Mysterious Resurgence: Starting with the Strange Bus

Chapter 259 A New Era Begins, Old Qin Departs
The two surviving residents of Taiping Ancient Town unanimously plan to rescue He Liansheng's granddaughter, He Yin'er, from the Ghost Lake.

However, the problem they now face is how to rescue them.
It's important to understand that the Ghost Lake incident was no ordinary paranormal event. Even with the two of them working together, they still didn't have the confidence to face the Ghost Lake.

Therefore, the plan to save He Yin'er seemed to be in trouble instantly.

However, Mr. Liu quickly came up with the key information to break the deadlock.

He then spoke to the faceless man, saying, "I remember that when Old Man He buried his granddaughter, he seemed to have left a contingency plan, so that if his granddaughter failed to control the supernatural power of Ghost Lake in the future, he could revive her."

"I'm not entirely sure what the backup plan is, but since there's a backup plan left behind, there must be clues to follow. Let's go to the He family ancestral hall and see if we can find anything there."

Hear this.

The faceless man, of course, had no objection.

The two immediately walked towards the location of the He Family Ancestral Hall.

However, the faceless man walking in front did not notice that Boss Liu, who was walking behind him, suddenly froze, and a very strange expression appeared on his face.

But this situation only lasted for a moment, and Mr. Liu returned to normal.

All of this happened so fast that not only did the faceless man walking in front not notice, but even Boss Liu himself seemed unaware that something was wrong with him.

And so, the two soon arrived at the He Family Ancestral Hall, located deep within the ancient town of Taiping.

The ancestral hall's main gate was half-closed. The two people who approached did not hesitate at all and pushed the gate open and went inside.

The room was dark and cold.

The furnishings were also very simple.

Apart from some everyday household items, there was only a huge altar.

There are many memorial tablets enshrined above, arranged neatly in rows. At the very front is an incense burner with three lit incense sticks burning inside. The swirling incense smoke creates a hazy, misty atmosphere while carrying a strong fragrance.

The incense was lit by He Liansheng before he set off for Ghost Lake, but now the incense is still burning, though the person who lit it will never return; he died in Ghost Lake.

"By the way, did Old Man He leave behind the medium for passing on his soul-summoning skills?"

Suddenly, the faceless man began to communicate by writing words in the air with his fingers.

"If Old Man He's eye is still there, then the soul summoner might one day reappear, and Taiping Ancient Town wouldn't be completely extinct. We could rebuild the ancient town!"

However, what Boss Liu said next interrupted his thoughts.

Boss Liu said, "No, that young man who killed Old Man He seems to know us very well. He took away the medium that was meant to be used by the soul summoner and didn't leave it behind, as if he didn't want a new soul summoner to appear."

This is the truth.

After killing He Liansheng, Li Hui did indeed take his eyes along with all the supernatural objects, leaving only He Liansheng's corpse behind.

"We can talk about the soul summoner later. Our priority right now is to rescue Old Man He's granddaughter. Since Old Man He left a backup plan, it must be hidden in this ancestral hall," Boss Liu continued.

Upon hearing this, the faceless man simply nodded and said nothing more.

The two then began their search.

Just then, the smoke from the three incense sticks burning on the offering table gathered together and drifted over the table toward the two of them.

As the smoke drifted over the offering table, a strange scene unfolded.

Where the incense smoke drifted, several people appeared, standing in rows like memorial tablets. There were men and women among them, and their clothes were all old-fashioned, indicating that they were not from this era.

However, human figures only appeared where the smoke had drifted; other areas without smoke remained normal.

And after the smoke dissipated, everything returned to normal; the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall were still the same, and nothing had changed.

Eventually, the lingering smoke drifted to the side of the Faceless Man and Boss Liu.

The faceless man was alright, showing no abnormalities. However, the scene of Boss Liu, who was surrounded by smoke, was extremely bizarre.

A strange figure appeared behind him.

It was a woman with disheveled hair and her body covered in water stains. Her exposed eyes were empty and white, without a trace of the vitality a living person should have.

What's even more bizarre is that her stiff face has forced out a very strange smile, which looks particularly eerie, as if a vengeful ghost is smiling at you.

Upon witnessing this bizarre scene, the faceless man shuddered and immediately retreated, widening the distance between himself and Boss Liu.

"What's wrong, Yu Hui?"

At this point, Boss Liu was still a bit confused, seemingly not understanding the faceless man's actions. He said with some doubt, "Why is he acting like he's seen a ghost?"

See this.

The faceless man did not respond. He just stood on the other side of the ancestral hall, his face without features facing Boss Liu, as if he was looking at him and thinking about something. Finally, he raised his finger and wrote in the air.

"You've drawn the ghost lake..."

However, he had only written half of it when the faceless man seemed to suddenly realize something, stopped what he was doing, and then turned around to leave without hesitation.

At this moment, the faceless man was completely hidden in the shadows, and under his own supernatural influence, a path that did not exist in reality seemed to appear in front of him.

However, just as the faceless man was about to step onto the path and leave, he suddenly heard the sound of water. The sound of water grew louder as it approached, like gentle ripples on a calm lake, which was very pleasant and soothing to listen to.

At first, the sound of the water was not obvious and seemed to be far away from him, but in the blink of an eye, the sound of the waves became much louder and even became a bit of noise.

At the same time, a chilling aura began to permeate the entire ancestral hall.

Under the influence of this aura, the supernatural path that the faceless man had created using supernatural means was instantly distorted, making it impossible for him to leave smoothly through the path.

obviously.

A supernatural being doesn't want the faceless man to leave and wants to keep him here.

When the faceless man finally broke free from the eerie influence of the sound of water and came to his senses, he found himself no longer in the ancestral hall of Taiping Ancient Town, but in a lake.

The lake water was dark and cold, its surface completely still, almost eerily calm, exuding a strange and sinister aura.

The lake is surrounded by towering mountains, which act like a natural dam, enclosing the lake and preventing its water from flowing out.

The faceless man stood in the middle of the lake, and strangely, he did not sink but stood steadily on the surface of the lake.

"This is the real Ghost Lake. This is troublesome. Boss Liu is indeed in trouble. He may have been 'controlled' by the Ghost Lake. Right now, I am powerless to fight against the Ghost Lake. It seems that the heavens are going to destroy my Taiping Ancient Town!"

The faceless man felt a deep sorrow.

Old Man He is dead, the woman is dead, and Boss Liu is controlled by the Ghost Lake. Now he is the only one left in the entire Taiping Ancient Town.

However, now even he has fallen into the Ghost Lake, and it is estimated that his death is only a matter of time. In this way, Taiping Ancient Town will truly become history.

This is something the Faceless Man will not allow!

He immediately prepared to use supernatural means to leave, but failed. The terror level of Ghost Lake was unexpectedly high. Other supernatural beings would be affected here, making it impossible to leave through the supernatural path.

What made him even more desperate was...

At this moment, Ghost Lake has begun to stir.

The lake was no longer calm; ripples and waves began to spread out, as if something was swimming upwards from below.

next moment.

One by one, female ghosts with empty, pale eyes, stiff and eerie expressions, disheveled hair, and particularly creepy appearances began to emerge from the water.

There were so many of them that they almost covered the entire lake surface. They were densely packed together as far as the eye could see. Then, all of these female ghosts quickly surrounded the location of the faceless man.

at the same time.

the other side.

Upon returning to the headquarters of the Ghost Riders in Dajing City, Li Hui did not go to see Cao Yanhua, nor did he rush to collect his travel allowance. Instead, he went straight to the small courtyard where Old Qin was.

Two armchairs were placed in the courtyard.

At this moment, an old man and a young man were lying on the two armchairs respectively.

"The enforcement team leader's notice has been issued, right? This is a show of sincerity from headquarters. From now on, the entire headquarters will revolve around you. From other team leaders to ordinary staff, including the deputy minister, all personnel will be mobilized by you."

Old Qin sat on the black armchair and spoke slowly, his aged voice revealing a hint of imperceptible fatigue, his words carrying the air of someone making arrangements for his passing.

"you are leaving?"

suddenly.

On the other side, Li Hui asked this question out of the blue.

His visit to this courtyard was not to reminisce with Old Qin, but to bid him farewell and send the old man off on his final journey.

This was the outcome he had predicted.

Old Qin's time is coming to an end.

Although he didn't overuse his supernatural abilities to resist the out-of-control ghost paintings as in the original story, he was nearing the end of his life and didn't have much time left to live.

In the original story, Qin Lao sealed himself into a golden bronze statue before his death, but Li Hui's appearance at this time clearly made him no longer have such thoughts.

Because it is not necessary.

Li Hui is already capable of handling the relevant matters. If even Li Hui at this stage cannot handle them, then even if Old Qin chooses to seal himself away and hold on to his last breath, it will not change anything.

That being the case.

It would be better to just leave.

"Yes, I will take care of my own affairs. Since I still have some time, I can go and visit my old friends."

Old Qin did not deny it, and said:
“I have had conversations with my future self many times, and the results were different each time, but one thing was exactly the same: you will encounter a big problem, but I don’t know what it is. This proves that my future self will not live to see that day, whether I keep it or not.”

At this moment of farewell, Old Qin once again brought up Li Hui's future.

"I've got a clue about this matter myself. Although I can't be 100% sure, it's the most likely possibility," Li Hui said with a furrowed brow, glancing subtly at the back of his hand out of the corner of his eye.

There was a cell phone-shaped tattoo on the back of his hand.

If there's anything that Li Hui, with his current strength and even in the future, is unable to handle, then there are only two possibilities.

One possibility is that the phone tattoo went out of control, leaving him powerless to resist, and he ultimately died from the supernatural power of the phone tattoo.

Another possibility is that Zhangdong has spiraled out of control.

Because Zhang Dong's ability is to erase all supernatural phenomena, even the ability to foresee the future will be affected, making it impossible to know any related information. In addition, Zhang Dong's strength is sufficient, so he can definitely be considered a big problem for him.

Li Hui really couldn't think of a third possibility.

After all, even at his current stage, he is already at the pinnacle of this world, let alone in the future. As long as the phone tattoo doesn't cause any problems, he will definitely become stronger and stronger.

In this situation, what supernatural event could qualify as a major problem, or even cause his death?
"It's good to be prepared. No one can predict the future. For example, before you came into my life, the future I knew was not like it is now."

A slight smile appeared on Qin Lao's aged face as he took in all of Li Hui's expressions and movements, especially the moment when the other man glanced at the phone tattoo on the back of his hand.

Hear the words.

Li Hui became interested and pressed on, "Then tell me, what did you know about the future before I appeared?"

Old Qin said, "That's another kind of future. In that future, a very special person appeared. To be precise, he can no longer be called a human, but a true god!"

"He rose from humble beginnings, transforming from a mortal into a god, suppressing the entire supernatural era, and finally bringing it all to an end!"

extraordinary.

Old Qin made no attempt to conceal anything and revealed the alternative future he knew.

This also greatly surprised Li Hui about what Qin Lao knew.

It's important to understand that Qin Lao's ability to foresee the future involves communicating with his future self. However, in the original story, when Yang Jian transformed into Yang Jian to end the supernatural era, Qin Lao had already passed away. So how did he know the future?
"Could it be that Old Qin has been living in seclusion for sixty or seventy years?" Li Hui was startled by his own speculation.

But upon closer reflection, it seems impossible.

Then Li Hui said, "If that's the case, why didn't you continue to wait for that person to succeed, but instead chose me?"

Upon hearing this, a strange look flashed across Old Qin's face, which was covered with age spots, and he retorted, "How do you know that I will definitely choose you and not him?"

Before Li Hui could respond, Old Qin continued, "Alright, the future is too uncertain. Even you and I may not know the truth. It's just one possibility. After all, the future is not static; there are countless possibilities."

“Talking about the future is completely meaningless, like trying to see the moon in the water or a flower in a mirror. The most important thing is the present. At least from the current point of view, you have a greater chance of success.”

Speaking of which.

Old Qin paused for two seconds.

He then continued, "Alright, I've said what I should and shouldn't have said. As for what happens next, that's up to you to choose. But I believe you will make the right choice. This era is fortunate to have you all!"

"As people get older, they tend to become more talkative. My time is almost up, and it's time for me to go."

talking.

Old Qin slowly stood up.

He felt that he had said more today than he had in the past few years combined, which made him sigh with admiration for Li Hui.

After all, he didn't speak before because he had nothing to say. There were no people at his level, and talking to others would be like talking to a brick wall, which was meaningless. He could only exchange a few words with Wang Xiaoming, who was exceptionally intelligent.

Li Hui was undoubtedly at the same level as him, the two were on the same level, and Li Hui was even higher, so Qin Lao naturally became more talkative.

"Beep beep beep!"

As Old Qin stood up fully, leaning on his cane, several bus horns suddenly sounded in the quiet courtyard.

Then, under Li Hui's gaze, two dim lights shone from behind Old Qin.

Then, an old and strange bus suddenly passed through the wall, ignoring the obstruction, and finally stopped in front of Qin Lao and Li Hui.

It was that haunted bus!
At this moment, Old Qin gave Li Hui his final instructions: "You don't need to tell anyone about my departure. Let some people outside think that I'm still at headquarters, or it might be a good thing."

After saying this, Old Qin stopped paying attention to Li Hui and turned his head to look at the old bus in front of him with a nostalgic expression.

Then Old Qin sighed, "Old friend, this may be the last time I drive you in my life. Let you see me off on my final journey."

He then slowly walked onto the eerie bus, leaning on his cane, went to the driver's seat, pushed aside the cold, lifeless body of the driver, and sat down alone.

Then the supernatural bus started moving, but it did not follow the predetermined route. Instead, it was arbitrarily controlled by Old Qin, heading to any place he wanted to go.

soon.

The eerie bus drove further and further away, eventually disappearing into the headquarters.

Li Hui simply watched quietly without making any move. As Old Qin drove away in the eerie bus, he felt as if he were witnessing the end of an era.

"Currently, among the top ghost tamers from the Republican era, besides Elder Qin, I estimate that only Zhang Dong is still alive, and judging by the timeline, Zhang Dong seems to be nearing his end..."

Li Hui muttered to himself.

He then composed himself and went to the office of Vice Minister Cao Yanhua.

There were already two people waiting for him in the office: Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua and Wang Xiaoming, who had been the head of the headquarters' intellectual team in the past.

However, Wang Xiaoming was in very poor physical condition at this time. He looked exhausted and terminally ill, and it seemed that he didn't have much time left to live.

"Old Qin is gone?"

Li Hui had just entered the office and hadn't even had a chance to speak when Wang Xiaoming, who was sitting next to him, spoke first.

His tone was calm, as if he had expected Qin Lao's departure, and he seemed quite certain that Li Hui had just said goodbye to Qin Lao.

"Hmm." Li Hui nodded upon hearing this, not at all surprised that Wang Xiaoming could guess that Old Qin had left.

If we were to discuss who in the entire headquarters was most familiar with Old Qin, it would undoubtedly be Wang Xiaoming standing right in front of him. Therefore, it was inevitable that Wang Xiaoming would know about Old Qin's departure.

"It's better that you left."

Wang Xiaoming nodded expressionlessly and then said, "Old Qin's departure is indeed a good thing for the development of the headquarters. This will prevent some people from having other ideas and thus not cooperating with the enforcement team leader's actions."

Speaking of which.

Wang Xiaoming glanced at Cao Yanhua.

Upon noticing this, Cao Yanhua immediately retorted, "Wang Xiaoming, what do you mean by that? You're not talking about me, are you?"

"I'm just stating the facts."

Wang Xiaoming remained expressionless: "Old Qin's presence was like a pillar of stability for headquarters. Now that he's gone, headquarters can better carry out reforms, devote itself to new work, and wholeheartedly focus on the enforcement team leader."

As soon as these words came out.

Cao Yanhua also fell silent.

He clearly realized something too.

When Elder Qin was around, they really relied on him for support, always thinking that if things didn't work out, they would ask him to come over. Now that Elder Qin has left, headquarters can better cooperate with the enforcement team leader's actions.

But then Cao Yanhua thought of something else and looked at Wang Xiaoming with a worried expression: "With your body, are you really not considering becoming a Ghost Tamer?"

Not long ago.

Wang Xiaoming was diagnosed with cancer.

And it's already in the late stage!

This means that Wang Xiaoming's days are numbered.

As the deputy minister of the headquarters, Cao Yanhua naturally hoped that Wang Xiaoming would not die. He tried to persuade Wang Xiaoming to heal himself through supernatural means, but Wang Xiaoming refused in the end.

This time was no exception.

Wang Xiaoming said, "No need. Everyone has to die eventually. Sometimes living is more tiring, while death is a kind of relief."

"In the current situation, it wouldn't make much difference whether headquarters has me or not, and I really don't want to be influenced by the supernatural, as that would make my thinking impure."

No one has ever died in life.

Very few people can calmly accept their own death, especially those who choose to die when they could have lived.

But Wang Xiaoming is one of them.

He is too tired.

Standing at his current level.

I want to truly step down.

Then death is the only way out.

Therefore, compared to struggling to survive as a Ghost Tamer, Wang Xiaoming would rather die a peaceful death, which might be a good thing for him personally, for the entire headquarters, and for everyone.

"Alright, I know my own body. Right now, the law enforcement captain is being appointed, and there's a lot of handover work to be done. I can take advantage of this limited time to complete my current research project."

Speaking of which.

Wang Xiaoming glanced at Cao Yanhua.

The latter immediately spoke up, saying, "Li Hui, your appointment as the head of the enforcement team has been issued to all headquarters leaders, but there is still one thing to be determined: will you remain at headquarters or continue to return to Hangzhou?"

“Currently, there are four team leaders at headquarters: Jiang Shangbai, Wei Jing, Lu Zhiwen, and Li Jun. There’s not much point for me to stay, so I’d better go back to Hangzhou,” Li Hui said.

Upon hearing this, Cao Yanhua nodded and said, "It's good to go back to Hangzhou. It's a big city, and with the surrounding smaller cities, it really needs a powerful Ghost Master to guard it."

"I've already arranged for someone to send the information about the enforcement team leader to your phone. You can take a look when you have time. As for your overtime pay for this business trip to Ghost Lake..."

As he spoke, Cao Yanhua took out two folders containing documents and plans and handed them to Li Hui. He then continued, "Because you have become the enforcement team leader, I did not prepare your travel expenses in advance like other team leaders do."

"These two file folders contain records of all the paranormal items currently in headquarters. You can do whatever you want with all the paranormal items in them, so feel free to take whatever you like."

"In addition, there is information on all the vengeful spirits imprisoned since the headquarters was established..."

At this moment, Cao Yanhua took out a thick stack of files from under the table and said to Li Hui, "These contain information about those vengeful ghosts. Also, you can use any vengeful ghost that you have your eye on or think you can make use of."

This wave of decentralization can be described as quite thorough.

without any exaggeration.

Judging from the current situation, the headquarters really does intend to operate with Li Hui as the center, and he has the highest authority over everything at headquarters.

This is a treatment that Yang Jian, even in the original story, never enjoyed.

This made Li Hui sigh.

The Ghost Riders headquarters is truly masters of tailoring their tactics to different people.

However, Li Hui was happy to see it this way.

After all, he has already become the captain of the law enforcement team. If he is still being held back by headquarters, how can he live up to the meaning of the title of captain of the law enforcement team?

Li Hui immediately said, "Okay, I'll look at the relevant information later. Let's leave it at that for now. I'll familiarize myself with the contents of these files first, and then we'll decide what to call up."

The words fell.

Li Hui waved his hand.

A fleeting, dim light from the ghostly realm flashed by.

The thick stack of files on Cao Yanhua's desk disappeared completely, and then Li Hui walked out of the office.

joke.

Li Hui naturally wouldn't personally do something as tedious as reviewing archives.

He planned to take the materials with him first, then hand them over to his subordinates to sort, and finally he would pick out what he wanted from them. This was clearly the most correct way to proceed.

Think of this.

Li Hui couldn't help but praise himself for his cleverness.

Shortly after Li Hui left the office, Vice Minister Cao Yanhua and Wang Xiaoming began talking again.

at the same time.

Old Qin drove the supernatural bus into a supernatural place.

Instead of modern city buildings, the roadside was a dark and eerie place, clearly an incomprehensible supernatural realm inaccessible to the living. Only the supernatural bus could allow passage through it.

At this moment, Old Qin was driving the bus through this strange place. He did not stop along the way. Although the vehicle was not traveling fast, it was able to cross the two places in an incredible way.

At this moment, distance seemed to be completely rewritten by the supernatural.

Soon the eerie bus passed through this strange area and arrived at another terrifying, supernatural place.

This is a highway.

There is an old-fashioned bus stop on the side of the road, behind which is a winding forest path, the dirt road surface overgrown with weeds.

At the end of that road stood an old house, with two red lanterns hanging in front of it, emitting a red glow.

Clearly, that old house from the Republican era was the place Old Qin wanted to go.

Instead of stopping at the bus stop by the roadside, he drove the bus directly toward the old, dilapidated house.

The dim yellow lights converged, illuminating a road in the ghostly realm, passing directly through the forest path, and nothing along the way could stop the eerie bus from moving forward.

As the vehicle drove in, the appearance of the old house became clearer.

The house was a wooden structure, and it was unclear how long it had been built. Several parts of it had collapsed, and it was surrounded by weeds, as if it had been abandoned. Even the paint on the gate had faded and turned grayish-white. It didn't look like anyone had ever lived there.

next moment.

Old Qin drove the supernatural bus directly through the outer wall of the old house and into the Republican-era mansion, finally bringing the vehicle to a steady stop in the courtyard.

Then I turned off the engine and got out of the car.

All in one go.

At that moment, the owner of the old house also turned his attention to it.

It was an old man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit and black cloth shoes, who was sitting in the main hall of the old house.

His appearance was equally aged, with loose skin and, like Old Qin, his face covered with wrinkles and age spots. However, he exuded a kind of awe-inspiring and suffocating majesty.

He simply sat there, like an insurmountable mountain, as if no matter how strange or supernatural the power was, it couldn't stir up any waves in front of him.

Obviously.

This old man is Zhang Dong, the owner of this old house from the Republican era!
Upon seeing Old Qin walking towards him after getting off the car, Zhang Dong took the initiative to say, "Little Qin, you've arrived."

His tone was calm, yet it revealed an inexplicable air of authority. This was not something he did intentionally; rather, this aura was ingrained in his very being, forming an instinctive quality.

"Yes, I've come to keep you company, and I also want to dig a hole here so I can bury myself here and prevent chaos among the people," Old Qin said jokingly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dong was speechless for a moment, realizing that his old friend was also approaching the end of his life.

Think back to those days.

The reason why Elder Qin was able to be born was because of the presence of these people behind him. They secretly laid out a backup plan so that Elder Qin could take over after they disappeared, so as not to cause a gap in the top ghost tamers.

I never expected that this 'younger generation' was already nearing the end of his life and had to start preparing for his own funeral.

I examine myself three times a day and dare not slack off in the slightest. As of yesterday, this book has finally surpassed the one million word mark!

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(End of this chapter)