Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Let’s go, we’re burning daylight!” I led Kong Liang out of the restaurant and back to our car.

The car slowly rolled through the small county town. There were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

Occasionally, we saw a few elderly people sitting under their eaves, their eyes tracking our car as we passed.

Once we finally hit the main road, Kong Liang seemed to come back to life, his mouth running again.

“Hey, do you think I really ran into a ghost back there?”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t be scared. My fate is different from yours; fortune tellers don’t even dare to read my palms.”

Kong Liang didn’t care whether I responded or not; he just started spinning tall tales about his glorious past.

“I have a buddy in the funeral business who deals with dead people every day. I stayed at his place for a few days once. You could hear all sorts of noises at night.

“Let me tell you, ghosts and spirits aren’t nearly as scary as people. Another buddy of mine was so terrified he nearly pissed himself.”

We drove through a tunnel, and our field of vision suddenly narrowed. Mountains rose on both sides, leaving only a single road ahead of us.

Kong Liang pulled out his phone and started snapping photos, shouting about how great the scenery was and telling me to slow down.

Around three in the afternoon, the surroundings suddenly grew dark.

Kong Liang frowned. “What time is it? Doesn’t it usually stay light here until after six?”

Suddenly, the screech of tires echoed from behind us to our side, sounding like a car had lost control and was about to plow into us!

Kong Liang frantically grabbed the safety handle and covered his head, but after a long moment, there wasn’t even a shadow of another car to be seen.

“What happened?”

Kong Liang looked around frantically. We were currently the only car on this stretch of road.

“Didn’t you hear that?” Kong Liang asked, staring at me.

“It’s just past noon. The sun’s been beating down on the road, making the asphalt expand. It makes all kinds of noises.” I just looked straight ahead, keeping my cool.

Kong Liang scoffed and leaned back into his seat.

A short while later, we rounded a bend and saw a section of destroyed guardrail.

On the dark road surface, there was a distinct, long skid mark.

Whatever Kong Liang was thinking, he swallowed hard and glanced at me.

I said nothing. It was just a car accident. They were common on roads like this with so many curves and obstructed views.

We drove for another hour or so, and the sky outside turned almost completely pitch black.

Before long, raindrops the size of beans began to pelt down.

The rain came down with sudden intensity, obscuring our vision almost instantly.

I immediately slowed down and turned on all the lights.

The rain fell as if the heavens had sprung a leak. The wipers couldn’t even keep up, yet the road ahead was one curve after another.

I slowed the car to a crawl. Fortunately, this road had only recently opened, so there were very few cars on it to begin with.

Kong Liang was also getting nervous. For once, he stopped talking and kept his eyes glued to the road outside the window.

Suddenly, people began to appear along the sides of the road.

Some wore raincoats, others held umbrellas. Their faces were invisible in the heavy rain, and it was impossible to tell where they had come from.

By all logic, there were no side roads here-just mountains on either side.

“Why are there so many people? Was there an accident up ahead?”

Kong Liang’s voice was very quiet. I knew him; this was a sign he was scared. At a time like this, if I didn’t let him talk, he’d only get more anxious.

“Maybe. This rain is too heavy.”

I answered him, still driving slowly.

At first, it wasn’t so bad; the people appearing were on the shoulders, not on the highway itself.

But gradually, some of them began to climb over the guardrails.

Those who crossed the guardrails no longer walked toward us. Instead, they turned around and began walking in the same direction we were driving.

“What are these people doing?”

Kong Liang shrank back into his seat. “Are they crazy? If there’s an accident, call the police! Why are they following us?”