Taboo Mage - Chapter 214 - Black Cat

On this day, the weather was nice, and I got up relatively early. I talked with Zhou Qifang and Lin Huan about closing the shop for a day and heading to Chan Guang Monastery to hang out with Jue Chi.

The recent events involving Xu Benzhang had been quite stressful, and I needed to relax.

As we drove out of the alley, I was chatting with Lin Huan, who was in the passenger seat, when suddenly, a black cat leaped out from somewhere.

The black cat jumped onto my windshield, and I widened my eyes in surprise, quickly hitting the brakes just in time to stop before crashing into the wall.

The black cat stood right in front of my windshield, its pitch-black eyes staring at me while it meowed repeatedly.

Looking at the cat’s glassy, dark eyeballs, an uneasy feeling crept up in my heart. I turned to the people in the backseat and asked, “Zhou Qifang, don’t you think that black cat looks a bit strange?”

Zhou Qifang leaned forward and stared at the black cat for a while, then slowly replied, “It does seem a bit odd. We’ve passed this street back and forth so many times and have never seen a black cat before.”

“Boss, I’ve heard that black cats are a symbol of bad luck. We haven’t even gotten out of the alley yet, and a black cat suddenly jumps on us-doesn’t that mean we shouldn’t go out today?” Lin Huan rolled down the passenger window and waved his hand, trying to shoo the cat away.

But the black cat seemed completely unafraid of humans. Upon seeing Lin Huan extend his hand, it actually started meowing even louder.

I gritted my teeth and made up my mind, saying, “Forget it, let’s just stay in the room for the day.”

Lin Huan quickly nodded in agreement, but Zhou Qifang in the back seat shook his head. “In my opinion, the black cat is trying to tell us that we need to go out today.”

“Why is that?” I frowned, looking back at Zhou Qifang with confusion.

Zhou Qifang chuckled and pointed at the black cat. “Look at it. Does it seem like it’s trying to stop us from going out, or is it welcoming us to go out?”

I followed Zhou Qifang’s finger and sure enough, the black cat was squatting in front of my windshield, licking its paw.

I rubbed my chin and then turned the steering wheel. As the car slowly reversed, the black cat suddenly puffed up its fur. Once I turned the car around and continued driving forward, the cat settled down again.

The meaning was quite clear; Zhou Qifang’s guess was probably correct.

“Hey, this cat really does have a spirit. It seems like it doesn’t want us to go back,” Lin Huan said excitedly, laughing.

I nodded. Since that was the case, the black cat must indeed have something important it wanted us to do. I pressed down on the gas, and the car sped away.

The black cat remained perched on the hood as we drove through the mountain gate. Once we entered, it jumped down and disappeared into the thick foliage. I chased after it for a few steps, but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

We parked the car at the foot of the mountain and then walked up to Chan Guang Monastery.

The path to the monastery was quite rough, and after a bit of lingering, we finally arrived at Chan Guang Monastery around lunchtime.

Jue Chi was resting on a lounge chair in front of the courtyard, with a little fox lying on his lap, flipping through a book of scriptures with its tiny paws.

From a distance, Lin Huan happily ran over, shouting, “Xiao Bai! Xiao Bai!”

I watched as the little fox’s ears twitched, then it turned its head and glanced over. Its bright eyes shone as it jumped down from Jue Chi’s lap and dashed past Lin Huan, coming straight toward me.

“Ha! Little fox, you’re still the best!”

I laughed and bent down to pick up the little fox, enjoying the moment even more when I saw Lin Huan standing there rolling his eyes.

Our commotion woke Jue Chi. He pulled aside the kasaya draped over him, sat up, and smiled, “What brings you here?”

“Escaping!” Before I could respond, Lin Huan shouted.

It seemed he was still angry that the little fox was ignoring him, and he vented that frustration onto me. I shrugged, not bothering to argue.

Lin Huan’s words weren’t entirely untrue, even if they were a bit exaggerated.

Upon hearing him, Jue Chi appeared intrigued and asked with a smile, “Escaping? What kind of trouble are you escaping from?”

Zhou Qifang picked up the book of scriptures from Jue Chi’s lap, casually flipped through it, and then recounted the incident involving Xu Benzhang to Jue Chi. He emphasized the part where Old Lady Xu called in the middle of the night and how I nearly wet my pants out of fear, insisting that I wasn’t scared at all…

I almost wished I could throw the little fox at Zhou Qifang’s face, just so its sharp claws could leave a few masculine scratches on his handsome features.

After hearing Zhou Qifang’s story, Jue Chi shook his head with a gentle smile. He got up from the meditation room and brought out three stools. He also pulled Lin Huan along, and the two of them lifted a tea table outside, which was adorned with a neatly arranged tea set.

Despite Chan Guang Monastery’s remote location, the tea was freshly handpicked by Jue Chi himself! The flavor was miles better than anything you could find on the market.

Zhou Qifang settled onto a rattan stool, holding a delicate tea cup in one hand. He placed the cup under his nose and took a deep breath, then gently sipped from it. The tension in his face melted away instantly.

I didn’t have any particular preferences when it came to tea. I simply thought it smelled nice, so I ended up drinking a few more sips.

Zhou Qifang and Jue Chi enjoyed debating scripture, but I didn’t really understand much of what they were discussing. So, while the two of them engaged in conversation, I took the opportunity to wander around with the little fox in my arms.

Lin Huan had even less connection to Buddhism than I did; after a while, he started to doze off, his head bobbing, which made me yawn several times as well.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing broke the peaceful atmosphere.

Lin Huan was startled by the ringtone, nearly tipping over and falling off his chair. I happened to be walking back while holding the little fox when I heard the phone. I instinctively checked my own pockets.

Then I remembered that to avoid receiving any annoying calls from Old Lady Xu, I had left my phone at home these past few days.

So, the ringing phone belonged to Lin Huan.

He wiped away some drool from the corner of his mouth, gave an embarrassed smile to Zhou Qifang and Jue Chi, then jogged a few steps in my direction. Once he determined that it wouldn’t disturb them, he picked up the call.

“Hello? It’s Lin Huan. What’s up?”

“Ha ha ha… hee hee hee…”