Jenny glanced at Doctor Xu and saw a look of agreement on her face.
“Alright, let’s talk about it after we get back. We should have enough food to get through this troubling time.”
With their minds made up, the three swiftly made their way back, gathering dry branches along the way.
They took less than twenty minutes to return to the postal office gathering point, moving much faster than they had upon leaving.
Just as they were about to part ways, Yu Hong suddenly remembered something and spoke up.
“Hey, Jenny, I remember that Old Yu took a long time to return after the incident, right?”
“Yes, it was indeed several days,” Jenny replied, nodding.
“Doesn’t this mean that even if someone gets infected, they could spread the infection to others days later?” Yu Hong frowned. “So the question is, what’s the transmission method of that black handprint? Do you know?”
“It should be through contact,” Jenny responded. “As long as you touch a black handprint or someone who has one, you could get infected.”
“Got it.” Yu Hong nodded and glanced at Doctor Xu while holding onto the things they had collected. “Then, who did Old Yu come into contact with right after he returned?”
The other two fell silent, deep in thought.
They felt a chill run down their spines.
As a butcher, Old Yu had likely interacted with nearly everyone.
Realizing this, they understood that any of them could potentially be infected.
“Let’s double-check, and everyone should be careful,” Yu Hong said, his gaze turning towards the stone house. “Oh, and there’s another thing...”
“Mama!” Suddenly, Eve’s voice drifted from nearby.
She looked somewhat weary, dressed in a grey thin sweater and black pants, and was walking quickly towards them.
As she got closer, she didn’t even glance at the food in her mother’s hands.
Instead, her eyes lit up as they landed on Yu Hong.
She hurriedly approached him. “Brother Yu,” she said, forcing a sweet smile and straightening her back to accentuate her curves. “I heard you can make that big glowstone. Do you have any left? Can you sell me some?”
“Eve!” Jenny couldn’t help but scold from the side.
“It’s alright, Brother Yu is a nice person, Mama doesn’t need to worry,” Eve replied nonchalantly, stepping a little closer to take Yu Hong's arm.
“Stop right there!” Yu Hong suddenly stepped back, coldness flashing in his eyes as he created distance between them. “I want to ask a question.” He fixed his gaze firmly on Eve.
“What—what question?” Eve stammered, startled by his loud voice, standing frozen in place.
Meanwhile, Jenny watched Yu Hong with caution, her hand discreetly resting on the hilt of the knife hidden at her thigh.
She feared that Yu Hong might harm her daughter; after all, these days, many solitary individuals had lost their sanity.
Without saying a word, Doctor Xu also grasped the handle of the short knife tied to her waist and stealthily moved closer to Yu Hong, her eyes fixated on Eve and Jenny.
Clearly, she trusted Yu Hong more than the mother-daughter pair.
At that moment, the four of them stood divided, an air of confrontation lingering.
“Don’t be nervous, I just want to ask a question,” Yu Hong said as he took a step back, indicating for Doctor Xu to do the same. “At the entrance to the postal office stone house, besides our footprints from when we left that day, there’s another set. Who do they belong to?!”
His gaze shifted between Jenny and Eve.
“Don’t lie. I remember the footprints clearly; I noted their shapes. But today, when I took another look, I found that something was off. Someone must have gone in and out of the stone house multiple times after we left!”
As these words fell, the expressions of the three changed instantly.
Jenny and Doctor Xu wore a mix of suspicion and horror, while Eve’s bewilderment was pure panic.
Jenny’s eyes swept over her daughter and immediately noticed something was wrong.
She knew her daughter too well.
Whenever Eve became flustered, her body would stiffen, her eyes would lower in avoidance, and her hands would unconsciously press against her thighs, wiping away the sweat.
“Eve!!” Jenny shouted, her voice echoing through the trees. “Was it you?!” She gritted her teeth, staring at her daughter, her eyes a little bloodshot, hoping Eve would respond with a denial.
But Eve’s reaction caused Jenny’s hopes to tumble down into despair.
Eve covered her face with her hands, standing there with a pale complexion as she took a while to slowly turn around.
Indeed, a small black handprint could be faintly seen on the left side of her hip.
Why had she changed into black pants? It was obviously to hide the black handprint slowly surfacing on her skin.
If Yu Hong hadn’t raised suspicion, no one would have noticed the mark on the black pants.
Seeing the handprint, Yu Hong and Doctor Xu wasted no time in moving away hastily. “We’ve found the food. Let’s disperse and calm down for a bit,” Yu Hong quickly said.
“Jenny.” Doctor Xu called out and noticed that Jenny didn’t seem to have any intention of distancing herself from her daughter.
Unable to hold back, she reminded, “If one person gets infected, they might be able to rely on the glowstone, but two people... it’s a different story!”
She paused. “And...”
Doctor Xu’s eyes sharpened as she fixed her gaze on Eve.
“Keep an eye on your daughter.”
Her words were quite blunt.
Jenny paused, her eyes reddening as if she hadn’t heard the warning, staring intensely at her daughter.
She remained rooted to the spot, her chest heaving heavily, turning her back on Yu Hong and Doctor Xu, as she slowly crouched down next to Eve, almost as if she couldn’t hear anything.
Doctor Xu kept quiet, quickly leaving with Yu Hong, who carried the things they had found.
As they exited, both quickly scanned their bodies for any black handprints.
After confirming they were clear, they let out a sigh of relief.
“Eve definitely intended to infect us!” Doctor Xu gritted her teeth.
“Why would she do something like this?” Yu Hong reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a half-changed glowstone, releasing a breath.
Just moments ago, this very stone had alerted him; he hadn’t been sure who had entered the stone house until the glowstone acted up.
“There must be some benefit in it for her; otherwise, she and Old Yu wouldn’t hide things or actively seek out others,” Doctor Xu speculated.
“I’ve always found this strange,” Yu Hong spoke up. “With Eve’s character, how could she be so oblivious to her surroundings in such a treacherous environment? With all the shadows and insects around, hasn’t she ever been scared?”
“Speaking of which...” Doctor Xu showed a hint of recollection. “Eve is indeed different from others. I remember when Jenny and her family first arrived; her father was still here. He was an old man, frail and colorless, aged at least twenty to thirty years older than Jenny.”
“And?”
“And back then, we hardly ever saw Eve come out. It was mostly her parents who showed up,” Doctor Xu recalled as she leaned against a tree trunk.
“Later on, Eve’s father suddenly said he needed to go out, and after that, he never returned. That was when Eve began venturing outside. The girl is quite capable; she may seem foolish, but she’s actually a language genius. She understands four foreign languages and has extensive knowledge of ancient linguistics. I wonder why her family moved here.”
“Was there anything else odd?” Yu Hong pressed.
“There’s one more thing.” Doctor Xu’s brow suddenly furrowed. “Their burrow has never had anyone go in. They don’t allow people to visit either. Moreover, during several upheavals, when everyone was barely making it, and several people died, their family always seemed unaffected.”
“Sounds like there’s something wrong with them.” Yu Hong nodded, realizing from Doctor Xu’s words that they were hiding something.
“Definitely. Before, when Eve went to the town, she brought back two suitors, but they quickly disappeared afterward. There’s just something about that girl that feels off,” Doctor Xu frowned.
“Let’s keep our distance from them. If anything seems amiss, come find me right away. And if you notice anything unusual, let me know,” Yu Hong said, pulling another glowstone from his waist pouch.
“I’ll lend you a glowstone for now; just remember to be careful. When the glowstone changes color, it emits a slight warmth. If you carry it close, it can help you determine if a place is dangerous.”
He handed the glowstone to Doctor Xu.
Regardless of everything, she was the only healer around and a familiar face.
Her character was decent as well, so it was good to help her out.
“Thank you!” Doctor Xu’s eyes widened, showing a hint of emotion.
She quickly accepted the glowstone, saying, “I’m working on a type of herb; it's mostly made from wild herbs and minerals that can be found nearby. It has significant benefits for external wounds and infections. I’ll provide it to you for free as soon as it’s ready!”
“Sounds good!” Yu Hong’s spirit lifted; he hadn’t expected an extra reward. “Be careful.”
“Understood!” Doctor Xu nodded earnestly.
The two parted ways under the tree, returning to their respective shelters.
By the time they got back to the safe house cave, the sky had already dimmed.
Yu Hong placed the dry branches in a corner, started a fire, and began cooking.
Sitting by the fireplace, he reflected on the details about Jenny and Eve, frowning deeper with worry.
‘The evil shadow draws near, silently creeping into the lives of those around me.
Eve seems doomed.
If Jenny stays with her, she’ll also meet her end.
At this rate, it will soon be just me and Doctor Xu left to deal with the food situation, having lost two more people to this crisis.’
He sighed, poking the embers with a stick to let more oxygen circulate.
The fiery glow danced across his face, flickering in and out of brightness.
After adding more firewood, Yu Hong got up to check the enhancing symbols on the walls.
He had set up formations on every surface in the cave.
However, these formations were not the extreme kind but rather a standard enhancement.
Currently, the cave was filled with densely packed symbols to prevent any shadows or other dangers from entering.
The threat of the evil shadow loomed close; he had to prepare as much as possible.
This was just the first step.
The second step was to create portable temporary formation plates.
The purpose of these was to test the range of the shadow-protecting symbols in other areas.
Knowing how much area a formation could protect was crucial.
Once he confirmed the area, only then could he enhance this talent for use on his clothes, weapons, and even on himself!
(End of the chapter)