Love on the Turquoise Land

At half past two in the morning, Yan Tuo's car entered the rural road. In just over fifteen minutes, they would reach the plantation.

Lin Xirou sat in the back seat. For this trip, she had no choice but to let Yan Tuo drive her—Xiong Hei wasn’t around, nor were any of his more capable subordinates. Traveling late at night, she couldn’t just drag along some random nobody.

The car jolted slightly—rural roads were like this, poorly maintained.

Lin Xirou snapped out of her daze. "Xiao Tuo, are you tired? If you are, slow down a bit."

Yan Tuo didn’t respond. Sure enough, Lin Xirou had just been making conversation. After speaking, she lapsed back into her previous absent-minded state.

The plantation was pitch black, with only a faint white glow coming from the guardhouse at the main gate. However, Yan Tuo didn’t enter through the front. He circled around to the rear gate and honked twice as they approached.

A shadow shifted near the gate, and soon, the stainless-steel electric sliding gate retracted to the side.

Yan Tuo drove all the way to the main building. A side door on the first floor was open, light spilling out from inside, where Xiong Hei stood waiting.

Lin Xirou got out of the car and hurried toward Natou, her high heels clicking sharply, the hem of her trench coat fluttering behind her. Yan Tuo remained seated in the driver’s seat, silent and motionless, perfectly still.

Only when she reached the side door did Lin Xirou remember him. She turned back and called out, "Xiao Tuo, come here."

Yan Tuo acknowledged her with a sound, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car.

Lin Xirou gave Xiong Hei a wry smile. "This kid is too honest. If you don’t call him, he won’t move. In the middle of the night, how could I just leave him sitting alone in the car?"

Xiong Hei glanced sideways at Yan Tuo, who was walking toward them, and curled his lip in disdain. "Honest to a fault, if you ask me."

He wanted to add more, but seeing Lin Xirou’s displeased expression, he wisely swallowed his words. There was a saying online—only women could spot a shameless woman. Likewise, he believed only men could see through a shameless man with piercing clarity.

Lin Xirou had been raising this cheap son for too long—to her, he was nothing but a flower inside and out.

Yan Tuo, honest? Xiong Hei had never caught him being dishonest, but he’d never believed the man was honest either.

Yan Tuo followed Lin Xirou and Xiong Hei into the underground levels.

Truth be told, he missed the way things were over a decade ago. Back then, technology wasn’t as advanced, and there weren’t so many cameras or modern sensors everywhere. He had managed to slip in and out of the second basement level a few times. Now, it was impossible. The place was riddled with electronic eyes—voice-activated, temperature-controlled—unless the power or network was cut, he wouldn’t dare sneak in.

Moreover, the underground facility had been continuously upgraded and was no longer the ramshackle setup it once was. Every section was secured with stainless-steel doors and blast-proof glass, accessible only via regularly changed passcodes and fingerprint verification. Most importantly, on the surface, it appeared completely normal—just a high-security storage and light-sensitive cultivation site.

Xiong Hei led the two to a small room.

Most rooms here were soundproofed, so even if there was shouting inside, nothing could be heard outside. Even so, standing at the door, they could hear the dull thuds of objects being thrown.

Xiong Hei smirked. "Throwing a tantrum, huh?"

Lin Xirou frowned. "Wasn’t he tied up?""No, let the old man vent first and tire himself out. This room can take it—the tables and chairs are sturdy, they won’t break. Honestly, this guy’s an idiot. There’s no one around to see, why put up such a fight?"

Xiong Hei waited a while longer by the door before finally keying in the password and pushing it open.

Crippled Father had already heard the electronic beep from the door. Gathering all his strength, he raised his crutch high and swung it down toward the entrance: "You bastards think there’s no law left? Daring to tie me up—"

Despite his ferocity, Crippled Father was no match for the towering Xiong Hei. With one hand, Xiong Hei caught the crutch mid-swing and delivered a powerful kick, sending Crippled Father crashing into the opposite wall. He tossed the wooden crutch aside with a curse: "Still got some fight in you, huh?"

The impact knocked the wind out of Crippled Father. He slumped to the ground, glaring fiercely past Xiong Hei and Lin Xirou, his gaze locking onto Yan Tuo at the back. Instantly, his eyes turned bloodshot, his face contorted with rage: "You motherfuckers set that fire!"

Ever since his abduction, he’d suspected Yan Tuo’s involvement but lacked concrete proof. Now, seeing Yan Tuo’s face, all doubt vanished.

With a furious roar, he lunged toward the door, momentarily forgetting his missing leg. He crashed heavily to the floor, but it did nothing to dampen his fury. Using his hands, remaining leg, and one knee, he scrambled forward desperately.

Lin Xirou stood unmoving, her cold eyes fixed on him. Yan Tuo averted his gaze. As he’d said before, these people had wronged him—he held no sympathy for them, but he didn’t wish to see them suffer too terribly either.

Xiong Hei bent down, grabbing Crippled Father by the neck and his amputated leg, lifting him like an eagle snatching a chick: "Old bastard, calm the hell down."

He threw Crippled Father into a chair, cuffing his hands behind the backrest, then turned to Lin Xirou: "Lin-jie, this good enough?"

Lin Xirou smiled. "Good. You can all leave now."

Yan Tuo stepped out of the room. Once the door closed, all sound was cut off.

He had initially worried Crippled Father might expose his lies, but now he wasn’t as concerned. Judging by Lin Xirou’s reaction, the incident at Banya Village was no longer important—she likely wanted to discuss "old business."

Xiong Hei grinned at Yan Tuo. "Let’s head to the lounge, have a couple drinks?"

There was no bad blood between them, so on the surface, they remained amicable.

Yan Tuo asked, "How’s Gou Ya’s recovery coming along? Can I go see him?"

Xiong Hei hesitated briefly before nodding agreeably. "Sure, follow me."

...

Xiong Hei led Yan Tuo into a cultivation chamber, stopping at the far corner. He reached for a long "Operational Guidelines" poster on the wall, peeling it back to reveal a small door. Inside was a cramped room no larger than ten square meters.

At the center was a circular pit about two meters in diameter, its walls cemented to hold water. The pit was filled with a thick, murky sludge, nearly overflowing. Gou Ya floated face-down in the foul-smelling mire, like a bloated corpse.

Standing at the edge, Yan Tuo fought back nausea and muttered, "I always wondered how you guys healed so fast from injuries... This treatment method is certainly unique."Leaning against the wall was a long bamboo hook rake. Xiong Hei grabbed it, hooked it around Gou Ya's neck, and yanked hard, flipping him over.

Gou Ya's eyes were tightly shut, his mud-splattered face pale and swollen. But Yan Tuo could see clearly: the left eye, which should have been a bloody socket, now showed no sign of injury. If anything, the newly grown eyelid and flesh in that spot were a more tender shade of pink.

He murmured, "Incredible."

Xiong Hei glanced at him. "Envious?"

"Of course," Yan Tuo crouched down, his blurred reflection rippling in the murky pool water. "I grew up by Aunt Lin's side and have known you all for seven or eight years. I'm not a fool—after all this time, I can tell we're different. These past few years, Aunt Lin hardly shows herself in public, probably afraid people might notice she hasn't aged. In a few more years, she’ll likely move again."

"We're all human, so how come you all have such abilities? Anyone who says they aren’t envious is lying. Brother Xiong, with such a great path, can’t you let me in on it? Who wouldn’t want eternal youth? They say women fear aging, but men do too."

Xiong Hei burst into laughter and crouched beside Yan Tuo, playfully stirring the water as if teasing fish. "I knew it. You’ve been scrambling to impress Sister Lin, following every order without question. You’ve got ambitions."

Yan Tuo smiled faintly. "A man looks to climb higher. Gou Ya can regrow a lost eyeball—if I had that ability, I could walk sideways and still get ahead. And just imagine, if Aunt Lin’s secret to agelessness could be commercialized even a little, I’d have enough money for ten lifetimes."

He turned to Xiong Hei. "Aunt Lin has been good to me, but in these matters, she’s always kept me at arm’s length. Take last August when you all went to the Qinba Mountains—I was just the errand boy fetching people. Brother Xiong, can’t you lend me a hand? What do I need to do for Aunt Lin to fully accept me?"

He pressed two fingers to his chest. "Honest words, straight from the heart."

Xiong Hei scoffed. "It’s not that simple. You can’t—you’re not like us at all—" He caught himself mid-sentence and abruptly stopped, glancing toward the small door before awkwardly changing the subject. "Hey, I wonder how Sister Lin’s talk with that old man is going..."

Crippled Father was utterly baffled.

What the hell? All the men had left, leaving him alone with this young, beautiful woman. He was a man with one foot in the grave—did they really think he’d fall for a honey trap?

Frustration boiled inside him, but his limbs were bound tight. Only his half-leg was free, though it was useless now. Worse, the woman across from him kept staring—a few glances were fine, but the longer she looked, the more unnerved he became.

Crippled Father stiffened his neck and roared to bolster his courage. "The hell are you looking at? Get your boss in here to talk to me!"

Lin Xirou smiled. "Don’t you recognize me?"

Crippled Father froze, then scrutinized her carefully.

What kind of joke was this? There was no way he knew her. A face like hers—if he’d seen it before, he wouldn’t have forgotten.

He frowned. "You know me?"

Seeing her silent confirmation, he grew even more puzzled. "Since when?"Lin Xirou said, "Let me give you a hint. It was around late 1991 or early 1992."

Crippled Father dismissed her words as nonsense: "Little girl, you weren't even born in '91 or '92. Trying to trick your old crippled dad? You're still wet behind the ears!"

Lin Xirou smiled. "Still can't remember? Here's another hint. Back then, you were underground."

Crippled Father shuddered involuntarily. He had been slouching in his chair, but now his back turned cold, and he slowly straightened up. "How do you know that? Did your... family tell you?"

Family? What the hell kind of family?

Lin Xirou burst into laughter. Still laughing, she stood up, placed both hands on the table, and leaned toward Crippled Father. Then, word by word, her smile gradually faded. "Even now, you still can't remember? How did you lose that leg of yours?"

Crippled Father instantly felt a chill run down his spine, and even the stump of his missing leg began to throb and burn. "You... how do you know that? Who are you?"

Who am I?

Lin Xirou said, "Why are you asking me? I should be the one asking you—where is my son?"

Her eyes gradually turned bloodshot, a surge of fury rising in her chest as she stared at Crippled Father's deeply wrinkled face. Suddenly, she opened her mouth wide and let out a piercing, shrill scream.

Beautiful women are usually beautiful, even when they cry—like pear blossoms bathed in rain. But when they turn ferocious, it's an exception. In those moments, even the loveliest faces contort, their features twisting out of place.

And worse, Crippled Father saw that beneath Lin Xirou's curled tongue, like the bristling fur of a startled animal, stood rows of short, densely packed spines—black and white, the kind you'd only find on a porcupine.

Friday, November 26, 1993 / Sunny

It's been a while since I last wrote in this diary. When I pulled out the notebook, the pages had already yellowed.

Can't really blame me for that—once you become a mother, time is no longer your own. From morning till night, everything just flies by, and before you know it, the days have slipped away. There's an old saying: "A son forgets his mother once he takes a wife." Well, in my case, it's more like "a mother forgets her husband once she has a son." I can barely even remember what Da Shan looks like anymore.

Today, I finally have some time, so I’ll write a longer entry.

The most important thing this past year was the arrival of Xiao Tuo. My son is so well-behaved, a real little angel. He rarely cries and is always smiling. When he smiles, I smile back at him—we can go on like that for half an hour without getting tired, like a pair of grinning fools. I’m already jealous of his future wife. No wonder mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships have always been so fraught throughout history. How could they not be? I’m already resentful at this early stage.

Da Shan told me that since I love kids so much, we should have another one—preferably a daughter, so we’d have both a son and a daughter. He even told me not to worry about the family planning fines, thumping his chest and saying, "We’ve got money now, we can pay whatever fine they throw at us."

Having a daughter would be nice too. Just imagining Xiao Tuo leading a sweet little sister around makes me giddy with happiness.

But childbirth really takes a toll on a woman’s body. After having Xiao Tuo, my health hasn’t been great, and I’ve developed a minor incontinence issue. I kept extending my maternity leave until I finally just quit. Da Shan, being considerate, suggested hiring a nanny.

I was shocked. Isn’t that a bourgeois lifestyle?

Da Shan laughed at me for being old-fashioned and told me to broaden my horizons. He said the Third Plenary Session of the 14th Central Committee had already taken place, and we were moving toward a market economy. He even told me to learn from the bosses in Hong Kong and Taiwan—now they really know how to enjoy life.Last week, he brought home the new housekeeper. Otherwise, how would I have the leisure to write in my diary now?

To be honest, I'm not entirely satisfied with this new housekeeper, Li Shuangxiu, for two reasons. First, the girl is too pretty—it's no exaggeration to say she could easily be a celebrity. Can someone like that really settle for being a housekeeper? Second, housekeepers should ideally be older women who've raised children. Someone so young just doesn't seem reliable.

But I can't very well complain. It's already kind of her to come help us—who am I to nitpick? That would be downright landlord behavior.

Da Shan told me privately that this housekeeper actually has some connection to our family. He asked if I remembered Li Ergou—Shuangxiu is Ergou's younger sister. She came to the mine looking for work, but Da Shan thought mining was too heavy and unsuitable for a woman around so many men, so he brought her here as a housekeeper instead.

That Li Ergou who stole money from the mine and disappeared over a year ago? Da Shan is too kind—Ergou stole nearly ten thousand from us!

Still, I told Da Shan it was impossible. Li Ergou was downright ugly, while Li Shuangxiu might as well be from heaven—how could siblings share no resemblance at all?

Da Shan said I lacked worldly experience, that such cases were common.

Are they? Maybe I do need to broaden my horizons.

That said, Shuangxiu is surprisingly good with children. Sometimes when Xiao Tuo won't calm down in my arms, she settles right away with Shuangxiu. It makes me wonder if she's had children of her own.

I'll stop here. After not writing for over a year, my words feel stiff and lifeless, just a dry account of events.

P.S. Changxi visited today, bringing two old hens. That boy—the mine doesn't pay much, yet he keeps buying things for me. I should tell Da Shan to have accounting give Changxi a little extra at month's end.

—[Excerpt from Lin Xirou's Diary]