love on the turquoise land

Chapter 58

Buying clothes, buying a phone, etc., were all excuses.

Yan Tuo drove out of the neighborhood, heading straight to Dalikeng Township, the reed marsh, and the wellhouse.

It's about a half-hour drive from the neighborhood to the wellhouse.

He did turn back in his car before receiving Nie Jiuluo's message about the "reed marsh." At that time, he didn't think much about it, just felt that since Nie Jiuluo knew he had already left, and still asked, "Have you gone far?" it seemed like she had something important to tell him. Instead of continuing on the road only to be called back by her again, it was better to turn around first, saving time, effort, and fuel.

Unexpectedly, he turned the car in the wrong direction, and, fortunately, luck was on his side: the reed marsh was about forty minutes' drive from Shihe County, positioned between Shihe County and Xi'an. In other words, to return to Shihe, he had to pass through the reed marsh, which was the main reason he could arrive in time. Furthermore, the residential area where Lu Xian was located was in the suburbs, about ten minutes from the city center. Subtracting ten from forty meant thirty minutes, so finding Lu Xian was closer than going to the hospital.

It is generally believed that after cardiac arrest, there is a golden four minutes, and beyond that, the hope of being rescued is very slim. Nie Jiuluo seemed to be in danger today, but in fact, she relied on countless strokes of luck—dangerous if he took one wrong step or delayed even a moment, she would have been lost; lucky because every step he took was correct, every moment was well-timed.

As the sky gradually darkened, Yan Tuo stepped on the accelerator, silently praying for a little more favor from heaven, and for everything around the wellhouse to remain the same: hopefully, no one would be curious and wander in, as that would be a disaster that couldn't be contained.

Fortunately, when he arrived, the area was pitch black and calm, with only the tall grass swaying in the wind.

***

Yan Tuo slowly drove the car closer.

Yan Tuo first noticed the Volkswagen Tiguan belonging to Chen Fu and Han Guankai—the car that he was afraid would attract attention if left out in the open, so he had purposely driven it behind a partially collapsed adobe house and used half of the roof to cover it—fortunately, the car was still there, covered with grass, and the roof still slanted over it.

He also saw that the door to the wellhouse was locked with the car chain he had brought, and a stone was piled up at the entrance.

Yan Tuo let out a long breath of relief, turned off the engine, turned off the car lights, sat quietly for a while, then picked up his toolbox and got out of the car.

Unlocking the door and entering the house, he first shone his flashlight around. The interior still bore the aftermath of the fight and was in a mess, except for one thing.

The well.

He had resealed the well with wooden boards, making it even more secure than before, and added a piece of discarded pump body on top for extra weight.

Yan Tuo walked over, set down his toolbox, took out his gun and holstered it at his waist, slanted the flashlight for illumination, then bent down and exerted force to move the pump body, pushing aside all the wooden boards.

A stale, bloody smell wafted out, causing Yan Tuo to fan his nose with his hand to disperse the odor, then he picked up the flashlight, pointed it downward, and looked.

Because the well was abandoned, there were gaps at the top, and two ropes were tied to these gaps. The other ends of the two long ropes hung deeply down the well, where the light couldn't reach, making it difficult to see clearly.