The phrase "a dragon king is hidden in the well" seems to be known to every generation of Chinese children, as it is part of our childhood myths. The well, pitch black at night and cool during the day, seems like a gateway to the dragon palace in the myths. But when the fat man and I actually encountered this, our mindset was quite different!
The dark shadow did not jump out of the well directly, it lay hidden in the darkness, like a large stone that never sees the light. I took a few steps back, and the fat guy looked pale as he held the broken rope.
"What do we do? If it's really a dragon, then we've discovered a great wonder for our motherland."
The fat guy always had this kind of ability to say something funny when he was serious.
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not a dragon. Why would we encounter a dragon in the many wells in Shanghai? How lucky could we be?"
I organized my thoughts and firmly believed that it couldn't be a dragon down in the well.
"You tie the rope around me, and I'll lean over the well to take a look. If I fall, you pull me up quickly."
I wrapped the rope around myself. This coarse hemp rope was very strong; even pulling it with two trucks might not break it. I looked at the break, which was obviously cut by some sharp tool.
"Be careful!"
The fat guy reminded me, and I nodded. I shuffled towards the well edge, with the fat guy anxiously watching behind me. Both of us were very nervous.
As I reached the edge of the well, the "thud thud" sounds from below continued, indicating that the struggle between us and whatever was down there had made it angry, and the commotion in the well was getting louder.
I peered over the well's edge and saw something huge down there. The well had a diameter of about a meter, and the black shadow down there was almost as big as the bottom of the well, resembling a huge millstone. As I continued to peek down, suddenly, I felt a strong force pushing me and before I knew it, I was descending into the well! I lost my footing, my body entering the depths of the well, and before I could grab the edge, I was falling downwards.
"Fatso, hold onto me!"
I shouted, and the rope suddenly tightened, stopping my head from plunging into the well.
"What's going on? Who the heck pushed me down?"
I yelled, and the fat guy quickly replied from above, "I saw you jump down by yourself, and I was surprised. Hold on, I'll pull you up!"
The fat guy, being over two hundred pounds, had some strength in his hands and gradually began to pull me up. I opened my hands, trying to support myself using the wall of the well and my arms.
The fat guy couldn't have pushed me down, so what was that strange force acting on me just now? Obviously, it was an invisible force; otherwise, the fat guy wouldn't have failed to warn me.
As I was slowly being pulled up, I saw the large creature at the bottom slowly raising its head. It was now closer, and I could finally see clearly what the monster in the well was!
It was a gigantic turtle!
In Shanghai, turtles are called "jiayu," and although this creature looks similar to a turtle, there are differences in its head and shell. A turtle's shell is harder, with intricate patterns, while a turtle's head is rounder, whereas a turtle's head is pointed. Also, most Chinese turtles don't have teeth, but turtles do.
I have seen turtles as big as my face before, but this was the first time I had seen one as big as a water well! The stone dropped by the fat guy must have been caught by this creature, and it probably also chewed through the hemp rope!
The saying goes, "A turtle lives for thousands of years," but encountering such a huge turtle in reality truly surprised me.
Its head, as big as a face, extended out and facing me sharply, indicating that it had noticed my presence!
Then, the most unbelievable thing happened the turtle's body began lifting itself up from the well, using an incredible force to raise its body and shell at an angle. This completely overturned my previous understanding of these amphibious creatures.
And more importantly, I sensed that it seemed to have some kind of intention to attack me!
"Fatty, hurry up! There's a snapping turtle below trying to bite me! "
I shouted at the top of my lungs, keeping my head facing downwards. If it bit me with its sharp teeth, even if I didn't die, it would hurt a lot.
"What snapping turtle? I'm trying my best!"
Fatty answered with gritted teeth.
I was still slowly rising, but the speed was too slow. The snapping turtle aimed its head at me, and suddenly, it lunged forward. I saw its huge mouth biting towards my nose. I hastily turned my head, and the turtle's head passed by my face. I could smell the fishy odor coming from its mouth.
"Fatty, pull me up quickly!"
I screamed desperately, as the turtle retracted its head, seemingly aiming again. My body had been pulled up halfway from the well, about two meters away from the snapping turtle below. It seemed like this distance should be safe from an attack.
However, the next moment completely shocked me! The turtle's head shot out like a cannonball after retracting. I was taken aback, but my body was stuck in between. After retracting, its mouth resembled a big black hole. In my panic, I could only turn my head again, but this time it bit the collar of my shirt, narrowly missing my flesh!
"Darn it, why did you suddenly become heavier?"
Fatty shouted from above. The snapping turtle hung in the air, its body already completely suspended. Fatty was almost exhausted, and if I didn't do something at that moment, I figured even he would fall down. In a critical moment, I let go of one hand from the wall of the well, pulled out the dagger from my waist, and shouted frantically, "Fatty, hold on for another five seconds, just five seconds!"
Fatty had lost the strength to speak, and that's when I raised the dagger and stabbed it into the turtle's neck. The dark-red thick blood immediately gushed out. I stabbed it again and again, not completely satisfied, the blood splashing onto my face and entering my mouth, leaving a fishy taste.
After piercing the neck, the snapping turtle's mouth gradually loosened, and it finally fell back into the well. I let out a long breath while dangling in the air. Fatty used all his strength to pull me out of the well. We both lay on the ground, one feeling like they had survived a disaster, the other utterly exhausted.
"What did you say about a snapping turtle? What's going on down there?"
Fatty asked, panting.
"It's a snapping turtle, almost killed me. It's like a millstone. By the way, who pushed me down just now?"
I sat up, asking and looking around.
"No one, I just saw you slip on your own. Did you feel someone pushing you?"
Fatty seemed to have something on his mind. He didn't see anyone, but I clearly felt a push from behind, meaning that there was something around us that we couldn't see!
"Isn't this temple supposed to be blessed by Buddhas? Could it be that the Buddhas didn't like us?"
I muttered as I stood up, wiping the blood off my face and peered into the well. The snapping turtle was lying motionless below, and I wondered if it was truly dead. But with its neck almost severed, it probably couldn't survive.
"Let's go, I feel like something's off today. How about we don't linger here."
Fatty was a little scared, and I was feeling uneasy as well. As we were getting ready to leave, suddenly a thought came to my mind. I looked up and asked, "Fatty, the first time you looked into the well, did you see anything? Did you see that snapping turtle?"
"No, when I looked, the well was empty!"
Fatty quickly shook his head in response.
I pursed my lips, then walked back to the edge of the well and tied the rope around myself. Fatty puzzledly asked, "Are you going down again? To retrieve the turtle's corpse?"
"I can't bring up such a big thing, but if the well was empty when you looked down, such a big turtle wouldn't have appeared out of thin air. So, if I'm not mistaken, there might be something special at the bottom of the well."
I handed the rope to the chubby guy, and he shook his arm and grabbed the other end of the rope.
"I'll go down first to take a look," I said.
After saying that, I supported myself on the well wall and slowly descended into the well. When I reached the bottom and landed on the big turtle, I stepped on it. The creature was completely dead, and there was a patch of blood on the bottom of the well. I squatted down and looked around. As I expected, I discovered something - there was actually a door on the well wall!