Traveler in the Pirate World

In the narrow tree hole, Rui's originally hungry and yellow face turned extremely pale. He frowned, and large drops of cold sweat emerged from his forehead. His not short dark purple hair was already soaked, and his breathing was particularly rapid. This weak body finally fell ill.

With a rustling sound, the leaves covering the cave entrance and used to mask the smell were pushed aside by a rough big hand, revealing the face of a middle-aged man behind them.

He was a burly man with a square face, thick eyebrows, a big nose, and a neat dark red short hair. He was not tall, even short, only about 1.23 meters. But he had a body of tendons, and the half of his forearm that was exposed was covered with long sweat hairs. His skin outlined the solid muscle lines, and he looked very powerful.

"Oh! Look what I found in this jungle?" The man's voice was deep, and he grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth that seemed to be shining.

……

Rui opened his heavy eyelids in a daze. In the dim space, all he saw was a tall, uneven stone wall. His brain was still a little groggy, and he slowly received information from the outside world.

"Are you awake, kid?" The man's voice suddenly came from the side. When he turned his head, he almost had a close contact with the rough face, which made Rui wake up suddenly.

"Who are you?" He shrank back in panic, obviously frightened. However, because of his big movements, the bandaged wound on his body was affected, and blood oozed out, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth in pain.

"What a cowardly little fellow!" the man laughed unscrupulously. "My name is Holman Benny. You can call me Old Benny. Everyone calls me that. As you can see, I saved you!"

While listening to Old Benny's words, Ray looked around. There was a striking fire in the center of the room, casting long shadows on the stone walls on all sides.

As the firelight flickered, the shadows swayed with it, as if there were countless wild beasts hiding in the darkness, peering at the people in the cave restlessly, which looked a little eerie.

The fire used for heating, lighting and cooking was made of a simple circle of gravel, with an iron pot supported by a triangular wooden frame on top, its surface blackened by smoke and fire. Hot steam rose from the gap in the lid that rose and fell, making a series of slight rippling sounds and emitting a not-so-pleasant herbal smell.

There were four stone blocks and two simple wooden tables next to the fire. They actually looked more like taller stools, but they were divided into partitions and held some tableware.

A lot of wood for burning was neatly piled up in the corner of the wall, and an axe was hung on the wall above it, which should be used for chopping wood.

In the other corner of the cave, there are two exquisite low cabinets that are completely different from this simple layout. Through the glass windows, you can see a lot of bottles and jars inside.

In addition to the neatly arranged notes and books on the low cabinet, there is also a row of wall cabinets, which also contain many glass jars and some cloth bags the size of two fists, all of which are full of things.

On the other side is a simple wooden door. On the wall near the door hangs a bow and arrow quiver, as well as a machete that is about one palm wide and half a meter long.

After glancing around, Rui slowly withdrew his gaze, looked at old Benny, and said seriously: "Thank you!" He didn't know what else to say except this.

"What a polite kid!" Old Benny turned around and sat down on the stone block beside the fire. When he lifted the lid of the pot, white steam with a rich herbal smell filled the entire room.

The next moment, old Benny used a big fork to pick out a cylindrical piece of meat tied with a knot, carefully placed it on the plate on the stone block next to him, and cut a part of it into small pieces.

While dividing the meat, Old Benny smiled and said, "Your body is in serious condition. It's hard for you to absorb ordinary food. Fortunately, you met me!"

Rui looked at the white piece of meat that old Benny handed to him. The strong smell of medicine surrounded his nose, but he did not dislike it. He just casually asked, "What is this?" and then started to eat it without hesitation. The taste was not very good, but it was not as bad as expected. The white piece of meat melted in his mouth, with a slight bitterness and a hint of freshness flowing through the tip of his tongue, and did not cause any discomfort to Rui's scarred stomach.

"The meat of the snow fat fish is not a valuable thing!" Old Benny did not eat it, but put the remaining fish meat back into the pot. "It's just that the cooking method is a little different. Now it should be said that it is a medicine for your body conditioning."

"I'm curious, kid, where are you from?" Old Benny said, taking a look at the tattered clothes thrown in the corner. Even though they were worn out, the material was not something that ordinary people could afford to wear.

"Gordon Kingdom!" Rui answered without any concealment.

"Oh...that's really far away!" Old Benny nodded, and then fell silent. He had heard from the market what happened in the Gordon Kingdom. The snow and wind from the extreme south hit there. Now, three years have passed, and it has become a hell on earth.

In fact, it was not only the Gordon Kingdom that was affected by this snowstorm. Old Benny had also seen a lot of refugees in the past two years. Of course, there were also many desperate people who became pirates.

The only ones who could still stay in the kingdom and live freely were the nobles and merchants who still relied on their own caravans to travel around. As for what had become of the ordinary people who still stayed in their own country, old Benny could hardly imagine.

After Rui finished eating all the fish pieces in the bowl, he still looked at old Benny with some reluctance. It had been a long time since he had eaten a meal without any discomfort.

Old Benny took one look at Rui's expression and knew what he wanted, but he shook his head and said, "You can't overeat in your current body. Your stomach can't handle it and can't absorb it. Wait two hours before eating!"

Rui nodded. Although his body was hungry, he could endure it.

He looked at the other person, not knowing what to say, nor how to thank the other person for saving his life. He could only keep the kindness firmly in his heart.

"Kid, what's your name?" Perhaps feeling that the atmosphere was a bit depressing, Old Benny asked.

"Rui, Fox Rui!"

"It's a nice name. What are your plans for the future? Do you have a place to go? If so, can I help you think of a solution?"

Rui remained silent after hearing this, and then shook his head after a while. He had nowhere else to go.

"Is that so? Then you can continue to follow me. My shop just happens to be short of an apprentice." Old Benny said this not out of pure sympathy, but because he really needed an apprentice with a higher level of literacy. "I am a plant lover and I run a small shop. My wife usually takes care of it at home.

If you follow me, you will often wander in this dense forest. If you don't like it, just refuse directly. Don't be embarrassed! "

"I never thought of refusing!" Rui said without hesitation.

"That's good. I hope you're not a guy who hates studying!" Old Benny was a very straightforward person. Seeing Rui's agreement, he turned around and took down a few notebooks from the cabinet and handed them to Rui. "You can't move around these days, and I haven't prepared any basic knowledge in this campground. You can first write down some of the vegetation I recorded here, and then start formal learning after a while."

"Okay!" Rui took the notebook and slowly opened it. The light in the room was dim. Old Benny turned on the bedside lamp, and the notebook became much clearer all of a sudden.

Unlike old Benny's rough appearance, his handwriting was excellent, which made Rui envious, just like he once envied his father's handwriting.

The notes were quite neat, with detailed introductions and beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. Even the effects of each plant were clearly stated, which made Rui look at old Benny in surprise.

When old Benny saw him looking at him, he just smiled. He had seen such looks many times. People always couldn't help but judge others by their appearance first, and then other things.