Danger III (Thanks to Explosive Update Idol for the Silver)

Danger III (Thanks to Explosive Update Idol for the Silver)

Day broke.

Bright sunlight seemed to have been fast-forwarded, swiftly changing from dimness into brilliance, even becoming somewhat glaring.

Yu Hong watched the scene before him in a daze. His consciousness was muddled, and his body grew increasingly feverish.

He had already been weak, and after staying awake all night, his constitution had become even worse.

Now that he had discovered it was safe, he finally lost control and collapsed onto the ground on his side.

"Are you okay?" Little Stutterer blew out the candle and was carefully putting it back in the corner with the miscellaneous items. When she turned around and saw Yu Hong lying on the floor, she was immediately startled and rushed over.

Discovering that Yu Hong's body was burning hot, she immediately went to scoop up some water, filtered it, and hurriedly poured it into his mouth.

After feeding him water, she went to find medicine. She had gotten a little more medicine from Doctor Xu, and quickly stuffed it all into Yu Hong's mouth.

Yu Hong could sense Little Stutterer helping him, but his body no longer had any strength.

He felt Little Stutterer lift him around the waist and place him on the bed, then find a used White Stone and put it on his forehead to cool him down.

The White Stone was icy cold and began absorbing the intense heat in large amounts. Yu Hong felt much better.

Once he felt a little more comfortable, Yu Hong finally could not hold on any longer and drifted into another muddled sleep.

This time, he slept so deeply that he lost all awareness of time.

In a haze, after who knew how long, he gradually regained a little sensation from the murk.

"It's the fourth day now. His fever has already gone down, so he doesn't need medicine anymore." That was Doctor Xu's voice. She seemed to be standing by the bed, reaching out to touch Yu Hong's forehead.

The faint touch made him itch a little, but his body was too weak for him to raise a hand and scratch it. He could only let the feeling fade on its own.

"Eat... one more... dose!" Little Stutterer's voice came in broken fragments.

"There's no need. You've already traded away everything you could trade. You don't have anything worthwhile left. The Post Office hasn't received supplies in a long time, and I don't have much anti-inflammatory medicine left either." Doctor Xu refused.

"Eat... more!" Little Stutterer said firmly. "Back then... you... too!"

Hearing that, Doctor Xu fell silent for a moment.

"That's true. If it hadn't been for you, I'd have died by the roadside long ago. The monsters would probably have gnawed even my bones clean. Fine, I'll trade you medicine one more time. This is the last time!"

"Okay! I'll give you food!"

Next came rustling sounds.

"This isn't enough, according to the previous exchange rate," Doctor Xu said helplessly.

"I still have more!"

"Forget it, forget it. This will do. It's the last time anyway. Really, stop saving people. We can barely look after ourselves anymore." Doctor Xu sighed.

"Thank... you," Little Stutterer said gratefully.

"Alright, I'm leaving. I'm going to check on Lao Yu. Don't see me out." As Doctor Xu spoke, her footsteps gradually faded away, followed by the sound of the door closing. The house fell quiet.

Yu Hong weakly opened his eyes slowly. Right beside the bed on his right was Little Stutterer's dark, filthy, ugly face. She held a wooden bowl containing some black paste of unknown origin.

She was scooping up some of the paste with a spoon in one hand and stuffing it into Yu Hong's mouth.

Yu Hong did not resist anymore. With a blank expression and a yellowish face, he lay against a raised pillow and drank the paste spoonful by spoonful.

One fed while the other drank, and before they knew it, the entire bowl of paste was gone.

Yu Hong licked his lips. For some reason, he actually found the paste rather fragrant.

"Is there any more?" he could not help asking.

"Yes, yes!" When Little Stutterer saw him speaking, pure delight immediately shone in her bright eyes.

She got up and rummaged around nearby again. Soon, she produced another bowl of black paste, sat beside the bed, and fed it to Yu Hong.

But the paste seemed to be too low in calories. Or perhaps Yu Hong had gone too long without food and was too weak. Even after finishing it, he was still a little hungry, so he asked again.

Little Stutterer happily made him another bowl.

After this bowl, Yu Hong was finally half full. The icy black paste made his stomach feel much better.

His body had also regained quite a bit of strength.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked Little Stutterer.

"Four days." Little Stutterer held up four fingers. She even smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Thank you." Yu Hong looked at her and thanked her seriously.

He knew that if she had not cared for him, he would probably have died from illness while unconscious.

And looking at the bizarre, dangerous environment outside, if no one looked after him here, he probably would not survive even a day on his own.

This debt of kindness was far too weighty for mere verbal thanks, but that was fine. He would have a chance to repay her in the future.

He did not believe that a normal man with a sound mind like himself, if he truly put his mind to it, would be inferior to a disabled girl like Little Stutterer.

"It's... nothing," Little Stutterer said with a smile.

She happily stood up and tried to get Yu Hong some water, but after scraping at the small vat for ages, she still could not gather even a small cupful.

"I'll go... bring water... from the well." Little Stutterer returned to the bedside and laboriously explained to Yu Hong.

"I'll be... back soon!"

"You mustn't... open the door... or windows! No matter who... knocks, don't... open them!" Little Stutterer instructed him with extreme seriousness.

"Okay! I understand." Yu Hong nodded seriously as well.

Having received his answer, Little Stutterer nodded, grabbed the water vat, and rushed out.

The door closed, and a thick moldy smell drifted through the air, making Yu Hong feel uncomfortable.

But he remembered Little Stutterer's warning. Breathing in a little mold was still better than being killed by whatever dangerous things were outside.

More importantly, he still remembered the White Stone he had tucked into his pocket before falling asleep.

Now, a trace of curiosity, anticipation, and unease rose in his heart.

He reached into his pocket and felt around. Soon, he grasped the White Stone and slowly pulled it out.

Holding the stone in his palm, Yu Hong examined it carefully.

The White Stone had changed.

The part of the stone that had turned black had now returned to pure white once again.

It looked entirely like a piece of jade.

Its surface seemed to have gained a faint jade-like sheen.

Even the Red Symbol in its center had become neater and more intricate, its strokes strong and forceful.

This is... Yu Hong's heart stirred. To confirm his suspicion, he got up and searched through a bag in the corner with the miscellaneous items, finding an unused White Stone belonging to Little Stutterer.

When the two White Stones were compared, the difference was immediately obvious.

The strengthened White Stone in his hand clearly looked far more advanced than the other one.

The Red Symbol drawn on it was also much more complex. They were completely different patterns. It seemed that during the strengthening process, even the Red Symbol had been strengthened along with it.

This kind of strengthening... why does it feel a little like an upgraded version? Questions arose one after another in Yu Hong's mind.

After comparing them, he carefully put away the strengthened White Stone and returned to sit by the bed.

The burning fever had disappeared, but his strength was still lacking. Even moving around a little made him dizzy and lightheaded.

The wound on his back had gone numb. He did not know whether it had worsened or was healing, and without a mirror, he could not see it himself.

He reached back to touch it and could only feel the bandages.

Clearly, Little Stutterer or Doctor Xu had treated it for him.

Knock, knock, knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Yu Hong raised his head and called out.

"It's me, Doctor Xu. Is Yi Yi there?"

A somewhat familiar middle-aged woman's voice came from outside.

"She's not here," Yu Hong replied.

"I came to bring her medicine. I left it on the ground outside the door. Remember to take it, and when she comes back, remember to tell her," Doctor Xu said.

"Okay."

Yu Hong answered.

Soon, faint footsteps outside receded, and everything returned to stillness.

Yu Hong let out a breath, braced himself against the bedframe, and stood up, slowly making his way toward the door.

The medicine had been left on the ground outside. It would be terrible if someone took it. From what he had learned before, medicine was far more important here than he had imagined.

So he had to bring it inside quickly.

He slowly shuffled forward, step by step, until he reached the door and extended his hand to grip the handle.

Click.

The handle turned halfway.

Yu Hong suddenly stopped.

He remembered what Little Stutterer had said before leaving: absolutely do not open the door!!

Immediately, a trace of wariness rose in his heart. He lowered his head and looked toward the gap beneath the door.

It was daytime now, and the sunlight was bright. Light also shone through the gap beneath the door.

But that single glance made Yu Hong's entire body go numb.

Outside the gap beneath the door stood a figure, right outside the door! The light was blocked by the figure, casting a faint shadow.

It was precisely that shadow that allowed Yu Hong to determine that the other party was standing outside, separated from him by only one door panel.

It simply stood there silently and soundlessly outside the door.

It... seemed to be waiting for him to open the door!!

Something's wrong!

With his scalp tingling, Yu Hong slowly released the handle and backed away.

Step by step, he kept retreating.

Only when he had reached the center of the room did he put his hand into his pocket and grip the strengthened White Stone.

He had almost been fooled!!

That voice—the voice just now had sounded exactly like Doctor Xu!!

What the hell!!

Yu Hong's heart was filled with panic. An indescribable sense of suffocation clogged his throat so tightly that he could barely make a sound.

His chest felt stifled, terribly stifled.

His panic did not come only from being frightened by those unknown ghostly things. More than that, it came from the lingering fear of nearly being tricked into opening the door.

The lingering fear of his own near mistake.

His gaze remained fixed on the gap beneath the door, and he did not dare look away in the slightest.

Soon, perhaps realizing it had failed to deceive him, the figure outside silently moved to the right and left.

Just as quietly as it had appeared, the figure departed in utter silence, without the faintest sound of footsteps.

Only long after it had left did Yu Hong slowly begin to relax from his panic.

He panted heavily. Still not daring to open the door, he first quietly walked over to the window.

Through the gaps between the thick wooden boards nailed over it, he cautiously looked outside.

From the window, he could see the area outside the door at an angle.

He had gone outside once before, so he knew that beyond this house ran a gravel road.

The houses in this village were all located on either side of that gravel road.

The house he was in was one of them as well.

Now standing by the window, Yu Hong quietly slowed his breathing and peered outside through a crooked gap between the boards.

But the moment he looked out—

Outside the gap, Doctor Xu's face was staring at him expressionlessly.

She was actually standing at the window too, watching him as he secretly peered outside through the gap!!