267

Huo Yingjie was dumbfounded. Was this little whirlwind talking about a story from the Classic of Mountains and Seas?

Ancient gods?

Stone statues of guardian beasts along the river?

Each one is more outrageous than the last!

Huo Yingjie picked up the little turtle and touched its arms and legs. The material really did look like stone, but with those constantly waving legs, it was clear that it was a lively creature and shouldn't be made of stone!

However, Huo Yingjie quickly came to terms with it, since even a tortoise, being made of flesh and blood, couldn't speak!

The fact that this little turtle can talk proves that it must have something extraordinary about it.

"Then tell me, why did you become Tianbao's pet?" Huo Yingjie asked. He couldn't figure out those fantastical things for the moment. The most important thing now was to determine if the little turtle had any ill intentions towards him, and secondly, to find out how the little turtle knew He Tiantian.

The little tortoise's tiny eyes darted around, thinking about what He Tiantian had just told it.

"What are you thinking?" Huo Yingjie asked. "A lie?"

The little tortoise quickly shook its head and said, "No, no, I was originally in the Peach Blossom River. Later, the villagers dug up the river, and I felt uneasy inside. The spell on my body was destroyed by humans. Originally, I wanted to take revenge on humans, but He Tiantian is very kind. She brought me here from the mountain as a pet."

"Did you speak like a human being in front of He Tiantian?" Huo Yingjie asked, staring into the little turtle's eyes.

The little tortoise shook its head and said, "No, she didn't say anything. She treats me like a pet. You are my master, and I want to follow you."

Although deceiving its owner is wrong, He Tiantian is very good to it, and it has made a promise to He Tiantian, so it must keep it.

Furthermore, He Tiantian and her owner are a couple, and they will explain things clearly themselves later.

As for the Snake King, it's indeed difficult to explain, so we can only continue to keep it a secret.

Nobody likes to see a snake constantly sucking their girlfriend's blood.

To prevent the owner from overthinking things, the best course of action is not to talk to him.

Huo Yingjie listened without speaking, but carefully considered Xuan Gui's words. Then his gaze fell on Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong. Having this little creature by his side would be of great help to him in his future endeavors.

"I don't remember who you are, but you say I'm your master. How did you determine that?" Huo Yingjie asked curiously, as this was what he was most curious about.

The little tortoise said, "That's because, Master, you used a drop of blood to draw my consciousness into the stone statue, and our bloodlines are connected."

"Oh!" Huo Yingjie recalled that He Tiantian didn't seem to know that the little tortoise could talk. "Alright then, you'll be my pet from now on. Can you shrink again? I'll put you in my pocket."

The little tortoise nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes."

Soon the little tortoise shrank to the size of two thumbs, raised its tiny head and said, "Master, look, I've shrunk. You taught me how to do this!"

Huo Yingjie was surprised: "When will I grow bigger or smaller?"

"Hehe, that's great," Huo Yingjie said. "You can follow me, but you must listen to me. Can you do that?"

"Okay, okay, you're my master. Little Whirlwind will listen to you from now on." Little Whirlwind Turtle danced with joy, like a child spoiling its parents.

Huo Yingjie glanced at Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong, who were frozen in place, and said, "From now on, you cannot speak in front of outsiders; secondly, you cannot use your magic without my permission. Can you do these two things?"

Little Whirlwind Turtle nodded and said, "Yes, Little Whirlwind can definitely do it."

“Alright then, you can remove the spells from them now,” Huo Yingjie said. Although he still had many questions, these things were clearly not something that could be explained in just a few words.

Since that's the case, there's plenty of time; we can get to know each other gradually in the future.

“Actually, Master, we share the same blood, and our hearts are connected. We can communicate with each other through our thoughts. Just like now, we don’t need to speak; we can communicate with our hearts.” The little tortoise tilted its head to look at Huo Yingjie. This way, they could chat anytime, anywhere, without having to worry about the people around them.

Sometimes, he actually envied Snake King and He Tiantian.

Because the Snake King needs He Tiantian's holy blood, the two are of the same bloodline and have a connection of minds, and can communicate with each other through thought.

"Huh?" Huo Yingjie exclaimed in surprise, then immediately tried to speak telepathically, "Can you hear what I'm saying now?"

"I know, you're asking me if I can hear what you're saying!" the little turtle replied. It really can; it will be a happy little turtle from now on.

Huo Yingjie smiled. With Xiao Xuanxuan around, he could take the initiative in many things instead of being passive.

"Great job, Little Xuanxuan," Huo Yingjie said with a smile. "By the way, why are you called Xuanxuan?"

The little tortoise looked bewildered, scratched its head, and said, "I was originally a tortoise. My master saved me and named me Little Whirlwind."

Huo Yingjie felt a chill; he couldn't stand such a cheesy name. He said, "Let's not use the name 'Little Whirlwind' for now. Let's go back to your original name, 'Little Whirlwind Turtle,' how about that?"

"Great, great!" The little tortoise danced with joy. Actually, it didn't matter what it was called; the important thing was being able to be with its owner.

Putting aside the terrifying fact that the little tortoise can talk, in other respects, this little creature is quite cute.

Huo Yingjie pointed at Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong, telling Xiao Xuangui that he could release the two of them.

"Okay, okay." After saying that, the little tortoise made a few grabbing motions in the air with its little claws and then untied the knot.

Huo Yingjie carefully observed Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong.

"Yunzhong, your cooking today is really good," Zhang Aijun said. "I've never eaten such delicious rabbit meat before."

"Haha, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I'll go catch some fish in the river tomorrow," Li Yunzhong said. "I'll cook the fish for you."

“Sure, let’s go together.” Zhang Aijun laughed. He came here on a mission, but actually it was to have a vacation with Huo Yingjie. “By the way, Comrade Huo, do you like to eat? If you do, we’ll make more.”

Huo Yingjie smiled and said, "I like to eat West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, and I can make it too."

“Alright, then I’ll catch a lot more.” Li Yunzhong laughed. “There shouldn’t be any hostile forces in this village. This mission is basically a vacation.”

"Smack!" Zhang Aijun slapped Li Yunzhong on the back of the head. Even though it was the truth, you can't say it out loud.

"It's alright, we're all family here." Huo Yingjie smiled. "This is a simple and honest rural area, not some chaotic border region. I'm here on vacation, so you should treat it as a vacation too."

As for those hostile forces, they haven't been able to obtain any information about him yet, since he has grown too fast, and no one would have imagined that a young man under twenty years old would have achieved such success.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing's grandfather was probably also kept in the dark, and he was still safe during this year.

As for the future, that's uncertain.

Huo Yingjie was easy to talk to, and Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong also admired Huo Yingjie's character.

In the middle of the night, Huo Yingjie kept talking to the little turtle using his mind.

Once Huo Yingjie fell asleep, the little tortoise began its cultivation. Absorbing the divine power from Huo Yingjie was twice as effective as usual, which delighted the little tortoise. Perhaps one day, it could also transform into human form and stand openly with its master.

Huo Yingjie woke up feeling refreshed.

This puzzled Huo Yingjie greatly. He had been chatting with Little Turtle until 2 a.m. last night before going to sleep. Now it was only 5:30 a.m., and he was already awake. He didn't feel sleep-deprived at all; on the contrary, he felt a surge of energy within him.

It felt like I had taken a super-nutritious tonic.

That's not true either!

How should I put it?

Huo Yingjie couldn't quite describe how he felt, but he was certain that his body contained immense power, an inexhaustible energy.

Today, when Huo Yingjie went up the mountain to work with He Tiantian, they were more efficient than yesterday.

"Brother Yingjie, aren't your arms and legs sore from working yesterday?" He Tiantian asked in surprise. When she first started working, it took her several days to get used to it.

Huo Yingjie was also puzzled; his arms and legs, which were a little sore last night, were now completely uncomfortable!

"Hehe, it's okay, you'll get used to it," Huo Yingjie said. "I'll help you for a while, and after we finish the task, we'll go fishing together."

“Okay!” He Tiantian said with a smile. She liked catching fish and even more so, eating fish.

Around 10 o'clock, He Tiantian said to Aunt Liu, "Aunt Liu, I have a lot of grass here, I'll take it down first."

"Go ahead, go ahead," Aunt Liu chuckled. Four people working on He Tiantian's side only get one work point, it's such a good deal.

Even if He Tiantian wanted to leave early, that was fine. After all, her boyfriend was here, and she couldn't just keep working.

"Thank you, Aunt Liu," He Tiantian said gratefully. The group went down the mountain, handed over all the grass they had cut that day, borrowed fishing nets from the area, and went to catch fish in the stream across the underground river.

The water here flows quite fast, and there are people and fish in it, but they are all small fish.

"Master, let me go down. I'll go and drive the big fish out of the dark river," said the little tortoise. Since its master wanted to eat, this little follower naturally had to do its part.

Before Huo Yingjie could even agree, the little turtle had already jumped into the water, swam upstream, and entered the underground river inside the cave.

After the little turtle gained sentience and regained its original form, it became the overlord of the water. When it reached the bottom of the river, it stirred things up and drove out many large fish.

These fish all flowed in from a large river dozens of miles away on the other side of the mountain, and they can't get out. They stay in there year after year, and each one is very big.

Huo Yingjie ordered his men to quickly set up the fishing net, and small fish kept falling into it.

Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong did not see the little tortoise, but He Tiantian did.

So Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong didn't think highly of Huo Yingjie's method, but He Tiantian wasn't worried at all; she was just waiting to eat fish at noon.

A short while later, an unusual sound came from inside the cave, but it was not abrupt as it was mixed with the splashing water.

While others didn't notice, He Tiantian did.

Just then, many dark things swam out from underwater.

Her fishing net was at the narrowest point downstream, which was three meters wide. With so many fish surging around it, Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong were almost pulled into the river.

With He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie providing support from both sides, they finally managed to pull the fishing net.

"How do we haul in the net now?" He Tiantian asked. "Look at all those lively fish!"

There are already dozens of fish in the net, and dozens more are swimming over.

"Li Yunzhong, hold on tight! Hold on for two minutes, and I'll call for help," He Tiantian said. There were too many fish; it was clear that the four of them couldn't handle them.

Li Yunzhong said through gritted teeth, "Okay, I can handle it."

Once Li Yunzhong was ready, He Tiantian took off running, shouting, "Help! There are still many fish in the river. Quickly get the tools to catch them!"

The stream wasn't far from the livestock team, and when He Tiantian ran to the door, she ran into a group of people who had just returned from cutting grass on the mountain.

"Hurry up, there are a lot of fish in the river. We can't handle them all by ourselves. Call others and get the tools." After saying that, He Tiantian quickly ran back. Comrade Li Yunzhong was still struggling to keep going!

He Tiantian ran back and quickly helped pull the fishing net.

Li Yunzhong's forehead was covered in sweat. If He Tiantian didn't come soon, he probably wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.

A short while later, Xiang Rong, Zuo Li, and Aunt Liu quickly came over with baskets to help.

Zuo Lishou is very skillful. He made a net bag out of an old fishing net, tied it to a bamboo pole, and caught several fish every time he used it.

There wasn't time to pick them up; they were simply dumped nearby. Fish out of water can't frolic for long.

With fishing nets blocking the way, most of the fish were caught within half an hour.

The last fishing net they brought up contained dozens of fish.

We were busy just now, and no one noticed.

Now we can catch our breath. We can see clearly that most of the fish on the ground are black carp and common carp. The smaller ones weigh four or five pounds, while the larger ones weigh seven or eight pounds, and some even weigh ten pounds.

The fish that were caught first have stopped jumping around, while the ones that were just caught are full of energy, jumping around.

"What are we going to do with so many fish?" He Tiantian asked, looking around and estimating there were over a hundred.

It wasn't enough to distribute to other villagers.

It's better not to divide them; that way, they won't dare to embezzle them.

Zuo Li thought for a moment and said, "Let's call Secretary Qi over and let him divide it up. We caught the fish, so we'll get more."

"That works too," He Tiantian agreed.

"Then I'll go call Secretary Qi and ask him to let it pass," He Tiantian said with a smile. She didn't care about the fish at all; Li Yunzhong had already put several big fish in his basket.

Aunt Liu took two, the livestock team kept ten, and the rest were distributed to the villagers. They would probably get some too.

Everyone benefited, but no one told anyone.

After countless proofs, everyone is reassured that Aunt Liu would never reveal these benefits.

When Secretary Qi arrived, he led people to bring the fish to the village branch office. After counting the fish, each household received one; larger households received larger fish, and smaller households received smaller fish. Every household received one, and the villagers didn't complain!

Secretary Qi publicly praised the fishermen, and they will be given priority in this year's awards.

People often went there because they could catch fish, but there were no small turtles; the villagers could only catch some small fish. (To be continued.)