The Village Head nodded. "Legend has it that this stone is a small fragment of the very stone the old immortal sat upon back in the day."
Duoduo was very curious. "Old immortal?"
The Village Head then remembered that Duoduo hadn't been there when he told the story.
"Well, Miss, just treat it as a keepsake and keep it safe."
Duoduo looked at the stone in her hands. It wasn't exactly large, but it wasn't small either.
At the very least, she needed both hands to hold it.
"Thank you!" Duoduo bowed to the Village Head.
For some reason, she quite liked this pitch-black stone.
The Village Head hurriedly bowed in return. "I am unworthy!"
"Alright, it is time for us to set off," Xiao Yi's cold voice rang out.
The Village Head stepped aside, and Duoduo was helped up into the carriage.
Once everyone was ready, Yunxiao gave a long shout, "Let's go!"
The leading carriage began to move.
The Village Head and the villagers who had come to watch followed behind to see them off.
Li Jin looked at the gradually disappearing village behind them. "Your Highness, are you worried they might do something improper toward the Princess?"
Xiao Yi did not even bat an eyelid.
Li Jin turned his head. Duoduo and Yingniang were both huddled over the stone, studying it.
"Princess, it's just a stone. What is there to look at?"
"There are plenty more in that riverbed. Do you want to go pick up some more?"
Duoduo looked up, her face full of smiles.
"This stone has patterns on it. It's so pretty!"
"Oh? Let me take a look." Li Jin leaned closer.
"Here, Teacher, look. There is a line right here, and the color is different."
Duoduo pointed at the stone on the table, gesturing for Li Jin to look.
Li Jin leaned in for a closer look. "Oh, this is a rock stratum, basically a fault line."
Li Jin took the stone. "This stone is a bit heavy, too. Given how smooth it is, it seems the Village Head handled it quite often."
Duoduo tilted her head, not quite understanding what Li Jin meant.
"Teacher, aren't all the stones in the river smooth?"
Li Jin shook his head. "It's different."
"Princess, look, this stone is very oily, or what you could call lustrous."
"Ordinary stones feel rough to the touch, unlike this one which is so smooth and glossy."
"Based on this alone, it is obvious that this stone was a beloved possession of the Village Head."
Duoduo was stunned.
"Why would the Village Head give such an important thing to me?"
"Could it be just because I saved that fish?"
Li Jin nodded. "That is how the Village Head explained it."
Duoduo rested her chin on her hands. "But I saved that fish because I wanted to. What does that have to do with the Village Head?"
Li Jin cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi had been looking at a map the whole time, acting as if he hadn't heard them speaking at all.
Li Jin stroked his chin.
"Well, this has to start with the legend the Village Head told."
Upon hearing there was a story to be told, Duoduo and Yingniang instantly grew excited.
"Teacher/Father, hurry up and tell us!"
Li Jin vividly recounted the story about the immortal and the fish that the Village Head had told him.
After listening, Duoduo was quite amazed.
"So that's how the fish ancestor he mentioned came to be!"
Li Jin smiled and nodded.
Duoduo stroked the stone. "To think this stone was actually sat upon by an immortal. That's so amazing!"
"It's just a legend," Xiao Yi poured cold water on her excitement from the side.
Duoduo stuck out her tongue. "Father, I think this stone is very magical!"
Xiao Yi glanced at the pitch-black stone. "It's just a stone."
Duoduo rolled her big eyes. "Fish are different from one another, so naturally, stones are the same."
Duoduo's words made Xiao Yi pause for a moment before he lowered his head again.
"Duoduo, look, the river water has risen!" Yingniang pointed out the window.
Duoduo leaned close to the window to look. "It really has! Wow, the water is so high!"
The small river they had initially seen had now turned into a large river due to the heavy rain.
Li Jin also leaned over to look.
"It's better that it's larger. This way, we won't have to worry about the river drying up and our boat being unable to move."
A few days ago, when Li Jin and Xiao Yi were discussing their route, they had talked about this very topic.
Xiao Yi had been very worried that if they reached the docks and the river had become shallow, the boat wouldn't be able to launch.
If that happened, they would have no choice but to change their route.
As Duoduo stroked the stone in her hand, an idea suddenly popped into her head.
"Teacher, could you help me pick up another one?"
"Big sister doesn't have a stone. Please pick one up for her."
Duoduo's words instantly made Yingniang's eyes light up.
They were both children, yet the Village Head had only given a gift to Duoduo. Yingniang had felt quite disappointed.
However, Yingniang hadn't dared to bring it up.
She never expected that Duoduo would actually ask her father to pick one up for her.
"The water is quite high! Besides, there are stones everywhere. Why must we pick one up right here?"
Li Jin expressed his confusion.
"Teacher, you have great martial skills. Just go to the riverside and pick up a pretty one!"
Duoduo was very persistent.
"Yunxiao, stop the carriage!" Xiao Yi ordered without even lifting his head.
Li Jin looked at Xiao Yi in some surprise.
Duoduo stood up happily. "Father, can I go with Teacher?"
Only then did Xiao Yi look up at Duoduo, and then he looked at Li Jin.
"You have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Go and come back quickly!"
Li Jin bowed, picked up Duoduo, and exited the carriage.
In the carriage behind them, Xu Jinxin felt the carriage come to a halt and found it very strange.
Through the window, she saw Li Jin carrying Duoduo and sprinting toward the river.
"Huh, why are Li Jin and Duoduo going to the river?"
Hearing this, Su Xian was very surprised.
"It's still raining! What are those two doing going to the river?"
"Yeah, it's so strange. Li Jin looks like he's in a real hurry. Could it be that Duoduo..."
Xu Jinxin thought of a certain possibility, and the expression on her face turned a bit odd.
Su Xian also thought of a certain possibility, and a worried look appeared on her face.
"It really is inconvenient for girls when traveling."
Xu Jinxin nodded in agreement, staring in the direction where Li Jin and Duoduo had disappeared.
A short while later, Xu Jinxin saw Li Jin running back with Duoduo in his arms.
"They're back! The two of them are back!" Xu Jinxin smiled.
Xu Jinxin's eyes caught sight of several stones cradled in Duoduo's arms, and she looked astonished.
"What is it?" Seeing Xu Jinxin's expression, Su Xian was puzzled.
Xu Jinxin turned her head back. "Duoduo picked up a few stones."
Su Xian was incredibly surprised. "Jinxin, are you sure you didn't see wrong? Is Duoduo really holding stones?"
Xu Jinxin leaned out to look again. Li Jin, carrying Duoduo, had already boarded the carriage ahead.
"I'm not entirely sure, but they look like stones."
"Maybe Duoduo thought they were fun and brought them back to play with?"
Children were like that, finding everything novel.
Seeing the stones in Duoduo's arms, Yingniang's eyes widened.
"Duoduo, how did you grab so many?"
Duoduo grinned widely.
"They rolled over to the riverbank all by themselves, so I just scooped them all up and brought them back!"
Xiao Yi, who had kept his head lowered this whole time, looked up upon hearing Duoduo's words.
"Rolled over by themselves?" Xiao Yi looked at Li Jin suspiciously.
Li Jin's expression was incredibly subtle.
