The Fire Spring was surrounded by stones, with mist rising up, making it stand out brightly in this dark world.
Qin Ming crouched down and fished out a glowing stone from the pool. It was smoother than red coral and radiated light all around.
The sun stones used by everyone came from the Fire Spring. After the stones extinguished, they could be returned here, and after some time, they would return to their original state.
The pool glowed with a fiery red light, bright like lava, but it was not as hot as a person's skin.
The water in the pool shimmered, and the flames danced. It was neither real fire nor spring water, but a very special substance.
Now, with no daylight, only the shallow night and deep night existed.
In this era, the Fire Spring was especially important.
Whether it was mutated grains like silver wheat or ordinary crops like sweet potatoes, all plants needed the Fire Spring's nourishment to grow.
Moreover, if people didn't see the Fire Spring for a long time, they would feel unwell.
It could be said that it was the foundation of survival for the people.
In this world without daylight, the seasons could still be divided.
Spring and summer were the active periods for the Fire Spring, gushing forth to meet the needs of farming.
Winter was its dormant period. For example, in Shuangshu Village, although the pool still glowed, it could only be used to nourish sun stones for lighting.
Overall, in this age without daylight, people lived by "chasing fire."
The Fire Spring stood out in the dark, naturally attracting the attention of various creatures lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, they all had their own territories, so most of the time, a balance could be maintained.
Shuangshu Village was short on food, mainly because a flock of strange birds had attacked during the harvest season. When their beaks touched the wheat, it was like a scythe cutting through, leaving behind bare stalks.
There had also been ant disasters and some human factors, leading to a near starvation situation in winter.
Now it was shallow night, the darkness was relatively light, and occasionally, "earthlight" rose in the distance, faintly revealing the outlines of the dense forest.
In deep night, nothing could be seen; everything fell silent, and the darkness was eerie.
Qin Ming wondered when he could go out and solve the serious food shortage.
He gazed into the wild, which was very dark, and he couldn't see anything in the distance. The snow had long covered up to his chest, making survival conditions quite harsh.
At the village entrance, the Fire Spring illuminated a bright area.
A cold wind blew, and the fire pool, about six feet square, sparkled. The black and white trees in the pool shook off the accumulated snowflakes, which danced in the fiery glow.
The leaves of the two trees had a jade-like texture and were not afraid of the cold. However, aside from keeping mosquitoes away in summer, they were not very useful.
Qin Ming felt the cold snowflakes falling on his neck and snapped back to reality. He realized he needed to take care of his health; it was very dangerous outside.
He retraced his steps, passing by houses with flickering lights, while the wild behind him was pitch black, everything withered like a giant beast ready to swallow everything.
In the courtyard, Qin Ming practiced various specific movements, very skillfully and fluidly, as this had almost become instinct after years of practice.
After a long time, he felt sweat on his forehead and warmth spreading through his body, so he finally stopped.
He went into the room and took out a small crystal bottle, only as long as his thumb, delicately carved, transparent and exquisite, containing a blue liquid with ice crystals.
He carefully held it up to the light of the sun stone.
The small bottle was engraved with two characters: mineral essence.
The liquid inside was a mesmerizing blue, swirling gently when shaken, giving off a dreamy feel.
Qin Ming restrained his impulse and didn't open the bottle because he had just recovered from a serious illness, and using the blue liquid would do more harm than good.
He had obtained this in a dangerous area of the mountains, and before that, he had only heard of "mineral essence" but had never come into contact with such a precious substance.
Using it when the body is in its best state can improve health and boost energy.
After escaping from the mountains, he had fallen seriously ill and never had the chance to try it.
"Maybe in a few days, I can use it," Qin Ming said as he put the carefully crafted crystal bottle away.
The cold wind blew, and a few snowflakes drifted down.
Qin Ming lived alone; the quiet courtyard felt very empty and even a bit desolate.
He had gotten used to it.
As time passed, the night deepened, and shallow night was coming to an end.
Lu Ze arrived, accompanied by a boy about five years old. Though bundled up tightly, his little face was still red from the cold.
"Wen Rui has grown a bit taller," Qin Ming noted, gesturing to the boy's height.
"Uncle, are you feeling better?" Lu Wen Rui asked with concern, looking up with big, clear eyes, the age of innocence and cuteness.
Qin Ming smiled and replied, "I'm fine now. In a few days, I'll help you catch the 'Yuqiao' you've been wanting."
"The talking Yuqiao? Really? That's great!" Little Wen Rui's eyes sparkled with joy upon hearing this.
"Things outside have been strange lately," Lu Ze said, handing Qin Ming a food box and advising him not to rush outside.
Although the rock rice was relatively coarse and hard, Qin Ming still found it appetizing. With only two meals a day, he was truly hungry. Surprisingly, there were a few red dates in the rock rice, which were soft, smooth, and sweet.
Qin Ming noticed Little Wen Rui staring at the food, swallowing hard.
Feeling guilty, he crouched down and asked, "Wen Rui, tell Uncle, are you still hungry?"
Lu Ze shook his head. "Not at all; he must be looking at the red dates."
Qin Ming immediately picked out a few red dates and offered them to the pretty and simple little boy.
Lu Ze stopped him, saying, "These are specially put in by your aunt to help you regain your strength; don't give them to him."
At that moment, Liang Wanqing also arrived and looked at Wen Rui. "Your Uncle Qin is weak right now and doesn't have meat or tonics; don’t be tempted."
She had a good heart and initially thought Qin Ming wouldn't survive like the other three villagers, so helping him seemed pointless, leading to arguments with her husband. Now seeing him starting to recover, no longer in a daze, Liang Wanqing, even knowing her family's food supplies were running low, still wanted to help.
Little Wen Rui nodded obediently, blinking his big eyes. "Uncle, you eat quickly, get better soon; I'm not hungry anymore."
Qin Ming couldn't possibly eat, insisting on feeding the dates to Little Wen Rui, feeling quite uncomfortable inside. He really needed to venture into the dense forest soon.
He was grateful to the couple but didn't say much in thanks, just asked them about the current situation outside.
Liang Wanqing sat down to chat for a while before leaving, as she had a two-year-old child at home to care for.
"Recently, there have been huge creatures roaming in the dense forest, causing some casualties..." Lu Ze informed him that it was not safe to act alone right now; the outside was very dangerous.
Qin Ming nodded, listening carefully.
He wasn't sure if it was due to the blizzard or the mountain beasts struggling to find food, but there was a lot of noise outside.
Especially in the area where he had caught the strange illness, there had once been pupils brighter than sun stones piercing through the darkness of the mountains, leading to an instant silence in the forest.
Hearing this, Qin Ming couldn't help but recall the dangerous experience from a month ago.
That day, in the pitch-black forest, he and three companions suddenly stepped into a void and fell into a crevice.
The underground was quite unusual; after the extreme darkness came blinding light, causing pain in his eyes and tears to flow.
What made him most uneasy was that his heart began to beat excessively, like a drum pounding fiercely, the strong sound echoing outside his chest.
Recalling this moment still sent shivers down his spine.
At that moment, he couldn't move, his blood flowing faster, and in a daze, he heard the sound of a waterfall.
Qin Ming thought he would die, feeling like his heart might burst.
Soon, the depths of the crevice were not so dazzling. He saw strands of silver light, like silk or spiderwebs, intertwining, disorienting him and making him lose his sense of space.
At that time, Qin Ming felt dizzy, while the other companions had passed out.
It wasn't until the silver light suddenly disappeared, plunging everything into complete darkness, that Qin Ming's heartbeat gradually returned to normal, and he could move his body. He pulled the three companions out of the crevice, and it took a long time for them to wake up.
During this time, he also discovered several corpses nearby, dressed well, and clearly had not been dead for long.
Following the principle of not wasting, he quickly checked, and it was then that he found the crystal bottle containing the blue liquid.
Qin Ming had not mentioned the bottle to Lu Ze because the deceased looked like they had some background, and he was afraid of causing trouble.
There were many fierce beasts in the mountains, and he figured that nothing would be left there; all traces would be erased.
On the way back to the village, Qin Ming and his companions gradually felt unwell, stumbling as they walked, their consciousness beginning to fade.
The three companions died the same day they returned, their bodies turning black, while Qin Ming took a month to recover.
After eating the coarse rice, Qin Ming and Lu Ze talked for a long time.
Wen Rui was very understanding, quietly listening nearby.
Then, the atmosphere lightened up, and Qin Ming looked at the slightly shy boy, saying, "Wen Rui, once Uncle is better, I'll make sure you have plenty of dates and hazelnuts."
"Will there be meat? I... haven't had any in a long time," Little Wen Rui said softly, swallowing again, as if remembering the taste from before, his little red face full of hope.
"There will be!" Qin Ming affectionately ruffled his hair.
As the night deepened, Lu Ze stood up to leave with Wen Rui.
Inside the room, the light from the sun stone in the copper basin dimmed.
Qin Ming closed his eyes and sat quietly, visualizing himself and practicing various specific movements, training his focus until he emptied his mind.
When he opened his eyes, he vaguely saw a faint silver light flash and disappear.
"Was that an illusion?" Qin Ming was taken aback.
Although it was just a quick glance, he was sure he hadn't misseen; there was indeed a very faint silver ripple that had briefly appeared on his skin before vanishing.
He had been practicing this special training method for many years, but there had never been any "movement" until today!
Qin Ming noticed a layer of fine sweat forming on his body, as if he had gone through intense exercise, but he felt invigorated.
He stepped outside, his gaze shining, showcasing a series of specific movements with his body.
He was very focused, and soon his body began to warm up, a vibrant energy expanding within him, like a light rain falling on a long-dry desert.
After a long time, Qin Ming was drenched in sweat, white mist rising from his head, feeling extremely comfortable, as if the last remnants of illness had been expelled with all the sweat.
When he finally felt tired and stopped this special training, he distinctly saw a very faint silver light emerge from his skin, only to quickly dissipate.
"It really is different now." This time he saw clearly.
Qin Ming felt a sense of fulfillment, and a genuine warmth was flowing within him, slowly nourishing his entire body, making his spirit feel increasingly strong.
After a short rest, he wanted to practice those specific movements again, but his stomach growled, and hunger struck, even though he had already eaten dinner.
Qin Ming immediately stopped, not daring to expend any more energy; he couldn't bear to ask Lu Ze for food again.
He was soaked all over, his clothes completely drenched in sweat, so he went to boil water to wash up.
Looking at his reflection in the basin, his once pale face now had color, and he murmured to himself, "I’m almost recovered; I’ll set off tomorrow morning."
He didn't want to burden anyone and wanted to solve the food problem as soon as possible once he could move.
Qin Ming returned the extinguished sun stone to the Fire Spring, taking only a small piece to light his way back.
The lights in the houses gradually dimmed, and the entire village was swallowed by darkness.
The cold winter night brought strong winds, swirling the snow outside into a white blanket, much of it falling into the village and burying many courtyards.
"I'm so hungry!" Even before bedtime, Qin Ming couldn't stand it anymore; it felt like his stomach was on fire. Forget about delicacies; he would have eaten a gopher if it were in front of him.
Unfortunately, in such times, the village's burrows were deserted.
Qin Ming tried to convince himself to sleep early, but he was too anxious from hunger to do so.
He forced himself to shift his focus to pleasant thoughts, like the blurry faces of a few people in his mind.
Then he thought of his special training method, which had indeed changed, beginning to show signs of "movement," causing faint silver ripples to appear on his skin. This made him quite excited about what changes might come next.
His thoughts drifted to the sweet berries covered in ice and snow in the dense forest, and the golden, shiny lamb legs roasting over a campfire.
"I've crossed the line; how can I think of these things!" He quickly pinched himself.
He decided to set out as soon as shallow night arrived, all to quickly fulfill Little Wen Rui's wishes, and then he couldn't help but swallow again.
With a longing for food, Qin Ming finally slowly drifted off to sleep.