Stranger Danger

Chapter 904: Profound Origin Turtle

Chapter 904: Profound Origin Turtle

Time passed quickly. When the sun was setting toward the western mountains, and the Fury Wind River was dyed in red and orange, Ye Qing finally returned from his errand.

“Here you go.” Ye Qing waved his hand and caused a pile of sacks to appear on the ground. “It was surprisingly difficult trying to gather these things.”

He was understating it. For one, Fury Wind River wasn’t suitable for living or farming, so even the closest town was at least tens of kilometers away from the rivershore. Two, the towns were all small and filled with poor people who couldn’t even feed themselves satisfactorily, much less own a stock of surplus grain that was at least a year old. They couldn’t give him what he wanted even if he was the wealthiest man in the world.

In the end, he had to travel a long distance and visit over a dozen towns before he finally bought enough Five Grains from landlords and wealthy households to meet Feng Qingyou’s demands. It felt more tiring than fighting multiple powerful warriors to the death.

“Thank you for your hard work, Joyless.” Feng Qingyou smiled appreciatively.

“So, what do you need these for, Qingyou?” Ye Qing asked.

“To fish!” Feng Qingyou answered.

“Excuse me?” Ye Qing blinked dumbly for the second time of the day. Since when could grains be used for fishing? Was she making fun of the uneducated, or...?

“You’ll know in a moment.” Once again, Feng Qingyou kept him in suspense.

“Why can’t you just tell me now?” Ye Qing asked.

“Because the time isn’t right yet.” Feng Qingyou smiled patiently. “Go catch some rest. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”

Despite the itch gnawing inside his heart, Ye Qing sighed and said, “Fine. I look forward to it.”

It was night. When the moon rose to the center of the sky and illuminated the river with its silver radiance, Feng Qingyou finally got up to her feet and walked up to the rivershore. Then, she opened five sacks, grabbed a handful of grains, and tossed them into the river.

Ye Qing stopped meditating and opened his eyes then. Leaning against a tree, he watched as Feng Qingyou grabbed a handful of grains and tossed them into the river again and again. He chuckled. “You call this fishing, Qingyou? This is more like feeding, isn’t it?”

“It makes no difference so long as the fish takes the bait,” Feng Qingyou answered without stopping.

“Makes sense.” Ye Qing crossed his arms and waited. He was curious to know what kind of “fish” would take Feng Qingyou’s bait.

About seven or eight minutes later, Feng Qingyou said suddenly, “It’s coming.”

As if on cue, the river surface within tens of meters of Feng Qingyou suddenly came to a standstill. Strangely, the river was still raging and howling everywhere else.

“Is that... a Profound Turtle?” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise as he walked up to Feng Qingyou’s side.

His demonic thought told him that a gigantic black shadow—one that was as big as a hill and shaped like a tortoise—was feeding on the old Five Grains.

“No, that’s not right.” Ye Qing shook his head and refuted himself. A Profound Turtle wasn’t this big, and its shell was shaped like the Eight Trigrams. This was black and white in color and shaped like a Tai Chi symbol.

Besides that, a Profound Turtle was a Phenomenon-class Stranger, but this giant turtle was clearly a Disaster-class Stranger, an extremely powerful one too.

Finally, a Profound Turtle ate fresh seafood and not Five Grains, much less old Five Grains.

“Yes, this is no Profound Turtle. It is its rarer kin, the Profound Origin Turtle,” Feng Qingyou answered while still tossing Five Grains into the river.

Ye Qing raised his eyebrows. “The Profound Origin Turtle? I haven’t heard of this Stranger before.”

“The Profound Origin Turtle is a very rare Stranger. Existing only in rivers where human traces are almost non-existent, it hides during the day and appears during the night. It is also quite shy per se. It is why few people are aware of its existence.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “The Profound Origin Turtle possesses a sliver of the ancient sacred beast, the Black Tortoise. It is incredibly intelligent and an expert in manipulating wind and water. Anywhere it goes, the waters are still, and the winds are calm. It also likes feeding on old Five Grains.”

“In ancient times, riverfarers would often keep a stock of old Five Grains on their vessels. In case of bad weather, they would use it to summon the Profound Origin Turtle. Once the Profound Origin Turtle has had its fill, it would swim in front of the vessel, quell the wind and waves, and escort the riverfarers away from danger.”

“This is also why many people address the Profound Origin Turtle as River God, Hebo, Lord of the River and more and pay it offerings.

“I see!” A grin appeared on Ye Qing’s face. “With the Profound Origin Turtle’s aid, the dangers of Fury Wind River are no longer a problem. But how do you know there exists a Profound Origin Turtle in this river?”

“I guessed.”

Feng Qingyou answered, :You may not know this, but there are plenty of legends regarding the Fury Wind River. One popular folktale spoke of a bunch of fishermen running into terrible weather and were about to perish when suddenly, a black shadow swam past them. The next thing they knew, the winds had stilled, and the waves returned to calm. That was how they were able to survive and return home safely.”

“From this folklore, we can deduce that the Stranger who saved them is friendly toward humans and possesses the power to calm the waters. They all fit the characteristics of a Profound Origin Turtle. On top of that, Fury Wind River is exactly the kind of uninhabited river that a Profound Origin Turtle would like to live in. That is why I guessed that one might exist in Fury Wind River, and as it turned out, I was right.”

“Your foresight is incredible as always,” Ye Qing praised from the bottom of his heart.

About half a teatime later, when the five large sacks of Five Grains had all entered the Profound Origin Turtle’s stomach, the Stranger slowly surfaced into view.

It was after the Profound Origin Turtle had fully surfaced that Ye Qing realized that it was even bigger than he had imagined. It was almost as big as a small mountain.

“Why have you summoned this old one?” The Profound Origin Turtle asked in the human language.

Some intelligent Strangers could speak and even turn into humans, so Ye Qing wasn’t surprised by this at all.

“Well met, senior. There is something we would like to ask your help with.”

Feng Qingyou saluted the Profound Origin Turtle before asking, “Do you know if there exists an island in the Fury Wind River?”

“An island?” The Profound Origin Turtle fell silent for a moment before answering, “There are no islands in the Fury Wind River.”

“What? That can’t be!” Ye Qing frowned deeply when he heard this. Did the Annon Sutra screw up, or was the Profound Origin Turtle lying to them? Neither sounded possible.

It was at this moment the Profound Origin Turtle continued, “Although there are no islands in the Fury Wind River, there is a whale tomb. It might be what you are seeking.”

“A whale tomb?” Ye Qing looked puzzled. “Why is there a whale tomb in the Fury Wind River?”

A whale tomb was the site where a whale-type, large-sized Stranger had perished. Whale-type Strangers were overlords of the sea, massive and powerful. They did not rot even after they died, and their carcasses usually floated on the sea surface and, for all intents and purposes, functioned just like an island. That was why people called it whale tomb or whale island.

Most whale-type Strangers lived in the deep sea due to their sheer volume and size. Although Fury Wind River wasn’t small, Ye Qing doubted that a whale-type Stranger would choose to live in this location. Naturally, there shouldn’t be a whale tomb here.

“You do not know this, but sixty years ago, a grievously wounded Jade Dragon Whale swam into Fury Wind River through the estuary. Perhaps its injuries were too severe, but it perished not long after and turned into a whale tomb.”

The Profound Origin Turtle explained, “The whale tomb is anomalous and vanishes during the day. On top of that, it is constantly adrift. That is why few humans are aware of its existence.”