love on the turquoise land

Chapter 22

Lu Xian had just left when Lin Ling arrived, carrying a vase of freshly arranged flowers in various colors, adding a lively touch to the room when she placed it on the table.

Yan Tuo commented, "It looks pretty nice."

Recalling the days before, living in the dark underground cell at the pig farm, with Sun Zhou's heart-wrenching screams often ringing in his ears...

Compared to now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Lin Ling dragged over a chair and sat down. "I called Aunt Lin, and she happens to be on her way back. She should arrive in about half an hour."

Yan Tuo nodded. "She went to the farm?"

The farm, the medicinal herb plantation registered under his name.

Lin Ling nodded. "She took Gouya with her."

"What for?"

Lin Ling chuckled softly and lowered her voice. "What for... can I know?"

As soon as she said that, both of them fell silent for a moment.

After a pause, Yan Tuo changed the subject. "What about Sun Zhou?"

Lin Ling looked puzzled. "Who's Sun Zhou?"

Yan Tuo asked, "The one who was locked up with me."

Lin Ling replied, "The one who was locked up with you, isn't that Gouya?"

There seemed to be some deviation in their understanding, so they needed to clarify. Yan Tuo signaled for Lin Ling to continue.

***

The situation wasn't complicated. When a person suddenly went missing, it was fine to wait a day or two, but after three to five days, action needed to be taken.

During this period, Lin Xirou also received a phone call from Yan Tuo's phone. The caller claimed to have found the phone and asked her who she was and how to return the phone.

Lin Xirou said she was a hospital nurse and provided the company's address (which could be found online). She asked the caller to send the phone back and assured them that the owner would thank them when he returned. However, strangely, the call was immediately disconnected, and afterward, the phone couldn't be reached.

At first, no one thought much of it, just limited to phone inquiries. But as they continued, they realized something wasn't right. The disappearance was too thorough to be typical.

Lin Xirou first sent her capable assistant, Xiong Hei, to search for the person in Shihexian County, and then, when they became anxious, she went personally with Lin Ling.

Lin Ling said, "When there were no clues, we had to offer a reward to find people. Of course, Lin Xirou wouldn't appear herself, so I managed it as the company's assistant."

Speaking of which, Lin Ling snorted, "After filtering, three people met with me. You can tell if they're problematic just by meeting and talking with them. That driver Lao Qian and the old man who runs the inn were honest; they agreed to record the meeting on video and left happily after receiving the money."

"But this Big Head* guy had all sorts of excuses. He didn't agree to meet at the place I designated, saying it wasn't safe and insisted on meeting at his suggested location. He refused to show any identification and claimed privacy protection. He also refused to be recorded, citing infringement of his portrait rights."
(*remember Boss from previous chaps? I changed his nickname to Big Head because several people DMed me asking if he is NJL's boss)

Yan Tuo understood clearly in his heart, "He deliberately contacted you to probe our background."

Lin Ling nodded, "And that's not all. After our conversation, he started following me. Aunt Lin said, 'fight fire with fire,' so she had Xiong Hei follow him back, and they ended up at Banyan Village."