Chapter 129

At exactly 8 a. m., Ling Yue arrived at the agreed-upon location.

She carried the bag down, with the treasure-finding rat and Ya Ya flying to one side; after reaching the agreed spot, the water at the shore suddenly made a splashing sound—it was the Feng Shui Turtle Master leaning against the bank: 'Yueyue!'

The nearby water rippled with shimmering light; looking closely, one would see it wasn't ripples at all—it was a huge school of fish, their scales flashing with blinding light.

'Me too! Me too!'

'And us too! Why haven't those bastards arrived yet? I can barely wait!'

'Hmph, I'll definitely make them taste our power!'

Ling Yue heard the bustling sounds and couldn't help smiling. She looked at the Feng Shui Turtle Master: 'I'm ready.'

The Feng Shui Turtle Master blinked, then saw her pull many jade stones from the bag—not particularly expensive, they'd been disguised to look dull gray, like the most inconspicuous stones by the roadside.

'I'll set up the formation; you first take us to where they plan to release the animals.'

The Feng Shui Turtle nodded, began swimming in the water, and shortly arrived at a wide riverbank.

The Feng Shui Turtle Master said: 'Right here, according to the intel we received, this group plans to release the animals at nine o'clock, and many people will come.'

Speaking with some excitement, it said; Ling Yue gazed out, the calm river surface rippled, she focused her mind, and upon looking again, she had already pinpointed the exact location.

Ling Yue: 'Duoduo, Ya Ya.'

The two small creatures cried out, and Ling Yue handed each a piece of jade: 'You bury these where I say, in suitable spots.'

The rest Ling Yue gave to the fish school; they usually travel in large groups, and following her method, they quickly nibble many small holes to embed the jade.

As for the positioning issue, Ling Yue flicked her fingers, and a beautiful pale red light showered down; they seemed alive, able to fly high or dive deep, finally landing at the planned spots, flashing to guide the fish and the treasure-finding rat Duoduo.

These jade stones Ling Yue prepared will later serve as the formation's eyes; as for the risk of being destroyed, she curled her lips—once the formation is set, if someone can take away a stone, she'll consider it a loss!

Obviously, the Feng Shui Turtle knows this too; however, it craned its neck, watching the treasure-finding rat and Ya Ya bustle about, and the fish in the water marking spots everywhere, realizing it could not discern anything at all.

This is none of the formations it knows; it grew even more curious about what formation she was laying, for with its five hundred years of experience, it still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Ling Yue explained: 'I saw it in a book; it's not strongly offensive, but the effect is quite interesting.'

Ling Yue said, unable to keep from laughing, and then thought of Dragon Fish Jinjin—usually it's the most enthusiastic, so why is Jinjin nowhere to be seen this time?

Ling Yue said this while thinking; upon mentioning Dragon Fish Jinjin, the Feng Shui Turtle Master's spirits lifted instantly, and he chuckled: 'What else could it be doing? You know it's lucky, so while leading the fish school, Jinjin discovered an ancient sunken ship.'

Ling Yue: 'An ancient sunken ship—an ancient sunken ship?!'

She had long known that the Yangtze River Basin was ancient China's most important water transport route, so large ships would certainly pass through, and some would even sail from the river into the sea.

But a sunken ship—she really hadn't expected that.

But the pressing matter now is to deal with this group of animal-releasers; when the bag of jade is empty, the treasure-finding rat Duoduo flies up holding its paws, then gradually lands beside Ling Yue: 'Yueyue, I'm all loaded! What should we do now?'

Its little paws are still damp, because after digging dirt, Duoduo feared getting dirty, so it went and washed its paws.

Ling Yue smiled, looking at them and the fish just surfacing in the water: 'Wait.'

'Wait for them to come.'

She said this, her sharp gaze sweeping over each position, forming hand seals to set the formation, sensing the processed jade spots, and began casting the spell.

The Feng Shui Turtle Master watched, growing more alarmed; after ten-plus minutes, the previously calm river surface suddenly churned, and within the range of Ling Yue's formation, this nearly fifty-meter stretch of water became much clearer.

Even the fish living here flicked their tails, many gathering together to chatter: 'I feel the water is so much more comfortable.'

'I feel it too! It must be the effect of that formation, the formation!'

Saying that, the fish couldn't fathom any connection, but good water quality aside, a large batch of released animals would soon come rushing in.

The fish had barely been happy before they started to worry.

The Feng Shui Turtle coughed, reminding everyone: 'It hasn't even started yet—what's there to worry about?'

Anyway, it has one hundred and twenty percent faith in Ling Yue.

Just as the words fell, a Didi sound rang out in the distance; Ling Yue looked over, raising her eyebrows in surprise—it was a convoy, a dozen or so cars, yet what struck Ling Yue as odd was that a few electric vehicles trailed far behind, their rear ends hauling—mineral water?

Ling Yue's excellent vision instantly made it out.

'Didi—didi—'

The people in the convoy glanced impatiently at Ling Yue, thinking she was just another sightseeing tourist, and honked to urge her to leave.

Ling Yue: '……'

I've been waiting for you!

Seeing she wouldn't leave, the driver grew irritable, but was held back by someone nearby: 'Our business is important—no point arguing with a tourist like her.'

The vehicle stopped, and those people immediately set up an incense altar, opened their full preparations, lit incense, turned on their portable speaker, and amid the Sanskrit chanting of the Great Compassion Mantra, this place was no longer a riverside—it was clearly a monk's temple.

Ling Yue saw them pull out snakeskin bags from the trunk, and even the riverside wind took on a faint fishy smell.

The young people carrying several cases of mineral water, when asked, laughed and said: 'We're releasing animals—releasing mineral water!'

This left the bystanders speechless.

They exchanged glances; they were not proper release-of-life people, they were TV station reporters with miniature cameras, aiming to report this human-led biological invasion.

Believe that after it airs, it will surely spark widespread social discussion!

As for the so-called mineral water, to be frank, they didn't even want to buy mineral water; they filled bottles scavenged from a junkyard with tap water.

"Hey, you guys, quick look, who is that?"

The sharp-eyed reporter looked at Ling Yue, before recognizing her,

Just then, someone had already opened the snake-skin bag; among these people, the scavenger was still the weakest; look at the other people's released creatures—goodness, poisonous snakes, crocodile turtles, and also some invasive fish fry.

Ling Yue had already heard the creatures' cheers.

"Finally we've waited, is this our new home?"

"Hahaha, this place really looks great."

Ling Yue also felt good, especially when she saw there were snakes and crocodile turtles; she curled the corner of her mouth, her scorching gaze fell on these release-of-life people—many of them carried designer bags, obviously not short of money.

That's why they're so bored they're going crazy, right?

"All right."

The leader and initiator of this activity looked at them and said, "Everyone, are you all ready?"

"Before, someone tried to stop us, but now we have so many people—let's see who dares to stop us. Releasing lives is a great good deed! These are all merit, all blessings! For us and for our descendants, the sacrifice we make now is worth it!"

The releasers answered him with beaming smiles: "Of course, we're doing this for the happiness of our descendants!"

His words hit exactly where they itched; to these people, merit was immensely useful, and they fervently followed the leader's words, opening the burlap sacks in their hands.

A few reporters held bottled water, looking completely out of place, but they kept in mind one saying: "I'm not embarrassed; it's others who are embarrassed."

At that moment, as the leader gave the order, he stepped forward to lead by example, opening the large burlap sack he had prepared, and a huge, ferocious turtle emerged, drawing a chorus of gasps.

The leader said proudly: "This is a turtle I bought at great expense from someone else; they were planning to slaughter it, but look—this turtle is as big as a washbasin! How many years must it have taken to grow this large?"

"With such a spirited creature, how could we not help it escape its plight?"

The releasers nodded in unison, some so moved they were on the verge of tears: "Seeing this really isn't easy; thank goodness we met you!"

"Brother Lin, you're truly the greatest good person under heaven! When the turtle met you, it practically accumulated eight lifetimes' worth of merit!"

The reporters who heard this:???

It's confirmed—these people are just idiots.

This is an alligator snapping turtle; it grows extremely fast—while native turtles grow three or four centimeters a year, this one can grow over ten centimeters a year, becoming larger than a washbasin in four or five years, and the largest can reach nearly a meter!

Moreover, alligator snapping turtles are invasive species in China!

Release it? With that size, once in the water it'll be the tyrant of the pond!

But the releasers said, "I don't want to hear about invasive species—I won't listen, I won't listen!"

With the leader taking the lead, these releasers threw the invasive animals together with their sacks into the water, making a thudding sound; the sight left several reporters stunned—good grief, snakes, red-eared sliders, cleaner fish, eel-sparrow hawk—these are blatant invasive species!

Truly horrifying! Truly horrifying!

Moreover, releasing these creatures together isn't a life release—it's outright killing! Do those who see them get blessings?

The reporter covered his face in anguish: "Anyone who sees them will have eight lifetimes of bad luck!"

A few exchanged glances, relieved they had already called the police; now it's just a matter of filming quickly.

The more they watched, the more alarmed they became—bag after bag of fish were tossed in, worth at least tens of thousands of yuan, dozens of releasers crowded together, watching the released creatures in the water, growing ever more smug.

They began chanting: "Those who see this shall have fortune arrive at their door!"

As the animals vanished from sight, their cheers rose to a deafening roar.

Ling Yue could hardly tell whether the cheers came from people or from the released creatures; a flash of cold light crossed her eyes, and her face turned extremely cold.

Her gaze lowered slightly onto the calm river surface, as if she had thought of something, and she suddenly laughed out loud.

A few reporters instinctively looked over, finally recognizing her—it was Ling Yue, the top streamer currently trending online, and their eyes lit up instantly.

She's a celebrity!

Consequently, they paid even less attention to the release ceremony, and didn't hear the mocking remarks from other releasers.

At that moment, a releaser suddenly exclaimed, standing on the bank and watching turtles crawl out of the water in an endless stream; his eyes instantly reddened, he covered his face and called to his companions: "Everyone, come quick—these turtles also know gratitude; they seem unwilling to leave me—what should I do?"

Others rushed over, looking at him enviously: "That's too clever—it even knows gratitude; let's still help together and send them back."

"So spirited—no wonder releasing lives is merit; my released turtles never come looking for me—I must not have released enough!"

Ling Yue, watching from the side, burst out laughing with a puff.

"Damn gratitude!" Ling Yue couldn't help but curse; at a glance she saw these were land turtles, and putting them in water was practically drowning them alive!

She even heard the land turtles' anguished cries and angry shouts.

"You bunch of idiots—I'm a land turtle; what's the point of releasing me?"

"Cough, cough, cough—I'd rather be eaten by someone than be drowned alive!"

"You damn idiot, open your dog eyes wide—are you brain‑diseased? Don't let me get up, or I'll bite you to death!"

Others looked enviously at the turtles, wondering why their own animals hadn't come to repay the favor.

Ling Yue watched as the releasers gradually drew nearer to the shore.

At the same time, beneath the calm water, the invasive fish that thought they were free sensed something wrong upon entering; looking closer, an old turtle led a group of native fish to surround them. They tried to resist, but found they could not move at all, and their consciousness grew increasingly foggy—evidently, being underwater was even more agonizing than being on land!

Good heavens, what kind of place is this?!

The Feng Shui turtle gazed coldly as the disoriented invasive species were churned by the current; this stretch of river seemed almost alive, rejecting this gang of hateful invaders.

The fish, which had been worried and prepared to fight to the death, stared wide‑eyed in astonishment: "What's going on?"

"I get it—it must be Yueyue; she set up this formation earlier!"

Soon, a fish noticed that the invaders sunk to the bottom were swaying back and forth, starting to turn back, and immediately shouted to its companions: "Something's off with them!"

"It's like they've taken a love potion—what are they trying to do?"

"I don't know." A curious fish suggested: "Why don't we follow them from afar and see?"

This proposal received unanimous agreement; they drifted far behind the invaders, watching the fearsome big turtle and the disgusting cleaner fish, etc., swim upstream, while the rippling water surface sparkled with specks of light that flowed over these invaders.

"Yue, what kind of place bred such animals—how ugly they are!"

"Fishy, if I so much as glance at them again, I'll have nightmares in my sleep!"

At this moment on the shore, in order to drive the land turtles into the water, the brain‑dead releasers went to great lengths, nearly lying prone in the water themselves.

A few reporters, for no apparent reason, suddenly felt a pang of palpitation; trusting their intuition as usual, they picked up their bottled water and stepped back a few paces.

The releasers curiously watched a dark mass slowly rising from the water's depths and, on instinct, said: "Could it be that the animals we released have come back to thank us?"

The person who had earlier been thanked by the land turtles spoke in a somewhat sarcastic tone: "How could that be? These days, spirited things aren't exactly—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard others cheering: "It's the turtle I released!"

"And my snake!"

"My fish have come back too!"

The formerly calm surface, now teeming with gathered species, was like boiling water; the releasers felt immensely pleased, and many pushed forward.

As the leader of this release, Lin Bin had originally felt quite pleased, but upon learning that a fellow releaser had actually been thanked by his own released animals, the comparison highlighted the disparity—he hadn't released a small turtle, but a huge, washbasin‑sized old turtle!

Shouldn't it be more spiritual than these people?

Lin Bin maintained a composed face, but actually he was nearly dying of anxiety—could it be that he's the only one not getting thanked? He couldn't accept it!

Suddenly, a huge splashing sound rang out; compared to it, the other animals instantly became like small fish and turtles, because it was truly enormous!

A flicker of excitement passed through Lin Bin's eyes, but he then gave a light cough: "Didn't I already set you free? Why have you come back?"

Beside him, a lackey among the release-people immediately echoed him: "What else could it be, Brother Bin? It's come to repay you!"

Yes, Brother Bin, we believe good deeds are rewarded—these animals may look ugly, but their hearts are actually gentle.

The observing river fish widened its eyes in shock: "Holy shit, these people are shameless!"

The elderly geomancy turtle chuckled: "Everyone, settle down; repaying kindness—just wait and see."

The clever river dolphin also stood nearby, hearing its words, and guessed: "Grandpa Geomancy Turtle, do you know what they intend to do?"

No sooner had the words fallen than a shrill wail came from the shore!

A group of animals all looked over——

Half a minute earlier, Lin Bin was being flattered by a crowd of release-people, and he couldn't help feeling pleased, walking half-reluctantly to the shore; he bent down, looking at the slowly crawling large turtle, and asked: "Are you here to repay your kindness?"

"Forget it, I don't need it—you'd better hurry back, start a family and establish a career!"

"Wuuu, Brother Bin is really so gentle—I'm about to cry to death!"

The other release-people watched this touching scene, moved and envious, theirs being fish—fish can't exactly jump onto the shore, can they?

Lin Bin instantly swelled with pride, he reached out to stroke that spiritual turtle, but the originally docile turtle shook its head and suddenly opened its mouth.

Lin Bin looked at his companions: "Is it hungry? Did you bring any food?"

"Brother Lin, no. We're all here just to release animals—how would we bring food?"

Lin Bin sighed, gazing at the large turtle: "You poor little creature, forget about repaying kindness—just get back in the water; there are plenty of small fish and shrimp there to fill your belly."

As he spoke, he went to pat the crocodile turtle's back; the spiky protrusions on its neck made it look even more ferocious, though Lin Bin himself felt a bit nervous—but when he bought the turtle, the seller told him this creature was extremely docile and would never bite!

He believed it and relaxed, not realizing that while the crocodile turtle is docile in water, once on land it can lunge and bite fiercely, and its eagle‑hook‑like beak delivers a bite force astonishingly strong—second only to the strongest in the animal kingdom!

And the crocodile turtle that Lin Bin had released had been starving for a full three or four days.

However, if he had any brains, he wouldn't have organized this release event, nor even bothered to check the turtle's species.

This crocodile turtle was originally a wild catch hauled in by a fisherman, and it had already "started eating".

When hungry, the crocodile turtle will even prey on small crocodile fish.

Thus, an adult's wrist in its view is nothing but living food.

The crocodile turtle opened its wide, grayish‑black hard beak, capable of swallowing a whole egg, and just as Lin Bin reached to stroke its back, it suddenly lunged——:,,.