The Lost People of Teyvat

Chapter 2: The Foolish Boy
Chen Tianfeng looked at the disheveled young man who suddenly squeezed in and grabbed the rough cage cylinder with his hands, and listened to his voice mixed with fear and panic. There was a brief surprise on his expression at first, and then it returned to normal.

No one wants to die.

He sighed in his heart, surprisingly without any anger at "his hard work being taken away by someone else", but only calm helplessness.

"Brother, you said you had no choice, but now it seems like I do have a choice."

The thief leader looked at Chen Tianfeng with a half-smile: "Look, a fool happens to be a cook, how suitable... I said that he and I are destined to be together."

"Brother is joking."

Chen Tianfeng pushed the idiot boy away and said, "To be honest, besides cooking, I am also good at logistics management. Big brother, you can't let a fool do the accounting, right?"

He paused and continued, "Besides, it's always safer for two people to be in charge of the food than for one person, right?"

"Besides being a cook and doing logistics, brother is also good at talking."

Seeing that Chen Tianfeng did not show the expected panic, the bandit leader could not help but feel a little bored. He smacked his lips and said, "We Liyue people have always valued fairness. So, I will give you two a chance. It's still a day's journey from here to our Silver Wing camp. During this time, you will be responsible for the meals of the brothers. Let's see who is more suitable for this position."

"Let's start with tonight's dinner."

The thief leader stood up and walked towards the cage, holding a key in his hand: "Although I am not sure which of you two will be my brother in the future, no matter who it is, my brother can no longer stay in the cage."

He opened the cage door, his smile could stop a child from crying at night: "I've been so good to you, don't let me down."

Chen Tianfeng had no objection. After walking out of the cage, he subconsciously glanced at the surroundings. Then, in the sight of the bandits, he calmly walked to the cart where the supplies were stored to check the types and quantities of the remaining condiments and ingredients.

The stupid boy followed him closely, helping him as if subconsciously.

Chen Tianfeng raised his eyebrows and did not choose to refuse. He just patted the silly boy's dirty hands that were reaching for the potatoes and said, "Wash your hands before cooking. Come on, follow me."

The silly boy seemed stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously and followed Chen Tianfeng.

"Boss, let me watch them!" Scarface volunteered.

The thief leader looked at Chen Tianfeng and the other man who had not walked far away, nodded, thought for a moment, then wrapped up the uneaten biscuits and put them back in his arms.

Chen Tianfeng looked at the cart loaded with clean water and other supplies, and once again confirmed that this was the real world, not the "abridged version" in the game.

Because of the bandit suppression, there are only five members left in the Silver Wing Treasure Stealing Group. Of course, this is also related to the fact that there were not many members originally. According to the leader of the bandits, they want to take a streamlined approach. I don't know if this is an excuse for the difficulty in recruiting new members.

There was a horse, a donkey, and a cart, all of which were not in good condition.

This is more realistic than in the game, where a cavalry captain doesn't even have a horse.

Chen Tianfeng muttered in his heart, and carefully took some water. In the wild mountains and wilderness, they had just come out of the cage and were cooking, otherwise how could the thief leader agree to let them do such an "unnecessary" thing as washing their hands.

Similarly, if they hadn't encountered the Qianyan Army's bandit suppression, these bandits wouldn't have fallen to the point of having to cook and eat for themselves. However, when they encountered the Qianyan Army, these bandits not only escaped, but also took away a horse, a donkey, and a cart, which is very worthy of bragging.

Chen Tianfeng suspected that this group of bandits had betrayed other treasure-stealing groups, and even some members of the Silver Wing Treasure-stealing Group, and that was how they escaped.

"My mother-in-law is old and always coughing..." The silly boy started playing the song in a loop again.

"I know, I know. You went to find Baizhu, and he gave you a strange but cheap prescription."

Chen Tianfeng interrupted him and sighed: “Your mother-in-law is still waiting for you, so you don’t want to die.”

The foolish boy was stuck for a moment, then burst into tears and choked up, "I found the herbs, grandma can be saved... I found the herbs, the herbs... the herbs were taken away..."

Is that why this fool would run away with the thief leader?
Chen Tianfeng was silent for a few seconds, mumbling something, and then he grabbed the stupid boy's dirty hands and washed them: "So you have to live, only when you are alive can you have hope."

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The stupid boy was not stupid, or not as stupid as the thief leader and Chen Tianfeng thought. At least he knew his name, where his home was, what he was doing, and he could cook well.

The silly look he had before was probably due to being scared.

Perhaps it was because Chen Tianfeng gave him a brief hope of survival, the silly boy seemed to have found his backbone. He followed Chen Tianfeng nervously and timidly, ready to be ordered around.

He also updated the loop playback. Chen Tianfeng listened to it and found that he had added a few more sentences related to his mother-in-law on top of the original ones, so he ignored him.

Although Chen Tianfeng was not a cook as he said, his cooking skills were indeed good. In addition, the silly boy, who was better at helping others than cooking, made fragrant meals in such a simple environment. The bandits were very satisfied. The leader of the bandits laughed and patted Chen Tianfeng on the shoulder, saying nonsense like "Brother, we are destined to be together". Only Scarface had a reluctant expression. Chen Tianfeng knew that he was staring at him from behind without turning around. His triangular eyes flickered, and he was definitely not thinking about being kind to others.

The sky had completely darkened. Chen Tianfeng saw the bandits with hammers and daggers working together to quickly dismantle the crudely made cage, chop it into a pile of firewood, and then pick up two pieces and throw them into the gradually shrinking fire.

Chen Tianfeng's pupils shrank, and he noticed that the bandits had not prepared firewood for the night, and they might have planned to smash the cage and burn it. Needless to say, the fate of him and the fool boy would be a lie. How could a group of bandits who were chased like dogs by the Qianyan Army carry out the kidnapping and extortion as planned?
The one-time business of killing and robbing is the most suitable for the current Silver Wing Treasure Thieves!

You can't believe a single word these bandits say!

The Hammer Bandit scratched his hair and seemed to notice that Chen Tianfeng was looking at him, and he smiled innocently.

Chen Tianfeng responded with a more honest smile.

The bandit leader arranged for people to take turns to keep watch, and they got into the cart wrapped in a blanket and holding a knife. Scarface, Hammer Bandit, and Dagger Bandit each found a place not far from the fire and sheltered from the wind, while the remaining bandit with a long knife sat by the fire, watching the fire and keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Chen Tianfeng and the silly boy were naturally not the night watchmen, and Scarface was not on duty either - this made Chen Tianfeng feel relieved. He tightened his coat, not caring about the harsh conditions in the wild, and found a barely acceptable position to lie down within the range that the long knife bandits could see.

The stupid boy was next to him, still mumbling something in a low voice, but it was unclear and inaudible.

Chen Tianfeng narrowed his eyes, with fire dancing in his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

He moved his fingers, quietly feeling the burning pain in his left hand. The experience during the day was too sudden. It was not until he entered the cage that he realized that he had also scratched his hand when he hit Scarface with the two sticks.

Fortunately, the wound was not deep and the bleeding had stopped when he found it. But he was a little worried, so he boiled some hot water while cooking, and washed the wound again after it cooled down.

Although it may seem like an exaggeration, Chen Tianfeng always felt that in Teyvat where elemental power existed, the bacteria here might be stronger than those in the original world. He would feel uncomfortable if he didn't clean it - of course, cleaning it would be useless, it was just for psychological comfort.

After all, Genshin Impact is a 2D mobile game. It’s okay that there is no cheat code after traveling through time, but why am I so unlucky at the beginning... Chen Tianfeng cursed silently and stopped thinking about these trivial things. While praying that he could find one or two familiar plants tomorrow, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

As the night wore on, a hint of paleness appeared on the horizon.

The fleeing bandits are always very concerned about time. Chen Tianfeng and the silly boy got up early and were about to pack up and make breakfast when the leader of the bandits waved his hand and said that the Silver Wing Treasure Thieves had no habit of eating breakfast, and that they planned to try to hunt two rabbits or other game while on the road in the morning, and asked Chen Tianfeng to think of a way to do it.

Chen Tianfeng once suspected that the two-meal system of the Silver Wing Treasure Thieves was a way for the thief leader to enrich himself.

The bandits packed up their things and built a fire. The bandit leader rode a horse and walked slowly in front. The hammer bandit hitched a cart to a donkey and sat on the cart with the dagger bandit to drive the cart. Scarface threw his knife on the cart, carried a big bag on his back, and walked beside the cart.

The long knife bandit walked at the end, holding the knife, and let Chen Tianfeng and the stupid boy follow the cart.

Chen Tianfeng temporarily put aside the idea of ​​looking for an opportunity to escape, and greeted the bandit leader with a normal expression, saying that he would see if he could find some wild vegetables to make the lunch better.

The bandit leader readily agreed and thoughtfully arranged for the long knife bandits to go with him.

The stupid boy wanted to go along, but was stopped by Scarface with a sinister smile. In the end, he carried Scarface's big bag and hurried on his way amid his scolding.

Chen Tianfeng kept a proper distance from the main force to avoid arousing excessive vigilance of the long knife mountain bandits. He squatted down from time to time, as if he was distinguishing wild vegetables and weeds, his eyes full of contemplation.

"Brother, how long has our Silver Wing Treasure Stealing Group been established?"

Chen Tianfeng smiled and talked to the long-knife bandits, but in his heart he was thinking about what he saw when he just set out: a small piece of slightly withered grass.

In this season, withered grass is not uncommon, but Chen Tianfeng clearly remembered that the grass was still green and full of vitality last night. Even if the sky affected the vision, it shouldn't be so far off.

Obviously something else was causing the impact.

Chen Tianfeng looked at his left hand. If there was anything else to say, it was that he had poured the dirty water used to clean the wound onto the grass.

An absurd guess suddenly popped up in his mind, and he immediately shook his head. It should be that one or two poisonous creatures came in the dead of night and defecate on that small piece of grass.

After all, Teyvat is a magical world, so it's normal for poisons to be strong. It's a pity that it's hard to turn back now, otherwise I could grab some dry grass and maybe save myself the effort of searching.

Of course, it was just a thought. After all, the bandit holding a knife next to him was not really accompanying him to dig wild vegetables.

Chen Tianfeng collected his thoughts and looked at the Long Knife Bandit with a sincere smile: "Brother, you are actually a veteran of our Silver Wing. No wonder I thought you must be extraordinary when I saw you for the first time!"

(End of this chapter)