"Deep in the silent forest, there are gray sparrows and possums in the same burrow, living in the stone mountains."
"On the mountain where the birds and mice share their burrows, 360 paces to the southwest, there is a mound with a mahogany tree on it, shaped like an old man and bearing red fruits; to the north of the mound there is a beautiful stone, black and yellow in color; to the south of the mound lies a turtle.
, horns on forehead."
"This turtle is magical. It is white in color when it is a hundred years old, has hair on its back for a thousand years, and can talk to people for thousands of years."
"Take the armor of a hundred-year-old white tortoise and kill the tortoise for divination, and you will find a perfect plan."
"Take the armor of a thousand-year-old turtle, burn it with fire, pound it and eat it, and it will extend your life to a hundred years."
"When I meet a thousand-year-old spirit turtle, I burn incense and pray for blessings, and everything comes true."
While Dr. Duzem was talking, he took out a long-haired old turtle from under the desk and placed it in front of the two young wizards.
The back of this old turtle is rugged and covered with long gray hairs. Its head and feet are retracted inside the shell. At a glance, it looks like a piece of moldy wood.
"Is this the thousand-year-old turtle you just mentioned?" Zheng Qing looked at the piece of wood in front of him with awe and asked respectfully.
This was his first close encounter with a life that lived for more than a thousand years.
Just by looking at it, you can feel a strong sense of history in your heart.
Awesome.
The doctor nodded slightly and clasped the old turtle's back shell with his fingers.
"Clang, clang, clang."
The percussion sound is like gold and stone, sweet and crisp.
The turtle shell shook, and then there was a clicking sound.
The old turtle's head and four legs slowly poked out of the shell.
A stubby horn shaped like a wine cup and as bright as the moon appeared first in front of everyone's eyes.
"Since you don't want the 'Sage's Powder', then I will work harder and give you a few pairs of 'Yu Yuanling Powder'." While waiting for the old turtle to slowly probe his head, Dr. Duzem clapped his hands and said to Zheng Qing
Said: "This recipe comes from the allusion I just mentioned. The back carapace of the thousand-year-old turtle contains abundant life energy, and it is a very important main ingredient in many elixirs for bringing the dead back to life."
While he was talking, the turtle lying on the desk slowly stretched out his head and legs.
It blinked slowly, shook off the dust and cobwebs from its eyelids, opened its mouth, stretched its neck silently, raised its head, and looked at the doctor.
Dr. Duzem glanced at it and said nothing. Instead, he took out a short-handled silver knife from the tool box and wiped it slowly with a silk scarf.
"Are you planning to kill the turtle and take out its shell?" Jiang Yu suddenly took a few steps forward, stretched out his hand to block the shell, and raised his voice slightly: "I can't let you do this."
Zheng Qing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, he waved his hands repeatedly and objected: "I don't agree with it either, I don't agree with it either."
To kill an innocent life for a group of elves was something he could not accept under any circumstances.
"I can choose 'Sage's Powder', or at most I can borrow some jade coins from the wandering mage to make a living." Zheng Qing looked at the short knife in the doctor's hand worriedly, and said quickly: "Killing to save a life is very bad.
."
Jiang Yu turned to look at him, showed a bright smile, and raised her Kun bag: "I can lend you money, interest-free!"
"Boom!" A loud bang on the desk drew the attention of the two young wizards back.
Dr. Duzem held the table with both hands, his eyes wide open, and he looked very scary. His voice was one step higher than Jiang Yu's: "Kill the turtle to get the shell? Do I look that stupid?"
The old turtle who stretched his neck also turned his head, blinked his small green bean-sized eyes, and looked at the two young wizards mockingly.
Zheng Qing had never thought that a turtle could express such rich facial expressions.
As expected of a thousand-year-old bastard, he muttered to himself in his heart.
"But," Jiang Yu blushed, slowly retracted her outstretched arm, and whispered: "But, didn't you just say that you wanted to kill a whole turtle, take out the shell, smash it into pieces and roast it over the fire?
What?"
Zheng Qing nodded quickly beside him, indicating that he heard it too.
"Are today's children so poor in understanding?" Dr. Duzem lowered his head and looked at the old turtle helplessly.
Another trace of blood dripped from his eye sockets.
The old turtle quickly popped its neck out, stretched out its tongue, and sucked the blood into its mouth.
Then it retracted its neck, smacked its lips, and slowly shook its head.
"Take the armor of a thousand-year-old tortoise, burn it with fire and pound it into clothes. If you use it as a piece, it will extend your life to a hundred years - is this the sentence?" The doctor took out a jade scissor from the tool box, wiped it carefully with silk cloth, and stretched it.
the voice asked.
The two young wizards nodded quickly.
"Which one of you can translate?"
Jiang Yu glanced at Zheng Qing and asked him to speak.
Zheng Qing cleared his throat and simply paraphrased: "That is to say, a thousand-year-old tortoise shell, roasted and pounded with fire, the whole carapace of a tortoise can extend the life of a hundred years."
"Today's young people are just so careless." The doctor shook his head and sighed: "If you want to accurately understand the original meaning of an ancient saying, you must translate it literally, not paraphrase... Paraphrase translation has always been easy to make mistakes."
The old turtle also arched his head and nodded repeatedly, as if he agreed.
"I'm just extending your elf's life by a week or two. Do I need a whole turtle shell? Use your brain!" Dr. Duzem stretched out his index finger, poked his head hard, and asked: "Change your thinking, extend your life by a hundred.
Will I only charge the price of one golden bean for the elixir of the year?"
Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu blushed at the same time.
Dr. Duzem paused and did not continue to lecture the two young men. He just added: "That text comes from an ancient great wizard. Extending one hundred years of life is naturally aimed at people of the level of the great wizard...a group of small
Can the consumption of elves be compared to a finger of the great wizard?"
"All living beings are equal." Zheng Qing muttered in a low voice.
"What?" the doctor asked, raising his voice.
"He means what we should do." Jiang Yu had no choice but to come out to smooth things over. She glared at Zheng Qing and said to the doctor: "How long will it take you to prepare this prescription? Can we just wait here?"
"It won't take long, it won't take long." The doctor waved his hand, hesitated, and added: "However, there is indeed a place where you are needed."
Hearing this, Zheng Qing cheered up, rolled up his sleeves and looked at the test bench against the wall, with an eager expression on his face.
"You two, don't get close to the test bench." The doctor moved a step, blocking Zheng Qing's eyes, and pointed out the window expressionlessly: "You go to the yard and cut twelve young leaves from the old mulberry tree.
Bring the leaves with the fruit... This is a tool, cut with jade and held on a porcelain plate. Be careful not to touch it with your hands, the leaves on dead branches, and the fruits of old mulberry leaves."
Zheng Qing took the jade scissors and porcelain plate dejectedly and followed Jiang Yu towards the yard.
He really wanted to see how the doctor prepared this medicine.
It would be better if you could help me.
Watching the two young men walk out of the study, Dr. Duzem lowered his head, counted the elves in the cardboard box again, and turned to look at the turtle.
"Old ghost, let's talk about it," he smiled and rubbed his hands: "How about you lend me twelve back hairs?"
The old turtle raised his head, opened his mouth wide, looked at the doctor threateningly, and shook his head firmly.
"Only twelve. I'll give you a pill made from 'Sage's Powder' soon." The doctor pressed his big hand and unceremoniously pulled off a handful of gray-white long hair from the turtle's back: "I didn't peel off your hair."
Turtle Shell, don’t be so stingy.”
"Ah..." The spirit turtle pressed its head hard against his hand, roaring angrily from its throat.
"Yeah, there are a few more... It doesn't matter, just think of it as a discount." The doctor opened his dark eyes and twirled the gray hair between his fingers with a smile.
The old servant Constantine stood in the study again at some point.
He glanced at the turtle worriedly and asked softly: "Master, it's lunch time."
"The guests haven't left yet, we'll eat later, we'll eat later!" Dr. Duzem waved his hand repeatedly, hesitated for a moment, and then ordered: "Bring my eyeballs here...it seems like the soaking time today is a bit long."
As he spoke, he picked up the silver dagger at hand and began to chop into fine pieces the long gray hair that came off the turtle's back.
On the desk, the old turtle stared maliciously at the two eyeballs undulating in the liquid in the cup, opened his mouth, and finally closed it angrily.