffer an unexpected event like sudden death, or she might have a serious illness.

Since they’ve encountered this, neither Ji Nanxing nor the Bureau could simply ignore it. At the very least, they needed to determine why the girl ended up on the phantom bus. If it was due to illness, there was nothing they could do, but for other causes, they would try to resolve them if possible.

The city's surveillance system was extremely high-definition. As long as her face was clearly captured, they could quickly identify her and even trace some of her movements.

The next day, while Xiao Ye was overseeing the garden setup outside, Ji Nanxing was studying in the ancestor’s room when a message came from the Bureau. After reading it, Ji Nanxing came out and told Xiao Ye, "Tonight, we’ll camp out at the station for that girl."

Xiao Ye: "The one from yesterday? Did they find out who she is? Can we really catch her at the station? She must be an office worker—couldn’t they track down her company?"

It would be easier to go straight to her workplace, though they’d need a reason. Or maybe just observe her from a distance during lunch.

Ji Nanxing: "The girl’s name is Sheng Siyuan. She works late almost every night until past eleven, and then arrives at that station exactly at 11:30. So instead of going to her company, we just need to wait at the station at that time."

Xiao Ye frowned upon hearing this: "What kind of company has her working this late every night? By the time she gets home, it’s already midnight. After washing up, it’s probably one or two in the morning. She barely gets a few hours of sleep before having to get up again—no time for herself at all. With her spirit constantly drained like this, no wonder she’s having issues."

That kind of grueling work schedule sounds terrifying—just imagining it is suffocating.

Ji Nanxing: "Let’s see tonight."

At six o’clock in the evening, coworkers started trickling out of the office. Seeing Sheng Siyuan still at her desk, they waved and said, "Sisi, we’re heading out. Don’t forget to shut off the lights and lock up when you leave."

Sheng Siyuan waved back: "Get home safe, everyone. Bye."

Coworker: "You should head back early too. Take care."

When there wasn’t pressing work, everyone left on time, punching out right on time. Their company rarely required overtime, and most days they could leave at six with weekends off—a pretty rare deal.

As they rode the elevator, the conversation turned to Sheng Siyuan.

One of her closer coworkers sighed: "Last time I tried introducing her to more friends, she refused. It’s not like she had to start dating right away—just widening her social circle would help."

"After being single for so long, it’s like she doesn’t even want to date anymore. Feels like having someone else around is more hassle than it’s worth."

"She really ought to give dating a shot. At least she’d have company."

"Ah well, it’s her life. Let her live how she wants."

Once everyone was gone, Sheng Siyuan let her smile drop slowly. Sitting quietly in the empty office for a while, she took her lunchbox to the break room to heat it up, then returned to her desk and put on a show to watch while she ate.

Her workstation was by the window, and the office building was high enough that every night, she could see the city’s countless lights from her seat.

The chatter of the TV drama filled the room from her computer, depicting mundane family stories. The food in her lunchbox got soggy after microwaving, so Sheng Siyuan mixed everything together and ate it with a spoon. After finishing, she made herself some fruit tea.

She closed the drama and opened a variety show in a small window beside her screen while continuing to work on an unfinished PowerPoint. The presentation wasn’t urgent—it was for a Friday meeting, and today was only Tuesday. With all the materials ready, it wouldn’t take more than half a day to complete.

Besides the PowerPoint, Sheng Siyuan didn’t have anything else to do, so she figured finishing it early would give her peace of mind.

Working while occasionally glancing at the variety show, she dragged it out until eleven. After saving the PowerPoint, shutting down her computer, and checking all the office’s power sources—turning off what she could—she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.

This office building housed many companies, including some dedicated to live-streaming, so people were often around late at night. Leaving this late wasn’t out of the ordinary.

After a ten-minute walk to the station, Sheng Siyuan sat on a bench for a while, checking her phone and counting the minutes.

In the car parked behind the station, Xiao Ye found it odd: "She boarded a phantom bus yesterday—isn’t she scared at all? Or did she not even realize it was an abnormal one?"

Ji Nanxing rolled down the window slightly, frowning: "Something’s not right."

Xiao Ye: "What's wrong? Is this girl human or a ghost?"

Ji Nanxing: "She's human, alive—but there's a strange scent on her."

Xiao Ye stuck his head out of the car and sniffed the air, but all he could catch was the smell of roasted sweet potatoes from a nearby vendor.

"What smell? I don’t smell anything—just roasted sweet potatoes."

Ji Nanxing thought for a moment. "Rhinoceros horn incense—the kind used in spirit rituals."

Xiao Ye immediately recalled some old supernatural tales he’d read before. "That spirit-summoning rhino horn? Like the one they say you light to see what’s hidden in deep, dark waters?"

Ancient legends claimed that burning a rhinoceros horn would produce glowing smoke that let people see things beyond normal sight—like opening a spiritual eye through the horn.

Ji Nanxing nodded. "If my nose is right, that’s exactly what it is."

Xiao Ye looked at the girl waiting at the station. "So two possibilities. One, someone put that scent on her to get her snatched by the ghost bus or make her see ghosts. Two, she lit the incense herself, got on the ghost bus on purpose—she wanted to meet a ghost."

From how the girl looked, Xiao Ye figured the second option made more sense.

A cold wind blew. In Ji Nanxing’s eyes, the world began to fill with mist. From it emerged a rusted-out, blood-smeared bus, moving slowly toward the curb.

The girl stood up as soon as she saw it and walked to the edge of the platform, waiting for the bus to stop.

Ji Nanxing turned to Xiao Ye. "Stay in the car. I’ll follow and check it out."

"Be careful," Xiao Ye replied.

Ji Nanxing nodded. The next moment, his spirit left his body.

By then, the ghost bus had already pulled up. Its doors, dry and rusty from neglect, creaked open with a loud groan. Sheng Siyuan stepped onto the bus—and right behind her, Ji Nanxing’s soul followed.