When these words came out, everyone was shocked. Even Jiang Xunyi and Yun Xie did not know how to react. An especially courageous villager took a few steps forward to examine carefully, and indeed shouted in surprise: âItâs true! Isnât this the Wang Yi who died two years ago?!â
Surprise was written all over Jiang Xunyiâs face, and he subconsciously met Yun Xieâs eyes. This expression made his ice-cold handsome face come alive for the first time since his identity had been revealed.
At this sight, Yun Xie felt some joy rise in his heart and couldnât help but smile. Meanwhile, Wang Xi had already blurted out the most important part, so he didnât wait for them to continue interrogating him. Wiping his face, he sat down and began to tell his story.
âWhen I was young, I liked to read books and study, but our village has always been destitute and poor. Most of the children in the village my age had long since begun to help their parents farm the land. Very few were able to go to private schools. Fortunately, my father counted as rather open-minded. He only said that as long as I found my own payment for a private reading tutor, he would send me to the next town, and I would not have to help out on the family farm. After hearing this, I thought of many ways to make money: digging up medicinal herbs, cutting wood, fishing⊠I tried everything.â
âOn that day, I had come to the river once again, intending to catch some fish and bring it to the town to sell. I didnât expect that after spreading the net for a long time, I actually hauled up a large turtle!â
When he said this, Yun Xie could not help but glance at the âturtle man.â Wang Xi noticed his gaze and gave a bitter smile: âYes, this one. At that time, the turtle was still very ordinary, and it had not yet grown so large. The only difference in its appearance was that its body always shimmered with a layer of beautiful faint white light. I couldnât help myself from reaching out and touching it.â
Jiang Xunyi said: âAnd then?â
Wang Xiâs face turned somewhat drunk with ecstasy as he recalled: âI will never forget that feeling for the rest of my life. The sensation was like soaking my entire body in warm water, very relaxing. I felt like I was floating and fluttering, as if I had returned to my motherâs womb, as if I was flying in the sky and laying on the cloudsâŠâ
Jiang Xunyi raised his eyebrows in astonishment. It wasnât that he felt any longing or amazement at Wang Xiâs description. Instead, he found it very familiarâcultivators studied and strove for the unity between nature and man. Every time he meditated or achieved a new level of cultivation, he had also gone through such experiences. But he did not understand why an ordinary person like Wang Xi would become like this after touching the turtle shell. If everything could be this simple⊠Jiang Xunyi looked back at the fetid-smelling âDivine Turtleâ and felt that even if this was the case, he never wanted to touch that thing again in his life.
Wang Xi was still continuing on: âI donât know how long it took until the white fog before my eyes at last cleared up. After looking for a long time, I finally realized I was actually in the body of the turtle!â
Jiang Xunyi: ââŠâŠ.â Should he be grateful that Du Heng is at least a human?
Yun Xie also thought of how Jiang Xunyi had changed bodies for no rhyme or reason. Even though it was unclear how this had happened, Jiang Xunyiâs resurrection was for him an extremely fortunate event. Still, Yun Xieâs expression turned serious and he asked: âWhat about your own body? How did you come out?â
Wang Xi said: âI donât know either. I was incredibly shocked after discovering all this and wondered what was going on. When I resolved to go out, I then inexplicably returned to my own body.â He took a deep breath, and continued: âWhen I walked back to the village, I actually found that ten years had passed!â
The surrounding villagers had also been enraptured by the story, and Xu Da could not help but ask: âHow could that be? You clearly only stayed in that turtleâs body for a little while!â
On the side, Jiang Xunyi had reached some understanding of the matter, and murmured to himself: âInăZhuangzi1ăit is written: âThe Morning Mushroom knows nothing of the dawn and twilight, the Summer Cicada knows nothing of the spring and fall.â2 Their lives are too short, so to them a single moment is the length of an entire lifetime. On the other hand, for millennia-old turtles that can live for ten thousand years, time passes too slowly. When you entered its body, your time naturally slowed down as well. This sort of event sounds bizarre and unthinkable, but after thinking over it carefully, it becomes reasonable. I actually never imagined such a thing before!â
Given Yun Xieâs top intelligence, he had also reached an understanding upon hearing up to this point. Following Wang Xiâs line of thought, he said: âSo your son becoming like this was also your intentional doing. Did you wish for him to live another two years?â
Wang Xi slightly lowered his head: âIt was a moment of madness and obsession, but I had no other way! In the past three generations of my Wang family, we have only had a single child. I only had this one son when I was forty years old, and cherished him like a treasure. Who could have imagined that two years ago, when this child was sleeping, he inexplicably stopped breathing. His face turned purple, and looked to be suffocating.â
Wang Xi sucked in a deep breath, lingering trepidation and fear from that memory haunting him even now. He subconsciously raised his voice: âAt that time, at that time I was extremely scared. I carried his body and ran several Li to the doctor, but all the doctors said he was beyond saving. Just as all my hopes had turned to dust, I suddenly saw that shining divine turtle by the river! You tell me, if it was you, how would you choose, huh?! It it were you, would you save him?!â
The noisy scene at once quieted to utter silence. Even the usually cold-hearted Jiang Xunyi had no words. None of them were qualified to answer this question. Only Yun Xie shut his eyes and took a deep breath, his thoughts unclear.
Wang Xi gasped heavily for air. Only after taking a moment to calm himself did he continue: âHe was about to stop breathing. In a panic, I couldnât think of anything else, and pressed Little Yiâs hand onto the turtle shell. At that time he only had one last breath left, and didnât even have the strength to speak. He just looked at me with those wide eyes. I told him, child, this is the only chance for you to live. You have to remember, no matter what, you must not think about coming out. You must tell yourself, you want to live no matter what!â
Jiang Xunyi looked over at Wang Yi. He discovered that from those turbid and muddy eyes, flowed a track of tears.
Jiang Xunyi didnât know what to call this feeling in his heart, and was not willing to reveal his true emotions. Looking up, he noticed Yun Xie was watching him. Jiang Xunyi rolled his eyes at him, and then pretended nonchalance to turn towards Wang Xi and ask: âWell, I understand everything you have said so far. But how come your temporary stay was perfectly fine, while he has rotted and festered?â
Wang Xi smiled bitterly and shook his head: âAt first the turtle was not this large. After Little Yi went in, he could still speak a few sentences to me. Although he could never meet anyone else ever again, at least he could accompany us. I happily brought him back home to raise him. But who could have anticipated that he kept growing bigger, and also gradually developed a human-like appearance. I am the village chief, so villagers often come and go at my home. I saw I wouldnât be able to continue this and hide him any longer, so I placed him in this section of the river. Every night I would take advantage of the dark to come over and feed him. But I didnât expect that as time passed, he not only became like this, but also gradually stopped being able to understand my words. I noticed that he no longer came over to eat on time. I was originally anxious and worried, until⊠I later found out what he was eating.â
Most of the people present understood the underlying meaning behind his words: it seemed that the people who disappeared in the river were actually all eaten by Wang Yi. A shiver ran through the crowd, but watching the tears dripping from Wang Xiâs aged eyes, some other feeling seemed to mix in with their resentment.
Everyone had seen Yun Xieâs and Jiang Xunyiâs extraordinary actions just now, and they already faintly regarded these two people as gods coming down to the mortal world. After finishing telling his story, Wang Xi calmed his emotions and forced a smile towards the two men: âAs the village chief, I have worked conscientiously for this village over all these years. I could not have imagined that it was actually my own son that ultimately hurt everyone⊠This old man is too ashamed to say anything else. I only ask that these two young noblemen spare my sonâs life.â
Jiang Xunyi opened his mouth to speak but stopped. With a look at Yun Xie, he changed what he was going to say: âI am but a nameless pawn, not qualified to say anything. Sect Master Yunâs words are what count for everything.â
Hearing Jiang Xunyi say this, Yun Xieâs mood worsened again. With a smile on his face, he said: âI am an outsider, and only know to kill demons and slay monsters. How could I meddle in these things? I successfully caught the origin of this evil, now as for everything else⊠â His eyes nimbly turned to the two unlucky constables on the side, and he immediately said: âThat is definitely the business of these officials!â
Huang Weiâs entire body was sopping wet, and his heart was secretly filled to the brim with regret. He had always thought of himself as standing at the top of the world, given his evaluation of himself as having supreme martial arts skills, as well as possessing kinship ties to the county magistrate. He had never paid any regard to the villagers in this rural area. How could he have imagined that this time, he had picked on the wrong person and encountered these two young lords who he couldnât afford to offend. He had originally wanted to slink away with his tail between his legs at the end of this matter. But he didnât expect that before he could even take a step back, he was called out.
He didnât dare to pretend he didnât hear Yun Xieâs words, so he could only return along with Deng Zhi. Acknowledging his own misfortune, he caught this hot potato.
Afterwards, Huang Wei hesitated for a moment, and then looked towards Yun Xie and the slightly farther Jiang Xunyi: âMay I borrow a moment to speak with these two young noblemen?â
Yun Xie laughed and said: âNo. Jianghu fortune-tellers and scammers like me rely on speaking to earn money. If I spoke whenever you told me to, wouldnât you be making me go cold and hungry3?â
Huang Wei knew Yun Xie was deliberately making things difficult, but he could never have understood where he had made Yun Xie unhappy. He could only follow Yun Xieâs line of reasoning: âFor this you can rest assured. I will definitely give you the correct priceâs worth of money.â
Yun Xie happily said: âAfter talking so long, youâve only said this single useful sentence. Go ahead.â
In the distance, Jiang Xunyi leaned on a tree to watch these two bickering. His heart was secretly puzzled: The truth of this matter ought to have already come to light4, but for some unknown reason, he hadnât received any system prompt of a task completion. Now seeing Huang Weiâs face showing the expression exclusive to NPCs, Jiang Xunyi hesitated for a moment before reluctantly getting up from the tree to catch up with those three people.
Deng Zhi had also heard Huang Weiâs previous words. Surprised and bewildered, his gaze switched back and forth between Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi, and he whispered: âBrother Huang, are you going to tell them about⊠that matter?â
Huang Wei nodded, his expression solemn: âThese two young noblemen possess extraordinary skill. One can tell just by looking that you are true masters. There is a problem that has troubled me for a long time now, and I would like to ask you two to help observe and study the matter.â
Footnotes:
1. Zhuangzi (ćșć) is an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period (476â221 BC), containing stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Daoist sage. Named for its author, the famous sage Zhuangzi, it is one of the two foundational texts of Daoism (alongside the famous Dao De Jing), and is generally considered the most important of all Daoist writings. You might have heard the famous quote about Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly, which originates from this text!
See more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi_(book)
2. âæèäžç„æŠæïŒèȘèäžç„æ„ç§ăâ is the original quote. Credits to the translation from A. Charles Muller here: http://www.acmuller.net/con-dao/zhuangzi.html
3. ćè„żćéŁ lit. âdrink the northwest windâ basically means for someone to go cold and hungry, to live on air, etc.
4. æ°Žèœçłćș lit. âwhen the water subsides, the rock emergesâ