love on the turquoise land

Chapter 43

Hearing Xing Shen's voice, Nie Jiuluo breathed a sigh of relief. His tone sounded normal, and he seemed to be in good spirits. She slowed her pace, adjusted her flashlight, and shone it towards Xing Shen's location.

He seemed fine, just a bit wet and dirty from the grass. The grasshoper cowered behind Xing Shen, barely moving, probably afraid of attracting Nie Jiuluo's attention.

Xing Shen smiled. "I told you, this grasshopper gets scared at the sight of anyone. Even if you're ten meters away, it would still wet its pants."

Just like how a Shaolin disciple must pass through the Wooden Man Alley before venturing into the world, to become a legendary crazy knife (feng dao), the final challenge is to face the Di Xiao. In ancient times, anyone bearing the title of Feng Dao had to defeat at least three Di Xiao single-handedly.

Under Jiang Baichuan's arrangements, Nie Jiuluo underwent intensive training during summer and winter vacations, practicing her skills and mastering the knife. At the age of thirteen, she outsmarted the Di Xiao, and at fifteen, she became a skilled knife wielder. With Nie Jiuluo, the grasshopper had died more than three times, making her the true harbinger of death for it. Therefore, it instinctively feared her.

Xing Shen had witnessed one of her battles before, when he still had his sight. Throughout the entire fight, he was exhilarated, not by her skills, but by her fierce determination.

However, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Perhaps it was because she had studied sculpture and needed patience for years of practice, but he felt that the fierceness in Nie Jiuluo had gradually faded. She just wanted to be an ordinary person now.

Xing Shen found this regrettable. There aren't many ordinary people like her, and with her talent, why waste it? The Feng Dao collecting dust, can it still be called a Feng Dao? As the saying goes, when the crazy knife encounters the rabid dog, legends are born. But if the Feng Dao is hidden away, what legend can it still create?

He once asked Jiang Baichuan for ideas, but Jiang Baichuan refused very tactfully: "In the current situation, there's nothing particularly urgent. As long as Nie Er is willing to help occasionally, it's enough. Xing Shen, times have changed, people have to integrate into life, right?"

Integrate into life? What's good about integrating into a life of eating, sleeping, and boredom? Sometimes, Xing Shen felt like he was born in the wrong era. People who could become legends now could only satisfy their cravings for legendary feats in games—because with these eyes, he couldn't experience that satisfaction.

***

Nie Jiuluo walked over and said, "If I had known you could handle it yourself, I wouldn't have rushed over so urgently."

As she spoke, her eyes scanned around: "Where's Lao Dao?"

***

Lao Dao lay on the riverbank, eyes tightly closed, his face pale, and it took Nie Jiuluo a while to feel a faint breath at his nose.

It was said that he suffered a severe blow to the head, so Nie Jiuluo didn't dare to do anything. If it were just a flesh wound, she could help with bandaging. But with a head injury...

Forget it, leave it to the professionals.

Nie Jiuluo sent a message to Jiang Baichuan, briefly describing the situation, then waded into the car and found Xing Shen's phone. She had him call emergency services under the pretext of a car accident—this place was too far from the city, and she estimated it would take about forty minutes for the ambulance to arrive.