The Fire Spring was encircled by stone, its fiery glow steaming upward, a striking beacon in this world of perpetual night.
Qin Ming crouched down and scooped up a glowing stone from the pool. It was even more lustrous than red coral, radiating a brilliant light.
The Sunstones used in every household came from this very spring. Once extinguished, they could be returned here, where, after some time, they would regain their former glow.
The pool's fiery red glow shimmered like molten lava, but it was far cooler than a human's body temperature.
Ripples flickered across the surface, and flames danced. Yet, this was neither true fire nor water but a peculiar, unique substance.
In an age where daylight no longer existed, with only Shallow Night and Deep Night, the Fire Spring had become indispensable.
Whether it was mutated crops like Silver Wheat or ordinary ones like Ground Potatoes, all required irrigation from the Fire Spring to grow.
Moreover, humans, too, would feel unwell if deprived of its presence for too long.
In this era of eternal night, the Fire Spring was the foundation of life.
Even in a world without the sun, the seasons still cycled.
During spring and summer, the Fire Spring was active, bubbling forth to meet the demands of planting and cultivation.
In winter, however, it waned. For villages like Shuangshu, the spring's light remained, but it was barely enough to sustain the Sunstones used for illumination.
In essence, people now "followed the fire" to survive.
Of course, the Fire Spring's brilliance also drew the attention of creatures lurking in the darkness. Fortunately, most adhered to their territories, maintaining a fragile balance.
Shuangshu Village's food shortage was primarily due to disasters during harvest: mutated birds had attacked the fields, their beaks scything through wheat stalks like blades, stripping them bare in a single gulp.
There had also been plagues of ants and other human-caused issues, all of which now threatened starvation in the winter.
It was Shallow Night. The night's darkness was somewhat thinner, and occasionally, faint "Earth Lights" would rise in the distance, silhouetting the hazy outlines of the forests.
During Deep Night, however, nothing could be seen. All was silent, and the blackness was suffocating.
Qin Ming pondered when he might leave the village to solve the food crisis.
He gazed into the wilds, where the darkness swallowed everything. Snow had long since risen past chest height, and survival was bleak.
The Fire Spring's glow illuminated the village's edge, carving out a bright, warm refuge.
The cold wind whistled past, ruffling the two trees standing within the pool. Snowflakes slid off their branches, shimmering like jewels in the fiery light.
The trees were extraordinary—one bore black leaves, the other white, with a faint, jade-like texture. They remained evergreen even in the dead of winter, though their only practical use was to ward off mosquitoes during summer.
Feeling the icy snowflakes fall onto his neck, Qin Ming shook himself from his thoughts. No matter what, he needed to regain his strength first. Outside was far too dangerous.
He retraced his steps back through the village. The glow of firelight flickered from the homes, while the wilds beyond remained pitch black, lifeless, as though a monstrous beast lay waiting to devour everything.
In his courtyard, Qin Ming began a series of exercises. His movements were practiced and fluid, a habit formed over years of repetition, now second nature.
Before long, his forehead was damp with sweat, and a warm flush spread through his body, warding off the cold. Only then did he stop.
He returned to his room and retrieved a small crystal vial, no longer than a thumb, intricately carved and exquisitely transparent. Inside swirled a liquid blue as the depths of the ocean, dotted with crystalline frost.
Holding it up to the Sunstone's glow, Qin Ming examined it carefully.
The vial was engraved with two characters: "Mineral Essence."
The liquid inside was mesmerizing. When gently shaken, blue mist swirled within, giving it a dreamlike quality.
Qin Ming resisted the urge to open it. Having only just recovered, consuming the liquid now would do more harm than good.
He had stumbled upon the vial in a perilous area deep in the mountains. Before then, he had only ever heard of Mineral Essence, a precious substance far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
When the body was at its peak condition, using it could strengthen one's constitution and invigorate the spirit.
After his harrowing escape, however, he had fallen gravely ill and hadn't had the chance to try it.
"Maybe in a few more days," Qin Ming murmured, tucking the vial away carefully.
A cold breeze blew through the courtyard, carrying stray snowflakes with it.
The quiet yard was bleak and desolate, but Qin Ming had long grown used to the solitude.
As time passed, the darkness deepened. Shallow Night was drawing to a close.
Lu Ze returned, this time with his five-year-old son, Wenrui. Though bundled up tightly, the boy's cheeks were red from the cold.
"Wenrui's grown taller," Qin Ming said, measuring the boy's height with his hand.
"Uncle Qin, are you feeling better?" Wenrui asked, his large, clear eyes filled with concern.
Qin Ming smiled. "I'm fine now. Once I've recovered, I'll catch that 'Talking Sparrow' you wanted so much."
"The sparrow that can talk? Really? That's amazing!" Wenrui's face lit up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Things aren't right outside," Lu Ze said, handing Qin Ming a food box and cautioning him not to venture out.
The coarse Rock Rice inside was rough and hard, but Qin Ming still salivated. Eating only two meals a day left him constantly hungry. Among the rice were a few red dates, smooth and sweet.
Wenrui stared at the food, swallowing a mouthful of saliva involuntarily.
Qin Ming crouched down and asked softly, "Wenrui, are you still hungry?"
"No!" Lu Ze said quickly. "He just saw the dates, that's all."
Qin Ming smiled and picked out the red dates to give to Wenrui.
Lu Ze stopped him. "Those are for your recovery. Don't give them to him."
Just then, Liang Wanqing arrived. "Wenrui, your Uncle Qin is still weak. You shouldn't be greedy."
Her tone was gentle but firm. Initially, she had doubted Qin Ming would survive and had argued against wasting food on him. Now that he was recovering, despite their dwindling supplies, she couldn't bring herself to stop helping him.
Wenrui obediently nodded, his large eyes glistening. "Uncle, you eat. I'm not hungry."
Qin Ming couldn't bear to eat in front of the boy and insisted on giving him the dates. Deep down, he resolved to enter the forest soon to fix the food shortage.
As Liang Wanqing left to tend to her younger child, Lu Ze shared grim news. "There's been movement in the forest—large creatures have been spotted. Some people have died."
Qin Ming listened intently, his mind drifting back to his harrowing experience a month ago.
In the pitch-black mountains, he and his companions had suddenly fallen into a crevice. The darkness had been absolute, until blinding silver light pierced through, overwhelming their senses.
At that moment, Qin Ming's heart had pounded so violently it felt like it might burst. His entire body froze, blood rushing like a raging torrent.
He had thought he would die there.
When the light finally dimmed, he saw silvery threads, like spider silk, crisscrossing the depths. The sight had been disorienting, warping his perception of space.
The Mineral Essence vial had been a discovery from that place, found among the belongings of recently deceased individuals.
Qin Ming kept this secret from Lu Ze. Those people clearly had powerful backgrounds, and he didn't want trouble.
Later, his companions fell ill and died, their bodies blackened, but Qin Ming had somehow survived.
That night, after Lu Ze and Wenrui left, Qin Ming resumed his strange exercises. To his astonishment, faint silver ripples appeared on his skin before vanishing.
"It's real," he whispered, exhilarated.
The exercises left him drenched in sweat, but he felt alive, stronger than ever. For the first time, hope burned within him.
Tomorrow, he would act.