Hearing Qin Bing'er's cry, my heart ached, and I shot Man Niao'niao a fierce glare. Unexpectedly, this fellow Man Niao'niao did not shy away from my gaze as he usually did, but instead met my stare bravely, his eyes looking resolute and determined. I quickly consoled Qin Bing'er, "He's just that sort of person; his dog's mouth never speaks ivory. Don't let his words anger you, but..."

"But what?" Qin Bing'er asked with a sob.

I took a breath and said cautiously, "Niao'niao's point isn't entirely wrong. First, our current strength isn't enough to free them. Second, even if we could somehow flip them over, where would they go? Perhaps... it's better to let nature take its course!" As I spoke, I kept my eyes fixed on Qin Bing'er, afraid she would become angry and turn her frustration toward me.

Qin Bing'er sighed, her eyes darkening. "Actually, I know what you both think. I just feel they are too pitiful."

"Pitiful? There are so many pitiful things in this world. It's fundamentally a world where the weak are prey for the strong. Animals fall into pools of blood every moment—can you save them all?" Man Niao'niao seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, though his tone was considerably milder this time.

"...Then what do we do?" Qin Bing'er asked after a long silence.

Seeing that Qin Bing'er was no longer insisting, Man Niao'niao dropped to his knees with a thump, bowing his head three times to the two giant turtles, praying solemnly, "Oh, Turtle Immortals, we wish to borrow a path from you two elders to reach that boat. It’s not that we don't want to save your kin; it's simply that we are powerless. We hope you two elders will not take offense. If we ever have the chance in the future, we will certainly bring delicious things for you both to enjoy!"

The two giant turtles remained silent, the water surface perfectly calm. Hua'er stood on the back of the other giant turtle, no longer fussing or barking.

"Go!" Man Niao'niao roared, raising his torch and stepping onto the turtle's belly first.

I shot Qin Bing'er an helpless glance, comforted her quietly with a few words, pulled up the vine floating in the water to wrap around my waist again, stuck the sharp sword on my back, straightened my pack, picked up a few broken branches to fashion a torch, lit it, and handed it to Qin Bing'er to hold, helping her carefully step onto the giant turtle. (For narrative ease, I will call the overturned giant turtle the "Kun Turtle" and the other the "Qian Turtle".)

Man Niao'niao had already pattered to the other side of the Kun Turtle, probing the water surface with his leg a few times before turning back to Qin Bing'er and me. "One at a time, so we don't cause a jolt and fall back into the water." Qin Bing'er was terrified of hurting the Kun Turtle, moving with extreme caution. It took her quite a while to shuffle over to Man Niao'niao's side, where she held the torch and bent down, trying to look at the Kun Turtle's head underwater, as I had described.

I don't know if she saw it, but I heard her let out a soft sigh.

Perhaps because we moved so lightly, we didn't alert the Kun Turtle. It didn't shake violently again, only wobbling slightly a few times, allowing us to safely reach the area beneath its neck. To my great surprise, the Kun Turtle's two eyes, large as bronze bells, were wide open. It tilted its head slightly, gazing at the three of us without any discernible expression.

I quickly performed three bows toward the Kun Turtle, grabbed the dazed Qin Bing'er, and with a sudden leap, jumped onto the Qian Turtle's back, which was about three feet away.

The Qian Turtle's back still retained a strong smell of scorched hair. Soaked by the water, the fishy odor became particularly strange and foul. The unburnt green hair clung to the shell, slick and slippery. Fortunately, the three of us managed to barely cling to the green hair to scramble onto the very top of the Qian Turtle's shell, reaching Hua'er's side.

I stood up shakily, raising my torch high above my head, leaning forward to look at that black lotus-gathering boat. I saw it was still five or six meters away from where we stood, and more than a meter from the edge of the Qian Turtle's shell. It looked like we would have to carefully walk to the edge of the shell and then jump across to the boat.

The question was: would the Qian and Kun allow us to have our way? Would they let us safely reach the edge of their backs? If they jolted while we were walking toward the edge, what would be the outcome—would we fall back into the water?

For safety, I untied the vine from my body, tightly binding one end to the hilt of the sharp sword, and with a swing, I hurled the sword onto the black boat. Whether the sword lodged in the boat or wedged itself there, I pulled the vine, and to my surprise, it did not spring back. Not daring to be careless, I pulled harder, and the black boat actually moved slightly closer, pressing against the edge of the Qian Turtle's back.

Seeing this, I was overjoyed and quickly instructed Qin Bing'er and Man Niao'niao to carefully slide off the Qian Turtle’s back and climb onto the black boat.

Qin Bing'er and Man Niao'niao dared not delay; without needing further instruction from me, they boarded the boat smoothly. I called out to Hua'er, held tightly to the vine, and with a few swift steps, jumped onto the bow of the black boat.

Fortunately, the three of us and the dog jumped from the Qian Turtle's back onto the black boat without incident. The Qian Turtle remained utterly still, as if it were truly an unmoving islet.

Once aboard, we realized the boat was neither huge nor tiny. In the center was a pavilion-like cabin with a door, pitch black and tightly shut. Even the bold Man Niao'niao became cautious now, not rashly entering the cabin. He slumped onto the bow, his eyes darting around, sizing up the black boat.

Qin Bing'er wasn't focused on the black boat at all. She knelt at the bow, gazing silently toward where the two turtles' necks met, lost in thought. I followed the vine to the sharp sword and found it wedged in a corner of the boat's gunwale, its tip deeply embedded in the dark planking of the boat.

As I moved to pull the sword out, I became intensely curious about the material used to construct this black boat. I tapped the planking with the sword; there was no metallic sound. Instead, the black plank seemed quite soft, allowing the tip to sink in easily. I squatted down and scraped at the planking with my fingernail, managing to scrape off a small pile of black debris. Holding it up to the firelight, I was surprised to see that the tiny pile of black grit was actually charcoal dust.

I suddenly understood. No wonder this lotus-gathering boat was black—it was built from wood that had been charred. The outer layer of the wood was burned into charcoal, making it resistant to both moisture and pests, ensuring longevity. Years ago, the base of the utility pole in front of my house had its exterior treated this way—hard wood inside, with a layer of charcoal on the outside to prevent the pole from rotting and collapsing.

Man Niao'niao had also noticed the strangeness of the black boat by this time. He put on a show, yelling out, "Damn it! Whose idea was it to build such a highly technical lotus-gathering boat?" Qin Bing'er, hearing Man Niao'niao's exaggerated voice, quickly asked, "What's wrong? What is this boat made of?"

"Wood, wood that's been burned on the outside!" Man Niao'niao said, shaking his head theatrically.

"..." Qin Bing'er froze, then bent down to touch the black planking, nodding silently.

"Yingying, should we go inside the cabin to check?" Man Niao'niao suggested.

Before I could answer, Qin Bing'er suddenly let out a piercing shriek. A brilliant white light flared before her eyes, illuminating the small space as if it were day, making everything in sight perfectly clear.

"Xuan Yi Du You Pearl! Xuan Yi Du You Pearl!" Man Niao'niao roared again behind me.

As Man Niao'niao finished speaking, I saw the Qian Turtle holding a snow-white, transparent pearl the size of a fitness ball in its mouth. The pearl emitted thousands of beams of white light, making it almost impossible for my eyes to stay open.

The Qian and Kun heard Man Niao'niao's shout. The Qian Turtle puffed out its neck and suddenly spat the pearl toward the boat. The pearl rolled a few times on the deck before stopping by my feet, creating a stark contrast of black and white on the lotus boat.

I was stunned by this sudden turn of events, hesitant to pick up the pearl lying near my feet. My mind boiled like water on a stove—was the Qian Turtle offering this pearl as a trade, asking us to somehow save its companion?

Man Niao'niao snatched up the pearl, holding it up to the sky as he roared with laughter, "When the fire starts, not even a door plank can block it! I never thought I'd have a day where I strike it rich!" (Fire energy/Qi: luck)