Chapter 26 Turtle Shell and Compass

Chen Hai returned from the pond water to the shore, and swept over to the spot where his own body had been hiding in the shrubbery to rejoin it.

After moving his body a bit, he stood up straight.

In the hazy moonlight, he searched the ground nearby for a while.

After finding a tree branch over a meter long and sharp at one end, he quickly walked toward the edge of the pond.

The gigantic toad was barely clinging to life, still lying belly-up, floating near the shore of the pond.

Chen Hai noticed that the toad's stomach was heaving more frequently than before, an obvious increase.

If he ignored it and let it float there, come midnight, it might recover some vitality and dive back into the pond again.

To eradicate evil, one must be thorough.

After the rejoining of his body, Chen Hai's soul, which had departed, could no longer cause any harm to this creature.

But with his physical self taking action, as long as he was bold enough, handling this creature shouldn't be too difficult.

The stick he was holding was prepared for this very toad.

Seizing the opportunity while it was weak, he stripped down to just his underwear and leaped into the pond.

Using the sharp end of the branch in his hand, he pried open the tightly shut eyelids of the toad.

Then, he thrust the branch into its head through the eyes.

At first, the toad, which seemed to be on its last breath, struggled wildly for a bit.

But as Chen Hai grimly stirred the branch inside its head vigorously for a while, the toad finally stopped moving and gradually lost all signs of life.

"When that Snake Demon died, someone was willing to pay one thousand yuan for its corpse!"

"But this toad, all covered with lumps, just looking at it is enough to make one's stomach turn for days!"

"Lugging this huge corpse back, I reckon I'd be half dead from the effort!"

"Not to mention, I can't exactly explain this to my parents, and most importantly, I doubt anyone would want to buy it!"

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Chen Hai gave the dead toad a few glances, silently pondering.

After confirming that it was indeed dead, he didn't bother with it anymore and let it float on the pond's surface.

As for how people would react upon seeing this creature the next day?

That was not within Chen Hai's consideration. In his opinion, it was best not to leave one's name behind when doing such deeds.

After resting a bit and regaining some strength, he slowly swam towards the crack at the bottom of the pond where the toad had been hiding.

Only with his physical body could Chen Hai reach and retrieve the things hidden in the pond's bottom crevice—the soul body couldn't touch them.

That area was the deepest part of the pond.

Six or seven meters deep, diving down on one breath was slightly strenuous for the average person.

Not to mention that after reaching that area, it wasn't just about diving down; he also had to feel around in the crack at the bottom of the pond to find the Compass and the broken Turtle Shell.

Even though Chen Hai already knew the precise location of those two items, visibility was blurry after his body dove to the bottom.

Despite knowing their rough positions, it still took some effort to locate them.

Fortunately, Chen Hai was always good at swimming.

After all, in his era, kids were rather wild, often playing in the reservoir with nothing better to do.

At the age of six or seven, Chen Hai had already learned to swim; by his teenage years, he could traverse a river channel forty or fifty meters wide all on his own.

Submerging into the water, holding his breath, he didn't dare to boast, but managing for two or three minutes was no problem at all.

Reaching the estimated location of the crack, he took several deep breaths and then dove into the pool with a splash.

In May, the weather had already gotten quite hot, and though it was now nighttime, the pool water was much cooler than during the day.

However, for Chen Hai, other than feeling refreshed, there was no other sensation.

When he reached the bottom near the crack, he didn't try to squeeze his entire body into it.

After all, the crack was only twenty to thirty centimeters in height.

Even if one's head could barely fit in, the lack of space to move about meant there was definitely a certain risk.

Previously, he had observed that both the Compass and the broken Turtle Shell weren't too deep inside the crack.

With a well-chosen position, extending his arm into the crack would be sufficient to retrieve those two items.

Groping blindly within the crevice, his first attempt proved fruitless.

Feeling nothing at all, he was unable to hold his breath any longer and had to surface for air.

On the second try, he did touch something, but by the feel of it, he guessed it was a skull.

Despite his courage, holding this object in the middle of the night still sent a shiver down his spine.

Hastily, he released it and surfaced once more.

The third time, he was in luck and successfully grasped and pulled out the broken Turtle Shell.

Putting the Turtle Shell aside on the shore for the time being, Chen Hai continued his treasure hunting endeavours.

In fact, in his eyes, the Compass in the crack held far greater value compared to the broken Turtle Shell he'd just retrieved.

As he dived back to the bottom, the Compass was his main target, with the palm-sized Turtle Shell being just an incidental find.

Returning to the location of the crack, Chen Hai continued his underwater search.

After several attempts, he finally felt that he had touched the Compass.

Gripping the object in his hand, he applied a bit more force to ensure a firm hold.

The next moment, his heart sank.

He could clearly feel that the object in his hand seemed to be completely decayed and disintegrated, shattering into countless pieces.

Compasses are mostly made of wood.

Unless it was Yin Sinking Wood, ordinary wood soaked in water for many years would indeed rot beyond recognition.

Feeling disheartened, Chen Hai swam back to shore, and to confirm that the Compass in the bottom crevice was indeed irreparably damaged, he performed soul separation again, transforming into the form of a leech and sinking back into the pool.

In this state, he could clearly see that the previously intact Compass within the crack was now utterly disfigured.

Large fragments of the Compass were few, only four or five pieces, but the number of small pieces was incalculable.

He had originally hoped to sell the item for a good sum after retrieving it from the water.

But now, with the Compass fragmented like this, he knew without guessing that it certainly had no value anymore.

Disheartened, Chen Hai returned to the shore.

"Turtle Shell is said to be useful in medicine, but this Turtle Shell is so damaged it's not even the size of a palm. Can I even sell this thing?" he muttered discontentedly as he looked at the broken Turtle Shell lying next to his physical body.