Taboo Mage - Chapter 83 - Leaving the Service Area

After I figured out the relationship, I turned to look at Jue Chi, thinking how cunning this monk could be…

However…

I lay inside the carriage, with my head stretched outside the door, gazing at the white clouds floating in the blue sky above. After being troubled by dark energy for so long, it was the first time I had seen such a clear sky.

“Jue Chi, you’re a serious Buddhist disciple. Why did you come up with such an idea? I originally thought you had decided to deliver that group of Resentful Spirits.”

I asked lightly but still turned to look at Jue Chi, who was meditating nearby.

Jue Chi slowly opened his eyes and looked at me seriously, “If I had the ability to deliver them at the time, I would have certainly guided them to the Pure Land in the West. However, given the circumstances, releasing those Resentful Spirits would have endangered not only our lives but also put many others at risk in this world.”

After hearing Jue Chi’s words, I chuckled, “So, your compassion is selective, isn’t it?”

Jue Chi didn’t reply, he just closed his eyes again.

It wasn’t until evening that Mr. Cao reappeared, followed by Li Jianjun, who had been detained in a temporary interrogation room for three days. Li Jianjun looked thinner, with sunken eyes and messy hair, like he had just returned from a deserted island.

As soon as Li Jianjun saw Jue Chi and me, he knelt down with a thud, crying and laughing as he kowtowed several times. I was startled and almost tumbled out of the carriage.

Mr. Cao grabbed Li Jianjun by the back of his collar and pulled him up, “This matter is settled. I’ll treat you all to dinner at the fast food restaurant tonight, and you can hit the road¹ tomorrow morning.”

“Pah! Pah! Pah! Mr. Cao, what’s with the way you talk? Saying ‘hit the road’ like that! You should ‘hit the road’ instead!”

I propped myself up on the carriage door, spat a few times, and glared at Mr. Cao. How could he always choose such inauspicious words?

Mr. Cao chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head, “Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue… Anyway, you guys rest up, and don’t forget dinner later.”

After watching Mr. Cao leave, I gave up my seat to let Li Jianjun lie down and rest for a bit. Meanwhile, I asked him about what had happened over the past few days.

It turned out that after we rescued Li Jianjun that day, he was detained by the police at a toll station not far from the service area.

Since he was held as a suspect, Li Jianjun had a rough time. Besides getting cold stares at the toll station, he consistently had nightmares of Liu Hong’s ghost coming to claim his life.

Knowing he was frightened and noticing how uneasy he seemed, I worried he might be too distracted on the expressway tomorrow and get into an accident. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to make him a Focus Amulet to carry with him.

No sooner said than done. I let Li Jianjun rest and hopped out of the carriage to scour the surroundings for any suitable spirit to use for making the life amulet.

A Focus Amulet is a minor form of a life amulet, and creating one isn’t difficult, especially since I had already prepared backup life amulets. All I needed now was a suitable spirit.

However, it was a matter of luck. In this desolate service area, where even finding a place to eat is hard, let alone finding a spirit.

I sat outside the fast food restaurant, casually flipping through ancient books, discovering that Focus Amulets weren’t explicitly recorded, only mentioned in passing.

It seemed even my ancestors thought that making a life amulet was too simple to warrant a detailed record.

Nevertheless, during my reading, I found an important piece of information: the spirit required for making a Focus Amulet could merely be a Tree Spirit.

This realization instantly calmed my mind. After ensuring the soul-capturing bottle was in my pocket, I walked around some small hills surrounding the service area to search.

Half an hour passed, and I still hadn’t found anything. As I sat on a hillside, I wondered if Li Jianjun was just that unlucky.

Just then, my phone rang. I took it out and saw that it was a call from Jue Chi.

“Hello? What?”

On the phone, Jue Chi informed me that while he had gone to the restroom, Li Jianjun had already driven off.

My eyes widened, and I clenched my teeth in anger. That jerk! I was planning to make a life amulet to protect him, and he just left us behind, running off on his own?

Losing all interest in searching for a spirit, I ran back as fast as I could.

Jue Chi was standing at the entrance of the fast food restaurant, holding a backpack in each hand and looking at me.

“At least he had the decency to leave his backpack. Otherwise, I would have summoned a dozen Resentful Spirits to give him a scare!”

I picked up my own backpack and quickly checked to make sure nothing was missing. While I felt relieved, I was still fuming inside.

That bastard!

Jue Chi’s face remained expressionless as he calmly turned and walked into the fast food restaurant. I stood there ranting for a few more minutes before finally following him inside.

Mr. Cao had arranged dinner for a little after eight. After handling his business at the police station, he drove over, arriving just as the dishes were being served.

Due to recent events, the service area had been closed for a few days. It had just reopened, which naturally led to a surge in traffic. The fast food restaurant was buzzing with business, with every seat occupied apart from the one at our table.

Mr. Cao was engaging Jue Chi in some conversation, leaving me bored. I propped my head on my hand and looked around, hoping to spot a new driver who could take us to Shenyang.

Most of the people eating at the service area were in a rush. They quickly finished their meals and hit the road again, with long-haul truck drivers being the only ones likely to pause for a chat.

What caught my attention was a family sitting at the table next to me-a bespectacled man who seemed to be in his forties, exuding a scholarly vibe.

Next to him was a woman in her thirties, with long hair cascading over her shoulders, who also appeared gentle and composed. Between them sat a very cute little girl.

The girl was wearing a red dress with a white lace cardigan. She had dimples that showed when she smiled, looking just like a little Barbie doll.

Besides their polite and refined behavior, which starkly contrasted with the rough demeanor of men at other tables, what truly drew my attention was the conversation this family was having.

Footnote:

1. Hit The Road(上路):In this dialogue, the phrase “上路” is a pun. Literally, it means “hit the road” or “start a journey,” but in Chinese, it can also imply “to die” or “to pass away.”