Love on the Turquoise Land

Hearing Xing Shen's voice, Nie Jiuluo let out a sigh of relief—his tone and energy sounded perfectly normal, so he must be fine.

She slowed her pace and turned up the flashlight brightness, directing the beam toward Xing Shen's location.

Not too bad—just damp and covered in grass stains, looking a bit disheveled. Mazha was cowering behind Xing Shen, lying motionless—probably afraid any movement would draw her attention.

Xing Shen smiled. "I knew Mazha must have seen someone terrifying to be this scared. Even from ten meters away, he'd piss himself just catching your scent."

Just as Shaolin disciples had to pass the "Wooden Men Alley" to venture into the martial world, the final trial to become a Mad Blade was feeding the blade with Di Xiao. In ancient times, those who bore the title "Mad Blade" had to take down at least three Di Xiao single-handedly with their blade.

Under Jiang Baichuan's arrangement, Nie Jiuluo underwent intense training during winter and summer breaks—honing her skills and her blade. At thirteen, she outsmarted Lao Dao, and by fifteen, her blade was perfected. Mazha had "died" at her hands more than three times. To Mazha, she was the true Grim Reaper.

So it was a conditioned reflex—he feared her at sight.

Xing Shen had once witnessed her in action when his eyes were still intact. The entire spectacle left him exhilarated. What he admired most about Nie Jiuluo wasn't her skill but that fierce, unrelenting spirit.

Yet, sadly, perhaps because she took up sculpture—a craft requiring years of patience—he felt that fiery intensity in her gradually faded. She just wanted to be an ordinary person. Xing Shen found it such a waste. The world didn't need another ordinary person. With her talent, why let it go to waste? A Mad Blade gathering dust—can it still be called a Mad Blade? As the old saying goes, when a Mad Blade meets a Rabid Hound, legends are born. But if the Mad Blade is sheathed and stored away, what legends can it create?

He once asked Jiang Baichuan to intervene, but Jiang declined tactfully: "Given the current situation, as long as Nie Er is willing to help out occasionally, that's enough. Xing Shen, times have changed. People need to integrate into life."

Integrate into life? The dull, monotonous routine of eating three meals a day and sleeping? What's so great about that?

Sometimes, Xing Shen felt he was born in the wrong era. Those capable of creating legends could now only experience them vicariously through games—and because of his eyes, he couldn't even do that.

...

Nie Jiuluo walked over. "Had I known you could handle it yourself, I wouldn't have rushed here so urgently."

As she spoke, her gaze swept around. "Where's Lao Dao?"

Lao Dao lay slumped by the riverbank, eyes shut tight, his face terrifyingly pale. Only after holding a hand under his nose for a long time could one detect the faintest whisper of breath.

Hearing it was a severe head injury, Nie Jiuluo hesitated to act—if it were just flesh wounds, she could have bandaged them.

But the head...

Better leave it to the professionals.

Nie Jiuluo first sent Jiang Baichuan a message updating him on the situation. Then she waded into the car, found Xing Shen's phone, and had him call for an ambulance under the pretext of a car accident—the area was too far from the city, and she estimated it would take at least forty minutes for help to arrive.

After the call ended, she asked Xing Shen, "That companion of Yan Tuo's—is he human or Di Xiao?"Xing Shen pondered for a moment: "No scent of owls—it must be human. Most likely another puppet ghost, just like Yan Tuo. But that person was quite cunning, holding their breath and pretending to be dead, fooling both me and Lao Dao. And Mazha... hesitated when it was time to act, otherwise things wouldn’t have turned out like this..."

He raised his hand, gesturing toward the unconscious Lao Dao.

Nie Jiuluo had a rough idea of what had happened: "That Yan Tuo... didn’t attack you, did he?"

"Mazha took him down. He didn’t even get a chance to fight back. He should still be nearby—didn’t you notice when you came over?"

Nie Jiuluo: "No."

After a pause, she added, "I just saw Mazha darting over and followed."

Xing Shen bent down and reached out to Mazha, who obediently placed its right paw in his hand.

He sniffed the scent, unhurried. "He couldn’t have gone far. Probably collapsed somewhere nearby. Once Jiang Shu and the others arrive, we’ll search the area."

Nie Jiuluo said nothing. After Sun Zhou was injured by Gou Ya, though he became sluggish like a sloth, he still managed to "hold on" for a while and even drove himself to the hospital and back to the hotel. That might have been because Gou Ya had already "humanized," weakening its beastly nature—but Mazha was different. It was pure beast. Injuries from its claws or bites would cause physical discomfort much faster.

Xing Shen was only so bold and provocative because he had Mazha as his trump card.

After a pause, she asked, "You set Mazha on someone?"

Xing Shen countered, "Shouldn’t I? That wasn’t a person—it was a puppet ghost. Think about Hua Saozi, Crippled Father, the three we lost, and Lao Dao. If not for the fact that we still need him alive to negotiate with the other side..."

Nie Jiuluo sneered, "If not for that, you’d have killed him, is that it?"

Xing Shen caught the mockery in her tone and looked embarrassed, quickly changing the subject. "It wouldn’t have gone that far. A’Luo, tell me... what’s so special about that person? Why didn’t Mazha attack him?"

Nie Jiuluo couldn’t figure it out either. If it was because Mazha was getting old and losing its fighting spirit, it hadn’t held back at all against Yan Tuo. If that person had some tool to ward off earth owls, why the favoritism? Why not give one to Yan Tuo too?

She replied flatly, "No idea. Ask Yan Tuo."

Xing Shen hummed in agreement. "That kid’s tight-lipped, but it doesn’t matter..."

Nie Jiuluo’s heart stirred slightly. She tilted the flashlight upward slightly, casting light on half of Xing Shen’s face.

He wasn’t wearing sunglasses. His eyes were indifferent, devoid of any spark, his lips pressed lightly together, the corners slightly downturned—in her memory, Xing Shen was always smiling, warm and gentle, making it easy to forget he had another side.

The last time he’d worn this expression was after she’d angrily smashed a sculpture. Not long after that, he’d gone blind.

Someone who could be so ruthless to themselves would only be crueler to others.

Nie Jiuluo loosened her grip slightly, letting the light fall lower. "So this is where you confronted them? I’ll look around, see if there are any clues."

The "surroundings" were eerily clean. Aside from tire tracks and a single discarded child’s shoe, there were no new discoveries.

Mazha really wanted to go put the shoe back on, but didn’t dare. When Nie Jiuluo was around, sticking close to Xing Shen was the safer option.Before long, the sound of a vehicle came from the distance. An ambulance would come from the city, but this direction was the opposite—Nie Jiuluo checked the time. Jiang Baichuan had said he would arrive half an hour after her, and she had also arranged for the driver to come in half an hour.

She adjusted the flashlight to its brightest setting and waved it in two circles toward the sky—partly to confirm identity and partly to signal her location. After a while, another flashlight flickered in the distance, waving three circles toward the sky.

This was called "one follows two"—a match. It was Jiang Baichuan's people. Two Land Cruisers, one after the other, gradually came into view.

Nie Jiuluo instructed Xing Shen, "I'll head south. My car should be here soon. Before it arrives, tell them not to go south."

She didn’t want to run into unnecessary people. Xing Shen nodded to show he understood.

Nie Jiuluo retraced her steps. As she neared the spot where she had last seen Yan Tuo, she heard the persistent buzzing of a phone.

She quickened her pace and was stunned when she arrived.

Yan Tuo was gone.

The phone lay at her feet. She picked it up and saw the caller was someone named "Xiong Hei." Nie Jiuluo hesitated briefly before answering and held it to her ear.

Xiong Hei on the other end was furious yet relieved: "You finally picked up? Where the hell are you? I’ve searched the whole east side."

She couldn’t understand and didn’t want to speak. Nie Jiuluo hung up and checked the call log—nineteen missed calls, all from this Xiong Hei.

She turned off the phone, pocketed it, and followed the trail of blood and trampled grass. If no one had helped him, someone injured by Mazha wouldn’t have gotten far.

Sure enough, about a hundred meters from the original spot, she found Yan Tuo. He was curled on the ground, breathing rapidly, repeatedly clutching his chest. He staggered to his feet, took a few steps, then collapsed again, gasping for air as he lay on his back.

Nie Jiuluo walked over and crouched beside him.

The flashlight was too bright, making Yan Tuo’s eyelids twitch, but he still recognized her. He reached out and grabbed the hem of her coat. "Miss Nie, I still have... important things to do. I can’t... afford to be in trouble."

Nie Jiuluo flicked the fabric free, shaking off his hand. "Your troubles are none of my concern."

Yan Tuo’s head throbbed, the world spinning around him. "Help me... get out of here. Name your... terms. I can’t... be locked up by Banya... again."

He wasn’t stupid. Nie Jiuluo was here, and faint sounds of vehicles and voices in the distance meant Banya’s people were coming. The first time he’d fallen into their hands, he’d been lucky to escape. This time, it wouldn’t be so easy. He might be locked away for years, maybe even disappear forever.

He couldn’t afford trouble. He was the only one left in his family.

Nie Jiuluo stood up.

Yan Tuo looked up at her. His vision was distorted, making her seem towering and distant—so far she felt unreachable, an oppressive weight pressing down on him. Fate loved to toy with him. The first time he’d fallen into Banya’s hands, she had delivered him. Now, his fate rested in her hands again.

He managed to say, "Miss Nie, I’ve never hurt anyone... never harmed you..."

A surge of pain wracked his chest, the wound burning as if swarmed by ants. The rest of his words were lost to agony.

Nie Jiuluo looked down at him, torn inside.Theoretically speaking, since the other side had captured so many of Banya's people, it wasn't unreasonable for Banya to keep Yan Tuo as leverage to negotiate terms.

But he didn't even know what a "Dixiao" was—clearly just a small fry. And if he were really handed over to Jiang Baichuan and his men, he'd suffer terribly—far worse than just losing a piece of flesh.

Most importantly, based on her interactions with him so far, he seemed to be adhering to some principle and didn't appear to be genuinely aiding and abetting evil...

Suddenly, the sound of a car horn came from nearby—her ride had arrived.

The noise seemed to push her into making a decision. She turned to look behind her: this spot was far from where Lao Dao had been attacked, and the tall grass provided ample cover. Even Xing Shen's sharp eyes wouldn't be able to see this far.

She waved at the car and pointed to a spot below the embankment.

That position would perfectly block Natou's line of sight.

Wait, was she asking him to drive down there? No problem!

The driver happily complied. As long as the pay was good, his service would be impeccable.

Nie Jiuluo knelt down, smeared some of Yan Tuo's blood on her hand, tore off a few strips of fabric from his clothes, then took off her coat and tossed it to him. "I can't drag you. If you want to leave, get up yourself. Cover your upper body—don't draw attention. Get in the car now, quick!"

Yan Tuo had already given up hope, but in his dazed state, he suddenly heard a chance for escape. Summoning strength from who-knows-where, he wrapped himself tightly in the coat and staggered to his feet. Nie Jiuluo half-dragged, half-shoved him against the car, then opened the door and pushed him inside.

She then instructed the driver, "Drive slowly once we're on the road—as slow as possible, but don't stop. I'll catch up in about five minutes. I'll pay you when I get in."

The driver was puzzled at first, but the mention of payment reassured him. He even reminded her, "I'll keep it at 20 km/h, but you'd better run fast."

Once the car left, it was obvious Natou's people would come over soon.

Nie Jiuluo exhaled softly, dimmed the flashlight again by covering the bulb with her finger, and wiped away the nearest traces. Then she hunched over and ran in the opposite direction. Along the way, she occasionally snapped grass stalks at the base, smeared blood on them at estimated heights, and strategically dropped or hooked fabric strips—creating a misleading trail far enough and deviant enough to throw off pursuit. Only then did she turn around and hurry after the car.

As for the driver, though he followed instructions, he couldn't help feeling uneasy. Seeing Yan Tuo in such a state—his face covered in blood—only heightened his anxiety. He was terrified the woman might disappear, leaving a half-dead man in his car.

It wasn't until Nie Jiuluo got back in the car that he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The moment she got in, Nie Jiuluo reassured the driver. She pulled out her phone from her coat and began transferring money. Before the transaction was even complete, Yan Tuo convulsed again, his face deathly pale. A corner of the coat slipped, revealing a bloody wound near his collarbone.

The driver saw it in the rearview mirror and froze in shock, not daring to move.

An electronic voice announced, "Alipay payment received: 1,000 yuan."

Nie Jiuluo carefully adjusted the coat to cover Yan Tuo again, then met the driver's eyes in the rearview mirror. "This is my husband."

The driver's gaze flickered uncertainly between the mirror and the road. "Oh, oh... a... a good match."

"He was fooling around with another woman and got himself stabbed."So that's it! No wonder the guy's in this state, with blood on him!

Turns out it's not a crime case, but a moral offense. The driver suddenly felt the distance between them shrink.

"I was originally called to pick someone up, but I got so angry I ended up slashing the bastard too."

Going after a man for cheating—women these days are really broad-minded and... fierce. The driver swallowed hard.

"So, mister, when we get to the hotel, help me carry him in. He's dead weight, and I can't manage alone. Take your money and go, and we'll pretend we never met. For the next couple days, stay away from that area to avoid complications—you don't want to be mistaken as my accomplice."

The driver felt deeply grateful. This girl really had her priorities straight and took responsibility. If she ever got caught for this, he hoped she'd get a light sentence.