In a slightly drafty wooden hut.
Wei Shanshan and her mother, Qiu Yanxi, stood in the small space, glancing around at the cramped surroundings that barely allowed for a turn.
Creak.
Wei Shanshan noticed that Yu Hong had even made them a door.
She pulled the wooden door shut and secured it with the latch, locking it tight.
Though it offered little protection, it would at least help keep some private matters safe.
"Shanshan, you’ve worked hard," her mother said, wrapping her arms around her daughter as soon as the door was closed.
Hearing the exhaustion in her mother’s voice made Wei Shanshan’s heart ache.
"It’s okay, I’m not afraid. I've managed all those times before, and Teacher Song has taken good care of me," she replied, her voice choked.
"It’s all my fault. We shouldn’t have escaped together," Qiu Yanxi held her daughter tightly, guilt washing over her face.
When she saw her daughter wearing a lovely dress and white silk on the way out, she had already guessed Shanshan’s intentions.
But back then, she felt too weak to stop her.
When her head cleared a little and she regained some strength, they nearly got into trouble in the village.
Thinking back to those events, how she had woken up, how Song Ming had appeared uneasy, and that strange pain in a certain sensitive spot on her body filled her with anger, suffocation, and pain.
But she didn’t dare to reveal the truth, didn’t dare tell her daughter why Song Ming treated her so well.
All she could do was silently acquiesce.
In her state of illness, the only one she could rely on to look after her daughter’s safety was Song Ming, who had once pursued her.
"From now on, never do this again! I’m still alive!" Qiu Yanxi held her daughter tightly, her eyes reddening.
The two fell silent for a moment, listening to the howling wind outside.
Eventually, Wei Shanshan wriggled free and hurried to get hot water and food.
"This is from Mr. Yu. Let’s eat something first," she said.
"Okay, I’ll eat first. If anything goes wrong, you must escape back! There are still people waiting for us there; there’s still hope. They won’t cause a total ruckus!" Qiu Yanxi was worried and urged her daughter carefully.
"Got it!" Wei Shanshan nodded vigorously.
"And... our hut definitely won’t be able to withstand the tide of blood at night. But Mr. Yu wouldn’t go through all this trouble just to bring us here to die. So, later, you should ask him what his plans are," Qiu Yanxi whispered a few words in her daughter's ear.
"Sure."
*
*
*
Yu Hong dug out some anti-inflammatory medicine he had reinforced, cut it in half with a knife, then walked to the wooden door.
He opened the barrier and observed the mother and daughter in the yard.
Their well-being was crucial to the energy he could acquire later, so he had to take good care of them.
To be honest, Wei Shanshan was indeed adorable, tempting one to playfully bully her.
If it were peacetime, Yu Hong might even entertain some thoughts typical of men.
But in times like this, with danger constantly approaching, he would kick away anyone who dared to become a burden.
He checked the sky; it was nearly dark now.
With the medicine in hand, he quickly entered the small yard and approached the wooden hut.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it?!" Qiu Yanxi’s cautious voice came from inside.
"It’s me. Don’t worry, you can stay here safely. I’ve set up some defenses around the yard. There’s no need to worry about insects tonight. Also, I’ll leave the medicine on the ground outside the door for you to take. The instructions are included," Yu Hong paused, "Please don’t wander around the yard. There’s a high level of negative energy to drive off insects. Only the location of your hut is safe."
He had specifically removed the radiating grass from around the hut to mitigate radiation.
Now, with the formation in place, the radiation was contained, making this small area virtually harmless to the body.
"Understood. Thank you," Qiu Yanxi replied in a low voice.
"Good, I’ll head back now. If anything comes up, you can find me in the daytime. One protein bar for each of you per day is enough. Don't overeat. I'll keep bringing water and candles to leave at your doorstep daily," Yu Hong quickly added before turning to go, cautious to avoid spreading any sickness.
It was almost dark, and it was time for his training.
"Please wait," Qiu Yanxi suddenly called out.
"May I ask... are we completely forbidden from leaving the wooden hut?"
"You can walk around the yard for a short while, but don’t leave the yard. It will become increasingly dangerous outside," Yu Hong replied after a brief pause.
The sudden waits in his responses had become a habit since that incident.
"Thank you very much for your arrangements. However..."
Qiu Yanxi hesitated.
"May I ask where we can... relieve ourselves?"
Yu Hong was momentarily taken aback as he had completely overlooked this detail.
He glanced around the yard, then stepped forward a few paces.
By the mud next to the wooden hut, he found an empty patch without radiating grass and began to dig rapidly with his hands.
Within minutes, he had excavated a pit about one and a half meters wide and half a meter deep. “There’s a pit next to your hut where you can use it,” he said contentedly as he surveyed his handiwork.
"Alright," Qiu Yanxi agreed.
Satisfied that the two were fine, Yu Hong returned to his safe house and quickly lit the fireplace.
Before long, night had fallen, the sky black as ink with no stars or moon in sight.
Faint sounds of crawling insects could be heard from the woods; they started out sparse but soon grew louder and more numerous.
After taking her medicine, the two women huddled together in the wooden hut, terrified of any insects creeping through the door cracks.
But after waiting a long while, no insects attacked the hut at all.
This began to build their trust in Yu Hong’s earlier words.
Once they confirmed that no insects approached, their fear gradually eased, and they eventually drifted into a restless sleep.
Time passed, and Wei Shanshan woke up, noticing a soft white light seeping through the door crack.
Daylight must be breaking.
She glanced at her sleeping mother, approached the door, and looked outside through the gap.
"!!?"
Outside in the yard, tiny grass blades emitted a gentle white glow, resembling a carpet of light.
Yet, outside the yard, numerous black insects flowed like a tide along the walls, not coming any closer, as if the yard were a forbidden zone.
Wei Shanshan stared in shock at the scene before her.
It reminded her of sights seen in the city but with walls painted in a light-repelling substance.
Did this place employ a similarly expensive coating as well?
‘What kind of person is Mr. Yu, exactly!?’ A surge of curiosity filled her heart at that moment.
*
*
*
"This cannot go on."
Unlike Wei Shanshan, Yu Hong was also observing the situation outside from within the safe house.
Positioned higher, he could see much farther into the distance.
Outside the yard wall, in the darkness, huge shadows resembling rhinos gradually passed by.
These were the large ticks and blood ticks—but that alone didn’t alarm Yu Hong.
The key point was, farther away, a tick the size of an elephant was silently weaving through the trees.
Strangely, this massive tick appeared almost ethereal, presenting a half-illusion state.
Occasionally, when its body touched a tree, it would not veer but instead pass right through, as if the two entities could not collide.
This elephant-sized tick was moving past the yard, but unlike the others, it slowed down and paused, inching a bit closer.
A faint hissing sound emerged from the giant creature as it approached the yard wall.
Its body seemed to shimmer like smoke, passing through the wall.
At the moment it entered the yard, as if receiving an electric shock, it quickly pulled back.
This repeated three times before the elephant tick finally gave up, leaving the yard leisurely and moving toward another direction.
Yu Hong's expression shifted slightly; he recognized that it was headed toward Baiqiu Village!
‘Thank goodness the formation is complete.
Otherwise, I don’t know if this main door would hold against it.’
The formation's massive negative energy clearly drove away the elephant tick, leading it to finally depart.
Had they been in an environment with merely hundreds of points of negative energy, Yu Hong would likely have been unable to repel such a powerful creature.
At this moment, Yu Hong felt immense relief regarding his decision.
Without the formation, he would have had to heavily expend his reserves of runes to fend off the tide of insects.
As he watched the elephant tick leave, he pulled out an enhanced negative energy detector and switched it on.
With a beep, the LCD screen displayed: -0.124.
‘Thank goodness.
I’m outside the formation's range, and detecting negative energy at the perimeter indicates that the formation’s reserves haven’t been exhausted; it will gradually recover over time.’
Yu Hong relaxed, observing for a bit longer at the door, finding no second elephant tick before heading back to his sleeping bag to rest.
A quiet night passed.
The next morning, he woke up on schedule, starting his daily exercises.
As his strength surged, he could no longer train inside the cave—any careless move could result in unnecessary damage.
So he switched to training in the newly opened basement.
Inside the softly glowing green-lit basement, he donned the heaviest reinforced white bear armor, then picked up his giant wooden shield and spiked club, ready for the second tier of training.
The second tier consisted of just one move: a side grab kick.
This maneuver required close proximity to the opponent; one would grab their arm and kick sideways.
Since there was no one to practice with, Yu Hong could only train solo.
Under the immense weight, he thought for a moment before setting down the spiked club, thrusting both hands forward as if grabbing hold of something, then pulling it back before delivering a kick.
The entire sequence comprised three steps: grab, pull, kick.
Coupling it with a unique visualization technique, Yu Hong gradually honed his practice over time, increasing his speed.
As the repetitions piled up, a mysterious flow of energy began to sneak into his body, transforming into countless granules that converged toward his dantian in his abdomen.
During this process, Yu Hong felt his body warming up, growing gradually stronger.
Whether it was an illusion or reality, the sensation of clearly feeling himself grow stronger was captivating.
After approximately an hour, he felt utterly exhausted, having consumed all his energy, and finally stopped.
He sank down to the ground, breathing heavily to recover his strength.
Taking advantage of the rest, he began to rethink how he could develop a technique to counter strange shadows and evil phantoms.
(End of Chapter)