In the Wu County of Jiang-su, there was a wealthy man who owned a lot of property. He led an extravagant life and was especially delighted in partaking delicious food.
One day, he decided to hold a banquet. The cook went to the market and bought a huge turtle. When he was about to slaughter the turtle, it started to cry. The cook felt very sorry for the poor animal and pleaded with his master to release it.
However, the rich man was not touched by the pitiful sight. Instead he got so angry that he took a sharp chopper and cut off the turtle's head there and then. The turtle's head fell on to the ground and then suddenly it hopped up onto the roof beam. Those who were there were very shocked to witness such a sight.
After cooking the meat, he added some spices and the soup tasted really good. He divided it into two portions and gave one portion to his relatives while the second portion was served at the banquet. He had only tasted a few pieces when he suddenly felt faint and dizzy. He hallucinated that the beam was covered with turtle's heads. The family brought him into his bedroom and again he saw more turtles' heads on the bed and in the mosquito net. He murmured to himself, "Hundreds of turtles are feeding on my feet!" There was no cure for him and he screamed out in severe pain for three days and nights before he died.
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