I rubbed my goosebump-ridden arms across my chest, jogging toward the Sea of the Undead. As I ran, I tried to start a conversation with Xiao Shu. "What temperature do you think it is now?"

Xiao Shu kept pace with me, jogging alongside. "When we arrived, the temperature was quite comfortable, not too cold or too hot. Maybe around twenty-four or twenty-five degrees Celsius. Now it's probably only in the low teens. Once the sun fully sets, it'll likely drop even lower."

I looked down at my bare chest, unsure how I was going to face the coming night.

"Where's your shirt? I was meaning to ask earlier, but never got the chance," Xiao Shu inquired.

"When I saved you, I took it off to cover the spider on the ground and burned it," I admitted sheepishly, unable to think of a better excuse for sacrificing the only piece of clothing I had. If Xiao Shu had been in my position, she might have devised a more fitting solution, perhaps avoiding the current predicament of having nothing but my bare upper body for warmth.

Hearing my explanation, Xiao Shu stopped running, standing still in the tall grass. She reached back, pulled a stack of cloth-like material from the side of her backpack closest to her body, then set the pack on the ground. Freeing both hands, she unfolded the material, shaking out the corners in the air. Only when it was fully spread did I realize it was a thin windbreaker. The fabric was light brown, featuring a zippered front closure, and sleeves that were slightly longer than normal. A hood attached to the collar hung down the back, creased from being folded.

"Make do with this," Xiao Shu handed me the windbreaker, saying, "When you were burning the spider, I was stuck inside the cocoon and didn't see what happened. I thought you took your shirt off because you were hot. If I had known the situation, I would have brought this out sooner."

Though the windbreaker was light, it was made of waterproof and windproof material. It would feel stiflingly hot in the summer, but draped over my shoulders on a night like this, it was just right to ward off the chill. I took the windbreaker and draped it directly over my bare skin. The fabric felt slightly stiff, lightly scratching my skin. Still, given the circumstances, it was far better than nothing; having anything covering me was already a blessing.

After putting on the garment, we ran together for a while longer and soon arrived at the edge of the Sea of the Undead.

At that moment, the last vestiges of the sun slowly vanished below the horizon, leaving the hazy sky tinged with a hint of crimson. The world of the Sea of the Undead was perpetually red—whether it was the lake water itself or the heavens stretching countless leagues away—it always held a reddish hue, as if only this color could constantly remind us that this was a realm distinct from the human world.

"Let's not travel at night, alright? We'll rest near the Sea of the Undead. While there's still some light, we can gather some firewood from the brush, build a bonfire, and take turns keeping watch tonight," Xiao Shu proposed.

"That's a good idea." As I spoke, I slipped off my backpack and set it down, then turned toward the nearest thicket of bushes, preparing to gather fuel for a fire as Xiao Shu suggested.

Just as I bent down to pick up some dead branches, a rustling sound suddenly came from within the dense foliage, startling me badly.

"What was that?" I instinctively shouted, quickly jumping aside into a half-crouch. I snatched up a handful of dry twigs from the ground, ready to fight whatever made the noise if it emerged.