What kind of strange object is this? Lian twirled the odd item in his hand with eyebrows furrowed together. There's a hole in this thing, and a picture of a skull? A bit too creepy for a picture.
Lian brought the strange object closer to his right eye while closing his left, examining it in detail. He saw the hole in the object, and inside lay a strange framework that was far more complex—looking like wheels sticking together—and it emitted a strange aura that was hard to explain.
Lian felt a sense of familiarity with the object he was holding; he rolled his eyes upward, trying to remember.
Hmm, I've seen this sort of thing... Isn't this like a whistle? Father once made me something like this, but that was made of wood, not strange materials like this one. Lian nodded his head, feeling confident in his memory.
He had once been made a whistle by his father when he was little to cure his boredom, as back then he was too young and wasn't allowed to go too deep into the forest. So, his father made him that whistle.
Lian used to play that simple whistle every day, every hour, maybe even every minute if his father hadn't limited him because it was too noisy.
Lian would play the instrument along with the melodious sounds of the trees, the chirping of crickets, the flow of the river, and the singing of birds perched on his shoulder. Lian felt a wave of nostalgia remembering it.
Lian then chose to keep the whistle, as if it were a prize for successfully finding the "outside world." He didn't immediately run out; instead, he chose to tinker with a few boxes there, just to look.
Lian wasn't a greedy person who would take everything. Although he lived in the forest, he was taught manners and courtesy by his parents. So, since he chose to take the whistle, he wouldn't take anything else. But looking around was a different matter.
A few minutes later, Lian had looked through all the strange objects in the cabin. After confirming everything, he gave a small nod and exited the cabin. He didn't leave immediately but instead entered another cabin in the carriage. There were several carriages there, about four in total.
A few minutes later, Lian had inspected two of the four cabins. He felt that the objects inside were almost the same as those in the previous cabin he had entered, so he figured the items in the other cabins wouldn't be much different. He actually wanted to enter the others, but he abandoned the intention for one main reason: he was afraid the people wearing those strange clothes would return while he was still there.
I don't know if those who look like me are good at fighting or not. But seeing them shouting while raising swords, they must be soldiers. It would be dangerous if I stayed here. Lian slowly climbed up and hid behind the large tree from before.
As he sat under its shade, he looked at the whistle now hanging around his neck.
Will something bad happen if I take this whistle? Lian looked hesitant. He peeked from behind the large tree to look at the carriages below, then hid again. I guess... nothing bad will happen. Soldiers are usually virtuous people; they will surely forgive me when they realize it, or maybe they won't even notice I entered their cabin.
Lian nodded, as if justifying his own thoughts.
He then stood up and was about to run when suddenly he heard footsteps vibrating the ground. Lian abandoned his intention to leave, choosing instead to stay there, behind the tree, to watch them.
They look very strong. I bet they all have cloaks made of bear skin. Lian widened his eyes from behind the tree while observing them.
His emerald green eyes saw several people carrying storage boxes full of Shorea fruit and other fruits Lian recognized. Furthermore, several others were carrying two headless deer suspended on wooden poles.
Once they were close to the carriages, they placed everything on the ground, and the Captain then inspected it.
He counted the boxes containing Shorea fruit carefully, then glanced at the carcasses of the headless deer.
The one-eared man approached the Captain and said, "Captain, it seems these supplies will be enough for our needs for the next five to seven days." The one-eared man picked up two Shorea fruits: one ripe, one not, then compared them and estimated the time. "If we look at the color of the fruit's skin, it's highly likely this fruit will ripen in the next three or four days because almost all the fruits we took have purplish-green skin."
To know the ripeness level of Shorea fruit, one could look at its outer skin. If it was green, it was still raw and tasted very bitter. If it was purplish, the Shorea fruit was almost ripe, tasting of a mix of sweetness and astringency. If the outer skin was purple, then the Shorea fruit was fully ripe and tasted very sweet, almost like honey.
The Captain just listened without moving. He then glanced at the deer. "It seems that will be enough, especially with the addition of two deer that delivered themselves as our food."
The Captain lifted his head and looked at his subordinates one by one.
"Listen, everyone. We have secured prey; these deer delivered themselves for us to eat. So, you useless subordinates, why aren't you cutting and storing them?"
Hearing that, the crew shouted loudly and began skinning the deer. After the two deer were skinned, one of them slit open the bellies to remove all the innards like intestines, stomachs, livers, etc. Once everything was removed, they started cutting and butchering the deer bodies into small pieces.
One of the crew stood up and said to the Captain, "Captain, everything is ready. Where should we store the meat? If we put it in ordinary boxes, the meat might become a nest for maggots."
The Captain, leaning against the carriage staring at the subordinate who asked, answered in a deep voice, "Have you never learned how to store meat? Just rub or soak it with coarse salt."
The crew scrambled into the cabins and grabbed containers filled with coarse salt and boxes large enough to be placed on the ground.
The deer meat was then placed inside the boxes, sprinkled heavily with coarse salt, and the crew mixed it so the salt was evenly distributed over all the meat.
The main reason why salt can be used to preserve meat is due to its ability to draw water out of the meat tissue and from microorganism cells through a process called osmosis. When salt is added, the free water content in the meat decreases, making the environment less suitable for the growth of bacteria, fungi, and microbes that cause spoilage.
Additionally, salt can also disrupt enzyme activity and lower the osmotic pressure inside microbial cells, which eventually causes those cells to die or become inactive. Thus, salt serves a dual purpose: inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and maintaining the texture and taste of the meat during storage.
While the crew was still mixing the salt with the meat, the one-eared man came out of one of the cabins carrying a long, strange object.
"Captain, we have ten silver bullets left because they were used to attack the Leviathan, and the other revolvers are broken because they fell into the water for too long, causing them to jam.
"Do we need to keep them? This is the only revolver that still functions. If we reach the nearest town, we need to consider buying new revolvers. But considering our funds... Hah." The one-eared man sighed and looked at the Captain, then shifted his gaze back to the long object in his hand.
The revolver had a brass-plated barrel that shimmered faintly with filigree engraving patterns, combined with a dark steel frame textured like scales, and rivet joints that looked like small fireworks along its silhouette.
At the base of the grip, a panel of fine-grained mahogany was tucked in, decorated with copper inlays shaped like small gears and clock nails that spun slowly, while a semi-transparent firing tube emitted an amber glow from the luminous steam moving inside it.
A switch button shaped like an old clock knob protruded out, and micro-pipes coiled around, carrying condensation to a mini-reservoir with a glass cover.
Lian, hiding behind the large tree, began to pull his head back and muttered inwardly. Why didn't I find that strange object when I entered the house pulled by horses?
The most logical reason is probably that the object was in another horse house, and I didn't have time to enter it. Hah, if only I had found it, I would have chosen to take that object instead of this whistle.
Lian sighed, feeling disappointed with his choice.
The Captain reached into his pocket, took out a cigar, and lit it. He inhaled with incredible calmness, then exhaled thick white smoke. "Relax. We caught interesting prey this time."
The Captain glanced toward the large tree.