love on the turquoise land

Chapter 67

Welcome back, our Feng Dao

***

During the first two days Nie Jiuluo stayed at Liu Changxi's house, she slept more and woke up less.

From the third day onwards, her routine gradually resumed, but life became gradually boring. After all, most of the time she could only lie down, and Liu Changxi's house didn't offer much entertainment.

The TV was brought into her room, but she wasn't fond of watching it, and there was nothing good to watch anyway. She wanted to play with her phone, but her own phone was probably left in the well room and most likely dealt with by Yan Tuo. She couldn't just cling to Liu Changxi's old-fashioned phone.

She wanted to read, but Liu Changxi wasn't a reader, and the book she found, The Business Experience of the Super Profitable Restaurant Owner, made her realize she could just eat out for the rest of her life, no need for business ventures.

She wanted to chat, but she couldn't connect with Auntie, who was a chatterbox, always rambling on about her neighbor's niece's marriage story.

Nie Jiuluo, already lacking curiosity, had no spirit to listen to the emotional history of someone she barely knew. So whenever Auntie showed signs of starting a conversation, she would close her eyes lightly, looking tired, indicating she needed rest. Auntie would notice and tactfully leave the room, leaving her alone to rest.

During this time, she called Yan Tuo once, wanting to ask about what happened after the well room incident. Unfortunately, the timing was off; he was busy tracking diabolical creatures, several of them, to be precise. After a few words, she hung up.

When Yan Tuo didn't reply for a long time, she, who had just narrowly escaped death at the hands of diabolical creatures, worried. The longer it took, the more anxious she became, imagining Yan Tuo dead in various gruesome ways.

Finally, when she received the text —I'm back, safe and sound— she breathed a sigh of relief, her body giving in to exhaustion as she drifted off to sleep. Just before falling asleep, a sense of guilt washed over her—Yan Tuo was perfectly fine, yet here she was, imagining his death repeatedly.

***

She slept until the next afternoon. Her phone was gone from the bedside; probably taken by Liu Changxi. In its place were a few items, presumably for her entertainment: a deck of cards—wasn't that infuriating? Could she play cards with herself? A board game called Heroes Escape from the Dungeon, although it was a two-player game, she could entertain herself with it, albeit clearly not an original version. There were also two small sandbags made of floral fabric. They were all old-fashioned pastimes, suitable for Liu Changxi's age and temperament.

As the sun shone brightly outside, Nie Jiuluo lay in bed, gazing at the window screen glowing in the sunlight, sighed softly, then tapped the headboard to call Auntie. Another difficult and boring day awaited her.

***

After freshening up, Nie Jiuluo drank half a bowl of bone soup and ate two pieces of steamed taro.

When Auntie came to clear the dishes, she apologized, saying there was something urgent at home and she couldn't stay overnight.

"Well, if you can't, you can't." Nie Jiuluo reluctantly agreed, though she worried about managing if she needed to use the bathroom during the night.

Auntie seemed to sense her concern, said, "Miss Nie, either let Old Liu help you to the door, or you can lean on the wall and walk slowly, just don't strain the wound. Those who have just given birth are already walking around the next day, so a few steps won't hurt."