Chapter 74: Chapter 70: Though the Tortoise Lives Long

"Sir, how much for these turtles?"

Zhao Lin stood before a turtle stall in the fish and bird market, asking the elderly vendor.

With a murder case closed, the immense pressure on him lifted. Zhao Lin sent Liang Song and his men to patrol the streets while he headed to the fish and bird market near the docks.

The market wasn’t large. It sold ornamental fish like goldfish and koi, birds like parrots and mynas, and also small animals and insects such as rabbits, turtles, crickets, and katydids.

He had come here looking for inspiration, to see if there were any suitable animal Essence Souls to absorb.

The Spirit Beast Scroll had transformed him from a frail youth into a martial artist who possessed both strength and speed, as well as extremely sharp hearing.

There were still six empty slots in the scroll; he had to start planning ahead.

He had previously fantasized about absorbing the Essence Souls of certain animals or insects with special abilities, turning himself into a Spider-Man or Mantis-Man.

He had tried a few times, but all had ended in failure.

For example, when he stepped on a spider, he could indeed see its Essence Soul, but the Spirit Beast Scroll was unable to absorb it.

In the past, when he went deep into the mountains to hunt exotic beasts, he had also killed birds on the side, with the same result.

The reason was likely a limitation imposed by differences in anatomy.

Zhao Lin felt he had grasped the underlying logic of how the Spirit Beast Scroll absorbed Essence Souls: an Essence Soul could only enhance abilities he already possessed, like strength, speed, and hearing.

As for abilities like flight or silk-spinning, which required special organs, it was powerless.

After all, he had neither wings, nor silk glands or poison sacs.

Zhao Lin wandered around the fish and bird market but saw no unusual animals. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed a turtle stall in a corner of the market, and his interest was piqued.

Turtles were also known as golden turtles and had elegant nicknames like "Black-Robed Postmaster" and "River Earl’s Attendant."

Their two most famous characteristics were their sturdy shells and extremely long lifespans.

A turtle’s shell isn’t skin, but exposed bone. Therefore, due to anatomical differences, this special trait was unobtainable.

But what about longevity?

As a transmigrator, Zhao Lin naturally yearned for eternal life, but unfortunately, this was a world of martial arts.

Practicing martial arts couldn’t grant immortality; at best it could extend one’s life. Even for those who reached the pinnacle, it was difficult to break past the great barrier of 120 years, the limit of a human lifespan.

In fact, because of injuries and illnesses, most martial artists didn’t live as long as ordinary people.

The saying goes, "A tortoise for a thousand years, a turtle for ten thousand." ’Could I absorb a turtle’s Essence Soul,’ he wondered, ’and in turn, gain longevity?’

In front of the old turtle vendor were several wide, shallow bamboo baskets, containing over a dozen turtles of various sizes and shapes: grass turtles, mountain turtles, green turtles, and golden-thread turtles.

Zhao Lin was just about to step forward and ask when a young man in silk clothes, accompanied by a servant, approached.

The silk-clad youth, carrying a cricket cage, smiled and asked the old man, "Hey, old timer. How long will one of your turtles live?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The old man shot him a sidelong glance. "This turtle will have no problem seeing out three generations of your family. You tell me how long it can live."

The silk-clad youth’s expression changed. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

It’s always the children who see their parents to the grave. The old man was implicitly cursing the youth’s entire family, calling them all bastards.

The old man ignored him. He tossed some tender leaves and grains into the basket and muttered, "Alright, my little turtle-sons, eat up now. And don’t go biting people for no reason."

The silk-clad youth’s face flushed, then paled, but he was too stunned to retaliate.

’This old man has a sharp tongue,’ Zhao Lin thought. ’But the kid in silk was rude first, so any retaliation is fair game. He started it.’

He walked forward and asked, "Sir, how much for these turtles?"

The silk-clad youth turned, saw Zhao Lin dressed as a constable, and didn’t dare to linger. He left in a huff with his servant.

The old man replied, "To answer you, Constable, the small grass turtles are three wen and the large ones are five. The big-headed turtles and golden-thread turtles are a bit more expensive."

Zhao Lin didn’t know the difference between turtle species, so he just said, "Which kind lives the longest? Pick one out for me."

The old man stroked his beard and smiled. "For longevity, you’d want a long-life turtle. If you raise it well, living for one or two hundred years is no problem. I have a long-life turtle at home that my father raised since he was a boy, and it’s still alive and well today."

"I have a small one here. How do you like it?"

’Like it?’

Zhao Lin thought, ’This turtle is doomed the moment it falls into my hands.’

"I’ll take this long-life turtle, then. How much?"

"Six wen..."

Zhao Lin paid the money, picked up the long-life turtle which was tied with grass rope, and left the fish and bird market, walking all the way to the riverbank.

He found a secluded spot, untied the rope, and muttered, "Our meeting is fate. Today is the day you die."

Turtles are naturally timid. As soon as it was free, it pulled its head and limbs into its shell and became motionless.

Zhao Lin wasn’t in a hurry. He drew his iron ruler and sat down to wait.

In truth, with his current strength, he could have killed the turtle with a single punch, but he wasn’t going to do that.

Based on his past experience, the more intact the corpse, the stronger the energy of the condensed Essence Soul.

A few months ago, when the Zhao family still lived in the village, Zhao Lin would occasionally help in the fields and had experimented with locusts.

Tearing off a locust’s head versus squashing it to a pulp with his foot—the Essence Soul from the former was clearer, while the latter’s took longer to condense and its color was dull and faint.

Zhao Lin worried that smashing the turtle might affect the quality of the Essence Soul, so he decided to leave its corpse intact.

Before long, the turtle let down its guard and stuck its head out of its shell.

With sharp eyes and a swift hand, Zhao Lin struck its head with the iron ruler.

CRACK!

The turtle breathed its last.

A silver light rose and gathered above the corpse, gradually condensing into the shape of the turtle as it was in life.

The Spirit Beast Scroll began to tremble...

Zhao Lin’s heart leaped. ’It’s actually reacting!’

’This means I can absorb the long-life turtle’s Essence Soul and gain the ability of longevity!’

Although he couldn’t live forever, he could at least live for several more decades, or even a century.

Zhao Lin was eager to absorb the Essence Soul, but out of caution, he glanced at the Spirit Beast Scroll again and immediately noticed something was wrong.

’Why have the slots turned black?’

He saw that the slots for the bear and the Black-horned Antelope were pitch-black; nothing could be seen, as if they were frozen.

Although the Horseshoe Bat’s slot hadn’t turned black, it had become gray, with only faint wisps of white mist seeping out.

’What’s going on?’

Startled, Zhao Lin took two steps back, watching as the long-life turtle’s Essence Soul vanished before his eyes.

’Since all three slots changed, it must mean that if I absorb the long-life turtle’s Essence Soul, I might gain longevity, but these three special abilities would probably be affected—I might even lose them!’

Just then, he looked at the Spirit Beast Scroll again, and the three slots had all returned to their original state.

’Strange. Why did that happen?’

Zhao Lin furrowed his brows, pondering the reason behind it, staring motionlessly at the slowly flowing river.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly smiled in understanding. "I get it!"

’There are two reasons for a turtle’s longevity.

’In the natural world, the older an animal gets, the more its cells senesce, and its bodily functions gradually decline.

’A turtle’s cells are special. Human cells can divide about fifty times, while a turtle’s can divide over a hundred times. Thus, their aging process is slower than that of humans.

’This is an Innate factor.

’The other reason is metabolism.

’Besides eating and sleeping, turtles rarely move. Their activity level is low, and their metabolism is also extremely slow.

’If I were to absorb the turtle’s Essence Soul, not only would I gain its cell division ability, but my metabolism would also become incredibly slow.

’However, strength and speed both require a high basal metabolism.

’The two are contradictory!

’That must be why the slots for the bear and the Black-horned Antelope turned black.’

Having figured this out, Zhao Lin couldn’t help but think, ’That was a close call.’

’Thank goodness I didn’t absorb the long-life turtle’s Essence Soul. What’s the point of living longer if I lose the abilities I have?’

’Turtles may live long, but I’d rather pass on an Essence Soul like this!’