Chapter Ten: The Bus

"Boss!"

In a small shop at the street corner, several people sat, eating heartily.

"You're back."

A middle-aged man took a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth.

"How did it go?"

"That newcomer seems very weak. There's no way he could have killed Jing," the young man replied truthfully.

"We can't rule out the possibility that he's deliberately hiding his strength," the middle-aged man nodded.

"We still need to keep a close watch. Not even Jing's body was left behind, and there were only a handful of people nearby at the time. We can't overlook any of them."

"Understood!"

The group nodded in agreement.

Having survived several worlds together, their bond ran deeper than most could imagine. Jing's disappearance was not something they could simply ignore. They had already investigated everyone who had been in the vicinity at that time, but their efforts had yielded nothing.

Meanwhile, in a small courtyard elsewhere, Murong Xun’s expression grew cold as he listened to the call from Chu Wannian.

"What happened?" Chen Lian sensed something was wrong upon noticing the rare shift in Murong Xun’s demeanor.

"Nothing. Just that we won’t be handling this case anymore," Murong Xun replied coolly, handing her the file folder he held.

"So, are we still going out?" she asked instinctively, taking the folder.

"No need. Let's just rest," Murong Xun said, turning and heading back into the living room.

...

Night fell.

On the silent street, only the dim glow of the streetlights illuminated a small patch of ground nearby.

Beneath the bus stop, one person stood quietly, waiting for the bus.

This was Stop 402, where Bus 1404 always arrived on time every day.

Tonight was no exception. After a while, a bus painted all over in dark green, bearing the marks of age, slowly pulled up.

Murong Xun pressed his cap lower and boarded.

There were seven or eight passengers scattered across the seats. As he got on, every head turned to look at him.

Ignoring their stares, Murong Xun chose an empty window seat and sat down.

The bus moved on, slowly winding through the night. After several minutes, it stopped at another station.

At that moment, an old woman rose from the back row and shuffled forward, pausing deliberately in front of Murong Xun.

"Young man, this is your stop. You should get off now."

Her face was etched with the traces of time, wrinkled and weathered, yet gentle. Her clothes were old-fashioned, the style of decades past.

"Old lady, stop nagging. If it’s your stop, just get off," the bus driver grumbled impatiently before Murong Xun could reply.

With a sigh, seeing Murong Xun unmoved, the old woman stepped off into the night, her figure swallowed by darkness.

The bus rolled on, stopping again. This time, three oddly dressed youths with brightly colored hair—like performance artists—got on, laughing and jostling as they chose their seats, shattering the previous calm.

"Hey, beautiful, where are you from?" One sat beside a woman in a white office outfit, striking up an overly eager conversation.

Murong Xun simply watched with cold detachment, saying nothing.

The ride continued, passengers getting on and off at each stop.

"Strange, why is the last bus so crowded tonight?" one of the three youths remarked, uneasy now that the bus was nearly full.

"Maybe it's just a busy night," the woman replied, dispelling their doubts.

They continued their banter, their suggestive jokes making the woman giggle coquettishly.

At the next stop, the woman stood up.

"Handsome gentlemen, this is my stop. Care to join me at my place for a candlelit conversation?" Her hand trailed seductively over their collars as she stood at the door, emphasizing the words 'candlelit conversation.'

"Yes, yes!" the three, blinded by desire, scrambled to follow her off the bus.

Murong Xun gazed out at the night, his face expressionless.

Suddenly, a face appeared at the window. The woman wore a blue funeral dress, her cheeks covered in fresh blood. She slapped the glass with both hands, her mouth opening and closing as if speaking.

Murong Xun paid her no mind.

The bus moved on, and the apparition vanished.

At the thirteenth stop, two girls boarded. With few seats left, they ended up next to Murong Xun, sharing the space but taking care not to touch him.

For the first time, Murong Xun’s expression shifted.

“Get off at the next stop.”

His voice was cold.

“Huh?” The girls looked at him, puzzled.

Murong Xun offered no explanation, turning back to the window.

Left in the dark, the two girls huddled together, whispering nervously.

The bus grew ever more crowded, not only with every seat filled, but with people now standing in the aisle.

“This is weird. Why is it taking so long tonight? We should have arrived ages ago!” one of the girls finally realized something was wrong. They had only intended to ride a few stops, yet several had passed with no sign of their destination.

“Maybe it’s a different route tonight. We haven’t passed a single familiar stop,” the other girl replied more calmly.

“Hey, where are you getting off?” they asked Murong Xun in their boredom.

“The last stop,” he answered.

“The last stop? I’ve taken this bus so many times and I’ve never even known where that is,” one girl said in surprise. “By the way, I’m Xu Ying, and this is my classmate Zhang Jiao.”

“I don’t know, either,” Murong Xun replied, his answer only deepening their confusion.

“Why ride a bus when you don’t know the destination?” Zhang Jiao challenged, suspecting he was just being evasive.

“Just riding for the sake of it. I’ll get off wherever it takes me,” Murong Xun explained.

“You’d best ride all the way to the last stop, too.”

“Why?” Xu Ying asked, bewildered. Hadn’t he just told them to get off at the next stop? Why now advise them to stay until the end?

Murong Xun gave no explanation. In truth, if it weren’t for the side quest he’d triggered, he wouldn’t have cared about their fates.

[Protection: Ensure the survival of ordinary people on the bus. For each additional survivor, Magic Tower Points +10. If fewer than one ordinary person remains, you will be erased!]

He didn’t know what the points were for, nor did he care much, but the final penalty was simply too severe—outright erasure. Who could afford to take that risk?

It was for this reason alone that he acted so out of character, interfering in ways he normally never would.