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    Quick Transmigration: Fate Trading System

    Fate Trading System – Chapter 250

    by Little Panda

    Plan A

    Furnace​1 1

    14:57.

    【You should know, I don’t have this obligation.】

    Please, just this once.

    【Alright, just this once.】

    Time rewound.

    Su Xin​2 opened her eyes on the bed. When she got out of bed, her body suddenly paused.

    Strange, why did she feel like she had done this exact motion before?

    It was probably just an illusion. Su Xin shook her head and walked into the bathroom.

    14:47.

    Qiu Qingqing​3 lay on the bed, looking at the time that had returned to its starting point.

    Everything that had just happened was as if it had never occurred. The entire world had regressed by ten minutes, and only Qiu Qingqing and Fourteen knew what had transpired in those ten minutes.

    【This lowly one believes your actions are incorrect.】

    Fourteen’s voice echoed in Qiu Qingqing’s mind.

    Thank you for your help. You should leave now.

    【…Farewell.】

    Qiu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief.

    She had truly been rash just now and had to cut her losses in time, returning to the starting point.

    Qiu Qingqing was a cautious person. She didn’t like to gamble, only liking a hundred percent certainty of victory. Anything that exceeded her expectations had to be forced back on track.

    She understood Su Xin, and precisely because she understood, she was even more careful.

    Because although Su Xin appeared very direct, with an air of not caring about anything, as if nothing mattered, her personality was actually incredibly fierce, extremely stubborn, prone to getting bogged down in trivialities​4, and even more prone to overthinking.

    In her world, every person was like one radish, one hole​5—they only had one fixed position. Although that position might change, what wouldn’t change was that the position could never occupy another position.

    Simply put, one person could not have more than one intimate relationship with her beyond a certain limit.

    This worldview was truly exasperating. Fortunately, Qiu Qingqing was a very patient person.

    Actually, if Qiu Qingqing didn’t like Su Xin and liked someone else instead, things wouldn’t be so troublesome. Perhaps they would have already had a happy ending and been together blissfully.

    But that was impossible.

    Qiu Qingqing thought that she might be stuck on this heartless woman for her entire life. Su Xin could repay her with the same kindness, but it wasn’t the kind of affection she desired.

    Qiu Qingqing walked out of the room and saw Su Xin squinting at her, revealing a big smile.

    “Qingqing, you’re awake.”

    “En.”

    What could she do? The moment she saw her, she lost all control.

    During the repetitive month, Su Xin was someone who could endure loneliness and didn’t find it dull or tasteless, continuing to train that group of children.

    She hoped that each of the children she had trained would be special, just like how her master had taught them.

    From the first day they stepped in here, some things could never be washed away from their lives. Once their hands were stained with blood, their souls could never be clean again.

    Su Xin sat in a cool, shady spot in the room, legs crossed, an iced drink by her hand. The students were in the distance, undergoing repetitive physical training.

    Outside, the sun was bright, the sea was azure, and the sky was blue.

    Qiu Qingqing stood under the sunlight, her profile looking very beautiful.

    Su Xin bit her straw, her thoughts straying a little.

    Over the years, her friends and companions had, one after another, found partners. After risking their lives enough for the organization, some found people outside their circle, liking that kind of sunshine and untainted purity that could let them lay down the darkness and pressure in their hearts, living happily ever after.

    Su Xin didn’t yearn for the light, because her heart wasn’t burdened.

    She didn’t think there was anything wrong with herself, nor did she feel that having taken lives was something that should cause much psychological pressure. She had started training since she was young and merely saw it as a job.

    Darkness, she had seen a lot of it. She detested it but wouldn’t chase after the light.

    She hated the completely ignorant, the purely good and innocent; she wouldn’t even touch them.

    Other companions had found partners internally, either colleagues or from the same organization, because they spent their days and nights together, had tacit understanding, and feelings developed over time​6. Moreover, they didn’t need to hide themselves, as they were very familiar with each other.

    Some others didn’t find partners, continuing to indulge in hunting, needing only guns and fine wine, not love or companionship.

    Su Xin didn’t know which kind she yearned for.

    Did she have a goal? No.

    A one-way street, just keep walking down it. Whatever comes next, let it be.

    She didn’t need to toil for a living, nor did she have any particular aspirations or desires, but she was definitely not wasting her time.

    Su Xin cherished her life very much. Precisely because she knew how hard it was to survive, she had to cherish it even more.

    Don’t dwell on the past, don’t ponder the future, take it one step at a time. Who knows what tomorrow will be like?

    “Qingqing, why does this dish taste weird today? Is it a bit too salty?”

    Su Xin pointed to a plate of Mapo Tofu​7. Qiu Qingqing had really messed up this time; it was truly salty.

    Mapo Tofu

    “Maybe I wasn’t paying attention and added a bit too much. Don’t eat this plate, just have some of the other dishes.”

    Qiu Qingqing tasted her own tofu and said so.

    “This is a truly rare mistake.”

    Su Xin picked at the other dishes, wondering what Qingqing was thinking about while cooking to actually have a moment of distraction.

    Qiu Qingqing had always been a very considerate person, or rather, she had always been someone who thought a lot for Su Xin.

    Actually, when Su Xin rejected her, dark thoughts had crossed her mind, but she had forcibly suppressed them. After the time rewind, those feelings had also transformed into something else.

    What stood between her and Su Xin wasn’t gender, but familiarity.

    It was precisely because they were familiar that there was an obstacle.

    But without this familiarity, she wouldn’t be able to get close.

    Qiu Qingqing summarized her experiences in past worlds. Su Xin hadn’t treated those worlds as real, so she cared even less, lacking much attachment or sense of responsibility.

    Unless there was someone who could make her stay, be it for love or friendship.

    Su Xin was very passive in accepting affection. Although she wasn’t afraid to take the initiative to express her feelings, there was nothing that could make her feel anything, not to mention her mind was still full of missions.

    Qiu Qingqing sighed. Let it grind on; after all, there was still a very, very long time between them.

    A month passed.

    【Host, a request from a cultivation plane​8 has been received. Accept?】

    Accept.

    It was a young girl who looked very beautiful, clearly someone who had been doted on and pampered while growing up. She should have been high-spirited, but now her brow was filled only with resentment and despair.

    Most of the clients Su Xin met were like this.

    Whatever could make them willing to offer their souls must be something that had plunged them into desperate straits, mired in a swamp. Because they couldn’t escape, they sought external help.

    “My name is Wei Shuangling​9.”

    “I want revenge, to kill the man who ruined me. I also want to regain my cultivation base​10 and become a top figure in the cultivation world, to make my parents regret it.”

    The young girl’s eyes were listless, yet her words were like cries of blood​11.

    “There are many things I am ashamed to speak of. After you use my body, you will know.”

    Wei Shuangling never knew that such a secret technique, one that could swap souls, actually existed in this world.

    “You shouldn’t be seen through, right? The higher a person’s cultivation, the more formidable they are, able to detect if there’s a soul separation ailment​12, or if one has been possessed​13.”

    “I won’t.”

    Lord Fourteen, I won’t be discovered, right?

    【Absolutely not. The soul will perfectly merge with the body, without revealing any discrepancies.】

    “I’m counting on you.”

    Wei Shuangling nodded.

    Her consciousness kept sinking, sinking, as if submerged in the sea.

    Su Xin opened her eyes and found that it was very difficult for this body to even make a simple gesture like lifting a hand.

    This was a place called the Lingwu Continent​14.

    People were divided into two types: ordinary people and cultivation practitioners​15.

    Cultivators were ranked by level: Qi Refining stage​16 → Foundation Establishment stage​17 → Golden Core stage​18 → Nascent Soul stage​19 → Divine Transformation stage​20 → Void Refining stage​21 → Body Integration stage​22 → Great Accomplishment stage​23.

    The Great Accomplishment stage was the ultimate culmination for all cultivators. After breaking through this Great Accomplishment stage, one could ascend and attain the Dao​24, joining the ranks of immortals.

    Wei Shuangling was the daughter of an Elder​25 from the Wei cultivation family. She was currently twenty-three years old, at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, not exactly a cultivation genius, but still very outstanding.

    Due to her beautiful appearance and figure, she was known as one of the Twin Beauties of the cultivation world.

    According to her original path, she should have had smooth sailing all the way, but a mishap occurred this year.

    There were black market merchants in the cultivation world. These merchants were elusive, selling all sorts of priceless medicinal herbs and scrolls. As long as you wanted something and could afford what they desired, they would give you many things.

    A black market merchant took a fancy to Wei Shuangling and came to her father, Elder Wei, to exchange a medicinal pill for her. That pill could allow someone to directly advance one level, and Elder Wei had been stuck at the mid-Golden Core stage for a long time.

    Although it was said that cultivation practitioners found it difficult to have offspring because they were acting against the heavens, it was still possible to bear children. Elder Wei had more than just Wei Shuangling as a daughter; he also had a son.

    Although Elder Wei doted on his daughter, he was not a very emotional person. If he could use his daughter to advance his cultivation by one level, Elder Wei was naturally willing.

    That way, he could enter the late-Golden Core stage, and Nascent Soul wouldn’t be far off. What a tempting offer.

    Wei Shuangling was sold just like that. Amidst torture and pain, her entire cultivation base was crippled, and all her meridians​26 were destroyed.

    What made her despair even more was that not only was her cultivation base abolished and her foundation ruined, making it impossible for her to ever cultivate again, but even her constitution had been altered.

    She had been refined into a furnace.

    This was something the proud Wei Shuangling could not accept.

    Wei Shuangling actually had a special constitution, but because her cultivation aptitude was outstanding and not mediocre, far better than a furnace by a hundredfold, no one had suspected it. However, the black market merchant had discovered it.

    Wei Shuangling’s transformation was rather particular. At the beginning, middle, and end of each month, she had to be used for caibu​27; otherwise, the yin-cold qi​28 in her body would cause a backlash, making her already fragile meridians even more painful.

    Wei Shuangling couldn’t bear it and groveled before the merchant. After regaining clarity, she hated herself immensely, hated her father even more, her mother who didn’t plead for her, and hated this merchant.

    She had once lived so freely, able to cultivate, able to pursue the person she liked, but now she had become like this.

    At this moment, Su Xin had only one thought in her mind: This is so kengdie​29!

    TOC

    Footnotes

    1. 炉鼎 | lúdǐng | Lit. “furnace cauldron/tripod.” In cultivation contexts, refers to a person (often female) whose vital essence or cultivation can be harvested by another, usually to the detriment or destruction of the furnace. Often implies sexual exploitation for cultivation purposes.
    2. 苏辛 | Sū Xīn | Surname Su; Xin (辛) means pungent, bitter, or laborious.
    3. 裘轻轻 | Qiú Qīngqīng | Surname Qiu; Qingqing (轻轻) means light, gentle, or soft.
    4. 钻牛角尖 | zuānniújiǎojiān | Lit. “to bore into a bull’s horn”; Fig. to get bogged down in trivial or irrelevant details, to split hairs, to be overly obsessive about minor points.
    5. 一个萝卜一个坑 | yīgè luóbo yīgè kēng | Lit. “one radish, one hole”; Fig. each person has their own specific place or role; to each his own; everything in its proper place. It implies a fixed, singular slot for each relationship or person.
    6. 日久生情 | rìjiǔshēngqíng | Lit. “love grows over a long period of time”; Fig. familiarity breeds fondness; feelings develop over time through prolonged contact.
    7. 麻婆豆腐 | mápó dòufu | Mapo Tofu. A popular Sichuan dish of tofu set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically with minced meat.
    8. 修真位面 | xiūzhēn wèimiàn | Xiuzhen (修真 | xiūzhēn | Lit. “cultivating truth/reality.” Refers to the Taoist practice of cultivation to achieve immortality or supernatural powers.) plane/world. Weimian (位面 | wèimiàn) refers to a plane of existence or a dimension in fantasy/sci-fi settings.
    9. 卫双灵 | Wèi Shuānglíng | Surname Wei; Shuang (双) means double/pair; Ling (灵) means spirit/soul/clever.
    10. 修为 | xiūwéi | Cultivation base/level/attainment. Refers to the level of power and spiritual development a cultivator has achieved.
    11. 声声泣血 | shēngshēng qìxuè | Lit. “every sound a sob of blood”; Fig. to speak with extreme grief and anguish, as if crying tears of blood.
    12. 离魂之症 | líhún zhī zhèng | Lit. “sickness of a separated soul.” A condition where the soul is detached or separated from the body, or a sign of such.
    13. 夺舍 | duóshè | Lit. “to seize a residence/body.” A cultivation term for when a soul forcibly takes over another person’s body, often to gain a new life or a better cultivation vessel.
    14. 灵武大陆 | Língwǔ Dàlù | Ling (灵) means spirit/spiritual; Wu (武) means martial/military; Dalu (大陆) means continent.
    15. 修真者 | xiūzhēnzhě | Cultivators of xiuzhen; individuals who practice techniques to attain spiritual powers, longevity, or immortality.
    16. 炼气期 | Liànqì qī | Qi Refining stage. The initial stage of cultivation, focused on gathering and refining ambient spiritual energy (qi) into one’s body.
    17. 筑基期 | Zhùjī qī | Foundation Establishment stage. The stage after Qi Refining, where a stable foundation for further cultivation is built.
    18. 金丹期 | Jīndān qī | Golden Core stage. A significant stage where refined qi condenses into a “golden core” within the cultivator’s dantian.
    19. 元婴期 | Yuányīng qī | Nascent Soul stage. The stage where the Golden Core evolves into a miniature infant-like form, the Nascent Soul, representing a higher level of spiritual existence.
    20. 化神期 | Huàshén qī | Spirit Transformation stage. A stage where the Nascent Soul undergoes further transformation, gaining deeper understanding of spiritual laws.
    21. 炼虚期 | Liànxū qī | Void Refining stage. Cultivators at this stage refine their spirit to comprehend and merge with the void or emptiness.
    22. 合体期 | Hétǐ qī | Body Integration stage. A stage involving the fusion of the spirit/Nascent Soul with the physical body to an even greater degree, or integration with worldly laws.
    23. 大乘期 | Dàchéng qī | Great Accomplishment/Mahayana stage. The peak stage of mortal cultivation, just before ascension.
    24. 飞升得道 | fēishēng dédào | Lit. “to ascend and attain the Dao/Way.” Refers to the act of a cultivator successfully transcending the mortal realm to become an immortal or deity.
    25. 长老 | zhǎnglǎo | Elder. A senior member of a family, sect, or clan, often holding a position of authority and respect.
    26. 筋脉 | jīnmài | Meridians/channels. Pathways in the body through which qi (vital energy) is believed to flow in traditional Chinese medicine and cultivation.
    27. 采补 | cǎibǔ | Lit. “to pluck and supplement/nourish.” In cultivation, often refers to a dual cultivation practice where one partner (often male) absorbs the vital essence (yin or yang) from another (often female, the furnace) to enhance their own cultivation. It can be consensual but is often exploitative or forceful.
    28. 阴寒之气 | yīnhán zhī qì | Yin-cold qi/energy. A type of qi characterized by its cold, yin (feminine, dark, passive) nature. An excess or imbalance of this qi can be harmful.
    29. 坑爹 | kēngdiē | Lit. “to cheat/scam [one’s] father.” Internet slang expressing frustration, annoyance, or the feeling of being ripped off, tricked, or let down; roughly equivalent to “What the heck?!”, “This sucks!”, or “Are you kidding me?!”.

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