And To Discard What is Left,

In less than four hours, I reached the nearby village; the horse was slower than I thought. The sun had shifted greatly from where it was before, and it was just about to cross the top of the wall. Whenever the sun touched the horizon, the entire world would glow in a blinding light. Not long afterwards, it'll immediately settle without leaving a single trace of light. Hence, nighttime is the most dangerous time. Staying still in the woods would be safer than trying to light a candle in the middle of the night. Of course, many people can somewhat see around themselves.

The night isn't dangerous because of wild beasts and such — we don't have them here in the east. It's dangerous because you can't see. Not knowing when to brace for impact, drowning in your sleep, getting mistaken for a sleeping cow, suffocating in dirt. The reasons for death just go on and on.

Because of that, reaching the village before the Bai Ri Qianhou settled was my highest priority. Riding without sunlight, even in a straight line, was incredibly dangerous. Especially with a foreign horse that might curve paths without my knowledge.

Luckily, I was able to reach the village at the final minutes of the Bai Ri Qianhou. The villagers didn't bother checking my identity or anything about me, and instead opted to rushing their children and elderly into their houses as quickly as possible. I was given the shorter end of the stick and had to go door to door, begging random villagers to let me in, or at least give me a dozen or so candles. The villagers obviously didn't want a stranger amidst them, so they gave me the candles instead.

And to be fairly honest, going into their houses would have been riskier than staying outside. If I fell asleep, I might be attacked and killed without knowing. After that, I can only hope that the supreme commander can figure out that I'm dead and that the north eastern frontier may or may not have been taken over. And although it might seem strange that the north would attack us, and that we have a battlefield ready to repel them, it's completely normal. With the north eastern and south eastern outposts/frontiers, we effectively show our military prowess while simultaneously repelling the thoughts of any prospective attackers, or so I thought.

Anyways, back onto the topic of candles. As long as I have my trusty stolen goods with me, as well as the dozens of units of bribery also known as candles, I'll be able to start a fire with some sticks while hopefully not burning flesh unknowingly in the dark, and camp the village well. If fire breaks out, I won't be accidentally killing few dozen children that way.

And with that, my ten to twelve hour camping session at the village well started. The first hour or so being wasted on starting my fire. After starting the fire, I threw away the two sticks I used, lit my first candle and extinguished the remaining fire with my bloody hands. One might wonder why, but this is killing two birds with one stone. Not only do I extinguish the potential fire starter, but I also close some of the wounds I got while trying to start a fire with those sticks. Of course, the pain only got worse, but bleeding to death is no longer an issue.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but bleeding to death in the dark is one of the prime reasons for why the night is dangerous. It happens when someone trips and doesn't know how bad their condition is. And before they know it, they're dead.