When A Snail Falls in Love

The train whistled past the silent wilderness under the blazing sun. Green mountains could vaguely be seen off in the distance, and beyond that, boundless forests.

Xu Xu leaned against a carriage door and called Xu Juan. “… I’ll arrive at Lin City tomorrow morning, you don’t have to pick me up as I’m going to report to the station first. If there’s nothing else I’m hanging up.”

“Wait up, how are you feeling? You’re not injured, are you? Did you adapt to the weather there?”

Xu Xu shook her head. “I’ll tell you when I’m back.” Then, she looked down at her watch. “I’m entering the mountain range in ten minutes, there won’t be signal then. I’m going to call Ji Bai now.” She hung up right after saying this without waiting for a response.

On the other end, Xu Juan held his phone and thought to himself, ‘Damn, she’s going to lose signal in ten minutes, but she only talked to me for two minutes.’

When the call came through, Ji Bai was having lunch with a few criminal police officers in a police car. It was afternoon time and the crowded city felt like a stove; after hustling for the whole morning, everyone was dropping in sweat, so they buried their heads in their food and swallowed it in big bites.

Ji Bai was holding his lunch box and thus, did not look at the caller ID. “Hello, Ji Bai. You may speak.”

Upon hearing his low and mellow voice, Xu Xu felt her heart soften. “It’s me.”

The corner of Ji Bai’s lips subconsciously curled up into a grin. “Did anything happen?”

Xu Xu paused slightly.

Since the two of them had only parted that morning, it was not necessary for her to call him but she was free with nothing to do, so she instinctively spent her time thinking about him; this was reasonable as it was also the first time she had feelings for anybody.

Hence, she answered honestly, “Nothing. I just miss you.”

Her words felt like a refreshing shower on a hot summers day. He suddenly recalled the image in the hotel yesterday, when he was intimately intertwined with her fair-skinned, delicate body, and the way their skin rubbed against each other. All of a sudden, he became distracted and fell silent.

At this moment, the other criminal police officers had set aside lunch boxes and were starting to put on their bulletproof vests again. “Let’s go, Ji Bai.” The Kachin soldiers who were sitting on the ground outside the car also picked up their guns and got up one after another, they were all ready to go.

Ji Bai whispered softly, “I miss you too.” After pausing for a while, he tilted his head closer to the phone screen and made a soft kissing sound.

When one of the police officers saw what he did, he instantly burst out laughing. It was the first time that Ji Bai had done something like that, yet he was not embarrassed, he merely put his phone away and smiled calmly before proceeding to rejoin them.

On the other end of the call, Xu Xu looked at her phone screen as she sat on her clean bed that was being lit up brightly by the sunlight from the window.

Her face was a little numb and her heart was pounding fast, it almost felt like she had actually been kissed…

Sometime later, Xu Xu went to the carriage next door and ate lunch with three other criminal police officers. The criminals were all detained in the last carriage whilst the Kachin soldiers would not come to their space so, while they ate, they talked openly about the case.

One of the officers said, “It has been so long, but Brother Lu still eludes our grasp, bloody hell.”

Everyone went silent for a while before an old criminal police officer took a puff of his cigarette and replied, “It seems like Brother Lu has huge support from the military.”

Everybody was startled, and the old criminal police officer continued, “It’s just my instincts because, in Myanmar, the military is in charge. Brother Lu still manages to escape us even after we set up ‘inescapable’ nets – someone from the military is definitely secretly helping her.”

Another criminal police nodded. “I agree with your point of view. I had investigated Brother Lu’s bank accounts, and guess what they looked like? There’s not even a cent in them, and they’re no transaction records either. Where has all the money gone to then? Obviously, they’ve gone to this person. If we’re able to find this person, then we’ll be able to capture Brother Lu.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement, but Xu Xu was kind of stunned. “Does Brother Lu trust this person so much?”

When the officers heard her question, one of them laughed and teased her. “Don’t you map out criminal mindsets? I heard that you were the one who caught the razor blade criminal in Lin City? Not bad at all, but if you could make a drawing to figure out the mastermind behind this case, we’ll be able to capture him right away.”

All of them laughed, but Xu Xu shook her head. “There are too few clues, I wouldn’t even be able to complete a preliminary drawing.”

Although she said this, after returning to her compartment, Xu Xu laid on the bed and started zoning out.

Over the past few days, she had been busy with work in Maija City and her mind was now filled with details of hundreds of criminals, such that she had no time to even consider Brother Lu or who the traitor might be. Nonetheless, as she was free from work today, the discussion had brought the matter back to her attention.

She took out a pen and paper, then scribbled down everything relating to the case that came to mind. Half an hour later, she had gotten nowhere.

When she looked up, she saw her phone sitting on the desk. She thought about Ji Bai, which made her smile. Her pen moved on its own as she daydreamed, and before she knew it, she had written “Ji Bai’ and “third brother” a few times on the paper.

As she tried to refocus her mind to continue thinking about the case, she looked at the row of “Ji Bai” letters on the paper and an idea suddenly appeared in her mind, startling her.

Thanks to Ji Bai, she suddenly realized that even though she did not know who the mysterious person was, she could still analyze this person’s characteristics through Brother Lu, since he was closely related to Brother Lu.

Brother Lu was an extremely cautious, secretive, and determined person. She totally prioritized herself and even had her own independent criminal group in the country.

What kind of person could make a female leader like Brother Lu bow before him with complete trust?

After she thought about this, everything fell into place. Countless clues surged into Xu Xu’s mind like an explosion. She took the pen and paper and first wrote the word “couple”.

Yes, for someone like Brother Lu, only a person who she shared an intimate relationship with could win her absolute trust, such that she would not keep even a single cent in her own accounts. Since they had different nationalities and there were no foreign relatives mentioned in Brother Lu’s family data, this person was most likely a partner.

A short while later, she wrote again. “Aged between 30-40 years old, single, unmarried, no child.”

This was because it was impossible for a person to achieve such an influential position in the military if that person was too young or too old. This was because men in Myanmar were usually married at an early age and placed a lot of priority on bearing children. Meanwhile, an old man who already had a first wife or children would not be able to win Brother Lu over completely.

The third was more of a guess – “charm”. To the average person, and most certainly to a valiant woman like Brother Lu, this man most probably possessed a unique and powerful charm that later allowed him to win over her love despite her powerful position.

Xu Xu paced back and forth excitedly in the narrow carriage as she thought about this. A while later, she wrote down two terms side by side – “violent, abusive.”

While there were other gangs in Northern Burma, Brother Lu’s group was no doubt the cruelest way in the way it handled matters, there were loads of unnecessary acts of violence associated with their crimes.

Xu Xu had seen this in many of their past cases: In kidnappings, they often mutilated the limbs of the victims in order to reduce resistance; When abducting babies and trafficking them out of China’s border, they used sleeping pills, which cause a great number of babies to fall dangerously ill. In Zhou Chengbo’s case, they had sent a bomb to take revenge after failing in their first attempt and made sure that even if Zhou Chengbo managed to escape the explosion, he would be beaten to death.

The behavioral characteristics of a criminal group naturally reflected the style of its leader. That being said, criminal records of Brother Lu showed that she did not usually express such inclinations herself, she was very likely simply conveying the other person’s intentions with the way gang went about.

Finally, Xu Xu wrote down one last adjective – “conceited”.

Brother Lu’s criminal group had various ways of committing crimes. They had a broad network and they always involved themselves in anything that could earn them money, which was, quite frankly, a cocky move. The fact that this man wanted a piece of every pie not only it reflected his greed and cunningness, it also reflected the fact that he was conceited.

…

Xu Xu picked the paper up and leaned against her bed as she furrowed her brows and pondered. ‘These conclusions are still too vague and brief, there’s also a possibility that I missed the mark on one or two of them. It’s just not possible for me to complete a reliable drawing.’ Even so, she faintly felt that she was going to capture an exceedingly serious problem…

It was at this moment that she suddenly noticed somebody looking at her. When she looked up, she saw General Po standing at the door with his hands tucked behind his back. His bronze face carried his distinctive angular features whilst his dark eyes were staring right at her.

Xu Xu was slightly stunned as the image of Po sticking his gun into the criminal’s mouth instantly appeared in her mind.

‘Between 30-40 years old, single, unmarried, no child, has a unique charm and prestige, conceited and has certain violent, abusive tendencies…’

She folded the paper in her hand and put it into her pocket, then she got off the bed and looked at him with a composed expression. “General Po. Is there anything that I can help you with?”

Po walked in steadily and stopped in front of her as his guards moved to guard the door.

“The commander in chief asked that I apologize to you.” He gazed at her and said slowly, there was a hint of distaste in his voice, almost as though he was mocking her.

Xu Xu nodded. “Mmm. Continue.”

Her response made Po fall silent for an instant, then a creepy smile stretched across his face. “Sorry.”

Xu Xu nodded. “I hope that this won’t happen again in the future.”

Po took a glance at her then walked towards the door, but he suddenly paused and turned to look at her. There was not even a hint of warmth in his voice as he coldly said, “The soldiers’ lives belong to me, even if the same thing happens again, I’ll still kill him without a mistake.”

As she watched him move away, Xu Xu called out, “Wait a minute.”

Po turned to look at her.

Xu Xu looked back at him. “I accept your apology.”

The same mocking smile appeared on Po’s face again, but Xu Xu shifted the topic and said, “I’m saying this because Director Sun had phoned me and told me that your commander in chief had mentioned you. He told me something else too – ‘Even though the Burmese python is ferocious, it is extremely determined and firm in its principles’. This sentence made me feel touched. General Po, although I still can’t agree with your actions, I can understand your viewpoint, and I also hope that before you kill anyone in the future, you’ll at least think twice.”

Po stared at her for a while before replying, “I actually despise this ‘Burmese python’ moniker given to me by the commander, but your director’s explanation is quite meaningful.”

He left after saying this, leaving Xu Xu frowning on the spot.

After they entered Myanmar, Ji Bai had asked the Burmese officials about this mysterious title, but none of them have heard of this ‘Burmese python’ before. Xu Xu deduced that it was most likely a moniker known by a small group of people, but she got caught up in the case after that, so she had to put the matter aside.

Xu Xu immediately went to look for the other criminal police officers. When she arrived at their compartment, she found that it was unexpectedly empty. Only then did Xu Xu look at her watch and notice that it was time for them to inspect the carriage where the criminals were being detained.

While Xu Xu walked to the carriage in the rear quickly, she tried to call their phones, but the calls could not get through. Xu Xu thought for a while then drafted a message to Ji Bai. “Po is Lu’s lover, the Burmese python.” Despite this, a message repeatedly popped up on her screen saying that the message was failed to be sent. When she tried to call Ji Bai’s phone, it naturally did not go through either.

This afternoon, Ji Bai was feeling a little anxious. In the evening, the criminal police force and soldiers raided one of Brother Lu’s suspected lairs, only to find nothing. After a thorough investigation of the scene, Ji Bai fell deep into thought.

He went to look for Director Sun. “I’ve checked our records over the past few days, and according to witnesses’ statements and military blockades, Brother Lu managed to escape our grasp each and every time. This isn’t right.”

Director Sun nodded. “I was just about to look for you, I also suspect that Brother Lu most probably has an accomplice in Myanmar’s military. I’ll negotiate with the Burmese immediately.”

On the train.

Once Po returned to his luxurious compartment, Brother Lu who was on the bed moved closer to him and rested against his shoulder. Po looked at her and said, “We’ll pass by the Laos border at night.”

Brother Lu kissed his face. “Mmm. When will we meet again?”

Po pulled her into his arms. “When the Chinese are gone, I’ll go get you.”

Brother Lu looked at his tough and battle-worn face and felt a tingling in her heart. She unbuttoned his shirt, pushed him down, and crawled onto his chest, then, while kissing him, she asked, “Where did you go just now?”

Po leaned back on the bed and casually caressed her body. “I went to apologize to the little policewoman from China.” When he recalled Xu Xu’s words, he smiled.

Brother Lu looked up. “Which little policewoman from China?”

“Xu Xu. It’s a very odd name.”

Brother Lu’s heart shook. “Xu Xu? Xu Xu from Lin City? What did you tell her? How did she express herself?”

The reason why Brother Lu was so alarmed was that during her last escape when she had disguised herself as a victim, the other criminal police officers did not pay much attention to her, even the other policewoman who was inches away from her did not notice anything wrong. However, when she got into the car, she felt that somebody was looking at her very sternly. When she casually turned her head in the person’s direction, she saw that it was a young lady…

Brother Lu’s cautious nature coupled with the deep impression left by Xu Xu meant that after she escaped, she had gone to look for someone to investigate Xu Xu. Then, she concluded that she had to avoid this police officer in the future.

Therefore, she briefly told Po about the razor blade case in Lin City and explained, “You must be wary of this police officer, she’s very powerful, it’s as if she can foresee crime in advance. Besides, she’s also the apprentice of detective Ji Bai.”

After listening to this, Po just smiled and picked up the interphone on the table. “Where is the little policewoman?”

Sometime later, the captain of the guards said, “She’s running towards the carriage where the criminals are detained.”

“Stop her and bring her to me. Don’t allow her to get into contact with anyone.”

Xu Xu saw that she was only two carriages away from her destination, but she was suddenly stopped by a few soldiers. She was slightly shocked, then she heard the soldiers speak to her in broken Mandarin, “The general wants to see you.”

Xu Xu shook her head. “Wait a minute, I have to look for my colleagues, it’s urgent.”

The soldiers told her that she could not do that.

Xu Xu then followed the men to Po’s carriage, and when she looked up, she saw Po leaning against a couch, his gaze was cold yet sharp.

Xu Xu’s heart skipped a beat as a chill ran down her spine. As she was walking in, the phone that she was holding so tightly in her hand vibrated, causing her to suddenly remember it. She turned and coughed softly, then took a quick look at the screen, only to see that it was displaying a bright blue text bubble. “The message was successfully sent.”

There was also a message from Ji Bai. “Got it, we’re on our way. Take care of yourself and wait for me.”