Chapter 9 Chapter 9

The white horse passes through the gap, the lingering winter leaves, and spring is coming.

Under the midday sun, the ice and snow gradually melted, and patches of brown and yellow soil appeared under the moist melted snow.

When Yan Gan stepped over the threshold of the incubation room, he still had a hint of winter coolness and the scent of early spring sunshine on him.

He greeted Yan Yu in a familiar manner and took over Yan Yu's guard post responsibly. When Yan Yu left, he turned around and locked onto the target in the center of the kang.

Yan Gan smiled and put his hands under Yan Luoyue's armpits, lifted her up, and shook her like a doll.

"Hey, brother is here! What would you like to eat today?"

Yan Luoyue spoke slowly, but still couldn't stop the childish voice: "Eat fruit."

"Yeah, okay, let's eat some fruit." Yan Gan agreed readily and took out a big apple from his arms like a magic trick.

"You should eat the worm paste too, right? I think you are not full with just the snowflake worm powder. How about I make you half a bowl of worm paste today?"

Yan Luoyue: “…”

Upon hearing this, Yan Luoyue closed her eyes, her head tilted, and she paralyzed into a turtle pancake in Yan Gan's hands, powerless on the spot.

Yan Gan laughed out loud at her hopeless look:

"Okay, don't eat that today. I'll mash up some yellow croaker for you to eat. It's really strange. Bugs are so delicious, why don't you like them since you were a kid?"

Yan Luoyue shook her head sadly, not wanting to make any comments on the traditional diet of the turtle tribe.

After putting Yan Luoyue back on the kang, Yan Gan picked up the apple, held it up to the sunlight, sighed slightly and said:

"This winter is too long. Look, even the apples are wrinkled."

Fortunately, even such a long winter will soon be over.

Yan Gan was still his usual chatterbox, mashing apples for Yan Luoyue and the little turtles while talking to himself.

"Are you guys curious about why your brother is the only one in the room? Where are your mother and sister Yanyu?"

On the kang, the kids were each doing their own thing.

They were looking up at their heads and crawling on turtle shells, obviously not curious about this topic.

But Yan Gan nodded seriously, as if he had already received a definite answer.

"You're welcome to be curious. Our hibernation period this year is almost over. The tribesmen are waking up one after another, and the half-lockdown period is about to end. Now, all the awake tribesmen in the tribe should go and help everyone."

At this point, Yan Gan wrinkled his nose: "You know, only my brother is a very good person, so I came to ask for your help to take care of you little guys - hehe, when you grow up, you must say thank you to me."

Yan Luoyue can now fulfill Yan Gan's little wish.

"Thank you, brother!"

When Yan Gan heard this, he immediately laughed so hard that his eyebrows were hidden and his arms, which were mashing apple puree, were bent like windmills.

He puffed out his chest with great pride: "Luoyue's pronunciation is really standard. I really have a talent for teaching people to read!"

Sitting cross-legged on the heated kang, Yan Luoyue held her chin in her hands helplessly.

The growth patterns of the demon race are obviously different from those of Yan Luoyue in her previous life.

Compared to humans, the demon race has a shorter childhood period of being nurtured by their elders, but a relatively longer growth period.

There is a folk saying that goes "seven months to sit, eight months to crawl", which means that when a human baby is born, his bones are soft and he has to wait until seven months to be able to sit independently and eight months to learn to crawl.

These two skills have little to do with whether a child is smart or not, but rather reflect a growth law.

However, this rule obviously does not hold true for the turtle shells of this life.

From the day Yan Luoyue broke out of her shell to now, less than four months have passed.

Now, Yan Luoyue can not only transform into a turtle shape on his own and communicate with other people in simple sentences, but he can also sit and crawl like a human baby, and even totter back and forth on his two short legs for a distance without the need to hold on to the wall.

If she were born on earth, her growth rate would be terrifying.

But in the Turtle Clan, no one objected to Yan Luoyue's changes.

At most, everyone thinks that she learns things quickly and is a genius little turtle.

Coincidentally, among the batch of hatched cubs this year, there are many little turtles that are "not that talented, but also very talented."

In the past, it would take at least half a year for a turtle cub to break out of its shell and transform into a human form.

But this year, perhaps because of the example set by Yan Luoyue, who demonstrated to the cubs in her infant state, the group of little turtles that grew up with her have actually begun to figure out the rules of becoming humans ahead of time.

Today, the little green-shelled turtle stared at Yan Luoyue for a while with its small eyes, then turned around and "whoosh" a human hand appeared.

Tomorrow the little turtle with a flower shell tilted its head, scratched Yan Luoyue's feet with its little claws, and thoughtfully produced a piece of heel.

When the women in the incubator saw this, they were all overjoyed.

"As expected, it was the right thing to do to bring Luoyue here. Look, as soon as Luoyue came, these children all knew how to follow her example and started to change into Luoyue's image so early."

"That's right. In my opinion, when they grow up, they will have to give Luoyue a gift as a disciple."

Yan Luoyue: “…”

No, she didn't need any apprenticeship gift. As long as the little turtles didn't tell her name when outsiders were frightened by their transformed forms, Yan Luoyue would be thankful.

No wonder Yan Luoyue was pessimistic, it was because the level of the little turtles' transformation was really worrying.

For the demon race, transformation is an instinct lurking in their blood.

But whether the makeup looks good or not, and whether it is neat or not, requires a certain amount of observation and imagination.

Ever since the little turtles transformed, the kang has been filled with various strange phenomena such as "palms with three fingers", "arms without elbows", and "human heads with only half of the face changed".

Once, Yan Luoyue took a nap. When she woke up and opened her eyes, her retina was filled with a huge face with the back of the head on both sides. She was so scared that her heart beat irregularly on the spot.

The most amazing thing is that after verification, it was found that the big face with the back of the head on both sides was not transformed by the little turtle using its own head.

——It is the spotted turtle, which transformed itself using its own tail!

Yan Luoyue: “…” You’re so great that you have a tail.

Today, almost all turtles have mastered the ability to partially transform, but how the tail should change is still a big problem in the minds of the turtles.

In the one-to-one replica of the little turtles: the two front paws become arms, the two back paws become legs, the shell becomes a fleshy body... but what about the tail? How should the tail be treated?

It is very difficult for little turtles less than four months old to understand subtraction and realize that the tail will disappear together with the shell.

So, Yan Luoyue watched quietly as the little turtles showed off their magical powers, and developed all kinds of amazing imagination in the treatment of their tails.

Things like having a human hand dragging behind the buttocks and a six-toed leg clamped by the tail of the turtle shell are just routine operations.

The most bizarre transformation Yan Luoyue had ever seen came from a small black-shelled turtle.

The shape of his upper body is still a turtle shell, turtle claws and turtle head, but his lower body has successfully transformed into a round little butt and two very powerful legs.

If it were just this, Yan Luoyue could still accept it.

But in the place where the little turtle's tail originally grew, the black-shelled turtle very creatively grew a new little Jiji!

...I have to say, considering the shape, proportion and size, this little turtle is quite logical.

Yan Luoyue: “…”

In her opinion, the title of "Genius Little Turtle" should be given to this gentleman.

…………

Yan Gan first divided the fruit puree equally among the little turtles crawling all over the kang, then he carried a washbasin-sized iron trough onto the kang and poured a layer of colorful thawed worms into it.

Seeing the little turtles rushing over and fighting for the food, Yan Gan brushed the dust off his hands and went to take care of another little guy who was particularly demanding.

"Here, your yellow croaker paste."

Yan Gan lay on the edge of the kang and poked Yan Luoyue's soft face with his hand.

He carefully controlled the strength, repeatedly pressing into her fair and rosy cheeks to create dimple-like depressions:

"You are the pickiest person. You don't even want to eat bugs—bugs are so delicious!"

Yan Luoyue said nothing, just blinked.

While Yan Gan was feeding Yan Luoyue, he deliberately used the spoon to draw circles on the tip of Yan Luoyue's nose.

Soon, his actions were rewarded with Yan Luoyue's silent gaze.

Their eyes met. Yan Gan smiled awkwardly and touched the tip of his nose, feeling as if he was being looked down upon by his four-month-old sister.

When half a bowl of fish paste was almost empty, the door of the hatchery was suddenly pushed open.

A man from the Turtle Tribe, whom Yan Luoyue had never seen before, stood at the door, feeling cold from the outside weather.

The man looked around the incubator and said, "It's Yan Gan, where's your sister Yu?"

Yan Gan: "Sister Yu went to help Auntie and the others. Uncle Bao, do you have anything to do with her?"

"Well, then don't call her. You can come and help."

The man waved his hand hurriedly: "The half-sealing period has just ended, and today three groups of strangers came to stay overnight. We are all very busy, come and give us a hand."

Yan Gan looked at the kang, then at the other person, his tone clearly showing some hesitation.

"But the children of the tribe ..."

“Are these the cubs this year?”

The man stepped into the room, lowered his head and glanced at the kang, then he smiled: "Oh, the cubs are growing fast this year. The little turtles are already so big, why do they still need someone to look after them? Come on, come and help me for a while, and I'll let you go back after you're done."

As the man spoke, he dragged the still reluctant Yan Gan and strode towards several courtyards in front.

Yan Gan screamed, "Door! Door! The door is still a little cracked!"

"Don't worry, there's a main room between us, the kids won't get frozen. I'll let you go in a stick of fire. Besides, the cotton curtains are so thick, what are you afraid of?"

Yan Gan was just a half-grown boy, and of course he was no match for his uncle in terms of strength. After staggering a few steps, he had no choice but to follow him.

The turtle tribe’s territory is in a very good location, right at a critical intersection.

Starting from this fork, the road on the left leads to the seal of the Demon Realm, and the road on the right leads directly to Pingning Mountain where monsters and monsters live.

Therefore, throughout the year, the merchants traveling back and forth, the experienced low-level monks staying overnight, and the sales of medicines and utensils are enough to maintain the livelihood of the entire tribe.

The turtle tribe has a long history and is very patient in doing such small services. Their reputation has remained the same for a hundred years, and their fame has gradually spread among the monks.

The tribe just ended the half-lockdown period today, and the hibernating tribesmen have not yet all woken up, but three new teams have come here to rest.

While Yan Gan was working, he was always thinking about the little turtles in the hatchery.

This thought reached its peak when he was transporting cages for a team of human monks.

"Guest." Yan Gan measured the width of the cage bars with his wrist, "I'm afraid your fine iron cage can't hold this nest of curly-haired yellow weasels."

The monk looked in the direction of the situation and saw that inside the cage, there were about twenty weasel monsters of different sizes with yellow and black fur curled up.

Mustela yellowensis is the scientific name of the weasel.

Because of their similar fur color and their ability to hide themselves, this cage of weasels is dazzling when they move, and it is almost impossible to count how many there are.

The monk smiled casually and said, "From what you said, it seems that the fence is a bit wide. I remember there are nineteen weasels in the cage. Please help me count them."

Yan Gan counted them carefully three times: "Only eighteen..."

Thinking of a possibility, Yan Gan frowned and his face turned pale.

"Maybe one of them ran away?" The monk waved his hands casually. "Forget it, it's just a weasel, let it go. Hey? Where are you going, young man?"

Yan Gan didn't bother to greet the careless guest. He turned around and ran away. His answer came from afar in the cold wind.

"We still have cubs in our tribe—weasels eat turtles!!!"

And he clearly remembered that when he was pulled away by his uncle, the door of the incubator was not closed tightly.

——————————

At this moment, on the other side of the clan's land, Yan Luoyue was holding a wooden hairpin tightly in one hand, quickly sorting out the knowledge in her mind.

Perhaps because she has turtle blood in this life, a lot of knowledge related to turtles will automatically appear in her mind at the right time.

Young turtles actually have many natural enemies.

When turtle eggs are in the egg stage, they are often eaten by wild birds whose shells are pecked through. When the back shells are still soft shortly after hatching, many cats will also bully them.

When they grow a little bigger, baboons, eagles and the like will smash their shells against rocks, pick out the turtle meat inside and eat it.

Obviously, the turtle tribe's strategy of incubating and raising eggs in a centralized manner has effectively increased the survival rate of the cubs.

Speaking of which, why did Yan Luoyue suddenly think of the natural enemy?

That was of course because, behind the cotton curtain of the hatchery, a weasel with round ears, a pointed mouth and a wound on its back was peeking into the house!

Yan Luoyue widened her eyes and became alert in her heart.

Blood and nature told Yan Luoyue that the weasel eats turtles!

So, can anyone explain to Yan Luoyue why there are weasels in the tribe’s land?

Watching the weasel sniffing around and cunningly squeezing half of its body in, Yan Luoyue's mouth twitched slightly.

If you say that the weasel went looking for the chicken, that's fine.

But it's just the end of the first lunar month. Whose weasel would be so wicked as to come and pay his last respects to the little turtle?

The weasel stretched its neck and took a look into the house, a stream of shiny saliva unconsciously flowing from the corner of its mouth.

“…”

After looking around, Yan Luoyue had to admit sadly that this weasel was very knowledgeable.

Look at these lively little turtles. From the weasel’s perspective, this must be a sumptuous buffet!