love on the turquoise land

Chapter 76

Yan Tuo had intended for Nie Jiuluo to lie in the backseat and rest quietly on the way home, but Nie Jiuluo disagreed. Having spent the entire night lying down, she was eager to stand and move around a bit. So they compromised: she would sit in the front passenger seat and only lie down if she felt tired later.

As the car left the neighborhood, Nie Jiuluo noticed a wireless earbud in Yan Tuo's right ear.

"What music are you listening to?" she asked casually.

Yan Tuo shook his head. "I'm listening to what's happening on Lu Xian's end. He's also on the move."

He then briefly recounted the events of the past few days.

Nie Jiuluo felt a shiver of fear as she realized how much had happened. This highlighted the awkwardness of operating alone. In the past, with Jiang Baichuan around, no matter how big a mess they created, there was always someone to clean it up. Now, even if they managed to escape unscathed, they left traces everywhere.

She had two things to tell Yan Tuo.

The first was that during Chen Fu's interrogation, she had discovered the whereabouts of Yan Tuo's sister. She had deliberately waited to tell him this in person because mentioning it earlier would have been pointless. Black and White Stream was just a name; they didn't know its exact location or size. Moreover, the Chantou Army (NJL's side) had a rule against entering the Black and White Stream.

Yan Tuo listened calmly, much to his own surprise. By all accounts, he should have felt his heart racing or tears welling up, but he didn't. He continued driving steadily, paying attention to the road and the rearview mirror, and merely responded with a soft "Oh."

Even Nie Jiuluo found his reaction odd. "Your reaction really doesn't match the effort I put in," she remarked.

Yan Tuo chuckled, wanting to say something but unsure of what.

Nie Jiuluo continued, "Chen Fu was quite vigilant. He only confessed to what I mentioned. For example, if I brought up blood bags or Black and White Stream, he'd say a few words about them. But as soon as it came to their origins or background, he clammed up. After much consideration, I gave him a knock on the head—not to kill him, but to put him into a deep sleep."

Yan Tuo found it amusing. "Chen Fu really is something. He keeps dying and coming back to life again and again."

Nie Jiuluo said, "I'm not messing around with him. Firstly, there aren't many Di Xiao in the first place; scarcity makes it valuable. This quality could potentially be used to trade for something with Lin Xirou in the future. Secondly, since I managed to get some information from him this time, if we make new discoveries in a few months, I can talk to him again and maybe dig out some more treasure."

She was looking forward to talking to Chen Fu again and had already designed a new look for their next meeting to ensure that Chen Fu would have another meltdown.

The second thing is that so far, they haven't been able to contact Xing Shen.

"Jiang Baichuan is in trouble. Xing Shen and his group are probably on high alert and won't show themselves for a while. But based on what I know about him, he won't stay hidden for long. Let's wait and see. Once Xing Shen has passed through Qingrang, it will be easier to deal with Golden Gate and Black and White Stream* after contacting him."
(*note: Black and White Stream is an area within Golden Gate, and it's underground. Based on tradition, NJL's team couldn't enter this Black and White Stream. When they traveled to Qing Soil, they could only reach the edge of the Black and White Stream.
In Chinese, Golden Gate = Jin Men
Black and White Stream = Hei Bai Jian)