Through the gap beneath the seat, from the outside in, he saw a pair of red high heels, a pair of square-toed leather shoes, and a pair of old cloth shoes with mud clinging to the edges…

So, there were people!

No, to be precise, these should be ghosts trapped on this bus, unable to leave!

Jiang Cheng appeared calm. He didn't immediately retract his gaze and stand up. Instead, he moved his eyes, from bottom to top, slowly looking towards the seat. But just a few seconds later, he stopped abruptly.

His gaze landed on the upper part of the "person's" waist on the seat, close to the chest, not yet able to see the other person's face.

But that was enough, because from his current angle, he could see that the "people" on the seats were all maintaining one posture: their waists were turned, half-sideways, facing his position.

Jiang Cheng immediately realized that these guys were twisting their bodies and staring at him.

Retracting his gaze, he quickly scanned the rows of seats in front of him before finally standing up. What chilled him to the bone was that on most of the seemingly empty bus seats, there was a pair of legs beneath.

After getting up, Jiang Cheng took a slow breath, his expression returning to normal.

Fatty stood frozen, unsure whether to move or not. He was very nervous. After what Huai Yi said, Fatty felt like there were ghosts everywhere. Maybe one was even perched on his head, and under his feet... who knows, maybe he was stepping on one.

"Come with me," Jiang Cheng said in a calm voice, glancing at the two of them.

Jiang Cheng took the lead and walked towards the front row of seats. Fatty and Huai Yi immediately followed. Fatty took each step with trepidation. The nearby seats looked empty, but he clearly felt malicious gazes coming from all around, and from more than one place.

But as soon as they sat down on seats about four or five rows ahead, as Jiang Cheng had instructed, that strange feeling of being watched immediately disappeared.

Jiang Cheng leaned back in his seat, relaxing a little. It seemed his guess was correct: standing on the bus would quickly attract the attention of those things. He had to find a seat.

And he had to be careful to avoid those seats that were already occupied by "people."

Fortunately, he found this place. All three seats in this row were empty.

After confirming that the vicinity was temporarily safe, Jiang Cheng explained what had just happened to Fatty and Huai Yi. Huai Yi's face twisted when he heard that he had almost sat on the lap of a high-heeled female ghost.

"Be careful," Jiang Cheng glanced at him, lowering his voice to remind him, "You sat on someone's lap without permission. If this were ancient times, she would have no choice but to marry you."

Huai Yi was about to cry when he heard this, and he looked at Jiang Cheng with a miserable face, saying, "Jiang-ge, do you think you're being funny?"

"Buzz—"

"Buzz—"

…

A strange sound attracted the attention of the three. It sounded like a heavy metal wheel rolling.

Fatty was sitting on the inside, Huai Yi in the middle, and Jiang Cheng on the seat closest to the aisle. The three of them turned their heads almost simultaneously to look behind them.

The thick, watery mist was stirred, and a figure slowly walked out.

The three of them were stunned at the same time when they saw the figure clearly.

It was a man, covered in dirt, with tattered clothes and shoes, so worn he was of indeterminate age. Through the holes in his clothes, one could see his protruding ribs.

The man was extremely thin, but in stark contrast, his skeletal hands held a very large, seemingly heavy, cylindrical object, with a crank attached to the bottom.

As the man's wrist shook, the cylindrical object kept turning, making a "buzz—, buzz—" sound.

Jiang Cheng knew this was called a prayer wheel, generally more common in Tibetan areas. He had seen it a few times, but this was the first time he had seen such a large, such a magnificent prayer wheel.

The prayer wheel gleamed with a golden luster, as if cast in gold, and was also inlaid with various gems, such as turquoise, as decoration. The exceptionally luxurious prayer wheel formed a sharp contrast with the man's dirty appearance.

The three of them understood that this seemingly extraordinary man was the one who issued this mission, and was also the disciple who had died on the bus before.

This time, they needed to go to his door.

"I have something I need to trouble you with." The man looked at them, not even offering a greeting, just standing there blankly, his eyes calm as an ancient well, as if without any emotion.

Having learned from the last time, Jiang Cheng readily accepted the task. "Master, please speak."

"One of my disciples is lost. I need your help." As he spoke, the man turned the heavy prayer wheel, and the two sounds strangely overlapped.

Jiang Cheng had originally planned to ask for more details, but this man, dressed like an ascetic monk, was unwilling to say more to them, his eyes looking out the bus window, as if entrusting everything to ethereal fate.

After the bus stopped, the three got off. Then the scene changed, and when they opened their eyes again, Jiang Cheng was already in a dark room. The room was small and dilapidated. The only lighting equipment was a small oil lamp.

He sat up and reached out to touch what was beneath him. The feel was very special, a little prickly. It was the fur of an unknown animal.

After recovering, Jiang Cheng began to observe his surroundings by the dim light.

The walls of the room were uneven, made of piled stones, with a mixture of mud and dry grass stuffed into the gaps. The workmanship was quite rough.

There was no door, only a curtain cut from animal fur hanging up. Light shone in through the gaps.

Footsteps approached. Soon, the curtain was lifted, and a face peered in. "You're awake. If you're awake, come over quickly. The meeting is about to start. We're just waiting for you."

It was a man, probably around 60 years old, dressed in outdoor gear, looking very professional.

Unsure of the other person's background, Jiang Cheng waited until his eyes could adapt to the outside light before walking out. He hadn't walked a few steps before the man led him into a large tent.

A fire pit for heating was placed in the very center of the tent, and a group of people were gathered around the fire pit. Jiang Cheng immediately saw Fatty and Huai Yi, but as soon as the three of them made eye contact, they immediately looked away, as if they didn't know each other.

After randomly finding a seat, Jiang Cheng discovered that besides the man who brought him, there were seven other people in the tent, four men and three women, none of them very old. They looked like newcomers to the workplace or college students.

The older man naturally sat at the head of the table. After looking around, he lowered his voice and said, "I'm really sorry to have brought everyone here from so far away, but I think that in this situation, the only people who can help me, and dare to help me, are you."

The man stood up and walked towards one side of the tent, abruptly lifting the curtain of the tent window. Dazzling light shone in, and everyone's eyes couldn't help but pause.

Outside the window was a towering snow mountain.