This stone could injure that white-clad specter, which likely means it is some sort of special item.
Additionally, its small size makes it hard to detect even if it makes a little noise.
If it can truly enhance its power, the white stone would become even more formidable, making it far safer for dealing with that previous spectral figure.
With this thought, he picked up a white stone and turned to the little stutterer. “Can you give me one? Thank you for saving me earlier! I will repay you.” He said earnestly.
The little stutterer shook her head. “This one... is already useless.” She explained, “If you want it, just take it.”
Yu Hong nodded and examined the white stone.
It was no larger than a thumbnail, the surface adorned with a dark red complex symbol that looked like some kind of religious talisman.
A third of its area had turned black, though the reason for this was unknown.
The stone felt icy to the touch, almost like holding a piece of ice; it sent a chilling sensation through his fingers.
Just then, a number appeared on the surface of the stone: 3 days.
Before he had time to think, a thought emerged, and the black mark on his hand seemed to sense it, quickly emitting a voice. “Do you wish to enhance the target?”
Yu Hong slipped the white stone into his pocket and tried to respond in his mind: Yes.
The moment he affirmed, the black mark on his hand warmed slightly before calming down.
Following this, the white stone also warmed in his pocket, then returned to normal.
The little stutterer around him showed no reaction to the stone's movements. “Are you okay?” she asked curiously. “We need to prepare, it’s getting dark.”
“What do we need to prepare for?” Yu Hong inquired, feeling weak as the adrenaline from the earlier excitement began to wane.
His body was still recovering from an inflammation, and now, with the immediate danger gone, it began to fight off viruses and bacteria again.
His immune system started to divide more immune cells, and his temperature began to rise.
“At night... there are dangerous creatures.” The little stutterer replied, glancing out the window where the slanting sunlight was fading quickly.
That darkness felt unnatural and was approaching too rapidly.
Yu Hong could feel the change in light even with his naked eye.
Such a strange phenomenon only deepened his anxiety.
Suddenly, the little stutterer pulled out a hammer from somewhere and began to hammer nails around the doors and windows, evidently reinforcing the surroundings.
The main door was bolted with thick chains and several hefty wooden bars.
Each bar was as thick as an arm, and the edges had been smoothed from past use.
The light continued to dim, increasingly so.
Yu Hong stood there blankly for a moment before snapping back to reality and attempted to help check the security of the gaps around them.
But unfamiliar with the environment, he was quickly pushed back onto the bed by the little stutterer, who exclaimed, “Don’t cause trouble.”
After saying that, she crawled under the bed and emerged with a large sack made of black cloth.
When she opened the sack, it was filled with tightly packed white stones.
She began to search for a red pen, carefully picking each white stone and writing a red symbol on it.
“Wait, she drew those red symbols herself?” Yu Hong thought, stunned by this sight.
Suddenly, a faint and eerie female voice, sharp and fluctuating like a performance, drifted in from outside the room.
The sound was both mournful and melodic, creating a peculiar half-real, half-fake feeling.
A soft thud was heard.
The little stutterer evidently heard the sound as well, quickly grabbing a few pieces of white stone and handing them to Yu Hong.
She picked up a large yellow candle from the corner and lit it with a magnesium-like object before holding it up, anxiously watching the doors and windows.
Yu Hong noticed that the candle was unusually thick, almost the size of an egg.
“It’s here.” The little stutterer suddenly declared.
At that moment, Yu Hong realized the light from outside had vanished entirely, leaving behind an impenetrable darkness.
Was it already nighttime? How could it have come so quickly?
He wanted to speak, but a wave of dizziness struck him, assaulting his mind.
His body felt increasingly hot, and his throat was becoming more painful.
He needed to drink water and take some medicine... fever medicine.
Otherwise, things could take a turn for the worse.
He recognized his condition.
In the past, he had experienced similar feelings when sick with a fever.
He had once reached a temperature of thirty-nine degrees but hadn’t felt as weak as now.
It was likely due to his previous shock and fear.
Sitting by the bed, he gripped the white stone tightly and stared nervously at the doors and windows.
Inside the room, both remained silent, each waiting anxiously.
For a moment, only their breath and heartbeat filled the air.
This tense silence didn’t last long.
Thud.
Finally, a subtle sound came from outside the door.
“They're here!” The little stutterer shouted.
She tensed up, her muscle lines evident, raising the candle high so that its light formed a circle, illuminating the room as much as possible.
Yu Hong, tense, stood behind her, watching closely.
He was uncertain about what would happen next, but from her reaction, it became clear that something troubling was about to occur.
After all, even the previous white specter hadn’t intimidated her this much.
Soon enough, their wait bore fruit.
In the darkness, sounds of skittering insects began to manifest outside the doors and windows.
The noise was abrupt and intense, as if the silence was suddenly shattered by a bustling crowd in the desert.
As if sand was flowing over the thresholds of the doors and windows, producing a faint rustling sound.
Yu Hong's eyes widened as he caught sight of the nearly one-centimeter gap in the doors and windows, where hordes of small black insects began to crawl in.
They entered en masse, resembling grains of sand, with hundreds, even thousands of them pouring through.
Each was no larger than an ant, resembling a beetle, with oval shells and fearsome mandibles like a centipede—a swarm of legs flailed about without any eyes.
Overall, they looked like miniature black centipedes.
The mass of insects quickly invaded the room, their movements producing faint noises, while that half-hidden female voice became increasingly closer and clearer.
“Get out!!” The little stutterer yelled, yet oddly remained motionless, holding the candle tightly as she stood in the center of the room, only shouting.
Yu Hong, sitting on the bedside, wanted to get up and help, but his weak body had little strength left.
Sweat beaded on his back, but before it could drip down, it evaporated in the heat emanating from his body.
Staring at the black insects that were continuously streaming through the gaps, he also felt his body tense and tremble.
Visions of being covered in insects, their bites tearing at his flesh, filled his mind.
It was an instinctual fear, impossible to suppress.
But just then—
Hiss.
The fastest among the black insects made their way into the candle's light.
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
These terrifying-looking black insects began to dissolve rapidly under the candle’s soft yellow glow, transforming into black smoke that dissipated into the air.
Fluffy trails of black smoke rose into the air; they melted like wax being melted by fire, seemingly unaware they were in danger and charged towards the candle-holding little stutterer without restraint.
Soon, a ring of insects formed around her, drawn through the gaps in doors and windows, continuously melting and evaporating away.
The black smoke rose, dissipating quickly into a foul, acrid scent hanging in the air.
Yu Hong looked on, stunned by the scene unfolding before him.
He rifled through all he knew, trying to think of any insect that would dissolve into smoke when illuminated.
This extraordinary sight shattered all his previous expectations and imaginations.
Monsters.
Suddenly, a term spoken by the middle-aged doctor earlier resurfaced in his mind.
Yes, monsters.
Weren’t these black insects the true monsters right before him?
They poured in like a tide—limitless—but melted away upon being touched by light.
For a moment, Yu Hong sank into a disorienting stupor, closely observing the black insects and the candle, searching for flaws in this strange reality.
To wake himself up, he even pinched his thigh until it hurt, confirming that what he saw was not a dream.
Yet every action only reinforced the reality of the situation; it was all true, and far from a dream.
He also noticed another thing.
As the black insects dissolved, the thick candle in the little stutterer's hand, which should have lasted a long time, was melting away quickly, seemingly draining from the effort to repel these insects.
Time passed in this eerie standoff.
Ten minutes.
Half an hour.
An hour.
Two hours.
For two hours, they remained in this unmoving state.
The candle in the little stutterer's hand had shrunk from forearm length to just palm size.
Ah!
Suddenly, Yu Hong leaped up and turned, quickly grabbing one of the black insects from behind him, pulling it out.
The moment it was exposed to the light, it dissolved into black smoke.
However, he touched his backside, realizing he had been bitten; blood drenched his pants, suggesting a substantial wound.
The scent of blood seemed to agitate the surrounding insects, causing them to surge toward Yu Hong in a frenzy.
Yet the candle's light steadfastly repelled them, turning each one into black smoke.
Yu Hong covered his backside and gingerly moved closer to stand beside the little stutterer, both watching the scene unfold together.
They observed the glowing perimeter, where the black insects continuously dissolved, evaporating into smoke.
This fantastical perilous scene shattered his previously whole perspective piece by piece like a falling meteor.
He couldn't tell how long it had been.
Finally, the faint female voice faded into the distance.
As the sound vanished, the stifled black insects outside also began to thin.
A thread of dim light slowly broke through the cracks in the doors and windows.
At last, the last few insects got caught in the light, struggling against their inevitable dissolution, turning into smoke.
Everything fell into a deep, peaceful silence.