Fate Trading System – Chapter 238
by Little PandaPlan A
Mist Map 11
Teng Li
Su Xin’s heart skipped a beat the moment she saw that figure.
Oh no, this is bad.
Making trouble.
Su Xin didn’t keep swimming forward; instead, she turned and swam back the way she came.
Liao Qingjie reacted fastest, changing direction with a kick of her feet.
It was a middle-aged man holding a stick. It looked like there was no one else behind him.
Su Xin narrowed her eyes, exchanged a look with Liao Qingjie, and they both dived underwater.
Xiao Xiaoruo dived down, looking confused, while Su Xin and Liao Qingjie split off to either side with extreme speed, leaving Xiao Xiaoruo swimming in the middle.
Su Xin and Liao Qingjie swam to the bank, touching the cold stone. Looking up at the surface, they saw nothing.
Su Xin gave a hand signal, and the two of them broke through the surface together, stepping onto the bank.
“Guests from afar, don’t be nervous. I’ve come to welcome you.”
The middle-aged man’s tone was a bit strange, with a hint of hoarseness.
Su Xin forcefully retracted the leg she’d been about to use to kick, and Liao Qingjie also pulled back her hand.
So damn awkward.
Xiao Xiaoruo slowly climbed ashore. The three of them shook off the water.
Liao Qingjie wasn’t worried about her gun getting wet and becoming unusable. Her captain had prepared two for her; one was specifically for frogmen, just in case of unexpected situations. Liao Qingjie had put both in her pocket; she’d have to wipe the other one dry later.
“Who are you?”
“Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is why you’ve come here. Follow me; there are some things you’ll definitely be interested in.”
The middle-aged man revealed a smile and started walking ahead.
So weird.
Su Xin hadn’t taken two steps before she felt the air move. She instinctively stepped back, blocking a forcefully swung wooden stick with her hand.
The bones in her hand felt like they were about to break from the pain. Su Xin flung the sleeping bag she was holding outwards.
But the man nimbly dodged Su Xin’s attack, swinging the stick behind him instead. Liao Qingjie, unable to land her blow, looked furious.
Su Xin clutched her hand, intending to lunge forward, but a strong force from the side pushed her directly into the water. Her mind registered the danger, but her body hadn’t had time to react accordingly.
Su Xin grabbed onto the bank with both hands, but a cloud of smoke sprayed into her face, stinging her eyes painfully.
Su Xin squeezed her eyes shut, her face stinging all over. Tears streamed uncontrollably.
Damn it, it’s pepper spray.
Contact with eyes immediately causes temporary blindness for 50 minutes, leading to incessant tearing, sneezing, and coughing. Inhaling the pepper liquid immediately causes persistent coughing and difficulty breathing for 5-25 minutes.
Su Xin felt like her throat was on fire, and her breathing became labored.
Xiao! Xiao! Ruo!
Su Xin tried to haul herself onto the bank by feel, but was forcefully pushed down again.
Water splashed violently on the surface. Su Xin couldn’t hold her breath, flailing her arms, struggling for a chance to survive.
Liao Qingjie had already beaten the middle-aged man until he was half-kneeling on the ground. She wanted to save Su Xin, but it was already too late.
Liao Qingjie knew Xiao Xiaoruo was suspicious, but she hadn’t expected her to make a vicious move1 at a time like this.
Liao Qingjie jumped into the water, but in that instant, she raised the gun in her hand.
The sound of a gunshot echoed in the space. Xiao Xiaoruo clutched her shot calf, her expression dark2.
Xiao Xiaoruo nudged the middle-aged man.
Teng Li grimaced in pain4 as he stood up and pulled Xiao Xiaoruo up from the ground.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you the plan changed. You acted too fast.”
Xiao Xiaoruo scolded, while Teng Li kept silent, his face dark5.
“If Bai Yan6 hadn’t distracted that woman just now, she might have crippled you. Let’s go, quickly.”
“What about those two…”
“She’s police, she has a gun! Are you trying to die? Carry me. Let’s go, hurry.”
Xiao Xiaoruo looked at her bleeding right calf, frowning tightly.
Xiao Xiaoruo looked completely different now. Her previously pale and timid face had become cold and indifferent, as if she were a different person.
“You sure change faces fast.”
Teng Li curled his lip, picked Xiao Xiaoruo up, and Xiao Xiaoruo held onto her sleeping bag. The two disappeared at the cave entrance.
Su Xin felt her body sinking, unable to open her eyes, her breathing growing increasingly difficult.
Is this where I bite the dust today?
Su Xin refused to believe it.
Liao Qingjie saw Su Xin and quickly swam towards her. Su Xin’s strength was almost gone.
Su Xin struggled to stay afloat, coughing constantly, a dull ache tightening her chest.
The killer part was, because the original owner’s body hadn’t exercised in so long, let alone been in water, her leg cramped up.
Su Xin lost her balance but didn’t keep flailing wildly; she could already feel Liao Qingjie swimming towards her.
Sinking, sinking.
Liao Qingjie felt as if an invisible hand had gripped her heart tightly, filling her with terror and pain.
Liao Qingjie embraced Su Xin in the water. By this time, Su Xin had already choked on several mouthfuls of water.
Liao Qingjie held onto her and swam to the bank, setting her down carefully.
Su Xin spat out some water. She opened her eyes but couldn’t see her surroundings clearly; everything was blurry, and her consciousness was hazy.
Liao Qingjie patted her back. Su Xin coughed up more water, her airways burning painfully.
“Uncomfortable…”
Su Xin opened her mouth, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. What happened to you?”
“Got hit with pepper spray. I can’t see clearly right now. Help me over to the edge, I need to wash my eyes.”
Su Xin rinsed her eyes for a long time before her condition improved slightly.
Liao Qingjie gently patted Su Xin’s back, holding her in her arms.
Both of their clothes were soaking wet, clinging uncomfortably to their bodies. A gust of wind made them feel chilly.
Liao Qingjie was a bit worried about Su Xin’s constitution; wearing wet clothes could easily lead to catching a cold or even a fever.
“Did you pack clothes in there?”
“Packed some.”
“I’ll help you change.”
Liao Qingjie changed her own clothes first, then took clothes out of Su Xin’s sleeping bag.
“Lift your arms.”
Liao Qingjie first removed Su Xin’s wet top, revealing her slender body.
Liao Qingjie subconsciously lowered her head slightly, finding the scene before her a bit dazzling.
Su Xin cooperated and quickly changed her clothes. Her vision was still not very clear.
“It’ll probably take a while longer. I’m not in great shape right now.”
“I shot Xiao Xiaoruo in the calf.”
Liao Qingjie found a clean spot and sat down, very naturally pulling Su Xin into her arms again.
Su Xin struggled slightly, but seeing Liao Qingjie’s insistence, she relaxed her body.
This was strange; Su Xin actually felt a strong sense of security.
If Su Xin had her memories, she would definitely notice the similarities and connections between her lovers in every world, but she didn’t.
Every instance of memory blurring was like a system format.
She only remembered that someone had once been intimate with her, but she didn’t remember what had happened, nor any of the details; she just felt like something like that might have occurred.
So, again and again, repeat and repeat.
On this path of repetition and formatting, she didn’t know there was someone who loved her when she lost her memories, and deeply loved her when carrying the weight of all memories.
But her body’s reactions were more direct.
Unconscious ease, baseless certainty.
“She really is shady7. I wasn’t cautious enough; I didn’t expect she’d dare to make a move right here. It’s not that she wanted to kill me, or maybe it’s that she couldn’t kill me.”
Xiao Xiaoruo is connected to the people in this underground palace, so what about the murderer?
“That man is Teng Li. He’s not the murderer. His skills8 aren’t up to par, and his aura doesn’t fit.”
He feels like just a man who’s done manual labor and been involved in some dirty dealings.
“I suspect Xiao Xiaoruo took the Mist Map.”
Su Xin considered a scenario: if Xiao Xiaoruo wasn’t connected to the murderer—though this possibility wasn’t high—they could be two separate groups, or perhaps the same group.
If they are connected, then that day in the restoration room, someone damaged the surveillance, and Xiao Xiaoruo went into the monitoring room to delete some records, leaving afterwards with the Mist Map.
The original owner was preparing to come to work the next day, but saw the human head in the trash can, couldn’t go to work immediately, and only later discovered the theft.
But this doesn’t add up either. Why would Xiao Xiaoruo do something like this?
Xiao Xiaoruo definitely couldn’t be the murderer; Su Xin didn’t sense that scent of having been stained with blood on her.
The people from six years ago, the murderer, Xiao Xiaoruo, the Mist Map, the underground palace, the tribe, the murals—there must be some kind of connection between them all.
“Good thing she only used pepper spray.”
If it had been something else, the consequences could have been unthinkable—like a knife, or some prohibited items.
Liao Qingjie found it somewhat hard to understand why she had been so nervous. This kind of emotion had never appeared in her over the past 20-plus years.
When she saw Su Xin sinking to the bottom of the water, in that instant, she truly felt like her heart was going to explode.
It was like fear and panic, like she was about to lose something incredibly important. If she really missed it, if she really lost it, she would regret it forever, regret it for the rest of her life.
It was a powerful, instinctual awareness emanating from her thoughts and emotions.
Truly, incredible.
“I’ll rest a bit longer, then we can move forward.”
If we want to figure out the connection between them, don’t we just have to keep moving forward, keep searching forward?
The truth will never stay hidden.
“Okay. Want some water? Or something to eat?”
Liao Qingjie stroked Su Xin’s damp, soft hair, her fingertips landing on her cool forehead.
“You probably won’t get sick, right? Should you take some medicine?”
“I’m not that fragile. It was just a bit sudden. My calf cramped, it hurts a little. Can you massage it for me?”
“Okay.”
Liao Qingjie agreed, an unconscious smile touching her lips.
Strangely, she felt the atmosphere now was very good, her heart very calm.
Clearly, they were still in an unfamiliar place, with potentially unknown dangers lurking ahead.
Su Xin shifted her position so Liao Qingjie could massage her leg.
Liao Qingjie felt calm inside, inexplicably feeling that this was truly good.
Someone like a rainbow, only known when encountered.9
Footnotes
- 下黑手 | xià hēishǒu | Lit. “use a black hand”; to make a stealthy, vicious, or underhanded move against someone.
- 阴翳 | yīnyì | Lit. “shady/overcast”; describes a gloomy, dark, or sinister expression.
- 滕利 | Téng Lì
- 龇牙咧嘴 | zī yá liě zuǐ | Lit. “baring teeth and grinning”; describes grimacing, often from pain or effort.
- 黑着脸 | hēi zhe liǎn | Lit. “blackened face”; signifies anger, displeasure, or sullenness.
- 白嫣 | Bái Yān
- 有鬼 | yǒu guǐ | Lit. “has a ghost”; colloquial expression meaning something is fishy, suspicious, or someone has ulterior motives.
- 伸手 | shēnshǒu | Lit. “stretch out hand”; can refer to asking for things, but in martial or conflict contexts, it refers to one’s skill or ability in combat.
- 斯人若彩虹，遇上方知有 | sī rén ruò cǎihóng, yù shàng fāng zhī yǒu | A well-known modern Chinese phrase, often translated as “You don’t know someone like this exists until you meet them,” comparing a special person to a rainbow. Popularized by Han Han’s translation of a line from the movie Flipped (“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss…. But every once in a while you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare”).
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