Taboo Mage - Chapter 225 - Trust Him

I quickly snatched the yellow talisman, fearing that Zhou Qifang might change his mind and take it back. After carefully folding it and tucking it into my pocket, I looked at Zhou Qifang, still curious.

“Zhou Qifang, why are you teaching me this?”

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Zhou Qifang replied coldly, his eyes fixed on the glass bottle containing the flower petals, not even sparing me a glance.

“I’m not a cat,” I chuckled. It’s just human nature-once curiosity is piqued, nothing else seems to matter.

Zhou Qifang suddenly let out a soft laugh, turning to gaze deeply at me. I squinted, checking myself over.

There wasn’t anything on me, so why was he staring at me like that?

After a long moment, Zhou Qifang finally spoke, “How did the Gu Family end up with someone as clueless as you?”

“What the…!” I cursed, turning to leave. If he didn’t want to tell me, fine, but did he have to insult me? This jerk was becoming more insufferable by the day.

“Because you still don’t trust me.”

Suddenly, Zhou Qifang’s voice came from behind. I turned back, confused, as he carefully extracted the petals from the glass bottle, placing them in an empty cup.

“What did you say?”

“I said, you still don’t trust me. Just a phone call, and you were already doubting me that much. Gu Qingshu, don’t pretend you weren’t. Your face gives away everything you’re thinking,” Zhou Qifang said with a light laugh.

I touched my cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed but also annoyed. Why did I feel like a naive kid compared to Zhou Qifang?

He was only a year older than me.

“So, you’re using this method to make me trust you?”

Zhou Qifang wasn’t wrong. In that moment, I was filled with suspicion towards him, with no trust at all.

But I couldn’t believe that just because of some unfounded reason, he would actually share his family’s secrets with me.

Zhou Qifang was never someone who cared about others’ opinions!

Sure enough, as he crushed the petals, he said, “I just want you to know that we’re partners. Partners can have secrets, but they can’t deceive each other.”

“…Oh…” I nodded, turning to leave the storage room.

Zhou Qifang’s words left me feeling a bit stifled.

Secrets are allowed, but not deceit.

Back in the living room, the Xu family mother and son were growing impatient. Xu Benzhang, in particular, was pacing around Jue Chi, repeatedly asking when they could drive the dog’s spirit out of his mother’s body.

Jue Chi sat cross-legged on the sofa, hands clasped, eyes closed, showing no intention of responding.

Jue Chi hated it when people buzzed around him, and Xu Benzhang was oblivious to this. Or perhaps he was too worried about his own safety to think clearly.

With Jue Chi ignoring him, Xu Benzhang’s muttering was pointless. Seeing me, he rushed over like he’d found a savior, clinging to my arm and asking, “Boss Gu, when can we take action?”

“Action? What action?” I raised an eyebrow, amused by his urgency.

Xu Benzhang looked at me blankly, “Aren’t we supposed to drive the dog’s spirit out of my mom?”

“Oh, you mean that.” For some reason, seeing Xu Benzhang like this made me feel oddly satisfied.

Since Lin Huan wasn’t back yet and there was nothing else to do, I decided to have a little fun with him.

“Boss Gu, you mean…” As expected, Xu Benzhang, hearing my vague response, panicked, “Boss Gu, you can’t just leave us hanging!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. But there are some things I need to clarify, and I might need your cooperation,” I said, sitting on the sofa with my arms crossed.

“What do you need? Just ask!” Xu Benzhang thumped his chest, looking like a martyr ready to sacrifice himself.

I cleared my throat, glanced at Old Lady Xu, and said, “Tell me everything that happened that day, from the moment you brought your wife and child home.”

Xu Benzhang, expecting me to come up with some devious plan, was surprised by the simple request and began recounting the events.

The story matched what Zhou Qifang had told us, but I listened carefully, not wanting to miss anything.

Sure enough, when it came to the part about him wanting to kill the dog, there was a discrepancy between his account and Zhou Qifang’s.

According to Zhou Qifang, in Old Lady Xu’s dream, Xu Benzhang wanted to kill the dog in anger, but the Old Lady intervened. When forced to choose, she picked her son.

But in Xu Benzhang’s version, after the dog scared his son, the Old Lady came out and kicked the dog, causing it to cower and whimper in a corner.

Then, Xu Benzhang kicked it a few more times in frustration. The dog, in pain, barked, leading to the later incident where Xu Benzhang wanted to kill it.

So, it was actually Old Lady Xu who kicked the dog first, leading to everything that followed.

Xu Benzhang continued, “Later, I took the dog to the kitchen, saying I’d kill it, but I was just scaring it. We’ve had the dog for years; I wouldn’t really kill it.”

“It wasn’t your idea?” I frowned, sensing that what came next might upend my understanding.

“Then, my son, feeling wronged, ran to the kitchen, pointing at the dog, saying he wanted to eat it. My mom initially stopped me, but seeing my son crying and insisting, she decided to kill the dog to make dog meat soup for him.”