Jill woke up, recalling her encounter with the enemy alongside Rody, and felt a surge of fear, but seeing herself safely on Rody's back, her fear dissipated into nothingness. Not wanting him to notice she was awake, Jill secretly laid her head on Rody's back, gently closed her eyes, and quietly savored the care and peace she felt.
With him protecting her, there was nothing to worry about.
Though he was about her age, he felt like a great tree shielding her from wind and rain, her being a small grass under his immense protection.
How wonderful it would be to let him carry her like this for a lifetime... Thinking this, Jill's face turned pink, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, too shy to open her eyes, but a sweet smile appeared on her lips.
For two days, Rody had been carrying Jill through the forest.
They frequently encountered small squads of soldiers searching for them, many skilled, with almost every squad leader a four-star swordsman and five-star swordsmen not uncommon.
Jill's sensitivity, combined with Rody's mental detection, allowed them to easily spot enemies, avoiding, hiding, or ambushing as necessary, and they managed to escape the massive encirclement of the army unscathed. Once, encountering a patrol squad separated from the main force, Rody even secretly killed those four men and took their armor for Jill to wear.
Several encounters with the army's soldiers led them to mistake Rody and Jill for comrades, helping them to escape the encirclement.
The continuous rain also became a veil of safety for Rody and Jill.
The soldiers, drenched and cold, with low morale, saw their own people patrolling drenched and generally ignored them, preferring to shelter under trees, cursing the terrible weather.
Rody and Jill walked in the damp forest for three days, seeing less than an hour of sunshine, with the rest of the time spent in the rain.
"Look, there seems to be a small cabin ahead," Jill pointed out excitedly to Rody.
"Who would live in such a place?" Rody wondered. It couldn't be another tree herder; who would choose to live in a place like the Land of Evil? A holy person shunning the world, or someone hiding from enemies? Nevertheless, Rody also wanted to check it out. The discomfort of days in the rain made him yearn for a place to rest, and if the host was kind, perhaps there would be some hot food to fill their stomachs.
Before they got close, they suddenly heard laughter.
Not only was there someone in the cabin, but there were also several people, seemingly sharing jokes, their laughter a mixture of male and female voices.
Rody and Jill approached and were surprised to find that the cabin was quite large and luxuriously furnished inside. There was not only the hot food Rody and Jill hoped for, but also a fireplace burning charcoal, the aroma of baked bread making both of them swallow hard. It had been a long time since they had eaten baked bread or drunk a bowl of steaming soup. Although Rody's storage space still had plenty of dry food, the coarse taste of the wheat cakes had turned their stomachs.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
What surprised Rody and Jill the most was not the food, but the people.
In the cabin, they found acquaintances, and not just one. Elizabeth, Shira, the chubby Tommy, and the thief Terry were all there, sitting at a table inside, happily chatting and laughing while enjoying hot food and sweet wine.
"Elsa sister, Sherry sister, and classmates Tommy and Terry, how come you are here?" Jill asked joyfully.
"It's you, my little darling, look how soaked you are, come in quickly..." Elizabeth turned around, saw Rody and Jill, immediately stood up, and waved them over. Chubby Tommy's eyes shone as he waved the chicken leg in his hand, shouting, "Ah, great, seeing two more classmates. It must be heaven's guidance that brought us all together, hooray!"
"Yes, it's as if God cleared our eyes," thief Terry also nodded happily.
"Jill, wait a moment." Perhaps naturally suspicious, Rody held back Jill, who was eagerly about to run over and embrace Elizabeth, and smiled, "Classmates, although it's impolite, for safety, please forgive my suspicion and answer me, does anyone here know my name?"
"Rody, your vigilance is commendable, but don't test us, because we are all your best classmates," chubby Tommy laughed heartily, "Have you forgotten when we went together to see a beauty perform a striptease in a lion's cage? Ah, I've spoken out of turn, it should be our secret!"
"I was there too, hehe," thief Terry chuckled.
"I think Rody's caution is right," Elizabeth nodded, "It's something we all need to maintain. Dear Rody, let me tell you, the host here is a friend of Dean Buck, responsible for hosting everyone who gets teleported to the Wet Forest. Although Dean Buck changed the destination from Soul Break Ridge, his real intention was not to abandon us but to have his friend secretly watch over us."
"Got it, more or less," Rody nodded, took Jill's hand and walked two steps forward, then stopped and smiled, "Why haven’t I seen the host?"
"The hospitable host is out looking for our scattered classmates, worried about everyone's safety. She just made us a lot of delicious food and went out, maybe she'll be back in the evening. Her magical powers are strong, and she often lives here, so please don't worry about her," Elizabeth pulled out a chair, opened her arms to Jill and said, "Jill, my little sister, what are you waiting for? Come into my arms, look how drenched you are?"
"Rody..." Jill, whose hand was held by Rody, hesitated, her head down, not daring to speak, obviously still not accustomed to Rody holding her hand, especially in front of her classmates.
"I apologize for my earlier suspicion, but I will express it with a strong hug," Rody laughed, leading Jill forward.
"You've always been like this, Rody, we totally understand," chubby Tommy laughed heartily.
"We don't mind a friend's misunderstanding, just one hug, and even the worst misunderstanding will vanish like smoke. Rody, let's raise a glass and drink heartily! In this damned Wet Forest, we've finally met," thief Terry joyfully raised a goblet full of wine towards Rody.
"Friends?" Upon hearing this, Rody suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Did I say something wrong? My friend, do you still want to test me? Do you doubt me, who has lived and happily interacted with you? Dear classmate Rody, you indeed are a cautious person, a hundred times more cautious than me, a scout thief," thief Terry laughed heartily.
"If you want to ask me, then I can tell you, the first time we met, you were sitting in the last row among all the classmates. You always liked to sit at the back, am I right?" Shira asked with a smile before Rody could even turn to her. Rody laughed, holding Jill's hand, and stepped forward, but as he reached the small wooden door at the entrance, he suddenly stopped again, smiling broadly, "Classmates Andrew and Colin inside, do you know what I want to say? Everything you've said is wrong."
"Rody, what are you talking about?" Elizabeth and the others were stunned.
"I'm speaking human language," Rody chuckled, "Even though you are a witch, you should understand that."
"You, damn it, how did you figure it out?" Elizabeth's voice suddenly changed, becoming sinister and hoarse, terrifyingly abnormal. Jill, scared, quickly hid behind Rody.
"On your door, it's written 'Witch's Cabin', even a blind man could see that," Rody laughed heartily, "Chubby Tommy, do you know when you wrote these words on the door? Ha, you don't know. Do you know who owns the waterproofing agent used for the writing? Mine! You couldn't possibly know that either. You know about the beauty who does a striptease in the lion's cage, and everyone likes to watch, but you don't know that I never go there. Do you think I would casually hug a classmate? No, apart from my dear mother, I am stingy with my hugs to everyone... Do you think chubby Tommy and thief Terry, seeing me, would stand inside and joke with me? Even if there was a mountain of chicken legs waiting for them to eat, even if it was raining knives outside, they would rush out to respectfully invite me in first. Do you understand now, classmates Andrew and Colin?"
"Damn it, that fatso actually wrote on my door?" Elizabeth suddenly turned into a fat and ugly old witch, her appearance so grotesque that Rody had to shield his eyes, unable to bear looking at her, but he didn't vomit, evidently his mental defense was much stronger than chubby Tommy's and thief Terry's.
"Not only did he write, but he also drew your figure. Although Tommy's drawings of beauties are terrible, his drawings of ugly women are quite accurate," Rody laughed.
"I'm going to kill him..." The old witch screeched wildly.
"How could you possibly guess it was me and little Colin? Why didn't you guess it was someone else?" Chubby Tommy transformed into a pale-faced Andrew, weakly asking, "Rody, how did you know I was Andrew?"