Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Liu Xingmo issued the order to activate his special ability.

Baohei blinked its big, green bean-like eyes, remaining motionless, conveying its aggrieved feelings to its owner.

Are you hungry and have no energy?

Liu Xingmo fed it a fish.

With a flick of its slender head, the turtle instantly vanished from the fish in my hand. After feeding it three fish in one go, the turtle leisurely swam around in the tank.

Liu Xingmo reached out and stroked the tortoise shell, then channeled the blood and qi from his own meridians into the contracted beast's body.

Baohei instantly became energetic, staring at its owner with its mouth wide open.

Liu Xingmo smiled and fed two more fish.

Baohei happily ate the food that was fed to it, showing no signs of being a rare or auspicious beast.

Su Mali stared blankly at it, then leaned close to her husband's ear and asked, "Xingmo, what's the use of this turtle?"

"Baohei is not a turtle, but a soft-shelled turtle, commonly known as a 'wangba' (a type of turtle in Chinese).

"The 'turtle' in the Central Plains dialect, the 'bastard'? It doesn't sound like a good thing..."

"Well, it's very lucky! That's its unique ability. If we raise it, it might bring us good luck."

"I don't think it's reliable! There are fortune tellers in my hometown too, but they're all homeless wanderers. I've even seen their black cats, which only bring bad luck. Is this turtle really going to work?"

"It should be fine. Even my great-grandfather, a fifth-tier grandmaster, has his eye on it!"

"Fifth rank! Your family has someone that powerful?"

"Sigh, he's eighteen generations behind. I bet everyone in Black Dragon Village would have to call him their ancestor."

"oh."

Liu Xingmo then transferred a wisp of blood energy to Bao Hei, activating its physical abilities and accelerating its growth.

Just then, a ray of golden light flashed through the bone patterns on the rounded carapace, flowing like liquid through the gaps.

Liu Xingmo quickly brought his face close to the water tank, but Bao Hei turned into an ordinary old turtle, leisurely paddling its four claws in the water.

"Mary! Did you see that?"

"What?"

"His hair is so black and shiny!"

"Hmm~ I didn't notice anything unusual."

"Could it be the connection through the soul imprint that allows me to perceive this so-called luck?"

Liu Xingmo took Bao Hei out of the water and examined it carefully by the light from the stove, but found nothing.

do not care.

Liu Xingmo put down Bao Hei: "Got some energy now? Use your abilities again! Like the one that lured the squirrel away yesterday!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old turtle's eyes turned completely black, as black as a dense night sky, devoid of any light.

The kitchen fell silent instantly, the burning stove fire suddenly dimmed, and then crackled and popped.

"Snap!"

The large pot on the stove shook and hit the lid.

"Bang!"

The pot lid tipped over and hit the bowls and chopsticks.

"Crackling and popping!"

The haphazardly placed pots and pans immediately triggered a chain reaction, falling to the ground like toppled dominoes.

In the blink of an eye, the once cozy kitchen transformed into a scene of domestic violence. The crimson flames from the stove stained the mess with a bloody hue.

The woman's voice rang out softly: "Xingmo, my dear husband, please give me an explanation."

"Huh? What explanation?" The man scratched his head. "Bao Hei is so small, it looks like he can't use his abilities. And Mary, you don't even tidy up your things after you use them, look at this mess..."

As he spoke, he glanced guiltily at Bao Hei in the water tank and found that the turtle was looking back at him with an innocent expression.

The woman gave a forced smile: "Xingmo, I'm giving you a chance to rephrase your words. Otherwise, you can sleep in the kitchen with your little black magic turtle."

Liu Xingmo awkwardly turned his face away: "I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

Sumali crossed her arms, leaned against the doorframe, and closed her eyes helplessly: "Hurry up and get ready. Also, go to the river and fetch a bucket of water. I need to cook."

"I understand, I'll do it right away."

Liu Xingmo tidied up the room with a heavy heart. Occasionally, when he looked up, he could see the old turtle in the water tank staring intently at him.

"Bao Hei, oh Bao Hei! You didn't find any treasure at all, and you've only brought me bad luck!"

The turtle sank into the water, leaving only a string of bubbles bursting on the surface.

"What a beast! Oh well, this ability seems to randomly spread disasters around, so let's just call it spreading bad luck."

"It sounds impressive, but it's actually useless! It's not nearly as practical as breathing fire or generating electricity! I'm starting to regret it..."

Tonight's dinner was braised dragon meat with fermented soybean paste, which was quite delicious.

The meat has a very low fat content, and although it's a bit tough to chew, it's very fragrant and tastes similar to chicken.

Unfortunately, there were no plates or bowls for this meal; we had to use spoons to scoop food from the large pot.

……

At dawn the next day, before the sky had even brightened.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The rooster's crowing echoed throughout the entire West Town.

Liu Xingmo mumbled in his sleep, intending to go back to bed for a nap.

But when he remembered that he had a strange beast to raise, he quickly removed the smooth woman's arm from his body, got dressed, and got out of bed.

Startled awake, Su Mali rubbed her eyes and said, "You got up really early today."

"I'll go check on Bao Hei."

"Oh, you really like your turtle."

"That's a rare, innate beast!"

"You used to like me."

"These are completely different..."

Liu Xingmo opened the bedroom window, and the cool mountain breeze ruffled his hair.

This city of trees is still immersed in a deep blue dream, while the eastern mountains are already shrouded in golden-red clouds.

Liu Xingmo went down from the second floor where the bedroom was located to the first floor. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw two green bean eyes staring at him.

The slender turtle's head opened its mouth wide, like a fledgling chick in a nest, eagerly awaiting its food.

The turtle, which was originally a bit thin, looked plumper today after eating too much last night and receiving nourishment from its blood and qi.

As expected of a naturally born rare beast, its growth rate is extraordinary. As long as resources are plentiful, there are almost no bottlenecks in its early breakthroughs.

Liu Xingmo fed the five fish that were left over from yesterday and infused them with two more streams of blood energy.

Baohei contentedly submerged its body in the water, leaving only its nostrils exposed to breathe. Through the connection of its soul imprint, it continued to convey its thirst for food to its master.

"You really can eat!" Liu Xingmo shook his head and smiled wryly.

The immediate task is to quickly raise this old turtle to adulthood, improve its luck-making abilities, and then try to make money from it.

All owners of mythical beasts follow this path.

Liu Xingmo ate a piece of tangerine for breakfast to fill his stomach. Then he packed a bucket of dried peach flesh and went to the beast's den.

This is a small room filled with withered leaves and weeds, used to house contracted beasts.

"Big Black, Second Black, Third Black! Dinner's ready!" Liu Mo tossed out three pieces of dried fruit.

Three rhinoceros beetles emerged from the yellow grass leaves, climbed onto the dried fruit, and began to eat heartily.

They are as long as human legs and incredibly strong. Of course, in this world, they are still insects.

After a while, Liu Xingmo looked at the empty wooden barrel, and then thought about Bao Hei's bottomless appetite and the supplies that were about to be purchased, and felt a pang of heartache.

This turtle is really hard to raise.