Taboo Mage - Chapter 27 - Sleeping with Chen Li

Manager Lin pointed at the fountain in the middle and said, “That spot was where the first worker fell to his death. Afterward, we consulted a Feng Shui master. The master said that after the person died, there was heavy Yin Energy, but his Five Elements¹ was fire, so we needed to use water to suppress it. That’s why we built a fountain there.”

I nodded along. I didn’t understand much about Feng Shui, but since it was a Feng Shui master that Chen Li brought in, it should be reliable.

I stood in the middle of a bed of roses, looking towards the fountain. The entire fountain was meticulously constructed; there was not a single plant within a meter radius, but in the four corners-north, east, south, and west-there were four beast heads placed.

All the beast heads faced the fountain, and the water they spewed all fell into a white circle in the fountain’s center.

This was a soul suppression dharma array. I had seen this array before in the ancient books handed down from my ancestors. This type of array is generally used to suppress Evil Spirits.

I jumped down from the flowerbed, dusted off my hands, and smiled, “It’s fine. I think I know what this is.”

“What is it?” Manager Lin asked curiously.

I chuckled, “What it is-I can’t just tell you, can I? Manager Lin, you wouldn’t be trying to steal my job, would you?”

Manager Lin laughed heartily and then drove me back to the shop. As he left, he reminded me repeatedly to hurry up because Boss Chen hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep for a long time.

After sending off Manager Lin, I crossed my arms and sat on the sofa, going over the situation in my mind.

Chen Li’s nightmare issue was easy to solve. A simple spirit-repelling amulet would do the trick. However, the difficult part was that different spirits needed different wooden amulets.

In other words, if the spirit was a Resentful Spirit, I couldn’t use an amulet meant for an Evil Spirit.

So, I needed to figure out what the dead worker had become.

With that in mind, I took out the ancient books from the drawer, quickly flipping through them, and found the section on creating spirit-repelling amulets.

I quickly browsed through the ancient books and then locked them back in place. From the closet in my bedroom, I took out a peachwood sword and a red string. I called Chen Li and told him I’d be coming over tonight.

Tonight, I was going to sleep with Chen Li.

In less than half an hour, Manager Lin’s car was parked at the door. I packed my things, got into the luxurious car easily, and let him drive me to Chen Li’s villa.

Chen Li’s villa was situated in the innermost part of the villa complex. Manager Lin dropped me off at the gate, rang the doorbell, and then left.

The door was opened by a nanny in her forties, who led me to the second-floor bedroom door, where Chen Li was sitting on the bed waiting for me.

I briefly told him to follow his usual sleep routine and that I would be sleeping beside him. If anything happened, he should call me.

After Chen Li agreed, he sat on the bed’s edge and watched me work.

I extended the red string from the villa’s entrance all the way to the bedroom and then tied a bell to the string. I lit the yellow talisman paper and evenly scattered its ashes from the villa’s entrance to the bedroom.

Then, I asked Chen Li to lie down comfortably. I lay beside him, tying one end of the red string to my wrist and another red string to bind my other wrist to Chen Li’s wrist.

Once everything was ready, I had Chen Li turn off all the lights in the room.

Chen Li lay down next to me, his heavy breathing indicating he was still awake. I stared at the ceiling, feeling somewhat awkward lying in the same bed and holding hands with another man.

After more than half an hour, I couldn’t help but break the silence and asked, “What time do you usually go to bed?”

As soon as I spoke, I regretted it immensely. It was a rather awkward topic to bring up.

In the darkness, Chen Li’s hearty laughter came through, “That depends on how late I work. On most days, if I can get to bed by 3 AM, that’s considered good.”

“So late?” I exclaimed in surprise.

“Every day, I have over three hundred documents that need my personal review. If it’s the peak real estate season, I could be in the office for over ten hours straight, just looking at documents. That doesn’t even include visiting the construction site and properties. I have to have my meals in the car,” Chen Li explained.

“Having meals in that car of yours? That’s really quite luxurious,” I blurted out, remembering Chen Li’s luxurious car, which was spacious enough to even fit a bed.

“You don’t know half of it. My car not only has a refrigerator but also a small kitchen,” Chen Li said with a smile. I pursed my lips. A mobile kitchen! I’ve always dreamed of having one so I could travel and cook wherever I go.

Chen Li seemed to notice my little daydream and chuckled, about to say something.

Suddenly, the nearest bell to my wrist rang. I pressed Chen Li’s hand, signaling him not to move. Chen Li tensed up.

I reached under the pillow and pulled out a piece of talisman paper. Holding it in my hand, I closed my eyes and softly recited an incantation. Instantly, the talisman paper emitted a faint glow in the dark room, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

The ringing of the bell grew louder and more urgent. I glanced at my wristwatch; it was exactly midnight.

Suddenly, I felt a cold breeze blow in through the slightly ajar door. I leapt out of bed and threw the talisman paper.

The talisman paper effortlessly adhered to the doorframe, and a burning smell filled the air.

“What happened?” Chen Li sat up with me.

I looked at him. Truly, it wasn’t surprising that someone who had faced many storms in life could remain this calm, even in the face of the unknown. He just narrowed his eyes at the door, his only sign of concern being a slight furrow of his brow.

“Nothing, just burned by the talisman paper,” I reassured him.

Chen Li nodded, then lay back down.

After all that commotion, the red string connecting Chen Li and me had loosened.

I quickly retied the red string securely, then leaned against the headboard, waiting for the nightmare to return.

After that initial test, Chen Li seemed much more relaxed and even had the mood to joke around with me. I chuckled along with him, but my ears remained alert to the surrounding sounds.

Over an hour passed, and Chen Li had fallen into a stable sleep. I thought perhaps I wouldn’t be able to confirm anything tonight, so I leaned against the headboard and dozed off without realizing it.

Suddenly, a scream jolted me awake.

I opened my eyes abruptly and reached to turn on the bedside lamp. The once dark bedroom was instantly flooded with light.

I saw Chen Li next to me, drenched in sweat, his hands gripping his throat tightly. His eyes were wide open, and his legs were twitching.

Footnote:

Five Elements(五行): The Five Elements, also known as the “Wu Xing” in Chinese, are a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy, medicine, and metaphysics. The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. They are used to explain a wide range of phenomena, including the interactions and relationships between different aspects of nature and the human body.