Taboo Mage - Chapter 59 - Li Meng Saw It

The auntie, who had been causing a commotion, turned her head and saw me. Suddenly, she climbed out of the hospital bed, grabbed my arm, and cried out, “Master, please save my grandson! Save him!”

I was jolted by her pull, nearly falling to the floor, but luckily, I quickly grabbed hold of a bedside cabinet for support. The auntie’s grip was strong, her hold on my arm like a vise.

“Mom, stop it!”

Du Qiang, who had been struggling to take care of both of them, now saw his mother frantically pulling on a man’s arm, and his patience probably shattered. He kicked at something nearby and shouted angrily.

I sniffed, glancing sideways at Jue Chi.

Jue Chi stepped forward, patted Du Qiang on the shoulder, and instantly, the fury on Du Qiang’s face was soothed. He obediently sat down on a chair, though his gaze towards his mother still carried a mix of helplessness and irritation.

After being scolded by her son, the auntie choked back her sobs and sat down again. It seemed she also realized her behavior was inappropriate. She glanced at me, lips pursed in embarrassment, yet she appeared to be on the verge of saying more.

“I’m sorry for the scene,” Du Qiang said, head bowed, hands rubbing together, sighing. “My mom is just a villager, full of superstitious beliefs. If a child is gone, he’s gone. We can always have another.”

I shook my head. The look Jue Chi and I had exchanged already made me sense something was amiss. Jue Chi probably also thought the unborn child’s death was too peculiar.

But since we couldn’t yet pinpoint the cause, it wasn’t right to voice our suspicions, especially since Du Qiang was well-educated. If we shared our conjectures, he might just dismiss us as charlatans.

The auntie’s gaze flickered towards me, hesitating to speak. Just then, a disturbance came from the nearby hospital bed.

Everyone turned to look. Li Meng’s hands trembled as she slowly regained consciousness.

Du Qiang stood up from the chair and hurried over, taking his wife’s hand. Tears he had held back all day streamed down his cheeks.

Li Meng’s eyelashes trembled as she woke up, causing me to nervously clench my teeth. After waking, Li Meng first smiled at her Husband, then turned her head, searching for something.

Seeing the anticipation in her eyes, I couldn’t bear it and turned away. After a moment’s thought, I pulled out a cigarette and beckoned Jue Chi to join me in the corridor.

I’ve always found it hard to face such scenes.

Sure enough, before we’d finished our cigarette, a heart-wrenching cry of agony erupted from the ward.

I pursed my lips, my mind feeling utterly empty.

Beside me, Jue Chi, at some point, had pressed his palms together, silently reciting a Sutra.

Due to a sudden incident, Jue Chi and I decided to find a car to Shenyang earlier than planned. We had hoped Du Qiang could lend a hand, but seeing him now, overwhelmed by his own issues, I felt uncomfortable asking for help.

Just then, Du Qiang came out of the ward, looking utterly exhausted. I hesitated for a moment, then caught up to him to inform him we were leaving soon.

Du Qiang apologized with an embarrassed smile, promising to take good care of us next time we passed through.

I nodded, then went with Jue Chi to say goodbye to Auntie.

Li Meng curled up on the hospital bed, her head completely covered by the blanket, only her pale, frail feet sticking out, curled up.

I shook my head helplessly and turned to say goodbye to Auntie.

Hearing that I was leaving, Auntie suddenly knelt down with a thud. “Master, please save my grandson! He must have been murdered! Something must have killed him!”

“Auntie… we’re also saddened by your loss, but if you suspect foul play, you should consult with the hospital to see what the doctors say. We really can’t help,” I tried to lift Auntie, but she clung tightly to my legs, leaving me with no choice but to speak helplessly.

Auntie shook her head, adamantly telling me that something had taken her grandson.

I almost wanted to laugh; even Jue Chi hadn’t noticed anything amiss, yet Auntie was certain, based only on her imagination, that her grandson’s death involved foul play?

“I saw it.”

Suddenly, a weak voice came from beside us.

I turned to look, and Li Meng had somehow sat up without my noticing. She looked at me indifferently and said, “I saw it-it took my child. It was smiling at me…”

“What?” I frowned.

While she was asleep, I had already checked on Li Meng. There was nothing untoward about her, and aside from being a bit weak, she was perfectly fine.

Moreover, Li Meng is a normal adult; under ordinary circumstances, she should not be seeing such things.

But she claimed she had seen it with her own eyes?

I looked doubtfully at Jue Chi, who was also frowning, his fingers moving faster over his prayer beads.

“What did you see?” I asked Li Meng, my face tense.

Li Meng threw back the covers and walked barefoot on the floor. “I saw a child crawl in through the delivery room door, calling me ‘mommy’ and climbing onto me with a smile…”

“And then?”

“The child hugged me with a beaming smile, and then…suddenly, his mouth started bleeding, and his hands reached into my stomach, pulling out a clump of bloody flesh. He said he was going to eat it… Ah!”

Li Meng’s voice was as weak as a ghost’s by the end. Suddenly, she turned around, her lifeless eyes staring fixedly at me.

Her gaze startled me, and I instinctively hid behind Jue Chi.

Damn it, who really is the ghost here!

Jue Chi listened quietly to Li Meng’s words. After she finished, he suddenly extended his hand, and the prayer beads in it had at some point turned into Buddhist prayer beads.

The beads struck Li Meng’s forehead, causing her to sway and then collapse onto the hospital bed. Soon after, faint breathing could be heard.

“What on earth is going on?”

A puzzled voice came from behind. Du Qiang had appeared at the door unbeknownst to us. He must have witnessed the scene just now, a water bottle in hand, his face a picture of bewildered shock.

I cleared my throat. “Well, your wife was just talking in her sleep. Don’t take it to heart.”

“What kind of people are you?” Du Qiang’s gaze sharpened as he asked coldly.

He obviously thought we were charlatans. Knowing it wasn’t wise to stay any longer, I started to leave with Jue Chi.

As we passed Du Qiang, Jue Chi suddenly stopped and said, “Your wife is right, there is indeed something fishy about your child’s death.”

The moment Jue Chi spoke, I cursed under my breath; damn it, trouble the moment we step out the door.