Taboo Mage - Chapter 39 - Joining the Monastic Life

“You finally woke up! You scared me to death!”

Lin Huan leaned over my bed, shaking my arm excitedly. I blinked and pointed to the cup on the table next to me.

Lin Huan immediately understood, ran over to pour some water, and helped me sit up.

I drank a few sips from Lin Huan’s hand, and only then did the burning in my throat subside. I looked around at my surroundings and hoarsely asked, “Where am I?”

“The hospital! You’ve been in a coma for over ten days. If you hadn’t woken up, I wouldn’t have known what to do.” Lin Huan sniffled, and despite being a grown man, he had tears welling up in his eyes.

I lifted my hand with effort and patted his hand comfortingly.

Lin Huan called the doctor, who checked my eyes and asked about my condition. After a long examination, the doctor said I was fine but still very weak and needed plenty of rest.

After the doctor left, I asked Lin Huan about recent events. Lin Huan told me that since the day I left Li Mi’s ward, I had been unconscious, and during those ten days, nothing unusual had happened.

He also turned away everyone who came to ask for a life amulet, just as I had instructed beforehand.

I nodded and then motioned for Lin Huan to lift my shirt. Although Lin Huan was confused, he did as I asked.

When he saw my lower abdomen, his eyes widened, and he was about to rush out and call the doctor.

Seeing the look of horror on his face, I knew the five scars were still there.

I stopped Lin Huan and then shared my hypothesis about those scars with him. Lin Huan sat beside me with a serious expression and didn’t speak for a long time.

“Maybe we should stop doing this. We can find something else to do to make a living. Why continue this business?” Lin Huan stared at me, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking.

I nodded, indicating that I would consider his suggestion. Seeing that I looked tired, Lin Huan offered to take care of the discharge procedures and told me to wait in the ward.

I lay back down, staring at the white ceiling. Suddenly, Grandfather’s words from that night floated back into my mind.

I abruptly sat up. Grandfather had mentioned in his sleep that I needed to find someone to solve this, but he hadn’t had the chance to tell me who that person was.

Still, I believed that as long as I put in the effort to search, I would find them!

Lin Huan was quick. Within an hour, he had completed the discharge procedures. I wandered around the room and felt that my strength was somewhat returning.

Back at the shop, Lin Huan helped me onto the sofa and then busied himself with tidying up.

I looked around at my small but elegantly decorated shop, feeling a pang of heartache.

Since making money, I had renovated the once shabby shop and decorated it with numerous antiques to enhance its appearance.

All of these were purchased with the money I had painstakingly earned, but it was precisely this money that had caused my health to deteriorate.

After finishing his task, Lin Huan came to chat. I told him about my plan to find the person Grandfather had mentioned, and he immediately offered to go with me.

I shook my head and told him that I didn’t plan to make life amulets anymore, and soon, I might not even be able to pay him. Given my current state, he should look for a new boss.

Lin Huan stared at me and earnestly declared that he wasn’t following me for the money, but because of who I was!

I teased him with a smile, “Are you gay and secretly obsessed with my looks?”

He gave me a playful slap and didn’t say anything, but the determination in his eyes moved me.

After resting at home for a few days and no longer feeling sore, I prepared to search for the person who could save my life. During these days at home, I went through Grandfather’s belongings again but failed to find any clues.

As I was at my wits’ end, I suddenly recalled seeing Jue Chi’s face just before I fell unconscious.

“Did Jue Chi come to see me while I was in the hospital?”

Lin Huan looked at me blankly and said that apart from Xu-Jie occasionally visiting, no one else had come.

An idea struck me, and I dragged Lin Huan out the door. We drove to the Chan Guang Monastery, nestled in the hills behind the Hanging Temple.

The Chan Guang Monastery was still as deserted as ever, but the sound of Buddhist chants echoed around the mountain. I respectfully knelt on a meditation cushion and bowed three times to the golden statue of Shakyamuni.

When I turned back, Jue Chi was standing behind me, smiling, with a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hands and a seemingly new Kasaya draped over his shoulders.

“Have you finally made up your mind to join the monastic life in my little courtyard?” Jue Chi asked with a smile as soon as he saw me.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I couldn’t understand why the monk’s first words to me every time he saw me were always to persuade me to join the monastic life. Did I really look like someone who’d given up worldly desires?

“I promise, if you join the monastic life, you’ll receive a monthly salary,” Jue Chi added after a moment of thought, tilting his head.

My eyes practically rolled to the back of my head. Lin Huan, standing beside me, couldn’t hold back and finally burst into laughter.

I kicked him in the rear and then glared at Jue Chi.

“You can wait for my next life before seeing me join the monastic life!”

“So, what brings you here this time?” Jue Chi, unperturbed, placed a Lotus flower on the altar and recited a Buddhist chant.

I moved a meditation cushion to his feet, sat cross-legged, and told him about recent events and my suspicions.

Jue Chi listened without his expression changing. After I finished, he placed his right hand on my head, sighed softly, and asked, “Are you really unwilling to join the monastic life?”

“Not a chance!” I pinched his leg in frustration.

Jue Chi shook his head with a smile and told me that the Yin Energy had already started to affect my internal organs. If I was unwilling to join the monastic life and undergo exorcism through Buddhist teachings, I would have to seek other supernatural help.

I was stunned for a moment. “Is there really no other way?”

Jue Chi shook his head.