Chapter 29

Qi Xiang, upon hearing the sound, reached into his pocket and discovered that his phone was also missing.

"Then, I'll stay for one night. I won't bother you, right?" Qi Xiang made a wise choice.

"You won't bother me at all." The old man sat down, took a sip of tea, and said calmly, "There's no one at home, and all the rooms are empty. You can stay as long as you want."

"Thank you very much, sir." Qi Xiang smiled warmly, "How should I address you, sir?"

"My surname is Liu. You can just call me Old Liu." The old man replied.

"Old Liu." Qi Xiang was quite eloquent, and after a few words, he became much more familiar with Old Liu.

As they chatted, Old Liu frowned and said, "Xiao Qi, why did you fall from the mountain? Fortunately, it wasn't too serious. If you had hit your head, you would have been in big trouble."

"About that..." Qi Xiang blinked, intending to find a reasonable excuse.

But Old Liu shook his head and said, "Forget it. Even if you don't tell me, I know. Were you looking at some kind of tadpole script and didn't pay attention to your steps, causing you to slip?"

"Um?!" Qi Xiang nodded vaguely, but he was quite surprised. What was this tadpole script all about?

"I knew it. You young people just like that kind of thing." Old Liu pursed his lips, looking unconvinced, "I've lived in the village for decades and seen that script, but I don't find it special. You guys come from far away just to take a look, how idle..."

Qi Xiang smiled without speaking, mainly because he didn't know how to respond. If he said the wrong thing, he would be exposed.

"Forget it, you won't listen anyway." Old Liu said indifferently, "I'll go make some food."

Old Liu went out to pick vegetables from the fields outside the village, leaving Qi Xiang alone in the clinic.

Qi Xiang lay on the chair, feeling bored. Then he saw a few children playing outside the door. His eyes lit up, and he gently waved them over to chat.

After some probing, he gained a lot of useful information.

This was indeed Xianju. The so-called tadpole script was on a cliff near the village. The cliff, which was impossible to climb, was covered with strange patterns and symbols, such as sun, moon, insect, and fish motifs, which appeared to be artificially engraved.

One child recited, saying that a person named Da Yu had carved them.

"Da Yu?" Qi Xiang was taken aback, then thought for a moment and laughed, "You mean Da Yu, the one who tamed the floods."

"Right, right, that's him, that's him..." The children nodded hurriedly.

"I see... Thank you for telling me the story. When I get better, I'll buy you some candy in town." Qi Xiang smiled and dismissed the children with a promise.

Next came... recuperation, careful recuperation.

Qi Xiang stayed at Liu Lao's house for two or three days, feeling that his body had recovered enough. He immediately went to the town with the villagers to withdraw money and went on a shopping spree.

He brought back several carts of gifts to the village, distributing them to every household. The middle-aged man who had carried him back from the mountain and Old Liu, who had treated his injuries, received special gifts.

Gifts make people happy, and in no time, Qi Xiang became the most popular person in the village. After all, no one dislikes a grateful person.

"Just a few fruits would have been fine. No need to spend so much." Old Liu complained, but his smile couldn't be hidden.

"It's nothing, just a small token of my appreciation for your care these past few days." Qi Xiang smiled sincerely. After all, when he was in a difficult situation, he received help from a kind person, and it was only right to repay them.

"You're too polite, you're too polite." Old Liu, despite his happiness, still had to say some formalities.

Qi Xiang smiled and changed the subject, "Sir, about that... Tadpole Cliff..."

"What, you still haven't given up?" Old Liu frowned, "Do you want to go up and look again? Afraid of falling again?"

"Not that I haven't given up..." Qi Xiang said sheepishly, "I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat." Old Liu shook his head, paused for a moment, and then lowered his voice, "Xiao Qi, let me tell you the truth. That Tadpole Cliff, the Tadpole Script... it's actually fake."

"What?" Qi Xiang was stunned, his eyes full of surprise.

"I'm not lying to you." Old Liu said solemnly, "Xiao Qi, I'm only telling you this. Keep it to yourself, don't spread it. Even if you do, we won't admit it..."

Qi Xiang's heart stirred, and he said softly, "Old Liu, the Tadpole Script has been around for a long time. It's said to be the writing left by Da Yu when he tamed the floods. In the Jin Dynasty, scholars even studied it."

"That's just a misunderstanding, don't take it seriously." Old Liu waved his hand, "People in the past didn't have the knowledge to uncover the truth. In fact, the state sent experts to investigate Tadpole Cliff a few years ago."

"The experts studied it for many years, even climbed the cliff using ropes, and finally uncovered the truth about the Tadpole Script. It turns out that the writing on the cliff is actually the result of rock weathering."

Old Liu whispered, "From a distance, the weathered marks look like tadpoles, which is why the story has been passed down. In reality, it's not writing at all. There are similar marks not only on the cliff but also around our village."

"Ah?" Qi Xiang was somewhat disappointed.

"The truth has been known for a long time." Old Liu hesitated, "But the higher-ups don't allow us to tell the truth. After all, many people come to visit every year... Our village has developed because of this..."

"I understand." Qi Xiang showed his understanding. Myths and legends need a mix of truth and fiction to satisfy people's curiosity. If the truth were revealed, no one would come.

"So, you don't need to take risks for the Tadpole Script." Old Liu patted Qi Xiang's shoulder and advised kindly, "Once you're fully recovered, go home."

"…Alright." Qi Xiang agreed, "Then I'll leave."

"So soon, have lunch before you go..." Now it was Old Liu's turn to try to keep him.

After a few farewells, Qi Xiang left with Old Liu and others' good wishes. However, he didn't go far. After leaving the village, he turned and entered the mountains.

Climbing up the mountain, after about ten minutes, Qi Xiang reached the top. From there, he could see a towering cliff nearby.

Sure enough, there were marks on the cliff that resembled tadpoles.

"Tadpole Script..." Qi Xiang looked at it for a moment and smiled. He believed that Old Liu wasn't lying. If the Tadpole Script was indeed the result of rock weathering, it must be true.

However, he didn't come up the mountain for the Tadpole Script.

He walked around for a while, then stopped. This place was familiar to him. It was the mountain hollow where he had emerged from the gap in the cave world a few days ago and met the middle-aged man.

"It should be nearby."

Upon arriving, Qi Xiang immediately stopped to observe, his eyes scanning the area inch by inch.

While recuperating, he suddenly thought of a question. If there was a spatial rift near the mountain, could things from the cave world have fallen through it over the centuries?

Over the past few days, Qi Xiang hadn't been idle. He had learned a lot about Xianju.

Xianju, as the name suggests, is a place where immortals live.

According to legend, in ancient times, immortals often appeared in Xianju. Over the years, many people came from far away to seek immortality.

During this time, it seems that some people achieved immortality, and when one person became immortal, even their chickens and dogs ascended.

From these stories, it's clear that Xianju has a rich history.

Qi Xiang believed that there must be a reason for these legends.

Considering the existence of the spatial rift, if ancient people found some rare treasures and then entered the cave world, it might be seen as proof of achieving immortality in the eyes of ordinary people.

Perhaps these occasional examples fueled the fame of the Tadpole Script, making others believe that those who achieved immortality did so by understanding the secrets of the script...

This was Qi Xiang's reasoning, but whether it was true or not couldn't be verified. In any case, he was now searching slowly, hoping to find something.

As the saying goes, those who survive a great disaster are sure to have good fortune. Qi Xiang consoled himself, focusing intently on his search. He started from the mountain hollow and gradually expanded his search area, meticulously combing through the area.

After searching for about half an hour, he found quite a few herbs and some edible wild fruits.

Apart from that, there was nothing else. Qi Xiang frowned and stopped, realizing that this approach wasn't working. It was like a headless fly, and the chances of success were low.

Suddenly, Qi Xiang had an idea. He summoned the dull turtle shell and used it as a detector, touching the ground with it every few steps.

The grass, thorns, and shrubs, the more vibrant the area, the less he could afford to miss. After a full circle, another hour had passed, and Qi Xiang was exhausted, his back and hands aching, and his head drenched in sweat.

Qi Xiang wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling quite worn out. At this point, he didn't have much hope and slowly walked to a nearby mountain spring to wash his face and drink water.

Next to the spring were large green stones.

Perhaps due to the constant immersion in the mountain spring, the surface of these stones was very smooth and flat. After drinking, Qi Xiang lay down on one of the large stones, intending to rest for a while.

At that moment, the turtle shell began to tremble violently, as if it wanted to fly out of his hand.

"Huh?"

Qi Xiang was both surprised and delighted, quickly turning over to examine the situation. The turtle shell continued to tremble, and a faint light flickered, as if trying to tell him something.

"The spring... No, it must be the stone!"

Qi Xiang looked around and quickly locked onto his target, his eyes fixed on the large green stone at his feet. The massive stone was dark green, covered with moss, and appeared to be very dense and hard...

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