Also known as turtle shell rot disease, this condition is surprisingly common among fish and other aquatic animals.
Commonly referred to as water mold infection, it describes fungal growths that form on injuries or parasite-damaged areas, caused by fungal spores. While the specific causative agents can vary, when this condition affects turtles, it’s known as Shell Rot.
A compound word—Shell, aning shell, and Rot, aning decay.
It’s a very intuitive na.
In fish, the disease manifests as visible mold or infection on the body, but in turtles, it causes literal rot of the shell.
Symptoms vary. In so cases, the entire surface of the carapace or plastron becos thinly infected and turns whitish with rot. In more severe cases—like with Elder Geumdo—localized areas rot deeply into the shell.
Elder Geumdo had said his back began to sting before he could no longer move, so the rot was clearly deep.
It had probably started on the shell and penetrated inward, even affecting internal organs.
As I checked the extent of the damage, Hwa-eun approached while holding her nose and asked,
“So-ryong, do you know what it is?”
“Yes. This is shell rot disease—turtle shell rot.”
“This stench... it’s really from decay, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, Hwa-eun.”
“Can it be cured?”
I nodded.
If left alone, Elder Geumdo would’ve died eventually. But now that Spicy Fabre was here, it was like eting Hua Tuo himself—the greatest doctor in the Central Plains.
I’d actually treated this condition many tis in my past life.
‘Elder, you’re going to live easily for another hundred or two hundred years.’
“Of course. We’ll dig out the rotten area, clean the wound with dicine, and let you sunbathe.”
“Dig it out?”
Hwa-eun’s eyes widened.
Probably because this was a ti without modern surgical procedures. I explained:
“Yes. The shell has no pain receptors, so it’s best to remove the rotted areas. If left alone, the rot will spread to other parts of the body.
If untreated, it could be fatal, so it’s definitely better to remove it.
And the shell will grow back, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Shell rot, if left untreated, can be fatal—but treating it isn’t difficult.
This case looked deep, but if we removed the infected tissue, disinfected it properly, and provided food and sunlight, recovery was guaranteed.
Since this was a spiritual beast, food wasn’t necessary—disinfection and sun were all we’d need.
“Oh, and I’ll need your help too, Hwa-eun.”
“My help?”
“Yes.”
But we had to be cautious in choosing the right disinfectant.
Typically, antifungal agents or povidone-iodine are used to treat shell rot.
Especially for disinfection, povidone-iodine is essential.
It’s widely used and trusted, and although soone might think alcohol could be a substitute—never use alcohol inside the body.
Turtles cannot tabolize alcohol. Using it internally could actually kill them.
So, without povidone-iodine available, we needed a different herbal disinfectant—and I was counting on Hwa-eun’s expertise in poisons and dicinal plants.
She’d know sothing useful.
“Do you know of any herbs used to treat pus or inflammation? I’m sure the infection has reached internal tissues, and we’ll need to wash it out with dicine.”
Strike while the iron’s hot—I brought it up now. After thinking for a mont, Hwa-eun answered:
“For pus and inflammation? We could use dandelion and fish mint.”
“I’ve heard of fish mint. What about dandelion?”
“It’s a weed that grows in the fields and mountains. It blooms white or yellow flowers, and when it seeds, you blow on it and the fluff scatters in the wind.”
“Ah, that’s dandelion!”
So Hwa-eun ant dandelion and fish mint.
Perfect. We’d either boil them and use the decoction to cleanse the wound, or extract their juice and use it topically.
“Then let’s remove the rotted section and rinse the internal tissue with the decoction made from dandelion and fish mint.”
“Thank goodness. I’m so glad it can be treated. This creature carries the legacy of my ancestor—or rather, maybe I should say Elder?”
Hwa-eun bead with relief as I explained the treatnt plan.
But even though treating the shell rot was simple, what ca after was the bigger problem.
“But treating it is the easy part. What cos after is the issue.”
“What do you an?”
“I’ll explain while we talk to Elder Geumdo. Cho, Yeondu.”
As Hwa-eun tilted her head, confused, I called for Cho and Yeondu to take us back to Elder Geumdo’s head.
Once we arrived and Cho called him, Elder Geumdo’s urgent voice imdiately bubbled up.
—Brgrrr.
『—Tssrr! (So? Can it be cured?)』
Cho, acting like a proper elder interpreter, even mimicked an older tone.
It was adorable—I almost laughed. But I quickly sobered up and spoke with all the seriousness of a doctor addressing a patient.
“Yes. It can definitely be cured.”
—Brgrt!
『—Tssrrrt! (Really!? That’s a relief!)』
Elder Geumdo was visibly overjoyed.
Of course he was—he probably thought he was going to die, only to be told there was hope.
But now ca the real issue.
‘The hard part cos after.’
“However, even if we cure you, I’m still worried.”
—Brgrt?
『—Tssrt? (Worried? About what?)』
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Because the real risk of this disease cos after treatnt. If the environnt doesn’t improve, it could co back.”
—Brgtt!
『—Tssrrr! (Co back again!?)』
In the darkness, Elder Geumdo’s golden eyes opened wide.
He was clearly shocked.
In turtles, the main causes of shell rot are stress, lack of sunlight, and deteriorating water quality—all of which lower their immune system and allow mold to fester in wounds.
Given the current conditions, Elder Geumdo likely developed it due to lack of sunlight and filthy water.
A back buried in sand and the muddy waters of the Yellow River.
A terrible habitat for a turtle.
People assu turtles are so docile and hardy they can thrive in any condition, but water quality is absolutely critical.
So even if we treated the disease, if the environnt stayed the sa, it could easily return.
“Yes.”
—Brgrrrrr.
『—Tssrrrt. Then what should I do!?』
At Elder Geumdo’s question, I looked down at the murky river beneath us.
“First, you’ll need to move. The Yellow River isn’t good for turtles. And all that sand on your back—it needs to be cleared off.”
—Brgrt? Brgrrrrr.
『—Tssrrrt. (What? Move? And remove all this sand too?)』
Cho echoed the elder’s surprise in his voice.
It was clear Elder Geumdo was startled.
And then, the explanation ca—why Elder Geumdo had stayed here and carried so much sand on his back.
—Brgrr. Brgrt.
『—Tssrt. Tssrrtssrr. (As I grew larger, people kept spotting . They tried to capture , rip off my shell, so I could only co out of the water at night.)』
So Elder Geumdo had wandered around, avoiding places where people gathered, and eventually found this muddy riverbank and decided to live here.
The muddy water kept people from noticing him. He’d piled sand on his back to avoid catching human eyes as well.
If the Tang Clan had released him, he would’ve been in the Yangtze River... So why had Elder Geumdo ended up here, in the Yellow River? Now I understood.
With that appearance, it was no surprise.
A golden turtle—anyone would lose their mind at the sight.
Even if it wasn’t real gold, a shell from a long-living golden turtle would be seen as a priceless dicine by anyone.
I nodded and spoke with a trusting, sincere expression.
“Elder Geumdo, if you’re willing, why don’t you co with ? Of course, I’ll treat you, but you’ll still need care afterward. You’ll need a clean place to recover, and soone to help maintain your health and large body.
I have no other intentions.”
And truly—I didn’t.
I had no selfish motive in inviting Elder Geumdo.
I simply wished for his recovery.
This was entirely for the patient’s healing and the elder’s wellbeing.
Elder Geumdo blinked his large eyes once as he looked at , and then spoke.
—Brgrr-brgr.
『—Tssrrrt. (If you’d really do that for , I’d be grateful... but may I ask you just one favor?)』
“A favor?”
At the sudden ntion of a request, I perked up and listened carefully.
A golden turtle asking for a favor? That was rare enough to be exciting.
‘What kind of favor? I’m actually looking forward to this.’
As I waited, filled with anticipation, Elder Geumdo nodded slowly and said, with a slightly anxious tone:
—Brgrr...
『—Tssrrr. (It’s just... your eyes reminded of Hwaseong back in the day, and I wanted to ask—by chance, you’re not going to rub your face against my shell, are you? It really gives goosebumps... As long as you don’t do that...)』
‘What!?’
My eyes shot open.
That was literally the first thing I was planning to do if he agreed to co with us, and now it was off-limits!
Tang Hwaseong... what a troubleso man.
Had his fun, and didn’t consider the future generation at all!
‘No sense of consideration for those who ca after!’
***
With Elder Geumdo agreeing to join us, dawn approached.
Since people were beginning to stir, I hurried back to the inn.
We’d covered the wound with dirt for now.
“So-ryong, do you rember what Elder Geumdo is officially called?”
Once we returned, Hwa-eun asked the question while gazing out the window.
“Of course. I morized that part of the Twenty-Four Venom Beasts list last ti. He's called the Millennium Golden Turtle, isn’t he?”
“Correct.”
The official title was Millennium Golden Turtle.
One of the Twenty-Four Venom Beasts, holding the seat of Yellow among the elental symbols.
Said to start off the size of a fist and grow into the size of an island—judging by its current size, this was likely its fully grown form.
And with this, my Heaven-Earth-Black-Yellow set of the Twenty-Four Venom Beasts was complete.
Heaven: Flying Heavenly Gentleman
Earth: Earth-Swimming Divine Serpent
Black: Silent Black Noble
Yellow: Millennium Golden Turtle
That made four collected in total.
‘Heh... is °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° this a completed set now?’
It felt like filling in a page of the achievents screen.
With a proud smile inside, I said,
“We’ll need to begin treatnt first thing tomorrow. He can’t move, so we have to hurry.”
I needed to inspect the wound directly, but since he couldn’t move, there was no ti to waste.
But at that, Hwa-eun’s face turned worried.
“But So-ryong... if we treat him at night, what if people see us?
Chipping at his shell will make noise, and if his golden body is exposed, it could cause a frenzy...”
She was right. If Elder Geumdo’s shining golden body beca visible, the people of this village would swarm like ants.
Just for a chance to snatch a chunk of what looked like gold.
Whether it was real gold or not didn’t matter.
So we needed help.
Soone who could supply what we needed—tools, herbs—and wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Soone who’d even thank us and hand over money for the privilege of helping.
“I’ve got an idea for that.”
Ding.
I pulled the cord in the room, and a small bell chid.
When a servant arrived and asked what I needed, I smiled and said,
“This is urgent. Could you summon the Gold Guildmaster? Just tell him it’s very urgent.”
“Huh? Understood!”
The servant, not understanding the situation but hearing “urgent,” ran off.
And a mont later, the Gold Guildmaster himself burst in ahead of the servant, panting.
He didn’t look like he’d just woken up, so he must’ve been up early—but he looked genuinely surprised at the ergency call.
“Y-Young Master So! What’s happened? You said it was urgent? Ah—but you’ve recovered?”
At his question, I smiled and gestured him toward the window.
Then I pointed out the window—at Elder Geumdo, the sand island—and asked,
“If I get rid of that, how much would you pay ?”
Honestly, if I thought about it, this was a golden opportunity:
Treat the Millennium Golden Turtle—
And make a profit at the sa ti.
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