Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 865: Worry-Free, Naihe (1)

This was somewhat beyond Lucifer’s expectations. Even now, she hadn’t fully processed it, and her thoughts seemed to be in a state of primordial chaos, as if the world had just been created.

In simpler terms: she was completely confused.

“Lucy, time to wake up.”

Chalty came in holding a piece of clothing, a black nun’s dress. This dress, apparently, was something Chalty wore as a child, and it had been altered from Mother Teresa’s old clothes.

In other words, it was a piece of clothing with... history. I mean, it had a legacy.

Lucifer opened her eyes and sat up blankly. Chalty began fussing with her hair, carefully combing it, in an extremely cheerful mood. “Little Lucy, your hair is so smooth! Even though you didn’t wash it last night, it’s not greasy at all.”

Lucifer didn’t want to talk to Chalty and gave her an empty, hollow look.

Chalty quickly dressed Lucifer in the nun’s outfit and led her to the kitchen behind the convent. Originally, only Mother Teresa and Chalty lived there, but now, with the addition of a little girl, breakfast was prepared in larger quantities.

Before eating, Chalty and Mother Teresa would pray, while Lucifer remained still. Once the prayers were finished, Chalty would spoon freshly made vegetable soup to Lucifer’s mouth.

When the creamy white soup was brought to Lucifer’s lips, her jaw remained motionless. The thick, fragrant soup, slightly fishy from the addition of dried fish, would sometimes spill over. At that moment, Chalty would hurriedly wipe the corners of Lucifer’s mouth with a handkerchief.Since Lucifer refused to move, Chalty had to gently assist her with her hand to help her eat.

This happened for every meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Seeing this scene repeatedly, Mother Teresa would always sigh sympathetically, deeply heartbroken for this child burdened with such suffering. Since Chalty had taken her to seek help in a nearby village but returned unsuccessful, the child hadn’t spoken a word, as if she had experienced some great shock.

Due to a landslide, the road out was blocked, and they were still trapped. Fortunately, the convent had plenty of food stored, and a vegetable garden out back provided additional supplies. For the short term, food wasn’t an issue.

Neither Mother Teresa nor Chalty used mobile phones, and the convent only had a landline, which still hadn’t been restored, likely due to the landslide damaging the phone lines.

The two nuns, one old and one young, didn’t seem particularly bothered by the situation.

They believed all they had to do was wait patiently. Mother Teresa and Chalty were more concerned with how to get this poor child to speak again.

What they didn’t know was that the great Queen of Hell, Lucifer, who sat on the Throne of Pride, had her own reasons for not speaking—aside from the punishment of being unable to lie, she was also troubled by Mother Teresa.

Last time, when she ventured into the forest and used ancient magic to summon a blood elf, it was purified... purified... gone.

Here’s what happened:

That day, Lucifer was in high spirits, riding an old motorcycle with side wheels back to the convent with Chalty. That night, she immediately snuck into Mother Teresa’s room, intending to use her flesh as food to nourish the blood elf.

Mother Teresa, who had been praying devoutly for decades, remained pure and unmarried. Though she was far from activating it, a seed of holy power had already been born within her. Given her age, it was probably too late to awaken it even with a system, but it couldn’t be denied that she was the best material Lucifer could find.

The key was that Mother Teresa’s devotion was so intense that the blood elf, upon touching her chest, was immediately wiped out by the latent power of that tiny seed of holy strength.

Wiped out.

As a noble Queen of Hell, possessing vast knowledge, Lucifer naturally had other methods to try if one failed.

But she couldn’t defeat Mother Teresa.

Literally. She couldn’t even deal with Chalty—literally couldn’t—because right now she was just a child. She didn’t even have the strength to lift something heavy, and after walking two steps, she’d get tired and hungry.

She couldn’t even lie, and many questions had to be answered directly.

Lucifer felt exhausted. She decided to let herself retreat, behaving like a child with autism to avoid the two nuns’ constant questioning.

How should one interact with an autistic child?

Generally, it takes patience and kindness, gently guiding the child toward happier thoughts, while avoiding painful memories. Since Lucifer had appeared like a child who had been abused, Mother Teresa and Chalty agreed not to ask “Little Lucy” about her past, hoping to gradually open her heart instead.

Although “Little Lucy” hadn’t spoken or reacted these past few days, Mother Teresa had an abundance of patience.

In fact, whenever she had free time, she’d tell “Little Lucy” stories from the Bible, teaching her the principles of being a good person.

Mother Teresa was even quite skilled at playing the piano.

In the chapel, there was an old but well-maintained piano. Every afternoon, Mother Teresa would gather Chalty there to sing hymns.

Chalty had a truly beautiful voice—graceful, even. In the quiet convent, the elderly nun and the young one enjoyed their time together, and time slipped by peacefully.

This place felt like an idyllic world, untouched by the outside... except for the presence of a withdrawn Queen of Hell.

Lucifer, still lifeless, was taken to the chapel, where she sat and listened to the hymns without blinking, staring blankly at the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted slightly, her previously empty eyes regaining a hint of color—because Chalty’s singing had abruptly stopped, and Mother Teresa’s piano playing ceased.

But, in fact, they hadn’t stopped. They continued singing and playing.

Mother Teresa even glanced at Chalty, her face serene and smiling, while Chalty, eyes closed and hands clasped, sang a high note.

Yet, they had paused, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Lucifer suddenly stood up, quickly surveying her surroundings... Finally, she looked up sharply because she heard a faint sound.

It was a sound she instinctively despised — the Gospel from Heaven.

From the ceiling of the hall, feathers fell like drifting cotton. These white feathers were illusory, yet they fluttered down like cherry blossoms.

At that moment, a figure slowly descended from above.

"Lucifer, my brother, it's been a long time."

With a gentle step, Gabriel, dressed in simple clothes and straw sandals, stood with his hands behind his back, silently observing Lucifer.

Sweat slightly trickled down the back of Lucifer's neck… It had been years since she felt this kind of tension.

"Long time no see." Lucifer smiled calmly. "You, Gabriel, the noble angel of the Gospel, aren't you supposed to be spreading the Gospel in Heaven? What brings you down to the human world?"

"To see you, Lucifer, my brother."

Gabriel spoke slowly, "Although I don't know what you've been through, I prefer to believe this is fate's punishment for your rebellion against our Father. In fact, I've been here for two days, observing you the entire time."

Lucifer sneered, "Just like how He only watches from Heaven, your voyeuristic tendencies must be inherited."

Gabriel smiled mildly, unbothered. "Father said I should come to check on you. As for what to do, He didn’t specify. I believe He wants me to decide. Initially, I intended to take you back... but now, I've changed my mind."

Lucifer narrowed her eyes.

Gabriel glanced around, looking at Mother Teresa, then at Chalty, and suddenly waved his hand. "This Mother Teresa will make a fine Worshipper. On the day her life ends, I will personally come to take her away... as a reward for watching over you."

"What are you saying?" Lucifer suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I know you can't use your power right now, your body is too fragile, and it's dangerous," Gabriel said calmly. "I will activate Mother Teresa's holy power seed and grant Sister Chalty the seed of the Gospel. This way, they can avoid many dangers."

Lucifer’s heart sank into an abyss.

Gabriel waved his hand again. Suddenly, holy light created shackles around Lucifer's wrists, and chains of light extended from the shackles, connecting to Mother Teresa and Sister Chalty before vanishing.

"My brother, they will care for you on my behalf," Gabriel said, spreading his wings. "Well then, farewell."

"Wait!! Gabriel!! You can't do this to me!!" Lucifer roared at the figure ascending. "Come down!! Come down!!"

"When the day comes that you are repentant."

The illusory feathers suddenly vanished, and only Gabriel’s voice lingered, fading away. The sound of the piano and the singing resumed.

Lucifer, drained, sat down weakly, her head lowered… She knew she could no longer escape the two nuns, one old and one young… The shackles Gabriel had placed on her bound her to them.

Lucifer suddenly thought of a certain monkey, the one that had been trapped under a mountain for five hundred years.

Years ago, Lucifer had gone to see that monkey, laughing uncontrollably as she watched it drink molten copper and iron.

Truly, the tables turn every thirty years.

"Gabriel! One day, I will rise again! I will use a transformation curse to turn you into a sow and put you in the filthiest pigsty!!!"

"Oh, child, how can you say such things!" Mother Teresa suddenly stopped what she was doing, rushing over to Lucifer’s side, her expression serious. "That is blasphemy… Oh my heavens!"

With that, Mother Teresa clasped her hands together and began reciting a prayer of confession for Lucifer.

Lucifer felt as though the invisible shackles on her hands were burning like fire, tightening painfully, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.

"Mother Teresa! Something’s wrong, little Lucy is foaming at the mouth!!"

...

...

Gan Hong knew that her laughter was a bit impolite, so she quickly pressed her lips together.

She suddenly thought of Song Ying, imagining how Miss Ying would never pass up an opportunity to mock Zhong Luoyue in such a situation.

Zhong Luoyue merely glanced at Gan Hong casually, while Ouyang Jie stepped in to ease the tension. "Master, you’re being mischievous again. This is Miss Zhong, my current boss."

Zhong Luoyue, however, calmly said, "No need to worry. If anything, it’s me who has embarrassed Mr. Tu by showing him the ignorance of the world."

Tu Shenyi waved his hand and looked at Zhong Luoyue again.

She softly said, "We tend to make rash judgments and often overlook the truth. Something simple is often imagined to be complicated. Ultimately, it's because the human heart is too complex. Thank you, Mr. Tu, for teaching me this lesson."

Tu Shenyi nodded slightly, then glanced at Luo Qiu and Gan Hong. "And these two?"

"Master, they came here with Miss Song Ying from the Song family," Ouyang Jie explained quickly. "But there wasn’t much time, so we didn’t have a proper introduction."

Tu Shenyi waved his hand to stop Ouyang Jie and instead looked at Luo Qiu. "How did you find your way here? I spent some effort designing this vineyard. Most people get lost easily."

"I recently visited a relative who has a large collection of books," Luo Qiu smiled. "It turns out they had quite a few on the Book of Changes and the Eight Trigrams. I read some, and surprisingly, they came in handy."

Gan Hong was momentarily stunned… There were indeed many ancient books in Grandpa Song's library, but Young Master Luo had only skimmed them casually. He didn’t seem to have studied them in depth.

Looking back now, Gan Hong realized the complexity of the vineyard was far beyond her understanding.

"You just happened to use them… just happened?" Tu Shenyi nodded thoughtfully, as if contemplating something. "That 'just happened' is not bad. As they say, nothing in this world is truly unrelated. Even the seemingly random events are interconnected. What appears unintentional might be intentional in the grand scheme. But…"

Tu Shenyi paused. "A Jie is my apprentice, so it's natural for him to find me. But what about you? Why are you here?"

Luo Qiu glanced around. "I actually wanted to pick some grapes. I was looking for the best ones, and somehow I ended up here."

"Picking grapes?" Tu Shenyi looked surprised.

"For a gift," Luo Qiu nodded.

Tu Shenyi pondered for a moment, then said, "This vineyard does indeed have the best grapes here. The fact that you found your way here is impressive… But, just because you found it doesn’t mean I’ll let you pick them."

"That's a pity," Luo Qiu nodded. "I was too hasty."

"However… it's not impossible," Tu Shenyi suddenly smiled. "There’s still some time. Play a game of chess with me. If you win, I’ll let you pick from the best vine."

"Chess?" Luo Qiu asked, "Do you mean international chess?"

Tu Shenyi nodded. "Is there a problem?"

Luo Qiu shook his head. "I haven’t learned it yet."

Tu Shenyi was surprised, "Then why were you watching us play earlier?"

Luo Qiu answered matter-of-factly, "It’s basic etiquette not to speak while observing a chess game, right?"

Tu Shenyi was taken aback but nodded, "Fair enough. Then tell me, what games can you play?"

Luo Qiu thought for a moment and replied, "I know how to play Chinese chess, though I haven’t played much. I’ve also dabbled in Go, but I’ve lost more games than I’ve won, especially against the computer. The only game I’m really familiar with is Gomoku."

"Fine, let's play Gomoku," Tu Shenyi said, pulling out the chessboard and pieces he had just packed away. "We’ll use this."