Chapter 20: An Unwelcome Message

“Little Mom, it smells so good!”

The Little Girl reached up, wiping the drool from her lips with her sleeve, incessantly rocking on her stool, her large eyes filled with a tiny, yearning desire.

“It’s too hot to drink right now; have some meat first.”

Qíngyǔ blew on the soup, then reached into the pot with her chopsticks to retrieve a piece of chicken for the Little Girl.

Qíngyǔ herself ate very little, mostly only taking a few bites from the pieces the Little Girl had already gnawed on when the girl insisted she couldn’t eat any more.

The hen had been raised reasonably well, though it was somewhat old and quite lean; still, in these times, one couldn’t expect a plump chicken specifically bred for meat.

Unless they raised one themselves in the future.

“Here, Little Girl, try it and see if it’s too hot.”

After cautiously taking a small sip to test the temperature, Qíngyǔ finally handed the bowl to the Little Girl.

Already impatient, the Little Girl hastily cupped the bowl with her small hands, gulping down mouthfuls of chicken soup, her slender neck occasionally emitting a gurgling sound.

“Delicious!”

The Little Girl fiercely wiped her mouth with her sleeve, then glared at the bowl of chicken soup as if it were a mortal enemy.

“Drink slowly; it’s all yours.”

Seeing her drink with such delight, Qíngyǔ felt mostly full herself; besides, she no longer needed to sustain her bodily functions through eating, so she decided to cast aside these gastronomic desires.

“Mm… Little Mom should drink some too.”

“I don’t like drinking this.”

Watching the Little Girl suddenly hesitate, Qíngyǔ felt an even deeper sense of contentment, and reaching out, she habitually ruffled her hair as she replied.

“Little Mom isn’t lying to me?”

“It truly isn’t my favorite thing to drink.”

Just as the Little Girl was about to say more, an impatient knocking echoed from the already dilapidated gate of their small courtyard.

“Little Girl, keep eating. I’ll go see who it is.”

Frowning, Qíngyǔ set down her bowl and stood up, first scooping another large bowl of chicken soup for the Little Girl before turning to exit the kitchen.

The courtyard’s pitiful wooden gate trembled like a sieve, yet its iron lock held firm, preventing anyone from entering.

“Open the door! Open the door!”

The fellow outside, seeing no response after knocking for a long time, lost his patience.

His previously quiet grumbling was now heard clearly by Qíngyǔ.

“Damn it all, why did Qin Erye send me to this inauspicious place? I heard a while ago that the little jinx went up the mountain and caught a cold. Perhaps now there are only two corpses left in this courtyard…”

“Only two what?”

Qíngyǔ deliberately waited until he was happily muttering to himself, then suddenly unlatched the door and stared at him with cold, unwavering eyes.

Though it was barely past noon, that gaze sent a shiver down his spine, causing him to stumble back two steps, then scramble to lean on the stone steps to steady himself.

“You, you, you… are you a person… or a ghost!”

The man frantically pulled a crumpled Daoist talisman from his pocket, holding it up towards Qíngyǔ as if to embolden himself, and shouted.

“I’m telling you, I have a spiritual talisman given by Mr. Feng! I’m not afraid of you!”

Qíngyǔ watched him with an indifferent gaze, recognizing him from her memories.

This fellow, Zhang San, had originally been a servant in the Qin household, but had somehow managed to climb the social ladder, eventually becoming a steward.

Before awakening her memories, she hadn’t had much contact with this man, but he had certainly played a major role in her expulsion.

“In broad daylight, where would a wild ghost come from?”

Zhang San, holding the talisman, blinked a few times, completely missing the sarcasm in Qíngyǔ’s words. Instead, he let out a huge sigh of relief upon seeing her shadow.

“You scared me! I thought you were long dead.”

“Then I suppose I’ve disappointed you.”

“Not disappointed, merely a little surprised,” Zhang San said, composing himself, straightening his lapels, and clearing his throat before looking down at the young woman before him. “Qin Erye asked me to deliver a message to you.”

“Qin Si?”

“Qin Erye said that if you can’t go on, you should find an auspicious day and a good spot to end your life.”

He gazed at the sky, paused, and a look of disgust spread across his face.

“After all, your very existence as a jinx harms the Qin family. As for that little brat, someone will naturally take care of her once you’re gone, which can be considered accumulating merit for you.”

“You needn’t trouble yourself with that.”

Zhang San, reveling in his pronouncements, didn’t even notice that the gate before him had already been firmly shut, and the Young Lady’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Just as he was about to curse, he felt a chill creep up his spine.

The dark gate before him became more unsettling the longer he stared.

Though it was clearly the hottest part of the afternoon, it sent an inexplicable chill through his heart.

“Pah, pah, pah, truly inauspicious.”

He quickly took a few steps back to avoid the courtyard’s shadow, then pulled out the spiritual talisman given by Mr. Feng, only then feeling a little more at ease.

“I’m telling you, this is your only chance! If you don’t do it now, once your luck turns, no one will look after that little brat!”

Perhaps feeling unsatisfied, he looked around, picked up a stone, and hurled it fiercely into the courtyard.

“Who’s there…”

Finally, when there was still no reply from within the courtyard, Zhang San pursed his lips, swayed his body, and turned to leave.

Inside the courtyard, the two had not heard the rest of his tirade after the door was shut.

Qíngyǔ, who had initially considered saving the man, no longer bothered; what he held in his hand was no spiritual talisman, but rather a blood-red smudge, clearly an item left behind by some demonic entity engaging in deceitful practices.

It seemed the Daoist priest who had initially visited the Qin family to assess their geomancy (TL Note: “相风” (xiāngfēng) refers to the practice of geomancy or Feng Shui, often involving assessing the spiritual or energetic flow of a place) was no good either; they truly complemented each other well.

“Little Mom, it was so noisy outside just now.”

The Little Girl, having finished her meal, sat exceptionally meekly on her stool, blinking her eyes as she looked at Qíngyǔ.

“There was a fly; I shooed it away.”

Qíngyǔ reached out, plucked a grain of rice from the corner of the Little Girl’s mouth, and then put it into her own.

“But I clearly heard that…”

“Don’t mind such things; they’ll degrade on their own in a few days.”

The demonic entity, of course, she intended to deal with, but it would likely have to wait a little while.

“Little Mom if someone bullies you, you must tell me, okay?”

“No one bullies Little Mom.”

Seeing the girl bare her fair, tender arms and try to act like a grown-up, Qíngyǔ, for the first time in a long while, couldn’t resist pulling her into a fierce embrace and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Little Mom is dirty!”

The Little Girl’s cheeks flushed slightly as she vigorously wiped the spot Qíngyǔ had kissed onto her clothes, occasionally sticking out her tiny tongue.

“What, Little Mom can’t even give you a kiss?”

“But I haven’t washed my face… Little Mom kissed a dirty spot!”

“It’s alright, Little Mom doesn’t mind.”

After a short playful tussle with Qíngyǔ, the Little Girl, while Qíngyǔ was washing dishes, ran back to her room alone and fiercely communicated with the Immortal Sword.

[Hey, do you have a way to get rid of that guy who just came?]

[Don’t worry, that man won’t live much longer.]

[You’re not lying to me?]

The Immortal Sword, having clearly witnessed the preceding incident, continued to reply languidly.

[That man is entangled by “Windy Rumors”, and his three hun souls and six po souls have almost all been deceived away. He doesn’t have much time left.]

(TL Note: In traditional Chinese belief, humans possess a total of ten souls: three ‘hun’ (spiritual souls) and seven ‘po’ (corporeal souls). If one ‘po’ soul is lost, a person becomes demented; if one ‘hun’ soul is lost, a person becomes unconscious. The loss of all souls signifies death)

[What are Windy Rumors?]

[A demonic entity, but this type is rarely seen anymore.]

The Immortal Sword, getting excited, was about to explain the origins and nature of this entity to the Little Girl when she heard Qíngyǔ, having finished washing the dishes, calling from outside.

“Little Girl, naptime? If not, I’ll teach you to write.”

“Coming!”

Hearing that Little Mom was going to teach her something, the Little Girl immediately cast the Immortal Sword’s words from her mind, scampering out the door to find her.

[Sigh, wait for me first…]

The Immortal Sword had no choice but to sigh and retreat back into her divine consciousness.