Stewing a Turtle

The days slipped quietly by as Tang Wulin dutifully swallowed those few dark, sweet Liuwei Dihuang Pills and the bitter-then-sweet Kidney Treasure Tablets on time.

A few days later, in the evening, before the afterglow of the setting sun had fully faded, Tang Wulin was sprawled on the sofa, feeling the faint warmth brought by the medicine and inwardly lamenting the long month of abstinence ahead. Then came the sound of the lock turning at the entrance.

The door opened, and Gu Yue walked in humming an out-of-tune little tune. She seemed especially energetic today. Instead of carrying a bag, she was... dragging an enormous woven mesh sack nearly as wide as her upper body! The sack scraped along the floor with a rustling sound, carrying the earthy, fishy smell of the wild.

Tang Wulin instinctively looked up. At the sight, his jaw nearly dropped.

Inside the mesh sack was an astonishingly huge softshell turtle! Its shell was an ancient bluish-brown, easily more than thirty centimeters across. Its limbs and head hung limply, clearly having been put through quite an ordeal, and it lay unconscious in a state of utter despair.

"Th-this... what is that?" Tang Wulin sprang up from the sofa, pointing at the wriggling sack, his voice cracking.

Gu Yue tossed the sack onto the floor, dusted off her hands, and wore an almost boastful expression, as if she had brought back not a turtle, but a trophy. "There, something to nourish you!" Her tone was light, carrying a matter-of-fact pride.

"N-nourish what?" Tang Wulin had an extremely bad feeling. He cautiously stepped closer and poked the turtle shell with a finger. The huge turtle did not react at all, save for the faintest rise and fall of its breathing.

"Of course, to treat that problem of yours!" Gu Yue lifted her chin, utterly justified. "Kidney deficiency! Didn't the doctor say you needed nourishing? I thought about it, and medicine is no match for food. I happened to hear this thing is highly nourishing, so I personally caught one for you!"

"Y-you caught it yourself?" Tang Wulin's voice began to tremble. Looking at Gu Yue's bright face, wearing an expression that seemed to say Aren't I amazing?, a chill crept up his spine. "H-how did you catch it?"

Gu Yue's eyes lit up, as if she had finally found a stage to show off on. She leaned close to Tang Wulin and lowered her voice, though she could not hide her excitement. "Let me tell you, it was so fun! I went to that wild riverbank in the western suburbs. I originally wanted to use elemental spheres to sense soul beast fluctuations in the water, but I didn't find any soul beasts. Instead, I found this big guy sunning itself on a rock underwater!"

She gestured animatedly. "Then I thought, how do I get it up here? If I used wind element to roll it up, I was afraid I'd hurt it and the meat wouldn't taste good. If I used water element to lift it, I was afraid it would get away. So I used... hehehe, Seven-Element Compression Blast!"

The color drained from Tang Wulin's face in an instant. He abruptly took a step back, pointing at the huge turtle, his voice splitting. "You mean... you used... a Seven-Element Compression Blast... to... blow it unconscious?!"

"Yep!" Gu Yue showed no awareness of the horror of it. Instead, she looked proud. "Precise control. I only detonated it underwater around it, and the shockwave was just enough to knock it out. Its shell wasn't damaged at all! See? Isn't that perfect?" As she spoke, she even nudged the mesh sack at her feet, as though displaying a work of art.

Tang Wulin felt as if his heart had suffered a devastating blow. A Seven-Element Compression Blast! An attack capable of threatening experts at the Titled Douluo level! Used to blow up a softshell turtle?! This was no longer a matter of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. This was firing a planet-killing warship's cannon at a mosquito! And she had even precisely controlled it to avoid harming the innocent party—the turtle meat... Gu Yue's move was terrifying beyond words!

Looking at that despairing turtle, he could already picture it leisurely basking underwater when it was suddenly bombarded by a torrent of seven elements, sent spinning and soaring straight to heaven. This was no ingredient. It was clearly an "elemental trial survivor" who had undergone a hell-level baptism!

"Wife..." Tang Wulin struggled to speak, trying to make one last stand. "Isn't this... a little too bizarre? How about we just have braised pork instead? Or... or I'll go buy a normal one?"

"No!" Gu Yue said decisively, scooping up the heavy mesh sack in one hand. Her movements were so swift that Tang Wulin's heart ached for the turtle meat. "We agreed on food therapy! And I personally, personally caught this using a 'special method.' It has extraordinary significance! You have to eat it!" Without caring about Tang Wulin's expression of impending death, she dragged the poor turtle toward the kitchen with her head held high.

Tang Wulin stood frozen in place, listening to the rushing sound of water from the kitchen, dull thuds—probably the turtle's final struggles—and Gu Yue humming as she prepared the ingredients. His vision darkened, and waves of dizziness washed over him. He imagined the turtle being thrown into boiling water to have its skin removed, then imagined whether, after it was cut open, chaotic energy fluctuations from the seven elements might still remain inside... Would eating this nourish him or drain him? Would it trigger an elemental storm inside his already "kidney-deficient" body?

He truly did not dare look, nor did he have the face to look. Silently, he turned around and faced the wall in reflection.

Gu Yue's words, "Seven-Element Compression Blast," kept echoing in his mind, along with the doctor's instructions to take his medicine on time and rest properly. Compared to that turtle that had been bombarded by elements, he felt that his fragile kidneys might need more prayers.

Yet the symphony in the kitchen did not stop. The sounds of knife sharpening, vegetables being chopped, and hot oil sizzling in the pan, accompanied by Gu Yue's occasional cheerful humming, created a strange yet cozy atmosphere. Tang Wulin could even smell the rich, domineering fragrance gradually spreading through the air, mixed with the sweet bitterness of medicinal herbs. It actually stirred a faint appetite in him.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Yue emerged carrying an enormous white porcelain bowl and set it on the dining table. Inside was milky-white, rich broth, stewed turtle meat so tender it nearly fell apart, plump skirt meat, and medicinal herbs such as codonopsis root, astragalus, and goji berries scattered throughout. It looked exceptionally appetizing.

"Dinner's ready, Mr. Kidney Deficiency!" Gu Yue called out, her tone filled with the delight of a successful prank.

Tang Wulin stiffly shuffled over. Looking at that bowl of Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup, which seemed to contain the essence of heaven and earth—and the lingering force of an elemental explosion—he picked up a spoon, his hand shaking like he had Parkinson's.

"Eat up! It won't be as fresh once it gets cold!" Gu Yue had already scooped up a large spoonful of skirt meat and was eating with relish. She did not forget to urge him, either. "Don't worry, it's definitely not poisonous. I tried it."

Tang Wulin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and spooned a small piece of turtle meat into his mouth with the resolve of a warrior cutting off his own arm.

The meat was unexpectedly tender and fresh, while the broth was rich and delicious, carrying the mellow, lingering sweetness of medicinal herbs. It was actually... really good? There was none of the strange elemental aftertaste he had imagined, nor was there any discomfort.

He cautiously took another bite, then another... Then, as if the door to a new world had opened, the trembling of his spoon gradually stopped, and his eating speed began to increase. Indeed, after the initial shock and absurdity, he had to admit that it was truly a top-tier delicacy. Warmth flowed down his throat, and a gentle heat seemed to spread through his abdomen, bringing a touch of comfort to his lower belly, which had felt somewhat hollow from anxiety and medication.

Gu Yue rested her chin in her hands as she watched Tang Wulin's transformation from resistance to wholehearted enjoyment. A pleased smile flashed in her eyes, along with a trace of tenderness that was difficult to notice.

"If it's good, eat more." Gu Yue pointed at his bowl with her chopsticks. "There's more if that isn't enough. This is the 'Seven-Element Bombardment Special Edition.' You definitely can't get it anywhere else."

Tang Wulin looked up at Gu Yue's teasing yet earnest eyes, his heart filled with mixed emotions. His fear had faded, replaced by a feeling of touched amusement and resigned acceptance. He lowered his head, continued drinking the soup, and mumbled, "Next time... next time you catch something like this, could you use a... gentler method?"

"What's fun about that compared to blasting it?" Gu Yue said righteously. "And efficiency comes first! But..." Her tone shifted and softened. "Since you've been so cooperative, next time... I can consider using wind element to roll it up."

Tang Wulin said, "...Thanks. That's progress."

And that unfortunate giant turtle, after fulfilling its glorious yet absurd mission, ultimately became warmth within Tang Wulin's body.

For the next month.

Whenever he swallowed his pills, he would probably be unable to stop himself from picturing that great turtle, left utterly disoriented after being bombarded by Seven-Element Compression Blast.