Damien paused for a moment. He looked around, realizing there was no one else present and saw that I wasn’t backing down.
His expression instantly darkened. “Don’t push your luck. Say one more word and I’ll have you kicked out of Scotland today and turn your car into scrap metal.”
At that moment, regret pierced me deeply. I shouldn’t have stopped. I had provoked someone far too powerful.
Suddenly, the woman beside him clutched Damien’s hand tightly, her eyes darting around nervously.
“Damien, did you hear someone laughing just now?”
Damien brushed off her words, unwilling to take them seriously. His expression shifted a few times before he finally exhaled. “Alright, you can drop off one passenger first, but you must take the route I choose.”
I knew the road he meant; it was only a slight detour. As long as I could complete the job on time, I was willing to comply.
Normally, I didn’t transport the living at night. My work was with the dead. I took them to the places they longed to visit before they died, helping them release their grievances and move on to reincarnation.
If their wishes aren’t fulfilled within the allotted time, they turn into vengeful spirits.
I knew what mattered most.
The men quickly lit cigarettes inside the car and the thick smoke made my eyes sting. Damien deliberately pressed his cigarette butt into the seat, the acrid smell of scorched leather filling the confined space.
I valued my car. It might be ordinary, but every part of it had been blessed with talismans.
“What are you doing? If you damage my car, you can’t possibly pay for it!”
The moment I spoke, all three of them burst into laughter.
“You poor schmuck, my Lamborghini could cover repairs for this junker for an entire year with just one press of the accelerator.”
“The worst car in my garage could buy a hundred of these rust buckets.”
Laughing last, Damien kicked the back of my seat hard. “If you’re going to be poor, then be poor properly. If I give you money, take it without complaint.”
I bit back my words, forcing myself to stay calm. What mattered was delivering the female ghost in the car to her destination.
But as soon as I turned onto the road Damien had specified, more than ten black cars suddenly appeared behind us, giving chase.
Trouble.
I slammed on the gas and twisted the steering wheel sharply to dodge the pursuing vehicles.
“Mr. Thornfield, what’s going on?” I demanded.
In the rearview mirror, he simply smiled meaningfully and said nothing.
Before long, I was forced to pull over at the side of the road.
Several burly men closed in, motioning for me to step out.
My whole body trembled, but I forced a strained smile. “Brothers, don’t get worked up. Let’s talk this out.”
The next second, the door was wrenched open violently. Rough hands dragged me out and threw me hard onto the ground.
Damien, holding the woman in his arms, strolled over slowly and lifted my chin with the tip of his shoe.
“You were so cocky just now. Why are you suddenly speechless?”
Pain throbbed in my scalp and the taste of dirt filled my mouth.
One of the enforcers handed Damien an ID they’d taken from me. He read it lazily.
“Rachel Whitlock, Senior Underworld Liaison Officer. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Using a fake ID to pick up customers is illegal, isn’t it? If I call the police, how long do you think they’ll keep you locked up?”
He did have power and influence, but we were not from the same world.
Amid the laughter of the crowd, one thug smashed the taxi’s windows with a crowbar while another grinned maliciously as he popped open the hood.
I tried to stop them, but I was too weak. Two fists couldn’t fight against four hands. I struggled to stand, only to be shoved back down, my wrists bound tightly behind me.
“You’ll pay the price for what you did to my car!” I shouted, fury burning in my chest.
My vision blurred red. Teeth clenched, I wanted nothing more than to lunge at him and sink my teeth into his flesh.
“Price?” Damien sneered. “Name your price. To me, it’s just a number.”
He grinned, spreading his hands in a dismissive gesture.
The woman beside him giggled.
“This car isn’t worth much anyway. If you behave yourself today and make Damien happy, maybe he’ll give you a BMW tomorrow.”
If driving a BMW could solve everything, my name would be spelled backward.
Unable to explain myself, I let out a weary sigh. “Mr. Thornfield, I don’t need your money. Some things simply can’t be solved with money.”
Damien arched a brow and signaled for the thugs to keep smashing the car.
But the expected sound of metal being battered never came.
One of the thugs frowned in confusion. “Mr. Thornfield, this car doesn’t even have a battery. How is it moving?”
No sooner had he spoken than a cold wind swept through the scene.
The thugs, arrogant only moments ago, now looked uneasy.
“It’s almost the Ghost Festival. Isn’t this a little… creepy?”
“Did we provoke something we shouldn’t have?”
Damien refused to believe it. He barked at them to check my car and phone again.
Sure enough, there was no battery in the car and my phone showed no order information.
“She’s just a fraud,” he scoffed. “Is all this really worth the fuss?”
He snorted derisively, pulled my driver’s license from his pocket and handed it to one of the men. “Run a check. See if you can dig up any dirt.”
It didn’t take long before they came back with results.
“She used to live in a mental hospital and once went crazy, setting a fire.”
That fire had been part of an exorcism ritual. Without it, the evil spirits haunting that courtyard could never have been purged.
“She also broke into a crime scene where an entire family was murdered and was arrested. There was even a physical altercation during the arrest.”
That time, I had gone to collect the murdered family. The youngest child had refused to leave until I helped him find his glass marbles.
As the story unfolded, the woman’s disdain grew sharper.
“No wonder I felt unlucky the moment I stepped into this car. She’s just some lunatic pretending to be important.”
I had nothing to say. If they hadn’t forced themselves into my car, I would have already completed my task by now.
The glow of the phone screen twisted Damien’s face into something grotesque.
“I told you, she’s nothing but a lunatic pretending to be something she’s not. And she dares refuse me a ride?”
I shook my head firmly. “Mr. Thornfield, I truly don’t want to get involved with you, but it’s already too late. I have to get my passenger to her destination on time, or the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“What consequences?” he sneered. “In Scotland, I always get my way. Tell me one thing I can’t handle.”
He played the thug with ease, draping an arm around the woman’s waist. “And as for you, Rachel, using a fake certificate to get a job. I’m curious, is this so-called passenger of yours also a lunatic spouting nonsense like you?”
He lifted his chin and two henchmen moved in. They grabbed me, ignoring my struggles and hauled me to my feet.
“If you take us to see this ‘distinguished guest,’ I’ll be generous. I’ll even give you a new car. How about that?”
Damien was still treating it like a game. But by the time he saw the truth, it would already be far too late.
In the spirit world, there is one well-known fact: under normal circumstances, only vengeful spirits manifest themselves.
And who in their right mind would want to see a vengeful ghost without reason?
I clenched my teeth. “No. That guest holds noble status, she is not someone who can be easily seen.”
At first, everyone froze. Then they all burst into exaggerated laughter.
“The Kingsley Family is the very sky above Scotland. Everyone knows Claire Kingsley is the most noble of all. A single project from her family could buy your entire family’s lives.”
“Is she insane? She doesn’t even know Claire Kingsley and dares to put on airs with us?”
“How pitiful. She doesn’t even realize who she’s messing with.”
I was desperate. I didn’t know exactly who I had offended, but I knew they were about to get into serious trouble.
Did none of them notice how the temperature had been steadily dropping all this time?
Amidst the barrage of ridicule, I struggled to my feet and ran toward the car.
I didn’t get far before they caught up to me. A heavy slap struck my face, swelling it instantly and sending tears to my eyes from the sharp pain.
“Tell me, who are you going to pick up? If I find out you’re just showing off, I’ll break your legs.”
He didn’t sound like he was joking and I shivered.
The next moment, an iron rod was pressed against my knee, while the crowd around me buzzed with excitement, eager to watch the show.
My scalp prickled, fear mingling with anger. “Don’t… don’t hit me. Her name is Claire.”
“Who?”
A wave of discouragement washed over me.
“If you want to know, look at today’s Scotland News.”
The first one to find the report stammered, “Mr. Thornfield, Claire is just an ordinary college graduate who only just finished school.”
At this, everyone looked unsurprised, as if that was what they had expected all along.
Damien grew even more arrogant. “Rachel, you were so bold earlier. Is she the ‘important person’ you mentioned?”
Several henchmen burst into mocking laughter. “Damien’s cloth is worth more than both your lives combined. What are you trying to pull in front of him?”
“Now apologize to him properly. Kneel down, lick his shoes clean and maybe you’ll be able to crawl home today.”
But the next words from that same man silenced the entire crowd.
“But she… she just died today in a fire. She didn’t make it out because she was saving her colleagues. The incident made the front page of the Scotland News.”
First came gasps of disbelief, then forced attempts at lighthearted banter.
Damien didn’t react as expected. Instead, he yanked my hair viciously. “Rachel, you made up this supernatural nonsense just to trick me, didn’t you?”
Pain seared my scalp as I clawed at his fingers, trying to pry them off.
“I didn’t. She truly was a benefactor, someone far nobler than you.”
When the upper floors of her company building caught fire, she calmly directed the evacuation on-site. After she reached safety, she ran back inside to save her colleagues. They escaped but she didn’t, trapped by the thick smoke.
Saving over a hundred people is an immeasurable merit. Even in reincarnation, such a soul wouldn’t have to wait in line.
My task tonight was to take her home.
In Scotland, there is a tradition of keeping the body for seven days. She couldn’t let go of her grandmother, who had raised her and wanted to see her one last time.
Damien strolled toward me slowly, sneering.
“So, you’re saying you’re going to pick up and drop off a dead person?”
He suddenly burst out laughing and the others joined in.
“Why are we even arguing with a lunatic?”
But then, someone produced the driver’s license and documents I had used earlier that day and handed them to Damien.
He flipped through them, his lips curling. “See? You can be perfectly normal too. So why are you so different at night?”
Someone chimed in, “Mr. Thornfield, don’t believe her nonsense. Some women are proper during the day but completely different at night.”
Others joined with suggestive tones. “She drives an unlicensed taxi, uses fake documents and deliberately refuses passengers. Maybe she’s just a high-priced prostitute.”
As they spoke, their stares grew sticky and invasive.
I regretted more than ever not stepping on the gas earlier and leaving them behind in the dust.
But there was no time to dwell on regret. If I didn’t deliver her to her destination, her reincarnation would be delayed and that responsibility would fall on me.
In a panic, I banged my forehead against the ground. “Mr. Thornfield, I’m willing to apologize. Please, be merciful and let me finish my delivery.”
He crouched down in front of me, amusement glinting in his eyes.
“It’s too late to apologize now. But I am curious about what you claim. Show her to me and I’ll let you go.”
I shook my head firmly. According to the rules, the living should never meddle in the affairs of the underworld.
Damien clicked his tongue in annoyance and ordered his men to aim a crowbar at my knees.
But in the next instant, a chilling wind swept through the air.
A faint woman’s voice echoed, “You said you wanted to see me?”
