Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1306: Chapter 33: The Gong of Destinies Rings Out in the Sacred Temple (4)

The modified truck was just about ready.

But Miss Beastkin was wrapped in a blanket, curling up in the corner—as if their gazes had sullied her purity.

It felt like if they stared any longer, she might end up pregnant…

“Would you like a drink? It might help with the nerves,” Boss Luo offered, handing over a cup of hot cocoa. “Of course, my skills may not be the best.”

This was instant cocoa from the social work center—as for the Maid, after finishing dressing Miss Beastkin, she left alone.

Whether this was the Maid’s intent or Luo Qiu’s instruction, no one could know… nor was anyone foolish enough to ask.

Despite receiving help with the modified truck, the vigilance remained ever-present—in fact, Klein and Niell had been quietly observing his actions all along.

“Thank you…”

The young Beastkin extended her hand from the blanket to grasp the warm cup—but she still clutched the blanket tightly, afraid of revealing anything.

If it wasn’t instructed by that person, the Maid probably wouldn’t act like this… So, there is a particular interest, isn’t there?

Luo Qiu sat down beside her, as the young Beastkin silently sipped on the hot cocoa.

“She wasn’t always like this.” Luo Qiu suddenly spoke.

Lale hesitated, subconsciously turning to look at Boss’s side profile.

Boss Luo was watching Will and the others bustling outside the door, his voice gentle, “She wouldn’t interact much with people, and her interests were few… Perhaps she went through a phase of curiosity in everything, then lost interest. Later, these things slowly returned. Don’t mind; it’s actually her way of being willing to interact with people.”

“Is she sick?” Lale asked subconsciously.

Luo Qiu merely smiled, looking at the young Beastkin, and suddenly turned over his palm—out of thin air appeared a mask with the face of The Clown. “Here, borrow this for the time being.”

“What is this?” Lale asked, puzzled as she took the clown mask, full of bewilderment.

Luo Qiu said, “I call it the ‘Mask of Fallacy’… used it for a while, but haven’t needed it since. It’s not actually a clown’s face—it can change its form according to your thoughts… Give it a try?”

The young Beastkin nodded obediently and began to place the mask on her face—oddly, it seemed to transform into a flowing liquid, instantly adhering to her face like a thin membrane, very comfortable.

It finally became a silver eyepiece, covering the young Beastkin’s eyes and the bridge of her nose.

A mirror appeared in front of her, and already accustomed to such tactics, the young Beastkin marveled at the new form of the mask in the mirror.

“Is this a Magic Guide?” she asked, touching the eyepiece in wonder.

“Just a little trinket I’ve collected,” Luo Qiu smiled. “When I don’t want to appear in front of those I know, I choose to wear it.”

The young Beastkin knew what she needed to do next, understanding the convenience this mask brought her—and because of this, though she felt embarrassed, her body honestly accepted the Maid’s outfit for her.

“Feels… like I’ve become a different person.” Lale murmured.

Luo Qiu suddenly spoke softly, “Sometimes, whether we put on a mask or take it off, we are another person.”

Lale felt a connection… She suddenly raised her head, “Do you… want to hear a story?”

“Actually, I love hearing stories the most.” Luo Qiu’s smile became even more charming.

The skin beneath the eyepiece had a trace of warmth, and the young Beastkin’s amber eyes glowed softly, “A long, long time ago, there was a little girl…”

At this point, the young Beastkin seemed a little uneasy, “I—I’m not very good at telling stories… Is the beginning too cliché?”

“What happened to the little girl then?” Luo Qiu inquired with curiosity.

Lale steadied herself; though she couldn’t hear the heartbeat like Klein or Will, she felt a reassurance greater than that ability… Intuitively, the other was genuinely gentle towards her, without any impatience.

“Ever since she was born, she was rarely awake.” Lale said slowly, “Because from a young age, she was placed into an ice coffin, with only her brother accompanying her.”

“An ice coffin?”

“Yes, an ice coffin.” Lale nodded, “The siblings were born with congenital defects and couldn’t stay outside for long periods. They were actually born the same day… During birth, their mother was severely injured.”

“Their mother?”

Lale lowered her head, “Mother insisted on giving birth to the siblings before departing this world… Their father eventually had to place them both into the ice coffin, then sought ways to treat them.”

“Because finding a cure required, their father was often compelled to leave… From a very small age, the little girl consciously recorded meeting her father only eight times.”

“Every time was the happiest event for the little girl and her brother… Because each time asleep in the ice coffin could be months, or years… And their time reunited with father was but a few days.”

“Thus, time went by little by little… Until one day, the siblings awakened from the ice coffin again. This time, they almost couldn’t feel the pain caused by their congenital defects. Suddenly, they felt perhaps they were cured.”

“They cried in each other’s arms; they yearned to see the father who had healed them… Yet, what terrified them was, after waking, they never saw their father again.”

“They searched every corner of their home, but couldn’t find any trace of their father.”

“Thus, they waited for a year at the original place… Finally, all resources there ran out, forcing them to decide to leave temporarily.”

“They began a difficult journey, traveling and stopping, continuously inquiring about their father’s news… Gradually, they met others like them. The others taught the siblings how to survive, how to hide, protect themselves. But, the sister was actually crude and clumsy…”

The young girl instinctively glanced at Boss Luo.

Luo Qiu merely blinked, signaling her to continue.

The little beastman girl tightened the blanket around her, “Once, impulsively… my sister accidentally hurt a few people. Those people were descendants of a powerful local family. The kindred whom the siblings encountered advised them to leave… these siblings didn’t want to implicate their kindred, so they had to leave the place where they had lived for a few months.”

“They kept walking… The brother suddenly remembered a place from their past, a place their father would take them to each time he returned home—they followed their fading memories to search. Ultimately, they successfully found the place. However… however, it was no longer the same; the surroundings had changed and it had become a large farm.”

“They didn’t want to leave just like that and hoped that perhaps there one day their father would return… So, they quietly settled down. This time, the sister was smarter; she no longer argued with others and began interacting with the workers on the farm… Gradually, the people on the farm started to communicate with the siblings.”

“They were all good people, who warmly helped the siblings, not just by taking them in but even allowing the siblings to stay and help with what they could… and also paid them wages.”

Her face bore a nostalgic, beautiful expression.

“Every day, they helped with weeding, feeding poultry. After the day’s work was over, they’d gather around a very large dining table to eat and chat. The uncle who drove the tractor was good at singing, and the aunt who cooked loved to dance. The smell of hops was fragrant, but the sister still liked milk tea, while the brother liked the taste of creamy soup, clouds, grass, the farm, day by day.”

“The father still hadn’t appeared.”

“Unfortunate things still happened.”

“On one deep night, a group of people suddenly came to the farm… they stormed in, smashing everything around them, and those uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters who had been so kind to the siblings were screaming in terror…”

The little girl clutched her shoulders tightly, causing the blanket to slip off her rather narrow shoulders.

“The girl saw a sister being dragged inside the house by robbers… that sister cried out in pain. She could only hold her brother tightly, hiding in the straw shed, not daring to make a sound. But at this time, the chest of the kind farm owner who had been so good to the siblings was pierced through… and the farm owner’s young child… the child was lifted high, as if they were going to throw the child down! Throw down! They laughed madly, like lunatics, like devils!”

“The girl rushed out, recklessly rushed out… rushed out. She didn’t realize what she was doing; she was like a madwoman, like a madwoman.”

The lips of the little beastman girl turned slightly white, “No one knows how long it felt, it seemed like years… this girl woke up. What terrified her was that around her were corpses, the corpses of those robbers… their bodies were torn apart, arms, legs, heads… everywhere, there was blood… blood on her body, face, and her favorite dress…”

“The uncle and aunt looked at this little girl with more fear than when they saw the robbers… she understood, she made a mistake again.”

“Will she regret it?” Luo Qiu suddenly interrupted softly and asked, “I’m asking about this little girl.”

“No.” Lale shook her head, “Not at all… but she still left with her brother. Because everything had changed… she knew there would be no more dinners, no storytelling, no singing and watching TV together.”

“Want to go back?”

“Want to go back… afraid to go back.”

Lale smiled bitterly, “In the following period, the siblings started wandering outside, continuing to inquire about their father’s whereabouts… About half a year later, the siblings made a decision to visit their mother’s hometown. Because when they were young, they heard their father mention where their mother’s hometown was and remembered it.”

“A group of people appeared and said they could take them to find a place, but what they didn’t expect was that this group of people turned out to be a gang of vile human traffickers.” The little beastman girl gave a bitter laugh, “They were locked into a ship, in utter darkness… and this foolish sister made a mistake again. Is she truly that stupid?”

Luo Qiu thought for a moment, then said softly, “We cannot demand her to do more than she has, nor could we have ever offered her any help, so naturally, we cannot, nor are we qualified to judge her… Are you tired?”

She didn’t speak, her lips pressed tightly together, lifting her head, her very refined amber eyes rolling around, watery, shaking her head, shaking her head.

“Is this story… boring?”

Luo Qiu shook his head and said, “I think if someone wants to tell me a story, then it would be a joy. No matter how lengthy it is, no matter how much it seems like déjà vu, sad, happy… for me, it might be something I could do for a lifetime. So if this story has a continuation, I would be very happy to listen further.”

The little beastman girl lowered her head and weakly said, “You already know what comes after…”

Luo Qiu smiled, then reached over to re-wrap the blanket around the beastman girl who had let it go in excitement, “But there are also things yet to happen in the future, right?”

“The future…” She stared blankly at Luo Qiu.

The face so close… There was a feeling of security, like seeing her father in a dream.

This person… perhaps…

Her small mind began to tremble.

Suddenly.

“Ready——!”

Klein’s voice came loud and clear.

The little beastman girl suddenly stood up, and the blanket fell from her body, revealing that very revealing high-slit leather outfit again.

She took a deep breath, “I… I’m going!”

Then, stiffly, she clumsily walked over, appearing somewhat comical.

Luo Qiu smiled, then tidied up the blanket on the ground, as a small figure came over to him… it was the rather delicate Oga.

“Thank you…” The little beastman boy timidly looked up at Luo Qiu, who was taller by two heads.

Boss Luo chose to bend down and reached out to pat his head, looking into his eyes and said, “You have a very strong sister.”

Oga’s face turned slightly red, then he quickly said, “My sister is still growing, don’t worry! She will have a great figure in the future! Wearing, wearing those clothes, will look much better!”

“Hm?”

Oga turned his head and walked away.

Ah, a little brother…

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ps: (8/30)