Reckless.

Somewhat regretful, Turtle's greatest strength was endurance. He should have been competing with the wolf pack in terms of patience, not charging in like a honey badger!

Su He stretched his neck to quickly survey the surroundings.

A mile to the northwest lay Listening Sea Lake, but the path was blocked by crocodiles. Two miles east was a small pond for survival, with a menacing wolf pack.

Less than a hundred meters to the southwest stood a sudden rocky hill, not very high, only about thirty meters, with jagged rocks.

Climb the hill!

Su He made a swift decision.

There was no other way. He couldn't possibly pass through hundreds of crocodiles to reach Listening Sea Lake, nor could he fight the wolf pack. The northeast was an open grassland with no cover, leaving only the hill as an option.

He quickly climbed the hill, searching for a crevice to wedge himself into. As long as he could find a suitable crevice, with his body inside and only his shell exposed, no one could harm him.

With the half-eaten Swimming Snake in his mouth, he could survive for a month without issue. By then, if the sloppy Old Taoist didn't see him at their meeting, he would probably come looking for him... right?

Su He, holding the half-eaten snake, dashed up the hill with incredible speed—turtles can move much faster than one might imagine.

But even so, he had barely climbed ten meters when a wild wolf lunged at him, snapping its jaws at Su He.

Su He retracted into his shell, causing the wolf to bite empty air, its teeth clashing with a crisp sound. Stunned, the wolf saw the turtle's head shoot out like lightning, biting its throat.

It was the first time it had encountered a turtle that dared to fight back.

The turtle's beak-like mouth clamped down, locking the wolf's throat. The wolf struggled, roared, and leaped, but Su He held on tightly.

Using all his strength, he bit through the wolf's throat. Hot blood gushed into his mouth and down his throat as the wolf rolled and struggled with him.

Gradually, its movements slowed, and eventually, it stopped moving altogether.

It was dead.

Su He released his numb jaw and laboriously turned his body, raising his head to look down.

In front of the jagged rocky hill, over twenty wolves and a group of crocodiles stood distinctly apart. Opposite them was a blood-soaked turtle, its black body stained red with wolf blood.

Su He raised his head slightly.

A single turtle had assumed the stance of a thousand troops.

Fight!

Which one dares to challenge me? Only one wolf had approached so far, were these creatures afraid of me? Looking down, he saw a little girl, about three or four years old, swinging a large crocodile by its tail and smashing it into the wolf pack.

As she smashed, she shouted in a childish voice, "Don't bully the turtle!"

She had already knocked down seven or eight wolves, leaving the beasts too afraid to approach.

Su He: "..."

Where did this little girl come from? It seemed like she was helping him, a fellow creature turned spirit? Couldn't stand to see her kin bullied?

He looked at the wolf he had struggled to kill and then at the wolf and crocodile packs that the little girl had beaten back.

A strange feeling inexplicably emerged.

The little girl finished her rampage, driving away the crocodiles and wolves, then tossed the crocodile in her arms to the ground, clapped her hands, and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the beasts.

"Don't bully the turtle!" she sternly warned in her childish voice.

Satisfied that the beasts were intimidated, she turned and walked over, patting Su He's turtle head with a pure smile, "Hehe, I found a pretty turtle too, much better than Grandpa Ge's turtle, and it dares to fight wolves!"

She squatted down to meet Su He's gaze, "Right! I saw how smart you were, using an eagle to fly, unlike the bad turtle Grandpa Ge met. It promised to meet him on the Seventh of July, but Grandpa Ge waited all night, and it never showed up."

Su He blinked, puzzled.

"Big Turtle, did you know there was treasure on the hill and came running?" She carefully wiped the blood off Su He with a handkerchief, then picked him up and headed for the hilltop. "The spiritual energy on the hilltop is because Mother is adjusting the climate."

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

The little girl giggled, "Mother fought with someone, messed up the climate, and just finished fixing it. She's bathing on the hill now. I'll take you to see her and give you a wash too. You stink!"

Su He: "???"

"!!!"

Mother? Bathing? Is this something a two-year-old turtle should see?

Su He didn't struggle, allowing the little girl to carry him up the hill. Rounding a rugged rock, the hilltop view unfolded before him.

A pavilion, a pool of water in front of it, with a thin mist swirling above.

No bathing woman.

"Yaya, where have you been?"

A cool voice came from behind. Su He turned his head to look and was suddenly stunned.

The speaker was a woman of about twenty-six or twenty-seven, dressed in white, as bright as the autumn moon. Her clothes fluttered gracefully, exuding an ethereal beauty, especially her otherworldly aura, like a lotus emerging from water—serene, elegant, and frosty...

Especially just after bathing, her damp black hair hung over her chest, outlining her figure.

"Mother!" the little girl called out happily, "I found a big turtle, much better than the one Grandpa Ge talked about! It can fly!"

Hearing the child's voice, the woman's cool face softened with a hint of a smile.

Children are just children, innocent and adorable. Three days ago, Elder Ge had passed by on his sword, mentioning he was going to meet a turtle, only to be stood up by it. The little girl had shown great interest in the clever turtle.

She had become obsessed, wanting a turtle, not those exotic beasts that could spit water and fire, just an ordinary, exceptionally smart little turtle.

She even begged her to adjust the disrupted climate back, hoping the turtle Elder Ge mentioned would see the blooming lotus and come to the meeting.

This girl was obsessed, and while she was bathing, she had somehow brought back a black turtle.

The woman gently waved her hand, and a stream of clear water flowed over Su He, washing away the blood and the stench from years of lurking in the mud.

"Mother, can I take it home to raise?" the little girl asked, blinking her big eyes.

The woman shook her head, "A Demon Morphing Fruit just grew recently, and these hundred days are when the Hundreds of Beasts compete for the chance to transform. If you take it home, it will miss its opportunity."

The little girl held the turtle, her expression gloomy, then suddenly looked up, "Then Mother, can you check if it ate a Demon Morphing Fruit? It was fighting wolves earlier, maybe it grabbed one."

So the little girl was called Yaya, was that a nickname? Su He wondered.

The woman smiled, patting her daughter's head, "Only beasts can sense the Demon Morphing Fruit. Without a Heavenly Mirror, Mother can't tell."

The Demon Morphing Fruit is a beast's opportunity. Humans, unless they witness it firsthand, cannot sense the fruit's presence, no matter how high their cultivation level.

It's like in the previous world; no matter how knowledgeable one is, observing sound waves or electromagnetic waves requires special equipment. Humans themselves lack that ability.

The Demon Morphing Fruit belongs to beasts; humans can't sense it. This isn't about cultivation level; it's a rule of the world.

The woman placed a red fruit in Yaya's arms, "Go play! Mother still needs to adjust the formation, and we'll head back soon."

"Oh!" Yaya responded, carrying Su He to the pavilion.

Her mood was slightly downcast.

Su He raised his paw to press her chubby cheek.

The little girl, not in high spirits, pushed Su He's paw down, "Big Turtle, don't mess around. You can't play with me. I'm afraid you'll fall for me. You need to go fight for the Demon Morphing Fruit and can't come with me..."

Her eyes suddenly brightened, "That's right! After the Demon Morphing Fruit fight, you can come find me!"

She placed Su He on the ground, forming a seal with her hands to create a talisman, which she pressed onto Su He's forehead, "With this mark, you can come to Qingyuan Mountain and find me to play! We pinky swear, you can't break your promise!"

Turtle paw and little hand linked, a gentleman's agreement was made.

The girl laughed happily, "I'll tell you, my name is Feng Yaya, my mother is Su Huanian, and my father is Feng... never mind, I won't mention him. He's not a good person. If he sees you, he'll definitely want to cook you and eat you, so remember to avoid him when you come to find me."

"Yaya! Don't speak ill of your father!" Mother's voice came from outside the pavilion. She watched her daughter leave a mark on the turtle but didn't object, only subtly altered the mark from a distance.

A mark is an identity credential. Would this silly girl leave any credential? This was a high-level rune mark. If someone captured this turtle, they could use it to access her treasure vault.

That wouldn't do.

Feng Yaya pouted, "Why can't I speak ill of Father? He wants to eat everything, even me! He's definitely not my real father. I'll find a turtle to be my father in the future!"

Su Huanian's face suddenly changed.