Chapter 59: Ambushed in the Dark

"Fortunate..."

From what this balding driver had said, Bai Zhi very quickly picked up an important message. Suppressing his suspicions about the nature of where they were for the moment, he merely raised an eyebrow and continued his inquiries.

"There have been others who've come here before me, haven't there?"

"...Indubitably. Anyone can get on this bus, but few are able to make the journey back."

The driver plucked a single stick out of the pack of cigarettes and stuck it in his mouth. Once again extending his neck like a mamba with the head of a middle-aged man, he brought said head close to Bai Zhi, and Xu Feng nearly dropped the unconscious Zheng YaoWen in fright when he saw it.

"Borrow a light, brother?"

"Man, if I had your ability, I'd be the Artful Cheater of the exam hall," Bai Zhi quipped as he fished out a Zippo lighter and leaned in to light the cigarette. When he was done, he flicked the cap closed and tossed the lighter over to the driver.

"So, mind sharing a little tip with a brother? Seeing as we're friendly and all. Could you tell me how to get home from here?"

"...You and that guy named Chu have a lot in common, perhaps you might make it back, after all."

The balding driver looked Bai Zhi up and down, then took a long drag and retracted his serpentine neck.

"The Five Corruptions* run rampant, Hell is empty and all the devils... Before you is the entrance to the Underworld. If you wish to return, please scrape together enough dough here to buy yourself a ticket home."

Bai Zhi nodded thoughtfully at the thin, winding path that led into an impenetrable darkness. "And then?"

"And then? Then we'll see if you have what it takes to make it back and get on, eh? Three hours. I'll be leaving after three hours. If you're not here by then, your next chance to leave will be in seven days."

The balding driver leaned back in his chair with a self-satisfied chuckle and pinched the butt of the nearly exhausted cigarette. Without even looking, he flicked it behind him.

BOOM!

A ball of fire exploded outward from the back of the bus, and by the light of the conflagration, Bai Zhi was just able to make out the approaching form of the walking burlap sack, which had finished consuming the Wall-nuts, but it was immolated in the next second, along with the puddle that had once been the old woman in the seat behind the driver

"Consider this my thanks."

The driver shook the pack of cigarettes and the lighter, then with a wave of his hand, the open doors swiftly slammed shut and the bus was plunged into darkness as the lights went out. From inside the bus, a muffled voice said, "Good luck~" then a dead silence settled around the bus, granting the dark, cold vehicle the distinct impression of a giant coffin.

As Bai Zhi bowed his head, contemplating what the driver had said, Lin He came up beside him. "Well, should we go in?"

In his hands was a flashlight. As expected of the highest leveled Player Bai Zhi had encountered so far, he was no less prepared than Bai Zhi. Xu Feng was there holding a flashlight too, but it seemed that it would take Zheng YaoWen another fifteen minutes or so to come to. Judging by his reactions while inside the bus, with his nerve and self-restraint (or lack thereof), perhaps it was best that he remained unconscious for the time being.

As they waved their flashlights around, Lin He and Xu Feng soon noticed the small, winding path that led who-knows-where.

"No need, I brought my own," said Bai Zhi, waving away the flashlight offered by Lin He while waving the one he had retrieved from his own Inventory.

"We only have three hours, so we can't afford to stand around idly. I don't know what we might face in there but we have to go," said Bai Zhi gravely. "Stick around here and I can tell you right now, something horrible will happen."

"Like what?" Xu Feng blurted out, trying hard not to think about the jiggly sensation that felt uncannily like meat as he walked.

"Oh, I ate something that disagreed with my stomach this morning, so if I can't get back to the real world and find a toilet soon, I might just crap my pants, isn't that horrible?" said Bai Zhi calmly as he led the way into the darkness.

Lin He and Xu Feng were dumbfounded at his response. Even Zheng YaoWen, who was still unconscious, found his own way to express his disbelief.

A deep, heavy darkness enveloped the party, countered only by the feeble beams from the flashlights. To be fair, in this situation, even the strongest flashlights would find limited use, as their light would not be allowed to do much more than illuminate the patch of ground beneath their feet.

The path was lined on either side by grotesquely twisted, leafless trees and paved with slabs of bone-white stone. It ensured they would not get lost even in the total darkness, being a distinctly solid surface on top of the soft, tacky ground.

Since there was nothing to see, the party kept their heads down and hurried along the path, not even speaking to one another. Since it was left to Xu Feng to carry his companion Zheng YaoWen, he soon found himself trailing the others in last place.

At some point, he began to hear strange noises coming from behind him. They sounded like faint footsteps and subtle rustling, as if there was something following—no, stalking—him.

What manner of grim ghoul could be lurking behind him in such a ghastly place? Of all the things it could be, human was certainly not one of them.

Despite his flagging stamina, Xu Feng pushed himself to pick up the pace, but the thing behind him easily matched it. Before the panicked Xu Feng could yell for help, a shove from behind sent both he and Zheng YaoWen, who was on his back, sprawling onto the squishy ground. The flashlight flew out of his hand and somersaulted several meters away.

The commotion in the rear finally caught the attention of the two in the lead. As the higher leveled Player, Lin He had better stats than Bai Zhi and thus reacted first. Even as he swept the beam from his flashlight toward the source of the sounds, Lin He whipped out the silver pistol and fired six shots into the gloom.

With a low growl, a black shadow that looked no larger than a basketball darted into the twisted trees.

As he approached Xu Feng, Lin He reloaded his gun with one hand while watching where the shadow had retreated to with a wary eye. "What's the matter? Are you all right?" he asked.

"I... I'm fine."

Sitting up on the squishy ground with a rattled look, Xu Feng realized that he had just narrowly escaped the jaws of death. If not for Lin He's lightning-quick responses, there was no telling what would have become of him.

"True, you are fine."

It was Bai Zhi who spoke up as he aimed his flashlight at Xu Feng. Narrowing his eyes at the space where the shadow had fled to, he said, "Your friend, however, may not be so lucky."

"YaoWen? What..."

Xu Feng blinked in surprise, then realized too late that his back and neck were drenched in some sticky fluid. Trembling as he turned his head, he saw that the body of Zheng YaoWen was missing a head.

It clearly looked as if, unbeknownst to him while he had been carrying his friend and following the path, that vile creature had bitten Zheng YaoWen's head clean off.

* Also known as Five Turbidities, said to be signs of the end of the age of the dharma. They are, to the best of my limited understanding: Corruption of the Eon (Kalpa), which is describes things like war, natural disaster, famine, and pestilence. Corruption of Perception, which describes corruption in knowledge and understanding. Corruption of Passion, which describes overindulgence and preoccupation with distractions. Corruption of Lifespan, essentially the shortening of lifespans. Corruption of All Beings, which describes a lack of distinction between noble and base beings.