Warning: This is MTL, accuracy not guaranteed.

Trying another platform, and another genre, this one's from Changpei (Gongzicp).

Support the author if you have the means. This novel costs approximately 1200 jade pendants ≈ 12 rmb≈1.7 usd, but you can buy per chapter. There's also a gifting system too. Need phone number to create an account, need AliPay or WeChat to top up.

I am a hoarder, it's a disease, an escape, a coping mechanism…bear with me please. Everything will be finished. No fixed update sched, join discord to get notified.

___________

Preview

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Shu Yushuang lay in the blood-stained  floor. The room still reeked of the lingering stench of rotting corpses.

A cold hand gently wiped away a tear quietly falling from the corner of her eye.

Shu Yushuang closed her eyes.

"My nightmare started here, and now it ends here. Qin Su, why were you willing to stay with me until now? Even though I treated you so..."

"It's all over."

Qin Su pulled Shu Yushuang up and embraced her. This time, Shu Yushuang didn't struggle to push her away.

At this moment, Qin Su's cold embrace had become her final refuge.

……

At the foot of Mount Mingzhao, there was a dilapidated village called Anle Village.

This village was isolated from the world. The villagers farmed their own land, raised their own poultry and livestock, and were self-sufficient.

Generations of their ancestors had lived in this small village, with almost no contact with the outside world. Their mindset remained stuck a hundred years in the past.

In recent days, the village has been restless.

Three people from Zhao Er's family in the east of the village had died consecutively.

The strange thing was, none of the three had any external injuries. All of their faces bore expressions of terror, as if they had been scared to death.

The villagers who knew a little bit about the inside story kept talking about their crimes, and from time to time they would show off what little they knew to others.

In the yard of Zhao Er's house, there were three coffins. Zhao Er's body was placed in one of them.

Zhao Er's family was very poor. Those who died for no reason were him and his two sons.

After their deaths, the family couldn't even scrape enough grain to exchange for so many coffins.

Fortunately, the villagers usually had good relationships, and Old Liu from the coffin shop was willing to make the three coffins for them for free.

It was already unusual for a family to have three people die at the same time, and the fact that all the deceased were men made it even more bizarre.

Now, the only ones left alive in the Zhao family were Zhao Er's wife and their young daughter.

The villagers all knew that the Zhao family had a clever and lovely little daughter, but it was unfortunate that she was born in the wrong place.

If she had been born in the city, even into an ordinary family, she would have been treated as a cherished treasure and carefully protected.

Unfortunately, she was born into a poor family in this secluded village, and more tragically, she had two older brothers.

Anle Village had an old custom of "exchange marriages" since ancient times. The birth of the Zhao family's little daughter was only to secure a wife for her brothers.

This poor little girl didn't even have a name. The Zhao family just called her "girl" and ordered her around.

In recent years, for some unknown reason, the number of girls born in the village had been decreasing, so there was no one to exchange marriages with the Zhao family.

In the end, the slightly more affluent Wang family paid a large sum of money to the Zhao family and took their little daughter back to raise her until she was old enough to marry.

However, calling it "raising" was just making the little girl work at the Wang family.

Zhao Er and his wife didn't hesitate and agreed. Although they couldn't secure a wife for their eldest son, the large sum of money was enough for him to "marry" a wife.

Interestingly, just a month before these three members of the Zhao family died, all the male members of the Wang family also died one after another.

The Wang family couldn't afford to continue raising the Zhao family's little daughter, so they sent her back to the Zhao family.

After the Zhao family's little daughter returned home, just one month later, all three male members of the Zhao family died under mysterious circumstances.

This was why the small courtyard of the Zhao family was crowded with people today.

Anle Village was small, and most of the people in the village were somehow related to Zhao Er. Many people came to the Zhao family's funeral.

A group of people dressed in mourning clothes squeezed into the narrow courtyard, kneeling on the ground, crying bitterly. Whether their grief was genuine or feigned, at least it seemed sincere on the surface.

Standing out from all this was a cold-faced little girl kneeling aside.

She held her head high, staring blankly at the coffins without any expression on her face.

The woman kneeling next to the girl, seeing her like this, suddenly erupted in anger and slapped her hard across the face.

"You cursed bad star*! Killing Wang Gouzi and coming back to bring calamity upon our family! The head of the house and my sons were both killed by you!" 

*灾星" (zāixīng) -calamity star, refers to someone who is believed to bring bad luck or misfortune to those around them.

The other villagers were startled by the voice and turned to look at them. But they all coldly watched without stepping forward to intervene. The girl's eyes shimmered with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. She bit her lower lip tightly, defiantly glaring at the woman in front of her.

"You insolent brat, still daring to glare at me? I'll make you glare, make you glare..."

The girl's gaze completely ignited the woman's fury. The woman, in a fit of hysteria, grabbed a cane and viciously whipped the girl.

At this point, the onlookers exploded in uproar, but still no one stepped forward to stop it.

"Stop!"

Shu Ya passed by this village and noticed a household holding a funeral. She thought to approach and ask if they needed any rituals done, perhaps earning some food to sustain herself for the next period.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered, she witnessed a scene where a woman was crazily beating a girl.

The girl remained kneeling on the ground, her hands protecting her head as she silently endured the blows from the cane.

Shu Ya hurried over, pulling the girl up from the ground and shielding her behind herself.

The woman's eyes were bloodshot, her hair disheveled like an enraged lioness.

She glared fiercely at Shu Ya, sharply questioning, "Who are you? What does it matter to you if I beat my daughter?"

Shu Ya snorted coldly, "Your daughter? Can you beat her to death like this? Those who don't know would think she's your enemy."

"Enemy? That's right, she is my enemy. She caused the death of our whole family. If not an enemy, then what?" 

Shu Ya was startled. She looked down at the small girl, barely reaching her waist. The girl clutched Shu Ya's clothes tightly, trembling slightly, evoking sympathy from Shu Ya.

"A child this young, how could she possibly harm anyone?"

"Why not? She's a bad star. After marrying into Wang Gouzi's family, she caused half of their family to perish. Then she returned and wiped out our entire family!"

Bah, it's definitely your own doing. What superstition are you still messing with here?

Upon hearing this, Shu Ya understood what was going on, but considering her purpose for coming here today, she held back her words.

"If that's the case, I'll take her away and help you rid yourselves of this death star."

The woman's expression softened slightly, but she still looked fierce and intimidating..

"No, that won't work. The landlord has taken a liking to her and wants to marry her. He's even sent the betrothal gifts, and we have to send her over in a couple of days. Second-hand goods can still marry the landlord; this must be her good fortune accumulated from her past life."

Such a young child, she's not even ten years old, right? Marrying at such a young age? Wait, did that woman just say she's already been married off once before?

Is this child really her own biological daughter? Not only treated like merchandise but also insulted with such harsh words...

Shu Ya sighed inwardly and continued to persuade, "I can see from your forehead that there's a dark omen looming. If nothing is done within three days, a great disaster will strike. Since you say this girl is a bad star, sending her to the landlord's house—aren't you afraid she'll bring calamity upon them? He's a landlord; if anything really happens, do you think they're easy to deal with? Aren't you afraid they'll come knocking on your door? By then, forget about betrothal gifts; they might even seize your house. Losing your house is just the beginning; if they pursue it further, your life might be at stake."

"Well... then what should I do? Do you have any solutions?"

Seeing the woman's attitude finally soften, Shu Ya smiled slightly and whispered something in her ear.

Upon hearing this, the woman quickly dispersed the other villagers. The villagers grumbled all morning; they didn't even get to eat at the funeral feast, so why would they agree to leave?

The villagers argued for a while but ultimately couldn't overpower the woman.

After all, she had just lost her husband and sons. The villagers hesitated to speak harshly, so in the end, they cursed and left.

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

In the blink of an eye, the courtyard that had just been bustling with activity was now left with only Shu Ya, the little girl, and the woman.

Shu Ya spoke again, "To resolve this calamity, first, I must take this girl away because she is the root of the problem. Secondly, you need to stay at home and not go out for ninety-nine days. During this time, you must bathe your body with ice-cold water in the courtyard every day, then hit a tree one hundred times, and finally, use a cane to strike your body one hundred times to drive away the bad luck from you."

Shu Ya spoke solemnly, and the woman listened attentively. After Shu Ya finished speaking, the woman remained kneeling on the ground, bowing her head repeatedly.

"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master."

"No need to thank me. It's my duty to rid the people of evil spirits. This is what I should do; you don't need to be like this."

Meanwhile, the girl took advantage of the adults' inattention and cast a subtle glance at Shu Ya. 

Though young and born in such a place, she wasn't superstitious.

The methods of exorcism of this strange elder sister sounded to Shu Ya like she was seeking revenge for her.

That night, Shu Ya returned to her dilapidated home carrying a large bag of food, satisfied. Her home was far from the village where everything happened.

She had come near that village today because villagers from several villages around her residence were somewhat dissatisfied with her work.

Shu Ya's job is to help the deceased pass on, or to tell fortunes for people, or to help villagers solve some small problems.

Shu Ya always claimed to be a direct disciple of a certain Taoist master from a certain mountain, performing rituals for superstitious villagers or demonstrating exorcism techniques—though in reality, she only used scientific methods. Yet, this was enough for villagers to hold her in high regard.

With these simple methods, she could earn enough food for half a month or even a whole month. Shu Ya used to live quite comfortably in the past.

But some time ago, she made a mistake and inadvertently exposed herself, leading to being immediately kicked out of the village. So she had to find another place.

Luckily, her master had taught her some skills; otherwise, she might not have even been able to leave that village.

After half a day's ride and many mountain paths, Shu Ya finally returned to her almost half-demolished, rundown house before nightfall.

While tending to the girl's injuries, Shu Ya discovered many bruises and marks on her body, which made her angry again.

"It's really worse than a beast. How could she do this to such a young child who is still her biological daughter?”

The girl whispered softly, "She has never treated me as her daughter."

Shu Ya was stunned. This was the first time she had heard the little girl speak.

Although the girl's voice was very young, it matched her cold expression.

Her words left Shu Ya speechless.

Shu Ya could only gently smile at the girl and say, "It's okay. From now on, I will treat you like my daughter."

Shu Ya carefully examined the girl's injuries and found that although they looked severe, they were only superficial wounds. With some rest, they would heal. Only then did she feel relieved.

After tending to the girl's injuries, Shu Ya finally had the chance to take a good look at her. Despite her young age, the girl was already quite delicate. Apart from being a bit thin in the face and having a slightly yellowish complexion due to poor nutrition, her eyes seemed somewhat numb, but overall, she was still a pretty child.

If she continued to grow like this, she would definitely become a beauty in the future. The only uncertainty was whether she might be permanently scarred.

Thinking this, Shu Ya gently touched the girl's head.

The girl stiffened but didn't pull away.

"What's your name?" Shu Ya asked.

"I don't have a name," the girl replied.

"No name?"

Shu Ya rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

After a while, she took down an old dictionary from the bookshelf.

"Let me give you a name. Flip to any page and pick the word that looks the nicest to you. You'll take my surname, Shu. Any objections?"

The girl shook her head.

"Let me see... Yu," Shu Ya muttered, "Shu Yu. Shu Yu? It feels like something's missing. Let's make it a three-character name. Let's find another one... Shuang."

"Shu Yushuang. How do you feel about this name?"

舒 (Shu): 1. to stretch/unfold 2. easily, leisurely 

钰 (Yu): 1. treasure/precious 2.hard metal

霜 (Shuang): Frost

_________

Check out Glossary for terms/idioms/slangs I collected thus far, that you might also encounter here. Feel free to suggest addition and corrections (respectfully). 🖖🙇‍♀️