On the battlement, Chen Fan shifted his gaze from Crippled Monkey and the others down below to the "Eerie-hide Map" in his hand. A complex expression crossed his face as he remained silent.
This map had been given to him by the green-robed man, the first person who had stayed the night at the station.
Raindrops landed on his eyelashes, blurring his vision, but he could still see that nine tenths of the "stations" that had originally adorned the map like stars in the night sky had gone dark. Only seven or eight stations remained, isolated and solitary, stubbornly holding on in the wilderness.
It was the second night of the rainy season.
But—
The stations in this wilderness were nearly wiped out.
Before nightfall, he had specifically checked the Eerie-hide Map. At that time, there were still 28 stations, all located in the heart of the wilderness. All of them were unable to evacuate in time, forced to endure the rainy season.
Now, however.
The first half of the night had yet to pass, and 20 stations had already fallen.
Including the "temporary station" he had set up in the wilderness yesterday. Before leaving, he had placed an Eerie Stone in the Eerie Fire, planning to return tonight to continue hunting. But plans hadn't kept up with changes—that station had also been destroyed in the Eerie Tide.
At that moment!
A white light flashed on the "Eerie-hide Map." When the light faded, another white dot representing a station went dark.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
No one could sleep.
He couldn't picture how the people at the other stations were getting through the night. Just imagining the despair and helplessness they must be feeling made his chest tighten.
...
Soon.
Crippled Monkey came back inside with a porcelain vat on his shoulder. There were too many Eerie Stones for the burlap sacks to hold, so he had resorted to using the vat instead.
"Young master."
Crippled Monkey handed over three glowing items, slightly out of breath. "I've counted them. There are 484 Eerie Stones in total, along with three Extraordinary Treasures."
"Good."
Chen Fan took quick stock of the information on the three Extraordinary Treasures before turning his gaze back toward the gray mist outside the camp.
The Flesh-Worm Ghosts had retreated.
But the danger wasn't over. The female Eerie Creature with the strange laughter would surely return.
However...
This time, he wasn't afraid. Surviving the Eerie Tide of Flesh-Worm Ghosts had greatly strengthened his foundation. He didn't immediately consume the Eerie Stones to enhance the camp's defenses.
Right now, it was better to appear weak.
The female Eerie Creature in the sedan chair, whose appearance remained unknown, clearly possessed some intelligence.
If she realized the camp's defenses were too strong, she might give up on seeking revenge. That wasn't what he wanted—killing this female Eerie Creature was sure to yield valuable loot.
The moment the female Eerie Creature charged into the camp, he would instantly upgrade the camp's defenses.
A classic move: be a wolf in sheep's clothing, luring the enemy in, and corner the fox in a hole!
...
Time passed minute by minute.
The Eerie Tide of Flesh-Worm Ghosts had passed, and there was no sign of their return. No Eerie Creatures appeared in the gray mist, a clear indication that even for Eerie Creatures, facing the Flesh-Worm Eerie Tide was a near-death experience.
But the group didn't let their guard down for a moment.
Tonight's Eerie Tide had made them understand the true meaning of "the rainy season arrives, the Eerie Tide rages." Eight simple words, but the despair hidden within was enough to suffocate a person.
Just then—
"They're here!"
Crippled Monkey was the first to notice, lowering his voice to a whisper.
It was now the latter half of the night, and nearly a hundred Eerie Creatures finally sprang up in the gray mist—all familiar faces.
Bamboo Pole Eerie Creatures, Mantis Eerie Creatures, Monkey-Head Ghosts.
And a sedan chair carried by four Bamboo Pole Eerie Creatures.
"They really are relentless."
Chen Fan wiped the rain from his face, pretending not to notice anything, and retracted a section of the city wall into the ground, hoping to lure them into the camp. The Archery Towers couldn't attack Eerie Creatures outside the camp.
If they didn't enter the camp's range, he had no way to deal with this group of Eerie Creatures.
However, he waited patiently for about the time an incense stick took to burn out (half an hour), but the Eerie Creatures showed no intention of attacking the camp. They simply stood quietly in the gray mist, motionless like wax statues.
"..."
Chen Fan frowned slightly and whispered, "Qiu Junior, go outside the city and pretend to pick up Eerie Stones. Don't do the real thing—just act like you're going to. The moment I tell you to come back, return immediately."
The 484 Eerie Stones Crippled Monkey had collected were only the ones that the Flesh-Worm Ghosts dropped.
The corpses of the Eerie Creatures from the initial fight were still lying quietly outside the city walls. He had left them down there for this very moment.
Without hesitation, Qiu Junior descended the city wall steps and walked outside, pretending not to notice anything as he looked like he was about to dig up an Eerie Stone from a corpse. Normally, the Eerie Creatures should have seized this opportunity to charge, especially since the female Eerie Creature seemed somewhat intelligent.
However...
When Qiu Junior stepped outside, the Eerie Creatures not only didn't charge but instead retreated slowly from the gray mist into the Perpetual Night.
A confused Qiu Junior turned to look at Chen Fan standing on the city wall, unsure of what to do.
"Come back."
Chen Fan sighed softly. There was no point wasting effort. The female Eerie Creature's intelligence was higher than he had thought.
After all—
Successfully withstanding the Eerie Tide of "Flesh-Worm Ghosts" was proof enough. The camp certainly wasn't something a mere hundred Eerie Creatures could overcome, and the female Eerie Creature had realized this. Despite his deliberate act of showing weakness, she hadn't taken the bait. Instead, she had retreated.
It was unclear whether she had given up on revenge or was simply biding her time.
All he could do was remain vigilant.
For the remainder of the night, not a single Eerie Creature set foot in the gray mist near the camp. The Eerie Tide of Flesh-Worm Ghosts was terrifying, but as long as one could withstand it, the surrounding area would become a temporary safe zone, free from other Eerie Creatures.
The next moment!
The impenetrable darkness high above dissipated like a receding tide, revealing the endless, overcast clouds that blanketed the sky.
Dawn had broken.
They had survived another night.
...
Inside the wooden cabin.
Zhou Mo sat by the fireplace, having long since changed into dry clothes. He sat cross-legged, carefully writing on the parchment in his lap.
"Today is the third day since the rainy season began."
"No casualties."
"Last night, we endured the Eerie Tide of Flesh-Worm Ghosts and a probing attack by high-level Eerie Creatures. We were lucky to survive."
After writing this, he glanced with a complicated expression at the 30 circles he had drawn on the cabin wall. Two of them were now marked with an X.
Based on past patterns, the rainy season lasted about 30 days. During this time, the Eerie Tide raged, making it extremely dangerous.
The winter that followed these 30 days wouldn't be as difficult—at least, there wouldn't be large-scale Eerie Tides sweeping the wilderness.
Two nights had passed.
To survive this rainy season, 28 more nights remained.
Just then—
The door was pushed open.
Zhou Mo quickly stood up, putting the parchment aside. "Station Master."
"Hmm."
Chen Fan nodded lightly, casually using a towel hanging nearby to dry his wet hair. He sat by the fireplace, picked up the parchment from the ground, glanced at it, and said offhand,
"Keeping a diary?"
"Um..." Zhou Mo nodded, awkward. "Just writing for fun."
"I don't usually keep a diary."