Meanwhile, Zhang Ming and the others did not particularly care where the Dragon Turtle had gone.
The world was vast, a great catastrophe was approaching, and all manner of monsters were running rampant. Perhaps they would never see that fellow again.
Apart from Stone Mama, who seemed rather dispirited, everyone was in a good mood as they pressed against the plane's windows and entered the Black Tortoise World without obstruction.
A deep sense of safety and familiarity greeted them. Zhang Ming felt as though he could hear this world's pulse and heartbeat.
This was where dreams and stories had begun, his second home: Turtle Island.
Coconut trees grew thickly. Two hundred years were a vast sea of change, recorded in the universe's passage of time, existing like a speck of dust.
The celebrated poet Zhang Ming, his heart surging, composed a poem:
"Sometimes I long to escape, even just briefly, to seek a wider world."
"Only when I fall do I remember the soil of home."
"I will still return, bringing fresh earth and breath."
"As though I had never left."
Then he heard the Turtle Group howling out on the ocean.
"Awoo!"
"Boom, boom, boom!" There were gongs and drums, too. Ahem, Zhang Ming had indeed taught them to play drums before leaving. He had not expected them to remember even now.
The largest of them, Scarface Turtle, was swimming in the ocean.
Scarface Turtle raised its head to gaze at the sky, even accidentally flipping its enormous body onto its back and sending spray a thousand feet high. Its loud "awoo" shook the clouds apart.
Zhang Ming's mood could not help brightening. "Hey, friends! Hello!"
"I'm back!"
"Awoo!" "Awoo!"
The turtles' cheers grew louder and louder. Zhang Ming even spotted Old White hiding among them, quietly studying the