Chapter 14 The Cursed Turtle Demon【For further reading】
Ancient times.
Turtles are so popular that they are even regarded as totems, attracting people to worship them.
In the primitive era when the sky was round and the earth was still in the shape of the universe, because the turtle's back was bulging like the sky and its abdomen was flat like the earth, the turtle became a sacred symbol that imitated the universe and was considered to have the power to reach the heavens.
And in this world.
The turtle represents longevity.
The spirit of the mountains.
One of the four phenomena of the universe.
Cui Qinghe looked at the old turtle in front of him and learned that it was once a turtle spirit that was born and raised in the earth. It traveled across the mountains and rivers and was worshiped by all the spirits in the world. Even if a cultivator passed by with a sword, he would come down and worship him with joy and reverence.
Pray several times to seek the fruit of eternal life.
It didn't know how old it was at that time.
The mountains and rivers he passes through while walking are his only concept of time.
Until later.
Rivers of blood hang down, spiritual energy is polluted, the spirits of the entire world turn into monsters, immortal gates are broken, mountains and rivers are corrupted, and monsters and weird things break out everywhere.
The turtle spirit also turned into a turtle demon.
"I became a demon and was cursed by the blood river..."
When the old turtle said this, he was already very calm.
It seems that too many years have passed and any emotional fluctuations have been smoothed out by the years.
There are all kinds of strange things in the world.
Cui Qinghe knew it.
For example, the spider can possess the human body and absorb memories. People who have been touched by it will burn themselves when exposed to sunlight.
Fox demons like to seduce living beings. Regardless of whether they are men or women, if they fall, their essence will be absorbed and their lifespan will be lost.
Probably all the monsters in the world will have their own trajectories, and some of them even involve the concept of some rules.
The old turtle's situation is also very special.
The turtle spirit is pure and flawless.
Born pure and kind.
After being cursed.
Turtle spirits hate to see people die.
"Birth, old age, sickness and death are the natural laws that living things in the world need to follow, but I saw living beings dying in front of me."
"It will shorten your life span for thousands of years."
"I thought my lifespan was endless, but now that I think about it, it probably has an end." Old Turtle smiled miserably.
"Then if you escape to the mountains, you should be fine, right?"
"But this is not the only curse on me."
Cui Qinghe suddenly fell silent.
After the old turtle was cursed by heaven and earth, he was also cursed by a monster.
And that monster.
Just in Nanling County.
"At that time, I didn't know that there was a curse on me. I continued to walk through the mountains and rivers, and saw the abyss and the deep streams. At that time, I walked to this inhabited place, and I encountered a monster, and the monster's evil spirit.
Soaring to the sky, because he coveted something on me, and after asking for it to no avail, he put a curse on me."
"Everyone I see, I will stay with them until they die."
Cui Qinghe understood immediately.
When they encounter a living being, they will stay with them until they die.
After seeing death, the turtle demon will be in great pain and his lifespan will be shortened for thousands of years.
This is almost an infinite loop.
The turtle demon doesn't move very fast, and this place is densely populated. If he wants to go out, there's no way he won't run into people!
In addition, there are frequent occurrences of evil spirits nowadays.
Each county has curfew times.
Guarded by demon guards.
No living beings are allowed outside, and whatever the demon guards encounter during curfew hours will be regarded as monsters and killed in the street.
It is almost impossible to leave Nanling County at night.
The turtle demon began to recall everyone he met.
"I met a boy. He sat on my back every day to go to and from school. He didn't mind that I was slow because I looked like a hill, so he kept calling me Grandpa Mountain. At first, I didn't want to, what about Grandpa Mountain?
Yes, it sounds awful, just like what other spirit beasts used to call the rotten rock in front of the mountain. But gradually, I felt like I enjoyed it. I stayed with the boy every day and didn't put the curse on me.
In my heart, the boy grew up day by day, and I also had feelings for this child. I was born to raise him, and it was the first time I watched a living being grow up with my own eyes. This feeling is very strange, and it seems to be a deeper interpretation of time.
, just like the lines added on my back, but as the child grows up, it is clearer to me than the birth of the lines..."
"That child died on the eve of the coronation."
"I felt something in my heart, so I didn't dare to go back. I ran outside as if I was running away. It was raining that day, probably very heavy. It was the first time. I felt like I couldn't even open my eyes."
The turtle demon's feelings for the child should be the purest.
Therefore, sensing death made this turtle spirit born and raised feel heartache for the first time.
Is it raining heavily?
I guess so.
Cui Qinghe listened quietly.
"Later, I met a girl who was abandoned by the man she loved. It was very pitiful. I walked to the river and wanted to swim into the river and escape into nature. But I happened to meet the girl who wanted to commit suicide, so,
I followed her, but I resisted."
"But soon I suddenly realized that I seemed to be her only support."
"Grandpa Turtle, your back is so warm. It's so comfortable to lie on the back and feel warm."
"Grandpa Turtle, did you save me that day, did it mean that I could still meet the person I like?"
"Old people say that turtles are a symbol of wealth. Will I get rich in the future? If I make money, I will build a temple for Grandpa Turtle. The wind will not blow and the rain will not hit. Hehe, I will give it all to you.
flower."
"We don't miss that heartless man anymore."
A turtle demon who was not good at words and accompanied her silently became the girl's last resort.
The girl's family members died early, and she was the only one left.
That day, the turtle demon heard the girl murmuring in her dream: "Grandpa turtle, don't leave me. I have nothing left but you."
"You are my last family."
"What happened later?" Cui Qinghe said quietly.
The turtle demon was silent.
"She contracted the disease and died on a silvery morning."
"Did it rain that day?"
"It was snowing, but it melted."
"Um."
Later, the turtle demon met many people, but none of them died well, and some did not even live for more than a year.
"Don't blame them. There are monsters like me around. It was me who harmed them..."
The turtle demon said a lot more.
Perhaps because Cui Qinghe has a special status and often comes into contact with monsters, he can better understand everything the turtle monster says. It has never said so many things in its life.
"Cui Ziyi, can you help me leave Nanling County? I don't have much life left. After the death of the child in the house, I should have less than a thousand years left..."
"I want to go back and see those mountains and taste the water. It's no longer like now, where I can only gaze at the distant mountains that were once within my reach."
"If you can promise me, I will give you that thing."
"What exactly is that?" Cui Qinghe couldn't help but become curious. The treasure that the turtle demon coveted should be very special and could only be handed over voluntarily by the turtle demon.
"It is my heart stone. I have traveled across mountains and rivers for many years. That heart stone has long been ground into spiritual jade. It absorbs the essence of the earth and the essence of vegetation. It is now a rare treasure."
"If you hand over my heart and soul to the Demon Slayer Division behind you, you will get unexpected rewards."
For the final freedom.
The turtle demon has completely ignored everything else.
That heart stone should be extremely precious to the turtle demon, as it is the source of its aura, but now it just wants to go back and see the mountains and rivers and kiss the earth.
Cui Qinghe thought about it for a while.
If you want to leave the city during the curfew, it would be fine if you are only in the Tianhe area. Cui Qinghe has the final say. But if you want to go outside the city gate, you have to pass through Ping'an Street.
It seems that we have to go to Ping An Street to discuss it with Lin Cheng and Lin Ziyi from Ping An Street. Last time in the Demon Slayer Division, Lin Ziyi gave Cui Qinghe a lot of useful information, so Cui Qinghe had a good impression of him.