Taboo Mage - Chapter 37 - Helpless

Crazy and foolish?

Hearing the doctor’s words, my eyebrows furrowed tightly, and I felt a sudden jolt in my heart.

Xu-Jie was equally startled, turning her head to look at me in shock. I subtly shook my head, indicating that I had no idea what was happening either.

Xu-Jie chatted with the doctor for a bit and then went out to call Li Mi’s family to inform them.

As we left the hospital, Xu-Jie seemed worried the entire way, casting sidelong glances at me now and then. It was obvious she had something she wanted to ask.

I sat in the front passenger seat, pondering the events of the past few days. Brother Kai was possessed by an Evil Spirit, and now Li Mi had become foolish. I couldn’t help but suspect myself.

Could it be that there was an issue with the life amulet I created?

Xu-Jie hesitated for a long time before finally asking, “Qingshu, be honest, do you know what’s going on?”

Already in a foul mood, I lost control of my temper upon hearing Xu-Jie’s question and shouted, “Are you doubting the life amulet?”

Xu-Jie slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a steady stop by the roadside. I turned to ask her why she stopped; there were still many things at the shop that needed my attention.

Ignoring my words, Xu-Jie jabbed her finger at my forehead and scolded, “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about making money! Will you only realize the severity of the situation when someone actually dies?”

I irritably swatted her hand away, pushed open the car door, and stormed out. If she wasn’t willing to drive, I would just hail a cab.

In today’s world, nobody is indispensable!

I walked around from the passenger side and stood by the roadside to hail a taxi. Xu-Jie rushed over and grabbed my arm, continuing to shout, “Gu Qingshu! When did you become so obsessed with money? So obsessed that you don’t even care about someone’s life?”

I let out a cold laugh, “Do you think it’s easy to earn millions like you? When my mom was lying in the hospital, I couldn’t even come up with a thousand bucks! Yes, I love money, and I can’t live without it, so what!”

Slap!

A crisp slap echoed next to my ear. As I touched my burning right cheek, I suddenly felt an emptiness inside.

Xu-Jie’s hand remained raised in mid-air. When she saw the confusion in my eyes, she seemed to realize what she had done. A flash of guilt briefly crossed her eyes, but she stubbornly turned her head away and didn’t speak further.

“I’ll go to the hospital again tonight and check if there’s an issue with Li Mi’s life amulet.”

I said softly and then turned to get into Xu-Jie’s car.

Xu-Jie hurried over and asked why I didn’t check it at the hospital earlier.

I smiled and explained that a life amulet, being a Yin-Yang object, can only reveal its issues at night. Besides, with so many people coming and going in the hospital during the day, what if the life amulet really had a problem and scared someone?

Xu-Jie gave an embarrassed smile and drove me back.

When I returned to the shop, Lin Huan jumped up from the sofa and told me in a panic that something had happened to Yang Shuo.

I glared at him, and Lin Huan fell silent, his eyes darting between Xu-Jie and me, a hint of ambiguity on his face.

I told Xu-Jie to go home first, as I needed to prepare some things I might need tonight. Besides, a woman’s nature is Yin, and it isn’t suitable for her to be out at night.

Despite her hesitation, Xu-Jie eventually left.

As soon as she left, Lin Huan came rushing up to me, blinking and asking who Xu-Jie was.

I simply replied that she was a previous customer, then pushed Lin Huan to go prepare the items. Although I didn’t want to admit it, the only explanation for Li Mi’s sudden foolishness was a problem with the life amulet.

I slumped down onto the sofa, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over me.

From the time I started dealing with life amulets until now, everything had gone too smoothly. I had always thought it was the blessing of my ancestors, plus my own natural talent.

Now that I think about it, Cause and Effect, the bad karma must have accumulated until now, erupting like a flood and leaving me completely defenseless.

Lin Huan rummaged in the storage room for a while and then packed all the items I might need tonight into a backpack according to the list I gave him.

As I double-checked everything, I asked Lin Huan what had happened to Yang Shuo.

It turned out that after Yang Shuo’s boss got arrested, he quickly implicated Yang Shuo in embezzlement and bribery, along with selling internal company information.

This constituted significant economic crimes, and Yang Shuo was also taken into custody. It was said that if the charges were proven, she would face at least ten years in prison, and that’s assuming the company didn’t pursue any additional liability against her.

I sighed. By this point, I had to admit that the backlash from the life amulets was manifesting, though I had no idea what kind of consequences it would have for me.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed down the rising fear from deep within and told Lin Huan to rest a bit first and accompany me to the hospital at night.

Lin Huan refused adamantly, waving his hands. I knew he was still spooked by what happened with Brother Kai, but I needed help right now, and he was the only one I could count on.

Lin Huan started listing off the duties outlined when he first applied for the job and what his salary was, blah, blah, blah, rambling on before giving me a cheeky grin.

I snorted, telling him I’d raise his salary by a thousand next month.

He jumped up from the sofa and dashed into the storage room once again, emerging in less than two minutes with a small backpack. He threw me a smug look.

I flung a slipper at him. Sure enough, this kid had learned to play me.

At exactly ten o’clock in the evening, Lin Huan drove the car Chen Li had given me, running two red lights along the way, and stopped at the hospital entrance.

Even at night, the hospital entrance was bustling. An ambulance had just arrived, and doctors and nurses rushed out from the emergency room to swarm the vehicle.

I stood where I was, waiting for Lin Huan to park the car and catch up. As I looked up, I saw a white silhouette drift out of the ambulance.

Pulling a cigarette from my pocket, I lit it and placed it in my mouth. I knew the person who had just been carried off the ambulance wouldn’t make it through the night.

Lin Huan parked the car and came running up to me, beaming. I gave him a glance without saying anything and led him around to the inpatient department in the back.