Chapter 24: Midnight Taxi

I clutched the bottle, feeling as satisfied as a farmer during a bountiful harvest, and trotted off to the outskirts of the city to catch a ride. Vehicles are scarce out here, and the few that do pass by are either operated by unskilled drivers or are unlicensed cabs.

Finally, a taxi arrived. Judging by the driver’s demeanor, it was clear he was just borrowing a relative's car to make some extra cash for the night. As we entered the city, I suddenly spotted a familiar vehicle ahead: the one hauling a coffin that I had failed to photograph previously. The coffin was still on the truck. It had been several days; why was this vehicle still roaming the streets? And with the coffin still loaded, there had to be something wrong.

"Driver, follow that truck ahead!"

The driver squinted, trying hard to look, and said, "What truck? There’s nothing in front of us."

My grandfather’s lineage possesses a peculiar trait known as the "Fire Eye." Everyone’s Fire Eye fluctuates, and its level determines one’s ability to perceive the supernatural. A high Fire Eye prevents one from seeing ghosts, while a low one reveals them. I could see the truck directly in front of us, but the driver couldn't—this had to be due to our differing Fire Eye levels. Since he couldn't see it, I directed him. The truck was moving fast, just like before, so I urged the driver to pick up the pace, lest we lose it.

After trailing it for over ten minutes, I realized the route was disturbingly familiar—it was heading toward the building where I rented my apartment. Could this be the source of the strange occurrences in my home? Regardless, I had to follow it.

Sure enough, the truck pulled up beneath my building. I didn't get too close; I hopped out at a distance and followed stealthily. Before approaching, I wiped off all the sticky residue I had been carrying, fearing my excessive "Yang" energy would alert it to my presence.

Once the truck stopped, the driver’s door opened slowly, and a man dressed in black hopped down. He didn't walk; he hopped, because he only had one leg! The coffin was black, the driver was black, and in the night, the truck was black as well—the entire scene was chillingly eerie. After stepping out, the driver hopped back and forth in the parking area. A moment later, he leaned forward and squeezed into a hole in the wall.

I hurried over and peered inside. In the pitch-black void, the silhouette of a coffin came into view! This hole had been there since I arrived, but the coffin certainly hadn't. It was an opening broken into the wall leading to an empty, uninhabited room. The area around this room had been neglected, overgrown with weeds, and the hole itself looked chaotic.

After the driver crawled inside, the truck vanished into thin air. I stood at the opening, listening; it was deathly quiet. I began to understand: the leg I had seen in the forest the other day belonged to this driver. I just didn't know how he had lost it. I didn't dare climb in just yet for fear of an ambush. If it was him, he would surely come to my room tonight. Knowing his location, I headed upstairs, fearing I might be discovered if I lingered.

The room was silent. I didn't make a sound, careful not to disturb Huang Ying.

I first dialed my grandfather’s number, then quietly pushed open Huang Ying’s bedroom door. She was lying on the bed. As I looked down at her, a surge of carnal desire flared within me. I swallowed hard, placed the phone beside her, and listened as my grandfather began to chant. The mist from the bottle slowly drifted into Huang Ying’s body. There was no immediate physical change, but I wasn't worried; it was only a matter of time. I could wait. I had the patience.

Once that was done, I retreated from the room and lay on my bed, waiting tensely. I was determined to catch him red-handed tonight. I still couldn't fathom how he kept getting inside. I had fortified the room inside and out multiple times; by all logic, it should have been impossible for him to enter. I lay there, eyes closed, listening to the world outside.

It was quiet—unnervingly quiet, or rather, deathly silent. After waiting for a long time, I began to drift off. If he didn't show up soon, I was going to fall asleep.

I don't know how much time had passed when a sound, so faint it could have been ignored, jolted me awake. When a person concentrates intensely on something before falling asleep, even the slightest change will wake them. It’s like the morning bell for a student; no matter how late you slept, the moment you hear it, you wake up instinctively.

I didn't move; I lay in bed, waiting for him to come to me. I had set a "Heavenly Trap" in the room; the moment he stepped inside, I would peel a layer of skin off him.

*Thump... thump... thump...*

A faint, rhythmic sound emerged from the bathroom. Each step took twice as long as a normal person's gait. I realized that only someone with one leg could produce such a sound.

*So, it is you,* I thought, keeping my eyes tightly shut.

The sound moved slowly into the living room. Step by step, it drew closer. I felt him enter my bedroom. I remained motionless, feeling him lean over me, watching. At that moment, I suddenly felt my limbs go numb; my whole body stiffened, beyond my control. I summoned all my strength and managed to move my arm just a fraction.

At that tiny movement, he suddenly prepared to leave. *Damn it, he noticed even that!*

I wouldn't let him get away with it. The moment he turned to leave, the oppressive force paralyzing me vanished. I whipped a whip made of red twine and copper coins out from under my pillow. I had gotten the idea from a Lam Ching-ying ghost movie. I had wanted to make it perfectly straight, but lacking the skill, it ended up looking like a monstrosity. Still, I believed in its power—the combination of these elements wasn't just one plus one equals two; it was one plus one equals ten. At least, that was my own calculation.

With the whip in hand, I tugged hard on another red cord by my pillow. A net made of red twine dropped from the ceiling, perfectly ensnaring him. What followed was a chorus of wails and frantic struggling.

I flipped the light switch, and everything became clear. It was the man in the black clothes from downstairs. He was currently facing away from me, gnashing his teeth. But the second he turned around, I couldn't help but gag.

He looked like a literal car accident scene; his skull was split down the middle, and white brains covered his face. When he saw me, his already mangled face twisted into an even more hideous expression. I moved toward him, holding the sticky residue in my left hand and the whip in my right. With this gear, I was ready to kill any ghost or Buddha that stood in my way.

I raised the whip to strike his head; he wasn't Huang Ying, so there was no reason for me to show mercy. But suddenly, my hand stopped in mid-air, frozen. He only had one eye left; the other had burst. I didn't know how he had become this way, but it was certain he had died a miserable death.

This wasn't his corpse, but his soul. When someone dies suddenly, their soul sometimes fails to separate and remains frozen in the state of their death. That must be what happened to this driver. If my guess was right, he had died in a car crash.

What I didn't understand was why he kept targeting me. He had suffered at my hands before, yet he came back. If there was any grudge between us, it was only that I had taken a photo of him and discovered his leg. But I didn't care about his reasons anymore. He was malicious, and I would show no mercy. Once I finished him off, the "why" wouldn't matter.

He was a newly formed ghost, only a few days old; I had the capability to deal with him. *Crack!*

My whip lashed across his body, carving a deep gash into his soul. Wherever the red twine touched him, it hissed, emitting wisps of white smoke. As I prepared to strike a second time, he bolted, hopping out of the room and sprinting toward the bathroom. That old dog was a driver, after all; even with one leg, he was fast.

I chased after him, but when I burst into the bathroom, he was gone. I searched everywhere, eventually fixing my gaze on the toilet. It was the only passage through which he could have escaped. No wonder he had been able to enter my room all along!

I didn't pursue him further. Even if I went down there, he might not be in the coffin. Besides, he was already on the verge of "dying" again; I could finish the job tomorrow.