"The old man had been searching the sea for the divine turtle he'd once seen for an entire week."
"Without finding a thing."
"Of course, everyone had expected that. No one was surprised."
"Someone couldn't bear to watch and tried to persuade the old man again, but he got an earful from him."
"He said they just wanted him dead."
"After the old man put it that way, no one said anything more."
"After all, if he never found the divine turtle, the old man would give up on his own without anyone having to persuade him."
"But, clearly—"
Zhang Bo shrugged. "The old man's got plenty of patience."
"Or maybe he's pinned all his hopes on the divine turtle."
"Everyone's waiting to see when the old man will finally face reality."
"Someone in poor health ought to get more rest, but the old man keeps heading out early and coming back late, all to look for that divine turtle."
At the mention of the divine turtle, Zhang Bo bared his teeth. "Everyone thinks the old man's making things hard for himself."
"He doesn't have much time left, and he's still putting himself through all this."
"Maybe the old man just wants so badly to keep living?"
Zhao Luzheng sighed. "So he's clinging desperately to an elusive dream."
"If he knows it's an elusive dream, why go to all that trouble chasing it? Isn't that just a waste of effort?"
Zhuge Yun shook his head. "He'd be better off spending that time with his family."
"Even if he won't live to see the child born, being there for his pregnant wife before the birth is still a way of being there for the child."
"Later, the child's mom can tell the child what his father said to him