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There is no wall to defend in the slum area in the north of the city.

The impact of the beast tide was blocked by the city wall, but fear seeped into every alley like water.

The men were guarding the alley with hatchets and sharpened sticks, while the women were huddled in the deepest part of the shack with their children in their arms.

No one spoke, only the shouts of killing and the roars of monsters coming from the distant city wall struck everyone's heart.

Su Yu walked through the maze of shack alleys.

He remembered that the stone shack was at No. 17, a depression near the base of the north wall, next to a dead locust tree that had been struck by lightning.

His father taught him how to recognize directions: in a strange place, find the most conspicuous landmark and then walk in that direction, so you won't get lost.

The dead locust trees are still there.

The shack under the tree is even more dilapidated than the surroundings. The roof is made of bark and rags, the walls are made of yellow mud mixed with straw, and the ravines created by the rain are like the wrinkles on an old man's face.

Squatting at the door was a thin girl, about seven or eight years old, with a face as white as paper. She was wrapped in a patched shabby coat and was drawing something on the ground with a branch.

When the girl saw Su Yu coming, she was not afraid. She just raised her head and looked at him with a pair of overly large black eyes.

There was no fear or curiosity in those eyes, only a calmness that was inconsistent with his age - in a place like Blackwater City, children as young as seven or eight had long since learned not to cry or make trouble.

"Shitou lives here?" Su Yu asked.

The girl nodded and shouted into the shack: "Brother, someone is looking for you."

The rag curtain of the shack was lifted, and the stone peeked out.

When he saw Su Yu, he was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes that were so hungry suddenly turned red.

He didn't say anything, he just stepped aside to open the door and motioned for Su Yu to come in.

The shack is smaller inside than it looks from the outside.

A bed made of broken wooden boards occupies half of the room. There are several bundles of collected dry firewood piled in the corner, and a small stove made of broken tiles.

The air was filled with the bitter smell of medicine residue—Shitou's sister was still taking medicine.

"Have you used dried meat and spiritual stones?" Su Yu glanced at the pot of medicine stewed on the stove.

"I've used it. My sister's face looks much better." Shitou's voice was choked, "Benefactor, I didn't know your name that day."

"Su Yu."

"Brother Su." Shitou repeated the name, as if to carve it into his heart, "Why did you come to me?"

Su Yu didn't beat around the bush.

He took out three low-grade spiritual stones from his arms and placed them on the wooden bed: "I need a place that is absolutely quiet and absolutely hidden. You are most familiar with the shack area. Is there such a place?"

Shitou didn't ask why.

He lowered his head and thought for a few seconds, then raised his head: "Yes. There is an abandoned cellar at the root of the north wall. It used to be used to store winter grains. Later, half of it collapsed and no one lives in it. The entrance is hidden under a pile of rotten straw mats. No one knows about it except me."

"Take me there."

Shi Shi glanced at his sister on the bed.

The girl had lowered her head to draw on the ground again, and what she drew was a flower—flowers were rare things in Blackwater City, and she had only seen them once in the old doctor's medicine shop.

"Xiaohe, brother, go out for a moment. If someone knocks on the door, don't open it."

The girl hummed without raising her head.

Shitou led Su Yu through seven or eight turns in the alleys of the slum area.

The further north you go, the deserted it becomes. The roars of monsters come from the direction of the city wall, but it already seems like something from another world.

They stopped in front of a pile of rotten straw mats at the base of the north wall. Stone bent down and opened up the straw mats, revealing a hole half a man's height inside. It was dark inside and exuded the musty smell of soil and old grain.

"This is it. I used to hide from the Black Tiger Gang here, but they searched three streets and couldn't find me." There was a hint of pride in Shitou's voice.

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