Curse

"Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak squeak, squeak."

Fatty couldn't come; there were ferocious beasts on this mountain that would eat it.

"Hm? Aren't the little ones on my mountain all gentle? I deliberately picked a few gentle, cute canines for this peak before I went to sleep." The old turtle didn't believe it.

"Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak."

It was true. Three vicious Paoxiao wanted to eat Fatty, and a two-legged beast saved it.

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak."

She set off the bomb to save Fatty. Those three Paoxiao were so brutal that without the bomb, they couldn't be killed and Fatty couldn't be saved—it would have been torn to shreds.

As Fatty spoke, two streams of tears ran down its face. It looked utterly pitiful, helpless, and weak.

Tu Ran glanced at it out of the corner of her eye and gave it a mental thumbs-up.

As expected of her underling—top-notch acting, and it was doing its best to sing her praises too.

The old turtle's heart ached. "Fatty, Grandpa will check right away where those little wretches are. Grandpa will get revenge for you. Don't cry, oh."

Oh? It was already calling itself Grandpa?

Sure enough, even a turtle that had cultivated for a thousand years couldn't resist the cute attack of something as fluffy as Fatty.

The old turtle waved its sleeve, formed a complex hand seal, and closed its eyes.

After a moment, it opened its eyes, filled with fury.

"Wretches! I was deceived by them back then, thinking they were a bunch of good children who didn't fight or snatch. Now they've not only turned this ugly, but they've become this bloodthirsty and cruel."

Tu Ran thought that "ugly" was the key word here.

This old turtle was a looks-obsessed one. The ones it had picked back then must have been adorable little dogs.

Who knew that thousands of years later, those little dogs would evolve into the chimeric, vicious species that were the Paoxiao of today.

The high-quality seeds it had personally chosen hadn't just failed to grow into good sprouts—they'd grown thoroughly crooked.

No wonder it was angry.

"I want to drive these freaks away. How can my mountain have such ugly things on it!" the old fellow huffed. "Human, I'll leave this matter to you."

Tu Ran, who had been background scenery the whole time: "?"

If you can't stand those ugly things, you deal with them yourself. It wasn't that she had a problem with the Paoxiao—why dump it on her?

"They're too strong. I can't beat them." Tu Ran made up a random excuse to brush it off.

"Don't you have bombs? Powerful enough that even I got blasted awake."

The old turtle was being passive-aggressive.

Tu Ran said, "They've evolved to be impervious to blades and bullets. Bombs only work if you stuff them down their throats. I'd have to risk my life to take out just one, and there are probably dozens of Paoxiao on this mountain. I can't handle them all alone."

The old turtle fell silent, stroking the whiskers on its chin as if deep in thought.

Tu Ran didn't disturb it.

She was hoping the old turtle would give her a powerful magic treasure.

That was how it worked in the shows—the protagonist meets a reclusive master, the master entrusts him with a task, and offers a treasure as payment.

This old turtle had lived for thousands of years, so it must have plenty of treasures.

Tu Ran was already rubbing her hands in anticipation on the inside.

But her face didn't show it, still wearing that cold, ruthless expression.

After a while.

The old turtle beckoned to her. "Come here. I'll give you something."

Inwardly, Tu Ran was screaming: Oh yeah! She'd guessed right.

She stepped forward, feeling pleased.

The old turtle made a showy series of gestures with both hands, then pushed forward—a complex seal made of blue light covered Tu Ran's body.

Tu Ran didn't feel anything.

"What is this?" she asked excitedly.

"A curse."

Tu Ran: "?!"

"What?" She doubted she'd heard correctly.

"A curse!" The old turtle raised its voice. "You're young—how are you already deaf?"

Tu Ran exploded. "A curse?! What curse?!"

"If you don't get rid of the Paoxiao on this mountain for me, you'll drop dead within three days."

Tu Ran: "? Why curse me!"

Why not a treasure?

Even if not a treasure, it shouldn't be a curse, right?!

Just because she wasn't the protagonist?

"Because that's the only way you'll have the motivation to clear out those Paoxiao for me."

"You could have motivated me with treasures." Tu Ran was speechless.

"Treasures? What treasures would I have? Take a look at this mountain—does it look like it has treasures? And take a look at what I'm wearing—does it look like I have treasures?"

The old turtle spread its arms for Tu Ran to see. Truly, it had nothing but the clothes on its back.

Tu Ran suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Aren't you a spellcaster? Just cast one spell and wipe them all out. Problem solved."

The old turtle went quiet for a moment. "Curse is the only spell I know. Oh, right, I also know how to control the door's opening and closing."

With that, it cast a spell and raised the dragon head.

Then it cast another spell and lowered the dragon head.

Tu Ran was rendered speechless by its antics.

"Haven't you lived for thousands of years? That's all you know?"

"What else? If I could do everything, would I still be a mountain god?" The old turtle looked innocent.

Tu Ran: That actually made sense!

So why hadn't she just chopped this thing down with a knife in the first place?!

She'd even given it the chance to curse her.

Her brain really was full of holes.

Xie Xu had told her back then that these unnatural beings could mess with firearms, but otherwise they weren't anything special.

She just wouldn't believe it.

And she'd let this thousand-year-old turtle bluff her into a daze.

"Don't just stand there. Go on, before it's too late." The old turtle reminded her.

Tu Ran shot it a glare. It wouldn't be too late if it weren't for you!

"It's pouring rain outside. How am I supposed to go?"

The old turtle clapped its hands in delight. "Ah, I forgot—I also know how to control the rain."

With that, it began forming hand seals, pressing down toward the ground. The torrential rain abruptly stopped. The sky brightened in an instant, and sunlight streamed into the cave, illuminating the whole cavern.

So this sudden rain had been the old fellow's doing too.

"Fatty! Let's go!" Tu Ran said indignantly.

"Hey hey hey, you can go alone. Leave Fatty with me!" The old turtle tried to keep it. "It's so dangerous! What if little Fatty gets hurt?"

So you do know it's dangerous. Tu Ran couldn't help but shoot it a dirty look.

"Fatty, you stay. I'll come back for you after I deal with those Paoxiao."

"Oh, okay. Boss, be careful, and make sure you come back. Don't forget Fatty's still here waiting." Fatty was like a left-behind child seeing off its parents.

"Got it." With that one line, Tu Ran quickly left.

Three days to take out that many Paoxiao—time was tight.

Inside the cave, the old turtle smiled at Fatty with affection and beckoned. "Fatty, come here, let Grandpa have a feel."

"Grandpa, why do you keep standing over there? You can come over too."

With Tu Ran out of sight, Fatty began to feel scared—especially since the old turtle stood in the deep part of the cave where the light didn't reach, shrouded in shadow.

"Because I am the mountain god. A mountain god is confined to this one peak, this one cave. I can't go out, and I can't leave."