Love on the Turquoise Land

Uncle?

If he hadn't known there was indeed a child nearby, Yan Tuo would have been startled by that sudden voice.

He turned on his phone's flashlight and shone it toward the source of the sound.

The reeds rustled slightly as a child struggled to crawl out—the same one in the blue-and-yellow hoodie he'd glimpsed earlier. The kid had his hood up, trembling all over, hands tucked into his dirty sleeves. As he moved, another muffled, quivering word escaped: "Uncle."

Was he hurt? To be honest, when Xiong Hei's headlights had swept past earlier, Yan Tuo couldn't tell if the child had been run over. He hurried forward, bending down to help.

Just as his hand touched the child's shoulder, a flicker of unease shot through Yan Tuo.

The kid had called "Uncle" twice now, but upon reflection, the tone and inflection were identical—unnaturally so...

Alarm bells rang in his mind. He jerked his hand back, but before he could stand, the "child" suddenly looked up, let out a guttural "Hrrrk," and swiped at his throat with a claw.

This wasn't a child!

It was the most revolting head Yan Tuo had ever seen. His first thought was of a locust—what people called a "Mazha." Of course, this thing lacked antennae. Its head was an inverted triangular cone, with its mouth and nose positioned low. Its eyes were twice the size of a human's and set too far apart, leaving the center of its face eerily hollow.

This thing—utterly inhuman—was wearing a human hoodie and had just called him "Uncle."

An ordinary person would've been paralyzed with terror on the spot. Fortunately, having witnessed things in the farm's underground level that would break most people, Yan Tuo's nerves held. He twisted his head aside—a sharp pain lanced his neck as Mazha's claws tore through flesh. He could've sworn he felt them scrape bone, a sickening screech echoing in his ears.

A fraction slower, and those claws would've severed his throat or carotid artery. He'd be dead where he stood.

Rage ignited in Yan Tuo. Instinctively, he lashed out with a kick, sending Mazha flying. But for small, flexible creatures like this, such blows meant little. Mazha rolled upon landing, then sprang back from the reeds with a powerful push of its hind legs.

Holy shit. Even if this thing were just a rabid stray cat, who'd willingly fight it?

Yan Tuo turned and ran.

Wind roared in his ears. Blood poured from his wound, burning and stinging. The rapid "Hrrrk" sounds pursued him, zigzagging left and right, reminiscent of the terrifying whistles headhunters made while hunting. Without slowing, Yan Tuo spun and fired a shot at the closest target.

He was a decent shot—his moving-target scores nearly matched professional competitors'. But Mazha wasn't a target. In the dark, its leaping form became a blur. The shot missed. Knowing better than to linger, Yan Tuo sprinted harder.

Far away, Xing Shen stood motionless, fingers curled at his lips as he produced low, urgent whistles barely audible to human ears.

Yan Tuo's breathing grew ragged, his steps heavier. Then it hit him—Mazha wasn't attacking anymore. It was herding him.Just like ancient hunting, where hunters would unleash hounds to frantically chase down injured prey until the prey was exhausted and surrendered.

Yan Tuo couldn’t keep running like this anymore. He stopped, turned around, and raised his gun again, trying to steady his nerves for a decisive shot.

But he realized it wasn’t about whether he could steady himself anymore.

The intense sprint had accelerated his blood flow, making his body frighteningly hot. The world before his eyes had changed—distorted, the flat ground tilting to one side as if floating on water, swaying with the current.

Mazha seemed to dart in from the left—or was it the right?

Yan Tuo squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them, trying to clear his head.

The moment his eyes opened, a dark shadow lunged at him. Mazha seemed to drop from the sky, charging straight for his face. Yan Tuo was knocked to the ground, losing grip of both his gun and phone. The gun vanished into the darkness, while the phone landed flashlight-side down, leaving only a faint circle of light against the ground.

As soon as he hit the ground, Yan Tuo knew he was in trouble. He swung a punch but missed. The unnervingly clear sound of gurgling circled around his head, as if Mazha was everywhere—front, back, left, right. At this point, precision was impossible. He could only flail wildly with both fists, protecting his head while striking out in all directions.

This desperate tactic worked—a few blows actually landed on Mazha. But the creature was too agile. Even when hurt, it didn’t retreat. Instead, its attacks grew fiercer. Yan Tuo’s head grew dizzier, and Mazha’s form seemed to warp before his eyes, shifting between round and square. He had no idea how many claw strikes had torn into his arms and shoulders, shredding his sleeves to tatters, leaving him bloodied.

Then, a sudden chill at his throat—sharp claws pressed against it. Mazha’s revolting face loomed inches from his own, its mouth gaping open as a long, barbed tongue unfurled toward him.

A surge of adrenaline shot through Yan Tuo, and a single thought flashed through his mind:

If he was going to die anyway, he might as well take this beast down with him.

Back when he’d fought Nie Jiuluo, he’d taunted her: “You don’t have a gun, but you’ve got teeth.”

She’d shot back, “Don’t you?”

Yeah, who the hell didn’t have teeth?

Summoning every ounce of strength left, he jerked his head up and sank his teeth into Mazha’s neck.

At that exact moment, Mazha shuddered violently—as if it had seen a ghost or been scorched by flames—and instantly released Yan Tuo, fleeing into the darkness like its life depended on it.

Yan Tuo froze, but a wave of inexplicable relief washed over him. The desperate will to fight to the death vanished in an instant, and his head thudded back against the ground.

Not far away, a faint beam of light flickered toward him, accompanied by Nie Jiuluo’s hushed voice: “Xing Shen?”

To save time, Nie Jiuluo didn’t even change her outfit after calling the car. She slung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her clothes and boots, and bolted downstairs.

Once in the car, her first question to the driver was: “How fast can we get there?”

The driver checked the navigation. “Forty, fifty minutes.”

Nie Jiuluo’s heart sank.

In her experience, fights ended quickly. If her ambush was effective, she could finish a battle in twenty seconds. Even a boxing match lasted only three minutes per round. Forty or fifty minutes? By then, any emergency would be long over.

But she had to go. Jiang Baichuan had said she was the “closest.”

As the car pulled onto the road, Nie Jiuluo instructed the driver, “Show me your payment QR code.”The driver was baffled. "No, miss, you booked the car online. You can just pay through the system later..."

Nie Jiuluo cut him off. "Quick, show me your payment QR code."

The driver was puzzled but complied. After all, it was a "receive" code, not a "pay" code—what harm could it do?

Keeping one hand on the wheel, he pulled up the QR code and showed it to the back seat.

Nie Jiuluo immediately scanned and paid. Soon, a voice notification rang out in the car: "Alipay payment received: one thousand yuan."

What?

The driver was stunned.

Nie Jiuluo flung her overcoat over the front seats, creating a makeshift barrier between the front and back. She spoke rapidly, "This money is for you—payment for the trip. Drive as fast as you can. If you get any fines, I’ll cover them all. I’m changing clothes now. Don’t look back. If you do, I’ll report you to the police. Also, I might need the car after we arrive, so don’t take any other orders. Follow my instructions, and I’ll pay extra for the return trip."

The driver’s blood surged with excitement.

Who cared about watching her change clothes? With money like this, even if a fairy started stripping, he wouldn’t look!

He stomped on the accelerator, declaring his commitment to the back seat, "Don’t worry, miss. We’ll keep it low-key in the city—fines are nothing, but getting pulled over for a lecture would be a hassle. Once we’re out of town with no traffic cops, I’ll fly for you. I’ll get you there at least fifteen minutes faster."

Fifteen minutes...

Nie Jiuluo sighed inwardly. That still wouldn’t be nearly enough.

She stripped off her clothes and changed into a high-support sports bra, form-fitting stretchy attire, soft-ankle boots with flexible soles, and half-finger gloves with flip covers.

The gear was custom-made. Critical areas of the clothing and gloves were reinforced with flexible armor, backed by a highly elastic, dense membrane layer—designed to resist scratches. Even if her skin beneath the fabric was torn, as long as the membrane held, she’d be safe.

Changing, tying up her hair, and putting on a mask took less than ten minutes. Suddenly, time felt excessively generous. She used the opportunity to call Jiang Baichuan.

Up front, the driver focused on the accelerator, but the car was small. Despite Nie Jiuluo’s hushed tone, fragments of her conversation drifted to his ears, distracting him.

—"Why did he provoke them? We still know nothing about Yan Tuo and Natou. What if they’re stronger?"

—"So what if there’s Mazha? Why isn’t that thing locked up? Parading it around like it’s human!"

—"How long until you get there? I’ll go first. Once I find him, I’ll stay with him until you arrive."

...

What was all this about? The driver tried piecing it together but couldn’t make sense of it. One thing was clear—this wasn’t normal. Most pretty girls wouldn’t dare take a cab alone at night, let alone head to such a remote place, flash cash, change clothes in the car, and talk so cryptically...

As he pondered, Nie Jiuluo hung up and yanked the coat divider down. "Driver, whatever you heard tonight, forget it. Pretend you never drove me. If anyone asks later, say you didn’t notice. This is for your own good."

In the rearview mirror, she sat upright, her hair pulled high into a ponytail. Her outfit alone made it clear—she was not someone to mess with.The driver had been in the business for years and had seen all kinds of passengers. He was quick-witted: "Hey, passengers ride, I take money. Dozens of people come and go every day—who can remember them all?"

As the driver had estimated, they managed to save a quarter of an hour. After driving for another twenty minutes or so, they were close to the designated location—except there were no landmarks here, so it was unclear exactly where to stop.

Nie Jiuluo didn’t dare let the driver get too close to the scene. He was just a working man and shouldn’t be dragged into any trouble.

She told him to drop her off: "Don’t stop here. Keep driving, go wherever you want, and meet me back here in thirty minutes."

With a cheerful "Got it," the driver stepped on the gas and sped off in a cloud of dust.

Nie Jiuluo put on her coat, silenced her phone and tucked it into an inner pocket. Gripping a knife in one hand and a miniature flashlight in the other, she carefully made her way toward the distant reed marshes.

Jiang Baichuan had given her a description of the location, emphasizing "reeds" and "ponds."

But the reed marshes stretched far and wide. In uninhabited places, nature reigned supreme—reeds near the riverbank and tall grass further inland, both covering vast expanses.

A patch of grass ahead rustled unnaturally. Nie Jiuluo slowed her steps, lowering the dagger in her hand. Just as she approached, a dark shadow darted out—something that looked like a dog, moving so fast it vanished in an instant.

It was too dark to see clearly, which was inconvenient. Reluctantly, Nie Jiuluo turned on the flashlight, setting it to the lowest brightness. To avoid drawing attention, she partially covered the light with her fingers and shone it toward the rustling grass.

The beam revealed the outline of a man lying on the ground.

"Xing Shen?"

Her heart tightened. She rushed over, crouching down for a closer look—only to find it was Yan Tuo.

He was breathing heavily, his gaze unfocused, but he still recognized her. His lips moved slightly as he called out, "Miss Nie."

Nie Jiuluo examined him. His shirt and sleeves were badly torn, revealing deep claw marks. The wound near his collarbone was the worst, and from rolling on the ground, dirt and grass had mixed with the blood, leaving a gruesome mess.

Now she understood—what had darted away wasn’t a dog. It must have been Mazha.

Why had Mazha attacked him like this?

Nie Jiuluo grabbed Yan Tuo by the collar, nearly lifting his upper body off the ground. "Where are my people?"

Her impatience got the better of her. Without waiting for an answer, she released him, letting him slump back down. Then she stood up and strode toward the center of the area. "Xing Shen?"

Xing Shen stood still, no longer urging the whistle. Things were going smoothly—once someone was clawed by Mazha and bled, their consciousness would quickly fade, and their defenses would plummet.

This man couldn’t escape. Even if he tried, he wouldn’t get far.

Just as he was considering whether to recall Mazha, he saw a flicker of light in the distance. Mazha bolted back as if fleeing from a ghost.

What was going on? Xing Shen’s heart skipped a beat.

Mazha had been acting strange tonight, hesitating to attack Yan Tuo’s companion, which had led to Lao Dao getting ambushed. But even if Mazha had been reluctant to attack, why was it now running away in sheer terror? Even under Yu Rong’s whip, it had never been this cowardly...

Could it be...?

Sure enough, Nie Jiuluo’s voice soon rang out. "Xing Shen?"

Xing Shen’s spirits lifted. He took a few steps toward the sound. "A'Luo!"