Far Away From Home, With A Talking Tortoise

A moment ago, Xiao Zhou was floating across a space tunnel where energy spiraled around it. As he gets to the end of the tunnel, bright light bursting out within, slowly engulfed him. He closed his eyes and braced for the light. 

The next moment, he can feel his leg stepping on soil. The sounds of birds chirping on the tree, the chilly winds that blew past, and the sensation of a few leaves landed on his head.

Xiao Zhou slowly opens his eyes. Lush green trees and undergrowth were around him. 

Realizing that the strange platform before was a teleporter device, he lets out a sigh of relief. 

"That was way too close," he touches his heart, feeling his heartbeat, reassuring that even after the terrible encounter with the giant ape, he is alive now. 

"Still, where am I? Which part of the island did it teleport me to?" Xiao Zhou looks around, sensing something different about this forest he is in right now with the forest and jungle he had been running a while ago.

He starts exploring the area, eyes peeling wide open for any sudden movement within the undergrowth. As he observed and checked the area more, his face gradually became confused, and also turned a bit pale.

"Where…where the hell am I right now?"

The short exploration made Xiao Zhou realize his current situation, that he may no longer be on the island. This jungle he is in right now is someplace completely unfamiliar to him. 

His senses struggle to find solace in this alien environment. Relief at escaping the ape was swiftly replaced by a creeping unease as he explored his surroundings. The lush vegetation and unfamiliar flora were unlike anything he had encountered before, a stark contrast to the island's sun-baked terrain.

Suddenly, howls of wild beasts can be heard afar, the feeling of panic rises in him.

One thing after another. Although he managed to escape the Wu Zhe, and the giant scarlet arm ape, in exchange, he got himself into a new kind of mess.

"Don't panic, breath, breath," he regained his composure, trying to fully assess the situation and come out with a solution.

"That's right. It's not like I got chased by an ape now, or getting threatened by someone, I just got teleported to an unknown place. Father said before, "As long as there is earth on the ground, then the way out is always there!"

With his motivation fired up, Xiao Zhou lightly slapped both his cheek to hype him up, looking at the path in front of him with a survival will burning in his eyes, and was ready to lift up his feet to explore the unknown.

"You will die if you go there, you know?"

A voice, coming not from him, but inside of him.

Xiao Zhou looked around confused, "must be my mental voice telling me to back off, no, I need to be strong!" He slapped his cheeks once more, harder this time, and was ready to depart. 

"Like I said, you will die if you go in that direction now."

Again, the voice that carries an impatient tone can be heard.

Xiao Zhou spun around, eyes darting through the emerald labyrinth, searching for the source. His hand instinctively tightened around the twig, fear battling with his growing resolve. "Who's there?" he barked, his voice trembling slightly despite his attempt at bravado.

"You think that weak twig is going to help you? Good god hahaha!" A boisterous laugh echoed through the trees, "Anyway, I am inside, take me out, it's hot in here." 

"Inside?" Xiao Zhou's brow furrowed in confusion. "Inside of me?"

"Not inside you! Your clothes, inside your clothes, you dumb dumb."

He fumbled with his clothes, reaching the deeper part of it, his hand finally closing around the familiar smooth surface of the black tortoise shell.

He cautiously brought the shell closer, peering into its depths. Question marks danced across his forehead. 

The supposed black interior shimmered, and four gray limbs slowly emerged from the openings, followed by a wrinkled, diminutive tortoise head.

"Yo," it said, lifting its tiny left front foot in a casual greeting.

Silence, thick and heavy, hung in the air. Then, with a startled yelp, "Ahhh!" Xiao Zhou launched the tortoise skyward in a fit of shock. He dropped to the ground like a stone, eyes wide with disbelief.

While Xiao Zhou miserably falls to the ground, the tortoise did a few somersaults in the air, lightly tapped on a few leaves in the air, and landed like a falling leaf to the ground.

"My, my, how impolite," the tortoise brushes off some dirt on its shell and does a stretch, "I just saved your life, twice might I add, and this is how you thank me?"

"A…a…a talking tortoise!" he finally managed, his voice barely a whisper. 

Xiao Zhou scrambled to his feet, stammering incoherently. His mind was reeling. "A talking tortoise?" Had he gone mad from all the life and death situations he is experiencing up till now?

Upon hearing what Xiao Zhou said, the annoyed expression from the tortoise's face, at least that's what he assumed by looking at its tiny head, changes to a proud smirk. The tiny creature puffed up its chest, its wrinkled skin stretching taut. 

It seemed to revel in the spotlight, basking in Xiao Zhou's astonishment. "Hahaha! I know, isn't this something," it proclaimed with a smug glint in its beady eyes. "Impressed, are we?"

"So this is really a talking tortoise," he murmured, still amazed by the creature in front of him, who is posing, indicating the "Praise me more!" kind of gesture. 

"Ahem," he regains his composure, then proceeds to bow down to the tortoise, "Thank you for saving my life back then, without you, I could have died two times already." 

The talking tortoise profoundly nodded its little head, satisfied with Xiao Zhou's attitude. 

"If I may ask," Xiao Zhou followed up, "Who…what are you? Why can you talk?" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the tortoise interrupted, "Wait, wait," holding up a tiny, wrinkled claw. "One question at a time, my dear friend."

("We are friends already?")

Slightly confused, but Xiao Zhou dismissed it and focused on what the talking tortoise had to say.

"Let's start with you first, when someone asks for the person to introduce themselves, they have to let others know who they are first, am I right?"

The talking tortoise put its two front feet, or hand as it is now standing up like a human, hand on its back and head looking up, a posture of someone's about to give a lecture. 

Xiao Zhou sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Sorry. My name is Xiao Zhou. I work as a fisherman and a boatsman."

The talking tortoise looks a bit confused by his reply, "Is that important? Your occupation."

"My father said to always introduce oneself to another with our name and also our occupation, as a sign of respect to others," Xiao Zhou explained, pride showing on his face.

"Okay, I guess," still not sure what to make of his reply, the talking tortoise clear its throat, "You can call me, hmm….lets see, brother Gui for now, I mean Ah Gui is fine, but seeing as I am older than you, you have to add brother in front, understand?"

"Understand, brother Gui." Xiao Zhou bows again. He saw brother Gui walk to him and put out his hand. He carefully crotch down and give brother Gui a friendly handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Xiao Zhou the fisherman," brother Gui says as he shakes his tiny leg, or hand.

"So, why can you talk?"

Brother Gui sighed, a sound like a deflating balloon. "See? So many questions. Explaining them all will take ages, so let's leave it for another time. As for now, you can just assume me as a magical talking tortoise! How's that sound?"

"Hmm, all right… I guess," no use of pushing if the tortoise is not willing to answer, Xiao Zhou complies, and follows up with another question, a question that is way more important than why a tortoise can talk.

"Brother Gui, where are we now? How can we get back to Xiao Ming's village?"

"Xiao Ming village?"

"Yes, Xiao Ming village, a small fisherman village at the shore of the river of black tortoise, at the foot of the highest mountain in the Republic of Tong, I was wondering if you know your way out of this jungle?"

Xiao Zhou looks at brother Gui with hope and anticipation. If this mysterious talking tortoise has the strength to save his life, not to mention twice the time, then surely he can also bring him back to his home.

Brother Gui looks at his hopeful eyes. 

Brother Gui squinted at Xiao Zhou's hopeful eyes, his tiny brow seemingly furrowed. "So, your home, Xiao Ming village, is in the Republic of Tong, eh? That puts us in a bit of a pickle, wouldn't you say?"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Zhou's brow furrowed in response.

"Because we are currently at the Great Jungle of Riling," Brother Gui announced in a serious tone.

"The Great Jungle of Riling? I never heard it before." Xiao Zhou shook his head, his confusion deepening.

"Of course you don't, especially if you are just a kid and a fisherman, living in the small fisherman village in the country of the Republic of Tong."

"Country? You mean…" Xiao Zhou stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

"That's right, my friend," Brother Gui declared, his tiny head bobbing with emphasis. "We are so far away from the Republic of Dong now, Xiao Zhou. We're in another country entirely. The edge of the Kingdom of Xia, to be precise."