Failed to Transmigrate, I’m Back Again - Chapter 19

Shi Shuwu shifted half her attention from the tablet to Tang Wuyun’s face. She could see Tang Wuyun’s expression of forced defiance, as if she knew she was in the wrong but refused to back down.

Shi Shuwu sneered inwardly. So she does realize she’s being unreasonable.

“Stand back. Don’t get so close,” Shi Shuwu said, no longer willing to spare Tang Wuyun any courtesy.

Tang Wuyun paused, then moved two steps away.

She was already considering how to excuse herself and leave. She needed to complete missions to earn points, and there was no point in sticking around Shi Shuwu.

Seeing Tang Wuyun obediently move away, Shi Shuwu worried she might accuse her of looking down on her again. After a moment’s thought, she explained, “You don’t seem like a good person, so keep your distance.”

Tang Wuyun: “……”

That explanation was worse than saying nothing at all.

Fortunately, she understood Shi Shuwu’s meaning and didn’t stubbornly insist she was being looked down on.

Tang Wuyun retorted, “I think your identity is suspicious too. Don’t think I didn’t see your secret deal with Ji Mingyin.”

Shi Shuwu froze, realizing she had been misunderstood that day. No wonder Tang Wuyun had fled so abruptly.

She was about to explain when Pei Yinxi and Bai Jin approached.

Seeing their interactions finally return to normal, Pei Yinxi smiled warmly and asked casually, “Where are you two headed?”

Tang Wuyun pointed at Shi Shuwu. “Ask her. I’m not with her.”

Shi Shuwu scoffed coldly. “Then why are you following me?”

Tang Wuyun was feeling guilty, and Shi Shuwu showed no inclination to restrain her temper.

Not wanting another argument to erupt, Bai Jin quickly interjected, pointing at the tablet in Shi Shuwu’s arms. “Is this where the clue came from? Where are we going?”

Shi Shuwu’s eyes flickered slightly. She nodded, appearing completely unguarded, and openly showed them the map on the tablet. “Yes, the destination is a bit far—near Sun Moon Lake.”

Ever since encountering the three women, Shi Shuwu had deleted the circled location on the map and changed her destination, choosing a random direction that happened to lead toward Sun Moon Lake.

Hearing that it wasn’t their previous location, Pei Yinxi and Bai Jin temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Wuyun asked, “What’s there?”

Shi Shuwu smirked. “There’s a special item. Once you find it, the tablet will randomly display the coordinates of a messenger.”

She gave the three women a half-true, half-false explanation of the tablet’s function, leaving it up to them to decide whether they dared continue following her.

Shi Shuwu observed the trio’s expressions with keen interest.

Pei Yinxi and Bai Jin immediately felt overwhelmed; this item was ridiculously overpowered.

Tang Wuyun, however, remained relatively calm, simply marveling at Shi Shuwu’s extraordinary ability to find things.

“Where did you get this amazing item?” Tang Wuyun asked.

“A two-person mission,” Shi Shuwu replied. “I used a lodging card to get Ji Mingyin to do it with me, on the condition that she wouldn’t take the mission’s reward.”

Tang Wuyun’s eyes widened in realization. “So that’s what you two were doing back then…”

Shi Shuwu nodded before she could finish. “Yes, exactly when you were eavesdropping in the corner.”

Tang Wuyun awkwardly scratched her nose, realizing she had probably made a terrible impression on Shi Shuwu today.

They had only met offline a few times, usually just for quick meals, so she didn’t really know what Shi Shuwu’s personality was like in person.

So, was this… a disastrous online dating reveal in Shi Shuwu’s eyes?

No, they weren’t even dating.

Tang Wuyun’s thoughts spiraled wildly, barely registering the conversation between Shi Shuwu and Pei Yinxi.

“I’m going to do the mission now. What about you?” Pei Yinxi nudged Tang Wuyun’s shoulder.

Tang Wuyun snapped out of her daze. “Huh? What mission?”

Bai Jin rolled her eyes. “It’s obvious she wants to go with you, Shuwu. You two go ahead. Sister Pei and I will earn some points for accommodation.”

Tang Wuyun glared at Bai Jin, her eyes wide.

You could tell? How could you tell? How come I didn’t even realize I wanted to go with Shi Shuwu?

She kept her thoughts bottled up until the pair had left.

Turning around, she found Shi Shuwu watching her with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Tang Wuyun: “……”

Shi Shuwu suddenly handed Tang Wuyun the tablet. “Take a look. Where were you when you found them? I mean, when you first located them.”

She quickly fabricated an excuse: “Tan Hao mentioned someone was fishing nearby. I just want a rough idea of the location.”

Tang Wuyun, feeling guilty, was unlikely to refuse her request.

As expected, Tang Wuyun carefully examined the tablet, searching for the spot.

“Why do you need to know their location?”

Shi Shuwu casually lied, “If they’re fishing, they won’t move for a while. If the coordinates later show up there, we can confirm their identity.”

Tang Wuyun nodded. “That makes sense.”

She handed the tablet back to Shi Shuwu.

Shi Shuwu glanced at the circled area, her breath catching in her throat.

Just as I suspected.

This was getting dangerous.

Shi Shuwu stared at the tablet for a long moment, motionless.

Tang Wuyun glanced at her several times before finally asking, “What’s wrong?”

Shi Shuwu took a deep breath and suddenly asked, “Can I trust you?”

Tang Wuyun froze, meeting Shi Shuwu’s clear, piercing gaze. She couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind it.

“What?”

Shi Shuwu looked away, her expression conflicted.

Tang Wuyun heard her mutter to herself, “Never mind. Being the bad guy isn’t so bad after all.”

Tang Wuyun took a wary step back. “What are you planning?”

Shi Shuwu sighed softly and cut straight to the point. “The information I gave you earlier was false.”

Tang Wuyun swiftly retreated two or three steps.

What the hell?! Why is Shi Shuwu suddenly telling me this? Is she trying to set me up?

Shi Shuwu ignored Tang Wuyun’s reaction and continued explaining, “The tablet was indeed obtained after a two-person mission, but Ji Mingyin doesn’t know the reward.”

“The reward refreshes the coordinates of the three nearest envoys. One of them is Ji Mingyin, and the other two overlap right here, in the area you circled.”

Tang Wuyun gasped. “Holy…!”

“I originally thought each group would only have one envoy,” Shi Shuwu said. “Once Ji Mingyin’s identity was confirmed, you and Shi Zhimiao would be temporarily trustworthy. But you…”

But Tang Wuyun was right there, and Shi Shuwu couldn’t tell if she had been assimilated.

Hesitantly, Tang Wuyun walked back to Shi Shuwu’s side.

“If you’re not lying, then Sister Pei and Jin Jin are definitely suspicious. They were together when I saw them. If each group only has one envoy, then one of them must have been assimilated by the other.”

Shi Shuwu pondered this, her tone tinged with regret as she looked at Tang Wuyun. “You’re really not one of them?”

She had been considering that if Tang Wuyun were an enemy agent, she might simply defect after revealing this information. Being an envoy seemed rather interesting.

Tang Wuyun shook her head. “I’m really not.”

Shi Shuwu pressed, “You believe me so easily?”

Tang Wuyun opened her mouth to reply, then shook her head in denial. “No, it’s because I noticed something.”

“Sister Pei and Jin Jin showed no caution at all when they saw me, and they acted the same way when they saw you.”

Normally, they should be like the rest of us—constantly worried about being assimilated and maintaining their guard.

Shi Shuwu clicked her tongue. “So that’s how you figured it out?”

Tang Wuyun: “……”

Shi Shuwu showed Tang Wuyun absolutely no mercy, asking questions she already knew the answers to.

Tang Wuyun didn’t really want to blindly trust Shi Shuwu, but after careful consideration, she realized that Pei Yinxi and Bai Jin were indeed acting strangely.

Moreover, she had an inexplicable feeling that Shi Shuwu wasn’t lying to her.

“How did you avoid being assimilated by Ji Mingyin back then?” Tang Wuyun asked curiously.

Shi Shuwu shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she needs to fulfill certain conditions to assimilate people.”

Or perhaps Ji Mingyin simply didn’t find her worth assimilating.

After a long moment of hesitation, Tang Wuyun asked, “Where should we go now?”

She and Shi Shuwu couldn’t afford to separate. If they did, whoever was left alone would be easy prey.

Shi Shuwu pointed to a location on the map. “Let’s go to Sun Moon Lake. There should be a mission for you there.”

The manor had plenty of mission locations.

Tang Wuyun didn’t immediately react. “Me?”

Shi Shuwu nonchalantly hummed in agreement.

Remembering something, she suddenly teased, “If you’re not doing the mission, are you just trying to share a bed with me?”

Tang Wuyun’s lips twitched.

She had almost been lulled into a false sense of security by Shi Shuwu’s relaxed demeanor, forgetting that the other woman could stay at the manor for free without doing any missions.

But Tang Wuyun was no fool. Pretending not to notice the teasing, she feigned surprise and asked, “Really?”

Shi Shuwu: “……”

Now it was Shi Shuwu’s turn to fall silent.