Chapter 181: Courting Death

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Courting Death

Lots of people were shouting for help?

Zhang Wei Qiang’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could Nuannuan’s nightmare actually be real?’

He swallowed hard. "Are you sure you didn’t mishear?"

"I don’t know. It’s too far away. Maybe a gust of wind just happened to carry the sound over... I need to get a little closer to be sure," Gu Nuan Nuan said, hesitating to tell the whole truth.

"Hold on tight." Without another word, Zhang Wei Qiang instantly picked up speed on the bicycle. As he pedaled furiously, they both saw a truck speeding toward them before it disappeared around a corner. In that single glance, Nuannuan got a clear look at the driver’s face and memorized the license plate number.

’Hmph. A drunk driver and a hit-and-run. I don’t care if he got caught in my past life or not, he’s definitely not getting away with it in this one.’

"Uncle, did you smell a strong scent of alcohol?" Gu Nuan Nuan asked deliberately. She knew that a normal person couldn’t possibly smell the alcohol on the truck driver from so far away. However, with her reminder, it shouldn’t be difficult for the authorities to check if he had been drinking once they caught him.

"Alcohol? Nuannuan, besides your sharp hearing, is your sense of smell also that sensitive?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked, puzzled, as he continued to pedal with all his might.

"I think besides my ears being the best, my nose and eyes aren’t bad either. I can also see farther than other people," Gu Nuan Nuan said. She figured it wouldn’t be a bad thing for her uncle to know that her other senses were just as keen as her hearing.

"...And your sense of taste is better than most people’s too. Heaven has truly blessed you," Zhang Wei Qiang said, now even more convinced of how extraordinary Gu Nuan Nuan was.

"Uncle, I can hear it much more clearly now. There really are a lot of people shouting for help, and many are crying." As they neared the accident site, Gu Nuan Nuan finally began relaying the sounds to her uncle. She frowned as she spoke, adding that she could also hear a baby crying.

Suddenly, a girl’s frantic shouting reached her ears: ’I want to get off! I’m not staying here, I want to get off!’ The people around her were clearly anxious as well, with many shouting in panic. ’The bus is shaking! Grab her, quick! If she keeps moving around, everyone on this bus is done for!’ ’If that doesn’t work, just knock her out!’ ’How was this child raised? She looks like she’s over ten years old, how can she be so thoughtless? Don’t you see what’s happening? Is she going to get us all killed?’

The others’ voices didn’t stop the girl’s tantrum. Her mother clearly couldn’t calm her down anymore. Hearing the crowd’s comments, she grew angry and defensive, lashing out. ’She’s only eleven! She’s just a child! Isn’t it normal for her to be scared right now? Can’t you speak to her nicely? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for being so cruel to a child? That heaven will come and take you away?’ The people on the bus were instantly in an uproar.

’Xiao Li, I’m begging you, please stop! If this bus really falls any further, we won’t make it out alive either, don’t you see?’ Fortunately, the woman still had some sense of the situation’s gravity. After lashing out at the others, she turned back and began to plead with her daughter again. But it was obviously useless. The girl showed her no respect. ’I don’t care! I want to get off! I just want to get off! It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t insisted on going out today, I’d be safe at home right now! Grandma was right, you’re just a jinx! Anyone who runs into you has bad luck!’ The woman fell silent. For a long moment, no sound came from her. The bus filled with sneers, and someone gloated outright, ’So she really is a jinx...’

A series of heavy stomps followed, and Gu Nuan Nuan could hear the bus shudder violently. Then, the woman’s vicious voice rang out, ’That old hag... and the rest of you! If anyone dares to call me a jinx again, believe me, I’ll take you all down with me!’

"AHH—" This time, even the woman’s own daughter screamed in terror. ’Dammit!’ ’Throw her off!’ A torrent of terrified shrieks and curses erupted from the passengers.

’If you two dare to move again, see if we don’t throw you both out the window!’ a man suddenly roared at the mother and daughter. His voice was so loud it silenced everyone else, and his threat immediately won the approval of the majority.

"Yeah, throw them off!" ’Exactly! The kid is like that, and the adult is too. She doesn’t want to live, but she wants to drag everyone else down with her. How vicious!’ The severe shaking of the bus had made the crowd extremely agitated. This time, the girl was scared into tears. ’Mom, I’m scared.’ The woman was frightened too, her voice trembling as she shouted, "If you do this, my husband won’t let you get away with it afterward!"

"You’re about to get us all killed, and you think we’re afraid of your husband settling scores later?"

"Exactly."

...

"Master, that woman’s stomping just now was too much. The roots of the two trees are already starting to loosen," Cao Cao’s voice said, filled with indignation. ’I wasted energy to find a chance of survival for everyone, so how dare someone try to ruin it like this?’

"Some people just court death." Gu Nuan Nuan was furious as well. ’There are always people in this world who don’t care about the situation and insist on getting themselves killed while dragging others down with them. Even if that mother and daughter pair were actually thrown off the cliff, they would have deserved it.’

"Where are the voices coming from?"

Zhang Wei Qiang focused, listening intently for a while, but heard nothing and had to ask.

"Down there." Gu Nuan Nuan pointed to the cliff on the other side. Seeing Zhang Weiqiang about to ride the bike to the other side of the road, she quickly added, "Not right here, a little farther ahead."

"How could that bus just fall off the cliff like that?" Zhang Wei Qiang couldn’t help but speed up again. Gusts of wind whistled past Gu Nuan Nuan’s ears, making her face sting. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

’It’s better to let Uncle see for himself.’

"Remember to tell me when we’re there." Seeing Gu Nuan Nuan remain silent, Zhang Wei Qiang thought she was frightened. He sighed inwardly. ’So Nuannuan’s nightmare was real after all?’

He remembered her description from yesterday: a scene covered in blood, with no survivors on the bus. His thick brows furrowed even deeper. ’But Nuannuan can hear many voices inside the bus right now. Does that mean there are still people alive? Maybe if I get there and see what’s going on, I can still save a few of them.’ At this thought, he wished he could pedal even faster.

"Uncle, stop! We’re here, this is the spot!" Gu Nuan Nuan shouted quickly. Her uncle had covered the five-to-six-minute journey Cao Cao mentioned in less than three minutes. ’He really pushed himself.’

"It’s right down there?" Zhang Wei Qiang jumped off the bicycle, lifting Gu Nuan Nuan off with one arm. Without even bothering to park the bike, he ran to the edge of the cliff where the accident happened and looked down. He could only see crushed grass and plants at the edge of the precipice, but nothing of the situation below. The only sound in his ears was the WHOOSH of the wind...