Chapter 4: The Forbidden Sea Turmoil

The villagers around them suddenly erupted into discussion.

“The Xu siblings are honest and upright, they wouldn’t do that.”

“Who knows? If they didn’t go, would that girl Cui bring us all the way here to wait?”

“Going to the Forbidden Sea means having your hands chopped off!”

Those who were close to the Xu family’s second branch couldn’t help but worry for the two children.

Xu Sinan snorted coldly, clearly someone was looking for trouble.

In the original owner’s memories, the relationship with Cui Jinfeng was poor, and it seemed to have been that way since childhood.

Cui Jinfeng was always looking for trouble, and the original owner was constantly bullied.

Xu Shuisheng, angry and unable to take it anymore, went to confront the village head, but was instead kicked out. Because of this, the village head was especially partial toward the elder uncle’s family when it came time to divide the property.

Recently, Cui Jinfeng had become more aggressive, and Xu Sinan strongly suspected that it was her who had pushed the original owner into danger.

Although someone passed by and saved the original owner, they were still seriously ill, and though the original owner woke up, they had changed, in a sense becoming a murderer.

Xu Qianxing was shocked, they had been so careful, how did Cui Jinfeng find out?

He stepped in front of his sister, standing guard. He wouldn’t let that Cui girl accuse her unjustly.

Before he could speak, he was surprised to see his usually timid sister stepping up to stand beside him.

“We didn’t go, we were fishing near the coast,” she said.

Xu Sinan remained calm and composed, speaking slowly.

Cui Jinfeng stared at Xu Sinan, her usual timid expression now gone. Instead, she stood confidently, with a calm, steady presence, appearing even more striking.

She clenched her fists tightly. Yesterday, she had worked so hard to bring trouble to the Xu family’s second branch.

But Brother Haitong heard that Xu Sinan was struggling and was so worried he nearly sent them food.

Her efforts had only made Haitong more concerned.

Cui Jinfeng’s eyes became sharp as she decided that today she must settle things once and for all.

Xu Sinan looked at the silent girl in front of him, wondering just how much hatred she held toward them.

Cui Jinfeng sneered, “Your arguments are useless. Let’s see the bamboo baskets on your boat.”

Xu Qianxing, towering and strong, instinctively retreated to protect the bamboo baskets, shouting, “No!”

That was the hope for his entire family’s survival, the fish he had fought so hard to bring up from the water!

Cui Jinfeng had encountered Li Gouzi by chance and noticed his dodging gaze, growing suspicious.

Through threats and intimidation, she learned that the Xu siblings had borrowed his fishing boat and seemed to be heading east.

She immediately sent her servants to check, discovering that Xu Sinan and the others had gone near the Forbidden Sea, possibly dredging something.

Cui Jinfeng was thrilled and quickly gathered the villagers at the dock to catch them in the act.

Seeing Xu Qianxing’s reaction, her smile deepened. “Not letting us see means you’re hiding something! Weren’t you going fishing? Where are the fish?”

Xu Qianxing bit his lip, his large frame tensed, refusing to back down.

Xu Sinan turned and walked to the boat, picking up the bamboo basket.

“No!” Xu Qianxing grabbed the basket. It was the result of his struggle underwater.

Xu Sinan patted his brother’s hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry.”

Her soft but firm gaze made Xu Qianxing relax, slowly releasing his grip. If his sister said there was a sunken ship underwater, then there must be. He trusted her.

Xu Sinan turned to face the crowd with the bamboo basket, pointing at Cui Jinfeng, “You want to know? Come and see!”

Cui Jinfeng was undaunted, walking up to them and commanding, “Open the basket.”

“Okay.”

Xu Sinan stepped back and opened the basket. Just as everyone stretched their necks to see, she suddenly lifted the basket toward Cui Jinfeng, and a foul-smelling pile of fish and shrimp flew through the air, landing squarely on her.

The air suddenly went silent…

“Pfft!” Li Aunt was the first to burst into laughter.

“Haha!”

The crowd erupted in laughter, wondering what had been in the basket.

Xu Qianxing stood frozen, shocked. Wasn’t there supposed to be jade and gold in the basket?

Xu Sinan turned and smiled gently, explaining that on the way back, she had worried about carrying valuables directly home, so she made a stop near the shore to hide them and replace them with fish and shrimp.

Xu Qianxing had been too focused on being cautious to notice; he had thought his sister was just stopping for convenience.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Xu Sinan watched as Cui Jinfeng trembled, covered in the stench of fish and shrimp.

The young girl, not yet of age, harbored malicious thoughts, and to get a man, she would stop at nothing to destroy someone else.

Although Cui Jinfeng was born in a fishing village, she hated the smell of fish more than anything. The villagers knew this and would usually avoid her after returning from fishing.

Her entire body was shaking with anger as she swiped the fish and shrimp off herself, furious that her most expensive, proudest garment had been ruined.

The sweet pear blossom fragrance she usually wore had been replaced by the pungent smell of fish.

She glared fiercely at Xu Sinan, unable to believe that the usually weak and easily bullied Xu Sinan had dared to resist her.

Cui Jinfeng ordered her servants, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Flip the fishing boat!”

Xu Sinan was confused. The boat belonged to Li Gouzi’s family. What did flipping someone else’s boat have to do with taking out her frustration?

Xu Qianxing suddenly realized what was happening. His expression turned anxious as he rushed to stop them, but it was already too late; the boat had been flipped over.

Cui Jinfeng stepped forward, pointing to the underside of the boat, and loudly said, “Everyone, come and see!”

Villagers gathered in groups to inspect the boat’s underside.

Those who understood the situation looked shocked, then exchanged sympathetic or disappointed glances toward the Xu siblings.

Those who didn’t understand asked in whispers, and once they understood, they too wore similar expressions.

Xu Sinan looked at her brother, who remained silent and wore a face full of despair. “Brother, what’s going on?” she asked, puzzled. What could the villagers possibly be looking at? The boat’s underside was empty.

Xu Qianxing, tall and sturdy, hunched over as if all his strength had drained away. Weakly, he muttered, “I’ll protect you, little sister.”

He regretted ever coming so close to the Forbidden Sea. Now, it seemed impossible to explain. If the village punished them, he was ready to sacrifice his hands.

Xu Sinan furrowed her brows and moved closer to examine. She noticed something odd: there seemed to be dark red seaweed wedged in the boat’s seam.

“This is water ghost grass, only found in the Forbidden Sea,” she said.

Cui Jinfeng laughed smugly. “In the past, boats that sank in the Forbidden Sea had their crew members’ blood turn into water ghost grass. This grass clings to passing boats, dragging them down to the sea as well.”

“Looks like you two were lucky enough to make it back alive.”

Inwardly, she was disappointed that the boat hadn’t sunk—she wished she could have drowned that little wretch.

Xu Sinan felt speechless. What kind of superstitions were these? How could they use an unknown type of seaweed as evidence?

She looked around, noticing that no one was refuting Cui Jinfeng’s claims. It seemed everyone believed her wholeheartedly.

Xu Sinan turned to Aunt Li and asked, “Aunt Li, is this true?”

Aunt Li sighed and nodded. “It’s a shame, such good children,” she murmured.

Thinking of her son’s feelings, she helped explain, “The Xu family’s second branch just split off, and things are really tough for them. These two children only borrowed the boat to help their family by fishing.”

Many of the villagers nodded in agreement. The two children were kind-hearted and pure. They had grown up in the village, and maybe they had just made a momentary mistake.

“That doesn’t mean they should have gone to the Forbidden Sea to fish!” Cui Jinfeng immediately rebutted. She couldn’t stand Aunt Li protecting Xu Sinan.

“Weren’t you two sneaking around to go there several times before? It’s a terrible drought, and we’re out of food. You’ve angered the sea gods!”

Living by the sea, fishermen held deep reverence for the gods, especially in recent years when famine had struck, and everyone was struggling for food.

When they heard that the Xu siblings were involved, their hearts sank. No one else was speaking up to defend them.

Xu Sinan felt even more speechless. Not only had they never gone to the Forbidden Sea, but even if they had, it had nothing to do with the drought.

Cui Jinfeng was clearly stirring up trouble, knowing that the drought was a sensitive topic for the villagers. She was using it to paint the siblings as deeply guilty.

Inside, Cui Jinfeng felt immensely pleased. After all, didn’t the villagers always praise Xu Sinan? Didn’t they say she was beautiful and well-behaved?

Now, though, would they praise her? They probably hated the siblings with all their hearts.

Cui Jinfeng raised her chin smugly and said, “In our village, we have a rule: anyone who goes to the Forbidden Sea must have their hands chopped off as a punishment.”

She circled around Xu Sinan like a victorious rooster.

“I wonder how many times you two have been there; one pair of hands might not be enough.”

Her eyes locked onto Xu Sinan’s delicate features, and she sneered viciously, “In my opinion, you should also have a character carved on your face.”

She imagined the beautiful face now marked with a glaring scar, almost laughing aloud.

Would Haitong still like her if she was disfigured and crippled?

Xu Sinan remembered something her teacher once said: “The emperor’s authority doesn’t extend beyond the county.”

This meant that the emperor’s power only stretched to the county level, and beyond that, there was a sort of administrative vacuum that relied on local officials and gentry to maintain order.

The village head did have the power to punish, and Cui Jinfeng’s hatred for the original owner was deep. The villagers, too, no longer sympathized with the siblings.

The villagers believed in the water ghost grass and were convinced that the sea gods would punish them.

Xu Sinan sighed. She longed for the rule of law in modern society; these people were so superstitious.

Was she really about to become disabled just because she had crossed into this world?