âEmma!â Just at that moment, the lakeâs surface was disturbed yet again by a wave, but it was far smaller than the commotion Beiting Huang had caused. A large black turtle poked its head out of the water, cursing angrily, âWho is it? Who disturbed my lair? You little punk, show yourself!â
Atop the turtleâs head was a hat fashioned out of a lotus leaf, sitting askew. Its eyes, small as mung beans, scanned around. Qiong Qi and the others had already hidden away by the time the turtle appeared; at that moment, within a few zhang of the lakeâs surface, only Beiting Huang and Yan Ye remained.
âYan Ye, was it you?â The turtle was obviously fuming. Its size was uncertain as it didnât swim up; it seemed only to stand on its limbs, exposing most of its body above the water, and said irritably, âYou almost burnt me to a crisp, not to mention youâve dumped half the water out of my lake. Werenât you busily searching for your wife everywhere? How do you have time to bother with these old bones of mine?â
Its gaze inadvertently fell upon Beiting Huang, and it was so startled that its legs went weak, nearly causing it to fall back into the lake. It raised a claw and pointed at Beiting Huang, âAre you human or ghost?â
âWhatâs this âhuman or ghostâ?â Beiting Huang was quite annoyed. She glared fiercely, already tired. She had just been comfortably nestled in Yan Yeâs arms when she was interrupted by this old turtle, so naturally, she was in a foul mood, âThis isnât your territory. I can do what I want. If youâre so capable, come and hit me!â
The turtle managed not to fall but steadied itself, staring fixedly at Beiting Huang with its mung bean eyes. It saw that although she looked a bit disheveled, her face was unmistakably that from its memory. However, her temperament seemed to have changed somewhat; she used to live in Tongshan and always appeared displeased, but now, just look at this audacious attitude; she was almost infuriating enough to kill.
âYou, you, you think you have the right?â The old turtle, gasping with anger, stomped up from the lake, âDo you think I canât beat you or what? I was just sleeping, but come on then, Little Huang Jiu. Whether youâre human or ghost, today, I, Turtle Grandpa, am going to teach you a good lesson!â
âTurtle Grandpa?â Beiting Huang let out a laugh of exasperation. A grandpa who picks fights upon meeting others was simply asking for it! She quelled the urge to ask Yan Ye about the identity of this old turtle and, pushing Yan Ye aside, slapped her hand on her waist, drew her flexible sword, and held it firmly, âYouâd better pray I canât beat you; otherwise, today, Iâm definitely going to feast on roasted turtle!â
After speaking, she shouted fiercely, âQiong Qi, Bai Ze, Xuan Wu, Bi Fang, this old turtleâs meat might grant eternal life after being eaten. Iâll share some with you too!â
Seeing Beiting Huang about to start a fight with the Ming Sea Divine Turtle, Qiong Qi and the others wanted to come over and enjoy the show. With Yan Ye around, they werenât worried about Beiting Huang getting into trouble; at worst, it would just be a fight. But hearing Beiting Huang talk about roasting and eating Xuan Ming Divine Turtle and sharing some with them too, all four of them were so frightened that their legs went soft, and they tumbled to the ground in unison.
Could they even refuse? Was the Ming Sea Divine Turtle so easy to deal with? This old fellow already had the strength of a Great Lord in the 33 Heavens; even though he hadnât progressed much due to the constraints of the plane for many years, he was still not to be trifled with. Does the Demon Queen even know what this creature, oh no, I should say, what this character truly is?
Beiting Huang didnât care. She rolled up her sleeves and hacked fiercely at the turtle with her sword.