Twenty-Two Frames

Qiao Ranran added, "You don't have to go yourself. I saw footprints on the beach and followed them here, hoping to get help from that friend. We don't need to go far—just close to a nearby human settlement!"

The great sea turtle's gaze remained gentle and kindly.

Qiao Ranran: "..." It was like talking to a fake sea turtle.

Pei Ling had followed her over at some point. He stood not far away, and she had no idea how long he had been there or how much he had heard.

"You said you'd think of something. This is your plan—negotiating with a Sea Beast?"

Qiao Ranran: Right. He heard everything.

Chapter 22: Twenty-Two Frames

Qiao Ranran didn't know how to explain to Pei Ling that she got along well with Demon Beasts. With Hundred-Beast Pills to bridge the gap, her dealings with them had always gone smoothly. But she hadn't missed his point: this wasn't a Demon Beast. It was a Sea Beast.

Was there a difference between Sea Beasts and Demon Beasts? Maybe it was the difference between aquatic and land animals? But sea turtles were reptiles! They weren't even amphibians, so how could they be Sea Beasts?

Qiao Ranran looked openly bewildered. "You mean Sea Beasts can't understand what humans say?"

Pei Ling walked up to Qiao Ranran and looked down at her little head. She was clearly a clever woman, so why had this one question made her so foolish?

"Demon Beasts understand human speech because they've had contact with humans after developing intelligence." Pei Ling glanced at the great sea turtle, which was still playing dumb. "Even if Sea Beasts develop intelligence, they rarely encounter humans. How would they understand our language?"

Qiao Ranran: "..." I know all that. I was hoping to show it I meant no harm through my eyes and manner, earn its trust, and then get what I wanted! She had plenty of experience with that.

It just didn't seem to work on this great sea turtle. It refused to engage with her at all.

Pei Ling did agree with Qiao Ranran on one point: humans could communicate with Demon Beasts. That wasn't limited to those that had developed intelligence. Even those that hadn't possessed instincts—instincts for strength and danger. Though they couldn't understand human speech, they could still sense a threat from a human.

Pei Ling's presence posed an enormous threat to the great sea turtle. Once he stopped concealing his violent aura, he seemed to become something cold, sinister, and dangerous in its eyes.

The great sea turtle could no longer keep its gaze calm. It could tell that Qiao Ranran looked clever but was actually naive and easy to fool, thinking Demon Beasts were easy to coax. Pei Ling was different. The turtle could tell he had no interest in wasting words on it and was ready to strike if things didn't go his way.

It could tell that, although this young human cultivator's cultivation wasn't high, he had an air about him that threatened its very life.

No matter how many years it had lived, the great sea turtle valued its life.

Then Qiao Ranran saw the great sea turtle, which had been as still as a stone carving, blink. A gap opened in its glossy black shell, and a beautiful little shell, gleaming like a black gemstone, crawled out.

Oh, no—a Little Sea Turtle crawled out.

It was little only compared to the hill-sized great sea turtle. Little Sea Turtle wasn't small at all; it was slightly bigger than the stone stele bearing the Profound Heart Sect's name at the foot of the mountain.

Qiao Ranran had already estimated Little Sea Turtle's size when she saw its footprints. What she hadn't expected was how adorable and beautiful it would be. Making this little darling carry that pile of "rotting meat" suddenly felt like a desecration.

The little darling tilted its big head. Its huge, watery eyes were like the sea at sunrise, sparkling brilliantly as it gazed at Qiao Ranran with innocent curiosity. If the great sea turtle's flipper hadn't been resting lightly on it, it probably would have hurried over to satisfy its curiosity.

One look at it told her Pei Ling hadn't been exaggerating. The Demon Beasts here truly hadn't had contact with humans, at least not these "little" ones. She had no idea how he had found this place. Untouched by humans, it was as peaceful as a hidden paradise.

Qiao Ranran missed the silent exchange between Pei Ling and the great sea turtle. She held out the Hundred-Beast Pill, and the little darling's eyes shone even brighter. Her heart nearly melted. Even with her weakness for fluffy creatures, she was helpless against something this cute!

The little darling was rather large and had a tuft of green hair on its head, but neither detracted from its charm.

Pei Ling watched Qiao Ranran's small gesture and raised an eyebrow. The great sea turtle released its hold on the little darling, which immediately bounded over to Qiao Ranran and stared longingly at the Hundred-Beast Pill in her hand.

They smelled delicious. They looked delicious, too.

Qiao Ranran held the Hundred-Beast Pill to the little darling's mouth. Its crimson tongue curled around them, and it swallowed several pills whole. Its eyes lit up, and it gazed at her eagerly, plainly wanting more.

But the little darling stayed a step away from Qiao Ranran, as though it knew better than to bump into her. This human looked so small and fragile.

Pei Ling had finished his silent exchange with the great sea turtle. In truth, he had only given it a few pointed looks. He had seen it in his previous life too, on a beach in this same stretch of sea. Back then, though, the great sea turtle had been neither so calm nor so healthy, and this beach had been far from peaceful.

He had only recently climbed out of the Abyss. Plagued by stubborn ailments, he had collapsed on this ravaged beach when the poison in his body flared up. The great sea turtle, old and barely clinging to life, had been left even closer to death after he attacked it without realizing what he was doing.

Unable to move, Pei Ling had lain on the beach, forced to listen to the dying old turtle ramble on and on. Perhaps knowing its time was almost up, the turtle, which had never spoken a word of human speech in its life, had suddenly felt the urge to tell its story. It told Pei Ling, who lay there fighting the agony of the poison, everything it had witnessed happen to this unspoiled place.

Ranking List

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

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Dual Rebirth

Xianxia Fiction