love on the turquoise land

Chapter 10

The older officer couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Wow!"

The sketch was excellent, and more importantly, the person had very distinctive features, making them easily recognizable. Due to professional reasons, he dreaded generic faces. Sending out a wanted poster with such a sketch would be like throwing a pebble into the ocean; even the most enthusiastic members of the public wouldn't be able to recognize the person.

He took the sketch to the front desk and asked the hotel to make a copy for reference. He instructed the staff in guest rooms, kitchens, and security to see if anyone recognized the face.

The receptionist was busy checking in Yan Tuo, but she didn't want to delay the police officers and quickly took the sketch. Like the older officer, her first reaction was to praise the drawing. "Really talented! It took less than ten minutes to draw."

The older officer smiled, "She's a professional, with a solid foundation."

Yan Tuo looked at the sketch. It was well-drawn, with lively facial expressions and perfectly captured features.

***

Although it was their duty, going out on a call in the middle of the night was still tiring. Nie Jiulo escorted the two officers to the hotel entrance before turning back to her room. Just a few meters away, she saw Yan Tuo waiting for the elevator.

Nie Jiulo walked over and waited with him.

When the elevator arrived, out of courtesy, Nie Jiulo stepped aside to let the person with luggage go first. As she entered the elevator and was about to press the floor button, she saw that he had already pressed it. They were both staying on the fourth floor.

Nie Jiulo stepped to the side, maintaining social distance from him, and then stared at the elevator door, waiting for it to open so she could step out. The steel elevator door faintly reflected the images of the two, showing that Yan Tuo had no interest in his fellow passenger and was only focused on returning to his room.

What was Yan Tuo doing in the cornfields of Xingbazizi Village? Stealing corn? And where was his duck? Why didn't he bring it along? Leaving it all alone in the car for the night.

Feeling tired, Nie Jiulo lowered her head, covered her mouth, and yawned.

At that moment, Yan Tuo quickly turned his head and glanced at her.

When the elevator reached their floor, Nie Jiulo stepped out first, and Yan Tuo followed. His room was actually in a different direction from Nie Jiulo's, but he didn't rush back. He stood at the elevator entrance, watching Nie Jiulo until he saw which room she entered—the second-to-last one on the left side of the corridor.

***

After returning to her room, Nie Jiulo washed up and got into bed. Instead of immediately turning off the lights and going to sleep, she grabbed her stationery bag from the bedside table, took out a pen and a piece of long paper, and after a moment of contemplation, she began to write.

She wrote three points:

1. Sun Zhou was bitten by a dog during the day and was taken away in a canvas bag at night. Reported to the police.
2. A woman suspected to be missing in Xingbazizi Village.
3. Encountered a man named Yan Tuo twice. There was a stuffed duck sitting on the passenger seat of his car.

At the end, she noted the date and folded the long paper into a three-dimensional star. With narrowed eyes, she aimed at the nearby luggage and tossed it inside. She didn't write these things for analysis; she was accustomed to jotting down memorable or novel events of the day, folding them into stars for safekeeping—while others fold lucky stars for wishes, she used them as a diary.

One star for each day, a few sentences to summarize, and she'd have 365 stars in a year. It was easier to maintain than writing a diary. She already had two large boxes filled with them at home. So many days, yet only two boxes accumulated. Time was both heavy and light.

During boring moments, she would open a box, randomly pick one, and revisit that particular day. Sometimes, she remembered the events written on the paper; more often than not, she had forgotten.

On the seventh day in southern Shaanxi, there were already seven stars in the box.

***

Nie Jiulo turned off the light and fell asleep, exhausted.

When she woke up again, it felt like she had slept for a long, long time, yet the room was pitch black. Checking her phone, she realized she had only slept for two hours.

Unable to sleep anymore, Nie Jiulo listened to the sound of rain outside the window. It was a rainy night, just like the ancient saying goes. Turning over in bed, she opened the curtains facing the large window and lay back down, unable to drift off again.

This is her habit. When she can't sleep, she likes to look at the night window. Inside the room, it's pitch black, but outside, there's always a faint light. It's dark inside and bright outside, giving people a strange sense of security, as if nestling in a hidden eyeball, peeking at the world outside - many creative inspirations come to her during such peeping moments.

It's been raining for a while. The window is full of raindrops and miscellaneous rain marks. Water stains are covered with colorful lights from nearby or distant signs, like hanging a dream on the window, gorgeous yet greasy.

Her thoughts returned to her current work.

The witch.

The witch should be lurking in the night and darkness. Her facial expressions and body movements should be eerie. Feasting on human heads is too obvious and bloody. In literature, there's the so-called 'not-writing-a-word-yet-capturing-elegance' and sculpture should also simplify complexity...

Just as she was thinking, a wriggling shadow appeared at the lower edge of the window.

Nie Jiuluo didn't pay attention. She had seen this kind of thing many times while looking out the night window: sometimes it's a bird, sometimes it's a stray cat. Once, when she was camping near a grassland, a hedgehog stood trembling outside the window in the middle of the night.

However, after a while, she couldn't ignore the shadow anymore. It was climbing up. It wasn't a cat or a bird - the part that was wriggling earlier was a human head, connected to shoulders and arms.

Is that actually a person?

Nie Jiuluo lay still, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

This was the fourth floor. Climbing on the facade outside the window, whether it's for burglary or assault, isn't this too big of a deal? Also, it seems like this person doesn't have a rope or any climbing tools like suction cups in their hands. How did they manage to climb the facade?

Could it be that there's a heavyweight figure staying in this hotel, who has gone to great lengths to hire an expert and is attempting to steal secrets in the middle of the night?

After a few more seconds, Nie Jiuluo's mind went cold.

The shadow stopped moving at her window, with almost half of its body huddled there, forming a strange shape.