Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Whispers at the Bottom of the Lake
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"Hiss~ Hisss~"
Patches of light like flecks of gold settled on the lakebed. Green duckweed swayed with the undercurrents. An old turtle the size of a millstone let out a low rumble from its throat, like distant thunder.
Swoosh~
Xiao Hei tried to leave to feed the fish, but the old turtle pinned him down with a single claw on his shell.
"Hisss~"
The old turtle was furious, seemingly lecturing Xiao Hei. Its massive head turned first toward the school of great green fish, then back to the side.
A small female Black Crystal Mystic Turtle watched the two of them, one large and one small, in silence.
Xiao Hei glanced at the smaller turtle. She was the famed Black Rose of the area, the breeding partner his father had found for him.
"Whimper~ Whimper~"
Xiao Hei looked away, suppressing the restless urges brought on by the mating season's hormones. He earnestly tried to explain the importance of the great green fish to the old turtle.
"Rebellious son!"
The old turtle swiped at Xiao Hei again.
He didn't know what was so important about the great green fish, nor did he care. All he knew was that his son was born flawed and needed to find a breeding partner as soon as possible.
The mating period for Black Crystal Mystic Turtles was very long, lasting nearly a full human lifetime.
Moreover, they were not easily impregnated. From the time they entered their first mating period at age six, they might only conceive two or three times over the next fifty or sixty years.
"Listen to me, child."
"Don't force me... My heart is set on the immortal path. I have no desire for worldly love."
Xiao Hei backed away, not wanting to defy his father.
"The immortal path? What do you know of the immortal path! We Black Crystal Mystic Turtles can't even begin to walk it. Not even the spirit fish in the center of the lake can achieve it, so what makes you think you can?"
"You were born flawed. Your shell has only eight sections, two horizontal lines and two vertical. This means you can only live for eighty years. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for our kind to reproduce? And you're thinking about cultivation? It takes two hundred and forty years to achieve immortality. Do you think eighty is enough?"
The old turtle swam closer, its millstone-sized body looming over Xiao Hei. This time, he didn't use his claws, his tone shifting to one of earnest persuasion.
"Whimper~~~"
"Yes, I was born flawed! I only have a third of the lifespan of my kin. That's why I want to live! I want to have two hundred and forty years too! Cultivation is my only way. No matter how hard it is, I have to cultivate, because it's my only hope of survival!"
Xiao Hei puffed out his cheeks with all his might, letting out a low, guttural sound.
The old turtle froze, staring at his resolute son. He didn't know how to get through to him.
Not far away, the smaller female turtle got a clear look at the pattern on Xiao Hei's shell. She let out a stream of bubbles and turned to swim away.
"As you wish."
Dejected, the old turtle burrowed into the mud at the bottom of the lake to hibernate.
Xiao Hei paid no mind to the departing Black Rose. With the old turtle no longer obstructing him, he quickly swam toward the school of great green fish to supervise their feeding.
He had to prevent them from killing and eating each other.
*"The immortal path? Soon! As long as I work hard feeding the fish, he will help me."* Xiao Hei thought of the faint imprint of the two-legged beast on his spiritual platform.
---
A few days later, the Yun Clan came to collect the fish.
Chen Jianghe carefully stored the one hundred and eighteen grains of spirit sand he had earned.
The total yield of great green fish was two thousand eight hundred catties, with an average weight of three catties and nine taels, which greatly surprised him.
One hundred and eighteen grains of spirit sand, plus the six left over from buying supplies, made for a total of one hundred and twenty-four.
He also had one spirit stone, which was enough to buy a Qi Nurturing Pill.
*"It seems Xiao Hei has been working even harder since he took that Qi Nurturing Pill."*
He had expected a good harvest of great green fish this year, but he had never imagined the average weight would reach three catties and nine taels.
That was close to the numbers produced by a high-level Fishery Farmer.
*"Xiao Hei is close to becoming a spirit beast. His suppressive aura over the great green fish must have grown stronger, which is why their average weight increased."*
Chen Jianghe dove off his boat and swam to the bottom of the lake. He saw that the spiritual energy around Xiao Hei was growing denser. All he needed was a catalyst, and he would be able to contain the energy and open his sea of Qi.
"Whimper~"
Xiao Hei swam in circles around Chen Jianghe, blowing bubbles.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Jianghe sensed that Xiao Hei was a little down, but he couldn't figure out why.
If they still couldn't communicate telepathically after Xiao Hei became a spirit beast, he would have to find a way to buy a Spirit Beast Ring.
Xiao Hei's gloom was fleeting. Soon, he was playing with Chen Jianghe at the bottom of the lake.
Chen Jianghe encouraged him, "Xiao Hei, keep working hard, but remember to cultivate diligently too. Try to become a spirit beast by next year."
"Whimper~ Whimper~ Whimper~" Xiao Hei puffed his cheeks excitedly.
Just then, a few Black Crystal Mystic Turtles swam past. They showed no fear of Chen Jianghe, brazenly passing just inches away.
*"What's going on? Why do I get the feeling those turtles are looking at Xiao Hei with disdain?"*
Chen Jianghe had seen that same scornful look from the egrets, so he was particularly sensitive to it.
He couldn't understand it.
Logically, with his dense spiritual energy, Xiao Hei should be considered noble among the Black Crystal Mystic Turtles, a being to be looked up to.
The next moment, Chen Jianghe noticed something different about the other turtles compared to Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei's shell had two horizontal and two vertical lines, intersecting to form eight uneven sections.
But the shells of the other Black Crystal Mystic Turtles all had five horizontal and three vertical lines, crisscrossing to form twenty-four sections.
*"Could it be because of the patterns on their shells?"*
*"That must be it."*
Chen Jianghe felt he had figured out the reason for Xiao Hei's sadness. He consoled him, "Xiao Hei, you are different from them. You are about to become a spirit beast, while they will live out their lives as mere mortal turtles."
"You must remember, being different from your peers isn't a flaw. It's a sign of exceptional talent."
"Whimper~~" Xiao Hei paused, then began to squeak frantically, as if trying to tell Chen Jianghe the meaning of the sections on his shell.
"Work hard and create a future of your own."
Chen Jianghe was used to Xiao Hei's excitable nature; a few words were all it took to lift his spirits.
*Xiao Hei's intelligence is still far beneath my own.*
Leaving Xiao Hei to swim in circles by himself, he dug up the oilcloth he had buried deep in the lakebed and tied it to the bottom of his boat.
The end of the year was here. It was time to head for Port Number One.
Buy a Qi Nurturing Pill and break through to the third level of Qi Refining.
The year-end gathering.
The Fishery Farmer Assembly.
And the night soil needed to be cleared out.
He was most looking forward to buying the Qi Nurturing Pill and attending the Fishery Farmer Assembly.
Once he broke through to the third level of Qi Refining, he could practice the Water Escape Art, giving him a life-saving technique.
As long as he didn't encounter another cultivator who practiced a water-elemental art, no one below the mid-Qi Refining stage would pose a threat to him.
Then there was the Fishery Farmer Assembly.
Yu Daniu had mentioned in his letter that this year's assembly might not be the same old routine filled with useless platitudes.
Instead, there would be some changes that would be very beneficial for low-level Fishery Farmers.
When he arrived at the port, there were still many fishing boats, but less than half the number from two years ago.
Some Fishery Farmers had been caught in the crossfire and become skeletons at the bottom of the lake.
Others had fled, leaving the waters of Mirror Moon Lake behind.