Chapter 125: Old Wu the Driver
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The scenery outside the window flowed silently past his fingertips: mountains and rivers receded like the ebbing tide, while the narrow road grew increasingly difficult to travel.
A minibus jolted its way along the mountain road. The violent bumps, mingled with the pungent smell of gasoline, nearly suffocated Cui Yue, while his stomach churned in waves.
The driver hummed a little tune, casually lit a White Yan'an cigarette, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
“Anyone getting off at Xingfeng Town up ahead?”
Several figures swayed to their feet inside the bus and shuffled toward the door.
The moment they stepped off, before they had even found their balance, the door creaked shut. The driver hit the gas and sped away, leaving a string of curses behind him.
The driver gave a contemptuous smile, completely unconcerned.
Cui Yue hurriedly got up and found a seat near the front. He opened the window, and only when fresh air rushed into his nostrils did he begin to feel somewhat better.
“Big brother, can we make it to Houchuan Town tonight?”
The driver yawned, staring at the mountain road ahead as he answered leisurely.
“Probably not until the middle of the night. I’m from there myself, as it happens. I’ll be stopping the bus in Houchuan tonight.”
“You’re from there too? That’s great! Could I ask you about someone? Have you ever heard of a Master Huo?”
The instant he heard that name, the driver abruptly turned his head and fixed Cui Yue with a strange look.
“Young fellow, have you run into some trouble? The people looking for Master Huo have all gotten themselves into one scrape or another.”
Cui Yue hurriedly pulled his collar another half inch higher and lowered his voice.
“I’m his friend. I came from the county seat to see him about something.”
The driver studied Cui Yue’s face in the rearview mirror and gave a sinister smile before speaking in an indifferent tone.
“Oh, is that so? Master Huo is quite famous throughout the surrounding villages and towns. Plenty of people come looking for him, but you may not be able to find him when you get there.”
Cui Yue nodded inwardly. Just as he had thought—Old Freak Huo had probably gone somewhere else to swindle people out of their money. In any case, he was already on his way. He would deal with it once he arrived.
“It’s fine. At worst, I’ll wait a few more days.”
Cui Yue chatted with the driver throughout the journey. Before he knew it, night had fallen completely, and he was the only passenger left in the entire bus.
The Qinling Mountains stretched on in endless undulations, their peaks high and their ravines deep. The violent roar of the engine echoed through the forest as the vehicle labored up the mountain road, its dim yellow headlights flickering indistinctly in the darkness.
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The driver’s surname was Wu. Driving mountain roads was dull and tedious, so having someone to talk to was ideal—not only did it pass the time, it also helped keep sleep at bay.
Old Wu seemed to have opened the floodgates of conversation. He knew every bend and ridge along the road like the back of his hand, and he told Cui Yue all the latest gossip from the surrounding villages and towns.
“Brother Wu, you’ve been driving this route for many years, haven’t you?”
“Of course. I’ve been running this road for at least eight years. I could drive you to the destination with my eyes closed.”
Cui Yue rolled his eyes. Big brother, let’s keep them open and drive properly, shall we? My life matters.
With one hand on the steering wheel, the driver reached into his coat pocket with the other and pulled out a bottle of Erguotou. He took several long swigs and smacked his lips in satisfaction.
“Here, little brother. Have some!”
Unable to refuse such enthusiasm, Cui Yue took the bottle and drank a few mouthfuls. The fiery liquor burned down his throat and turned into a ball of flame in his chest.
Old Wu glanced at him and chuckled.
“Not bad, little brother. You can hold your liquor.”
“I used to sneak drinks from my father at home,” Cui Yue said with an embarrassed smile.
Old Wu took another swallow, swung the steering wheel, and continued chatting.
“That slope ahead is Temple Lord Ridge. There’s something downright uncanny about that place.”
With that, he gave Cui Yue another eerie smile.
“What makes it uncanny?”
Cui Yue assumed the driver was merely boasting and trying to frighten him. Besides, if he wanted to hear something terrifying, Cui Yue could tell him something fresh and hot right now.
“Oh, it’s uncanny all right. They say this place was once a slaughter ground where ten thousand people died. It was a famous ancient battlefield during the Three Kingdoms period. After Ma Su was defeated, more than ten thousand prisoners were buried alive here.”
Cui Yue had heard about the ancient battlefield. Jieting Town was only twenty miles from here, and scattered relics of old battlefields could be found throughout the region.
“What’s so strange about that?”
“Strange? Have you ever heard of ghost soldiers crossing the land?”
“Ghost soldiers crossing the land?”
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“Well, it was probably a few years ago. It was drizzling that night. I was alone then too, getting ready to drive back and put the bus away. Just as I turned around the bend ahead, I nearly died of fright. If I hadn’t slammed on the brakes in time, the bus and I would have gone straight over the cliff.”
Old Wu pursed his lips.
“Guess what I saw?”
He continued.
“Great heaps of ancient soldiers in armor—there must have been over a thousand of them. They drifted across the ridge carrying weapons and wearing armor. I was nearly scared out of my wits. They stepped straight over the edge of the cliff, every one of them with blackish-purple faces. They looked nothing like living people.”
“You drove toward them?” Cui Yue asked urgently.
“Drove toward them? Was I tired of living? I was so frightened that I even turned off the engine. I didn’t dare switch on the headlights. I just watched them from a distance.”
“What happened afterward?”
“After a few minutes, I suppose, they crossed the ridge and vanished without a trace. I hurriedly started the bus and finally made it down the mountain.”
Old Wu took several more gulps of liquor. The bottle was nearly empty now, and Cui Yue stared at him wide-eyed, afraid the man might get drunk. He was still driving, after all.
“There was another time, also on this ridge. Visibility was poor at night, and I saw a shadow dart across the road. I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late! I could still feel the front wheel run over something. I didn’t dare stop. I only glanced back a few times through the rearview mirror and saw a gray-white weasel lying on the road.”
“When I saw it, I breathed a sigh of relief. Out in these deserted mountains, how could one avoid running over a few animals in the course of a year or two? I didn’t think much of it. I stepped on the gas and drove on.”
Old Wu turned toward Cui Yue and continued.
“Guess what happened? I hadn’t even gone two miles before I sensed that something dark and murky seemed to be following me. I glanced into the mirror and nearly swung the bus straight into the rocks by the roadside. There was a whole pack of dark, shadowy weasels following me—at least a hundred of them. And leading the pack was a white one, its two eyes glowing an eerie green as it glared at me.”
“How could so many weasels have followed you?”
“At first I was puzzled too. Then I realized that the weasel I’d run over might have been one of their companions. The whole pack had come out to avenge it. Those creatures are deeply uncanny. How could I dare delay? I floored the gas and ran. The pack chased me for three or four miles before I finally shook them off. I’ll never forget the look in that white one’s eyes—cold, sinister, and possessed of an indescribable malevolence.”
Cui Yue had heard people speak of such creatures before. The yellow weasel, or simply the weasel, was said to be an exceptionally uncanny animal, known in the Northeast as one of the Four Immortals. Not only could it wield sorcery, it was also fiercely vengeful. Anyone who provoked one would be repaid many times over.
“After I got back to town, I didn’t think much more about it. I parked the bus and went home—ate when I was hungry, drank when I was thirsty. But the next day, something strange happened!”
Cui Yue, too, had a vague feeling that the weasel would not let Old Wu off so easily.
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