Chapter 137: Chapter 138: The Old Turtle’s Commission
In his decades of life, he had never been inside an Immortal’s Cave Mansion. He was both curious and filled with longing.
Hee Lingchuan shrugged. "I’m not sure if it belonged to an Immortal. Inside, there was a small mound and a skeleton that had died in meditation."
He asked the Crocodile Demon, "Did you find any treasure in there before?"
"A pile of junk," the Crocodile Demon said. "There wasn’t a shred of Spiritual Qi in there—it was worse than the outside. Any treasure would have been worn down to scrap over time."
Wu Shaoyi’s heartbeat had steadied a little by now, so he once again asked to be taken ashore.
Hee Lingchuan knew it was time to leave, but looking back at the Old Turtle Demon’s remains, he felt a pang of regret. ’You’re already dead, so what’s the harm in leaking a few heavenly secrets? Couldn’t you have just written the answer on the fortune slip?’
Besides, Hee Chunhua had been right. The Old Turtle Demon had sent a dream to the Temple Watcher to create the slip. If it didn’t want something from Hee Lingchuan, why would it have gone to all that trouble?
He had originally thought he might find the answer on the Turtle Demon’s corpse, but there was nothing.
Disappointed, Hee Lingchuan took out the two slips of worst fortune and placed them on the Old Turtle Demon’s shell. "Here, you can have these back."
He placed them neatly, but somehow, one of the slips slid down the edge of the shell, and then—
Then, it was gone.
"Huh?" Hee Lingchuan caught a glimpse of this as he turned, and he paused, startled.
’Where’s the slip?’
It seemed to have slid under the turtle’s belly and disappeared.
Hee Lingchuan got down to look for it, but he couldn’t find it.
’It’s just a worthless slip, what’s the big deal?’ He turned to leave, but then he saw the second slip leisurely slide down, fall to the ground right before his eyes, and sink into it.
The whole thing happened in slow motion, as if to make sure he got a clear look.
’Never mind that the ground was stone—even if it were soft sand, how could a slip sink into it?’
Finally a little interested, Hee Lingchuan reached out to feel under the turtle’s belly. To be honest, it wasn’t easy to squeeze his hand in, but then one of his fingers suddenly found empty space.
It was hollow under the turtle’s belly!
’A hole in the middle of such hard reef rock?’
A rather deep hole.
Hee Lingchuan subconsciously pushed at the turtle’s corpse. Of course, it didn’t budge an inch, and instead splashed blood all over his hand.
"Crocodile God, could you lend me a hand?"
The Crocodile God’s response was a flick of its tail. It couldn’t even be bothered to open its mouth.
It absolutely wouldn’t do any work that wasn’t part of its duties.
With no other choice, Hee Lingchuan took out the Broken Blade and began to cut into the ground. "Old Wu, just wait a little longer."
Sparks flew, and he was afraid the blade would chip and break all over again.
Thankfully, the weapon was as reliable as ever. After working at it for a quarter of an hour, he finally managed to widen the stone opening beneath the turtle’s belly enough to get his hand inside.
Then, he dug out an object that was larger than a football and so oval it was almost rectangular.
It was pale white and covered in spots.
An egg.
’A perfectly intact... turtle egg?’
’So the Turtle Demon was a female?’ Hee Lingchuan carefully carried the egg out and washed the slime off its surface by the pool.
Only after washing it did he remember you’re not supposed to wash chicken eggs like this. ’What about a turtle egg?’
’Oh well. This egg came from a Water Spirit; it’s got to be a little different, right?’
Wu Shaoyi, who had been watching with wide eyes, was also greatly surprised. "Is that a turtle egg?"
"You’re asking the obvious." ’Did the Water Spirit leave the slips for him so he would take care of its orphan?’
’If so, that means when it sent the dream to the Temple Watcher, it already knew it was about to die a violent death. In that case, the Water Spirit’s divinations were pretty accurate after all.’
’Hmm... that really wasn’t good news for him.’
The Crocodile Demon lifted its eyelids and stared at the egg. "Let me eat it, and I’ll give you one of my great-grandsons to be your Spirit Pet!"
The several crocodile demons of various sizes outside were all of its bloodline.
It was common knowledge that crocodiles and snakes were among the most difficult creatures to tame as Spirit Pets.
Hee Lingchuan could only refuse. "Sorry, no deal." A Crocodile Demon Spirit Pet would be nice, but this turtle egg was connected to the mystery of the slips of worst fortune, and by extension, his own life. He couldn’t possibly give it away.
The Crocodile Demon wasn’t angry. "Fine. I’ve already killed it once; I might as well let it have a chance to live." Demons also followed the Way in their own fashion and understood that one should not be too ruthless.
"It?"
The Crocodile Demon tilted its head. "Is that the only egg?"
"Yes." At least, he hadn’t felt a second one in the hole.
"This isn’t reproduction. It’s corpse-liberation," the Crocodile Demon said faintly. "What you’re holding isn’t the Turtle Demon’s descendant—it’s the Turtle Demon itself!"
Hee Lingchuan was astounded.
The Crocodile Demon explained, and Hee Lingchuan finally understood. When a Spiritual Object of heaven and earth reached the end of its lifespan, or when its Cultivation could no longer advance, it might choose the method of corpse-liberation to transcend, seeking a second chance at life.
This Turtle Demon had likely concentrated its entire life essence, transferred it out in the form of an egg, and then infused its Divine Soul into it.
As long as it could hatch from the shell, it could begin its second life as a turtle, which was basically like deleting your character and starting over in a game.
Of course, transferring the Divine Soul could damage it and lead to memory loss, but defying fate was always a risky business.
But in this case, even if the egg hatched, the entrance to the hollow was sealed tight by the heavy corpse. The newly hatched turtle wouldn’t be able to get out and would likely be trapped until it starved to death.
But if it hadn’t blocked the hole, the swarms of water rats would have eaten the egg long ago, giving it no chance to hatch.
This was where external help was needed.
Feeling like he was being used as a tool, Hee Lingchuan took a copper coin from his robes and spoke to the empty air. "Turtle Immortal, do you want me to take this egg with me? If so, make it land heads up three times in a row."
He had just been digging around the Turtle Demon’s... nether regions, and now he was trying to talk to it, so he felt a bit sheepish and quickly resorted to using a respectful title.
All three tosses landed heads up.
The old turtle’s Divine Soul really was still lingering in the cave! Hee Lingchuan suddenly felt a chill run down the back of his neck.
"You gave me two slips of worst fortune. Is my fated calamity supposed to happen tonight?"
The copper coin landed tails up three times.
Clearly, the old turtle was saying no.
Hee Lingchuan let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you."
’Looking on the bright side, does this mean I’ll be able to successfully overcome the calamity with the bandits?’
His mood brightened instantly.
"So does that mean my great disaster is yet to come, and my death is certain?"
The copper coin he tossed landed on its edge and got stuck in a crack in the rock.
’What does that mean? The answer is neither yes nor no?’
These old mystics never give a straight answer.
"Is there still a glimmer of hope?"
The copper coin landed heads up again.
’Good, good, a definite answer for once.’ Hee Lingchuan rubbed his hands together. "So, how can I find a path to survival?"
This time, the coin fell directly into a crack, clattering a few times as it went. Apparently, there was a crack within the crack, and getting it out wasn’t going to be easy.
He didn’t know if the Turtle Spirit had no answer or simply couldn’t say.
The Crocodile Demon at the side couldn’t help but ask, "Are you done yet?"
Wu Shaoyi coughed twice, sounding even weaker.
They couldn’t delay any longer. Hee Lingchuan was also anxious to get out and find his family, so he stowed the turtle egg safely and had the Crocodile Demon fulfill its promise to take them out.
The Crocodile Demon was long past impatient. "Get on my back."
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