Taboo Mage - Chapter 173 - The Ghost Call

In other words, the body is trapped in a completely sealed space. While the living cannot find him, the messenger sent to collect his soul can locate him, but cannot bring his spirit out from there.

Thus, Li Zhiqiang is naturally unable to reincarnate. For the deceased, perhaps the greatest suffering is being unable to experience reincarnation.

Who would have thought that right after I said that, Suzhen suddenly sat down on the ground, wailing and beating her chest, claiming that she had driven Li Zhiqiang to his death.

I can’t stand the sound of a woman crying, so I covered my ears and retreated into the room, leaving only Jue Chi outside to comfort them. Once Suzhen’s cries gradually subsided, I came out of the room.

The Village Chief had already begun to inquire about how to facilitate his son’s reincarnation. While comforting the Village Chief, Jue Chi gestured toward me.

I walked over slowly and said, “Actually, there is a way, but I can’t guarantee its success. After all, I can’t be sure about something like the cement walls.”

The Village Chief nodded eagerly, saying that as long as I could help his son reincarnate, he would pay any price.

“I can’t say what the price will be. You already saved my life; this is my way of repaying your kindness.”

After saying this, I pulled Jue Chi aside, preparing to borrow his phone to call Lin Huan. I wondered how they had been lately and if they had been worried about me after I went missing.

After Jue Chi handed me his phone, the Village Chief pulled him aside once more.

I quickly called home, but it rang for a long time without anyone picking up. Just as I was about to hang up in confusion and call again later, suddenly the phone rang.

When I answered, I heard Lin Huan’s cries on the other end, “Jue Chi, have you found our boss’s soul yet?”

I gritted my teeth-soul? I’m not dead!

“Lin Huan… it’s me…” A mischievous thought crossed my mind, and I squinted, pinching my voice. I said lightly, “It’s me.”

There was a brief pause on the other end before Lin Huan shouted, “Oh my! Master Zhou, it’s a ghost call!”

Master Zhou? Zhou Qifang? He’s out of the hospital already?

But thinking about the time since I fell into the water, it has been almost half a month. He isn’t in a vegetative state; how could he stay in the hospital for such a long time?

Just as I was about to say a few more words in my altered voice, Zhou Qifang had already picked up the phone, “Jue Chi, have you found Gu Qingshu’s soul?”

“You’re the one who’s dead! I’m perfectly fine!” I couldn’t help but yell into the phone.

“Gu Qingshu? You’re not dead?”

“Well, what’s it to you? Are you unhappy that I’m alive?” I chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Zhou Qifang’s voice came through, “Gu Qingshu, we’re all heartbroken over your tragic death. But if you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can come to me in a dream for help. However, if you keep scaring people like this, I’ll take you down right now!”

Zhou Qifang seemed dead serious about that last part. If it weren’t for the phone line, I bet I could picture him holding a piece of yellow talisman paper filled with incantations, eager to slap it on my forehead.

I narrowed my eyes. Does this not prove that I’m alive?

What kind of twisted society is this…

On the other side, Jue Chi had finished his conversation and walked over to me. Seeing my frustrated and helpless expression, he couldn’t help but take the phone, saying, “Enough with the antics; Qingshu is fine, I’ve already located him.”

I couldn’t hear what Zhou Qifang said next, but I saw Jue Chi smile and say, “Got it,” before hanging up.

I felt a bit stifled, sensing that I wasn’t well-regarded among them.

Why were they all wishing for my demise? I’ve been so good to them!

Jue Chi patted my shoulder. I turned to seek some comfort in his words or expression, but he just smiled, pressed his lips together, and after a long pause, sighed and turned back into the room.

My anger boiled over. When I get back, I’m definitely kicking all of them out of my house!

According to the ancient texts, the creation of a soul summoning amulet requires using something that belonged to the deceased as the soul banner. Then, a summoning ceremony takes place at the location of the death, ultimately guiding the soul into the life amulet.

To enable the soul to reincarnate, Jue Chi would need to chant scriptures for deliverance. Of course, that wouldn’t involve me anymore; my job would only be to summon the soul into the amulet.

Suzhen rummaged through her belongings for a while and finally found a small ring. “This was made for me by a local master when I married Zhiqiang; we’ve always had a matching pair.”

As she spoke, Suzhen gently rubbed her finger. I noticed that she was wearing a gold ring identical to the one she held, the style was the same, but hers was slightly smaller.

“After our fight before the New Year, Zhiqiang took off the ring in anger and hasn’t had an opportunity to put it back on since.”

As she spoke, tears welled up in Suzhen’s eyes again. I felt a pang of sadness, but it also gave me a headache, so I hurriedly took the ring from her and handed it to Jue Chi for safekeeping before following him into the courtyard.

Li Zhiqiang had died in a newly constructed building in the city. The Village Chief would first take us to the nearest bus station on his tricycle, then accompany Jue Chi and me to the city.

By the time we reached the courtyard, the Village Chief had already started the tricycle. Jue Chi and I jumped in the back, waving goodbye to Suzhen.

Suzhen rubbed her eyes through her tears and finally ran up to us, calling out, “Dad, let me go with you!”

The Village Chief furrowed his brow, clearly wanting Suzhen to stay behind to take care of the family. After a moment of thought, I jumped down and said, “Uncle Li, let Suzhen come along with us.”

The Village Chief glanced at me, then nodded, calling for Suzhen to join us on the tricycle.

Following the route I remembered from that night, we got off the bus at the station and headed straight for the address of the building. After taking a taxi, I realized things were not as simple as I had imagined.

The building, rushed due to the impending deadline-or perhaps because the fatty felt guilty-had gone from a construction site to a fully developed residential complex with over fifty thousand residents in just a month.