Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Liu Xun ran at the very front, wheezing and panting. His suit was wrinkled, and his glasses were barely hanging onto his face.

I glanced back. There didn’t seem to be anything special about the path behind us, but the supermarket beside it had changed.

The Old Man in Blue Robe who had been sitting inside moments ago was now standing at the entrance, staring fixedly at us. Behind him, the lights in the supermarket began to flicker as well.

“Don’t stop! Get to the parking lot! Into the car!”

I shoved the three of them onward, forcing them to keep running.

Then the lights across the entire service area started flickering.

In the buildings all around us, bright one moment and dark the next, the old man’s silhouette seemed to appear everywhere.

The restroom we had gone to earlier was the same. That old man hobbled out once again.

“Run!”

The parking lot was right ahead. Behind us, the lights were flickering faster and faster.

I felt a strange gust of wind, and every hair on my body stood on end.

Before the entire area could be swallowed by darkness, I dragged the three of them with all my strength and leapt down the seven steps in one go.

Strangely enough, the instant we jumped down those seven steps and landed in the parking lot, all the lights in the service area returned to normal.

But that bone-chilling feeling still hadn’t faded.

We didn’t dare waste another second. We scrambled into the truck and drove straight for the road.

Once the truck entered Huai Mountain Old Road, the road conditions seemed normal enough. Every now and then, a small car would speed past us.

Dashun and Liu Xun sat in the back, while Ren Song took the passenger seat. It took the three of them a long while to finally catch their breath.

I drove, keeping a close eye on the road the entire time.

Judging by the time, Wang Cheng and the others should have had their accident somewhere along the middle section of the road.

I remembered where the shattered Mount Tai Stone had been placed. There was a cliff face there that was almost at a right angle, and it happened to be right at a bend in the road.

Any driver who got even a little drowsy at night would be especially likely to crash straight into it.

“Brother Long, let me drive. You should get some rest.”

Dashun wanted to take the wheel, but Ren Song, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly cried out, “Is that Sun Guangxin?”

As a large truck swept past, a person stood ramrod straight outside the guardrail.

Without even thinking, Ren Song actually stuck his head out the window and shouted, “Sun Guangxin-”

“Don’t fucking yell! Get back in here!” I roared. Dashun reacted fast and yanked Ren Song back inside.

“If you fucking want to die, just roll out of the truck!”

After being cursed out by me, Ren Song looked like he wanted to explain, but when he turned back to look out the window, there was no one there anymore.

Liu Xun called Sun Guangxin twice more, but the calls still wouldn’t connect.

“Must have seen wrong,” Liu Xun muttered to himself.

Ren Song fell silent. He just scratched his neck from time to time.

The truck continued forward, and the number of cars on the road visibly thinned out.

I checked the time. It was already nine at night.

At that moment, Ren Song started scratching his neck, his arms, and his back more and more often, as if bugs were crawling all over him.

Everyone in the truck looked at him. Liu Xun frowned and said, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ren Song opened his mouth to speak, but the only sound that came out was a strange clicking, “kak, kak.”

He panicked at once and actually stretched out both arms, trying to grab at me.

Dashun hurried to stop him. I pulled out the Soul-Whip and lashed backward at Ren Song.

The whip struck his shoulder with a sharp crack.

Ren Song’s eyes suddenly bulged wide, as though someone had clamped both hands around his throat.

In the rearview mirror, I saw his collar abruptly tighten. I spun around and shouted at Dashun, “Get his clothes off!”