Chapter 2465 — The Car Broke Down?

The only explanation was that this road was rarely traveled, and that the driver himself had made the decision on the spot. But what purpose could he have in doing so?

Could he mean to carry them off to some desolate place and rob them? Yet as a driver for the resort, if he were to rob them, the police would have an easy time cracking the case. Besides, Wei Zhao was confident the man was not that foolish—who carries large sums of cash out on a nighttime expedition?

If there was some other purpose, Wei Zhao could not fathom it either. They had come to this resort for the first time, and this was their first time taking part in the desolate village expedition; they did not know this driver at all. What purpose could he possibly have?

Once they had passed this stretch, the road ahead was much easier going. And yet, though the road here was smoother than before, Wei Zhao could tell at a glance from the traces of earth on the ground that no vehicle ever came this way under normal circumstances.

This was a dirt road, without a single tire track on it. You could say this was a path the expedition cars never took—so why were they taking it today?

The searchlights mounted on either side of the expedition car came on, allowing the passengers to see the scene outside their windows clearly. It was an incomparably gloomy village: ruined dwellings, a dried-up old well, some unmarked structures whose purpose was anyone's guess, hillocks like graves. Everything, absolutely everything, seemed utterly eerie and terrifying.

Even the expedition car's driver could not help shivering at that moment. He had driven them here on Su Lengzi's orders, but it had been four or five years since he had last traveled this road, and the last time had been in broad daylight.

Even with a map in hand, he was beginning to have second thoughts; he dared not get out and run back alone. The atmosphere here was simply too frightening.

Suddenly the engine died. A glance at the fuel gauge told the driver the car had run out of gas. He drew a deep breath and said, "Sorry, looks like there's a bit of a problem with the car—the engine's stalled. Why don't you all look around nearby for now? I'll see if I can fix it first, and if I can't, I'll call for help."

"The car broke down?" Wei Zhao grew all the more suspicious. The car had been running perfectly, without the slightest sign of trouble, so how had it broken down?

"Yes, sorry about that," the driver answered, somewhat tense inside. In his eyes, Wei Zhao was the most observant of the group; he had already spotted a good many flaws, and by now he was probably beginning to suspect something.

But at this point he had no choice. He could only grit his teeth and carry on with Su Lengzi's plan.

"Wei Zhao, you're not that timid, are you? If the car's broken, let him fix it. Let's get out and take a look around, do some exploring!" Kang Jinglong was eager to show off his courage. In his view, all this talk of a desolate village and ghosts was a hoax—every bit of it fake.

"The desolate village tourist handbook says visitors are not permitted to get out of the car on their own, to avoid accidents," Wei Zhao said mildly. It was not that he was afraid; he simply felt something deeply strange about the day's events.

"Xinyan, you see? Some people are so cowardly. A man like that is no good as a boyfriend!" Kang Jinglong said to Wang Xinyan. He named no names, but everyone knew whom he meant. "What use is a cultivator? Not everything is settled with fists. If he won't even dare walk a road at night, will he refuse to leave the house next?"

"It's fine for you all to get out—just don't wander far. With you in the car, it's inconvenient for me to inspect the vehicle," the driver chimed in helpfully.

"Wei Zhao, you see? Even the driver here says so. Are you still going to be in the way?" Kang Jinglong asked.

"All right then, let's get out and have a look." Wei Zhao's suspicions about the driver's purpose only deepened. Since when was it impossible to inspect a car with passengers aboard? And the tourist handbook explicitly stated that visitors were not to get out partway through the trip—yet this driver was shooing them out directly.

Wei Zhao was curious to see just what the driver was up to, so after a moment's thought he smiled slightly and said, "Fine. Let's get out and take a look."

Watching Wei Zhao's perilous display, Kang Jinglong thought to himself: Go on, keep pretending. When we get out and go exploring in that desolate village, we'll see whether you piss yourself in fright.

Han Jingyi wore an indifferent expression, put away her tablet, and stood up to get out. Wang Xinyan was reluctant but had no choice—though with Wei Zhao beside her, she felt considerably more at ease.

As for You Panhu's claim that Wei Zhao was afraid of ghosts and dared not leave the car, Wang Xinyan naturally did not believe a word of it. To her it was sheer nonsense—Wei Zhao was not afraid even of robbers or heaven-tier soft-shelled turtles, so how could he fear ghosts?

Once out of the car, a gust of cold wind made Wang Xinyan shiver involuntarily. She edged a little closer to Wei Zhao, yet did not dare draw too near; in front of Kang Jinglong, she did not want to go too far and tear all pretense of civility away.

From the way Kang Jinglong had been needling Wei Zhao all along, Wang Xinyan knew he had not given up pursuing her. What he had said down in the valley had probably been empty talk, not to be taken seriously.

"Hey, this place is a thrill! Let's go take a look over there," Kang Jinglong said, pointing to a shaded spot not far off. "Since we've nothing better to do, let's go see whether there really are ghosts."

"We should stay close by. Isn't it a bad idea to go too far?" Wang Xinyan hesitated. Girls had an instinctive resistance to and fear of dark, gloomy places like this—though of course, Han Jingyi was a category unto herself.

At the moment Han Jingyi was not especially afraid; she was looking all around, taking in the surroundings.

Wei Zhao did not move either, except that all his spiritual perception was now fixed on the car. He had felt from the start that something was off about the driver, so the moment he stepped out, he had fastened his attention on the man.

"Lengzi, it's me..." In the car, the driver carefully dialed Su Lengzi's number and reported the latest developments.

"Oh? Have you done everything I told you?" Su Lengzi asked.

"Done. Lengzi, I brought them to a remote spot, but... it's too scary here. I don't even dare drive back alone..." the driver said cautiously.

"Once they get out, just drive back, won't you? Leave them there—isn't that enough?" Su Lengzi said.