The Decision

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Watching as Stammering Yiyi stored away the dried goods, then picked up the small jar and walked outside.

Yu Hong hurriedly followed, he needed to learn where to get water.

The two walked out of the house, and to his surprise, Stammering Yiyi did not go to fetch water from that well in the village, but rather walked out onto the gravel road and headed along the old highway.

They walked for about ten minutes.

At the roadside, they found an abandoned well which was in a lower area.

The well was shallow, and in the light, you could see there was only a pool of deep yellow foul water at the bottom.

Without a word, Stammering Yiyi tied the jug with a rope and lowered it to draw water.

"Why not get water from the well in the village?" Yu Hong asked softly.

"That's... not... drinkable!" Stammering Yiyi answered seriously.

She looked up at him while drawing water.

"In the future, water, come, here!" she pointed to the well in front of them.

"...." Yu Hong nodded. Lowering his head as he watched the foul water slowly being drawn from the well, his mood grew heavier.

He helped Stammering Yiyi seal the jug to prevent spillage.

They didn't head back but started looking for something in the nearby grass.

"Must, eat... grass!" Stammering Yiyi instructed him.

"Otherwise, illness! Will, die!" she gestured to explain.

Yu Hong nodded and began studying carefully which grasses she was digging up.

This was very valuable experience; eating the wrong thing could lead to poisoning or diarrhea, and in such a harsh environment, illness could very likely mean weakness and death.

After some gathering, the two carried a large bundle back to the house.

Stammering Yiyi laid the grass out to dry in the window.

Yu Hong meticulously recorded the experience he had learned with charcoal. He only noted the key points, in a simplified version, as long as he could understand it.

The recording medium was a newspaper sheet Stammering Yiyi had given him earlier.

"Is the jerky and dried mushrooms only available far away?" Yu Hong jotted it down and looked up to ask.

"Can... grow, oneself," Stammering Yiyi answered with effort, "but, not, worth it!"

Yu Hong nodded and noted it down.

He was about to ask more when suddenly a small notebook was handed to him.

The notebook had a white cover with a cartoon mouse image in the middle. Scrawled on it was: Survival Must-Have Handbook—Lin Yiyi.

Yu Hong paused, looked up, and saw Stammering Yiyi holding the notebook, grinning at him, showing her big yellow teeth.

"Thanks." He took the notebook and started flipping through it.

Inside, it carefully detailed how to fetch water, how to obtain food, basic characteristics and locations of wild vegetables.

The content wasn't much but was very detailed.

Additionally, it recorded several reachable villagers from Baiqiu Village and their corresponding contact methods.

Old Yu was the one who made jerky, Doctor Xu was in charge of treating illnesses, someone named Jenny was responsible for tanning and crafting, and someone else made candles. Besides, the residences of other villagers were marked out, but no names were included, obviously showing unfamiliarity.

Finally, there was a place called the post office, located in a forest north of Baiqiu Village.

"What does the post office do?" Yu Hong asked.

"Connect, city, town, purchase, salt... sugar... send, mail..." Stammering Yiyi spoke with difficulty.

She gestured animatedly.

"You... must, learn... a skill, with, people, exchange, goods..."

"I understand. I understand all this, but I think the most important thing to solve first is the security issue," Yu Hong stated earnestly.

"While you were away, there were twice that Disguisers came causing trouble... That's too dangerous..."

His mind raced with thoughts on how to utilize his unique Black Mark to ensure maximum safety.

"No... way...." Stammering Yiyi obviously had considered this point too, lowering her head somewhat dejectedly.

"shadow... no, thing, can, block. Bugs, as long as, there's, a gap, can, burrow."

"They, can pass, through walls!" she gestured.

Passing through walls??

Yu Hong fell silent, looking at the walls of the house, he was deep in thought.

*'This place is too rudimentary, the defense is too poor... filled with gaps and holes.*' He remembered that those black bugs previously entered through the door and window cracks, which meant, they likely couldn't pass through walls.

He asked Stammering Yiyi and received a confirmed response.

Then, after carefully inspecting the house, he quickly concluded that the house's defenses were extremely weak.

"I plan to go live outside alone. Find another place," he said softly. Alone, there was no need to worry about Disguisers, no one would open the door for them anyway.

Stammering Yiyi was taken aback.

She had saved quite a few people before, but these people were always eager to stick around her for a few more days to learn basic skills before leaving.

But this man in front of her... this man named Yu Hong, had just woken up and felt a bit better, yet he already wanted to live by himself?

Strange.

Strange man.

Stammering Yiyi blinked her eyes.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid, but your house's safety is too poor," Yu Hong had by now grasped the key information from the notebook about this place.

"The main threats are monster bugs and shadows. Although shadows can go through walls, ignoring obstructions, they can be dispelled with luminous stones.

Monster bugs can be blocked by doors and walls, as long as the gaps are sealed at critical moments. So, having enough luminous stones along with a well-sealed house means basic safety, right?"

Yu Hong analyzed calmly.

His earnest and serious expression left Stammering Yiyi stunned.

"How about trying it out? Block the gaps with things, shrink the holes, and see if bugs can get in? If they can, how big a gap is needed to let them in, then use that to make ventilation netting," Yu Hong asked.

"Also, how are luminous stones made? Can you teach me?" he asked earnestly.

Stammering Yiyi looked at him, unconsciously nodding in a daze.

At that moment, she seemed to see in him an extremely familiar and cherished figure from deep in her memories.

With things settled, the two immediately began preparations.

Stammering Yiyi rummaged out tools, hammers, saws, discarded wooden planks, long nails, axes, and various odds and ends.

Yu Hong, having just recovered from a major illness, his fever only just subsided, was still weak, so he directed Stammering Yiyi to do the work.

He found that Stammering Yiyi was very strong, even stronger than him in his normal state, and her physique was robust. For several days, as he took up the bed, she slept on the ground, without falling ill.

According to the notebook, the black bugs were officially named Blood Tide.

Though they were black bugs, for some reason they were named Blood Tide. But that was none of Yu Hong's concern; he just wanted to understand the specifics of the bugs and shadows as much as possible.

The two busied themselves throughout the entire day, and perhaps because of his improved health, there was no disturbance from shadows.

At night, there was also no attack from Blood Tide.

According to Stammering Yiyi, Blood Tide generally came once every three to five days. Each time, only enough light could fend off all the bugs.

Blood Tide relied on light, shadows feared luminous stones.

These were survival laws that the people here depended on.

The next day, the two continued with Yu Hong's ideas, sawing wooden strips to make temporary seals to thoroughly close the remaining gaps in the doors and windows.

The temporary seals could be opened during the day and closed at night.

The seals were simple, just an experiment by Yu Hong. The more he learned from Stammering Yiyi about the dangers and troubles here, the more he wanted to build a fortress to ensure his basic safety, or rather, a safe house.

And Stammering Yiyi's house was far from meeting the requirements.

Aside from the shadows and bugs, even the mold attached all over the corners and the filthy, enclosed air in the house could shorten the lifespan of those living here long-term.

Moreover, the water source was also a huge problem....

He felt that if he kept drinking that dirty water, he probably wouldn't live long either...

As night fell.

Inside the house, Stammering Yiyi and Yu Hong stood together, Stammering Yiyi's right hand held a candle high, the flickering light dispelling the vast darkness around.

Hiss...

The sound of tiny crawling bugs continuously came from outside the doors and windows, but due to the sealed strips which greatly reduced the size of the vents compared to before,

the black bugs couldn't get inside at all.

"It works!" Yu Hong's face lit up with joy, he hadn't expected his casual attempt to truly work.

Stammering Yiyi also giggled happily from the side.

Because she found that without black bugs getting inside, and even if there were, only a few stragglers managed to, they were quickly melted by the candlelight.

This way, candles consumed more slowly, reducing her frequent trips to the candle shop or spending much on this aspect.

This made her life much easier.

Just as they were feeling successful,

crack...

Suddenly a faint gnawing sound came from outside the wooden boards of the seals.

Both the sealed wooden boards in the gaps and the wooden door and windows began making the same gnawing sound.

"No good! These bugs can't get in, so they started gnawing at the doors and windows!!" Yu Hong suddenly realized.

He grabbed a wooden stick at hand, rushed to the wooden door, and with force knocked the seal at the bottom upwards.

Clatter!

With a muffled sound, a large number of black bugs poured in like a tide, heading straight for the two of them.

Hiss.

The black bugs, entering the candlelight, were quickly melted, evaporated, and dissipated without a trace.

But the candles also began to consume faster.

In the bright yellow candlelight, Yu Hong watched the scene, his previous joy slowly fading away.

"If they can't get in, will they gnaw the outer walls of the house?"

He finally understood why Stammering Yiyi's house, despite knowing there were black bugs, was never sealed by her parents.

"Failed... did it?" Stammering Yiyi cautiously asked from behind.

"Not a complete failure," Yu Hong shook his head.

A silent night.

Early the next morning,

Yu Hong went out of the village and into the woodland below the hill.

He circled around the trees in the woods, hammering on wood here and there.

Stammering Yiyi, having nothing else to do, began to gather the few medicinal herbs and pigments used for making ink that she recognized.

Her trade commodity was luminous stones engraved with symbols.

Stammering Yiyi's luminous stones with symbols, according to her, had greater effects than ordinary luminous stones.

The sunlight shone brightly, and as Stammering Yiyi gathered, she occasionally looked up at Yu Hong performing his enigmatic actions.

"What... are, you, doing?" After watching for a while, she couldn't help but ask.

"I'm selecting wood and site to build my own safe house," Yu Hong replied.

"Build, a house, by yourself?" Stammering Yiyi couldn't comprehend.

Could a self-built house be sturdier than a stone and brick house?

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