The elderly used to say there were two types of madmen: the scholarly madman and the martial madman. The scholarly madman was sensitive and paranoid, like Kong Yiji from Lu Xun’s writings – harmful to themselves but harmless to others. The martial madman was different, having violent tendencies and prone to hurting others. People generally gave them a wide berth when encountered.
Nie Jiuluo embodied both types. Given her overwhelming physical prowess, she had always preferred action over words. Now, without the restraints of rationality, she had become even more extreme.
It wasn’t that she had lost her memory. Whether it was Yan Tuo, Yu Rong, or Que Cha, she “remembered” them all. Yet she looked right through them as if these once three-dimensional people had flattened into mere wallpaper patterns, retreating from her world with all connections severed.
She existed in her system, fixated solely on matters of personal interest.
Initially, she wanted to bathe, but when that proved temporarily impossible, she became anxious to contact Old Cai. After Yan Tuo deflected her request with the excuse that “the power lines were down from strong winds, causing connection issues,” she then asked him, “How’s my competition going?”
Yan Tuo had no idea which competition she was referring to and could only answer vaguely, “Everything’s going quite smoothly.”
“It’s been so long, and they still haven’t announced the winners?” Nie Jiuluo pressed.
Yan Tuo scrambled for another excuse: “The judges… have some disagreements.”
“Which judge?” Nie Jiuluo’s expression darkened.
Seeing her ready to go after the judges at the slightest provocation, Yan Tuo thought quickly: “No, no – you’ve secured first place. They’re just having trouble deciding second place. The competition is quite fierce.”
“Oh, I see.” Nie Jiuluo nodded, temporarily pardoning the judges.
Yu Rong and Que Cha dared not provoke her but also lacked the patience to humor her. The two opted for avoidance, leaving all situations for Yan Tuo to handle. They privately commented that delivering a baby wasn’t just about the birth itself – you still had to care for it afterward.
Fortunately, Nie Jiuluo didn’t cause too many problems, primarily because she no longer acknowledged “mortals” like Yan Tuo in her eyes and couldn’t be bothered to waste words on them.
Until they left the mountain, she only lost her temper twice more.
The first time was at Golden Man Gate, where she complained about the narrow path and angrily kicked it in frustration.
Yan Tuo consoled her by saying the widening project had already received funding, and workers would begin construction in a few days.
The second time was while riding mules down the mountain when she complained that her mule was too bumpy and difficult to control.
Yan Tuo indulged her whim, letting her try every single mule available.
After discovering they were all equally mediocre and troublesome, Nie Jiuluo stopped complaining but maintained a dark expression, ignoring everyone.
…
Upon finally exiting the mountain entrance, Yan Tuo heaved a deep sigh, feeling they had truly returned to the mortal world at last.
As things were wrapping up, it was time for everyone to go their separate ways. Yan Tuo had originally wanted to arrange a farewell dinner to give the parting some ceremony, but Nie Jiuluo was adamant about returning home and refused to waste time on the meal, stating firmly, “No. If you want to eat, go ahead. I’m leaving.”
Yan Tuo felt troubled. After all, Yu Rong and the others had contributed greatly to their success. Simply leaving without acknowledgment, even given the circumstances, felt inappropriate.
Yu Rong stepped in to smooth things over, saying she would arrange a proper feast to thank everyone involved, with Yan Tuo just needing to cover the expenses. Among friends, such details weren’t important.
***
While the meal could be skipped, farewells couldn’t be too cursory. After loading the luggage and getting Nie Jiuluo settled in the passenger seat, Yan Tuo stood at the inn’s entrance, not far from the car, chatting with Yu Rong and Que Cha.
Yu Rong consoled him: “I reckon this condition is temporary. Even if you don’t have faith in Second Nie, you should trust in Goddess Nüwa. Something she repaired couldn’t possibly be defective, right?”
Yan Tuo shared this belief, which was why he had remained optimistic these past few days.
He turned to Que Cha: “So what are your plans now? If you don’t mind, I could arrange something at the company for you. A stable life wouldn’t be a problem.”
Que Cha didn’t accept his kindness: “Weren’t my first thirty years stable enough? Should I seek stability for the next thirty too?”
Yan Tuo smiled: “So you’re looking for excitement?”
Que Cha pondered: “Not exactly. Excitement might not suit me either, but I should at least try everything before finding my true path. Don’t worry, if I run out of options, I’ll come to you for help – I’ve helped you before, so I won’t be embarrassed to claim some compensation.”
…
How annoying, why did they have so much to talk about? Wasting her precious time.
In the passenger seat, Nie Jiuluo frowned as she watched Yan Tuo’s group chat endlessly. Irritated, she turned to look at the street scene on the other side.
On this side of the street, there were many vendors, as the town’s regulations weren’t as strict regarding street commerce.
A man selling second-hand leather goods was leaning against a wall, smoking. Though the weather had turned cool and most people wore jackets over long sleeves, he still cut a flashy figure in a short-sleeved t-shirt with a small vest. While blowing smoke rings, he happened to catch Nie Jiuluo’s gaze.
Noticing she was beautiful, the man got cocky and threw her a frivolous wink.
Nie Jiuluo’s face darkened.
Seeing he had offended her, the man grew excited as if he’d stumbled upon something precious, and pressed his luck by blowing her an air kiss.
Perfect. Nie Jiuluo unfastened her seatbelt and quietly got out of the car, walking straight toward the man.
The man felt slightly nervous, but seeing it was just a delicate young woman, he figured even if things escalated, she couldn’t do much harm – besides, what had he done? He hadn’t even touched her.
So he puffed up his chest self-righteously.
Passing a shoe stall, Nie Jiuluo glanced briefly and casually grabbed a large men’s slipper.
The stall owner was absorbed in watching videos and didn’t react immediately – after all, a customer dressed like her wouldn’t steal shoes in broad daylight.
When he saw her walking away with the shoe, he called out: “Hey, hey, how can you take someone’s shoes without paying?”
Nie Jiuluo ignored him completely and headed straight for her target. The man saw her take the shoe but didn’t take it seriously, even sneering dismissively.
Meanwhile, Yan Tuo’s group heard the shoe vendor’s shouts and instinctively looked in that direction, but Nie Jiuluo had already left the shoe stall area, so they didn’t immediately notice the situation.
It was Que Cha who, being more observant, scanned both sides and suddenly changed expression, shouting: “Miss Nie, over there, there!”
Before he could finish, Nie Jiuluo had already struck, raising her hand with precision and force, landing a sharp smack on the man’s arm.
The man had thought he could easily dodge but was caught completely off guard. While still stunned, thinking he had just been careless, the second strike came – this time a horizontal blow straight to his face.
The man howled in pain, then grew furious and reckless, throwing wild punches in retaliation. However, no matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t land a single hit while continuing to receive sharp blows himself, sometimes to his face, sometimes to his arms, each strike landing with a crisp snap.
Street onlookers quickly gathered – fights were always entertaining to watch, especially when it was a woman beating up a man so spectacularly.
The shoe vendor was among them, originally rushing over furiously to catch a thief, but after observing for a moment, he quietly retreated.
A pair of plastic men’s slippers cost him 3.50 wholesale, and she had only taken one, worth 1.75. He didn’t want to suffer such consequences over recovering such a small loss.
Just as the man was crying and sniveling, his face nearly covered in tears and snot, Yan Tuo finally arrived.
He grabbed Nie Jiuluo’s waist from behind, pulling her back several steps while softly persuading her: “Ah Luo, let it go.”
Fine, she’d let it go – she was tired of hitting him anyway.
Nie Jiuluo threw the slipper aside and pointed at the man, telling Yan Tuo: “Send this person to prison.”
Her tone suggested she owned the prison herself.
Yan Tuo immediately agreed: “Alright.”
The man’s arms and face were covered in red slipper marks, one connecting to another. He had been furious and ready to fight to the death, but hearing their exchange, his heart lurched, and he dared not speak.
He figured that with such an imperious attitude, these two must have significant backing.
Yu Rong had also arrived. She patted Yan Tuo’s shoulder: “You two go ahead, I’ll handle this.”
Then she impatiently dispersed the onlookers: “What are you looking at? All so free, are you?”
With her build, especially that lizard on her bald head carrying such complex implications, the crowd quickly scattered.
In the chaos, the shoe vendor crouched down and quickly snatched up the fallen slipper, walking away with delight.
***
No matter how people and things changed, Nie Jiuluo’s courtyard seemed eternally unchanging.
Sister Lu was still there. After her contract with Nie Jiuluo expired, Old Cai stepped in to renew it for another year, letting her continue maintaining the courtyard’s daily upkeep. However, both parties tacitly understood: that she would serve Nie Jiuluo for at most one more year.
Unexpectedly, Nie Jiuluo had miraculously returned.
Upon receiving the news, Old Cai didn’t waste a second before rushing to the courtyard.
Sister Lu opened the door for him, her first words being: “Mr. Yan brought her back.”
She spoke with a hint of guilt: for the past half year, they had both considered Yan Tuo a criminal and culprit, repeatedly discussing how to expose his true nature. Because of this, Sister Lu had even given Liu Changxi the cold shoulder…
They never imagined things would take such a turn, revealing an unexpected silver lining.
Her second statement was: “These past few months, Miss Nie’s temper has… grown considerably.”
Old Cai hadn’t grasped the full implications of “grown considerably” and remained optimistic: “A growing temper isn’t scary. It would be even better if her skills grew along with it.”
With that, he headed straight upstairs.
During the past half year, Old Cai had visited several times. Sister Lu had kept everything in perfect order, with all the sculptures arranged as if ready for exhibition.
But now, all the sculptures were clustered around the workbench and nearby areas, arranged in a large circle at varying heights, with Nie Jiuluo frowning as she examined each one.
Having not seen her for over half a year, Old Cai couldn’t contain his joy: “Ah Luo, where have you been all this time? Your phone was unreachable, no consumption records, we thought something had happened to you…”
Without looking up, Nie Jiuluo snapped: “Quiet!”
She continued: “Wasn’t the temperature and humidity control maintained properly? You can’t even preserve the yu-shui technique? This crack is already nearly one and a half finger-joints wide!”
Old Cai froze, not yet comprehending when someone nearby answered: “Yes, I didn’t manage it well. I’ve already fired the maintenance staff and withheld two months of their bonuses.”
Looking over, it was Yan Tuo, leaning against the wall with crossed arms, answering calmly. Seeing Old Cai’s gaze, he returned a polite smile.
Old Cai felt awkward, considering the trouble he’d caused Yan Tuo over the past half year, while simultaneously feeling lost in a fog, finding this exchange surreal.
Yan Tuo recognized his confusion but couldn’t explain properly, only throwing him a meaningful glance to figure it out himself.
At this moment, Nie Jiuluo noticed Old Cai: “I was just looking for you.”
She pointed to the sofa in the reading area: “Come, let’s talk.”
Finding the situation strange, Old Cai wondered internally: Nie Jiuluo’s demeanor suggested he was working for her.
As he began to move, Yan Tuo quickly stepped over and whispered in his ear: “Whatever she says, just agree and support her. I’ll explain why later.”
***
Nie Jiuluo’s request shocked Old Cai.
She wanted to hold an exhibition.
Old Cai had always known Nie Jiuluo wanted to hold an exhibition, but they had reached a consensus: currently, the focus should be on study and practice, with no rush for a debut exhibition.
In his shock, he forgot Yan Tuo’s instructions and spoke frankly: “Ah Luo, I think you’re still lacking in many aspects. When one’s talent is insufficient, you need to rely on experience to build expertise…”
Nie Jiuluo slightly raised her eyelids to look at him: “Who are you calling insufficient in talent?”
As she spoke, her gaze darkened, becoming frighteningly deep.
Yan Tuo coughed forcefully several times, imperceptibly moving closer to the two, ready to intervene if Old Cai found himself in danger.
Old Cai, being a businessman accustomed to reading people, dared not dwell on the “talent” issue: “No, didn’t you say last time you wanted to systematically study the styles of Gormley and McDonald, incorporating Western techniques into Chinese art…”
The two he mentioned were world-class sculpture masters.
Nie Jiuluo made a dismissive sound: “What garbage.”
Then she informed him: “Help me arrange it. I want to launch a domestic exhibition within half a year. Don’t worry about the works, I’ll provide them on schedule.”
She waved her hand dismissively, indicating: I’m done, you may leave.
Old Cai was bewildered as he walked toward the door, turning back after a few steps to look at Nie Jiuluo.
She certainly didn’t appear to be joking.
He looked at Yan Tuo, who gestured toward downstairs, indicating they should talk below.
***
This season was the courtyard’s blooming period, with roses in full bloom and the osmanthus tree vibrant and ready to burst forth.
Before Old Cai could ask, Yan Tuo preemptively explained: “Ah Luo is very competitive. She’s quite affected by your comment about her insufficient talent.”
Old Cai tried to explain: “Geniuses are rare, being talented is good enough. I’m just helping her recognize herself…”
Yan Tuo expressed understanding: “These past few months, she’s been… well, isolating herself from the outside world, studying various ancient sculptures intensively. She got too absorbed, which suddenly made her personality extremely radical and her behavior rather strange.”
Old Cai suddenly understood.
So that was it. Throughout history, many had gone mad for art, though he had always thought Nie Jiuluo was more down-to-earth, not one of those types.
He asked: “Then about the exhibition, she’s just talking casually, right?”
Yan Tuo shook his head: “Just go along with everything she says, prepare everything needed. I’ve thought it through – a national touring exhibition just needs venue rentals in various locations, we can hire audiences, arrange media interviews with actors, I’ll handle the expenses, and you help with the channels… The key is to keep Ah Luo content and prevent her from losing her temper. Maybe this way, she’ll gradually get better.”
Keeping Nie Jiuluo’s content was one consideration, but more importantly, exhibition preparations were complex. He hoped keeping Nie Jiuluo busy would prevent her from getting distracted and causing other bizarre incidents.
Old Cai looked up at the second floor with concern: “How did it come to this? Should we find a psychiatrist?”
Yan Tuo sighed, also looking up: “I don’t know. Maybe she’s just… too obsessed with art.”