Chapter 19: Ghost-Type
Chapter 19: Ghost-Type
The bus drove smoothly, and the sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the skyscrapers that gradually faded.
"Jiyang Station has arrived. Passengers getting off, please take your belongings and exit through the rear door." The automated voice of the bus announcement system suddenly rang out.
At this stop, the number of people on the bus suddenly increased, filling all the seats and leaving about five or six standing.
After the bus resumed its journey, Fangflare abruptly turned its head and called out to the passenger beside it.
Sitting next to Qiao Sang was a girl in the uniform of Thirty-Seventh Beastmaster High School, who had boarded the bus at the same stop as Qiao Sang.
The girl glanced at Fangflare but didn't say anything; she just shifted slightly to the side.
Qiao Sang turned Fangflare back around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fangflare looked over at the girl.
"Ya?"
It tilted its head, seeming equally puzzled.
"Scaring people isn't nice, you know." Qiao Sang stroked Fangflare's head.
"Ya."
Fangflare responded promptly, then turned to gaze out the window, resuming its admiration of the scenery.
The girl smiled at Qiao Sang, saying, "I'm fine."
Qiao Sang noticed the extra ten centimeters of space between them and was about to say something.
At that moment, Fangflare turned back around and bared its fangs at the girl, looking fierce.
The girl was startled and instinctively started to stand up.
"Can you put that Fangflare away? Are you going to take responsibility if it scares someone?" a man's voice complained.
The speaker was standing next to the girl.
Qiao Sang looked over and saw a man with a square face and a gray tank top.
"Yeah, that Fangflare clearly hasn't been properly tamed", the woman in the seat next to them added.
"Everyone on this bus, put it away quickly", another voice chimed in.
The girl, hearing everyone's comments, looked at Qiao Sang with pleading eyes, hoping she would put Fangflare away.
Qiao Sang frowned but ignored them.
It was common for Beastmasters to carry their familiars, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Familiars often acted on their own.
These people were just being critical because she was young. If it were someone older, they wouldn't have said anything.
But it was the first time Fangflare had caused a commotion on a bus...
"What's the matter?" Qiao Sang asked, turning Fangflare to face her.
"Ya."
Fangflare turned its head away, acting haughty and hurt.
It had heard the comments around it and assumed its Beastmaster would also scold it.
"Fangflare", Qiao Sang said, turning its head back and holding it firmly so it had to look at her.
Fangflare's wet eyes were defiant yet hurt.
Qiao Sang looked into its eyes and said earnestly, "I trust you, and you should trust me. If something is bothering you, you can tell me. You know I understand you."
Hearing its Beastmaster's words, Fangflare became excited.
"Ya ya ya!"
"Ya, ya."
"Ya ya ya ya, ya!"
Fangflare spoke while using its little paws to gesture.
Qiao Sang confirmed, "You mean something appeared on her and then suddenly disappeared?"
"Ya!"
Fangflare nodded vigorously.
"Did that thing scare you?" Qiao Sang stroked Fangflare's head.
"Ya." Fangflare buried its head in Qiao Sang's body and let out a pitiful cry.
The female student sat beside them, watching their interaction with a stunned expression.
So Fangflare has this kind of personality...
She's actually quite cute...
Maybe I should try bonding with a fire-type familiar for my second Bond Slot...
"It's alright, it's alright", Qiao Sang reassured, then turned to the female student and said, "You heard everything, right?"
The female student snapped back to reality and asked uncertainly, "You mean something suddenly appeared on me?"
Qiao Sang nodded.
"But..." The female student didn't finish her sentence before she was interrupted by a voice.
"Listen to her blabbering nonsense. She just doesn't want to recall Fangflare. I warn you, put Fangflare away right now, or someone will get hurt, and I'll make sure you pay for it!" The man with a square face standing beside the female student growled menacingly.
"Yeah, put it away quickly. It might be too late if someone gets hurt", the woman sitting next to them chimed in.
"Put it away, everyone's worried", another person added.
"I don't think this girl looks like she would lie. Maybe it's a Ghost-type wild Supernatural Creature on the bus", a different voice suggested.
The bus, which had been noisy, fell silent instantly.
When it comes to Supernatural Creatures, the most eerie are the Ghost-types. Any mysterious event involving a Ghost-type Supernatural Creature becomes plausible.
Things disappearing inexplicably, rooms suddenly going dark and cold—these are minor issues.
Ghost-type Supernatural Creatures are unpredictable and have erratic temperaments.
Take the Spirit Possessor, for example.
It enjoys possessing different people. The possessed person retains consciousness but loses control over their body, watching helplessly as it performs bizarre actions.
Jumping, dancing, and diving are one thing, but encountering a Spirit Possessor that enjoys streaking is a disaster of epic proportions.
Among those who have a love-hate relationship with the Spirit Possessor are the police.
The Spirit Possessor not only possesses living people but also dead bodies. Two years ago, the police station in Guang City would occasionally find unidentified corpses appearing out of nowhere.
Some had been dead for a day, a year, or even a decade. One was the missing schoolgirl, Lu Baiqian, from a highly publicized case three years ago.
The police reviewed the surveillance footage and found that the Spirit Possessor had been controlling the corpses to bring them to the police station.
Initially, they didn't know what it was, but when the Spirit Possessor emerged from a corpse, revealing its short and stocky form, they realized it was the culprit.
On the one hand, they appreciate the Spirit Possessor for mysteriously helping them find bodies that the police couldn't locate.
On the other hand, the Spirit Possessor also brings in freshly dead bodies, which ruins the first crime scene of a murder case.
Then there's the Ghost Lantern, which appears to lost people, guiding them in the right direction but at the cost of absorbing a portion of their vital energy.
It sounds like a fair exchange, but that's not the case.
Recently, a woman in Nankou City emerged from a bar late at night and waited for a taxi. She might have been swaying or had a dazed look from drinking.
The Ghost Lantern misjudged her as being lost...
Before the taxi arrived, it forcibly took her home and drained her vital energy, leaving her feeling completely drained when she woke up the next morning.
The list of misdeeds by Ghost-type Supernatural Creatures is endless.
Encountering one that just likes to play pranks is one thing, but running into a malevolent wild Ghost-type Supernatural Creature could be fatal.
For a moment, everyone on Bus 66 felt a sense of impending doom.
(End of Chapter)
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