Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“For the past half month, there hasn’t been a single day when my bus didn’t have a Vehicle-Ballasting Stone on it.”

Master Yu’s expression dimmed. “My original Vehicle-Ballasting Stone was a gift from my Master. It was an old stone I’d used for many years.”

I had seen the Vehicle-Ballasting Stones used by coach drivers before. They were usually kept in special boxes.

When brought out, they would be placed on top of a bundle wrapped in red cloth, and inside that red cloth was a special ticket.

Usually, it was one of the first tickets printed or handwritten when that coach had just been put into service.

“But seven days ago, it shattered for no reason at all.”

Master Yu let out a long sigh. “After that, I invited two more stones, but neither of them lasted more than three days.”

“Could someone have done it deliberately?” I asked.

“I suspected that too. When the first Vehicle-Ballasting Stone broke, the surveillance camera on the bus happened to be down, and I wasn’t there either.”

Master Yu’s brows knitted tightly. “But when the next two broke, I was right there on the bus. I watched them crack open with my own eyes.”

Yu Guangping had been driving long-distance coaches for more than twenty years. He had heard of plenty of coach accidents, and he had seen plenty too.

Something might happen once, or even twice-but three or four times was another matter.

Many coaches and buses that ended up in major accidents had shown omens or abnormalities beforehand.

Once the driver ignored them, the final result was often devastating.

Now that three Vehicle-Ballasting Stones had already shattered, Master Yu no longer dared to treat it as a mere accident.

Master Yu and I hurried through lunch, then went to the bus terminal together that afternoon.

The bus terminal wasn’t far from the train station, and the area nearby was packed with people.

Master Yu’s route departed from Tongxiang at seven in the morning and arrived at the bus terminal at ten fifty at noon.

The return trip departed from the city at three fifty in the afternoon and arrived in Tongxiang at seven forty in the evening.

It was a same-day round trip, with each leg taking less than four hours, so there was no relief driver. Master Yu drove the whole route himself.

When we arrived at the lounge in the bus terminal, there were already quite a few people inside.

A round-faced girl with short hair spotted us first and immediately ran over. “Master Yu, I’m working with you this week!”

Master Yu introduced her to me. The girl’s name was Zhu Xuan, and she was a conductor in their group. This week, she would be riding with us on the route.

Zhu Xuan looked at me, her eyes full of curiosity and a faint excitement.

“Are you the one here to ballast the bus? I heard from Master Yu that you specialize in Chongsha! What’s Chongsha like? Is it scary?”

“That’s enough out of you.” Unable to take it, Master Yu swatted her aside. “He’s much older than you. You should call him Brother Long.”

“Brother Long,” Zhu Xuan immediately called out in a bright, crisp voice.