It was described as a large rock, and it certainly looked like one. There were many barnacles parasitizing its surface, so densely packed that Fu Wan's hairs stood on end.
But what's strange is that the stone actually swayed slightly twice when Fu Wan passed by, startling her so much that she thought she was hallucinating.
However, she was always bold, and without much thought, she gently pushed the rock with the harpoon in her hand.
She wanted to see what this thing was!
At first, the stone didn't move. Just as Fu Wan pulled the harpoon back, the stone suddenly started to tremble and move.
Now Fu Wan saw it clearly. Good heavens, this was no stone at all, but an old sea turtle!
However, the sea turtle had just buried its head and limbs in the mud and sand, so Fu Wan didn't recognize it.
Now that the sea turtle was startled and its limbs and head were sticking out, Fu Wan realized that it was clearly the same species as Fu Gui, both being precious hawksbill sea turtles.
But this sea turtle wasn't as lively as Fugui, and it looked much older than Fugui.
And it looked rather listless; after swimming less than a meter, it wobbled and landed on the mud and sand.
Looking at the sea turtle's pained appearance, Fu Wan suddenly realized something. "Oh dear, with such thick barnacles on its back, it would be strange if this sea turtle had any energy!"
They were wealthy relatives, after all. Now that she had seen it, how could Fu Wan possibly ignore it?
Moreover, rescuing sea turtles is also a good deed.
Thinking of this, Fu Wan put the net in her hand aside and weighed it down with a rock to prevent it from turning back and drifting away with the sea.
Then she put down the harpoon in her hand and slowly swam to the turtle.
Getting closer, you can see the terrible state of the turtle's back. These barnacles have obviously been parasitizing the turtle's back for a long time, and even the turtle's head and limbs have been affected.
Unlike land turtles, sea turtles, though they also carry large shells, cannot hide their heads and limbs inside them.
Therefore, it was impossible to avoid being parasitized by barnacles. Fu Wan picked at the barnacles on the turtle's back with her hand through her gloves. She was worried that the turtle would be frightened, but it just turned its head to look at Fu Wan and showed no intention of running away.
I guess they just couldn't run anymore!
Seeing that the sea turtle was not hostile to her, Fu Wan immediately got to work, quickly pulled out the small knife she carried with her, and began to slowly scrape the barnacles off the turtle's shell with the back of the knife.
After several shovelfuls, many barnacles separated from the turtle's shell. The turtle sensed the strange two-legged creature dealing with the annoying things on its back and shook its head, looking much more energetic.
Many of the barnacles that were shoveled down were still alive. You know, barnacles have meat in addition to their shells, so a lot of bold fish swam over and surrounded Fu Wan, vying to pick up the barnacle meat that had fallen to the side and eat it.
To be honest, Fu Wan found it funny as she treated the barnacles on the sea turtle. Lately, it seemed like she always encountered some small animals in need of help when she went to sea.
However, there was a give-and-take relationship. The animals that received help, whether they were damselfish or sperm whales, brought Fu Wan considerable rewards.
While her mind was racing, Fu Wan's hands were busy too. Ever since she helped the sperm whale and Fu Gui remove barnacles last time, her barnacle-removing skills had become incredibly fast and excellent.
It took Fu Wan nearly half an hour to clean all the barnacles off the turtle's back.
Because these barnacles have infested the turtle so deeply and extensively, the beautiful patterns on its shell are no longer visible after cleaning. It's estimated that the turtle will need to be properly cared for for a while.
Fu Wan put away the knife in her hand and then gently patted the turtle's back.
She couldn't speak underwater, so she could only gesture to the sea turtle, hoping it would swim faster in the future and avoid being targeted by these damn barnacles.
With the weight off its back, the turtle tentatively swam several meters away. Fu Wan thought it was gone, but when she picked up the net and harpoon from the ground, the turtle swam back.
She could even see disbelief in the turtle's peanut-sized eyes.
"Alright, no need to thank me. Meeting you was fate. Now I need to continue searching for my little green dragon!"
Fu Wan silently muttered to herself, but her hand couldn't control itself and she reached up and grabbed the turtle's head again.
This is a hawksbill turtle! Although it's also a hawksbill turtle, this one looks very old; it might even have lived longer than our ancestors.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a living fossil of the sea!
The sea turtle didn't dodge after she touched it twice, but swam up to Fu Wan. Fu Wan thought it was just passing by, but unexpectedly, when she went east, it followed her east. When she swam to the coral reef, it followed her.
"No, why are you following me?"
Fu Wan was also helpless. Shouldn't all hawksbill turtles be aloof and cold? How come the two she encountered were all so human-like?
She acted like she wanted to be her underling, but the problem was, she didn't dare to accept that role!
Fu Wan admired the sea turtle's discerning eye. Coincidentally, there were a few sea urchins near the coral reef, so she picked up two, cut them open with a knife, and placed them in front of the sea turtle.
The sea turtle approached and sniffed it, then inhaled it rapidly. The sea urchin smelled so good that it attracted a lot of fish, crowding the sea turtle so much that it couldn't find a spot.
So Fu Wan picked up the sea urchins next to her, cut them open, and placed them all in front of the sea turtle.
Eat up, there are plenty of sea urchins in this sea!
Among the sea fish that surrounded her were edible tuskfish and grouper, which Fu Wan did not let go of, treating herself as an enforcer of the law by fishing.
This time, there was no need for harpoons. They simply used a net to catch whichever fish they wanted, then quickly closed the net. Before the fish could even react, they were left inside the net, savoring the taste of sea urchin.
Oh well, it's all because they're too greedy!
The sea turtles were still eating sea urchins. The fish were a little startled by Fu Wan's actions of catching fish. Although a few of the bolder ones came over to compete with the sea turtles for food, they were all small carambs, so Fu Wan was too lazy to catch them.
Perhaps it was because the buffet was too lively, several small green dragons suddenly appeared at the entrance of the coral reef cave next door. Fu Wan didn't miss any of them and caught them all in a flash, only stopping when her net was full.
Now, including the small green dragons from before, the net bag contains about a dozen, weighing roughly twenty kilograms, which seems like enough.
Once she had caught enough shrimp, she naturally swam back. Unexpectedly, she had only swum a few meters when Fu Wan felt something tugging at her clothes.
She initially thought it was a mischievous little sea fish, but when she turned her head, she was surprised to find it was the same hawksbill turtle from before.
No way, ancestor, you're going to drag me back too?
When the hawksbill turtle saw her stop, it took a long time before it opened its mouth and shook its head at her.
Oh dear, this turtle is exhausted! Its limbs are practically sparking as it struggles to catch up with these two-legged creatures!
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