After Qu Xiangyun left, I looked at her diary.
Her handwriting was deeply etched in my mind!
This short phrase was written in both Chinese and English, the handwriting appearing very hurried, as if written in a panic, reflecting the predicament of its owner.
Xiangyun was in danger!
My brows immediately furrowed, a fire burning in my heart.
Time was pressing, and I didn't know how long Qu Xiangyun could hold on.
I quickly put the bottle away, then hurried back to the camp and found Luo Yaqin and Shangguan Yao, who were studying plants.
"I found traces of Qu Xiangyun. I was just by the water..."
I quickly told the two of them what I had discovered by the river. Hearing that I was going to search for Qu Xiangyun alone, Shangguan Yao and Luo Yaqin were a little worried and reluctant.
But they both understood the urgency, and at this moment, they could no longer dwell on sentimentality.
"You must take care of yourself. If you can't find Qu Xiangyun, come back quickly!"
I nodded solemnly at them, and after a brief embrace, I returned to the treehouse to get my gear and followed the stream upstream.
These past few days, I had been busy building the camp and hadn't ventured far. The upstream of this stream was precisely the area I had never explored.
Earlier, in a casual chat with Kexin, she had mentioned it.
She said there was a beast's den in the direction of the stream.
But she wasn't sure exactly what it was, only that the elders of the tribe said it was very dangerous there.
My current state was one of extreme anxiety.
Judging from Qu Xiangyun's handwriting earlier, her situation must be dire. I didn't know how long this water bottle had been drifting downstream.
But the more critical the situation, the calmer I had to be.
Only by facing things calmly could I make the most beneficial choices.
I followed the stream upstream, carefully observing my surroundings, not missing any trace of Qu Xiangyun.
Given Qu Xiangyun's skills and the preparations she made to get here, ordinary wild beasts posed no threat to her.
So what did she encounter?
That forced her to throw out a drifting bottle, relying on luck?
Or, was she now trapped in a desperate situation?
Countless questions swirled in my mind, but I couldn't get the answers for now, so I had to put them aside.
The path along the water's edge was not easy. Along the way, I encountered many wild beasts that came to drink water from the stream.
In normal times, I would have wished for more wild beasts.
But now was not the time for hunting, so I could only try to avoid these beasts as much as possible, so as not to delay my journey.
Fortunately, perhaps sensing that I was not to be trifled with, none of the beasts I encountered dared to attack me, allowing me to quickly proceed upstream.
However, my good luck was short-lived.
The stream I was following upstream surprisingly split into three, forming three branches!
Why would a stream be so strange!?
At this moment, I couldn't spare time to study why the stream had branched, but my mind raced, trying to figure out where the drifting bottle might have come from.
Of these three streams, only one-third of the chance led to Qu Xiangyun. If I chose incorrectly, it would mean an eternal separation from Qu Xiangyun!
Just as I was hesitating, I inadvertently noticed a plume of white smoke rising into the sky in the distance from the leftmost stream.
I suddenly realized that this leftmost stream led to a primitive tribe!
Then, it definitely wasn't this one!
I instantly ruled out this stream.
If Qu Xiangyun had encountered a primitive tribe, she would not have had the chance to throw out the drifting bottle.
Swallowing the eliminated option, the remaining two offered no clues. I gritted my teeth and simply chose the middle one.
Following the middle stream upstream, before long, I was confronted by this waterfall!
The water flow of this waterfall was very rapid, but the volume was not large. I vaguely saw a cave on the upper right side of the waterfall.
Could Qu Xiangyun be trapped in this cave?
The thought struck me, and I didn't hesitate. I quickly grabbed the protrusions on the cliff and climbed up.
The cliff was very steep, and due to being constantly covered by water, it was covered with moss and very slippery.
It was easy to slip and fall into the water pool below.
Even with my current superhuman physique, I had to be extremely cautious, and it took a considerable amount of time to successfully climb up.
Passing through the thin curtain of water, I finally stood at the entrance of the cave.
A chill emanated from the cave, assaulting my nerves.
This cave was perpetually dark, with no sunlight whatsoever.
I had to take out my flashlight from my backpack and cautiously entered, relying on the faint light.
The cave was very damp. Out of caution, I did not call out Qu Xiangyun's name. After walking forward for more than ten meters, I suddenly found a pile of white bones leaning against the cave wall!
These bones seemed to have been here for a very long time, covered with thick dust and cobwebs.
I shone my flashlight on them. Finding nothing unusual about the bones, I continued further inside.
The cave was not deep. After walking only a few more meters, I reached the end.
"Hmm?"
At the end of the cave, I shone my flashlight on the cave wall and discovered some primitive writings and symbols!
These writings and symbols appeared mottled and somewhat obscure, having been weathered by the years.
A sense of disappointment washed over me, as I had reached the end of the cave and found no sign of Qu Xiangyun.
Climbing up to this cave alone had already taken a considerable amount of time, and now I had to go back.
I took a deep breath. Discovering these writings and symbols here was not entirely without reward.
I shone my flashlight on the stone wall and meticulously memorized the symbols on the wall, intending to ask Kexin what they meant when I returned.
Suddenly, I noticed that a certain line of text seemed to be emitting a purple glow.