Taboo Mage - Chapter 4 - A Difficult Business

A woman’s sharp voice rang out and then disappeared, and the room quickly returned to silence.

The police officers arrived and took away the unconscious Xu-Jie and her husband, while I returned to my shop with a heavy sense of unease.

I couldn’t understand why things turned out this way. Why did the Tree Spirit want to kill Xu-Jie and her husband? And why did it call them scum and a slut?

A series of questions festered in my mind.

In the afternoon, the man who had been taken away by the police officers earlier came to my store. It was then that I learned his surname was Wei.

He looked exhausted and sat silently in my shop for a long time. It wasn’t until dusk that he finally raised his head and started telling me the whole story.

It turned out that the Tree Spirit wasn’t a real tree spirit, but rather a Vengeful Spirit that had died many years ago. In order to linger in the human world, it had hidden inside the peach blossom tree, trying to consume the Tree Spirit within to sustain its existence without being captured.

While Brother Wei and Xu-Jie were making love, he suddenly saw a face appear on the life amulet. It was the Vengeful Spirit, but also a familiar face to him-his Childhood Sweetheart.

They had grown up together, living a carefree life, and gradually developed feelings for each other. One vowed to marry no one but him, and the other swore to marry no one but her.

He took a weary drag on his cigarette and began to recount his past to me.

He was an Illegitimate Child, but one day a group of well-dressed people came looking for him. It turned out that the man was the illegitimate son of the president of a prominent corporation. Since the president had died in a car accident and left no Heir, they remembered this illegitimate child.

From that point on, his life changed drastically. He rode in luxury cars, lived in a mansion, and was surrounded by a multitude of servants. Moreover, no one stopped them from being together, so the man eventually thought being an Heir wasn’t so bad.

He slowly learned to take over the company’s management. Just as he was preparing to propose to her, the company encountered a crisis.

In this situation, the person in power considered the most convenient and effective solution: a political marriage.

The object of the political marriage was Xu-Jie, because by that time, Xu-Jie had already taken control of a massive trading company, holding the destiny of Brother Wei’s entire family in her hands.

Of course, the man did not agree to it. Forced into a corner, he chose to give up being the Heir.

But would Brother Wei’s Father agree to that? Definitely not. Even if there were no crisis, he still wouldn’t agree because he wouldn’t let the empire he built with his hard work fall into the hands of an outsider.

Especially now that a crisis had come, only his son’s marriage could solve it.

His Father thought that his son’s refusal to marry was because of the woman. He tried to persuade him secretly and even resorted to threats, but it was useless.

Finally, he resorted to a scheme.

He orchestrated a car accident to kill the woman, then had someone forge her handwriting to leave a letter for his son. The general meaning of the letter was that she had fallen out of love with him.

At first, Brother Wei did not believe it. He made frantic calls and searches, but it was as though she had vanished. In the end, he had no choice but to believe it.

Losing her was like losing his heart. He lived in a daze, following his father’s arrangements to marry Xu-Jie and have children.

It wasn’t until recently that he saw his beloved again. But unfortunately, she was already a ghost. Moreover, he discovered the truth about everything that had happened, which explained the scene I witnessed when I visited his home.

The fake Tree Spirit rioted and wanted to kill Xu-Jie and him, believing that they were responsible for all the harm done and seeking revenge.

After hearing his story, I forced a bitter smile. Everything happened because of my own lack of skills, for I couldn’t even distinguish a fake Tree Spirit, causing Xu-Jie and Brother Wei to almost lose their lives.

But everything seemed too coincidental. Could there really be such a thing as Cause and Effect?

The unease in my heart grew stronger, feeling as if a giant hand was controlling everything, as if someone was lying to me.

Brother Wei left with a sigh, saying this was his debt to repay, and it was time to make amends. He felt he owed it to Xu-Jie and also to the Vengeful Spirit of the dead woman.

I watched his departing figure with a sigh of my own. Cause and Effect-could it truly exist?

As a yin-yang life amulet master, taking this path meant that the things I would face were far beyond my imagination. Yin and Yang are indeed the Cause and Effect…

The next day, I went to the market to buy groceries. From a distance, I saw a crowd of people gathered at my front door.

Usually, there would be hardly anyone around. Why so many people today?

Could it be that there was business coming to the door?

The closer I got, the more things felt off!

There were too many people, talking over each other, making it impossible to hear what they were saying.

I squeezed into the crowd and saw a scene that left me stunned.

I hadn’t expected that as soon as I stepped outside, I would see Fatty Ling lying half-dead on the ground. Inside the store, there was a middle-aged man sitting casually with a black amulet engraved with a tiger head hanging from his chest.

I recognized him; he was an old client of my Father named Liu Yineng, a big shot in organized crime.

When Father was still alive, Liu Yineng approached him to make a life amulet that could bring good fortune. Father refused adamantly, but after being persistently pressured, he eventually had no choice but to make one for him.

I remember Father saying, “Whatever happens in the future, don’t come causing trouble!”

Seeing the black aura between his eyebrows, I could tell that something bad must have happened recently. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here, holding Fatty Ling hostage.

“Brother Liu, the person you’re looking for is here. Let me go! I was just helping with some promotion; I don’t know anything else!” Fatty Ling pleaded, his voice trembling.

Hearing his words, my heart started pounding. Trouble had indeed arrived.

Liu Yineng turned to look at me, his presence overwhelming, his eyes bright with an intimidating gleam. He then ordered his men to release Fatty Ling and said, “So it’s you. Although I promised your Father not to cause your family any trouble, this time you have to help me through this crisis. Otherwise, you’ll also pay the price.”

Sensing danger, I knew that even the slightest misstep could cost me my life.

After calming down a bit, I spoke up, “Brother Liu, whatever it is, just say it.”

He scanned the area and then instructed his men to drive away the surrounding crowd. Once everyone left, he revealed his predicament.

Apparently, after he obtained the life amulet from my Father back in the day, his luck significantly improved, and he soon became a big shot. However, this also made him many enemies, and recently, several of them had been out for his blood.

Liu Yineng had brought in a mystic who claimed there was something eerie about him but couldn’t solve the issue. After the mystic left, Liu Yineng realized that the problem lay with the life amulet my Father had made for him.

Unfortunately, Fatty Ling had been caught promoting my business and was roped in. While I bore some responsibility for what had happened to Fatty Ling, he also kind of deserved it for arrogantly showing off in front of Liu Yineng.

“Is there a way to resolve this…?” Liu Yineng asked, his tone surprisingly gentle and lacking the arrogance he had displayed when he first met my Father. Perhaps after being in a position of power for so long, he naturally developed this demeanor.

I replied that I couldn’t be sure yet and asked him to hand over the life amulet.

As soon as I took the amulet from his hand, a chilling aura surged up my arm and into my body. The depth and intensity of it were almost unbearable, and I nearly dropped the amulet.

I looked at Liu Yineng in astonishment, noting his lack of reaction, and felt a chill run down my spine. How many people must he have killed to harbor such a strong Vengeful Spirit?

No wonder he’s being hunted down!

Liu Yineng seemed to perceive my thoughts. His brow furrowed, and he spoke in a cold voice, “Is there no way? Then…”

Before he could finish his sentence, I shivered and hastily said, “There is a way, but I’m missing one vital element.”

Hearing this, Liu Yineng’s tense expression finally relaxed, but I didn’t feel relieved at all.

The amulet contained the resentment of at least fifty Vengeful Spirits, implying that Liu Yineng had killed over fifty people!

The term “ruthless” hardly did justice to describing Liu Yineng. I was tempted not to solve his problem, but knowing his merciless nature, if he found out I tampered with the amulet, he would undoubtedly take my life.

On the other hand, if I helped him resolve the Vengeful Spirits within the amulet, wouldn’t that make me an accomplice?

Now it all made sense. No wonder that mystic wanted nothing to do with this mess!