Many names appeared in the Fortune Manual.
Liu Sandao quickly discarded the bottle cap and casually struck a pouring posture.
As the water poured, he flicked his hand, transforming it into countless droplets.
The Fortune Manual seemed to grow larger according to Liu Sandao's will, bigger than before.
It was as if a giant blackboard had been erected before him, for him to write and draw upon at will.
Those countless water droplets instantly turned into tiny hands, busily gesturing next to those names.
Liu Sandao gestured with his hands, finding the most crucial name: Hua Lianyou.
He was the driver of this bus, and the problem lay with him.
His name was also the brightest one in the Fortune Manual.
Liu Sandao gestured and retrieved a Fortune Fruit the size of a fist from beside him.
The others, of course, knew nothing of Liu Sandao's actions.
What they could see was:
Liu Sandao was mostly unharmed, but the cap of his mineral water bottle had been knocked off, and some water seemed to have spilled onto the bus.
The bus had lost control and veered towards the motorized lane on the left. Cars coming in the opposite direction blared their horns incessantly.
Hua Lianyou endured immense pain, trying his best to steady the steering wheel and lightly tap the brakes.
He didn't know why he suddenly felt dizzy, only that his heart was racing and he felt unwell.
Unexpectedly, a moment of distraction caused the bus to deviate from its course.
Fortunately, he was a driver with one or two decades of experience, and more importantly, this was a bus with thirty to forty people on board.
If something happened, it would be thirty to forty lives.
He absolutely could not drag them down.
The passengers in the bus were in a panic.
Some saw the bus swerving towards the oncoming lane, appearing to be heading off the bridge. Their first reaction was that the driver intended to commit suicide.
One person cursed, "Damn it, if you want to die, don't take innocent people with you!"
Hearing the word "die," the passengers became even more alarmed.
Many women began to cry, while the men remained silent but their eyes were filled with fear.
Liu Sandao grabbed a Fortune Fruit and quickly tossed it.
The other tiny hands also made a throwing gesture.
Liu Sandao dared not think too much. Who knew if those water-drop-turned-tiny-hands could understand his intentions and automatically find the owners of the Fortune Fruits?
As soon as Hua Lianyou's Fortune Fruit touched his forehead, it rapidly merged into him.
He mustered his last breath and stomped hard on the brakes.
The bus's speed slowed considerably, but due to the earlier loss of control, it couldn't stop completely and still crashed into the guardrail by the bridge.
Even though the guardrail was made of iron and as thick as a thigh.
The bus itself was very heavy, and its momentum while moving was not to be underestimated.
Most of the thrown Fortune Fruits were successfully received, with only two or three falling to the ground.
Liu Sandao had to use a minor spell to personally hand them over.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't get them in.
With no other choice, Liu Sandao put them into his own mouth.
He knew it wasn't ideal, but he felt a pang of discomfort seeing the Fortune Fruits go to waste.
"CRASH!"
With a tremendous bang, the bus shot through the guardrail.
"Ah!"
Many people screamed.
Liu Sandao jumped out of the window and grabbed the bus that was about to fall.
The bus hung in mid-air, half of its cabin jutting out over the bridge.
Fortunately, a section of the guardrail had deeply embedded itself into the vehicle, holding it firmly in place.
Outside the bus cabin, Liu Sandao held onto the window with one hand and kicked the bridge's guardrail with his foot to prevent it from falling.
The panicked passengers inside saw the cabin stabilize, and their tension finally eased.
Liu Sandao quickly shouted towards the window, "Everyone, slowly move towards the rear of the cabin!"
Bai Suxiang immediately understood Liu Sandao's intention: he wanted to concentrate the people at the back of the bus, thereby ensuring the weight at the front of the vehicle was less than that at the rear.
She immediately organized everyone to move backward, slowly of course.
Bai Suxiang seemed to have a natural talent for controlling the rhythm of a situation and managing people's emotions. Liu Sandao couldn't help but admire the girl.
As everyone moved backward, the driver, Hua Lianyou, remained motionless.
It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but he simply couldn't. It was even difficult for him to press the buttons in front of him.
It was likely due to recent fatigue; he always felt dizzy.
He had no choice but to maintain his position and do his best to keep the bus stable.
Someone called the emergency services, and rescue personnel quickly arrived at the scene.
With the help of a crane, the trapped passengers were transferred out first.
As soon as Mei Ziqi alighted, he ran to Liu Sandao's side and said,
"Brother Dao, you're amazing! In such a short time, you jumped out of the bus and, by your own strength, held onto the vehicle!"
Little did he know, while it wasn't certain if the bus would have fallen without Liu Sandao holding it, without Liu Sandao's intervention, it might have.
Liu Sandao naturally couldn't explain, nor was there any need to.
After a period of shock, the passengers were mostly unharmed. Only two or three had minor head injuries and were bleeding profusely, but none were in life-threatening condition.
What Liu Sandao couldn't understand was why the Fortune Fruits hadn't worked for them.
It seemed he would have to consult Fu Ruhai about this, and he didn't know when that guy would return.
Bai Suxiang's class meeting with her best friend was also canceled. After medical checks confirmed they were unharmed, the group returned to their dormitories.
In the evening, they learned from the news that
today's bus accident was due to the driver's health condition, not, as people rumored, a suicide attempt due to family problems.
Liu Sandao, now in a quiet state, continued to study the Fortune Manual, pondering the Fortune Fruits that couldn't be administered and the ones he had eaten.
He also wondered if his method of distributing Fortune Fruits needed improvement.
If he could distribute them more skillfully, could he prevent the most dangerous situations from occurring earlier?
...
In the morning, after attending class, Fang Zonghai rushed to Liu Sandao's side as soon as he returned to the dormitory and whispered some bad news.
News of Liu Sandao's incident had spread throughout the School of Economics:
They said Liu Sandao was a stingy fool who wouldn't even spend money on water when he went out. Most pathetically, he didn't pay for the bus fare either.
Someone even gave him a nickname: "Iron Rooster."
This was the human world, always full of baseless speculation.
It was as if the world would lose its spice without such gossip.
This nickname, of course, did not displease Liu Sandao.
He was an immortal, not an ordinary mortal, and had no need to stoop to the level of mortals.
However, one matter had to be resolved: the issue of money.
He had been in the mortal world for so many days, and he had come to understand that money spoke volumes in many situations.
Before, Fu Ruhai had handled everything, and he didn't need to worry. But Fu Ruhai's departure forced him to re-examine this issue.
He had to keep some money for emergencies.
Fortunately, Fu Ruhai returned soon after, bringing with him both good and bad news.