love on the turquoise land

Chapter 45

That night, Jiang Baichuan was indeed busy to the point of exhaustion.

Lao Dao's injuries were severe; the county hospital said they couldn't treat him and recommended transferring him to a large hospital in Xi'an. Jiang Baichuan wanted to accompany him, but the matter of South Ba Monkey Head was still hanging, and he couldn't leave. He had to arrange manpower and allocate vehicles, and he also asked acquaintances in Xi'an to take care of things there. It wasn't until after midnight that he finally stepped out of the outpatient hall of the county hospital, which was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Everyone else had already gone back, leaving a Land Cruiser Prado waiting for him outside. Xing Shen hadn't left yet; probably finding the car stuffy, he was leaning against the car hood, looking at the sky.

It made one curious about what the sky looked like in his eyes.

Being of a certain age, Jiang Baichuan was extremely exhausted. He wiped his face to freshen up, then habitually took out his phone and quickly browsed through the various messages he had missed over the past few hours.

When he clicked into the read and burn section, he saw that Nie Er had sent several messages in a row. After reading them one by one, he felt a bit stunned. He wanted to read them in detail, but the screen was already ablaze, and the messages had been destroyed.

Fortunately, he remembered each message.

Glancing at the time—it was one-thirty in the morning—Nie Er should have already been asleep. It wasn't appropriate to call her now; he would wait until morning.

***

Nie Jiuluo woke up early in the morning.

Yan Tuo was already unconscious, but he was unnaturally quiet, which was not a good sign. This was how people injured by the Di Xiao acted: in the first stage, they were mentally confused; in the second stage, they suffered unbearable pain; in the third stage, they were as quiet as chickens. The dividing line between the third and fourth stages was the rooting and sprouting phase.

Of course, everyone's constitution was different, and their tolerance levels varied, so the duration of each stage varied. Generally, the first three stages occurred within twenty-four hours after the injury. The fourth stage lasted the longest and was considered the terminal stage, also known as the return of consciousness. During this stage, a person would appear normal, even more clear-headed and agile in thinking, giving the false impression to those around them that they had gotten through it without major issues. Then, suddenly one day, they would lose their sanity, attacking others like ferocious beasts.

Nie Jiuluo opened the window and looked at the sky. The clouds were thick, and the sun hadn't fully risen yet. At this time, she couldn't perform the natural fire.

She checked her phone again.

Jiang Baichuan had replied to her at two in the morning, leaving a number and instructing her to call back whenever she saw the message, regardless of the time.

Nie Jiuluo went into the bathroom and closed the door, then dialed Jiang Baichuan's number.

***

Almost as soon as the call connected, someone picked up on the other end. Nie Jiuluo suspected that Jiang Baichuan hadn't slept much all night, just waiting for her call.