Love on the Turquoise Land

Lin Xirou said, "That woman from Xingbazi Village—you ate her, didn't you?"

Gou Ya shuddered, frozen in fear.

"I asked Xiao Tuo about it later. You didn’t tell him the truth—not only that, you deliberately hid it from him. He told me you lost an eye because a woman saw you when you took Sun Zhou away and even drew a sketch of you. He scolded you for being careless, and you got upset. You tried to climb through a window at night to cause trouble, but ended up getting your eye pierced by wire, right?"

Gou Ya’s voice trembled. "Y-yes..."

Lin Xirou snapped sharply, "You’re still lying! After omnivorous feeding, it’s like being addicted to drugs—you crave fresh flesh and blood. You weren’t just causing trouble, you went there to eat people!"

She bent down, locking eyes with Gou Ya. "You—how dare you claim to be of the same lineage as me? The descendants of Kuafu, the Sun-Chasing bloodline—I’ve worked tirelessly all these years, sacrificing even my own son. For what? Certainly not for trash like you!"

"You wasted the blood sac I chose for you, wasted all the effort I poured into you. We are few, not yet strong. You knew that, yet you broke the rules, nearly dragging everyone else into danger and ruining the chances of those who come after."

"Xiong Hei even pleaded for you, saying we need every hand we can get now..."

Xiong Hei, now named, swallowed hard, not daring to breathe.

"True, I need people—but not useless ones. At no point are worthless people worth keeping. Tonight at midnight, I’ll send you on your way. You don’t deserve to see the sun again."

Gou Ya convulsed violently, knowing there was no turning back. When he looked up again, his face twisted with malice, a crimson, fleshy tongue already slithering from his mouth.

Lin Xirou leaned back calmly. "See? And you wanted me to spare him—such a cornered beast!"

Xiong Hei cursed Gou Ya’s suicidal stupidity internally and moved to restrain him, but Feng Mi suddenly yanked a hairpin from her bun and drove it straight through Gou Ya’s tongue.

Feng Mi and Yang Zheng had been standing silently by Lin Xirou’s side the whole time. Gou Ya had dismissed them as mere decorations, never expecting the seemingly delicate girl to strike so ruthlessly.

Feng Mi didn’t stop at just piercing the tongue. She dropped to one knee, pinning it all the way down—most of the cultivation room’s floor was bare soil, and the hairpin plunged deep into the earth. The anchored tongue yanked Gou Ya’s head forward, slamming his chin against the ground as if he’d suddenly kowtowed violently to Lin Xirou. Then came his agonized screams, muffled and distorted by the tongue pinned outside his mouth—a horrifying, incoherent wail.

Xiong Hei’s eyes widened, taking a moment to react before roaring at Feng Mi, "What the hell are you doing?!"

Feng Mi giggled. "He’s about to die anyway—just giving him a little taste of pain. What, after what he just did, you’re still defending him?"

With a scoff, she pulled the hairpin free, wiped it clean on her torn jeans, and leisurely twisted her hair back up.

The moment the pin was removed, Gou Ya writhed in agony, his tongue spasming uncontrollably as bloody foam bubbled from his mouth.

Lin Xirou frowned.Yang Zheng's perpetually drooping eyebrows and downcast eyes finally showed a change in expression: "After all, he's one of our own kind. Was it necessary to humiliate him like that? You know how important his mouthparts are."

Feng Mi found his words grating: "How strange. Defending a useless waste while turning your guns on me—I've been following every rule. Whatever Aunt Lin says, I do it all, right, Aunt Lin?"

By the end, her tone had regained its characteristic petulance.

Lin Xirou said mildly, "I still wanted to question him. Now, thanks to you, how is he supposed to speak?"

Feng Mi widened her eyes: "Aunt Lin, he bared his tongue at you! How can you tolerate that? When a tongue is bared, it's either his death or yours. If anyone dared bare their tongue at me, I'd rip it out and feed the pieces to the dogs—what's there to ask? Listen to his nonsense?"

Crude as her words were, they held truth. Once the tongue was bared, there was indeed nothing left to say. Lin Xirou rose gracefully and instructed Xiong Hei, "Clean this up. We have business at midnight. Everyone who can make it should be there."

With that, she walked out. At the door, when she pressed the handle, something felt off—the door opened with unexpected ease.

Lin Xirou glanced back and asked, "Who was the last to close this door?"

Feng Mi answered promptly, "Me. Is there a problem?"

Lin Xirou pointed at the latch. "You weren’t careful. It wasn’t locked."

Feng Mi peeked over. "Aunt Lin, isn’t it just that your door’s old and unresponsive?"

The moment Yan Tuo heard Lin Xirou say, "Clean this up," he immediately kicked away the plastic casing with his shoe tip, then strode over to retrieve it, stuffing it into his bag.

He didn’t return to the break room—rushing back would look too suspicious. Instead, he strolled leisurely, as if out for a walk. This way, he could plausibly claim he’d left the break room for some fresh air if Lin Xirou encountered him.

The layout of the underground second level was complex, with many branching paths. As he rounded a corner, a low, muffled, sinister chuckle drifted toward him.

Yan Tuo tensed and halted abruptly.

The chuckle was followed by a stifled, aged cough.

Regaining his composure, Yan Tuo cautiously peered around the corner.

He saw a frail, petite woman with graying hair, one hand braced against the wall, the other clutching a handkerchief to her mouth as she coughed violently. Her entire body trembled like the last withered leaf clinging to a winter branch, ready to fall at any moment.

Yan Tuo had a vague idea who she was.

One of the three Di Xiao who had come to the farm, the eldest among them—Li Yueying, No. 004, ranked just after Xiong Hei.

It was bizarre. So far, every Di Xiao Yan Tuo had encountered was either physically formidable or brimming with vitality. Only this one seemed frail—not just by Di Xiao standards, but even compared to ordinary humans.

After the coughing fit subsided, Li Yueying caught her breath, wiped her lips with the handkerchief, and muttered, "Why should they…?"

Her tone was venomous and hoarse, sending a chill down the spine.

With that, she leaned on the wall and shuffled away, step by labored step.

Only then did Yan Tuo notice a door not far from where Li Yueying had been standing.This door was no stranger to him. The first time he infiltrated the underground second level, it was behind this very door that he encountered Lin Ling, who had wandered in by mistake. Back then, the surroundings weren’t fully constructed, and the door was just an ordinary wooden plank. Now, everything had changed. The security here was stricter than anywhere else, and since that incident, he had never been able to enter again.

Inside, it remained the same as years ago—miniature plastic greenhouses and eerie, seemingly soil-grown… people?

As he pondered, someone lightly tapped his shoulder.

Yan Tuo was so startled that his spine stiffened with cold. After a pause, he turned around and, upon seeing who it was, silently exhaled in relief.

It was Feng Mi, and only Feng Mi.

Feng Mi’s eyes sparkled as she teased, “You’re really something. Are you slow to react? Shouldn’t you turn around immediately when someone taps you?”

Yan Tuo asked, “Do you know me?”

“Aunt Lin mentioned you,” she replied, leaning in closer. “What are you looking at?”

Whether it was his imagination or not, Yan Tuo sensed a subtle shift in Feng Mi’s expression when she glanced at the door.

He feigned nonchalance. “Just saw an old lady I’ve never met before. She was coughing badly and walked past. Is she with you?”

Feng Mi let out an “Oh.” Then, her lips curled downward in disdain as she muttered, “Here to look again… but it’s pointless. Fate is given by heaven—you just have to accept it.”

Yan Tuo detected something cryptic in her words. “What do you mean?”

Feng Mi flashed a radiant smile and stepped forward, hooking her fingers into the folds of Yan Tuo’s sleeve near his elbow, deftly steering the conversation elsewhere. “This countryside is so dull. How about we go out for drinks sometime? I can even sing for you. You wouldn’t believe how good I sound when I’m drunk.”

Yan Tuo chuckled. “I don’t even know your name yet.”

Her smile grew even sweeter. “Feng Mi. ‘Mi’ as in ‘honey.’”

Yan Tuo nodded. “Why wait? How about tonight?”

Feng Mi’s eyes lit up, but then she frowned in frustration. “Can’t. I have plans tonight.”

Yan Tuo’s expression darkened. He withdrew his arm, shaking off her hand. “If you’re not serious, why even bring it up?”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Feng Mi standing there, stunned.

The sudden shift left Feng Mi momentarily speechless. Accustomed to the nightlife scene, she was usually surrounded by admirers who fawned over her. “Changing faces” was her usual tactic with men—smiling when pleased, storming off when displeased, with none daring to protest, treating her like a treasure.

Never had she imagined being the one dismissed today. Twirling a strand of her braid, Feng Mi felt an odd, unfamiliar sensation. Strangely, she wasn’t angry—if anything, she felt a little…

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed Lin Xirou and Yang Zheng standing not far away, watching her.

Feng Mi tossed her braid and giggled. “Aunt Lin, I didn’t provoke him, don’t worry. I’ll behave.”

With that, she blew a kiss at Lin Xirou and skipped away lightly.

…

Yang Zheng watched Feng Mi’s retreating figure expressionlessly and remarked, “Lin-jie, you really ought to rein her in.”

Lin Xirou replied, “She hasn’t broken any rules. How can I?”

Yang Zheng said, “I’ve heard that in the nightclubs, two men ended up mentally impaired after getting out of bed with her.”

Lin Xirou paused. “How could that happen?”Yang Zheng spoke plainly, "Young people lack self-control, only caring about pleasure. When her tongue pricked and tangled with others', who could withstand it? It's lucky he didn't die."

Lin Xirou slightly relaxed, "No one noticed, right?"

"No, the nightclub was crowded, and she was careful. But we can't let her continue like this. With that temperament, trouble is inevitable sooner or later."

After a pause, Lin Xirou said, "Different people are raised under the same sky. With so many transformed, all kinds of temperaments exist. You can't expect everyone to suit your preferences. As long as they don't cross the line like Gou Ya did, it's generally acceptable."

Shortly after Yan Tuo entered the lounge, Lin Xirou came in, closing the door behind her, clearly intending to have a serious talk.

Yan Tuo got straight to the point, "Aunt Lin, what exactly happened with Gou Ya? It can't really be serious enough to warrant 'death,' can it?"

Lin Xirou countered, "What do you think about this?"

Yan Tuo replied, "I think he might have broken your rules—something very serious."

As he spoke, he reached out and took Lin Xirou's hand. "Aunt Lin."

Rarely seeing him so solemn, Lin Xirou felt a pang of unease. "Go on."

"For so many years, I've never asked, and you've never told. But you know, just because I don't ask doesn't mean I don't have thoughts, right? I was just waiting for the day you'd tell me yourself."

Lin Xirou smiled.

Yan Tuo continued, "But no matter how long I waited, it never came. So today, I'll just say it outright. Aunt Lin, have you really never considered helping me... become like you?"

Lin Xirou wasn't surprised. Xiong Hei had once mentioned this to her as a joke, and she had guessed that this was likely Yan Tuo's deepest desire.

She weighed her words carefully. "There's no way, truly no way. Xiao Tuo, isn't living an ordinary life enough for you? You lack nothing—money, my help when needed, the freedom to pursue any girl you like. You could live happier than 99% of people in this world. Why seek unnecessary trouble?"

Yan Tuo said, "But I can get hurt by accidents, become disabled, grow old. Aunt Lin, one day when I'm ancient and toothless, you'll still be this young. You raised me from childhood—can you really bear to... watch me grow old and die?"

Lin Xirou gave a bitter smile. "Child, you're in the prime of your life. Why jump straight to 'growing old and dying,' worrying about things so far away?"

She added, "Over the years, I've watched you try so hard to help. Xiong Hei mentioned your thoughts, so I humored you by assigning trivial tasks—but in my heart, you should never be involved. After you got hurt last time, I already regretted it."

She withdrew her hand. "Xiao Tuo, let me take this chance to make it clear: there's no way. It's a matter of bloodline. Give up on this. From now on, just live your own happy life. My affairs have nothing to do with you."

Yan Tuo slowly retracted his hand too. "Aunt Lin, what exactly... are you people?"

Lin Xirou replied, "That's a secret you'll never know. Later, when you see Jiang Baichuan, once you've vented your anger, consider this matter closed."Having reached this point in the conversation, Yan Tuo couldn't insist any further. He leaned back in his chair, his face a picture of dejection and disappointment—partly genuine, but mostly feigned.

However, he now understood Lin Xirou's bottom line: "This is a secret you'll never know." It seemed that even with unwavering loyalty and complete trust, the truth remained out of reach.

What did "descendants of Kuafu, the sun-chasing lineage" mean? It certainly couldn't refer to the well-known myth of "Kuafu chasing the sun."

His mother's diary had mentioned the story of the "Seven-Fingered Kuafu."

How did that story go again?

—Kuafu wanted to bring the sun back for everyone, but eventually, his strength failed him, and he collapsed. Yet, unwilling to give up, he clawed forward with his hands, determined to crawl toward the sun. In the end, he had worn down three fingers, leaving only seven...

Could Kuafu be the ancestor of the Dixing? But given the Dixing's traits—being able to regrow a head from their neck stumps—losing three fingers would be trivial. Why emphasize it?

Lin Xirou noticed Yan Tuo's distraction: "Xiao Tuo?"

Snapping back to reality, Yan Tuo quickly deflected: "Oh, Aunt Lin, I have some good news. I've talked to Lin Ling. The girl just needed some time to come around... Now, she also thinks Lü Xian is a good match and is willing to give it a try."

Lin Xirou's face lit up: "Really?"

Yan Tuo nodded: "It's just... Lü Xian, as I know him, is quite particular about looks."

Lin Xirou cut him off with a laugh: "No problem. That can be handled."

Truthfully, any problem could be handled—she just disliked forcing things. She preferred everything to go smoothly, as it put her mind at ease.