Taboo Mage - Chapter 152 - The Past Life Connection of the Gu and Zhou Families

“What do you mean? Explain clearly!” I felt confused, as if something was lingering deep in my memory, yet had been forgotten.

Taka told me that after the inception of the life amulet technique and the identity of the yin-yang master, the concept of the Cycle of Cause and Effect began to emerge in the world.

To prevent the extinction of the families due to the Cycle of Cause and Effect, the ancestors of the Gu and Zhou Families initially used the powerful life amulet technique to split the curse of the Cycle of Cause and Effect, allocating it in hundred-year cycles, with each family bearing the curse for a hundred years. This was intended to ensure the continuity of both families.

However, during the time of my grandfather and Zhou Qifang’s generation, domestic turmoil arose.

As the hundred-year term was nearing its end, Zhou Qifang’s grandfather, driven by personal motives, sought out a master to prevent the curse from befalling their family.

They ultimately succeeded, and for the next century, the curse of the Cycle of Cause and Effect would fall upon our Gu Family.

It was my Father who bore the curse bestowed by the heavens.

When Grandfather realized this, he went to the Zhou Family for an explanation, only to find that Zhou Qifang’s grandfather had already passed away. Zhou Rui, Zhou Qifang’s father, in order to escape the internal strife and avoid confrontation with the Gu Family, had taken Zhou Qifang to Thailand.

But things did not turn out as they planned. The immense power of the life amulet had already become rooted in the bloodlines of the descendants of the Gu and Zhou Families. Zhou Rui, in his deliberate avoidance of the curse, failed to foresee that while they evaded the Cycle of Cause and Effect, they could not escape divine retribution.

The women in their family all had deformed births.

When Zhou Qifang’s sister was born, they thought it was just an accident, but as time went on, all female offspring, even his brother’s children, were born as deformed, shameful beings.

Zhou Qifang’s bro was driven to his death by anger, and his sister-in-law committed suicide by jumping off a building. On his deathbed, Zhou Rui urged Zhou Qifang to find the person from back then and ask how their family could be freed from the punishment they faced.

In the following years, Zhou Qifang continued to search for that person, but unfortunately, he vanished without a trace. All Zhou could find out was that the person was in Beijing, but he couldn’t track him down.

Later on, Zhou Qifang encountered a peculiar person. This man wore a Tang suit and was handsome and elegant, but no one knew his age.

The man told Zhou that to lift the punishment on the Zhou Family, they had to complete the tasks originally meant for them.

The way to lift it was to bury Zhou Rui and his Father, who had made grave mistakes, in the ancestral tomb of the Gu Family and ask for the forgiveness of the Gu Family. The deceased should then guard the ancestral spirits of the Gu Family’s ancestors.

Upon hearing this, I finally understood. So my Father and I were still suffering from the Cycle of Cause and Effect curse because the Zhou Family was too cowardly to face death?

“If the path was chosen by you in the first place, why should I help you?” I said with a cold smile.

“Do you wish for your descendants to continue suffering the curse of the Cycle of Cause and Effect? By helping me, you are also helping yourself,” Taka said coldly. “Or are you doubting what I just told you?”

“I don’t doubt it, because the person you mentioned… I’ve met him!” I said, glancing at Jue Chi before continuing, “I just don’t understand why you keep testing my abilities. What does that have to do with me agreeing to your request?”

“It’s quite simple, really. To complete this transition, you must find the person hiding in Beijing who initially replaced the curse for my Grandfather. I need to determine if you have the ability to find him.”

“Nonsense! Finding people is your business; what does it have to do with me?” I snorted, “And don’t you find wearing that mask hot? Don’t think I don’t know who you are!”

“Oh really? You know who I am?” Taka asked with sudden interest.

I snorted, “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were that shameless person who’s been following us, right, Liao Qing?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Chi Rui exclaimed in surprise, “What? He’s Liao Qing?”

“I actually started suspecting last night why Taka seemed to know everything about me. He could investigate past events, but how could he even know what socks I was wearing? Clearly, he was always lurking around us. Think about it; from the start, when we arrived in Bangkok and checked into that hotel, besides Du Jun, the only stranger we knew was Liao Qing. He’s Chinese, and if he was looking to make friends with fellow countrymen, why us out of all the Chinese people at the hotel?

“Later, as soon as the fake Taka left, he immediately appeared here. A normal person would probably suspect a blackout was due to an electrical issue or a faulty bulb. Why was his first reaction that an evil spirit had arrived?

“Chi Rui mentioned that the evil spirit in Du Jun’s Buddha amulet had been swapped. But from the beginning, Du Jun had handed the amulet to me, and it only returned to him when we were about to expel the evil spirit. So, when could it have been swapped? I think only Liao Qing could have done it.”

After saying all this, I took a deep breath and gulped down some water.

The three people sitting beside me stayed silent, just looking at Taka, who was sitting across from us, with astonished expressions.

After hearing my words, Taka smiled and slowly removed the mask from his face.

Behind the mask was indeed the familiar face of Liao Qing.

“I didn’t expect it was really you,” Chi Rui said through gritted teeth. He despised being deceived, especially by someone who betrayed him.

Liao Qing glanced at Chi Rui, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “If you feel that I’ve deceived you, I can offer compensation. But before that, I want to settle things between me and Gu Qingshu.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Sure, you want to bury your Grandfather and Father in our family cemetery. It’s not out of the question, but I have a condition.”

“What condition?” A flicker of light crossed Liao Qing’s face.

I smiled, leaned forward slightly, and whispered, “I want you to kneel at my Father and Grandfather’s graves for a whole month!”

Back when the Zhou Family committed such acts, they should have anticipated some form of retribution.

The retribution from the heavens is one thing, but as the only member of the Gu Family left, if I say I don’t forgive, then I won’t forgive!