I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

The Ghost Object, which looked like an oversized maggot, was pinned to the ground by the Long Spear. It barely struggled before it went still, dying on the spot.

"Nice work!"

There was no time to dissect the corpse. Chen Fan pulled the remaining ropes, dragging the Beast Traps in from the darkness. They were all filled with the maggot-like Ghost Objects. Lame Monkey took up the Long Spear again, killing them one by one with remarkable efficiency.

Once he was finished, Chen Fan threw the now-empty Beast Traps back outside the camp. He then led Lame Monkey back into the Wooden House to hide, his eyes filled with anticipation as he stared into the deep darkness.

’Ghost Object activity seems unusually high tonight.’

After about three breaths, another hemp rope began to twitch.

Another one had taken the bait.

...

「Two hours later.」

Chen Fan stood bare-chested in the Wooden House. He took off his soaked, coarse-spun outer coat and wrung it out with both hands. Icy rainwater dripped to the floor. He hung the coat over the stove and let out a long sigh.

The past hour had been fruitful, with prey getting caught every so often.

But the number of Ghost Objects in the area seemed to be dwindling. It had been a while now, and not a single one had triggered a Beast Trap. This gave him a moment to get himself sorted and avoid catching a cold.

This Wooden House, built with two Ghost Stones, was different from the one at his main camp. It was much sturdier and had a larger footprint.

It was more than enough to provide shelter from the wind and cold.

Inside, several oil lamps were set into the walls for light. A stove sat in the center of the room to maintain the temperature. It didn’t need firewood; you only had to place a single Ghost Stone into a recess in the wall, and it would run for a full year.

Although it consumed a Ghost Stone, it lasted long enough to be far more economical than a Ghost Fire.

"Lame Monkey, you’ve studied more than I have. Do you know what kind of Ghost Object this is?"

"I’ve never seen it."

Lame Monkey frowned, thinking for a long moment before shaking his head. "I’ve never seen this kind of Ghost Object in the Ghost Object Atlas our teacher at the Private School had. He taught us to identify the common ones found in the Wilderness. Unless..."

"...this type of Ghost Object wasn’t in the Wilderness before and has only arrived recently. Or maybe they’re just so rare that they’re seldom seen."

"..."

Chen Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing more.

From the looks of it, these Ghost Objects didn’t seem to have any special qualities, aside from their disgusting appearance. They were practically powerless, among the weakest of their kind. But tonight’s operation did confirm one of his theories.

The Ghost Objects of the Wilderness might really have their own distinct territories.

The area around his main camp was the territory of the Monkey-headed Ghosts. After he’d wiped them out, no other Ghost Objects had appeared there for a while.

They waited for another hour.

Still, not a single Ghost Object triggered a trap. In a daze, the two of them lay down on the bed and gradually drifted off to sleep.

They slept until dawn.

Chen Fan groggily opened his eyes and pushed open the door to the Wooden House. A rush of cool, fresh air hit his face. The darkness had faded. Outside, the heavy rain showed no signs of letting up, DRUMMING against the ground and seeping into the cracked earth of the Wilderness, injecting it with a trace of life.

"Let’s go."

He glanced out into the yard, where Lame Monkey was already busy in the downpour. He didn’t know when the man had woken up, but he was already digging the Ghost Stones out of last night’s kills, putting them in a basket, and neatly stacking the Ghost Corpses on a handcart.

"Young Master, you’re awake."

Lame Monkey ran through the rain to the front of the Wooden House to report. "We killed a total of 47 Ghost Objects last night and dug out 47 Ghost Stones. They’re all in the basket. These Ghost Corpses can be brought back to camp for fertilizer, but the handcart is too small."

"So I stacked the corpses on the cart and tied them down with hemp rope. It’s much more secure this way."

"Good thinking."

"You really know how to stay busy."

Chen Fan glanced at the handcart piled high with Ghost Corpses. He took his now-dry clothes from above the stove and put them on, sighing in admiration. Having a subordinate like this really made things easy.

He didn’t have to say a word; Lame Monkey just got the work done on his own.

"Heh heh..." Lame Monkey scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "For us servants, it’s not having too much work we’re afraid of, it’s having no work at all."

"Let’s go. Time to head home."

...

The rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, and they couldn’t afford to wait for it to pass before heading back. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Lame Monkey pulled the handcart in the lead. Chen Fan walked behind, using one hand to steady the pile of Ghost Corpses that towered several meters high, preventing it from toppling over. Icy rainwater trickled down his neck, the sudden chill waking him completely.

The clothes that had just been dried were soaked through again within a few steps.

The rain was heavy, and the wind was strong.

Visibility was drastically reduced. If not for the Ghost Map to guide them, the two of them would have certainly gotten lost in the Wilderness, unable to find their way home. Before leaving, Chen Fan had added another Ghost Stone to the camp’s Ghost Fire to ensure it would keep burning.

The journey was long.

It had taken them two hours to get here yesterday. Today, with the heavy rain and pulling such a heavy cart, it took them nearly four hours to get back to their camp.

"Lame Monkey, thank you for your hard work."

Gazing through the downpour at the faint, blurry outline of the camp, Chen Fan patted Lame Monkey’s shoulder, feeling a bit guilty.

Making a lame man pull a cart for four hours... honestly, he felt bad about it. He had suggested they take turns, but he’d been exhausted after just a few steps. Despite Lame Monkey’s limp, his physical constitution was actually much better than Chen Fan’s.

So he had no choice but to let Lame Monkey pull the whole way.

"It’s nothing."

Lame Monkey wiped his rain-soaked face. He was panting heavily as he struggled through the storm, but he picked up his pace, pulling the cart toward the camp with a grin. "I don’t know why, but even though I was always by your side before, Young Master, I always felt lost about the future."

"Now, whenever I get close to the camp, it feels like I’m coming home."

"When I think about that, I don’t feel tired anymore."

"I actually feel full of energy."

As they talked, the camp came into clear view.

"Hm?"

Chen Fan spotted Wang Kui and two of his subordinates standing in the storm outside the camp. A flicker of confusion crossed his mind. His eyes narrowed slightly as he walked up to them, clasping his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. "Station Chief Wang," he said with a smile, "I was just out on some business, away from the station. What brings you here...?"

"..."

Standing in the storm, Wang Kui’s gaze went past Chen Fan and locked onto the cart piled high with Ghost Corpses. A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes. He stood stunned for a long moment before remembering the reason for his visit. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he spoke in a rushed tone.

"Station Chief Chen."

"This is urgent, so I’ll make it quick. The rainy season is a month early this year!"

"In previous years, the rainy season didn’t start until November. This downpour will last for a whole month, and then winter will set in, followed by heavy snow. The thaw won’t come until March of next year."

"Once the rainy season starts, the Wilderness will be sealed off. It enters a five-month-long period where no one can pass through."

"All the stations in the Wilderness will be abandoned during this time. No one will be able to travel through."

"They won’t be reopened until the spring."