Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The turtle was very fast and swam from the center of the river to the shore in just a few minutes. When it was closer, it looked bigger. Jiang Lan originally thought it was the one he saw in Qingyang Lake before, but when he got closer, he realized that it was not the same one.
This one was slightly larger, its head was not as pointed, and its thick neck was dotted with inconspicuous gray-green spots.
Jiang Lan glanced at the man hiding in the green belt. The man was wearing a sweater and a hat. He could only vaguely see half of his face, but Jiang Lan was sure that the man was one of the members of the corpse recovery team training that day.
Last time when he was with Guan Shui, and he heard that there was a turtle under the boat, his panicked look didn’t seem like a lie. But today, this member of the body-retrieving team was alone on the riverside trapping another turtle. No matter how you look at it, it made people feel weird.
But whether it was the turtle from last time or this time, there was nothing special about it, they were just ordinary turtles. At most, he may have lived longer and become wiser. He may have developed spiritual wisdom, but at least he had not yet reached the level of refined form.
While Jiang Lan was thinking, the turtle had already approached the water cage. He didn’t know what was put in the cage as bait. The turtle frequently circled around the water cage, but it never got in.
The man waited patiently for the turtle to enter the cage.
However, the turtle sniffed for a while, but did not get in. Instead, it suddenly stretched its neck, opened its mouth wide and bit the rope of the water cage.
The turtle must have been quite strong, and it was pulled off unexpectedly. The man in the green belt stumbled before steadying himself. Instead, he grabbed the rope with both hands and tried to pull the turtle ashore.
It was probably because the river was too dark at night, so he didn’t notice that after this turtle, several more turtles of different sizes quietly approached the shore. They all bit the rope together, joined in a row, and suddenly exerted force. The unsuspecting man was dragged directly from the green belt to the waterside.
There was a slope below the green belt. The man was so frightened that he could not steady his body. He even forgot to loosen the rope in his hand and fell into the river.
The river water at the slope was not deep, so if you could swim, there was basically no danger. But the premise was that there were not so many turtles gathering on the river bank, staring at you eagerly.
After the man fell into the water, he hurriedly tried to climb up, but he felt his pants were being pulled tightly by something. He turned around in panic, and finally discovered that there were nearly ten turtles of various sizes hidden in the river.
At this time, these turtles all surfaced, their pointed heads floating on the water, and pairs of small black eyes looking straight at the man.
The man was obviously frightened. He yelled, kicked up the water and tried to climb up, while calling for help.
But the turtles surrounded him uniformly and wanted to drag him into the river.
There was so much movement in the water that even Suan Ni and Jiao Tu who were playing stopped and looked in his direction.
There were no tourists in this area, and the ones closest to him were Jiang Lan and his party. Jiang Lan didn’t know what kind of entanglement he had with these turtles. He didn’t want to get involved at first, but when he saw that the man was about to be completely dragged into the water, he thought about it, and stepped forward and pulled the person up.
When the turtles saw someone coming, they cleverly let go of the man and quickly sank into the water.
The man was lying on the steps gasping for breath in shock. After he recovered, he wanted to thank Jiang Lan, but he was stunned for a moment: “Is it you?”
It seemed that not only Jiang Lan remembered him, but he also remembered Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan asked: “Are you okay? Do you need help contacting your teammates?”
“No need.” The man forced a smile and said, “I’m fine, so don’t let them worry.”
Although he tried his best to act natural, Jiang Lan could see a hint of panic.
Apparently, he didn’t want his teammates to know.
The man wiped his face and stood up, but his legs limped and he almost fell. He looked down in astonishment and found a big hole in the corner of his trousers, revealing a white wound with blisters.
He was so panicked just now that he didn’t even feel any pain.
Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes and pointed at the old injury on his leg that was obviously not new: “Isn’t this the first time this has happened? Have you ever provoked those turtles before?”
Soft-shelled turtles were ferocious freshwater carnivores, also called soft-shell tortoises. They were one of the foods that humans liked to farm. Wild turtles generally did not attack people actively, but if threatened, they would fight back ferociously. Their bite force was amazing, and they would not let go easily after biting the enemy. For such a huge wild turtle, the wound left by its bite would not be light.
Looking at the old unhealed wounds on the man’s legs, it looked like a piece of flesh had been torn off alive.
The injury was not fully healed yet, but he had to go to the river to catch turtles again.
He didn’t know what kind of hatred they had with each other.
Jiang Lan asked casually, but the man’s reaction was particularly loud. He suddenly raised his voice: “What nonsense are you talking about? These turtles are crazy and chasing after me to bite me. How do I know why?”
After saying that, he limped away, wanting to leave.
Jiang Lan looked at his back and said softly: “Old turtles hold grudges the most. If you really offend them, you’d better not go to the water again.”
The man’s staggering figure paused, he turned around and glared at Jiang Lan fiercely, then limped away again.
Ying Qiao looked at his back and sneered: “You can’t stop someone from seeking death.”
Jiang Lan was just kindly reminding him. Since the other party didn’t appreciate it, he wouldn’t chase after him and act as a savior. He nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right.”
The date ended early because of this accident.
When sending the person back to the community, Ying Qiao finally gave away the two lollipops in his pocket.
Jiang Lan took the candy and smiled with two small dimples on his cheeks.
Ying Qiao lowered his eyes and looked at him, his eyes becoming softer and more affectionate. He actually had a lot to say, but when it came to his lips, there was only one sentence left: “Good night.”
Just wait, he thought.
Jiang Lan said good night to him and walked into the community with Suan Ni and Jiao Tu in his arms. After taking a few steps, he suddenly looked back for some reason. Outside the iron gate, Ying Qiao was still standing there looking at him. The dim street lights gave him a furry edge, and the corners of his mouth were slightly curved.
Seeing him turn around, Ying Qiao waved to him again.
Jiang Lan smiled at him, turned around and continued walking into the community again, but a string of small bubbles of joy suddenly appeared in his heart.
He didn’t know how to describe this feeling. He felt light-headed all over, and uncontrollable joy kept coming out. He was so happy, as if he had finally eaten enough and was not hungry.
Although he was hungry every day, so he didn’t know how happy he would feel when he was full.
But he just felt that it should be very happy.
….
The next day, Jiang Lan and Xue Meng stayed in the office, while Zhang Tianxing and Xiao Xiaoyu went to the meeting venue.
Jiang Lan was holding the lollipop given by Ying Qiao last night in his mouth, humming a random song while writing a report.
Suan Ni and Jiao Tu were both lying on the small cushions on the windowsill to bask in the sun, and with them was the big golden pearl that was so beloved. The two brothers lay face to face, with the big pearl in the middle. You move it over, then I move it over again. They lived a very decadent life.
He went to work in the morning, and in the afternoon, Wang Qing suddenly called Jiang Lan, saying that a friend had encountered something, which might have something to do with spirits, and asked Jiang Lan if he had time to help take a look.
“My friend’s name is Guan Shui. He’s a nice guy. He’s from the Jiangcheng Corpse Recovering Team. He’s helped us a lot before.” Wang Qing said, “I didn’t want to trouble you at first, but this matter is indeed a bit mysterious. They all suspect that they have met a spirit. Yes, someone in the team was attacked and injured. If you are willing to come, they will pay you. If not, forget it. I will find a reason to refuse.”
“Guan Shui?” Unexpectedly, this could also be related in a roundabout way. Jiang Lan laughed and said, “I met him once. Give him my phone number and ask him to go to Qingyang Lake Park tomorrow.”
Wang Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the two knew each other. After thanking him, he forwarded Jiang Lan’s WeChat account to Guan Shui.
Guan Shui felt vaguely strange when he heard him mention Qingyang Lake Park. When he saw Jiang Lan the next day, it suddenly dawned on him: “It turns out that the master Wang Qing was talking about was you.”
Jiang Lan smiled and asked, “I heard that someone in the team was injured? When did it happen? Was it a turtle bite?”
When talking about business, Guan Shui’s expression became much more solemn.
“It happened after we went back yesterday. You said you saw a turtle by the dragon boat. I was worried about something happening, so I quickly called everyone back. I originally thought that if the team returned and didn’t go into the water, everything would be fine, but I didn’t expect that Zhang Zi when he was waiting for the boat on the shore, a big turtle suddenly jumped out of the water and bit his leg. If Zhang Zi hadn’t reacted quickly and stabbed the turtle down with the boat pole, he would have been dragged into the water.”
Although his tone was relatively calm, he was still a little scared when he mentioned the big turtle. He frowned and said: “I have never seen such a big turtle. Its flippers were as big as a human hand, its neck was as thick as a human neck, and its mouth could hold a human leg. A piece of meat was bitten off Zhang Zi’s calf and he is still lying in the hospital.”
Jiang Lan frowned: “Didn’t he get injured at night?”
Guan Shui shook his head: “No, Zhang Zi was injured during the day. Master and I took him to the hospital. The others were frightened and should have stayed in the dormitory at night.”
Jiang Lan then told what happened yesterday and described the man’s appearance.
The more Guan Shui listened, the uglier his face became. His brows were knotted and his beard was trembling: “That’s Zheng Yu. After he went back yesterday, he asked for leave and said he had something to do after going home…”
As a result, he had nothing to do when he returned home, but instead he secretly went to the river to catch turtles.
Needless to say, Jiang Lan also discovered the problem.
The author has something to say:
Jiang Lan: It’s the feeling of heartbeat.
——————
It’s a pity that Longlong doesn’t know yet!
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