During the 1850's, there was a lot of unrest in Taiwan, so the Emperor sent Xu Shuyan with soldiers to calm everything down. Tang Yian was sent along with him. Tang was anxious to find out how things were with his little brother, Tang Shengan, who was leading troops in Xiamen, across the Taiwan Strait on the mainland¹. But communications in those days were poor at best, and during wartime, it was almost impossible to get letters through.

One day four coolies（苦力） came with a huge sea turtle for sale. It was gigantic², and the price they were asking was high. Tang's subordinate³（下属） Chang thought of buying it, but balked⁴ at（回避，畏缩） the price they asked.

The coolies asked Mrs. Tang, but she thought the price was too high, too. Just as the coolies were about to take it away, Mrs. Tang saw the turtle looking at her with a sad expression in its eyes. It was crying. She felt sorry for it, so even though the price was high, she bought it. She talked it over with her husband, and he decided⁵ to set it free in the ocean the next day.

The turtle was so huge that it took four coolies to bring it in, but when Tang happened to move it the next morning, he found it was so light that he could carry it himself.

'This is no ordinary turtle,' he thought. Silently, he sent a message to the turtle. 'I believe that you must be a supernatural（神奇的） turtle. Whether or not you are, I am going to set you free in the ocean today, the eighth of September. If you do have powers, I would appreciate it very much if you could have my brother, Tang Shengan, now leading troops in Xiamen, write a letter to me. Have you got that?'

Then he set the turtle free. It seemed happy to be back in the water! It frolicked in the waves. As it swam away, it looked back over its shoulder and nodded at Tang three times. It seemed to be saying "Thank you".

A month later, a letter came from Tang Shengan, saying that everything was all right. The letter was dated September 8.

Could it be a coincidence? or had the turtle understood Yian's telepathic（心灵感应的） message and somehow passed it on to Shengan? Perhaps this was how the turtle expressed its gratitude⁶ for its life.

The Wang brothers had done their country a great service during those troubled times, but they had had enough of fighting and military glory. They retired⁷ to lead quiet lives in the country. They often told their neighbors this story, to remind people that animals love their lives, and that by helping⁸ animals, sometimes you can help yourself, too.