Taboo Mage - Chapter 209 - The Old Lady Who Acts Like a Dog

I looked at the old woman crawling on the floor in front of me, feeling a wave of emotions rise within me. I turned my head to see Xu Benzhang’s expression.

First shock, then fear, and finally a sense of sorrow emerged on his face.

“Boss Gu, my mother…”

“She is indeed possessed. As for what exactly has turned the old lady into this state, we will need some time to investigate,” I sighed and said solemnly.

Xu Benzhang nodded, stepping back to create some space.

Zhou Qifang and I exchanged glances. Zhou Qifang took out the bell he always carried with him and hung it on the nearby wardrobe. I retrieved the compass and walked around the room.

The old lady seemed very interested in the compass I held, following me around. After a moment of thought, I took a round plush ball from my backpack and tossed it in Xu Benzhang’s direction.

The old lady stuck out her tongue and, turning her head, ran after the direction of the plush ball. Xu Benzhang was startled and jumped onto the bed, covering his head.

When he came to his senses, the old lady was already back with the plush ball in her mouth, scampering toward me on all fours.

I smiled awkwardly at Xu Benzhang; it seemed that the old lady not only looked more and more like a dog, but her behavior was no different from that of a dog either.

Holding the compass, I walked a circle around the room. Surprisingly, the needle on the compass remained steady, showing no signs of deviation.

This was strange. Under normal circumstances, if there were evil spirits in the room, the compass should at least show some fluctuation, even if it couldn’t accurately pinpoint their location.

But now, according to the compass, this room was completely clean.

I cast a puzzled glance at the old lady playing with the plush ball on the floor, then turned to Zhou Qifang.

Zhou Qifang held the dharma formula in his right hand, closing his eyes as if he was sensing something. The bell hanging nearby remained silent.

After a while, Zhou Qifang opened his eyes and shook his head at me.

“There really is nothing?” I frowned and asked quietly.

Zhou Qifang nodded, “I’ve confirmed it; there’s nothing here.”

“That can’t be right. If there’s nothing in this room, then how could old lady Xu have turned into this?” I asked in confusion, sitting down on the sofa to carefully observe the room’s arrangement.

The room was a standard single layout. Besides the bed and the sofa, there were just some common furnishings, though they were a bit more expensive, with no peculiar styles.

I crossed my legs and watched as Old Lady Xu, who had worn herself out playing, curled up under the blanket and fell asleep. Suddenly, I thought of the story Xu Benzhang had told us that night.

He had mentioned that he once gave the old lady a dog, which had lived for nearly twenty years and just died last year.

“Xu Benzhang, how did your family’s dog die?”

I suddenly lifted my head and asked loudly.

Xu Benzhang was taken aback, opening his mouth in surprise. After a moment, he responded, “It was… it was…”

“What was it?”

“Beaten to death…”

“By whom?” I narrowed my eyes, pressing further.

Xu Benzhang shook his head, seeming reluctant to elaborate on the matter.

I squinted, letting out a cold laugh as I asked, “That dog wasn’t killed by you, was it?”

“The dog went mad… it dared to bite me! I got so angry and lost control that I beat it to death… I swear, I really didn’t intend to kill it! I didn’t expect it to be so fragile…”

“So fragile? A dog that had been with your mother for over twenty years, and you said your mother treated that dog like her own son! And you could actually bear to kill it?”

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You really think a dog just dies so casually? Have you thought about how that dog was over twenty years old? That’s equivalent to more than eighty in human years, about the same age as your mother, if not older! And you’re telling me you didn’t think it could be killed so easily?”

My voice rose with each word, reaching a near-shouted level by the end.

Looking at Old Lady Xu lying on the floor, I was almost certain the old lady was suffering for the sins of her unfilial son!

After finishing my tirade, I felt immense disgust toward Xu Benzhang and didn’t want to say anything more to him. I simply stood up and pushed the door open to leave.

Footsteps followed behind me. Without turning around, I knew it had to be Zhou Qifang.

Sure enough, when I reached the end of the corridor, I leaned against the railing and looked down at the lavishly decorated garden below, a wave of emotions washing over me.

Zhou Qifang patted my shoulder and said in a low voice, “You’re very clever; you actually managed to figure that out.”

“It’s not that difficult to guess that the disturbance is related to the dog that died in their family. I just really don’t want to believe that Xu Benzhang, someone so seemingly upright, is even worse than I imagined,” I said, holding a cigarette between my lips and taking a deep drag.

Zhou Qifang raised an eyebrow. “So, are you planning to just walk away from this?”

I paused for a moment, turning to look at Zhou Qifang. His expression was indifferent, as if he wasn’t expecting an answer from me on this matter.

“No,” I shook my head and replied.

Despite my anger towards Xu Benzhang, I had never considered abandoning Old Lady Xu.

After all, the old lady was innocent. I couldn’t place the blame for her son’s faults entirely on an eighty-year-old woman.

“Then have you thought about why the dog that accompanied Old Lady Xu for more than twenty years chose not to punish Xu Benzhang for killing it, but instead directed its vengeance toward her?” Zhou Qifang said, a slight smirk appearing on his face.

I was taken aback, the cigarette shaking slightly in my hand. Why hadn’t I thought of this question earlier…

Indeed, after that dog’s death, its spirit would have had the ability to choose its target for revenge. If that was the case, why wouldn’t it seek vengeance against the one who directly killed it, Xu Benzhang?

Why direct its anger towards the elderly woman who had been its companion for over twenty years?

Earlier, while in the room, this thought had briefly flickered across my mind. I had interpreted it as the dog knowing that Xu Benzhang was still filial towards his mother, which led it to release its resentment on Old Lady Xu to make him suffer.

But now, upon reflection, that reasoning seemed far too far-fetched to hold any weight…

I looked at Zhou Qifang standing beside me, a strange cold smile flashing across his face.

A more likely answer raced through my mind, but it slipped away just as quickly, eluding me completely.