Taboo Mage - Chapter 197 - Seeking Spirits to Return to the Ground

There had already been threats made to us over the phone, and now they were boldly showing up in person. Could there be danger ahead?

Zhou Qifang told me that the reason these people only dared to make threats over the phone was that they were really just cowardly individuals hiding in the shadows. If that was the case, why should we still be afraid of them?

I curiously asked him, could they not simply issue a verbal warning, threatening to use other means, like force, if we dared to act again?

Zhou Qifang shot me a glance and disdainfully replied, “You clearly haven’t dealt with such matters before. When someone truly intends to threaten you, they aim for a direct hit. They will target your weaknesses, rather than buzzing around you like a fly.”

I thought about it; that seemed to make sense, yet something still felt a bit off.

Before I could sort it all out, the car had already driven into the village. Perhaps because we had just been there yesterday, the villagers weren’t as curious about Zhou Qifang and me anymore, but they still turned their heads occasionally to take a look at us.

Once in the village, Zhou Qifang parked the car outside the theater stage, and we resumed our walk on foot.

After walking just a few steps, my phone suddenly rang. I pulled it out to check, and it was that familiar number from yesterday. Holding the phone, I glanced over at Zhou Qifang.

He took the phone, pressed the answer button, and said, “Hello.”

“Weren’t you two banned from entering the village? How dare you come back! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”

The moment the call connected, a coarse male voice boomed from the phone, sounding fierce and intimidating, as if it could leap out of the speaker.

Zhou Qifang snickered and said, “We’re fine with risking our lives. If you have what it takes, come and take it!”

With that, he abruptly hung up the phone and tossed it back to me.

I gazed at Zhou Qifang in surprise; this renowned Master of Buddha amulets from Thailand didn’t seem fazed by the situation at all, behaving like a street punk instead.

Yet, I admired him. Indeed, he was a Master! His learning and adaptability were far superior to mine!

We returned to the grassy area in front of the theater stage, and as I looked at it, yesterday’s events replayed in my mind.

“Are we doing the same thing today?” Zhou Qifang asked as he threw his backpack on the ground, took out the bell, and hung it on the same tree from yesterday.

I looked at him curiously, wondering why he had been so domineering these past few days, yet today he was asking for my opinion.

“What’s wrong?” Zhou Qifang frowned and glanced at me.

I averted my gaze and nodded, saying, “Alright, but to prevent either of us from getting trapped in an Illusion again, shouldn’t we come up with a plan?”

Zhou Qifang nodded and asked if I had any ideas. I had thought of one, bent down, and rummaged through the backpack on the ground for a while until I found two life amulets.

I had specifically taken them from the warehouse before heading out.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Qifang asked as he watched me place the two life amulets on the ground. I then sat cross-legged, took out a small knife, and cut my finger, allowing the blood to flow out.

I smeared my blood on the two life amulets and then handed the knife to Zhou Qifang.

Following my example, Zhou Qifang cut his finger and applied his blood to the life amulets as well. Once everything was done, I pressed the two amulets together, holding them in my palm, closed my eyes, and began reciting an Incantation.

I could slowly feel a warm current flowing back and forth in my palm. I separated the amulets, giving one to Zhou Qifang and keeping one for myself.

“This life amulet can track our whereabouts over short distances. I’m not sure if it will be effective if someone gets trapped in an Illusion, but it’s worth a try, just in case.”

I spoke a bit uncertainly; the records in the ancient books only mentioned their use for short-distance tracking. As for spirits trapped in a third-dimensional space like an Illusion, I really didn’t know if it would work.

But at this point, we had to give it a shot.

After carefully setting the amulets aside, I positioned myself as I had done yesterday, sitting down according to the dharma array. I formed a dharma seal with my hands, seated at the front of the red string array, and recited the Incantation aloud.

Suddenly, a clear sound rang out, and I abruptly opened my eyes, looking in the direction of the sound. It was the soul-capturing bottle I had placed in the glutinous rice basin.

To my surprise, the spirit inside the soul-capturing bottle was making sounds. This was a first for me.

I focused intently on the soul-capturing bottle, which was bouncing around quickly. However, due to the confinement of the glutinous rice basin, it could only jump around inside, eventually leaping out and scattering rice all over the ground.

I quickly got up and ran after the soul-capturing bottle. It seemed to have a mind of its own, darting swiftly towards the theater stage.

The spirit inside the soul-capturing bottle was strongly drawn to its place of origin, especially after being trapped for such a long time. It was like a child locked in a dark room; once released, the first thing they seek is their mother.

The soul-capturing bottle bounced on the theater stage for a while before finally dashing into the backstage area. I hurried after it, watching as it came to a stop in a corner.

When I caught up, I noticed an old wooden box sitting there. It looked extremely dated, yet I couldn’t understand why such a large item hadn’t been moved by anyone else. Perhaps it simply wasn’t valuable.

The soul-capturing bottle was jumping on top of the box, trying to open it. I pulled out some yellow talisman paper from my pocket, murmuring a few words of the Incantation, and then placed the paper atop the soul-capturing bottle. Instantly, the bottle quieted down.

Holding the soul-capturing bottle in my hand, I studied the faint blue spirit inside. Taking a deep breath, I decided to open the box in front of me.

A cloud of dust immediately filled the air, tickling my nose. I waved my hand to disperse the dust and leaned down to look inside the box.

It was filled with layers of costumes, all coated in dust as well. I grasped the corner of the topmost garment and lifted it up, shaking it to remove some of the dust.

Although the costume appeared a bit worn and covered in dust, it still looked exquisite. However, there were a few areas with holes, likely chewed by mice, indicating that it had been stored here for quite some time.

I rummaged through all the costumes and placed my palm on them, but I felt nothing unusual.