The shelter

As the dawn breaks on the horizon, the dark shape of a young man entered into the shady Yulong forest quietly, through its eastern border. Not many souls dared to do such a thing when darkness still loom inside there.

He was lucky that no villager was here to witness his shadowy figure silently slipping into the woods. If not, he won't be able to escape from his fate of becoming the main topic of the village gossip by tomorrow. Which he clearly didn't want to happen.

This man wore a conical, straw hat, which seemed to be manually converted into a "*weimao" by someone not professional. The veil material had a cheap appearance, and it was sewn together with the hat with visibly ugly stitches.

True, Xie Ra never sewed anything while he stayed with Mo Xing. This man-child depended on his Bàba for that. But, after Xie Ra determined to explore the haunted area Yan Yi told him yesterday, He bought a straw hat and other materials on his way home. He saw weimaos at Yulong city before, but he never thought he will need one. And not a single one was there in Yulong village.

Xie Ra stopped and looked in the direction where sunlight streaming down. the sole purpose of setting for this journey so early is to find North relative to the sun-rising direction. He was glad he could see the early-spring sun amidst giant trees in the woods.

He walked, walked, and walked for a long time but nothing unusual was in his sight. Sweat was pouring down on each side of his temple. His pale ears became slightly pink that made a nice contrast with his white hair. He took off his hat.

'Thud'

He dropped his bag on a tree rootlet and sat on the ground, leaning on the tree trunk. He took his small water jar and took one gulp. It slid down his throat giving a refreshing feel, calming his interiors that resembled a thirsty desert at that moment. He knew he shouldn't rest for long. He should go as far as he had to go out from the forest before it becomes dark.

So, he stood up, picked up his bag, and continued to walk.

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The rest of the journey went uneventfully. Well, it's not like he walked the whole way like a tough guy as his appearance showed. AhLan might die from laughter if he saw the way Xie Ra ran after hearing a distant monkey screech. Even Xie Ra felt embarrassed when he realized that he screamed and ran when a tree branch suddenly fell on top of his shoulder. In his defense, woods aren't the safest place in the world. Right?

It was nearly midday when he finally met a wild animal. A wild boar was sleeping peacefully in a corner. Xie Ra must be very unfortunate to walk into such a dangerous creature. He felt like crying. Why him? Let him have a safe journey at least.

He tiptoed away and climbed a nearby tree. He didn't want to check his luck further by walking. He sighed and started to look around after he climbed a decent height.

At this moment he saw something he loved to see. An open area where no treetops were visible a few feet away from him.

Xie Ra wanted to cry again. This time from happiness.

Let's not talk about how awkwardly he reached his destination. Well, let's say if someone witnessed this scene, he might tell others that he saw a man who used a pathway of tree branches like a monkey.

The place looked the same as it was in his vision, although it was much larger than he expected it to be. He took one step into the wasteland. A sudden refreshing feeling overwhelmed him. He felt tiredness leave his body as excitement took its place.

After celebrating his achievement, another realization occurred to him. He had no idea about what he should do now.

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After thinking for some time, Xie Ra proceeded to follow the absurd decision of randomly digging up the ground and see if he find anything valuable. Therefore, later in the evening wasteland started to look as it was owned by giant moles.

Digging sound no longer pierced the cold evening atmosphere. "shush" of a wind that passed heard as few dropped leaves danced in the air for a moment. One single leaf blew far than the others and landed on the face of frustrated youth who laid down nearby.

Xie Ra brushed off the leaf. He was tired and hungry. He knew it was almost mid-afternoon, but he didn't even have his breakfast. His hunger grew as each minute passed. However, before he does something about it, a single raindrop fell on his temple.

That single raindrop followed by two, then three. Suddenly, a massive rain replaced these innocent raindrops.

Poor Xie Ra barely had time to find a shade. He was lucky enough to find shelter under a big tree, but the wind made him wet nevertheless. He looked around to see if there is any good spot for him to stay until this monstrous rain subside.

Then, a small cave focused into his visual field.