"Not everything is built by myself. I plan to use wood to assist in the construction, but the main material will still be stone. Since stone bricks are hard to find, the only solution is to look for natural caves," Yu Hong explained.

"Oh," said Xiao Jiebab, who didn't quite understand but felt that Yu Hong's confident expression meant he was quite capable.

"I help, you!" she declared, patting her chest.

"I know. A hunting cave!"

"Hunting cave?" Yu Hong's eyes lit up.

He had long had enough of staying with Xiao Jiebab.

It wasn’t just that safety couldn’t be guaranteed; the key was that he couldn’t casually test his black seal to determine its true effects.

Touching the third piece of enhanced white stone in his pocket, which was actually enhanced bright stone, Yu Hong made a swift decision.

"Can you take me to see it?"

He urgently needed a solitary place to test the specific effects of the black seal.

He was thinking about what might happen if he reinforced the door and wall.

Would it change in some way? The bright stone could be enhanced into a material similar to jade, and the effects seemed to be stronger; what about the others?

Immediately, Xiao Jiebab set down what she was carrying, left it in the house, and led Yu Hong away, but instead of taking the old road, they found a winding path through the forest in the opposite direction.

After several days of rest, Yu Hong's physical strength had recovered somewhat.

Because of his improved health, he hadn’t encountered many spectral shadows during the day, which made him start to believe Xiao Jiebab and Dr. Xu’s words.

In the eerily quiet forest, the two made their way forward, stepping unevenly as they crossed a large sloped area and reached the bottom.

Xiao Jiebab looked around and seemed to find something by a tree hollow.

She walked over and touched some carvings around the edge.

"It’s right here," she said seriously.

Before Yu Hong could ask, she raised her hand and pointed toward the distance on the right.

Yu Hong was taken aback and followed her finger's direction.

There, a gray rock wall could be seen faintly through the trees, and in the middle of the wall, hanging in midair, was a dark cave.

The entrance to the cave was at least two or three meters off the ground, but some indentations had been dug out to form steps.

Yu Hong glanced at Xiao Jiebab, who was already starting to dig for vegetables around them, and he held the enhanced bright stone as he approached.

Soon, he stood beneath the rock wall, carefully examining the cave entrance.

It was taller than two people and wider than one, not too deep inside, as sunlight from outside illuminated the bottom.

At the bottom, there were various items haphazardly strewn about, including some unknown animal hides.

"Are there animals here?" Yu Hong couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, but few," Xiao Jiebab replied as she joined him.

"In the past, many black disasters came, so now there are fewer."

Yu Hong nodded and began to climb up the indentations into the cave.

The entire cave was only a little over five meters deep, but it was somewhat larger inside, about three meters wide—just enough for one person to rest.

The ground inside was quite dry and lacked any musty smell, which was clearly related to the type of rock here.

Yu Hong pondered for a moment.

Compared to Xiao Jiebab's house, this place was obviously much more comfortable; at least it was free from mold that could affect his lungs, allowing for a longer life.

Most importantly, that White Hill Village felt somewhat sinister to him.

He often sensed that the many spectral shadows he encountered during the day were likely linked to the village’s environment.

Why else would so many villagers be unwilling to continue living there, despite the many houses available?

"By the way, Yi Yi, how many villagers are still in contact with you?" Yu Hong asked, familiarizing himself with the situation over the past few days.

From the pamphlets and what Xiao Jiebab had told him, he learned that many villagers from White Hill lived nearby in the forest, either building their own homes or digging cellars to hide in.

A few had left for the nearest town, including several whom Xiao Jiebab had rescued.

Xiao Jiebab, having entered the cave, counted on her fingers.

"Around four left."

"Excluding us," she added.

"Okay, got it," Yu Hong nodded.

He took out the tape measure he had prepared, a leftover from Xiao Jiebab's house, and measured the cave entrance.

Afterward, he climbed down to examine the surrounding environment.

"Can I stay here?" he asked Xiao Jiebab.

"Yes, no one is around," she replied, nodding vigorously.

Feeling satisfied, Yu Hong considered that this place was too dangerous.

In truth, he wanted to live with Xiao Jiebab, but the danger posed by the spectral shadows was too great, as they could disguise themselves very well and were hard to defend against.

Moreover, Xiao Jiebab's living conditions were too poor and dirty, which could lead to chronic illnesses.

And he had to keep the existence of the black seal enhancements a secret.

These three points combined made him eager to find a suitable place to live alone.

And this cave was one of the best options.

However, gathering living supplies and designing a renovation plan would take quite some time.

After all, moving into solitary living meant he would initially rely solely on stored food.

The cave also lacked a proper door, and he needed to set up a chimney and fire pit.

Having decided on his future residence, Yu Hong began gathering materials in the woods with Xiao Jiebab’s tools.

He had no idea what kind of wood would be best for the door but knew it needed to be hard and sturdy.

Over the next few days, Yu Hong continually designed the structure of his cave, the door, various furniture, and started selecting materials.

Before long, he chose a solid dead tree that was dry enough to resist moisture.

Then he began to chop it down.

His weak body and tired arms meant that after just one day of work, he returned with sore arms and couldn’t move the next day.

Then...

Bang.

Crack.

Xiao Jiebab swung her axe, watching as the tree, thick as a thigh, slowly broke and fell.

"Need more?"

She turned back, looking at the complex expression on Yu Hong's face, asking earnestly.

"Enough," Yu Hong said, shaking his head.

“Let’s go."

Approaching, he started using his knife to strip away the branches, selecting the straight portions of the trunk, then cutting it to the approximate length needed for the cave's entrance.

Although he had been an ordinary office worker before coming here, he had done a bit of woodworking back in the countryside.

Although not highly skilled, he was somewhat familiar with the basic steps.

Xiao Jiebab watched from the side, her curiosity prompting her to come over and help.

Before long, darkness fell.

The two of them left their tools behind and returned to their house to rest for the next day.

After a quiet night, they ate, and the two returned to the cave to continue the previous day’s tasks.

Xiao Jiebab, having eaten too quickly, was soon out of food, so she invited Dr. Xu to come along with her to buy more from Old Yu.

She helped with the dry tree, and after a short while, she saw Dr. Xu approaching from the forest.

Excited, she stood up and waved.

"Xu! Over here!"

Dr. Xu slowly approached, and upon seeing Yu Hong, frowned.

“Didn’t you just get food? I was wondering why it was gone again; turns out there's an extra person.” Her tone was far from pleasant.

“Yu Hong is very capable!” Xiao Jiebab quickly gestured, “He’s making a better house. Safer than my house!” She clearly supported Yu Hong by defending him.

“Alright, let’s not talk about that. Let’s hurry up and go; the sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll be back.” Dr. Xu glanced at Yu Hong, who seemed ready to stand up and greet them, so she moved a few steps closer to look at him.

“What are your plans?” In recent days, she had occasionally chatted with Xiao Jiebab and learned that Yu Hong was constantly absorbed in his own work.

He relied entirely on Xiao Jiebab for food, doubling her burden.

Everyone was barely getting by, and now another young man needed extra food.

“I plan to build a safe house. Right now, I’m temporarily relying on Yi Yi for supplies, but believe me, I’ll be moving out soon. I remember everything Yi Yi has done for me. Once I stabilize, I will repay her!” Yu Hong recognized her intentions.

After finishing his speech, he noticed her expression soften a little and continued.

“Once I build a safer place, I can also help Yi Yi build a better one! Her house isn’t safe at all. What if she encounters a bigger problem? She won’t be able to withstand it! At that time, she would understand how good the safe house is.”

“Do as you like, but moving to a different place doesn’t guarantee it’ll be safer!” Dr. Xu clearly didn’t believe him. “Don’t burden Yi Yi.”

“Won’t happen!” Yu Hong said earnestly.

Dr. Xu stared at him for a moment before saying anything more, then left with Xiao Jiebab.

Yu Hong stood in the forest, watching them leave until they disappeared, then he looked up at the sky.

Bright sunlight filled him with a sense of security.

In such weather, even the spectral shadows wouldn’t dare to make an appearance.

After resting for a while, he continued to focus on cutting wooden boards with a saw.

The segments of wood that had been burned were cut into thick, long planks.

The burning surface was meant to prevent rot, killing off a few insects and their eggs, while removing excess moisture from the outside.

Once cut into planks, he could attach them using mortise and tenon joints to create a sturdy wooden door.

The mortise and tenon joint Yu Hong used was the simplest type—namely, drilling a hole in the cross-section of a thick plank.

Then he carved another thick plank to perfectly fit this hole, finally embedding the protrusion into the indentation, forming a complete mortise and tenon joint.

The greatest advantage of this structure was that no nails were needed.

Using splicing methods, Yu Hong painstakingly crafted thick, sturdy wooden boards bit by bit.

He didn’t carry over fully finished products but rather transported segment by segment like stacking blocks and assembled them at the cave entrance.

During this time, he constantly tested the effects of the black seal, enhancing one piece of bright stone after another.

As time passed, just as Yu Hong was about to adapt to the strange taste of the dried meat, the wooden door for the cave was finally completed.

In the morning, Yu Hong went to the cave mouth alone and affixed the final thick wooden board for the door.

The entire wooden door was fully finished, with a movable flap in the middle.

Its exterior was quite rugged.

It was constructed from parts taken from other houses in the village, combined with wood.

Besides this, the large nails used to join the wooden and stone areas were also sourced from those houses.

At this moment, the entire cave entrance was completely blocked by a thick gray-black wooden door.

Yu Hong stepped inside and placed a piece of enhanced white stone into a groove behind the door.

This was his method for preventing the spectral shadows from entering.

Since the bright stone could disperse spectral shadows, he wondered if placing it appropriately along the path the shadows moved would prevent them from entering.

(End of Chapter)