Taboo Mage - Chapter 22 - The Death of Liu Yineng

Liu Yineng’s mouth twitched, and he glanced at me with an impassive look. Then, his eyes subtly shifted towards the person sitting next to him.

Following his gaze, I saw the fake taoist priest sitting beside him. I smiled at the fake taoist priest, and the goatee on his chin trembled as he avoided my gaze.

Qin Hao stood up and made a brief introduction, and I took a seat with Li He.

Ever since entering the room, Li He had been keeping his head down, occasionally glancing at the tiger head life amulet on Liu Yineng’s chest. His hands were placed on his knees, and his face was pale with nervousness.

Qin Hao scanned the room with his eyes and, after ensuring everyone was present, raised his glass and said, “Today’s meal, everyone shouldn’t be so tense. Let’s lay everything out in the open. Once things are clear, they can be resolved.”

“Lay everything out in the open? If everything could be solved so easily, would we even need this meal today?” Liu Yineng sneered coldly.

The atmosphere around the table was thick with tension, and I sat quietly, occasionally picking at my food.

Suddenly, Liu Yineng sprang up, flipped the table, and his men behind him drew out various weapons, brandishing them menacingly.

Li He was so frightened that he dropped his chopsticks. I had never seen such a scene before, and my heart couldn’t help but race. My fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Qin Hao waved his hand, and a row of people standing behind me also drew their weapons. With blades clashing, I pulled Li He and hid behind the human barricade.

Such scenes of violence were never quite suitable for me. I hid in a corner, watching the bloody chaos unfold. Just a moment ago, everyone had been sitting together peacefully, but now, severed limbs flew around the table.

Suddenly, sitting at the back, Liu Yineng went berserk, his eyes filled with a savage red light. He drew a machete from the table and stood up.

I fixated my gaze on the tiger head life amulet on Liu Yineng’s chest. The faint black glow above the amulet was gradually turning blood-red, and the eyes of the tiger emitted a black light.

I silently cursed, realizing that Liu Yineng’s bloodlust had already triggered the female ghost’s resentment, causing the imprison incantation to begin collapsing.

I shouted to Qin Hao, “Uncle Qin, cover me!”

Qin Hao understood and signaled everyone to gather around us. Li He and I were encircled as we gradually approached Liu Yineng.

Sensing something was wrong, Liu Yineng called out to the fake taoist priest, who shook his head and tried to hide in a corner. Ah Biao grabbed the priest’s arm and threw him in front of Liu Yineng.

I pulled Li He over, picked up a knife from the ground, and, under his shocked gaze, cut a gash on his arm.

Instantly, blood gushed out.

I tossed the knife aside, pulled out the prepared wooden amulet, and pressed it onto Li He’s wrist. His blood dyed the wooden amulet red, giving off a dazzling glow.

When the surface of the amulet was completely red, I lit the yellow talisman paper, let the amulet pass through it, and accurately dropped it at Liu Yineng’s feet.

Suddenly, a piercing scream from a woman echoed through the small private room.

Everyone jumped in fright, staring in horror.

Liu Yineng suddenly clutched his head, squatting on the ground in pain. The tiger head life amulet on his chest was shaking violently as if summoned.

Suddenly, Li He’s eyes widened as he pointed his trembling finger at Liu Yineng.

“It’s her! She’s back! She’s come for me!”

I tore off a piece of the tablecloth and quickly covered Li He’s eyes. After a while, he calmed down.

Li He’s blood had completely shattered the imprison incantation on the life amulet. The powerful resentment of the female ghost, combined with the fifty-plus souls originally imprisoned in the amulet, made it impossible for Liu Yineng to control it any longer.

Now, Liu Yineng had become a puppet of the life amulet.

“Li He…”

Liu Yineng suddenly looked up, his fierce and ruthless face streaked with tears.

Li He shuddered, reaching out to grip my arm tightly. I patted his hand to comfort him.

After death, a person loses the ability to retain memories. The reason she had initially clung to Li He was simply because he was the first person she saw when they summoned her.

Now, after being away from Li He for so long, she had already forgotten what he looked like. The fact that she could even say his name was already remarkable.

Liu Yineng looked around sorrowfully, continually muttering Li He’s name.

I casually pointed at a man lying on the ground with his leg chopped off and said, “He is Li He.”

That man-the one who had killed my mother by smothering her with a pillow-tried to crawl away with his one good leg, his face changing instantly with fear. I watched coldly.

Liu Yineng pounced on him, clutching the man’s throat tightly.

“Li He… why did you betray me! I’m taking you with me! Taking you with me!”

“No! Help! Somebody help me!”

The man screamed in panic. I watched as Liu Yineng’s nails dug deeply into his neck, blood trickling down his fingers.

“I’m not… I’m not…”

“I’m going to kill you! Kill you!”

The female ghost, using Liu Yineng’s body, yelled furiously, her grip tightening. The man’s eyes bulged, and before long, he was dead.

After he died, the female ghost released her grip and laughed maniacally.

Seizing the moment, I pulled out the soul-capturing bottle, lit the yellow talisman paper, stuffed it into the bottle, and recited the incantation with the bottle’s mouth facing the ghost. Finally, I shouted, “Capture!”

Liu Yineng’s body slowly collapsed, and the soul-capturing bottle vibrated for a moment before falling silent.

When everything was over, I patted my hands, removed the cloth covering Li He’s eyes, and smiled, telling him that it was all over.

Witnesses of the entire scene had already scattered, leaving only Uncle Qin and his trusted aides in the private room.

Uncle Qin gave me a thumbs-up, then had people drag Liu Yineng’s body away. He gave me a few more instructions before leaving with his men.

This time, Li He was thoroughly terrified again. It would likely take a long time for him to recover.

I took Li He back to his dormitory and then headed to the city’s most popular temple, the Hanging Temple, with the soul-capturing bottle.

The Hanging Temple was built during the Tang Dynasty and is now a nationally recognized 5A tourist attraction, bustling with visitors all year round.

Carrying the soul-capturing bottle, I went directly to the back mountain of the temple. I found a spot rich with spiritual energy, dug a hole, and buried the bottle. Then, I sealed the area with yellow talisman paper ashes and glutinous rice water.

Given my abilities, I would never have been able to control the now-deranged female ghost and the fifty-plus vengeful spirits. Fortunately, she had killed “Li He.”

By doing so, the female ghost’s resentment was resolved, leaving her at her weakest. I seized this opportunity to subdue her.

Having accomplished such a challenging task, I couldn’t hide my excitement. Humming a little tune, I prepared to head home.

Halfway down the mountain, I suddenly heard a Buddhist chant from behind me.

“Amitabha, please stay, kind benefactor.”