Taboo Mage - Chapter 67 - The Fertility Amulet

I’ve always had an aversion to such people and didn’t care to engage further, so I turned and went straight into the bedroom. After all, the issue with the departed spirit was resolved, and I had already delayed too much here; I needed to hurry to Shenyang.

Jue Chi had been a monk for a long time and tended to be soft-hearted, so I left him in the living room to deal with the auntie and her son.

After packing my suitcase, I pushed open the door to leave, and sure enough, Jue Chi was surrounded in the middle, answering questions. I gave him a look and tossed the suitcase over to him.

“Sorry everyone, we’ve finished our business here and have an urgent matter to attend to, so we need to leave now.”

Jue Chi, standing behind me with his bag, had a brief moment of relief on his face.

Jue Chi, the monk, is skilled at ghost catching, but his interpersonal skills leave much to be desired. Seeing his lips pressed into a straight line, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

Du Qiang stepped forward as we were about to leave and said, “I’m sorry for keeping you so long. I heard you were heading to Shenyang; have you found a car yet?”

“Not yet.” Hearing the implication in Du Qiang’s words, I chuckled, thinking that although it was a losing deal, it also conveniently resolved a significant issue at hand.

Du Qiang pulled out his phone from his pocket and said, “Then sit down for a while, I’ll see if I can find you a car. It’s not easy finding one at this time.”

I agreed, and Jue Chi and I sat down. The auntie quietly took a seat next to us, her head bowed, lost in thought.

Li Meng was nowhere to be seen, that poor woman, who had first lost a child and then had to face the grim truth of her child’s tragic death. It’s likely she was still too shocked to recover.

Du Qiang made two calls and came back from the balcony with a joyful expression, “Found one. We leave tomorrow at five in the morning. It’ll take about four to five days on the road. Let’s go out this afternoon. I’ll prepare some things for you; we need to get ready everything you’ll need for the journey.”

I must say, Du Qiang really is a good man, considering how thoroughly he arranged everything for us.

I placed the suitcase back in the bedroom, took a nap at noon, and after 4 PM, I went out with Du Qiang to shop for supplies.

Du Qiang drove his tricycle, taking me and Jue Chi directly to a large wholesale market.

Navigating with ease, Du Qiang led us to several stores where he chatted up the bosses. Meanwhile, Jue Chi and I gathered a heap of food and necessities. Thanks to Du Qiang’s connections, we didn’t end up spending much money.

On the way back, Du Qiang brought up Li Meng’s situation, seemingly offhand. It turned out that after two childbirths, Li Meng’s health had severely deteriorated. This time, it had taken a significant toll on her mentally.

When she was discharged, the doctor secretly pulled Du Qiang aside and told him that it might be very difficult for Li Meng to conceive again.

“Do you want a divorce?” I sneered internally as I listened to the implied meaning in Du Qiang’s words.

“No, no! Li Meng has been with me for so long, and I’m not heartless. Besides, her condition is my responsibility,” Du Qiang quickly shook his head.

I smiled and asked him, “So, what are you suggesting?”

“I was just wondering, with your considerable skills, if there’s anything you could do… something to make Li Meng’s condition better?”

After hearing what Du Qiang had to say, I chuckled. Any man could understand the real meaning behind his words.

Ultimately, he just wanted Li Meng to have another child. Though it was a lot to ask, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

I turned to look at Jue Chi, who shook his head, indicating he couldn’t help.

My mind quickly flashed through the ancient books I had read about life amulets, and I actually found something relevant.

“I can help with this, but there’s a condition,” I said, resting my right hand on the window of the tricycle.

Du Qiang’s hand slipped on the steering wheel, nearly causing the tricycle to crash into a guardrail. After pulling over to the side of the road, he turned to me, his voice filled with excitement, “As long as there’s a way, any condition is acceptable!”

“It’s really nothing much, just a drop of your blood as a medium, akin to a medicinal primer.”

“Agreed!”

Du Qiang readily agreed and asked what needed to be prepared, then immediately turned the car around and headed straight for the incense candle market.

Upon returning home that evening, to prevent Auntie from causing any more trouble, I had Du Qiang coax her to sleep before beginning to craft the fertility amulet.

To create a fertility amulet, one simply needs to soak a life amulet in water that has been washed with lotus seeds and peanuts, and then find any spirit within a temple dedicated to the Child-Giving Guanyin¹.

I had Du Qiang stay home to soak the life amulet while I inquired about the location of a temple dedicated to the Child-Giving Guanyin, then took Jue Chi and rushed there.

In the temple of the Child-Giving Guanyin, the offerings were mostly fruits and such, which of course are incapable of nurturing a spirit.

To find a spirit, one needs a temple where the incense burns brightly and the spiritual energy is strong, and the temple itself must be of ancient construction.

Along the way, I checked and found only two or three temples that met the criteria. After discussing it with Jue Chi, we chose the farthest one.

It was a temple dedicated to the Child-Giving Guanyin, built in the late years of the Republic of China, and though it had been renovated several times, the original bluestone bricks had never been replaced, possibly under the guidance of some venerable master.

Upon arriving at the temple, we headed straight to a corner and began examining the floor tiles one by one.

However, after touching almost every floor tile, I felt no presence of any spirit. Disappointed, we quickly moved on to the second Child-Giving Guanyin temple.

This temple was not a standalone one for child-giving but was among a cluster of temples. Though small, the incense was indeed burning vigorously.

As we entered the temple, even though it was almost sunset, many women were still kneeling on meditation cushions, chanting softly with hopeful expressions on their faces.

I shook my head, thinking how obtaining a child is not so simple. If merely kneeling could grant children, the world wouldn’t need so many fertility clinics.

Inside the temple, Jue Chi and I split up; he focused on examining the decor, while I concentrated on the floors and walls.

As expected, after making a full round, we still found no presence of a spirit.

Feeling weary, I took a seat on a meditation cushion and was about to call Jue Chi to change locations when suddenly, he approached me, his expression somewhat excited.

Footnote:

1. Guanyin(观音): Guanyin, known as the Goddess of Mercy, is a highly revered figure in Chinese Buddhism, celebrated for her compassion and assistance to those in need. The Child-Giving Guanyin is a special aspect of Guanyin, specifically venerated by those seeking to conceive children.