In this manner, step by step, he transformed the tunnel into a basement. He lived by night and hid by day, dodging the demonic beasts roaming the city, moving their belongings from the house above into the depths as if they were ants migrating.
The solitary life he had once endured now felt surprisingly rich and meaningful with the widow by his side. It was just as they said: happiness is found through comparison. Compared to their neighbors who had lost their lives, at least they were still alive. And to be alive was to have hope.
They had even married in that dim basement, performing a simple ceremony before a half-burned red candle. The widow, a woman named Nianxi, had become his wife, the other half of his life. He had originally thought he only hungered for her body, but it was only when Nianxi nearly perished at the jaws of a beast that he truly understood his own heart. Some things are only realized once they are lost.
Chapter 368