"Qing'er, be careful." Yang Huazhong warned and stepped aside.
Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang came to the place where Jinshan dug the soil. The soil was not very deep, probably as deep as Yang Ruoqing's knees.
The soil is very tight underneath. From the excavated section, you can see a lot of gravel, grass roots, tree roots...
When Yang Ruoqing leaned down to investigate, the smell of earthy smell hit her face.
She rolled up her sleeves and stretched out her hand, trying to touch a depression underneath that was about the size of an adult's hand, but her wrist was held by Luo Fengtang.
"Don't move it with your hands, I'll do it!" he said.
The two of them stood up immediately. Luo Fengtang looked around, and then said to Yang Huazhong: "Father-in-law, please lend me the shovel in your hand."
Yang Huazhong quickly handed over the shovel.
Luo Fengtang looked around. No one else could understand what he was looking for. Then he saw him taking three steps toward the northeast of the cave. He stopped, went down with a shovel, and brought out a black The thing was overturned to the ground.
The black thing was covered with mud, and it made a muffled sound when Luo Fengtang threw it to the ground.
Obviously it wasn't dirt, it was dirt that had been smashed to pieces a long time ago.
Nor is it a stone, because a stone cannot move, but that thing can move.
"What is this?" Everyone was surprised and surrounded the thing, but no one dared to come forward.
This place is a mass grave. Who dares to touch the living creatures dug out from the mass grave?
Yang Huazhong took a branch, squatted down and stretched out his arms to gently pull the thing a few times.
"The whole body is covered with mud, and you can't even tell what it is." Yang Huazhong said.
"I come!"
Yang Ruoqing's voice suddenly came, holding a bucket filled with water.
This was the water that the long-term workers brought up from the river to wash their hands at any time. Yang Ruoqing huffed and poured it on the thing.
When she put the empty bucket down, some sharp-eyed people in the crowd immediately recognized it and shouted: "It's a tortoise!"
"What? Bastard?"
"Are you talking nonsense? That thing of a bastard grows in water and mire. This is in the mountains, or is it hidden in the soil?"
"Are you talking nonsense? You don't know how to look at it? Look at this bastard's head. It's exactly the same as the one I raised last time. If this wasn't a bastard, I would chop off my head and give you a stool to sit on!"
"..."
Everyone started arguing excitedly. Luo Fengtang knelt down, picked up something on the ground and looked at it: "This is a tortoise. It's okay to call it a tortoise in our dialect, but there are still some lines on the back shell between a tortoise and a tortoise." Some differences.”
The long-term worker who was the first to shout "bastard" became even more excited.
"Did you hear that? The general said this is a bastard. Who among you dares to question me?"
"But the general also said that this turtle and the tortoise are not the same after all, so you are still wrong."
"What's wrong? They're all relatives anyway, right?"
Everyone had no time to argue, and a pair of curious eyes fell on the turtle in Luo Fengtang's hand.
"This bastard is really big. He must weigh more than ten pounds at least?" someone asked.
Luo Fengtang weighed it: "It's a bit heavy, I'm afraid it must weigh 13 or 14 pounds!"
Everyone was stunned for a while.
It was also the first time for Yang Ruoqing to see such a big turtle hidden under the ground in the mountains. When she saw the hole where it escaped, she thought it was something as big as an adult's hand. She didn't expect it to be so big when she caught it.
Just like...just like a big soybean pancake spread flat on the bottom of the pot! It's just that the body of this turtle is oval, with patterns on its back, as if engraved with years and growth rings, giving it an indescribable feeling of vicissitudes.
"This bastard is probably older than my third uncle. Look at that back. It's as hard as a rock and it's even black!" someone in the crowd said.
"A thousand-year-old king and an eighty-thousand-year-old tortoise, haven't you heard this? If the ages of our group are added together, I'm afraid they may not be older than this thing!" someone else said.
Although it was a mass grave, the general and his wife were there, and the general was holding the big turtle in his own hands. As a result, everyone gradually became more courageous, and everyone talked with me.
Yang Huazhong couldn't help but ask Luo Fengtang and Yang Ruoqing: "It's so strange to dig out such a big ghost from the ground. What should we do next?"
Before Luo Fengtang could say anything, someone in the crowd cheered: "If such a big turtle is sold in the tile market, it will definitely fetch a lot of money. If it is killed and stewed, I heard it will be a great supplement..."
"Shut up!" Yang Ruoqing suddenly cut off the long-term worker's words with a sharp look in her eyes and a gloomy face, not joking at all.
The long-term worker was frightened immediately. He smiled, quickly shut up and hid behind the crowd.
Regarding Yang Ruoqing's sudden change of attitude, the long-term workers were too frightened to continue joking.
Yang Huazhong and Luo Fengtang both looked at her in surprise.
Yang Ruoqing said to the two of them: "Dad, Tang Yazi, look at this turtle carefully."
"Not only is its size similar to other turtles, but its claws have already grown fine scales."
Following Yang Ruoqing's guidance, not only Yang Huazhong and Luo Fengtang, but also others around them discovered this.
"Not only does it have scales, but its claws are also very sharp." Luo Fengtang added.
Yang Ruoqing nodded, "The "Huainanzi" mentioned the five beasts of the Heavenly Palace, which are the most fearsome to evil spirits and have boundless power, namely the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, the black dragon, and the yellow dragon!"
"Xuanwu is also called Xuanming. It is a combination of ghost and snake. It is the water god and lives in the North Sea. Turtles live long. Xuanming has also become a symbol of immortality."
"Xuanwu can also be used to communicate with the underworld, divination, and yin and yang. Whether it is the goddess in Lijia Village or Bao Banxian in Baojia Village, the magic tools they use for divination are all made of tortoise shells."
"Xuanwu is also known as Xuantian God and Zhenwu Emperor. He is the god worshiped by Taoism."
"So, my suggestion is to release it, and then sprinkle chicken blood and burn incense where it was found. Dad, Tang Yazi, what do you think?" Yang Ruoqing asked.
Regardless of whether it was considered from the perspective of life or from the perspective of superstition, Yang Ruoqing did not want to harm the life of this big turtle.
At this time, Luo Fengtang was completely attracted by what Yang Ruoqing said, and could not recover for a long time.
Yang Huazhong had a look of fear on his face. When he looked at the big turtle in Luo Fengtang's hand, his eyes and brows were all respectful.
The same was true for other long-term workers. The ones who had been teased before felt guilty and almost knelt down, fearing that the big turtle would suddenly appear and transform into Emperor Zhenwu to punish them.
Yang Huazhong said: "It just so happens that we are building a Taoist temple. The flood has really washed away the Dragon King Temple. So why are you still standing there? Hurry up and let the animals go!"
. Nine Heavens God Emperor
