Just as the villagers had said, the carapaces of the so - called "Blue - Blooded Sea Monsters" were as solid as smooth shields, and their long tails were as tough as spikes.
Lu Xunguang frowned slightly and took a few tentative steps. To his surprise, the "sea monsters" covering the beach showed no sign of movement at all. It seemed that they were not as ferocious and terrifying as the rumors had made them out to be.
Li Ying stood there, stunned, gaping at the spectacular sight in front of her.
If she wasn't mistaken, these "Blue - Blooded Sea Monsters" were horseshoe crabs, scientifically known as "Limulus polyphemus".
These living fossils, the horseshoe crabs, had extremely high requirements for the environment and water quality. In the era before Li Ying's time - travel, they had become extremely rare.
She never thought that today, she would be able to see them with her own eyes in this obscure little fishing village.
"Lu Xunguang, don't hurt them," she said softly.
Horseshoe crabs were just oddly - shaped but gentle - tempered. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been on the verge of extinction due to the wanton overfishing in later generations.
She explained it gently. Although Lu Xunguang had never heard of these creatures before, he trusted every word she said. Immediately, he unhesitatingly threw away the harpoon in his hand and fixed his bright eyes on her.
"A Ying, if you say these horseshoe crabs don't have the habit of attacking people on their own initiative, then what happened to those fishermen who died unexpectedly?"
Li Ying observed them carefully for a moment and then sighed helplessly.
Indeed, there were quite a few diners who, out of curiosity, ate the "horseshoe crab meat" and "horseshoe crab roe".
But most horseshoe crabs contained tetrodotoxin. Just one bite would be fatal with no cure.
The large group of horseshoe crabs on the beach had smooth sword - tails all over, clearly indicating that they were the poisonous round - tailed horseshoe crabs.
Presumably, some greedy villagers, ignoring the village head's obstruction, secretly took the round - tailed horseshoe crabs home to cook. In order to satisfy their gluttony, they finally paid a bloody price. It could only be said that they deserved it.
By now, all the mysteries had been solved. However, Li Ying couldn't figure out why the round - tailed horseshoe crabs would come up to the shallow shoals to breed in the late spring and early summer, and after laying eggs, they would all return to the deep sea without a trace.
But why had these round - tailed horseshoe crabs been stranded here for several months?
She frowned tightly. Lu Xunguang knew that she was deep in thought and that he couldn't help much, so he simply picked up the round - tailed horseshoe crabs on the beach one by one and personally sent them back to the sea.
"A Ying, there seems to be something over there in the mangroves of the shallow shoal," Lu Xunguang said.
After making several trips back and forth, he noticed something strange and quickly came back to tell Li Ying.
Li Ying quickly got up and went with him. After rummaging around for a long time, they finally found that there was an extremely large round - tailed horseshoe crab whose carapace was stuck between the intricate roots of the mangroves and couldn't move.
The round - tailed horseshoe crab might have sensed Li Ying and Lu Xunguang's approach. Even though it was so emaciated from hunger, it still tried its best to raise its sword - tail desperately, attempting to turn its clumsy body over and drill into the sea to escape.
Li Ying couldn't bear to watch as its numerous small claws flapped desperately.
Before she could give any instructions, Lu Xunguang immediately drew out his dagger, cut off the several mangrove roots that were trapping it, and carefully carried the round - tailed horseshoe crab out.
Just as he was about to release the horseshoe crab, a sudden thought flashed through Li Ying's mind, and she gently stopped him.
"The edge of this horseshoe crab's carapace has three pairs of spines, and there is no depression at the top. If I'm not mistaken, it must be a female."
On the beach just now, most of the horseshoe crabs were in pairs, male and female. But there was only one leading male horseshoe crab that was alone. Could it be...
Lu Xunguang understood and carried the female horseshoe crab straight to the beach where the horseshoe crab group was stranded!
He carefully put the female horseshoe crab down. Sure enough, the male horseshoe crab beside it seemed to have received some kind of order and slowly scuttled towards its "wife" with its tiny claws.
All the round - tailed horseshoe crabs on the beach seemed to be inspired. The female horseshoe crab carried the male on her back, turned around, and like a tide, headed straight back to the sea!
The old village head was still worried about Li Ying and Lu Xunguang, so he rushed over in a hurry. Unexpectedly, he saw this spectacular sight of the horseshoe crab group moving forward one after another. He was so shocked that he stood there like a wooden chicken.
In less than half an hour, the horseshoe crab group had retreated completely.
Only then did Li Ying explain the whole story clearly to the old village head.
This whole incident started because the female horseshoe crab was accidentally stranded in the mangroves. The male horseshoe crab and the group were reluctant to abandon their companion, so they were discovered by the villagers who went fishing at low tide. After the villagers accidentally ate them, a tragedy occurred.
The village head also knew how poisonous the round - tailed horseshoe crabs were. He repeatedly promised that he would never allow the villagers to hunt these sea beasts that were so loyal to each other. Li Ying finally felt relieved.
The villagers also got the news that they didn't have to leave their homes and wander around. Naturally, they were all extremely happy. They regarded Li Ying and Lu Xunguang as their saviors and insisted on inviting them to have a meal.
Li Ying saw that the thatched huts that the villagers had just moved back into in a hurry were overgrown with waist - high weeds. She knew that this little fishing village had a lot of work to do to revive itself, so she didn't want to delay.
The village head saw that she was determined to leave. Helpless, he had someone fill their small boat to the brim with local specialties so that they could try something new.
Li Ying couldn't help but smile. After all, they were all from fishing villages. The local specialties they could offer were nothing more than dried fish and clams. There was nothing particularly special about them.
However, this was the villagers' kind intention, so she didn't decline anymore and accepted everything.
Watching the villagers bustling around to carry things, Li Ying was bored, so she simply hugged Mao Mao and chatted with Lu Xunguang.
"Lu Xunguang, if I turn into a round - tailed horseshoe crab, will you still love me?"
This question came out of the blue and was really childish.
But Lu Xunguang just lowered his head and stared at her intently.
"Of course I will. But, A Ying, you have to teach me how to feed you before you turn into a round - tailed horseshoe crab."
His serious look made Li Ying find it funny. She deliberately asked further, "What if I'm also trapped in the mangroves and can't get out? Will you wait for me on the beach hungry?"
Lu Xunguang rarely saw her acting like a naughty child, asking such out - of - the - way questions. He pondered for a moment and then said seriously, "No."
"Good! I knew it! You must be going to find another delicate little female horseshoe crab to live together with!"
Before her words, with a hint of anger and more of coquetry, faded away, she heard Lu Xunguang say softly, "I will never let you be trapped in the mangroves. A Ying, as long as I have a breath left, you will never be in trouble."
His burning gaze and sincere words made her seem like a pestering and coquettish cat. Li Ying blushed and simply turned her head away, concentrating on watching the villagers carry the specialties.
"Hey? What's that?"
Li Ying's eyes fell on a bamboo basket filled with some dusty clods of earth, which caught her attention.