"Jack, looking at him like this, he doesn't seem like a spy," said the taller, thinner one to his companion.
The Jack next to him was slightly shorter but much more muscular and was currently aiming a bow and arrow at Zhao Guang. With Zhao Guang's flirtatious sway in the breeze, and his smooth, bare body, what kind of spy outfit was this supposed to be?
"You're right, Hans, I don't think he looks it either. So, tell us, why did you turn up here, you weirdo?"
"I, I'm not a weirdo. I just suddenly appeared here, then I was chased here by a boar."
"A boar? What's that? A beast of some sort, are there even wild animals around here?"
Hans pointed in a direction. "There should be, aren't we here to look for rabbits? Just yesterday, someone was bragging about catching rabbits, so we specifically came here to get a good meal."
"Yeah, we're just here to find rabbits. Damn it, there's not even a single rabbit hair here; we must have been fooled."
"Guys, you see I'm not suspicious now, right? Can I put my hands down now?"
"Sure, you can block us." "No, raise your hands."
The two voices issued at the same time, leaving Zhao Guang even more aggrieved. "What do you want me to do?" Someone come quickly, a foreigner is bullying me, Zhao Guang screamed in his heart.
Hans coughed. "Put them down, isn't it quite an eyesore?"
"You're right, it's not like he's a beauty." Jack looked at Zhao Guang with disdain.
Zhao Guang, as if granted amnesty, hurriedly lowered his hands, finally able to cover up his "twenty centimeters of pride."
"What do we do now, just go back like this? People will laugh at us, right?"
"Probably not, didn't we catch someone here?"
Zhao Guang's face was full of terror. "Guys, you don't eat people, do you?"
Hans glanced at Zhao Guang. "This guy is weird, let's take him back to the Commander and see. With this catch, there shouldn't be a problem getting some meat today; that's more important."
Jack nodded. "You're right, that's more important." Then Jack thought for a moment, stowed his bow and arrows, and seemed to feel his sword would be more intimidating for the man before him.
"Come with us."
Zhao Guang took a step and felt an immense pain in his foot. "Could you, maybe, give me something to pad my feet? I can't walk like this."
"Get it yourself." Hans pointed to a corner with a rock. Zhao Guang widened his eyes, looking at the broad leaf, wider than his towel. If he had seen it earlier, would things have been different?
Bearing the pain, Zhao Guang walked over and examined the leaf, its fibers clearly tough and durable.
Tearing off two leaves, Zhao Guang, under the scrutinizing eyes of the two men, wrapped his feet. Then, thinking for a moment, he tore off two more pieces, one to wrap around his waist and another to hold in his hand.
At that moment, the two men's expressions grew even stranger. Zhao Guang's heart trembled, hoping he hadn't accidentally mislead these two.
Although he was rather handsome, he probably wasn't the type men would like. But then again, this isn't Earth; maybe people from other worlds have different aesthetics. He couldn't be that unlucky, right?
Just as Zhao Guang was debating between his life and his virtue, Hans finally spoke.
"Why are you holding an extra leaf?"
"Ha-ha, oh, that, just in case, just in case."
"Why talk so much nonsense with him, get up and follow us," Hank ordered, pointing his long sword at Zhao Guang.
"Be careful with that thing, it's easy to get tetanus from a rusty sword like that." Zhao Guang eyed the commonly seen, rusty blade. It was truly dangerous—a tetanus sword indeed.
But there was nothing Zhao Guang could do; he couldn't resist at all.
Thus, Hans walked in front, Jack kept a watchful eye from the back, and Zhao Guang was sandwiched in the middle, enjoying the so-called protective treatment.
As they moved forward, Zhao Guang carefully observed his surroundings, hoping to spot some landmarks. If he couldn't find any, how would he ever get back? He didn't think he'd fare well here if he couldn't return.
"Elder, no, dear brothers, my name is Zhao Guang, I'm in your hands now."
Zhao Guang bowed with a sycophantic smile, the spitting image of a traitor.
"No need to be so scared, we're not those savage beastmen. If you fell into the hands of a beastman, you'd probably lose your life. Now, just follow us back and explain yourself clearly, and you'll be safe."
Beastmen? The question arose in Zhao Guang's mind.
"There are beastmen here? Where are they? I really don't want to run into them."
"Right across from here. We're at war with the beastmen. This entire Desolate Stone Ridge is the battlefield and also the border. You ran all the way here and didn't know the beastmen are right across?"
Jack suddenly spoke up, "Maybe he's a smuggler; I've heard smugglers have been pretty rampant recently."
Then, looking again at Zhao Guang, Jack added, "But smugglers usually carry things with them, to be this empty-handed is really..." Both of them didn't know what to say looking at Zhao Guang's appearance.
"Haha, coming here was just an accident, I 'whooshed' right over."
"Some kind of magic, huh? I've heard that the mages of the Empire often cause all sorts of strange incidents."
There are mages in this world, Zhao Guang noted, then continued to make conversation.
By the time they had walked a while, Zhao Guang had basically grasped some understanding of the situation here. The place he was in was the western border of the Chirali Empire, towards the southern part.
Because Desolate Stone Ridge had little to offer, no one had claimed it.
Even the beastmen, who were not picky about land, didn't want to occupy such a place. Thus, it had become a border, and the two countries here would skirmish every few days—small battles every three days and large ones every five days.
The two sides were fiercely battling, so soldiers often patrolled the area.
As they neared the border camp, Zhao Guang could see the patrol teams as well.
"Haha, Jack, why are you back? Weren't you out catching rabbits? Did you find any?"
The vegetation here was sparse and the area was war-torn, rabbits indeed existed, but they weren't easy to find. Catching a rabbit was almost as rare as winning low-tier lottery prizes.
"Turns out we caught a person this time, not sure what the situation is but we're off to see the Commander."
"Caught a person? That's quite rare. Why is this person dressed like that, is it some kind of hobby you guys have?" Suddenly, the people around started looking uneasy and horrified.
"Don't talk nonsense, we don't have those kinds of hobbies, this person is just a weirdo."
"Understood, understood. We all get it." It's all men in the military camp, and they seldom see women. So some people here have unusual tastes, but everyone turns a blind eye.