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Chapter 41

Yan Tuo was initially startled by the unexpected sound of a child calling “Uncle.” If he hadn’t been aware of a child being nearby, this sudden noise might have sent him into panic. He turned on his phone’s flashlight and directed it towards the source of the sound.

In the dim light, he saw a child in a blue and yellow sweatshirt struggling to crawl out from the reeds. The child, trembling and with dirty hands tucked into his sleeves, repeated the word “Uncle” in a shaky voice.

Yan Tuo’s instincts kicked in, and he quickly extended his hand to help. However, as soon as his fingers touched the child’s shoulder, a shiver of unease ran through him. The child’s voice had sounded unnaturally consistent, and now, as he withdrew his hand, he realized something was amiss.

The “child” abruptly lifted its head, emitting a guttural noise and grabbing at Yan Tuo’s throat with clawed hands. What he had thought was a child turned out to be a grotesque creature resembling a locust—its head shaped like an inverted triangular pyramid with oversized eyes and a mouth and nose pointing downward. This creature, unsettling and donning a human sweatshirt, had been pretending to be a child.

Most would have been paralyzed by shock, but Yan Tuo’s experiences in the second basement of the farm had steeled him. As the creature’s claws dug into his neck, scraping against his flesh and even feeling like they were grinding against the bone, he narrowly avoided a fatal injury.

Fueled by anger and adrenaline, Yan Tuo reflexively kicked the creature away. The soft-bodied grasshopper rolled upon impact but quickly sprang back to its feet and re-emerged from the reeds.

Despite the creature’s grotesque appearance, Yan Tuo knew engaging it was risky. He fled, with the creature pursuing him relentlessly. The wind howled past his ears, and the pain from his bleeding wound intensified. The unsettling sound of the creature’s pursuit echoed like a nightmarish whistle, urging Yan Tuo to run faster. He took a sharp turn and fired a shot in the direction of the sound, but the grasshopper’s agile movements made it difficult to hit.

From a distance, Xing Shen remained hidden, using a low, almost imperceptible whistle to guide Yan Tuo. Yan Tuo’s breathing grew labored, and he realized the creature was no longer merely attacking but actively hunting him, reminiscent of ancient hounds pursuing prey.

As exhaustion set in, Yan Tuo turned and readied his gun, but the intense running had distorted his perception. The ground seemed to sway beneath him, and the grasshopper’s movements appeared disoriented, coming from all directions.

Desperate to regain his composure, Yan Tuo closed and reopened his eyes. Just as he did, the creature lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. His gun and phone fell away, and the flashlight illuminated the area with a harsh glare.

On the ground, Yan Tuo realized the gravity of his situation. The grasshopper’s claws were everywhere, and he could hear its disturbing, high-pitched noises surrounding him. He tried to defend himself with wild, swinging punches, landing a few hits but not enough to stop the relentless creature.

The grasshopper’s sensitivity only seemed to provoke it further, causing it to attack more aggressively. Yan Tuo’s head grew increasingly disoriented from the blows, and his clothes were shredded by the creature’s claws. As he felt the cold press of the grasshopper’s claws and saw its grotesque face looming close, with a long, thorny tongue extending towards him, he made a grim decision.

Determined not to meet his end passively, Yan Tuo resolved to fight back fiercely, even if it meant facing death head-on. He recalled a previous confrontation where he had told Nie Jiuluo that even without a gun, one still had teeth. Now, he was prepared to face his fate with the same tenacity, ready to fight to the bitter end.

With all his remaining strength, Yan Tuo suddenly lifted his head and sank his teeth into the side of the grasshopper’s neck. The creature shuddered violently, as if it had encountered something terrifying, releasing Yan Tuo and fleeing as if its life depended on it.

Stunned by the abrupt turn of events, Yan Tuo felt an unexpected relief as his drained energy left him collapsing to the ground. He lay there, barely able to move, when a faint light approached, accompanied by Nie Jiuluo’s urgent voice: “Xing Shen?”

Nie Jiuluo, in a rush to save time, hadn’t even changed her clothes. She grabbed her backpack, clothes, and boots and hurried downstairs to catch a taxi. As she got in the car, she asked the driver, “How soon can I get there?”

The driver glanced at the navigation and replied, “Forty or fifty minutes.”

Nie Jiuluo’s heart sank. Her experience told her that fights usually end quickly. A surprise attack could resolve the situation in twenty seconds, and even a boxing match only lasts three minutes per round. Forty or fifty minutes felt like an eternity; by the time she arrived, it might be too late.

However, Jiang Baichuan had said she was the “closest,” so she had no choice but to go. As the car drove into the roadway, Nie Jiuluo instructed the driver, “Give me the collection code.”

The driver, puzzled, responded, “Miss, the car you booked online; just pay through the system later…”

Nie Jiuluo interrupted him, “Hurry up, give me the code.”

Reluctantly, the driver provided the payment code. Nie Jiuluo scanned it and paid, her payment of 1,000 yuan acknowledged with a voice reminder in the car.

The driver was momentarily stunned but quickly refocused. Nie Jiuluo tossed her coat onto the front seats to create a barrier between her and the driver. She spoke quickly, “This money is for you as compensation for the outbound trip. Drive as fast as you can, and if you get fined, it’s on me. Don’t take any more orders after you drop me off, and I might need the car afterward. I’ll pay you extra for the return trip.”

The driver, excited by the generous payment, was eager to comply. He stepped on the accelerator, promising, “Miss, don’t worry. We’ll get there quickly. Even if we hit a few fines, it’s no big deal. I’ll make sure we’re there in no time.”

Despite his reassurances, Nie Jiuluo was concerned that a quarter of an hour might not be enough. She quickly changed into her high-strength bra, tight pants, ankle boots, and half-fingered gloves. The custom-made equipment included soft armor with a malleable, high-density film for protection, designed to withstand moderate scratches and ensure safety even if the underlying skin was damaged.

After changing her clothes, tying her hair, and putting on her mask in under ten minutes, Nie Jiuluo used the remaining time to call Jiang Baichuan.

In the driver’s seat, the driver focused on speeding up, but the small space of the car made it difficult to ignore parts of Nie Jiuluo’s conversation. Her whispered words were fragmented but still caught the driver’s attention.

“Why provoke him? We don’t know anything about Yan Tuo now. Isn’t it just because he’s strong?” “What about the grasshoppers? Why not confine them? They’re running wild like stray animals!” “How long until you arrive? I’ll stay with him until you get here.”

The driver was baffled by the conversation, finding it strange and disjointed. The beautiful girl, traveling alone at night to a desolate place and changing clothes in the car while speaking in hushed tones, was certainly unusual.

Just thinking about it, Nie Jiuluo hung up the phone and addressed the driver, “Master, what you heard tonight is best forgotten. If you’ve carried me, you shouldn’t be involved. If anyone asks in the future, just say you weren’t paying attention. I’m doing this for your own good.”

In the rearview mirror, she sat upright, her long hair tied high, giving off an aura of someone not to be trifled with. The driver, seasoned and accustomed to all kinds of passengers, responded, “Hey, the guests take the car, and I collect the money. Dozens of people come and go every day; who remembers all of them?”

As expected, the driver made good time, and after about twenty minutes, they were close to the anchor point. However, there were no landmarks in sight, making it difficult to determine where to stop. Nie Jiuluo didn’t want the driver getting too close to the scene; he was a worker and shouldn’t be burdened with the details.

She instructed the driver, “Don’t stop here. Keep going, wherever you need to, and I’ll meet you here in thirty minutes.”

The driver complied and continued driving. Nie Jiuluo put on her coat, muted her phone, and stowed it in her inner pocket. Holding a knife in one hand and a pocket flashlight in the other, she cautiously made her way toward the reeds in the distance.

Jiang Baichuan had described the location focusing on “reeds” and “ponds.” However, the reeds covered a vast area, with no clear landmarks; just a mix of grass and trees. Near the riverbank, the reeds were dense, and the grass extended far into the distance.

As Nie Jiuluo approached an area with angled grass, she heard a strange sound. She moved quietly, her dagger at the ready. Suddenly, a shadow darted out, resembling a dog in its swift movement, vanishing in an instant.

It was too dark to see clearly, so Nie Jiuluo turned on her flashlight but set it to the lowest setting to avoid drawing too much attention. She shielded the lamp with her fingers and directed it towards the source of the sound. The dim light revealed a man lying on the ground.

“Xing Shen?”

Nie Jiuluo’s heart tightened as she hurried over and crouched beside the fallen figure. To her relief, it was Yan Tuo. He was gasping heavily, his eyes vacant but still able to recognize her. Weakly, he called out, “Miss Nie.”

Nie Jiuluo examined him closely; his shirt and sleeves were torn, revealing numerous scratches. His collarbone was particularly badly injured, and the ground around him was stained with blood. It was clear that the “dog” she had seen was actually a grasshopper.

The sight of Yan Tuo’s injuries was alarming. Nie Jiuluo, worried, grabbed him by the chest and lifted his upper body slightly. “What about the person at my end?”

Before Yan Tuo could respond, she released him and stood up, moving toward the center of the area. “Xing Shen?”

Meanwhile, Xing Shen, who had been standing still, had not sounded the whistle again. Observing Yan Tuo’s condition, he knew that anyone scratched by grasshoppers would quickly fall into a trance and their defenses would sharply diminish. It was unlikely that Yan Tuo could have escaped far.

As Xing Shen considered calling the grasshopper back, he noticed a light in the distance and saw the grasshopper returning like a ghost. This was unusual. The grasshopper’s attack had been slower than expected, and its reaction seemed more frightened and subdued than before.

Xing Shen was puzzled. The grasshopper’s unusual behavior, even under Yu Rong’s whip, was unexpected. Could something else be affecting it?

Sure enough, Nie Jiuluo’s voice soon reached him. “Xing Shen?”

Overjoyed, Xing Shen took a few steps towards the sound. “Ah Luo!”


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An Owl Rising From The Green Soil

An Owl Rising From The Green Soil

Love On The Turquoise Land (Drama)
Score 8.0
Status: Ongoing Type: , Author: , Artist: Released: 2020 Native Language: Chinese
Over two thousand years ago on a deep night, Xu Fu* set sail to the eastern seas in a treasure ship to search for immortality, but few people knew that at the same time, a group of black-turban soldiers secretly entered the vast and dense Nanbao forest… A millennium later, the dark legend continues to slowly grow in the shadows. Xú Fú: Qin dynasty court necromancer and was tasked by Qin Shi Huang to look for the elixir of life between 219 BC and 210 BC. He never returned after departing on his second mission in 210 BC.

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