Taboo Mage - Chapter 64 - Who is the Real Sinner?

In the room, Du Qiang and two others were deeply asleep in their chairs, while Jue Chi and I sat nearby, watching over them.

The dream recollection amulet, though effective, could easily trap people in nightmares. At best, it could harm their physical health; at worst, it could leave them lost in dreams, never to awaken, effectively turning them into vegetative states.

Jue Chi even quietly gripped a wooden mallet in his hand, ready to smash the amulet if things became uncontrollable.

The departed spirit, wrapped in Jue Chi’s Kasaya, lay on the ground as if asleep, showing no signs of threat at the moment.

Suddenly, Li Meng began to thrash violently in her chair, her hands gripping the armrests tightly, veins bulging on the back of her hands. It seemed she had encountered something unbearable in her dream.

“It looks like it’s working.”

As all three began to react, I excitedly glanced at Jue Chi. His expression had relaxed significantly, his attention shifting from Du Qiang and the others to the departed spirit.

As long as the departed spirit remained as it was, there would be no problem!

Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly. Li Meng started to whimper, her cries gradually growing louder until she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Du Qiang initially seemed able to hold himself together, but he too began to clutch at his hair, his expression one of intense pain.

And the auntie, whom I had expected to break down first because she deeply cared for her grandson-Li Meng’s child had died at birth, leaving the auntie nearly fainting from grief.

Yet, unexpectedly, when the amulet started to work, it was the auntie who held up the best, lying quietly in her chair the whole time.

Something seemed off, so I turned to Jue Chi and asked, “Don’t you think the auntie is acting a bit strange?”

“Very abnormal,” Jue Chi nodded.

Sitting on the couch, I propped my chin on my hand, intently watching the auntie’s reactions. Li Meng’s crying grew louder, and even Du Qiang began to cry.

But the auntie just furrowed her brow, struggling as if trying to wake up.

“Oh no!”

Jue Chi suddenly shouted and stood up from the couch, walking briskly towards Li Meng.

I turned to look and saw Li Meng lying on the ground, coughing up blood, her eyeballs almost rolling back in her head.

Cursing under my breath, I quickly followed. Jue Chi was holding the wooden mallet he usually used to strike the wooden fish, chanting Sutras as he smashed it down on the life amulet around Li Meng’s neck.

I took out some yellow talisman paper, lit it on the ground, and threw another life amulet, identical to the one around Li Meng’s neck, into the burning ashes.

The life amulet in the yellow paper instantly turned to ash.

At the same time, the life amulet around Li Meng’s neck shattered under Jue Chi’s blow.

Li Meng’s eyes flew open, and she gasped for air. I hurriedly brought her a glass of water and helped her drink. Like a parched fish, she gulped it down desperately.

Seeing that the situation was stabilizing, Jue Chi and I removed the life amulets from Du Qiang and Auntie’s necks and threw them into the burning yellow paper.

The three slowly regained consciousness. When Li Meng opened her eyes, she still seemed lost in the nightmare, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Du Qiang quickly adjusted his emotions, turning his head and weakly smiling, “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”

“You think you were the only one?” I chuckled, nodding towards the other two.

I figured it was time for them to have a proper family discussion, so I took Jue Chi and left.

We hid in the bedroom. It wasn’t even ten minutes before fierce arguing erupted from the living room, mixed with Li Meng’s cries.

Perhaps, the most innocent in this whole affair, besides that poor child, was the child’s mother.

After what had just happened, I was convinced of Li Meng’s innocence, which also reaffirmed my earlier suspicions.

The matter of selling the child to that wealthy woman must have more hidden aspects.

The noise outside grew louder, and I thought that this family wouldn’t be calming down anytime soon. We couldn’t stay hidden in the bedroom forever.

As I was contemplating whether to go outside to check the situation, the bedroom door suddenly burst open, and Li Meng, with her eyes swollen, stood at the doorway.

“Tell me, was what I saw in my dream real?”

“Well, I think this matter… we might need to sit down and talk about it.”

I glanced outside the door; Du Qiang was sitting on the sofa, head bowed, hands covering his eyes, while auntie stood on the ground, head also lowered, her facial expression unclear.

Li Meng, with a hoarse voice from crying, grabbed my arm.

Reluctantly, I led her out, followed by Jue Chi, who was holding a package, and when we passed by auntie, he gave her a heavy look.

“Let’s talk about it, what exactly happened?” I asked in a deep voice as soon as we sat down.

“I’m sorry, this is a family matter, it’s really not convenient to discuss…” Du Qiang said, shaking his head and lowering his voice.

I knew that such family matters indeed weren’t suitable for outsiders to interfere with. Initially, I hadn’t planned to get involved, but I also believed that such shocking events, once known, would compel anyone to take action.

Moreover, that poor child had become a Resentful Spirit, and if we didn’t resolve the issue, their family would sooner or later face consequences.

I deliberately made the situation sound much more severe, and sure enough, Du Qiang and auntie’s faces showed a look of terror.

After a long pause, Du Qiang slowly began to reveal the truth to us.

It turned out that after Li Meng became pregnant, they had initially planned to keep the baby. However, leveraging their daughter’s pregnancy, Li Meng’s parents demanded a hefty dowry of over two hundred thousand.

Du Qiang’s family couldn’t afford such an amount, so they considered keeping the baby, hoping Li Meng’s family would compromise.

After the child was born, the substantial cost of raising him quickly depleted the young couple’s limited savings, and Li Meng’s family became even more demanding, directly coming to their door for money.

Unable to see any other way out, Du Qiang discussed with Li Meng the possibility of having their child adopted by a wealthy family, coincidentally knowing a gynecologist through auntie at the hospital.

The doctor told them about a wealthy woman who had been unable to have children and was now looking to adopt.

Overjoyed, Du Qiang and Li Meng sent their child away, only to realize they had unwittingly consigned their own flesh and blood to the Netherworld.