Fate Trading System – Chapter 141

Plan A

Red Moon in the Barrier 5

Dispute

That hand was scorching hot and warm, just like a small stove.

Su Xin was startled by this temperature, she remembered that last time she had accidentally touched Mu Qi’s hand, it was very cold, just like a chunk of ice, but why was it so hot now.

“If you feel cold, hold my hand, you’re shaking badly.”

Mu Qi’s voice rang out in the darkness, the gentle voice seemed to carry a power that calmed people’s hearts.

Su Xin was always an unceremonious [direct] person, she gripped that hand tightly and felt a bit better, but her feet were still ice-cold, very uncomfortable.

A warm foot touched Su Xin’s foot, and Su Xin couldn’t help but rub against the sheet under her feet.

“If you don’t mind me being close to you, you can put your feet on me to warm up, I don’t mind.”

Mu Qi seemed very easy to talk to, and very eager to help others.

Su Xin curled herself up like a dried shrimp [curled-up position], her hand was holding Mu Qi’s hand, her feet also touching Mu Qi’s feet, but there was still a large gap between their bodies.

A warm current seemed to gather from where their hands and feet met to the middle of her body, spreading everywhere, and that initially unbearable cold seemed to have been driven away, Su Xin’s expression relaxed, carrying a hint of gentleness.

The next morning when they woke up, Su Xin was pressed close to Mu Qi, the safe distance between them had disappeared at some unknown time, Su Xin was completely unaware, only moving toward what felt warm and comfortable.

Mu Qi opened her eyes after Su Xin, four eyes faced each other, but it wasn’t awkward.

“Good morning, thank you for last night.”

Su Xin greeted comfortably, thanking Mu Qi.

“You’re welcome.”

Mu Qi put on her clothes, shaking her head.

Today was the agreed day for the three of them to go catch fish by the river, they left wearing very warm clothes, carrying a small bucket, a large fishing net, and ice-chiseling tools.

The ice on the river was already very thick, Su Xin had good strength, and with the ice-chiseling skills in her memory, she quickly chiseled out a spot.

The river water under the ice flowed slowly, not turbulent, Su Xin lay on the ice and extended the net into the water, soon catching several fish.

Tong Qing anxiously watched Su Xin, quickly stepping forward to place the bucket nearby, letting the fish swim in the bucket.

After catching two fish, Tong Qing urged Su Xin to return home, telling her to quickly get off the ice, saying it was really too dangerous.

Like this, you couldn’t tell who was the older sister and who was the younger brother – Tong Qing was acting more like an older brother managing a disobedient younger sister.

“I know, I know.”

Just as Su Xin was preparing to get up from the ice, she saw again what she had seen that day, right where she had been lying – handprints the size of children’s palms appeared one after another on the ice, imprinted from beneath the ice surface.

This time it definitely wasn’t her imagination – those handprints were chaotic and hurried, with many overlapping marks, as if someone was trapped underneath, constantly trying to push open the ice surface.

But clearly there was nothing – Su Xin had just chiseled a hole, and there wasn’t any movement.

A child’s enlarged face suddenly appeared reflected on the ice surface. The ice was originally too thick to see what was underneath, but this face was especially clear, as if it would break through the ice surface at any moment.

It was an unfamiliar child’s face – in Su Xin’s memories, the original owner had never seen this child.

Su Xin was startled by the suddenly appearing face and quickly stood up. The child under the ice made a face [grimace], which in this situation didn’t seem cute or mischievous, but rather gave a chilling feeling.

The child’s giggling echoed in her ears. Su Xin’s face showed an odd expression, but Tong Qing and Mu Qi acted as if they hadn’t heard anything. Tong Qing, seeing his sister’s inexplicable actions, felt worried and quickly pulled Su Xin to his side. Mu Qi maintained her eternally calm face, silently observing, silently preparing to leave.

Su Xin said nothing. The child’s giggling in her ears suddenly disappeared. Su Xin glanced at where the child’s face had appeared – everything was gone, not just the child’s face, but the handprints too.

“It’s nothing, I just lost my balance a bit. Let’s go back, let’s go back.”

Su Xin touched her face exposed to the cold wind, one hand taking the bucket from Tong Qing’s hands.

When Su Xin was about to put her other hand in her pocket to get some warmth, another hand grabbed it.

That hand’s touch was soft, very warm.

Su Xin gave her a slight nod, carrying the bucket with one hand as she walked forward.

Mu Qi looked back at the ice surface, a child was standing there. If Su Xin had turned around at that moment, she would certainly have realized that the little boy standing on the ice surface was the same one she had just seen under the ice.

That little ghost saw Mu Qi look at him once, and immediately disappeared.

They brought the two fish home, and the three of them began discussing how to cook them.

“Anything is fine with me, I’ll cook whatever way you want, I don’t have any particular preferred cooking method.”

Mu Qi said to Su Xin and Tong Qing, watching the two fish swimming around in the bucket.

“Little brother, how do you want to eat it?”

“Sister, you caught the fish, so of course you decide. Anyway, everything Sister Qi makes is delicious, I like it all.”

This was a rare instance of Tong Qing expressing his own thoughts, neither exaggerating nor being stingy with his praise.

“Shall we have sour cabbage fish? Qiqi, do you know how to make it? I have pickled cabbage in a jar at home.”

“I know how, but I’m not very skilled at it. I’ll try, please forgive me if it’s not good.”

Mu Qi said apologetically.

“Then maybe we should just have something you know how to make, however you want to cook it, we can eat it.”

Su Xin’s eyes curved [smiled], it wasn’t that she feared Mu Qi’s cooking wouldn’t be good, but since the other person wasn’t very familiar with it, and there weren’t any recipes here, forcing them to cook it would be awkward and inappropriate.

“Let’s do this one then, where is the pickled cabbage?”

“In the kitchen corner, I covered it with something. Little brother, take Qiqi to find it, I’ll go clean the fish.”

Su Xin instructed Tong Qing, and he happily led Mu Qi away.

Su Xin efficiently scaled the fish and removed the innards, then kept rinsing them. The cold water made her hands hurt from the ice-cold temperature, but thinking about how the fish would soon become a delicious meal, Su Xin continued washing cheerfully.

After preparing the fish, Su Xin brought them over and washed her hands thoroughly.

The fish was cleaned in the courtyard, and the bloody water mixed with fishy smell was unpleasant, giving a nauseating feeling just from smelling it.

Su Xin eagerly watched Mu Qi cook, licking her slightly dry lips, full of anticipation for the upcoming meal.

As expected, Mu Qi’s cooking was delicious – the pickled cabbage was tasty, the fish was sliced thinly, carrying its own fresh fragrance mixed with the pickled cabbage’s aroma, very appetizing.

After the meal, Su Xin and Mu Qi washed dishes together, while Tong Qing buried himself in his room reading the poetry book he hadn’t finished yet.

This village seemed to have endless incidents, one after another, never letting people have peace.

Su Xin seemed to understand something, but the next moment found herself being led into a trap [metaphorically: being misled].

Someone started arguing.

Any exciting events in the village had to be shared, and Su Xin soon heard about it, preparing to go take a look.

The situation was this: Yang Cui went to Old Man Hu’s temple to burn incense, and when coming out, accidentally fell at the doorway. The fall was terrible, almost ruining her face.

Old Man Hu’s temple wasn’t far from Cloud Lady’s temple, and Grand Aunt saw Yang Cui fall. Grand Aunt’s expression was cold as she said Yang Cui deserved it.

Yang Cui had always been hot-tempered [fierce/sharp], and yesterday because Grand Aunt had spoken about her that way in front of everyone, she had already been holding in her anger. Now encountering this again, Yang Cui didn’t care if Grand Aunt was a seventy or eighty-year-old woman, she directly confronted her sharply.

When Su Xin arrived, she just heard Grand Aunt speaking.

“Bewitched by ghosts [idiom: lost one’s senses], not even afraid of shortening your life, you really think what you did was beneficial?”

“Grand Aunt, I call you Grand Aunt out of respect, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want. Anyone can move their lips and speak words. Grand Aunt, you’re spitting blood from your mouth [making false accusations].”

Yang Cui waved away the people trying to mediate, her anger growing stronger.

“Whether I’m making false accusations or not, you know in your heart.”

Grand Aunt’s expression was cold, looking very impatient. She turned and left without looking back.

“Hey, I’m talking to you…”

Yang Cui wanted to go after her but was persuaded not to.

“Cui’er, Grand Aunt is seventy or eighty years old, don’t argue with her. She’s very stubborn, and besides, you just took a bad fall. Go home and take care of yourself first.”

“Using her age as leverage, pah!”

Yang Cui was really angry, throwing her unused incense sticks to the ground and leaving.

Su Xin stood quietly at the side, listening and watching. She looked at Old Man Hu’s temple, feeling complicated inside.

Why would Yang Cui come to worship Old Man Hu? Those who didn’t know might think she wanted Old Man Hu to help her child’s soul rest and be reborn into a good family, but those who knew, like Su Xin, found it very strange.

Yang Cui had killed Tong Manwen herself, so praying for Tong Manwen’s blessing was unlikely, and coming to repent was even more impossible.

Not many people came, and they quickly dispersed. Su Xin, with matters weighing on her mind, walked toward Cloud Lady’s temple.

Stepping over the scattered incense on the ground without stepping on it, Su Xin walked toward where Grand Aunt was.

Perhaps due to limited conditions, this Cloud Lady temple wasn’t very grand. Grand Aunt was lying on a reclining chair inside the doorway, resting with her eyes closed.

“Grand Aunt.”

Su Xin greeted obediently. Grand Aunt opened her eyes, making a responding sound through her nose.

Cloud Lady’s statue stood there, looking gentle and peaceful in expression.

“Come to burn incense?”

Grand Aunt asked.

“No, I came to see you. I’ll come worship the Lady another day, I didn’t bring anything.”

“Then get out.”

Grand Aunt started driving people away. Su Xin didn’t dare touch her, fearing Grand Aunt might get bumped or hurt.

Grand Aunt was very discourteous, as if she treated the Cloud Lady temple as her own territory.

“She’s been bewitched by ghosts, already gone mad. Retribution will come soon, you should stay away.”

Grand Aunt’s aged voice sounded, the wooden door made a creaking sound as it closed.

Su Xin headed back home. Grand Aunt truly knew something – what she said was probably ninety percent true, Yang Cui really wouldn’t live much longer. Actually, this wasn’t what Su Xin wanted to ask about, but Grand Aunt clearly didn’t want to see visitors, and it seemed saying that much was already her limit, so Su Xin didn’t pursue it further.

What’s meant to come will come.

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