Chapter Eighty-One: A Strange Journey

A power so alluring that even the Lords of Hell coveted it—Gu Zhongyan was no exception. In the original storyline, after the San Venganza Contract was created, Mephisto sent the previous Ghost Rider, Carter Slade, to retrieve it. However, realizing that the contract would greatly strengthen Mephisto, Carter chose to betray him at the crucial moment. He took the contract and hid himself within the church, using its power to shield himself from Mephisto’s gaze.

Over a century passed, and the former Ghost Rider remained concealed, serving as a cemetery caretaker where Johnny Blaze’s father was buried. Gu Zhongyan’s purpose for this graduation trip was to acquire the San Venganza Contract before the events of "Ghost Rider" unfolded.

Johnny Blaze was something of a celebrity across America, so locating his father’s grave was not a difficult task. Soon enough, Gu Zhongyan found the information he needed from numerous news articles.

“I’ll take the wheel from here,” Gu Zhongyan said as he put away his phone, his tone brooking no argument.

Seeing Gu Zhongyan suddenly eager to drive, Richard was more convinced than ever that Gu Zhongyan was a thrill-seeker. After reading the news, he must have been itching for a ride—unable to take a motorcycle, he’d settle for a regular car to sate his urge.

Certain he had seen through everything, Richard said nothing further. He patted Gu Zhongyan’s shoulder and vacated the driver’s seat. “No problem, no problem. Go ahead, let me enjoy the feeling of having a chauffeur for once.” With a cheerful grin, he slid into the back seat.

Gu Zhongyan didn’t bother to explain. Though he wasn’t a racing enthusiast, speed had always held a certain romance for men. After Richard had mentioned it so many times, Gu Zhongyan found himself tempted as well.

The moment he settled into the driver’s seat, his expression sharpened, his demeanor shifted, and he barked, “Hold on tight!” Before his two companions could react, he floored the accelerator.

The engine roared, fuel combusted explosively, propelling the intricate machinery into wild, brutal motion and generating immense thrust. The tires gripped the road so fiercely that the car shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The red Ford streaked through the roadway like a bolt of lightning.

Richard, who had thought his own driving was reckless enough, widened his eyes in shock and instinctively clutched the seatback in front of him.

Did they really need to go this fast? They must be hitting over two hundred kilometers per hour!

“Whoa, charge!” Su Yan, sitting in the passenger seat with an innocent look, grew even more excited. His body, altered by demonic power, far surpassed that of ordinary humans. Not only was he unfazed by the speed, his adrenaline surged, and he became even more exhilarated.

After a wild three-hundred-kilometer sprint, the red Ford finally began to slow. It wasn’t that Gu Zhongyan lacked the desire to keep racing, but this was, after all, an ordinary secondhand car. If not for his magical maintenance, such intense driving would have torn it apart long ago. Enough was enough.

Moreover, they were now only a few dozen kilometers from the cemetery where the old Ghost Rider lay. Although nothing seemed amiss, it was best to deliver Richard and Su Yan—his two burdens—to a safe place, just in case.

As they drove along the interstate toward Sacramento, Su Yan suddenly frowned in the passenger seat. “Brother Gu, something feels strange.”

“What is it?” Gu Zhongyan glanced at him instinctively.

Su Yan furrowed his brow and pursed his lips, clearly troubled. “I don’t know. I just feel weird. It’s like there’s something around us—so noisy.”

Richard, in the back seat, looked around but saw nothing but open land and endless highway, not even a bird in sight. He couldn’t help but say, “I don’t see anything. Su, are you car sick?”

Gu Zhongyan also surveyed their surroundings, finding nothing unusual.

“No, it’s really noisy, and getting louder. Right there.” Su Yan grew anxious, pointing at the empty space outside the car.

“Su, are you sure you’re not carsick? Maybe you’ve got a fever?” Richard reached out to check Su Yan’s forehead.

At that moment, Gu Zhongyan hit the brakes, got out, and examined the area around the car with vigilance.

Unlike Richard, who suspected Su Yan was simply feeling unwell or being childish, Gu Zhongyan knew Su Yan, though young, was not prone to nonsense. And after the demonic transformation, his constitution was far more sensitive than most—able to perceive things others could not.

“Su Yan, can you tell me where it feels the noisiest now?” Gu Zhongyan asked in a low voice.

“Really, Sean? You think there’s something out here? It’s probably just a kid feeling off,” Richard protested, pushing open the car door to get out and investigate.

Bang!

Gu Zhongyan slammed the door shut with a swift motion. Richard yelped in pain, clutching his bruised forehead, but before he could complain, Gu Zhongyan fixed him with a stern look and barked, “Stay in the car. Su Yan, hold down your brother Richard and tell me where the disturbance is.”

Startled by Gu Zhongyan’s seriousness, Richard then realized that, though Su Yan was small, his hand pressing down on Richard’s shoulder felt impossibly heavy, as if it weighed hundreds of pounds—he couldn't break free.

What was going on?

Richard stared at Su Yan in disbelief, but no one paid him any mind. Su Yan pinned him with one hand and pointed into the air with the other. “There—no, there—right over there.”

Su Yan pointed here and there, seemingly at random. To an outsider, it might look like he was playing a game.

Gu Zhongyan glanced at Richard, sighing inwardly. It seemed this journey was destined to reveal a few secrets.

Though nothing was certain yet, Gu Zhongyan had noticed something: as Su Yan pointed, he could clearly sense an abnormal flow in the air.

An invisible presence?

Narrowing his eyes, Gu Zhongyan drew the Dragonbone Wand from his pant leg and swept it forcefully around him.

“Reveal yourself!”

A silver light rippled outward like waves.

As the light passed, the air’s movement intensified, wind howled, and a shadowy black figure flickered in the swirling gusts.

“What the fuck is that?!” Richard gaped, stunned, a curse escaping his lips.

He quickly remembered the child beside him and waved his hands frantically, “No, no, Su, I didn’t say anything—you didn’t hear a thing, got it?”