Fate Trading System – Chapter 200

Plan A

Guiding Stars 16

Longing

Now is not the time for war, so the soldiers at the border are resting and recuperating, and incidentally drilling the new recruits.

The training in the new recruit camp is not as arduous and difficult as going to wash one’s face [去洗脸 | qù xǐliǎn | meaning something trivial/easy.], that physical training is simply a piece of cake for Su Xin, because she, after all, is someone with martial arts skills, different from ordinary people.

Because of her relatively young age, she undergoes simpler training, day after day, extremely monotonous, the main purpose being to lay a good foundation.

Everything is like this, one cannot rush to achieve results, one must get the basics right, and the rest will naturally go smoothly.

“Hey, Susu, why did you come to join the army at such a young age? Did your parents send you here? You look like some rich young lady.”

The one speaking was a 14-year-old girl. Today’s training had ended, and a group of them sat around a bonfire. They were all new recruits, conscripted from other places.

Every war is real [实打实 | shídǎshí | genuine/down-to-earth], so there will definitely be bloodshed, there will definitely be sacrifices. However, the strength of the border army cannot be diminished because there is a powerful enemy always eyeing them greedily like a tiger, so there must be reinforcements. These children were brought here to train.

“I came voluntarily. I feel I should train myself.”

Su Xin sat cross-legged on the ground, wearing the uniform military clothing. If Jinxiu were to see her here, he would definitely scream, because this appearance is truly not at all like an imperial princess. Without a trace of decorum or elegance, she sat directly on the dust-filled ground, holding food in her hand.

“No way… and there are actually people who come here to suffer hardships. I was sold by my dad. Our family had too many children, couldn’t afford to raise my younger siblings. It just so happened someone came to conscript soldiers, offered a few liang [两 | liǎng | traditional unit of weight, approx. 50 grams] of silver, so he sold me.”

Xiao Yang [小羊 | Xiǎo Yáng | Xiǎo – Little; Yáng – Sheep] picked at the sand with her hand, looking a bit sad, but quickly recovered her usual lively and cheerful demeanor.

“I also came voluntarily.”

Someone said with a chuckle.

“However, I didn’t come voluntarily to train myself. My home region is suffering from famine, extremely severe. I was originally an orphan, so I ran away. I didn’t know where I should go, no food to eat, no water to drink. The soldier-leaders said, come here, there’s food and drink here, and a place to stay, so I came.”

“Ah Yun, you’re really casual.”

“How is this casual? I’m just easily satisfied, alright? As long as one has food to eat and water to drink in this life, that’s enough. My biggest goal right now is to be able to enter the tenth camp. I’m not even thinking about the first few camps. If I can kill a few more Rong tribesmen, I won’t have lived in vain. It’s like I’ve profited.”

The woman named Ah Yun took a bite of the food in her hand, and someone next to her patted her shoulder.

Some came here excitedly, filled with passion and expectations.

Some came unwillingly, always complaining about the hardships.

Everyone has their own reasons and expectations. For Su Xin, this is only the first step in gaining recognition.

There are thirteen camps in total here. The thirteenth camp is for housing and training new recruits. The first camp is where the general is stationed. They are ranked according to strength, progressing forward. Of course, this doesn’t mean one camp is weaker than the other. Their strengths are balanced, but each has its own specialties.

The thirteenth camp might eventually have no one left, until new recruits arrive.

Su Xin, of course, is not using the name ‘Yue Xingchen’ here, but her original name.

Even though these people might not know the name of the current emperor’s eldest daughter, she also doesn’t want others to know the original host’s name. Avoiding taboo is one aspect, and the other aspect is her own thoughts.

She wants to, after becoming famous, have those who are unaware address her by her original name.

Su Xin.

Su Xin.

“Susu, if you came here to train yourself, then when will you go back? Can you go back?”

These people cannot go back, at least not now. The fixed period of military service is thirty years. Once conscripted, within this period, unless one dies on the battlefield, or earns other merits, or is injured and unable to fight, one cannot leave this place.

“I can go back. After I obtain what I want, I will return.”

“What do you want here? There’s nothing here but sand.”

“I want to enter the first camp.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

Entering the first camp not only requires exceptional physical qualities, or exceptional strategy, but also requires one to distinguish oneself brilliantly in a certain battle, otherwise no one will be convinced.

“How about waiting and seeing?”

Su Xin took a sip of water, the corners of her lips curving into a smile, flames dancing in her eyes.

At this moment, in the sky, the new moon was like a hook [新月如钩 | xīnyuèrúgōu | crescent moon].

“I believe in you. I think you can definitely do it. At that time, don’t forget us sisters. After all, we trained together, right?”

“Ah Yun, your horse’s butt [马屁 | mǎpì | flattery] is impressive. We’re convinced.”

Someone gave a thumbs-up.

“Go, go, go. Do you understand what’s called discerning eyes [眼力见儿 | yǎnlìjiàn’er | ability to read the situation/social cues]? I could tell at a glance that Susu is not an ordinary person. And her usual performance is also very good. After every run, who isn’t panting like a bull? But Susu is very relaxed. She’s even several years younger than us. And look at her overall aura, tsk tsk tsk.”

Ah Yun fiddled with her somewhat messy hair, looking at and gesturing exaggeratedly towards Su Xin.

“Dreaming is certainly a good thing. She has a dream, so we should encourage her. We don’t even dare to have this dream. Go for it!”

Ah Yun encouraged Su Xin. Her eyes looked somewhat desolate.

Su Xin sensed that she probably had a story, but she didn’t want to pry.

She will accomplish what she wants to do, regardless of whether she has the encouragement of others.

Su Xin is a very pragmatic person. She never pursues dreams she deems impossible, because when dreams are shattered, that kind of pain is definitely something others cannot empathize with. She doesn’t like to bear that sense of loss. It’s better to set smaller, more realistic goals each time.

Just the first camp. As long as she’s given time, she can definitely do it.

Su Xin is least afraid of excitement and adventure, bloodshed and gunpowder smoke.

Five years is enough time for a child to grow into a graceful young man.

Su Xin is experiencing a rapid rise, becoming a topic everyone enjoys discussing.

“Do you know that guy? The new recruit from the thirteenth camp? She entered the seventh camp in just one year. Extremely resilient, also extremely difficult to fight. She’s only thirteen years old. Truly a deserving capable person.”

That was the evaluation of others in the first year.

“Hey, do you know that kid from the seventh camp? The super impressive one? Today she single-handedly challenged ten people, fought to a draw. Those ten people were all veteran soldiers who had been on the battlefield, every one a skilled fighter. And those veteran soldiers fell before she did. Are young people these days so formidable? She’s only fourteen years old.”

This was the evaluation of others in the second year.

“Hey, that kid from the seventh camp is causing trouble again. How is she getting more formidable year after year? Isn’t the training load the same? I used to think only things like studying relied on talent. Comparing people can make you die of anger. Now I realize that practicing martial arts is the same. Talented people emerge in every generation [江山代有才人出 | jiāngshān dài yǒu cáirén chū | A slightly altered idiom. The standard version is 江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年 – Each generation has its own talented people, each leading the way for several hundred years].”

This year, she was fifteen.

As the cold gradually covered this land of wind and sand, the Rong tribe launched a war.

Peace was merely superficial. Sun Lang and the others never relaxed their patrols and surveillance of the border, because they didn’t know when the ferocious foreigners would invade.

They considered this place a delicious cake, constantly eyeing it greedily, wanting to take a bite.

Su Xin took up cold weapons [冷兵器 | lěngbīngqì | melee weapons] and went to the battlefield. She didn’t have any objections to the general’s deployment, leading the small detachment under her command to forcefully penetrate the enemy’s center. After disrupting the enemy’s ranks, she quickly retreated.

Su Xin particularly enjoyed stirring up muddy water. She was not very old, her target was small, her body was agile, and coupled with her high martial arts skills and proper training, she could quickly insert herself into the enemy’s center, break their formation, and incidentally take out two crucial individuals. The sword in her hand was so fast that others couldn’t see it clearly.

During this four-month war, without anyone knowing, Su Xin infiltrated the enemy general’s tent, quietly cut off his head, and placed it before Sun Lang.

She was originally more skilled at assassination. After cultivating this world’s martial arts, she could make her movements even more ethereal, could conceal herself better, and her assassinations proceeded even more smoothly.

“Your Highness… you…”

Sun Lang felt extremely happy about her rise, and also very surprised, simultaneously feeling that this kind of thing might be hereditary, otherwise how could she be so formidable?

However, the truth is obvious: this kind of talent is absolutely not hereditary. The original host’s father was not a man of iron and blood [铁血 | tiěxuè | figuratively resolute/unyielding], but rather very weak.

“This war should end here, right? I think I should be able to be rewarded based on merit, correct, General?”

“That’s… natural.”

The name ‘Su Xin’ spread throughout the military camp. At this moment, this seemingly miraculous person was only fifteen years old.

A thousand-li raid into the enemy camp, severing the head, returning in triumph.

Everyone’s evaluation of her changed from ‘capable person’ to ‘madman’.

If she weren’t a madman, how would she dare to do such daring things?

If she weren’t a madman, why would she issue one death-defying challenge after another?

She seemed to be constantly testing her limits. The sound of fists landing on her body was practically teeth-grinding.

She could engage in close combat, experiencing real pain, or move like a phantom, toying with people in the palm of her hand, making it impossible for others to touch her, yet their lives were already under her control.

Su Xin continuously forged her prestige at the border, constantly rising. In the distant imperial palace, there was also someone constantly growing up.

“Four years have already passed. Why haven’t you come back yet?”

Tender fingers caressed the jade beads on her neck. The childish voice was filled with longing.

A ten-year-old child, gazing lonely at the moon in the sky.

“Will you, at this moment, be gazing at the same moon with me?”

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