Love on the Turquoise Land

Yan Tuo didn't quite understand: "Death penalty? Was that person a juror?"

From what he recalled, death penalties abroad often involved juror voting, but he wasn't sure if China followed the same system.

Then he reconsidered—no, that couldn't be right. He was very familiar with the people listed in the document and had analyzed them from every angle. Their professions were mostly low-barrier, physically demanding jobs like flower cultivation, waitressing, or bar singing. There weren't any relatively specialized roles like jurors.

Lin Ling said, "I don't know either. That person probably didn't want to arouse the driver's suspicion. After hanging up, they even gave an unnecessary explanation, saying it was about a criminal in their area who hadn't been sentenced yet. There was a public opinion poll in the newspaper about whether more people supported or opposed the death penalty. The driver didn't think much of it and was fooled."

"But if you think carefully about those words—what does 'your opposition won't matter, everyone has already voted' mean? The death penalty is decided by the court, not by public vote. And they emphasized 'must follow the rules'—it's all very strange."

It was indeed strange, especially coming from someone suspected to be a "dixiao."

Who were they sentencing to death? Could it be Jiang Baichuan? And they needed a vote? Since when did dixiaos care about democracy?

Yan Tuo's heart raced. He forced himself to calm down: It didn't seem likely. Xiong Hei had casually blown off half of Jiang Baichuan's foot as if it were nothing. If Lin Xirou wanted him dead, she could do it with a flick of her wrist—why would she need to consult others?

Before hanging up, he asked Lin Ling, "Have you been sleeping well at night lately?"

Lin Ling knew what he meant. "Pretty well."

Yan Tuo sighed in relief. "Don't overthink it. Maybe you were just too anxious during that period."

Lin Ling was silent for a moment before whispering, "Or maybe it's because everyone has been away recently, and I'm the only one here."

Everyone was away—including the pervert who had sneaked into her room late at night.

That possibility couldn't be ruled out. Yan Tuo said, "Lock your door at night, and make sure the surveillance devices are fully charged. If you wake up while it's happening, pretend you don't know. Don't resist or startle them. Just wait until they leave."

Lin Ling gave a soft "Mm," her voice trembling slightly.

Yan Tuo hardened his heart and ended the call without offering any comforting words. He wasn't a mother hen who could shelter her under his wings.

Besides, he couldn't let her rely on him too much. What if he died one day?

After hanging up, he studied the list of people again.

Two were headed to Shihe. One was Chen Fu, in his early thirties, currently living in Linyi, Shandong. He operated excavators and was clearly the brawny type. The other was Han Guan, in his twenties, living in Changsha. He was decent-looking but with a hint of sleaziness, working as security for large events like car shows and celebrity concerts.

Shihe...

Yan Tuo's mind stirred. Could they be going to support the Southern Baboon Head?

As for the three heading to the farm—if they hadn't appeared on the same list, they'd have nothing in common at all.

The oldest was Li Yueying, over sixty, who ran a paper-cutting shop in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Yangzhou paper-cutting was a national intangible cultural heritage, so if he stretched it, she could be considered half a colleague of Nie Jiuluo.

The youngest was Feng Mi, in her early twenties, based in Xiamen. She was a bar singer with some local fame.

The last was a man named Yang Zheng, in his forties, working in flower cultivation in Kunming.Two to Stone River, three to the farm—clearly, the farm was the more important matter.

I need to head to the farm.

After returning to the hotel, Nie Jiuluo caught up on sleep with a long nap. In her dream, she held an international touring exhibition. The gallery was elegantly arranged, and she walked across an expensive, plush carpet in a dazzling gold dress with an open back.

In the lounge, journalists from various countries were waiting to interview her.

Just as she was about to reach the door, she paused.

Lao Cai asked from the side, "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Ah, achieving my life goal so easily feels a bit... empty."

……

The dream was so blissful that, upon waking, she momentarily forgot where she was. The afternoon sunlight was gentle and golden, making it easy to forget the winter chill just beyond the glass.

Nie Jiuluo lounged lazily for a while before getting up to pack her luggage—she had already entrusted Jiang Baichuan's matter to Yan Tuo, Xing Shen had gone to meet Yu Rong, and it was time for her to go home.

……

This was the crossover hour between check-out and check-in, so the front desk was crowded. Nie Jiuluo hesitated over which line to join when a young man ahead of her stepped aside with a smile. "Ladies first."

Nie Jiuluo glanced at him.

He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes—handsome, certainly. But she disliked men who exuded "I'm so good-looking" from every pore.

Ladies first it was. She muttered a "Thanks" without even a smile, stepped past him, and handed over her room key.

The man looked disgruntled, but an incoming call distracted him.

He walked a few steps away to answer.

As Nie Jiuluo finished her check-out and passed by him, she overheard him laughing loudly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm checking out now. Long time no see—I'll be right there."

Such poor manners in public. A waste of a decent face.

Nie Jiuluo mentally scoffed as she left the lobby and hailed a taxi to the station. There was no airport locally, so she had to go to Xi'an first before catching a flight home.

The ride wasn't short. Nestled in the back seat, she idly scrolled through her phone when, out of nowhere, three messages arrived in rapid succession via a "burn-after-reading" app.

Nie Jiuluo straightened up.

The minor character was contacting her again.

Opening the app, the first two were photos—two men. The third was a text: Chen Fu and Han Guan. These two are likely Dixing Beasts, and they'll be moving in and out of Stone River soon.

Dixing Beasts?

Her heart skipped a beat. She scrutinized the photos, but soon, both faces were consumed by flames and vanished.

She subtly licked her lips, paused, then tapped the driver's seat. "I'll pay extra. Turn around—back to the hotel."

Hearing "extra pay," the driver immediately made a U-turn without question.

The man in the second photo, Han Guan, was the same one who had let her cut in line at the hotel front desk.

An ordinary person might not have recognized him—Yan Tuo had sent old photos, stiff and unflattering headshots where the hairstyle, demeanor, and attire were completely different from Han Guan's current look.

But Nie Jiuluo was a sculptor. She had an acute sensitivity to spatial dimensions and facial structure, able to strip away flashy exteriors and quickly reconstruct the raw contours and relative positions of facial features.

She was certain she hadn't mistaken him. That man was Han Guan.

And he was more evolved than Gou Ya—a true "humanoid Dixing Beast."This was also her first time coming into contact with this kind of Di Xiao.

She needed to figure out a few things—like whether she could still identify Di Xiao based on the viscosity of their blood, or whether her knives would be as useless against them as dogs' noses had proven to be.

Luck was on her side. As soon as she arrived at the hotel entrance, she saw Han Guan getting into a taxi.

Nie Jiuluo pointed at the vehicle and told the driver, "Follow that car. How much to hire your car for the whole day?"

The driver quoted a high price: "Four or five hundred."

Nie Jiuluo said, "I'll give you five hundred. No other jobs today."

The driver agreed without further questions. After all, in this line of work, you encountered all sorts of bizarre requests—helping catch cheating spouses, tailing people. He kept a steady distance behind the car ahead. After about ten minutes, the taxi stopped in front of a restaurant.

A man in his thirties was already waiting at the entrance. The moment Han Guan got out, the two embraced warmly, slapping each other's backs with gusto, like long-lost friends reuniting.

Nie Jiuluo saw clearly—the other man had a square face, upturned eyes, and a hooked nose. It was Chen Fu.

She took the driver's number, instructed him to wait nearby, then got out and entered the restaurant.

The place was quite upscale, with a central dining area and semi-private booths on either side—semi-private because while they had doors, the partitions were wooden panels rather than walls and didn't reach the ceiling.

It was well past lunchtime, and the restaurant was nearly empty. A server tried to seat Chen Fu and Han Guan in the main dining area, but Chen Fu refused. "Don't you have private rooms?"

The server explained, "The private rooms aren't open right now—"

Chen Fu glared. "The hell they're not. You're just lazy. I'm the customer—I'll sit where I damn well please."

He tugged at Han Guan. "Come on, let's get a room. Easier to talk behind closed doors."

With his burly build and intimidating scowl, the server didn't dare argue, reluctantly leading them to a booth.

Nie Jiuluo watched from a distance, noting the booth's location.

Seeing another customer enter, an idle waitress hurried over.

Nie Jiuluo summoned some emotion, looking up with reddened eyes. In a low voice, she asked, "Can I sit in a private booth?"

The waitress was taken aback—why would one person need a booth? She was about to politely decline when Nie Jiuluo shushed her, pointing at Chen Fu's booth. "Don't let them hear. That younger man... he's my fiancé. We were supposed to get married."

The waitress didn't understand.

Nie Jiuluo's eyes grew redder. "Right before the wedding, I found out he likes men. So I followed him here..."

The waitress suddenly got it. "Him and that... other man?"

Nie Jiuluo nodded, pretending to wipe away nonexistent tears. "I want to sit in a booth to hear what they're saying. Can you help me?"

As fellow women, how could she refuse? The waitress nodded eagerly. "Of course, go ahead."

Nie Jiuluo added, "Could you also let your coworker know? Don't let those two realize I'm next door."

The waitress nodded solemnly, even shooting a stern look at her confused colleague nearby, signaling that there was a good reason for this and they'd talk later.

And so, under the collective gaze of the staff, Nie Jiuluo slipped like a ghost into the booth adjacent to Chen Fu's.

She sat quietly for a moment, silencing her phone and slowing her breathing, then pressed her ear against the wooden partition.Natou had clearly finished serving the dishes. Chen Fu barked at the waiter, "Go on, get out. Don’t come back unless we call you."

The waiter, probably aware of the situation at this table, hurried away.

Nie Jiuluo heard Han Guan chuckle, "I was really hoping to see Sister Lin on this trip. Brother Xiong first said she was busy, then later mentioned she’d already left. What a shame."

Chen Fu sighed, "Sister Lin has it tough. Come on, let’s toast to her."

The clinking of glasses followed immediately.

Han Guan asked, "Brother Chen, which side did you take on the Gou Ya matter?"

Chen Fu replied, "Do you even need to ask? That bastard broke the rules—he deserves to die. What about you?"

Gou Ya?

The same Gou Ya whose eye she had gouged out? Nie Jiuluo felt a chill run down her spine.

Han Guan said, "Same here. When I heard about it, I actually laughed. Brother Chen, we’ve all been through this, right? How could he not hold back? If he can’t even get past such a small hurdle, what’s the point of keeping him around? He’d just be trouble."

Yan Tuo had said these two were "likely Dixaos." Now, with Han Guan’s comment about "we’ve all been through this," Nie Jiuluo was almost certain they were.

Chen Fu lowered his voice, "But I heard Brother Xiong wants to spare him."

Han Guan asked, "Why?"

Chen Fu’s voice dropped even further, "Well, the legendary Chantou Army has resurfaced. I get Brother Xiong’s reasoning—it’s a time when we need all hands on deck. Better to use him than kill him."

After that, the two fell silent for a while, eating quietly, with only the occasional sound of chewing reaching Nie Jiuluo’s ears.

When Han Guan spoke again, he sounded nervous, "The Chantou Army… how many are there? How much do you think… they know about us?"

Chen Fu laughed at him, "Look at you, scared already. Sister Lin’s got everything under control. I heard the Chantou Army’s finished—their ‘dog nose’ is useless, their ‘Mad Blade’ is paralyzed, and their leader’s been crippled. This trip is arranged to see if we can round up the rest."

Nie Jiuluo was stunned.

Mad Blade is paralyzed? Who’s paralyzed? Among their group, only Lao Dao could be remotely associated with paralysis. Did they mistake Lao Dao for the Mad Blade?

Her heart pounded wildly—it was probably Jiang Baichuan’s deliberate misdirection.

Han Guan sounded embarrassed, "It’s just… we’ve heard so much about the Chantou Army, it’s hard not to be spooked."

Chen Fu scoffed, "Don’t overestimate them. You’ll see for yourself when we get to Houtou. I heard they’ve already captured four there."

After that, the conversation turned back to toasts and urging each other to eat.

Han Guan was the one to break the silence again, "On the way from Xi’an, did you see Sister Ying?"

Chen Fu replied, "No, she went to the farm, right? Heard she’s not in good health?"

Han Guan said, "I saw her. She’s really not well—pale, weak, no energy at all."

Chen Fu sighed, "Can’t be helped. The blood sac wasn’t a good match. She was in the first batch, as early as Xiong Hei. Just surviving is lucky. The ones before Xiong Hei were all ruined, and even after him, not everyone made it. Back then, Sister Lin didn’t have much experience—it was all luck. We’re from the later batches, more refined. Should be fine."

Blood sac? What was that?

Nie Jiuluo wanted to hear more, but the two stopped talking. After a while, Han Guan sighed, "Staying alive is really not easy for us."

Chen Fu agreed, "You said it."