Chapter 61: Mhm, it was me

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Two Continuation: Grandfather Paradox

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The invisible air wall transformed into thick frosted glass, pressing in from all sides. It was as if the two had sunk underwater; all the clamor from beyond the watery curtain became indistinct and muddled.

Suddenly, the TV plug was pulled out, both picture and sound vanishing together. The mist grew thicker, and the two returned to the ethereal, intangible space. From encountering danger to fleeing, and then to stopping Zhen Li from leaving, Xu Pei, already weak, was severely physically depleted. He barely managed to stand up by leaning on his knees, brushed off nonexistent dust from his trousers, and asked He Yixun, “Are you okay?”

His rain-dampened bangs clung limply to his forehead, obscuring the sharpness between his brows and adding a touch of weariness. He Yixun hung his head, his chest sunken, shoulders slumped (powerlessly. He was enveloped in an aura of desolate loneliness. 

His eyes vacant, he moved his lips slightly, forcing words from his throat, “I’m fine.”

Xu Pei didn’t believe him. “Really fine?”

The next second, He Yixun, without warning, pulled Xu Pei into an embrace. He arched his back, his chin pressing tightly against the back of Xu Pei’s neck, his voice hoarse as he said, “No, I’m not fine.”

Never having imagined He Yixun would show his vulnerable side, the onslaught of helplessness caught Xu Pei off guard. His fingers twitched. He raised his arms to embrace He Yixun’s broad back and patted it gently. “I’m here.” 

“She is even more despicable than I imagined.”

The voice was soft, but the tone was heavy.

The weight of his body was equally heavy.

Xu Pei’s body swayed slightly. He supported He Yixun, who seemed even more fragile than himself, and comforted him, “She is her, you are you. You don’t have to be responsible for her actions.” 

“Mm.” He Yixun realized Xu Pei was still very weak and took the initiative to pull back. He reined in his overflowing emotions and adjusted his tone. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Xu Pei mused. “It’s just… the truth is a bit hard to accept.”

“But aside from Lin Mei and Shao Hui, who has a terminal illness, Night Charms can be considered to have avenged Si Lei.”

—20 years later, Luo En, Qian Kuang, and Wei Tai all died at Night Charm’s hands. 

“But I let Zhen Li go,” said He Yixun.

The thick fog gradually dissipated. The familiar park path appeared around them. The invisible air barrier vanished. The howling wind scraped past their ears. The real world appeared before their eyes. They had returned to the place they left: Binshi’s Central Square.

When they left, it was storming with thunder and rain. Returning, it was still flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder, though at this moment it was only thundering, not yet raining.

Xu Pei assumed by default that time had reversed again and was about to tell He Yixun to hurry home to avoid the rain. However, after He Yixun took out his local phone, turned it on, and looked at the time on the screen, he said uncertainly, “When we left, it was Friday, right?” 

“Yeah, the weather forecast said there would be a thunderstorm at 9 PM on Saturday, but it rained on Friday instead.” Drenching the two who were out for a night run.

“It’s Saturday now.” He Yixun held the phone up in front of Xu Pei. “The time you agreed on with Zhen Li is almost up.”

Xu Pei was stunned. Before he could even process this information, He Yixun’s phone screen switched to an incoming call display—it was Zhen Li.

The ringtone he had heard countless times felt nerve-wracking for the first time. Xu Pei tensed up. “What does he want with you?” 

He Yixun pressed the answer button, turned on the speakerphone, and said in his usual tone, “Hello, Dr. Zhen.”

“Officer He, why has Professor Xu’s phone been unreachable?” Zhen Li’s voice came from the receiver, sounding much older than in the other space, yet utterly real. “It thundered last night. I even suggested moving the plan up, but I couldn’t reach you. I’m at Central Square now. Does Professor Xu still want to travel back?”

“Yes.” He Yixun and Xu Pei exchanged glances. “We’re here too.”

Hanging up the phone, Xu Pei inhaled sharply. “So time reversal isn’t fixed, it’s random.” 

Actually, verifying this was simple. Asking about Xu Pei’s first travel experience could reveal the pattern. But now was clearly not the right time. He Yixun said, “Let’s go arrest him first.”

Saturday’s weather forecast hadn’t changed despite Friday’s rain. It still predicted a thunderstorm at 9 PM.

The usually bustling square was empty, only wind swirling fallen leaves. When Xu Pei and He Yixun arrived at the agreed-upon spot, Zhen Li was already waiting there.

“Professor Xu! Officer He!” From a distance, Zhen Li waved. He was wearing a dark-colored sweater paired with a mid-length black trench coat. The checkered scarf around his neck was quite elegant, and the lace-up leather shoes on his feet exuded a sense of refinement. 

These clothes weren’t styles from 20 years ago. Clearly, after being released from prison, he had acquired a new wardrobe.

Seeing him in high spirits, full of enthusiasm for his new life, only made Xu Pei feel heavy-hearted.

“Dr. Zhen.” The two walked up, and He Yixun greeted him.

After witnessing the crime scene, Xu Pei simply couldn’t pretend nothing had happened and engage in normal conversation with Zhen Li. Coupled with his physical discomfort, he stood by He Yixun’s side without making a sound. 

And He Yixun had just experienced an emotional breakdown. Although his professional demeanor had helped him pull himself together, his condition wasn’t much better either.

Zhen Li’s enthusiastic expression showed a trace of surprise upon seeing the two men’s disheveled state. “You two… were you caught in the rain somewhere?”

The distance from the hospital side entrance to the parking lot was only a few dozen meters, but the pouring rain had still left clear traces on them.

“Yes,” He Yixun said. “We just got back from somewhere else.” 

Zhen Li seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere. Being an expert in cosmology after all, he immediately realized why he couldn’t reach them since last night. “You traveled away last night?”

“It was an accident,” said He Yixun. “But on the way back, we saw some things from the past.”

To make an arrest, there was no need for small talk.

He Yixun’s expression was relatively normal, while Xu Pei stood to the side with a gloomy look on his face, clearly showing hostility. Zhen Li was a smart man. He warily took a small step back. “What did you see?” 

Xu Pei finally couldn’t hold back. “What happened at your house 20years ago.”

Zhen Li’s eyes widened, his body leaning back slightly as if he couldn’t believe such a thing. But he quickly calmed down, adjusted his glasses, and said, “You might have gone to a parallel universe. The person you saw isn’t necessarily the me from here.”

“It was you,” said Xu Pei. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t open the door? It’s because Officer He and I blocked your door from a spacetime dimension you couldn’t see.”

“…What?” For someone researching cosmology, Zhen Li could understand what Xu Pei meant without further explanation. “Are you saying the grandfather paradox truly exists?” 

The grandfather paradox, simply explained, is this: suppose you go back in time to prevent your parents from marrying, then would you still exist?

An unverifiable contradictory theory.

But now it had been verified.

Zhen Li’s face showed no panic at being caught; instead, it carried a sense of excitement. “Fascinating.” 

He Yixun had no interest in discussing cosmic issues with Zhen Li. He stepped forward, preparing to arrest him. “Letting you out was a wrong decision.”

“Wait,” Zhen Li took a large step back. “Aren’t you curious about why you can travel through time?”

Xu Pei frowned. “You know?”

“Of course. You should thank me.” 

A bolt of lightning split the sky above the square. The strong wind tore at the greenery, branches and leaves whipped about wildly, but it didn’t affect Zhen Li’s desire to express himself in the slightest.

He was like a successful scholar standing on a stage under the spotlight of thousands, presenting his findings.

“I assume you know my wife Si Lei’s research direction was parallel universes. But you probably don’t know that she opened a spacetime passage once 20 years ago. The channel was immature at the time, lasting less than an hour. She didn’t find a method for time travel, nor did she make any special discoveries.

“Later, I picked up her research direction again and recently reopened the spacetime channel. So, thunderstorms, meteorites… They are all secondary factors. The reason you, Professor Xu, could travel here during the explosion was purely because I opened a door for you. 

“Shouldn’t you thank me?” Zhen Li said smugly. “Otherwise, you would have been burned to death.”

The rain that had been brewing for a long time finally started falling. Raindrops hit the cement ground, leaving dark marks the size of copper coins. In the blink of an eye, the rain curtain connected into sheets, pattering noisily as it poured down.

Xu Pei could barely keep his eyes open, only extracting the key point from Zhen Li’s words. “Are you saying you’re the one behind all this mischief?”

“What mischief?” Zhen Li took off his glasses, now covered in water droplets, and frowned in displeasure. “I accomplished a great feat.” 

The sound of the rain almost drowned out his voice. He raised his volume and abruptly changed the subject. “But I also thank you, for letting me know the method of travel!”

Having said that, he pulled out a small object composed of magnets and coils from his pocket and shook it. “This is a trigger I made by replicating the parameters of your meteorite.”

Not good!

He Yixun instantly realized Zhen Li’s intention. He raced against time to rush forward. At the same time, Zhen Li seemed to press some switch. The small object in his hand lit up with a blue light. Just as He Yixun’s hand was about to touch Zhen Li’s shoulder, Zhen Li’s figure suddenly vanished, causing He Yixun to grab at thin air. 

Everything happened too fast. Before Xu Pei could even react, Zhen Li was gone. He asked dazedly, “Did Zhen Li travel away?”

He Yixun frowned. “Damn it.”

The rain grew increasingly fierce. With Zhen Li nowhere to be found, the two had no choice but to temporarily take shelter in a nearby pavilion.

He Yixun shook his wet hair, sweeping his bangs back. Th dejection from earlier had vanished, replaced by his usual composure and calmness. “I know why Zhen Li picked up Si Lei’s research direction.” 

Xu Pei rubbed his arms; his physical discomfort made his mind less sharp than usual. “Why?”

“Because he was sentenced to life imprisonment, forever unable to leave First Prison,” He Yixun said.

“…So that’s it.” Xu Pei still tacitly followed He Yixun’s train of thought. “He took over Si Lei’s research to escape from prison.”

He Yixun: “Correct. If the prison gate won’t open, the only option is to open the spacetime gate. It’s the only way to leave there.” 

“He must have been extremely resentful. Because after his arrest, he realized it wasn’t the Progressive Society targeting him. But in his panic, he mentioned the Progressive Society, which led them to completely cut ties with him. The people at the gathering also didn’t provide the alibi as promised.”

“Actually, if he hadn’t spoken carelessly, there might have been room for maneuver.”

“Just because of a wrong statement, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He must have deeply regretted it, replaying it countless times in his mind. So when we went to find him, his answers were perfect; every detail could be explained. But the moment I asked him about the coffee table, he became evasive, because that detail was missing from his mental rehearsal.”

“Later, although he learned the method to travel, he didn’t leave,” Xu Pei continued, “because we were helping him get acquitted.” 

He Yixun’s face was somber as he gave an “Mm” of agreement.

Xu Pei: “I remember he said he needed to adjust parameters to travel, but that wasn’t true at all. He just wanted to pressure us to get him out quickly.”

He Yixun sat down on a nearby bench, elbows resting on his knees, hands hanging naturally. He looked at the ground and let out a heavy sigh, exuding an air of defeat.

Xu Pei came to He Yixun’s side and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t think about it for now.” 

Both mentally and physically, the series of events had already pushed them beyond their limits.

He Yixun raised his head and looked at Xu Pei. “He just said Si Lei opened a spacetime channel twenty years ago.”

“Yes, for less than an hour, I think.”

“That was your first time travel.” 

The weather forecast was finally accurate for once. The emphasis of a ‘thunderstorm’ is on the ‘storm’—it often ends quickly. The cumulonimbus clouds were like a wet towel; wring it once, and the rain pours down. Wring it again, and the force diminishes. Before long, the torrential rain became sporadic light rain.

Now Xu Pei couldn’t follow He Yixun’s train of thought. “What?”

“You came to a small forest twenty years ago,” He Yixun said, pulling the compass with the little bee sticker from his pocket and handing it to Xu Pei. He looked at him quietly. “Don’t you remember?”

Xu Pei’s pupils contracted sharply. He took the compass from He Yixun’s hand. Memories he had originally thought unimportant resurfaced in his mind. 

– Where is this?

– I don’t know.

– Mom said if you walk in one direction, you won’t get lost.

– Let’s go. 

“It was you?!”

“Mhm, it was me.”

Looking at He Yixun again, the handsome face overlapped with the determined little boy from back then. Xu Pei was so shocked he was almost lost for words. “How did you… no, I… it was actually you?”

“You know I was kidnapped once,” He Yixun answered. “The person who led me out of the forest was you.” 

Xu Pei’s brain felt like it was about to explode.

He had long heard about this incident in He Yixun’s past and knew He Yixun had escaped on his own. But he never could have imagined that he had a role in that story.

“You asked me why I collect compasses. I said compasses give me a sense of security,” He Yixun continued. “Actually, you are the one who makes me feel secure.”

“Ah?” Xu Pei blinked, finally digesting this massive amount of information. “So, the reason you were suddenly willing to give up everything for me… was it because you discovered I’m your savior?” 

“Not a savior,” He Yixun said. “You’re my destined person.”

Hearing such a mystical statement from He Yixun’s mouth felt both novel and embarrassing to Xu Pei. “Who’s destined with you?”

“What happened that made you travel here back then?” He Yixun asked.

“A car accident,” Xu Pei said, setting aside his complex feelings. “A large truck rear-ended us. The moment of impact, I appeared in that forest.” 

So, the small stone left to Xu Pei by his parents had saved him three times now.

Of course, the fact that a Dr. Si Lei, in a distant spacetime, had opened a spacetime channel was also an indispensable factor.

Now Xu Pei understood why he and He Yixun had passed through the crime scene from 20 years ago.

It turned out they did have a connection with Si Lei. In fact, fate had quietly started turning long ago, binding these few people together. 

Si Lei opened the channel, saving Xu Pei. This then triggered a butterfly effect, causing the future Xu Pei and He Yixun to return to the past and help her catch her murderer.

Only…

The murderer still used her achievements to escape.

“You disappeared suddenly that time, probably because the channel was unstable,” He Yixun said. 

“When I went back, time hadn’t reversed either. The car accident had already happened, indicating that time does pass.”

The rain had stopped. Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, casting a silver light on the waterlogged stone slabs.

After the storm, everything returned to calm. But both of them knew clearly that things were far from over.

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Author’s Feed: 

Let’s rest and regroup before entering the fourth case.