As I got closer, I saw that these people were both men and women, young and old, being urged onto the bus by a man dressed in white. They all seemed to be in a hurry. One old man, who was walking slowly, was harshly scolded by the man in white standing to the side, as if they were all rushing to be reincarnated.

I ran up to these people in a few quick steps and shouted to them, “Help! Help! There’s... there’s a ghost chasing me!”

But when I shouted, not a single person in the long line boarding the bus looked at me. It was as if they hadn’t heard my cries for help at all—they just kept getting on the bus one by one, completely unresponsive.

This made me anxious. I thought to myself, how cold and indifferent people are—no one is willing to help even after hearing my cries for help. My heart instantly sank with disappointment.

At that moment, the man in white who was urging everyone onto the bus walked over, gave a cold smile, and said, “Kid, what did you just say? There’s a ghost?”

Seeing that someone was finally responding to me, I quickly nodded and said, “Yes, there were two ghosts chasing me just now.”

I thought they would either be startled or treat me like I was crazy, but to my surprise, the man in white glanced at me and then gave a sly, lewd smile.

“What, you don’t believe me? I’m telling the truth—there really were two ghosts chasing me.” I was getting anxious.

The man in white said, “Of course I believe you, but stop shouting and hurry up and get in line at the back. We’re waiting for you.”

“Get in line? Waiting for me?” I was stunned, completely confused.

“Yeah, you’re the last one. Once you get on, we’ll leave,” one of the men said.

I looked at the bus, but there was no sign indicating where it was headed, so I couldn’t help but ask them, where is this bus going?

“Where? Where else could it be going? Naturally, it’s here to pick you all up!” the man in white said carelessly, while urging me to hurry up and get in line at the back.

Hearing this, my intelligence—which far surpasses that of ordinary people—was starting to get anxious. I didn’t know any of these people, nor had I signed up for any group trip, so how could someone be here to pick me up?

I said, “Pick me up? Are you sure you haven’t got the wrong person?”

“No mistake, I’m here for you,” the man in white seemed a bit impatient now. Seeing my confused expression, he said, “Let me ask you, is your name Eric Brooks?”

“How do you know my name?” I was a bit shocked. Sure, I’m handsome and not just anyone, but it’s not like everyone knows me, right?

“Don’t worry about how I know. Let me ask you, were you born at midnight on the fifteenth of July, year XX?”

“Yes!”

“Are you from XX Village, XX Town, Jiangxi?”

“Yes!”

“Is your father’s name David Brooks?”

“Yes!”

“Then there’s no mistake. I’m here for you! Get on the bus!” The man in white curled his lips and waved at me.

I was truly stunned. My first reaction was: who the hell is this guy? How does he not only know my name, but also my birth date and family address? Could he be some kind of fortune teller?

My jaw nearly dropped in shock as I asked in astonishment, “Who exactly are you? How do you know so much about me?”

“My surname is Bai, given name Wuchang. The reason I know so much about you is because I have your information in this book!” the man in white said calmly.

“William White?” I frowned. The name sounded so familiar, like I’d heard it somewhere before. Thinking carefully, no wonder it sounded familiar—wasn’t the ghost messenger who captures souls for King Yama in folk legends also called William White?

Damn, how could this guy be called William White? He even dares to use that name—could he actually be the soul-collecting William White?

Chapter 11: The Impermanent Ghost

At this thought, I shuddered all over, a chill running down my spine. I thought: Am I really this unlucky? I was almost killed by Old Smith and Little Clark just now, and now I’ve run into William White.

My first reaction was that this guy must just have the same name—there’s no way he’s the real impermanent ghost from the underworld.

Because I’d heard the elders say that William White is usually dressed in white, wearing a tall white hat with the words “Peace Under Heaven” written on it. He carries a white mourning staff and sticks out a tongue a foot long, supposedly because he died by hanging. It’s said that every Chinese person, even if they’ve never seen William White in real life, knows what he looks like.

I tried to keep calm and carefully examined the “William White” in front of me, and found that he didn’t look like the impermanent ghost from folk legends at all. Although he wore white, he didn’t have a tall hat, nor did he carry a mourning staff, and he certainly wasn’t sticking out a long tongue like a hanged ghost. The “William White” before me looked no different from an ordinary person.

Seeing how different he was from the legendary impermanent ghost, I felt much more at ease. But even though he didn’t look like a ghost, I still couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

I tentatively asked, “Mr. Bai... what do you do for a living?”