Chapter 13

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?"

Xiaohai mobilized all the knowledge in his mind, but nothing matched this monster.

Even Sparrow, with its knowledge, didn't know the name of this monster. Just as Xiaohai was about to ask something, Sparrow suddenly said, "Maybe Old Turtle knows what this monster is."

Old Turtle? What Old Turtle?

From Sparrow, Xiaohai learned that this was a forest turtle living in the primeval forest, said to be hundreds of years old.

This kind of forest turtle is almost extinct, living on leaves, snails, and fungi, with a very long lifespan. It's said that one of a pair of forest turtles discovered in the early 20th century is still alive today.

It seems that the Huayan Naxi primeval forest is indeed home to many rare birds and beasts. Here, he could actually see a forest turtle in person.

With Sparrow leading the way, they walked for nearly an hour toward the center of the primeval forest and arrived at an ancient tree that looked to be over a thousand years old.

Under the ancient tree were huge fallen leaves, but no sign of the forest turtle.

Sparrow kept pecking at the fallen leaves, and Xiaohai quickly realized what to do. He brushed away the leaves, and a small turtle, hiding in its shell, appeared:

A forest turtle—truly a forest turtle!

The forest turtle, which had its head and limbs tucked inside its shell, suddenly sensed something and poked its head out, nodding frequently at Xiaohai with a joyful look.

This forest turtle had red eyes, indicating it was male; female forest turtles have yellow eyes.

Seeing the forest turtle, Xiaohai was a bit puzzled. Did the forest turtle know he was coming?

Turtles, especially forest turtles, are very intelligent and have a strong sense of human nature. Once they develop wisdom, they far surpass other creatures. Even Xiaoqi, who benefited from the Dragon Spirit Pearl, could only match the intelligence of a forest turtle.

Xiaohai gathered his spiritual energy in his index finger. He suddenly noticed that his finger was emitting a red glow. He wondered if the Dragon Spirit Pearl had turned red.

Seeing the red glow, the forest turtle became even more excited, stretching its head out as far as it could, trying to get closer to the glow.

"Old Turtle, Old Turtle, it seems you know what's best for you," Xiaohai smiled.

Old Turtle nodded repeatedly, unable to wait any longer.

Xiaohai's index finger finally touched the top of Old Turtle's head, and a surge of spiritual energy entered, opening Old Turtle's wisdom!

"Old Turtle greets the master!" A tear rolled down from Old Turtle's red eyes: "Old Turtle has been waiting in this forest for over twenty years, and today, I finally waited for you!"

Xiaohai was amazed: "You knew I was coming?"

"Old Turtle didn't know the master was coming. Old Turtle was waiting for a deity, and the master is Old Turtle's deity."

Xiaohai was even more puzzled. Old Turtle then explained what had happened.

It turned out that over twenty years ago, Old Turtle had been captured and raised by humans. In a magical box in the human household, it saw a large turtle carrying several people across a big river and talking to a human. From that moment on, Old Turtle realized that turtles could talk to humans.

Later, it found a chance to escape and returned to the primeval forest, constantly practicing, hoping to one day be able to speak like the large turtle in the box.

When it saw Xiaohai today, it immediately sensed a powerful force from him and knew that the "deity" it had been waiting for so long had finally arrived.

Xiaohai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood.

Damn it, a magical box that shows wonders, isn't that a TV? A large turtle carrying several people across a big river? That must be "Journey to the West"!

Xiaohai was both amused and exasperated. Old Turtle had seen "Journey to the West" on a human TV by chance and believed that with its own cultivation, it could speak human language. How could it know that these were just mythological stories?

But fate is strange. Old Turtle's persistence led it to meet Xiaohai, the only person in the world with the power of the Dragon Spirit Pearl, making the impossible possible.

Now that Old Turtle's wisdom was open, it might even surpass Xiaoqi in intelligence in the future.

Xiaohai pondered for a moment: "Old Turtle, since your wisdom is now open, I'll give you a name... How about..."

Xiaoqi sighed. The boss was good at everything except naming... Poor forest turtle, would its name be Little Turtle?

"Since you are a forest turtle and have spiritual energy, you will be called Linggui from now on."

Old Turtle cheered, then tears streamed down again. It was so excited and moved. Throughout history, it was the first turtle to have a name!

A glory to the family, a great fortune for the turtle clan! Unfortunately, its descendants couldn't see this glorious moment immediately.

From Linggui, Xiaohai learned that it was over a hundred years old, still in its prime for a forest turtle. With Xiaohai's spiritual energy, living for another two or three hundred years wouldn't be a problem.

Soon, Xiaohai asked about the most important thing. Linggui didn't dare to be negligent and quickly answered: "When I was a young turtle, I had already heard of the forest monster. It looks like a tiger but isn't a tiger, like a lion but isn't a lion. It has no rivals in this forest, but it doesn't appear often. The last time it appeared was about fifty years ago. I saw it eat a tiger with my own eyes. I was hiding under the leaves, too scared to move."

Xiaohai was completely stunned. First, Sparrow told him the monster killed a leopard, and now, from Linggui, he learned that even the king of beasts, the tiger, was the monster's meal.

This combat power is almost insane!

What the hell is this thing?

"There's a bag-like thing on the monster's belly..."

Linggui's words immediately caught Xiaohai's attention: "What did you say? A bag?"

"Yes, a bag," Linggui answered confidently: "It seems to be used to carry something. As for its appearance, it looks a bit like a lion and a bit like a tiger. I can't describe it clearly. After that, the monster disappeared and hasn't been seen for over fifty years."

A bag-like thing on the belly? A kangaroo's pouch? Could the so-called forest monster be a kangaroo? That's a joke, how could a kangaroo appear in a primeval forest? And if a kangaroo fought a tiger, the kangaroo wouldn't even know how it died.

"What happened later? I heard the monster appeared again recently?"

"Yes," Linggui was also a bit scared: "It appeared about a month and a half ago. I was terrified and only dared to hide here, afraid the monster would find and eat me."

It seems Linggui didn't know what the thing was either. Xiaohai was a bit disappointed: "Do you know where the monster is hiding?"

"Yes."

Linggui's answer instantly filled Xiaohai with hope.