I cleared my throat and repeated the speech I had prepared earlier.
Talk of elders from my tribe, childhood legends...
After I finished, the old man remained noncommittal and slowly rose from the bed, leading me deeper into the dwelling.
I followed behind him, observing the hunched figure of the old man ahead.
My intuition told me this old man was no ordinary person. The most obvious sign was that I had never seen Ada show such a respectful expression towards him, even with Tu Tu, his loyalty was more evident.
Librarians have always been a breed of exceptional individuals, from Laozi, the librarian of the Zhou Dynasty, to the great educator of our time. And this elder of the Du An tribe was also a master of disguise, hiding his true depths.
But all this had nothing to do with me now. No matter how formidable the elder was, he was merely an old man on the brink of death, destined to decay day by day in this tent until he became a pile of dry bones.
As I was thinking, the old man stopped before a row of shelves.
"Everything you seek is here. However... some things are safer left unknown."
He cast a meaningful glance at me and then slowly shuffled back.
Watching his retreating back, I suppressed the urge to question him further.
Damn it, I hated riddles more than anything in my life!
Without pondering the elder's words, I eagerly reached for the topmost piece of animal hide.
Perhaps the key to shedding the black spider on me was within these scrolls!
The first thing I saw upon unrolling this piece of hide was a sentence written in an unknown crimson ink.
"Praise the Mother of All Creation!"
Earlier, I had learned from Aya that the black spider was worshipped by the ancient great tribe of Lasha, whose esteemed title was Mother of All Creation!
My heart leaped upon seeing this, knowing I had found the right path!
After the Lasha tribe was annihilated, records of the Mother of All Creation were largely lost to the river of time, and her followers were almost non-existent.
Seeing this opening line, it was likely written by a follower of the Mother of All Creation!
It made sense. Du An was a small tribe under Lasha at that time, so it was not surprising that animal hides pertaining to the Mother of All Creation had been preserved.
With anticipation, I continued to read, but soon my brow furrowed.
This scroll, as I expected, was indeed written by a follower of the Mother of All Creation.
However, it contained little substance. Apart from a heap of cryptic ramblings and insipid praises, only one story held any interest.
It was said that one day, the Mother of All Creation was asleep when the great tree where she resided was suddenly enlightened by her presence and gained sentience.
Later, a reindeer, known as the Son of the Forest, along with this tree, plotted to betray the Mother of All Creation. They intended to strike her down while she slept, but were discovered by the glorious Mother of All Creation, who then inflicted divine punishment.
Ultimately, the tree was condemned to fall into the abyss, while the reindeer vanished into the forest, its whereabouts unknown.
This believer used this story to illustrate the greatness of the Mother of All Creation, filling the entire narrative with words of praise.
But as I read this story, a sense of déjà vu washed over me. The tree and the reindeer felt eerily familiar.
That tree... could it be Xin Lai Jia!
Xin Lai Jia perfectly matched the story. His current tentacled form was a result of being cast into the abyss by the Mother of All Creation, which also explained his weakness, allowing even a slightly stronger mortal like me to pulverize him.
And that reindeer immediately reminded me of the giant deer tattoo that appeared on Gui Du Si when he transformed during our fierce battle!
Could the reindeer in this story be the current Shepherd God?!
If so, the entire narrative connected.
The Mother of All Creation was the supreme ruler, Xin Lai Jia and the Shepherd God were two traitors who conspired together and failed. Xin Lai Jia, lacking legs to escape, transformed into the monstrous form I had seen before.
The Shepherd God, being far cleverer, hid and gathered strength, eventually overthrowing the Mother of All Creation and scattering her ashes to the wind.
I exhaled heavily, filled with the satisfaction of having uncovered gossip.
However, while I had gained insight into the gossip, I still had no clue on how to deal with the black spider on me.
I didn't lose heart, as there were still four or five scrolls left on the shelf before me.
This was just the beginning...
I spent the entire morning at the shelves. When I finally looked up, my stomach rumbled unexpectedly, making me realize I had been engrossed in reading for hours without noticing.
One had to eat. As I walked out, I felt a touch of annoyance.
In the span of this morning, I had read three scrolls, yet my gains were meager.
Aside from incessant flattery and vaguely mythological tales, there was nothing else of substance.
As I left, the old man lay on his bed, silent. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought the elder had already returned to his Shepherd God.
After leaving, I hastily finished my lunch amidst the fearful and disgusted gazes of the Du An tribespeople, and then returned to the tent.
Approaching the familiar shelves, I picked up the last scroll, my palms involuntarily sweating.
This was my last hope...