Horror revival: I Own a Ghost Bus

As Jiang Yan and his companions approached the shrine, ready to push the doors open, a cold, ancient voice echoed through the air.

Startled, the three of them looked around to find an elderly man, well into his seventies, standing at the entrance. He leaned on a cane, his expression stern as he fixed his gaze on them.

While Feng An seemed unfamiliar with him, Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat recognized him immediately—the village chief of Gongyue Village.

Jiang Yan felt a prickle of unease as he looked at the old man. He was certain he had checked the area around the shrine and hadn't seen a soul, yet here the village chief was, appearing out of thin air like some phantom.

Seeing that they hadn't responded, the chief stomped his cane and spoke in a severe tone. "I don't care who you are. The shrine is sacred ground—outsiders are forbidden to enter."

It was clear he intended to block their way. The man in the black hat exchanged a glance with Jiang Yan. The chief's sudden appearance to keep them from entering was as suspicious as it was transparent—there was undoubtedly something hidden in the shrine, and they had to get inside.

However, they didn't dare provoke the village chief outright.

After a brief pause, Jiang Yan decided to probe the situation first, activating a small portion of his ghost domain to see if he could engulf the chief within it.

With the sun shining overhead, his ghost domain—a dim, yellowish light—would be difficult to notice.

He extended the ghost domain toward the village chief, letting it creep toward the man's chest. But just as it made contact, Jiang Yan quickly withdrew it.

"Sir, we were just passing through," Jiang Yan said, forcing a polite smile. "We thought this building looked interesting, so we came over to take a look. We didn't realize it was your shrine. Sorry for disturbing you." With that, he turned and began to walk away.

The man in the black hat and Feng An exchanged confused looks, unable to understand Jiang Yan's sudden retreat, but they followed him without protest.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the shrine, Jiang Yan cast a quick glance over his shoulder. The village chief was still there, standing guard by the door and watching them like a hawk.

"Damn old man, showing up at the worst possible time," the man in the black hat muttered in irritation. He looked at Jiang Yan with frustration. "Hey, college boy, what was that about? He's just an old man! Why didn't we just deal with him?"

Jiang Yan stopped, his expression darkening. "Deal with him? If we'd tried that, we'd all be dead."

Hearing this, the others immediately grew serious.

"You mean… the village chief isn't what he seems?" Feng An asked cautiously.

"Exactly. I tested him with my ghost domain, but it was immediately countered by an intense spiritual resistance. That village chief is definitely not human."

"If he can resist your ghost domain, he must be unusually powerful," the man in the black hat realized, his tone turning grave.

"He looks completely normal, though," Feng An murmured, doubt creeping into his voice. "Could he be… the Disguised Ghost you mentioned?"

Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat fell silent, clearly confirming Feng An's suspicion with their expressions.

"But didn't that ghost already disguise itself as Zhang Tiantian for the ancestral rites? Why would it be here guarding the shrine?" the man in the black hat wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But it's a good thing we didn't make a move. If we had triggered its killing rule, we'd all be dead by now," Jiang Yan said grimly.

The realization left the other two with chills running down their spines.

"So, if we can't get into the shrine, where should we go?" Feng An asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Jiang Yan gave a faint smile. "Who said we can't get in?"

"Wasn't it you?" Feng An asked, bewildered. "If the village chief is a Disguised Ghost and he's standing guard at the shrine, how are we supposed to get inside?"

"Just climb over the wall, idiot," the man in the black hat snickered.

"Oh, for…" Feng An glared at him, then glanced at Jiang Yan, feeling his intelligence had been insulted.

Pretending to leave, the three of them circled the shrine, keeping it under close surveillance. After a bit of observation, they confirmed that the village chief—or rather, the Disguised Ghost in his form—remained steadfastly at the main entrance.

"Looks like that old geezer's going to stay put. We can slip over the back wall while he's occupied," the man in the black hat said excitedly.

Jiang Yan nodded, and Feng An, having no objections, followed as they crept toward the shrine's rear wall.

The shrine was surrounded by a grayish cement wall, unadorned and aged, with patches of moss clinging to its surface. It was about two meters high, tall enough to deter ordinary villagers but easily surmountable for ghost-tamers.

However, none of them wanted to be the first to make contact with this eerie shrine.

They looked at each other, and Jiang Yan's gaze finally settled on Feng An, the meaning clear.

After all the trouble they'd gone through to rescue him, it was time for Feng An to contribute. Besides, Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat were curious to see Feng An's ghost abilities in action.

Feng An understood their intentions. Although he felt reluctant, he had little choice. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he stepped forward.

The ghost Feng An controlled was known as Ghost Skin. Once activated, it would greatly enhance his physical abilities—a very practical power.

Steeling himself, Feng An activated the Ghost Skin. His skin turned deathly pale, covered in dark corpse spots, and his muscles swelled beneath it, his body exuding a cold, eerie aura.

Not wanting to touch the wall itself, he decided to simply jump over it. For a ghost-tamer with enhanced strength like him, clearing two meters was a trivial feat.

With his enhanced abilities, jumping up to three meters was easy, and this wall was no obstacle.

Confident, Feng An smiled, gathering power in his legs before launching himself upward. He leaped a full three meters, his intent merely to get a peek inside the shrine.

But something strange happened. At the highest point of his jump, he found the wall still looming in front of him, blocking his view of the shrine.

"Impossible…" he muttered in disbelief. Refusing to accept it, he pushed his Ghost Skin to the limit. His entire body was now covered in corpse spots, the eerie chill around him intensifying.

Gathering his strength, he jumped again, this time soaring up nearly ten meters, certain he would clear the wall this time.

But again, the unremarkable cement wall stood unyielding before him. Above, all he could see was a dim, gray sky.

Landing back down, he finally gave up, realizing he wouldn't be able to breach the wall by physical means alone.

"What are you doing, jumping around like that? Are you scared to go over or something?" the man in the black hat asked, confused.

"It's not that," Feng An replied, disheartened. "I can't get over it."

The other two were taken aback. They had seen him jump nearly ten meters—far above the wall's height. How could he not clear it?

Feng An explained, "No matter how high I jump, the wall just blocks my view. I can't see anything inside the shrine, and when I look up, all I see is that gray sky."

"A gray sky? It's broad daylight…" The man in the black hat was stunned. "Could there be a ghost domain inside the shrine?"

"It's likely," Feng An said, nodding. "And the domain must be closed off to us. We probably can only enter through the main entrance."

The main entrance, however, was guarded by the Disguised Ghost, making it far too dangerous. Both men turned to Jiang Yan—after all, only a ghost domain could counter another ghost domain.

Jiang Yan sighed. Of course, it had to be him.

He had no choice but to step forward once more. 

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𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 shoutouts 𝘁𝗼:

•Leroy

• Jonathan Bailey

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 Volume 01 of this novel 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: patreon.com/sorkarnayeem