(MC POV)
We decided to make camp a distance away from the forest when the sun started to set.
Gale went to hunt for game while Brick and I were in charge of setting up camp.
We just had the fire started when Gale came back with strips of meat tied to his waist. I tried asking what those were and he said he managed to kill a boar that was roaming around the field.
Since we didn't need the whole boar, he simply cut a few pieces of its meat and left the rest for the scavengers.
I wanted to ask him why he didn't try drying the rest of the meat as rations but decided against it.
We sat around the fire and ate quietly, the only sounds coming from the crackling of our campfire.
I pulled out the small bone stuck in my mouth, placing it neatly on the plate beside the rest of the bones.
"So… I guess we'll be going our separate ways once we reach the town tomorrow, eh?" I commented, leaning back.
Gale grinned, "I suppose so. It was a short trip with you but I had a great time, nevertheless."
The hunter pulled out his waterskin and passed it to me.
"This one has ale in it," He explained, seeing my raised eyebrow.
I accepted it and took a swig of it before passing it back to him. It tasted rather bitter but it had a good burn.
"I'm surprised how you handle those goblins though," Brick remarked, pulling out his sword and a whetstone to sharpen it. "I admit I thought I would have needed to save you there."
I chuckled, "Let's just say that I was trained well. But if it weren't for you two, I may have been in a bit of trouble there."
"Hahaha! You're definitely being modest there Jeff!" Gale laughed.
I grinned while pulling out one of my medicine bottles, shaking a few tablets out of the bottle.
"Digestive pills, want some? They're quite sour though," I offered.
Both of them shook their heads.
I shrugged and tossed a pill into my mouth, swallowing it.
Brick took out his own waterskin and popped open the cap, "You got any family, Jeff?"
"I don't," I lied. "The roads are all I've known my entire life."
"Huh… Isn't it sad that if you were to die on the road, there wouldn't be anyone to mourn you? Never thought of settling down somewhere? Don't you miss the warmth of a good home?"
I shrugged, "Can't miss what you never had. Besides, that's technically what I'm going to the capital for."
Both of them nodded in understanding.
"What about you two?" I asked.
Brick shrugged, "We're kind of the same. Both of us were orphans in the same orphanage. We have a bunch of friends that we stick around with and we just sort of stayed together after growing up. We only have each other to count on after all."
"Hmm, I guess you're at least fortunate to have dependable brothers. Unlike me."
The two of them looked at each other and nodded.
Brick stood from his seat and walked towards my bag. I didn't even get to ask him what he wanted before he started rummaging through my belongings, pulling them out one by one.
I frowned at him, "Hey, what the hell do you think--"
The moment I tried to stand up, I felt my legs give way, causing me to collapse face first onto the ground.
Gale came up and pulled me off the ground, dumping me back in my seat unceremoniously.
"Sorry Jeff, but you only got yourself to blame for trusting strangers that easily," He smirked at me.
He stood up and whistled, prompting another group of four men to show up, all of them armed.
"Yo Gale, Brick, how's our little friend?" One of them asked.
Brick took out my coin purse and showed them the contents, "We hit the motherlode boys!"
All of them took one look at the purse that was filled with silver and immediately cheered.
I could only glare at them as they began digging through the rest of my belongings, ignoring the paralysed me.
"No need to glare at us like that Jeff, you really should know better. Some kind of wanderer you are," Brick laughed.
"Who knew a wanderer could actually be this loaded eh? Maybe I should be one too!" One of them joked.
"So what are we going to do with him?"
Gale chuckled, "Just kill him. He's a nobody, no one will miss him."
"Righto!"
Brick drew his sword and sauntered up to me, "Heh, we're good friends eh? Ah, you can't talk because of the paralysis poison. Well, no matter. Hey, at least I'm saving you from being ridiculed at the capital city you know? Hopefully your next life will be better!"
He raised his sword and slashed at my neck, only for the blade to shatter upon impact.
Everyone turned to look at me, stunned by the sound.
I sighed and stood up, "Thanks Xun Guan."
Brick furrowed his brows at me, "You… You should not be able to move."
I cracked my neck, "Yeah… About that. You were right about one thing though, I never trusted you. That digestive pill? It was a healing pill that would have countered your paralysis poison. I knew you guys were not who you say you were, just that I don't actually know if you were big shots or just some nameless bandits."
Everyone else drew their weapons and moved to surround me.
Gale nocked an arrow and pointed it at my chest, "Before we kill you… I'd just like to know what gave us away?"
I grinned at him, "Well, first of all, that bag of yours was obviously stolen given how you weren't used to carrying both it and your bow and had to make adjustments to your straps to accommodate it. My guess is that you robbed someone else before meeting me. Then there's that 'boar' meat you said you hunted. Pretty sure I don't remember seeing any boars with that small of a bone inside it. You probably went to your mates to get them instead, didn't you?"
All of them glanced at the plates that had small bones leftover on them. Obviously these meat were from some sort of small game, not a large boar.
I continued, "You obviously aren't a tracker either, given your lack of knowledge for hunting. You didn't even try to hide your scent before you went out to hunt on an open plain for crying out loud. And if you were, you'd at least bring some extra meat back to be dried as rations. But of course, there's the goblins."
Brick frowned, "What about them?"
"They were obviously running away from something, probably chased by your friends here to come towards us. I'd guess your initial plan was to let me get killed or wounded by them and if failing that, use them to gauge my strength. Did I get it right so far?"
"Impressive, but you still failed here, now die."
Gale loosed his arrow and the projectile hit me in the chest.
Instead of penetrating me, it simply bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the floor.
I raised my eyebrow, "Really? You guys saw how his sword shattered when he tried to cut my neck right? What makes you think this is going to work?"
Brick cracked his knuckles, "It's obvious you're using a protection charm. We just need to hit you enough times for it to wear out."
I rolled my eyes at their stupidity, "Say… You said only females can cultivate right?"
None of them answered me but instead got ready to fight.
I shrugged, "Xun Guan, I'll leave them to you."
The cloak around me melted away to form into Xun Guan, the slime girl glaring at the people around her with clear hatred.
The men cried out in shock upon the slime girl's appearance, their shock turning into fear when she summoned orbs of water around her.
"How should I deal with them, Master?"
I took silent pleasure at seeing them gape at her calling me that.
"Find out what they know. No need to be kind, they are nobodies after all. No one will miss them."
"Yes, Master."
I turned my back on them and busied myself with putting my things back in the bag, tuning out the screams of pain behind me.
Have the people here always been this stupid?
