Taboo Mage - Chapter 220 - The Story at That Time

After I shouted, Zhou Qifang finally glanced at me and slowly recounted what he had just witnessed.

As it turned out, my earlier suspicion was correct. Zhou Qifang, wanting to know what had happened to that poor dog before its death, deceived Old Lady Xu and let her enter a dream, allowing her to experience the events of that day once more.

Being the orchestrator of this dream, Zhou Qifang naturally saw everything that happened.

It was on that day, Old Lady Xu’s birthday, when Xu Benzhang took a day off to celebrate with his wife and children.

The dog, which was like a half-son to Old Lady Xu, happily wagged its tail to welcome the entire Xu family. However, unfortunately, Xu Benzhang’s child was afraid of pets.

So, when the dog bounded towards the child, wagging its tail with a wide grin, the child became terrified and burst into tears, leaping into Xu Benzhang’s arms.

That child was only three years old, and just last year, he was only two, having just learned to walk. It was a stage filled with curiosity but unsteadiness. So, when he was frightened by the dog and turned to dive into his father’s embrace, he was so scared that he cried out loudly, his little legs giving way as he fell to the ground, trembling with sobs.

The child was Xu Benzhang’s youngest, and seeing him so distressed made Xu Benzhang feel helpless. He immediately kicked the dog aside, which was a completely normal reaction.

Being frightened by a pet, a caring parent would usually send the dog away.

But being a long-time member of the household, Old Lady Xu spoiled the dog when Xu Benzhang was not around. Thus, after being kicked by Xu Benzhang, the dog whimpered in grievance.

This pitiful look in Xu Benzhang’s eyes turned into a challenge to human authority.

So, he directly picked up the dog and tossed it into the kitchen.

When Old Lady Xu rushed in, Xu Benzhang already had a knife in his hand, aiming it down at the dog.

Seeing her beloved pet being bullied, she immediately rushed forward, yelling and insisting that Xu Benzhang put the knife down.

Xu Benzhang became even angrier, boldly stating that Old Lady Xu no longer needed her son now that she had a dog. In a fit of rage, he shouted, “You have to choose between me and this dog today! If you think that this dog is your son, then from this day on, I will never look at you again! Our mother-son relationship is completely over!”

This statement struck Old Lady Xu like a thunderclap. On one hand was her flesh-and-blood son, and on the other, a pet she had kept for over twenty years.

As one could imagine, Old Lady Xu ultimately chose Xu Benzhang, emerging from the kitchen with tears in her eyes.

Behind her, the dog’s cries grew louder, and finally, with a piercing, sorrowful sound, Xu Benzhang brought the knife down. The dog that had been with his mother for over two decades lay on the ground, lifeless, blood spreading across the wooden floorboards.

Hearing this, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. Xu Benzhang was indeed too much of a jerk, but from Old Lady Xu’s perspective, it wasn’t too hard to understand that at the last moment, she chose her son over the dog.

Was it because Old Lady Xu had tacitly allowed her son to kill the dog that it sought revenge by possessing her?

I directed this question at Zhou Qifang.

Zhou Qifang suddenly let out a cold laugh, his gaze fixed coldly on Old Lady Xu lying on the sofa, and said, “Do you know what this old woman did in the end?”

“What… what?” I asked in shock. Was there more to this story?

Zhou Qifang glanced at me, sneering as he said, “This old woman made soup from her dead dog to comfort her grandson!”

“What?!”

Lin Huan and I exclaimed in unison. That seemingly kind old lady, who had fought with her son over a dog, had such a cold heart that she could actually do something like that?

Once someone dies, if their remains are completely gone, they cannot be reincarnated and can only become wandering spirits, aimlessly drifting in the human world.

Although I had never dealt with animals, it was easy to understand that just as humans are animals, so are other creatures.

Xu Benzhang had only killed the dog, at least leaving it with a complete body, allowing it a chance at reincarnation, but Old Lady Xu, the person the dog trusted and was most loyal to, was the real culprit preventing its reincarnation!

“Is this true?” I stood up from the sofa, looking at Zhou Qifang in disbelief.

Zhou Qifang nodded, stood up from the floor, and gently shook the wind chime hanging above Old Lady Xu’s head.

The clear sound of the wind chime echoed in the room once again, and Old Lady Xu slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling. Then, suddenly screaming, she jumped up from the sofa and began running wildly around the living room.

Seeing Old Lady Xu behaving like a madwoman, I suddenly wondered if she had truly lost her mind.

Was she driven insane by her own cruelty?

“Amitabha…”

Jue Chi recited a Buddhist chant in a deep voice, the tone resonating like the beating of a drum in the stillness of the evening, reaching everyone’s ears. I glanced at Old Lady Xu.

She abruptly stopped in the middle of the living room, her murky eyes darting around. “I didn’t mean to do it.”

As soon as those words reached my ears, an unnameable anger ignited within me. What did she mean by “I didn’t mean to”? Didn’t she intentionally turn that poor dog into soup?

If it wasn’t her choice, was Xu Benzhang holding a knife to her throat and forcing her, perhaps?

Old Lady Xu didn’t say anything further; she simply stared blankly at Zhou Qifang. Just when I thought she might do something outrageous, she suddenly collapsed to her knees in front of him.

“Master! Please help us! Save me and my son!”

I widened my eyes in disbelief. Was there truly no sense of regret in her heart?

Zhou Qifang scoffed but did not respond, simply walking around the coffee table and sitting down on the sofa. Old Lady Xu, seeing Zhou Qifang didn’t seem inclined to help her, crawled directly to my feet, her rough, aged hands gripping my knees as she pleaded, “Please save me! Save me!”

I looked calmly at the kneeling Old Lady Xu, and for some reason, a memory of Du Jun suddenly flashed into my mind.