Suspicious as it was, it was merely Chen Mo's suspicion. He had no evidence to prove that the person was the "strange guest" mentioned in the hint. Moreover, even if he confirmed that the other party was a ghost in disguise, he couldn't directly call them out. The task only required that by the time the bus reached the terminal, the number of ghost passengers must not exceed the number of human passengers. In other words, while he needed to find a way to identify the ghosts on the bus, he could only try to make them get off. If he rashly exposed them, it might trigger a killing mechanism instead.
The bus continued forward. What annoyed Qu Jiaojiao the most was that the young man who had just boarded kept finding excuses to strike up conversations with her. Every time he opened his mouth, he revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth, accompanied by bad breath that made her feel nauseous. Despite her frosty expression, he seemed oblivious, his thick-skinnedness unheard of.
Even worse, as he talked, this yellow-toothed youth grew bolder and leaned closer. "Beautiful lady..."
Qu Jiaojiao's brows furrowed, and she was about to lose her temper when she saw the yellow-toothed man looking mysterious. "Beautiful lady, let me tell you something..."
Qu Jiaojiao paused, then a seductive smile curled at the corner of her lips as she silently watched him.
Charmed by the beautiful woman's smile, the yellow-toothed man felt his bones go weak and leaned in even closer. "I'm only telling you this good news... I just saw a black cloth bag someone dropped under the second-to-last row of seats. I reckon there might be something good in it..."
"Is that so?" Qu Jiaojiao giggled. "Then why don't you take it out and have a look?"
"Shh, keep it down, keep it down." The yellow-toothed man suddenly looked nervous. "Don't make a fuss, my dear."
"Who's your dear?" Qu Jiaojiao's brows furrowed again. "Hurry up!"
The yellow-toothed man chuckled, quietly moved his feet, and soon returned with a black bundle hidden in his clothes. The bundle wasn't large, but it was bulging and felt quite heavy.
Qu Jiaojiao sat in the conductor's seat, crossing her legs as she watched him carefully lift the black cloth.
"Ah..."
The yellow-toothed man let out a soft exclamation. Beneath the black cloth lay a gleaming pile of gold—gold chains, gold earrings, gold bracelets, and even two large gold teeth. The dazzling yellow light blinded his eyes, and his ordinary, wretched face instantly showed a mix of surprise and greed.
"We're... we're rich... we're rich..."
The yellow-toothed man's face twitched with excitement, but he forced himself to stay calm and glanced around. The middle-aged man seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, the young woman was still listening to music, apparently unaware of the situation, and the old woman looked half-asleep.
At the same time, Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.
There was a ghost on the bus.
For some reason, he had a very strong feeling about this! The source of this feeling might have been when the yellow-toothed man lifted the gold bundle and seemed to deliberately shift his body, allowing Chen Mo, in the driver's seat, to catch a glimpse of the golden gleam in the rearview mirror.
Could it be... intentional?
Of course, based on that subtle movement alone, Chen Mo couldn't make a judgment. Besides, the bus was in motion, and he couldn't stop to intervene. So everything depended on the beautiful woman, Qu Jiaojiao, to assess the situation.
At that same moment, through the rearview mirror, he noticed the middle-aged man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slightly open them, and the young woman listening to music casually remove one earbud.
"Look at you, so easily impressed." Qu Jiaojiao spat disdainfully, switching her crossed legs. "I thought it was something special. Just a few pieces of gold, and such an old-fashioned style."
"Don't say that, beautiful." The yellow-toothed man's hands were still trembling as he bit down on a gold tooth. "It's real!"
With that, his bad breath wafted over again as he leaned in. "Looks like it's my lucky day. But I'm not selfish—gold and treasure, everyone who sees it gets a share. Keep it quiet, and we'll split it on the sly. You're a beauty, so I'll even throw in an extra gold bracelet. How about we be friends?"
"Heh."
Qu Jiaojiao let out a crisp laugh. "Dream on. Who's friends with you?"
"I don't care about this little stuff. Consider it a gift to you."
"What do you mean?" The yellow-toothed man froze, his face flushing red and pale. The irritation of being rebuffed and the joy of keeping the gold for himself created a fascinating mix of emotions on his face.
"Nothing much. This stuff is tacky and I don't like it. Since you found it, it's yours."
"Ah..." A hint of secret delight finally appeared on his face. "Then... I won't be polite..."
"Take it and get lost. Don't bother me anymore." Qu Jiaojiao rolled her eyes and turned away. The yellow-toothed man tucked the bundle into his clothes and, indeed, stopped pestering her, scurrying to the back while muttering to himself.
"In this day and age, someone actually passes up a freebie?"
He sat down in the last row. Despite trying to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably from the barely contained ecstasy.
Watching this through the rearview mirror, Chen Mo's expression grew serious. Qu Jiaojiao hadn't accepted the "share with everyone" offer, which relieved him.
This woman seemed frivolous and worldly, but Li Yan had warned him to be cautious of her. Perhaps this frivolity and worldliness were just a form of self-protection.
From the way she calmly refused, at least this woman wasn't stupid.
After this brief episode, the bus fell silent again. No one spoke. The streetlights cast shifting, mottled shadows across every face. Just as the next stop approached, the old woman, who had been staring blankly and drowsy, seemed to finally wake up. She opened her cloudy eyes, looked around, then at herself, stood up, and suddenly spoke.
"Where's my gold?"
"Where's my gold?"
"Who touched my gold?!"
Each question grew louder, her voice sharp and piercing, like something scraping against a wall!