I am a sedan chair carrier, specializing in carrying people up the mountain—but never ordinary people.

Business is slow during the day, but at night it’s booming. Without an appointment, I won’t take the job.

On the night of the Ghost Festival, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, I accepted a special order and even canceled a date with my girlfriend for it. I bathed and burned incense in preparation, arriving early at the foot of the mountain—only to be stopped by several men blocking my path.

“Carry us up the mountain. We want to watch the sunrise. Name your price!”

The man tossed a wad of cash toward me, his tone arrogant.

I was about to refuse when I saw my girlfriend—who should have been home asleep—walk up and wrap her arm around his.

“Victor Hughes, the wealthiest man in Riverdale, is willing to sit in your sedan chair. You should be grateful.”

There wasn’t the slightest trace of guilt in her eyes for cheating—only smug satisfaction.

“You, a sedan carrier, could work ten years and still not make enough to buy me a single handbag. Take Victor’s order and you’ll never have to carry that shabby chair again in your life.”

I kept my face solemn but politely declined.

Victor immediately grew angry, threatening to break my arms so I could never carry a sedan again.

I could only sigh helplessly.

Because my sedan chair never carries the living.

“Ethan Cole, you penniless fool, Victor is showing you respect by hiring you to carry him. Don’t be so ungrateful.”

My girlfriend, Bella Moore, sneered and kicked at my bamboo sedan.

I frowned. For this particular client, I had specially borrowed this sedan from Marcus Lee, my senior brother. It was made from rare Yin-infused incense bamboo. If it was damaged, Marcus would have my hide.

“Bella Moore, I can overlook your cheating, but if you damage my sedan, I won’t be able to answer for it!”

Bella burst into mocking laughter.

“Ethan, has a mule kicked you in the head? How much could your broken chair possibly be worth? Victor could buy ten of them with the cost of one of his suits.”

I stared at the woman who had once seemed so gentle and lovely, now baring a face twisted with arrogance and spite, my fists clenched tight.

I had fallen for her at first sight, chased her for three years before she finally agreed to be with me. Marcus had warned me she was cursed—our fates clashed—and being with her would bring me to a bad end.

I believed love could defy fate, but now, I’d been blindsided and handed a massive green hat to wear.

Glancing at the time, I saw it was an hour until midnight.

This order was supposed to be carried with Marcus tonight. Out of respect, I’d arrived early—only to run into Victor and his crew causing trouble.

We were at Mount Hazel, a famous scenic area packed with visitors during the day. Sedan carriers at the foot of the mountain were in high demand—most people didn’t want to climb.

Clearly, Victor and his group had mistaken me for an ordinary carrier.

When they refused to let me go, I patiently explained,

“This sedan isn’t for just anyone. Besides, I already have an appointment—it’s for your own good.”

But Victor’s anger only deepened. He kicked my sedan hard.

“A mere chair carrier acting like some big shot who needs an appointment? You couldn’t even get hired as a gigolo.”

“You worthless piece of trash. Don’t you know when to take an opportunity? If it weren’t for me wanting to take Bella to see the sunrise, you think I’d look twice at this shabby thing? You’d better carry me up now.”

I looked at my overturned sedan, my face darkening. But given the special nature of tonight, I didn’t want to damage my karmic merit, so I still tried to explain calmly.

“I can’t carry it alone. This sedan needs two people to get it up the mountain.”

Traditional sedan carriers always need two people, but our profession is different—we can carry alone.

It’s just that one person doesn’t carry the living… they carry the dead.

The moment I said that, Victor Hughes’s lackey quickly set the sedan upright, grinning obsequiously at him.

“Mr. Hughes, add me and we’ll make two. Come on, sit down. I’ll carry you up the mountain.”

Victor nodded with satisfaction and lifted his foot to get in.

Panic shot through me, and I rushed forward.

“No!”

The word had barely left my mouth before Victor was already seated.

I stared at the sedan, now lifted halfway off the ground.

Damn it.

In our line of work, there’s a rule—

Once the sedan is lifted, it cannot be set down again.

Otherwise, it brings bloodshed and disaster.

Victor looked at me smugly.

“Tonight I’m sitting in this chair whether you like it or not. If you refuse to carry me, I’ll make sure you disappear from Riverdale forever.”

I exhaled in resignation, glancing at the half-lifted sedan.

“You chose to sit in it yourself. If something happens, it’s not on me.”

I had warned him.

Victor smirked.

“What could possibly happen from just sitting in a sedan?”

Bella Moore gave me a shove with her foot.

“Stop wasting time. Carry Mr. Hughes up the mountain and you’ll be well rewarded.”

I said nothing more, took hold of the carrying pole, and lifted it onto my shoulder.

“Once you’re seated, the sedan must not touch the ground. And the passenger must not set foot on the ground.”

Victor laughed loudly.

“And who the hell are you to make rules for me? I’ll get down whenever I feel like it.”

Then he yanked off his belt and cracked it across my back.

“Move! If you ruin my mood, you’ll regret it.”

A fiery sting spread across my back. I didn’t reply, just started walking.

It was still early; if I moved quickly, I might make it back in time.

I quickened my pace.

But a second later, the belt lashed across my back again, hard.

“Do you even know how to carry? Are you trying to shake me to death?”

I glanced at the deepening red of the horizon, my face growing cold.

“It’s almost midnight. If I don’t deliver you to the top and return to pick up my client before twelve, we’ll all be in serious trouble.”

Victor sneered and struck me again.

“I’m just going to watch a sunrise. Stop trying to scare me. In Riverdale, I make trouble for others—no one dares make trouble for me.”

My back was already flayed and raw, each step pulling painfully at the wounds.

Bella looked at my pale face, and though she tried to sound concerned, her tone was more patronizing.

“Ethan, those who offend Mr. Hughes in Riverdale never meet a good end. Do whatever he says if you want any reward.”

I checked the time—only thirty minutes left.

If I missed the appointed time, no one here would escape a grim fate tonight.

I was born with a rare fate: half in life, half in death, able to walk freely between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Gabriel Reed, my master, had told me since I was young that this was why both realms recognized me as a mediator—a diplomat between worlds.

But even the greatest diplomat fears vengeful spirits.

Because once dragged into Hell… there’s no return for all eternity.

I carried the sedan in silence, moving forward steadily, when suddenly the bushes beside the trail rustled with a faint shhh-shhh sound.

I didn’t dare stop. I just kept walking.

Then Bella Moore glanced coquettishly at Victor Hughes.

“Victor, my legs are sore from walking. Can’t you let me sit in the sedan for a while?”

Victor reached out and stroked her cheek.

“Of course. How could I let my Bella get tired?”

Then he looked at me.

“You hear that? My Bella wants to ride. Stop right now.”

The rustling was getting closer, and I didn’t dare pause for even a second.

A moment later, his belt cracked across my face.

“I told you to stop. Do you not understand human language?”

Warm blood trickled down my cheek. My leg buckled, and I dropped to one knee.

With every ounce of strength, I barely managed to keep the sedan steady.

Just as I was about to stand, I saw Victor lifting his foot to step down.

“You can’t get off the sedan!”

I shot upright and heaved the sedan back up forcefully.

I despised these people, but if they died here, the karmic merit I had spent years accumulating would be wiped away.

Victor wobbled, nearly falling, and lashed my back again with his belt.

“Trying to throw me to my death, are you?”

I gritted my teeth through the pain and reminded him,

“I told you—once lifted, the sedan cannot be set down until it reaches its destination.”

Victor looped his belt around my neck and yanked hard.

“Your words mean nothing. I said put me down! Don’t you get it?”

The strap dug into my throat, choking the air from me. I tilted my head back to ease the pressure, but in the next instant, he leapt off entirely and kicked me hard in the leg.

The pole slid from my shoulder. I tumbled backward, rolling down a dozen stone steps before catching myself on a hanging vine.

My back wound tore open, soaking me in blood. Struggling, I lifted my head to see Victor’s feet firmly on the ground. My face went cold.

“You’re finished.”

Victor rolled up his sleeves, his eyes full of menace. He charged down and kicked me square in the chest.

“I’ve tolerated you long enough with your superstitious crap. Tonight I’ll show you who really runs Riverdale!”

A burst of searing pain tore through my chest, followed by a sharp crack—something had broken.

Bella walked over, wearing an expression of hopeless disdain.

“Ethan Cole, I’ve put up with your weird ghost talk long enough. And now, right in front of Victor Hughes, the richest man in Riverdale, you’re spouting it again? You must have a death wish.”

As she spoke, a fierce wind rose out of nowhere. All around us, there was nothing but the howl of the gusts.

“Why is the wind suddenly so strong up here?” Bella asked nervously, clutching Victor’s arm.

Victor looked around, his face pale.

“Mount Hazel usually has plenty of people hiking at night. Why haven’t we seen a single one?”

We were halfway up the mountain, where the trail should have been lit with lanterns. But tonight, there wasn’t a single light—only the dim, blood-red glow of the sky.

Victor grabbed me by the collar.

“Tell me—did you lead us the wrong way on purpose?”

I looked into his twisted face, my gaze settling on the dark, bluish shadow clouding his brow.