【Beginning】
A resounding slap landed on the face of the child; yet, with his lungs recently filled with water and yet to fully catch his breath, the child could not cry even if he wanted to.
Practitioner: Like I have always said:
Practitioner: Once you recover from your injuries, you would forget the pain.
Practitioner: If you do not know how to swim, then don’t go near the river.
Child: I just...
Child: wanted to return to the river with the little turtle.
Practitioner: Xuanwu was the Sacred Wood from the Divine Tree.
Practitioner: It stabilizes the waters and has lived in the depths of the river since antiquity.
Practitioner: You, on other hand, had attempted to learn swimming multiple times...
Practitioner: ...and failed.
In the previous instance, the child had nearly drowned. It had taken the mystical turtle every bit of strength it had to drag the child back to shore using its weak forelimbs. It had returned to the river where it bellowed in misery. If the practitioner had not heard the cries in time, the child would have died by now.
The child had nearly drowned twice now, and on both occasions, he survived only because of the mystical turtle’s intervention. This enraged the practitioner. Not only did the child disobey his instructions, he was also careless with his life. Furthermore, even the mystical turtle which was summoned out of the river after extensive efforts was now gone, having retreated back to the watery depths.
After the slap, the practitioner picked up the child and turned to leave. Yet, the child grabbed the moist soil of the shore and started crying again. The practitioner was stronger than the child and lifted him onto his shoulders. The child gazed longing at the river and waved.
Child: Goodbye, little turtle. I will learn how to swim.
Child: Goodbye, little turtle. I will come back for you. I promise...
Mystical Turtle: ...
The next day, when the practitioner went to wake up the child, he found the child lying in bed uninterested in any activities or food, little different from how the mystical turtle had behaved. Having no alternative, the practitioner went alone to cultivate his pneuma, leaving the child by himself. The child did not enjoy his loneliness but suddenly heard a knock at the door. Thinking there was a visitor, he went to open it only to find no one there. He closed the door and returned to bed.
Soon afterwards, he heard another knock at the door, and again, he opened the door. To his surprise, he found the mystical turtle outside, knocking the wooden door with its shell. The sight gave the child immense joy and he immediately pulled the mystical turtle into his chest. Seeing that the child was fine, the mystical turtle felt great relief and, despite some reluctance, allowed the child to play with him. It never insisted upon a return to the river again.
As the child matured, he cultivated his pneuma alongside the mystical turtle and the practitioner. While the mystical turtle had regained a fair amount of its godly powers, the child also learned a number of spells. However, with the loss of the mythological beast, the river was left alone and began flooding. Not long after the child reached his adolescence, the flood cascaded over the dyke and reached his village home.
Young Practitioner: Master, there is a large group of Demons outside.
Practitioner: Xuanwu has lived on the land the last several years.
Practitioner: It did not have time to exercise its control over water.
Practitioner: Now, with the Demon army attacking in the wake of the flood,
Practitioner: it is our responsibility to resist them on its behalf.
Young Practitioner: Yes, master. I have learnt quite a bit over these last years.
Practitioner: Then summon your courage and annihilate them by Xuanwu’s side.
【Before Battles】
In the past, Xuanwu protected Humans from the watery depths.
Now, it trained with the Sage of the North. The Demons took advantage of the dyke’s collapse to launch an invasion.
Adventurer, help the two friends fight the Demons.