Chapter 0062 Hitchhiking
Brother Jiang was completely dumbfounded. I asked, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"I... this... I didn't put this here!" Brother Jiang stammered, his anxiety rising.
I was furious. "If not you, then who? Me? You bought all the offerings; surely it wasn't your day-shift driver?" As soon as I said it, Brother Jiang's expression changed. I guessed the same thing—he immediately pulled out his phone and called the man. The two of them had a massive row over the phone. After hanging up, Brother Jiang said hatefully, "It's definitely him, that son of a bitch. Just wait until I get my hands on him tomorrow. Bastard!"
I threw all those "offerings" into the weeds by the roadside. After driving a few more kilometers, we stopped at a 24-hour service station supermarket and bought candy, pastries, yogurt, and juice to reset the Guman's altar. By the time we finished, it was late at night. The highway was empty except for the streetlights and the occasional passing car.
Neither of us spoke, both lost in our own thoughts. To be honest, we were both uneasy, unsure if the Earth Guman Thong was angry. As the car moved, the view ahead was wide and clear—not a single other vehicle in sight. I took out my phone to check my messages when suddenly Brother Jiang let out a scream and jerked the steering wheel hard. The car lunged to the right, crashing violently into a large tree by the road.
Fortunately, I had my seatbelt on, though the force bruised my chest. The driver's side airbag apparently malfunctioned and didn't deploy, and Brother Jiang's seatbelt actually snapped. He was slammed forward, his nose bleeding and the steering wheel crushing into his chest. He fainted from the pain. It took a while of me calling his name before he woke up. After cleaning up his nose, it seemed there were no major injuries.
Grimacing in pain, we climbed out to inspect the damage. The tree, about as thick as a thigh, had been snapped clean off. I asked Brother Jiang, "What happened? Why did you swerve like that?"
"Everything blurred for a second, and I saw a little boy running across the road! He was less than five meters away—if I hadn't swerved, I would've hit him!" Brother Jiang's face was white as a sheet, clutching his chest with lingering fear.
I searched the area thoroughly, front and back, left and right. There was no sign of a little boy. But Brother Jiang swore he saw him. I thought to myself: If a spirit appeared, usually I'm the one who sees it while others don't. But this time, it was the opposite. He had a hallucination that I didn't see at all. What does this mean?
The front bumper was deformed and the left headlight was shattered, but the car could still drive. Feeling an ominous vibe, I told Brother Jiang we should head back and skip the bath center tonight. Brother Jiang called his friend who owned the place, but the friend insisted he drive over, saying he knew someone at a 4S repair shop nearby who could fix the car for free.
Brother Jiang said, "Kangping is only about thirty minutes away. I think we should just push through." I figured we might as well. Since there are cameras on the highway, we'd just have to pay the fine for the tree the next day. We got back in and continued toward Kangping.
Ten minutes later, we hit a junction turning left with a warning sign: "Construction Ahead, Please Detour." We had to turn left. After another ten minutes, the road became dead straight. There were no other cars, and even the streetlights had vanished. It was pitch black. Without the headlights, you wouldn't have been able to see your hand in front of your face.
Just as I was about to say something, the high beams illuminated two figures about a hundred meters ahead, standing by the roadside and waving at us. Brother Jiang said, "Strange, I didn't see anyone there a second ago. Are they hitchhiking?"
I said, "We're in the middle of nowhere. Who would be hitchhiking here?"
The two figures slowly approached the car. As they reached us, I saw they were a young couple. The man wore a white shirt and black trousers; the woman wore a white dress. Both looked refined and elegant. I cautiously rolled down the passenger window halfway and asked, "Can we help you?"
The man smiled. "We're trying to get home, but it's getting darker and we're a bit scared. Could you give us a lift?"
Brother Jiang asked, "Where is your home?"
The man replied, "Just up ahead. It's about a twenty-minute drive."
Looking at the couple and then the desolate highway, I suddenly remembered the incident with the "Ghost Ferry" bus after leaving the crematorium a few days ago. I felt uneasy and refused, saying we had taken a wrong turn and were about to head back.
The man said, "Please, if we walk, it'll take at least four or five hours."
Brother Jiang, being generous, said, "No problem, hop in."
I tried to stop him with a look. "I'm really sorry, but we're low on fuel. If we take you home, we might not have enough to get back."
The man's smile vanished. "Your tank is full."
My heart skipped a beat. Brother Jiang asked in surprise, "How do you know that?"
The man just said, "Please, help us out."
I said, "No, we can't help you. Goodbye." Then I told Brother Jiang, "Turn the car around."
The man looked at Brother Jiang expressionlessly. "Even if you don't want to help, don't you have to keep going down this road anyway? Why not just take us along? We're all going to the same place."
I laughed. "Who says we have to stay on this road? And why do you assume our destination is your home? Didn't you hear me? We're turning around."
The man shook his head. "U-turns aren't allowed on this road."
Brother Jiang laughed too. "There aren't even streetlights here, let alone traffic signals. Why can't I turn around? Is there a traffic cop hiding in the dark? Forget it, forget it. Get in. I'm a soft-hearted guy; I'll get you where you're going."
I kept winking at him, but Brother Jiang got annoyed. "Brother, you're being really difficult. Help others and you help yourself. Don't be so selfish, okay? You're not even driving. Just close your eyes and nap; we'll be back in half an hour."
Before I could say another word, the man and woman had already opened the back doors and sat inside.
The car continued forward. Because of the previous ghost encounter, I was extremely alert. I adjusted the rearview mirror so I could see half of each of their faces. The woman sat in total silence, looking exhausted. Brother Jiang, being chatty, kept turning his head to talk to them.
Brother Jiang asked, "Brother, what was the name of the place where you live?"
The man answered, "Tianmen Guan (Heaven's Gate Pass)."
Brother Jiang remarked, "That's a powerful name. Is it a village or a county? Is it under Shenyang or Kangping jurisdiction?"
The man replied, "Neither."
Brother Jiang asked, "Neither? It has to belong to some city."
The man didn't answer. Brother Jiang continued, "Where are you two coming from so late?"
The man said, "The hospital."
Brother Jiang asked, "Visiting a patient?"
The man shook his head. "No, we were the ones hospitalized."
Brother Jiang was surprised. "What happened? Both of you in the hospital at once?"
The man said, "A car accident."
Brother Jiang blinked. "Hit by a car? Are you okay now?"
The man nodded. "It's over now."
Just as Brother Jiang was about to ask more, the woman lowered her head, her shoulders heaving as if she were sobbing. The man gently put his arm around her, whispering comfort. I glanced at Brother Jiang; he looked like he wanted to keep talking, so I gave him a sharp look to stay quiet. After the man finished comforting her, I spoke up: "I know where you're going."
The man was silent for a long time. Then he asked, "The driver surely knows, but how do you know?"
I let out a dry laugh. "Why wouldn't I know?"
The man said, "You are different from him."
I asked, "What's the difference?"
The man said, "He is being harmed by his son. You are not."
My heart tightened. "Who is his son? Do you know him?"
The man said, "I don't know him, but he's right here in the car. Anyone can see him."
At that moment, I understood. The "son" he was referring to was almost certainly the Earth Guman Thong sitting on the dashboard. Brother Jiang chimed in, "How is my son harming me? He's only in sixth grade, a very good boy. He's home asleep right now. How could he be in this car, and how could he harm me?"
The man smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more. About ten minutes later, a light appeared ahead—a lit window. As the car drew closer, we saw it was a toll booth. Brother Jiang pulled up to the window. A middle-aged woman sat inside, reaching out her hand with an expressionless face.
Brother Jiang asked, "How much?"
The woman countered, "Don't you know how much yourself?"