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Chapter 5

The man staggered back two steps, covering his eye and letting out a painful scream. Nie Jiuluo didn’t pay him any more attention, instead rolling towards the head of the bed and turning on the room light.

The moment the light flickered on, there was a crashing sound of shattered glass from the window. She turned around quickly to see that the man had charged out through the open window, and the force of his impact had also broken the adjacent window glass.

Nie Jiuluo ran to the window and looked down. Generally, when someone jumps out of a window, they would land on the ground.

However, apart from the scattered sounds of broken glass, there was no expected heavy thud. Her mind raced, and she immediately looked up, catching a glimpse of what seemed to be a shadow at the edge of the roof, but then it was still.

The entire process, from the initial loud commotion to the eerie silence, took less than two minutes. Despite the jarring sound of breaking glass, it was so late that nearby guests were all asleep, and no one was disturbed by the midnight noise.

Standing by the window, with the wind pouring in through the broken hole, cooling the sweat on her body, Nie Jiuluo realized what had happened. She quickly walked back to the bedside table and turned off the light. She felt safer in the darkness; bright lights made it too easy to be observed, exposing every movement.

She then sat on the floor with her back to the window, opening the “self-destruct” app on her phone and sent a message to “the other side.”

Nie Jiuluo: “There’s been an incident here. Call me.”

As usual, the message would self-destruct in ten seconds. Nie Jiuluo stared at the screen as the text was consumed by fiery smoke. It was midnight, and she didn’t expect an immediate response.

However, within less than a minute, her phone rang. The call connected, and on the other end was Xing Shen’s calm and soothing voice: “Alo.”

Nie Jiuluo summarized the situation succinctly: “The man was injured badly and will likely need hospital treatment. Since you’re often in Southern Shaanxi, could you find out which hospital might have treated someone with such injuries and who they are?”

Xing Shen responded, “Don’t hang up. I’ll arrange it.”

At that moment, Nie Jiuluo sighed in relief. Her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness in the room. She got up and walked to the counter, opened a bottle of mineral water, and drank half of it.

After a while, Xing Shen’s voice came again: “Alo?”

Nie Jiuluo put down the bottle: “Go ahead.”

“Climbing out of the window without falling, and then immediately climbing up to the roof—that’s not something an ordinary person can do.”

The way Xing Shen phrased it was very tactful. Nie Jiuluo replied, “I don’t think anyone can do that.”

Xing Shen was precise: “Not necessarily. A skilled martial artist with special training could. Do you have any suspicions about who this person might be?”

“No.”

After a pause, she added, “I’m an ordinary person. My profession wouldn’t attract such dangerous opponents.”

She emphasized “ordinary person” with particular stress.

Xing Shen asked, “Have you offended anyone recently?”

Who could she have offended? She was always so mild-mannered and considerate, even if she lacked warmth, she never failed in courtesy. Nie Jiuluo replied curtly, “I made a complaint about a travel agency, but I don’t think it’s enough for them to take such drastic measures.”

Maybe it was related to the sketch she had provided to the police? However, Nie Jiuluo didn’t want to go into details with Xing Shen. Besides, if the sketch had been handed over, it was illogical to attack her now—what could they gain?

Xing Shen continued, “It’s too dangerous to let someone like that into your room.”

“If the person was here to kill me, they would have tried again if they failed this time. It’s better to deal with it once and for all.”

Xing Shen still found it hard to believe: “Could it be a random attack? Did they just happen to target you?”

Just happened to target her…

Nie Jiuluo sneered, “I must be very unlucky.”

She never had such luck with lottery or other games of chance.

Xing Shen chuckled: “It’s his bad luck, he’s blind. But Alo, blinding someone might lead to more trouble for you later on. I’m worried you might face issues down the line.”

Nie Jiuluo said, “It was self-defense.”

She didn’t regret that the pencil went where it was supposed to. The attacker had come to kill her—why should she be polite?

Moreover, just thinking about it, if she hadn’t been awake at that moment…

Xing Shen said, “Speculating now is pointless. Let’s find out more first.”

Nie Jiuluo agreed with a “mm,” preparing to hang up when she remembered something: “You replied so quickly—are you still awake this late?”

Xing Shen replied, “We’re discussing matters… It’s quite strange. During this trip, we encountered two empty tents.”

Nie Jiuluo didn’t think it was unusual: “Empty tents in the mountains isn’t abnormal.”

Some hikers leave their tents behind when packing up, which is inconvenient but not too problematic. Looking at it positively, it could help future hikers, like the saying “planting trees for others to enjoy the shade.”

Xing Shen clarified, “No, you misunderstood. I mean ‘empty’ as in no people. All the equipment, supplies, and even clothes inside the tents were neatly arranged, but the people were missing. It looks like they’ve been gone for several days.”

Nie Jiuluo thought for a moment: “Maybe they were taken by wild animals, or there’s a serial killer in the mountains?”

She said it jokingly, but it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. Xing Shen said, “We’re considering all possibilities, which is why we’re still awake in the middle of the night. Are you… alright tonight?”

“I’m fine.”

“Long time no see. How have you been these years…”

He didn’t continue, and the line went dead.

Nie Jiuluo had already hung up.

After such a bizarre incident, coupled with having to guard a broken window, Nie Jiuluo couldn’t sleep at all for the rest of the night.

When dawn broke, she received a message from “the other side”: Up to now, inquiries had been made at major hospitals and clinics in Shihe County and even in nearby counties, but there were no records of any patients with eye injuries from being blinded.

Such severe injuries would normally require a visit to a reputable hospital, or the person might be seeking treatment privately from someone they know who could handle such surgery—though the likelihood of that was extremely low.

Nie Jiuluo called the front desk, explaining that she had accidentally broken the window glass and was willing to pay for repairs. She requested someone to come fix it as soon as possible or to help her switch to another room.

At 9 a.m., the travel service provider called, informing her that starting today, Lao Qian would be taking over the tour. Both him and his vehicle were already waiting in the parking lot.

Nie Jiuluo quickly freshened up and went downstairs. Once she got into the car, Lao Qian didn’t rush to depart but first introduced himself formally, emphasizing his extensive experience and strong sense of responsibility. He also briefly mentioned the situation with Sun Zhou, saying that Sun Zhou’s family had been unable to reach him and were considering reporting him missing this morning.

A missing person report would be beneficial; the police would take it more seriously with double reports.

After his introduction, Lao Qian started the day’s itinerary. While driving, he handed a few printed pages to the back: “Miss Nie, please take a look. This is today’s itinerary.”

For a single day’s itinerary, a printed page seemed a bit excessive.

Nie Jiuluo took it. The travel agency had produced a simple route map, marking highways, rivers, major landmarks, and destinations.

Tour guides usually have a set of narratives, such as introducing local legends or interesting cultural aspects along the way. Lao Qian had clearly memorized these and was about to begin his spiel when he had to stop because a car in front was backing up.

Nie Jiuluo glanced up instinctively, but her attention was drawn to a white SUV belonging to Yan Tuo, which was parked not far away. Yan Tuo was there, opening the car door and moving a large wheeled suitcase into the back seat.

With such little activity in the parking lot, Lao Qian noticed it too and said with a chuckle, “That suitcase must contain valuable items.”

Nie Jiuluo was curious: “How do you know?”

Lao Qian’s explanation made sense: “With such a large vehicle, there’s plenty of room in the trunk for luggage. It’s unusual to put it in the back seat unless it’s something valuable. If it weren’t valuable, there would be no need to treat it so carefully.”

On the road, Lao Qian continued his work: “Miss Nie, today we’ll be going to the neighboring county, traveling about 100 kilometers round trip. We’ll visit two Taoist temples and one Buddhist temple. Refer to the route map I gave you; it’s the one with highways marked.”

Nie Jiuluo found the map as instructed.

“Did you notice the village by the provincial road with the unusual name?”

Nie Jiuluo glanced briefly: “Is it ‘Banya Village’?”

Among surrounding place names like “Qili Bridge,” “Li’s Gully,” and “Wang’s Camp,” “Banya Village” stood out strikingly like a clear stream.

Lao Qian, enthusiastic, said, “Do you know why it’s called ‘Banya’?”

Truthfully, Lao Qian’s way of transitioning between topics was rather abrupt, sounding almost rehearsed. Nie Jiuluo wanted to laugh, but given his enthusiasm, she didn’t want to discourage him: “Why?”

Great, the tourist asked a question, which meant she wasn’t just passively listening to a monologue.

Lao Qian said, “There are two theories behind this name. One is that the village’s well water is poor, causing everyone to develop bad teeth, so the village is called Banya.”

Nie Jiuluo laughed: “That’s a bit far-fetched.”

While bad water can indeed affect teeth, it doesn’t specifically cause the type of dental issues implied.

“The other theory is that because the village is backed by a mountain with a vertical face and a cleft in the middle that looks like the gap between two large teeth, it’s named Banya Village.”

Nie Jiuluo asked, “Have you been there?”

“Generally, people don’t go there. The name is interesting, but the village itself is small and doesn’t have much scenery…” At this point, Lao Qian had an idea, “Miss Nie, if you’re interested, I could detour there on the way. It wouldn’t be much trouble.”

Nie Jiuluo shook her head: “No interest. You’d better not go; it sounds ominous.”

Lao Qian was intrigued: “Why?”

“You said the village is backed by a mountain, and the mountain looks like two large teeth, right? Teeth are connected to the mouth, and the village is at the edge of the mouth, like it’s about to be swallowed. That’s bad feng shui and inauspicious.”

Lao Qian clicked his tongue: “Hmm, that makes sense.”

He thought to himself: This Miss Nie, despite her youth, seems to believe in these superstitions. She’s quite superstitious.

Yan Tuo drove along the provincial road.

This road wasn’t a highway and had no toll stations. While driving, he kept glancing at the rearview mirror to check the large suitcase lying in the back seat, which was quite conspicuous.

After driving for a while, he heard strange noises coming from the trunk—rustling sounds and occasional thumps, without any regular pattern.

Yan Tuo frowned and focused on the road ahead: The provincial road’s isolation barriers were incomplete, and there were side roads leading to county and township lines.

Soon, he turned onto a county road, then into the nearest rural area (country road), aiming to drive as far into a remote area as possible. He finally parked the car next to a quiet little grove.

Yan Tuo sat in the car for a while before getting out, not in a hurry. The leaves were already turning yellow with a sense of desolation for the season. In the distance was a village backed by a mountain, very tranquil.

After making sure the surroundings were “clean,” he got out and opened the trunk. Inside was a canvas bag that was moving vigorously, clearly containing a living creature.

Yan Tuo unzipped the bag.

Sun Zhou, who was struggling inside, froze upon seeing Yan Tuo. His mouth was covered with wide tape, rendering him mute. He could only desperately blink and shake his head, his eyes filled with pleading.

Yan Tuo took out a medical kit from the car and retrieved a square piece of gauze. He poured some liquid from an unmarked plastic bottle onto it and pressed it against Sun Zhou’s nose.

Sun Zhou struggled even harder, but being on the chopping block, restrained, his efforts soon weakened. Within less than half a minute, he was completely still.

Yan Tuo put the bottle of liquid back, closed the trunk, and brushed off his hands. He habitually scanned the surroundings, from near to far, and from low to high, before suddenly focusing on a spot several dozen meters away.

Due to the sunlight, there was a glint from what seemed to be glasses or binoculars.

Someone was there.

How unfortunate—he had deliberately chosen a secluded place for illicit activities and still got spotted.

 

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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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