A Night of Desperation - Chapter 8: Decision (2)

Chapter 8: Decision (2)

Watching Little Stutterer carefully put away the supplies and then pick up the small jar to head outside, Yu Hong quickly followed. He needed to learn where to fetch water.

When they stepped out of the house, to his surprise, Little Stutterer didn’t head to the village well but instead walked down the old asphalt road, past the gravel path.

After about ten minutes, they reached a broken-down well on a low-lying patch of land near the road.

The well was shallow, and in the dim light, the bottom revealed a pool of dark yellow, foul-smelling water.

Without a word, Little Stutterer tied the water jar with a rope and lowered it into the well to scoop up the water.

“Why not draw water from the village well?” Yu Hong couldn’t help but whisper.

“That…water…isn’t drinkable!” Little Stutterer answered seriously.

As she filled the jar, she looked up at him.

“From now on…water…comes…from here!” She pointed at the well.

Yu Hong nodded. He gazed at the murky water being drawn up, feeling a growing sense of unease.

He helped Little Stutterer seal the jar tightly to prevent spills.

Instead of returning to the house, they started combing through the surrounding grass.

“We must…eat grass!” Little Stutterer instructed.

“Otherwise…illness…death!” She gestured to explain.

Yu Hong nodded and began observing closely which plants she was digging up.

This was invaluable knowledge—eating the wrong plant could result in poisoning or diarrhea, and in such harsh conditions, falling ill could easily lead to death.

After a round of gathering, the two returned to the house, each carrying a large bundle.

Little Stutterer spread the plants out by the window to dry.

Yu Hong, meanwhile, meticulously used a piece of charcoal to jot down the key points of what he had learned. He kept the notes simple and concise, just enough for himself to understand.

The notes were recorded on a piece of old newspaper that Little Stutterer had given him earlier.

“Do we have to travel far to get dried meat and mushrooms?” Yu Hong asked while taking notes.

“You…can…grow them,” Little Stutterer replied with effort, “but…not…worth it!”

Yu Hong nodded and added it to his notes.

As he was about to ask more, a small notebook was suddenly handed to him.

The notebook had a white cover with a cartoon mouse in the center. Crookedly written on it were the words: Survival Manual—Lin Yiyi.

Yu Hong paused, then looked up to see Little Stutterer holding the notebook, grinning at him with her yellow teeth.

“Thank you,” he said as he took the notebook and began to flip through it.

Inside, there were detailed records on how to fetch water, where to buy food, and identifying characteristics and locations of basic wild vegetables.

The contents weren’t extensive, but they were thorough.

The notebook also included a list of several villagers from Baiqiu Village with their corresponding contact details.

Among them, “Old Yu” made dried meat, Dr. Xu provided medical care, someone named “Jenny” specialized in leatherworking, and there was a candle-maker. In addition, there were markings for the residences of other villagers, though no names were listed, suggesting unfamiliarity.

Lastly, there was mention of a place called the post office, located north of Baiqiu Village in a forest.

“What’s the post office for?” Yu Hong asked.

“To…connect…towns…get…supplies…salt…sugar…send…letters,” Little Stutterer explained, gesturing animatedly.

“You…must…learn…a skill…to trade…for goods.”

“I understand. I understand all of this, but I think the most urgent problem to solve right now is safety,” Yu Hong said seriously.

“There’ve already been two instances of impostors causing trouble when you weren’t around. This is too dangerous.”

His mind raced, trying to figure out how to maximize his unique black seal for protection.

“No way.” Little Stutterer lowered her head dejectedly. It was clear she had considered this issue before.

“Specters…nothing…can…stop…them. Bugs…as long…as…there’s…a gap…they…get in.”

“They…go through…walls!” She gestured emphatically.

“Through walls?”

Yu Hong stared at the house walls in silence, falling into deep thought.

‘This place is too crude, full of gaps and vulnerabilities,’ he thought. He remembered how the black bugs had entered through door and window cracks, which suggested they might not actually pass through solid walls.

He confirmed this theory with Little Stutterer.

After thoroughly inspecting the house, he quickly concluded that it was highly insecure.

“I’m planning to move out and find another place to live on my own,” he said quietly. Living alone would eliminate the risk of impostors, as long as no one opened the door.

Little Stutterer froze.

She had saved many people before, but they usually wanted to stay with her as long as possible to learn more survival skills.

But this man—this Yu Hong—was barely recovered, and already thinking of living alone?

Strange.

What a strange man.

Little Stutterer blinked at him.

“You…not…afraid?”

“I am, but your house is too unsafe,” Yu Hong replied. From the information in the notebook, he had a rough understanding of the key points about this place.

“The main threats are the bugs and the specters. While specters can pass through walls and must be driven away with radiant stones, the bugs can be blocked by doors and walls, as long as gaps are sealed. This means, with enough radiant stones and a properly sealed house, basic safety can be ensured, right?”

Yu Hong calmly analyzed.

His serious demeanor left Little Stutterer dumbfounded.

“Should we test it out? Seal the gaps with something, reduce the openings, and see if the bugs can still get in? If they can, figure out how small the gaps need to be to make a vent system work,” Yu Hong suggested.

“And also, how are radiant stones made? Can you teach me?” he asked earnestly.

Little Stutterer stared at him, nodding in a daze.

At this moment, she seemed to see a figure from the depths of her memory on him—one that was extremely familiar and deeply nostalgic.

After discussing their plans, the two began preparations immediately.

Little Stutterer rummaged for tools—hammers, saws, scrap wood, nails—random odds and ends.

Yu Hong, still recovering from his illness, was physically weak, so he directed Little Stutterer in the work.

To his surprise, Little Stutterer was incredibly strong—stronger than he was even in his normal state. Her robust health was evident; despite sleeping on the floor these past days while he occupied the bed, she hadn’t fallen ill.

According to the notebook, the black bugs were officially named Blood Tide.

Although their name didn’t quite match their appearance, Yu Hong didn’t dwell on it. He was more focused on learning everything about the bugs and specters.

The two worked hard all day, and perhaps due to his improved health, they weren’t disturbed by specters.

Night fell without a bug attack either.

According to Little Stutterer, the Blood Tide typically occurred every three to five days, and adequate lighting was the key to repelling them.

The Blood Tide relied on light, while specters feared radiant stones.

These were the survival rules the locals depended on.

The next day, the pair continued Yu Hong’s plan. They sawed wooden slats and made movable seals to thoroughly close the remaining gaps in the doors and windows.

The movable seals could be opened during the day and shut at night.

Although simple, these were part of Yu Hong’s efforts to create a safe shelter—or rather, a safe house—that could ensure his basic survival.

Little Stutterer’s house fell far short of his standards.

Beyond the specters and bugs, the mold clinging to every corner and the stale, filthy air would shorten anyone’s lifespan.

And the water source was another issue.

If he continued drinking that dirty water, he probably wouldn’t survive long either.

Nighttime.

Inside the house, Little Stutterer and Yu Hong stood together. Little Stutterer raised the candle high, and the flickering candlelight dispelled the surrounding darkness.

Hiss, hiss

The faint sound of crawling insects continuously came from outside the doors and windows, but due to the sealing of the gaps, the small venting openings were much smaller than before.

These black insects couldn’t get inside.

“It works!” Yu Hong’s face lit up with joy. He hadn’t expected that his casual attempt would actually be effective.

Little Stutterer was also grinning happily beside him.

She realized that no black insects had entered the area. Even if a few small ones had slipped through, they were quickly melted by the candlelight.

With this, the candle’s consumption slowed down, and she wouldn’t need to keep buying candles from the store, saving her a lot of trouble.

She would be able to relax much more.

Just as the two of them felt a sense of success…

Click, click

Suddenly, a faint gnawing sound came from outside the sealed wooden boards.

The sealing boards at the gaps, as well as the wooden doors and windows, all started making the same gnawing noise.

“Something’s wrong! These insects can’t get in, so it seems they started gnawing on the doors and windows!!” Yu Hong realized immediately.

He grabbed a wooden stick, rushed to the door, and forcefully shoved it, pushing the bottom seal up.

Crash!

With a muffled sound, a large number of black insects poured in like a tide, rushing towards the two of them.

Hiss

The black insects rushed into the candlelight and were quickly melted, evaporating and dissipating completely.

The candle also began to burn faster.

In the bright yellow candlelight, Yu Hong watched the scene unfold before him, and the joy he had felt earlier slowly faded.

“If they can’t get in, will they start gnawing on the walls of the house?”

He finally understood why Little Stutter’s house, despite knowing there were black insects, wasn’t sealed off by her parents before.

“Has it failed?” Little Stutterer asked cautiously from behind.

“It’s not a complete failure,” Yu Hong shook his head.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Yu Hong left the village early and headed to the forest at the base of the hill.

He circled around the trees in the forest, occasionally tapping them with a hammer.

Little Stutterer, having nothing else to do, started collecting a few medicinal herbs and plants for making ink.

Her survival materials for trade were the glowstones with symbols drawn on them.

According to Little Stutterer, the glowstones with symbols were more effective than regular ones.

The sun was shining brightly. While Little Stutterer gathered her materials, she occasionally looked up at Yu Hong, who was doing something strange.

“What are you doing?” After watching for a while, she couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m picking wood, choosing a location, preparing to build my own safe house,” Yu Hong replied.

“Build… a house yourself?” Little Stutterer couldn’t understand.

Could a house built by yourself be stronger than one made of stone bricks?

(End of Chapter)