The only exception was when the little creature brought a huge bug that looked like an enormous silkworm, its fat translucent body extremely repulsive. Liu Zhenhan almost threw up, but luckily, his strong digestion and an empty stomach helped him to only retch out some clear water.
"Damn, you nearly scared me to death," Liu Zhenhan grimaced, raising his palm as if to slap, then lowered it.
He didn't have the heart to hit it.
The little thing became bolder, climbing onto Liu Zhenhan's head and perching there like a big fur cap. Despite being covered in bird droppings, Liu Zhenhan could not think of a reason for it not to stay there.
It's fate that brought them together! He realised.
Finally, they arrived at their destination.
Although the journey hadn't been long, Liu Zhenhan felt discomfort as if his body was falling apart.
The earth mound was about five to six meters high. He walked around it, only to discover a lush coconut forest behind it, which irritated him.
Liu Zhenhan unloaded all his belongings and surveyed his surroundings. The location he chose was good, sheltered from the wind, with good lighting. Listening to the soothing sound of the tide, he finally began to relax. The only enigma was that there was almost no vegetation on the mound, except for some mossy lichen. When he scratched the dirt, he found greenish rocks underneath.
Noticing it was still early, Liu Zhenhan quickly gathered some soft grass from nearby bushes to make a bed on the ground. He thought about building a tent but couldn't muster the energy.
Surviving in the wilderness wasn't hard for the former scout, Liu Zhenhan. He picked up some dry branches and started to rub them together to make a fire. He improvised his smelly sock into a crude rope, which ignites the fire faster than rubbing. The tinder was quickly ignited, and the high flames warmed Liu Zhenhan's heart. The little creature obediently sat near him, legs wide apart, staring blankly at him.
Liu Zhenhan lovingly kissed his socks again and again. They were incredibly useful today - one moment they were serving as a bandage, the next as a slingshot, and now they helped to start a fire. He once thought about making pants out of them, but now it seemed like they were being much better utilized.
"Guoguo!" Liu Zhenhan said affectionately, stroking the head of the small creature: "God has been kind to me, giving me you... and this pair of socks!"
Whenever he patted its head, the little creature would mumble something that sounded like 'Guoguo,' and hence Liu Zhenhan named it Guoguo.
Guoguo was curious and bounded over, taking the sock and leaning in to sniff it, like Liu Zhenhan had done.
Guoguo's curiosity could have killed a cat.
The stench from the socks, which belonged to one of the smelliest feet on the Southern Border battlefield, almost made Guoguo faint. The moment it smelt the odor, its bright eyes froze and it staggered slightly, as if drunk, and fell to the ground gasping for breath.
The little thing forgot about the owner of the smelly foot that once wore the sock.
"Guoguo!" Liu Zhenhan cried, quickly picking it up and comforting it. From the moment he met this little creature, he knew he couldn't live without it. If Guoguo were to die from his sock's smell, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
The bird eggs buried in the fire began to exude an enticing aroma. Liu Zhenhan quickly dug them out with a stick before they exploded.
He peeled one for Guoguo and blew off the ash clinging to the shell. The freshly cooked egg was immediately snatched by Guoguo who seemed to have recovered from its ordeal, and as it gobbled down, it gave Liu Zhenhan an appreciative wink.
"Damn it! You scared the hell out of me just now!" Liu Zhenhan stuffed his sock into his 'coconut helmet,' punctured a hole in a coconut with his bone spear, took a brisk gulp of the juice, then peeling another egg, swallowed it in one gulp.
Guoguo, with its adorable round eyes, enviously watched Liu Zhenhan's display. After several unsuccessful attempts at similar feats, it gave up, deciding the egg was too big to swallow whole.
Liu Zhenhan ate five to six eggs, burped contentedly, and watching Guoguo's antics, burst into laughter. He showed off by throwing two more eggs into his mouth and chewed on them loudly.
Guoguo jumped onto Liu Zhenhan's face, rubbing its small furry head against his stubbly beard in an affectionate manner.