Night of Despair

In the dense forest.

On the dark green grass, a tall figure dressed in anti-stab clothing and a helmet was swiftly moving towards a certain direction in the forest.

From time to time, the figure paused, bent down to tear out some weeds from the ground, and stuffed them into his bag.

The figure wore leather gloves and hard leather boots, with the helmet tightly covering everything except his eyes and nostrils, resembling a fully-armored medieval knight.

A short dagger was tucked at his back, and his eyes constantly scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

Soon, a grayish-white stone house slowly appeared in front of the figure.

A circular wooden fence surrounded the stone house.

A short-haired man, even taller and sturdier, dressed in camouflage clothes, was setting something up inside the fence.

Upon seeing the approaching figure, the man wore a habitual smile on his face.

"Yu Brother, back again?"

The newcomer stopped outside the fence; it was Yu Hong, once again emerging from the cave.

"I've wandered around nearby for a long time and found no traces of the Evil Shadow." Yu Hong said in a muffled voice.

"The Evil Shadow's traces disappear in the light more than three days after losing their infectious vector. Also, if you find a carrier of the Evil Shadow, like clothing or items with a black handprint, you can burn them at high temperatures, but remember not to watch the burning process nearby." Li Rushan explained.

"Why?" Yu Hong asked, puzzled.

"Because during burning, the Evil Shadow will manifest one last time. If there's a living person within twenty meters, it can launch an attack. Once it kills a new person, it can start a new round of infection. Many places cannot completely eradicate the traces of the Evil Shadow and have had no choice but to relocate. The nearby town is an example." Li Rushan sighed.

"... No wonder..." Yu Hong understood. "The town has too many dark corners, making it so easy to hide traces of the Evil Shadow...."

"Yes, and the traces of the Evil Shadow can move by themselves." Li Rushan walked to a blackened heap where clothes had been burned before, kicking the remnants with his boot.

"This pile of stuff even tried to move toward me before. I was the closest to it. Fortunately, I burned it just in time and kept it outside the door. Of course, you have to be careful too, as the Evil Shadow is a newly emerged shadow type threat, and new varieties may appear. Many experiences have been explored at the cost of human lives."

"So... Li, are you still in contact with those above?" Yu Hong speculated. If not, how could Li Rushan easily know the latest information about the Evil Shadow?

"That's right. In fact, I'm not hiding it from you," Li Rushan smiled, "I came here mainly to guard the origin and the Pyroxene Ore Mine, and I need to report any changes here at any time. Of course, there are benefits. From time to time, a supply team passes by, providing supplies for me. Regarding intelligence, I also have a newly developed enhanced communication device that allows direct contact with the postal system."

Yu Hong nodded. If there weren't such assurances, it's unlikely someone like Li Rushan would bring his child to such a dangerous place.

"There aren't many people around here. Having you here is an advantage for us. Otherwise, we might really have to choose to relocate." He sighed.

"I came alone and needed everyone's support and cooperation, mutual assistance. But... before I came, I thought there were at least five or six households here... didn't expect only you two were left." Li Rushan sounded a bit helpless at this point.

"Alright, enough about that. I've come to ask Brother Li to help me send a letter." Yu Hong said, taking out a wooden plank letter he had prepared beforehand.

Since there was no paper, he could only use thin wood as a substitute.

He wrote about the specific situation on his side and tentatively placed an ordinary Talisman Array board at the back.

If the Talisman Array could be sent, it would not be in vain, as it could help Stammering Yiyi.

But if the Talisman Array got lost halfway, he would try another method next time.

Yu Hong took out the wooden plank and wrapped it in a piece of cloth.

The wooden plank was composed of two parts fastened together with wooden nails, seemingly just a simple reinforcement. However, only Yu Hong knew that the underlying reinforced board was actually the Talisman Array board.

But the side of the Talisman Array was sandwiched between the two boards, making it invisible to outsiders.

"Sending a letter? The price might be a bit steep... after all, I have to wait for the supply team to come by before I can send it." Li Rushan scratched his chin, taking the wooden plank.

"Then, can I ask when the supply team will arrive?" Yu Hong quickly inquired.

"The planned time for me is once a month, but there will certainly be changes. Since I just settled here, the supply team promised to arrive within two weeks. So, it should be just a few days away." Li Rushan estimated.

"Can we trade with the supply team?" Yu Hong asked.

"Of course not. Only postal clerks can trade with the supply team; no one else is qualified." Li Rushan shook his head.

"Alright..." Yu Hong was slightly disappointed but understood. The postal system here seemed to form a screening mechanism centered around postal clerks, who had become the most fundamental distributors across regions, holding enormous profits.

Seeing it this way, no wonder Li Rushan's daughter could grow up well-nourished; it was no coincidence.

"Alright, do you have any other business? For just sending a letter, the cost is one Silver Tower silver coin, but if you don't have that, you can use jerky instead. Your previous type, ten pieces per bag, will require a total of twelve bags."

"What!? How much!?" Yu Hong's eyes widened, thinking he misheard.

"Twelve bags." Li Rushan said casually, "I'm already giving you a discounted price. After all, it's a new place with new customers, always have to give a little discount. Generally, it's fifteen pounds of jerky everywhere else."

Yu Hong was speechless.

After a long silence, he suddenly remembered a silver coin he had scavenged from two soldiers earlier and quickly searched his belongings, soon producing the silver coin.

"Is this the Silver Tower silver coin?" He showed the coin to Li Rushan.

"Ah, yes, yes, exactly, you have one, so that's easy." Li Rushan nodded repeatedly, smiling again.

"Then I'll use this. Also, do you sell long-range communication devices here? I previously bought a solar generator, so I can charge it." Yu Hong asked again.

"I don't have one for now, but when the supply team arrives, I can ask for you. Many people want this; in some large gathering areas, everyone likes to sell them." Li Rushan nodded in agreement. "By the way, if you discover anyone nearby passing through, you can persuade them to settle here. The more people, the easier it is for us to be self-sufficient, don't you think? Otherwise, it's too exhausting to do everything by oneself."

"Alright." Yu Hong nodded.

Leaving the postal stone house, he glanced at its window one last time.

A chubby little head was quietly peeking at him from the window, eyes filled with curiosity.

"What's wrong? Why do you keep staring at someone like that?" Li Rushan came to the window, reaching out to ruffle his daughter's hair.

"That uncle... looks a bit strange." Aisena answered softly.

"What's strange about him? He's one of the few normal people. It's rare to meet a normal person these days; many people become a bit abnormal living alone for too long." Li Rushan chuckled.

His gaze also followed Yu Hong, watching that figure slowly walk further into the depths of the forest until it completely disappeared, before turning back to his daughter.

"I don't know... but I just feel that no matter who that uncle looks at, there's this stone-like feeling about him." Aisena shook her head, unsure how to describe it.

"Stone?" Li Rushan pondered, unable to imagine what kind of feeling that could be.

"Like, nothing frightens him, as if he's completely grounded." Chubby Aisena frowned, then squeezed out another sentence.

"Hmm... now that you say it, it does seem that way. On the surface, he seems very normal, but compared to people from other places, he's too normal, without the usual fearfulness." Li Rushan nodded, thoughtfully.

"Exactly!" Aisena nodded quickly.

"No worries. No matter what kind of person he is, as your dad, I'll protect you." Li Rushan smiled again.

"Daddy is the best." Aisena squinted her eyes and rubbed her face against his hand.

*

*

*

Yu Hong walked slowly on his way back. He had just stopped by to visit Doctor Xu, Xu Ruoying. She had recovered greatly and even offered a homemade herbal powder.

Yu Hong reciprocated with a piece of Large Pyroxene Stone in exchange.

With so few people left alive around, and the external environment worsening, he ultimately hoped she would persist in living.

On his way back, he soon reached the spot where Aifu's clothing had been before. Holding a silver Talisman Array board in one hand and a dagger in the other, he searched the ground but found no trace of the clothing.

Only then did he truly believe that the traces of the Evil Shadow had been resolved by Li Rushan.

*Judging by his reaction, it seemed he wasn't dealing with the traces of the Evil Shadow for the first time; he appeared very relaxed. Plus, he dared to bring his daughter along. Her name didn't sound local, clearly suggesting one parent might be a foreigner...* Yu Hong speculated in his heart, becoming more convinced that Li Rushan was not a simple person.

But then he reconsidered, *No matter how complex the other person is, as long as he poses no threat to me, his actions are none of my business.*

*In fact, the stronger he was, the safer they were.*

Soon, he returned to the cave. Along the way, not only were there no Evil Shadows, but he also didn't see any shadows at all, making it extremely peaceful.

Yu Hong closed the door and looked carefully at the countdown. There were still more than three days of Leg Technique enhancement remaining.

Suppressing his expectation, he drank some water, then ground Large Pyroxene Stone into powder to make luminous stone ink, starting the production of new Talisman Array boards.

*Even during the Black Mark enhancement period, he couldn't remain idle.*

After making several boards, he got up to cook a pot of protein bar sweet soup. While drinking, he studied the rune drawing method of the silver Talisman Array.

*The silver Talisman Array required notably deep and shallow carving, far exceeding the difficulty of the Great Luminous Stone Array. He had yet to replicate it successfully.*

After eating, time quickly flew to the afternoon when he rose to start exercising high-body technique indoors.

*Every day, two hours of high-body technique was a task he had set for himself.*

Once completed, he'd rest for over half an hour, wipe off sweat, replenish with more food, or even take a nap — all normal procedures.

But today, after exercise, as he wiped his sweat, Yu Hong's body abruptly stopped.

He felt tiny tingling spots in his abdomen rapidly converge, soon forming into a new stream of cool energy.

*'The fourth stream of cool energy! It's getting thicker.' Yu Hong was delighted; the thicker the cool energy, the more confident he felt.*