Chapter 15

"Where the hell is this place?" On a branch of a tree that was seven or eight meters tall, Luo Liang looked into the distance while complaining.

To be honest, Luo Liang was now very suspicious that he was in a wildlife park or a nature reserve, as he had encountered snakes, a herd of deer, and a group of wild boars along the way. Thinking about those wild boars, Luo Liang involuntarily shivered. Moreover, this forest seemed to be excessively large; he had been walking for half a day and still hadn't reached the end. Luo Liang was already out of breath, and his body was covered with several small cuts from the bushes.

"This won't do. I might be lost already." Luo Liang looked up at the sun, estimating that it would set in one or two hours. Staying in this deep mountain at night was chilling to think about. "Hmm, there's a tree over there. Yes, I'll climb up and see what's going on." With this thought, Luo Liang immediately took action. After cutting through the underbrush, he finally climbed up a large tree on a small hill after half an hour. "If this continues, I'll probably go crazy," Luo Liang thought as he looked into the distance. "Hmm?! What's that?" He saw what seemed to be a faint plume of black smoke about two or three miles away.

"Ah?!" Luo Liang felt a surge of joy. "But it's not evening yet, how can there be smoke? Never mind, where there's smoke, there are people." Although he wasn't sure if what he saw was smoke, it gave him hope.

With this in mind, Luo Liang quickly climbed down the tree and started moving towards the direction of the smoke, struggling through the dense underbrush.

"Ao... wo..." While fighting with the surrounding shrubs, Luo Liang suddenly heard a loud animal call.

"Wait, what's that sound?" Luo Liang stopped to listen carefully. "Why does it sound familiar? No, that's a wolf's howl." Although he had never seen a wolf, he had watched wildlife documentaries and could recognize a wolf's howl. Luo Liang felt a surge of fear; in this wild place, he would only be torn apart by wolves.

"Run!" This was the only thought in Luo Liang's mind. He suddenly sped up.

......

"Huff, huff, huff" An hour later, Luo Liang had to stop on a small hill. His body was at its limit, and the sun was about to set. The forest showed no signs of ending, and Luo Liang had to consider spending the night there. He knew that the forest at night was full of dangers.

He spent half an hour collecting enough dry wood to last the night, including three large, rotten tree trunks. He believed that even without tending the fire, they would burn until the next day. After everything was prepared, the sky gradually darkened. Luo Liang lit the fire and ate some bread with a large leaf, scooping water from a nearby stream (Xiaogu had already been eaten on the way to reduce the weight of his backpack, but the seeds were saved).

Looking at the supplies in his backpack, it seemed that the food would have to be rationed. Although he saw many fruit trees along the way, he didn't dare eat them without knowing the situation. Hunting? It was just a thought; without tools, it was unrealistic for a modern person to hunt.

After eating, Luo Liang faced another problem: where to sleep at night. After careful consideration, he decided to spend the night on a tree about 8 meters high with a trunk about half a meter in diameter, one meter away from the fire. He was worried that the fire might not scare away wild animals (and what if the fire went out?), and the humid forest was full of leeches (he had been careful during the day but still got two leeches on his body...). If he lay on the ground, he would be feeding the leeches. Although leeches could climb low trees, they wouldn't climb to 8 meters high, right?

After making the decision, Luo Liang immediately took action. He used tree vines to tie seven small bundles of wood and hung them on the tree. Three smaller bundles were hung from the edge of the tree trunk at a height of 3 meters, with the other end of the vine tied to the branch where he would rest. This was mainly for early warning; if anything climbed the tree at night, it would shake the wood and wake Luo Liang. Of course, it was impossible to stand on these bundles or climb up the vines; Luo Liang chose vines that could only support the weight of the wood. If someone tried to climb, the vine would break and they would fall.

The other four bundles of wood were moved to the resting place on the tree, creating a sleeping environment. This was to prevent him from accidentally falling and to serve as a weapon (since he couldn't find any stones nearby).

Finally, he built a sloping rack next to the fire using several branches, placing the remaining wood on it. The main support was tied with a vine, the other end of which was pulled up to the tree (since it was too long, it was made by connecting several pieces of vine). If the fire weakened at night, he could pull the vine, and the wood would roll down to the fire. Luo Liang was not willing to climb down the tree to add wood in the middle of the night, especially in the presence of wild animals.

After everything was prepared, the sky finally turned completely dark. Luo Liang used his last bit of strength to climb the tree. Exhausted, he looked at the dark forest, reflecting on his recent experiences. Feelings of confusion, shock, and fear overwhelmed him. In a half-awake, half-asleep state, he managed to survive the night.

The next morning, when the sun was fully up, Luo Liang climbed down the tree. In this forest with severely obstructed visibility, it was better to wait until the sunlight was sufficient before starting the journey. He quickly ate a bread with water, then packed his belongings (the fire had gone out in the middle of the night). Luo Liang continued towards the direction of the smoke he had seen the previous day.

Although the remaining distance didn't seem far, the forest was so dense that with only a Swiss Army knife, Luo Liang could only move forward with great difficulty. After half a day of effort, he finally reached the edge of the forest and found a somewhat abandoned path.

"Road! There's a road! Where there's a road, there are people!" Luo Liang was overjoyed. He quickly ate a bread and some chocolate to regain his strength, then started walking along the path, choosing the direction away from the forest. After about half an hour, as he passed through a small forest, two figures suddenly jumped out. One of them, a teenager around 16 or 17 years old, brandished a knife and shouted at Luo Liang, "Jili gulu..."

"What? Is this guy crazy?" Luo Liang thought, puzzled by the performance.

"Hey!" The teenager, seeing that his performance didn't scare the passerby, became angry and rushed at Luo Liang with the knife.

"Uh?" Even a fool could see that the other party had bad intentions. Luo Liang turned and started running.

The two attackers, seeing that Luo Liang was a coward, laughed and chased him more vigorously. After running for more than twenty minutes, Luo Liang had to stop. Normally, he could have run longer, but after the events of the past two days, he was already exhausted.

He picked up a thick, dry branch from the roadside and turned to face the two approaching bandits. The bandits, thinking Luo Liang had given up, laughed and approached. Luo Liang felt like a tiger being bullied by dogs!

"Uh? Good opportunity!" Seeing the bandits slow down, Luo Liang's eyes lit up. "Ha!" He shouted to boost his courage and charged forward with the branch. The bandits, not expecting the prey to fight back, were caught off guard. Luo Liang took advantage of the opportunity to speed up his attacks. The fight ended in less than ten minutes.

Holding the knife he had taken, Luo Liang looked at the two bandits on the ground, still babbling for mercy. He found it amusing; they were clearly inexperienced robbers. If he had known, he wouldn't have run. "Well, I'll ask them where we are," he thought, and with a serious expression, he approached the bandits on the ground...

......

"Uh! How can this be?"

Luo Liang was very frustrated, really.

At first, he couldn't understand what the bandits were saying. Later, he realized they were speaking Japanese. Fortunately, he had studied Japanese in college, so basic communication was possible, although it was a bit different from what he had learned.

But the biggest problem now was that the more he listened, the more shocked and frustrated he became.

Looking at the so-called samurai sword in his hand and the bandits' clothing and appearance, combined with his knowledge of ancient Japan from the internet, Luo Liang had to believe that he had traveled through time.

Yes, Luo Liang had traveled to the Sengoku period of Japan, specifically the eastern part of Hizen in Kyushu, according to the bandits' description.

Looking at the bandits he had knocked out with the hilt of the sword, Luo Liang felt a deep sense of despair. "What to do? This is a time of war, and survival is difficult." He sat by the roadside, deep in thought, for the entire afternoon.

When the sunset's afterglow shone on his face, Luo Liang suddenly stood up and roared into the distance, "Ah!!!"

"Since this is the reality, I have to accept it. Thinking too much is pointless. I'll see how I can survive in this chaotic world. In my previous life, I was an orphan, so I might as well start over here." With this thought, Luo Liang looked at the two unfortunate bandits still lying on the ground. "I might have hit them too hard; I hope they don't suffer from amnesia," he thought with a bit of mischief.

He stripped the bandits of their clothes. After nearly a day and night in the forest and the intense battle in the morning, his clothes were in tatters. The bandits' clothes were loose and fit him well. "If you don't rob them, who will you rob?" he thought. If the bandits knew Luo Liang's thoughts, they would probably cry out, "How can this happen? The robbers are being robbed by the prey, what bad luck!"

He put the tattered sportswear (which he planned to keep and leave as a family heirloom, imagining the surprise of people seeing it centuries later) and another set of clothes from the bandits into his backpack. He put on one of the sets (he wasn't sure if it was a kimono or a samurai outfit) and picked up the samurai sword and a small bag with about ten copper coins. He looked at the bandits, who were now in their underwear.

"Well, in recognition of your contribution, I'll spare your lives today!" In reality, he had never killed anyone and couldn't bring himself to do it.

With that, Luo Liang turned and walked towards the direction of the smoke he had seen the previous day. "Hmm! The sun is setting again; I must find a place to stay quickly."

He walked along the path for nearly an hour, and it was already completely dark. Fortunately, the moon was bright. Luo Liang was standing under a tree on a small hill, from where he could clearly see the situation below. To be precise, it was a small valley, and there was a village at the bottom. The village was on fire, and a group of bandits was committing a massacre. Luo Liang had been guided there by the flames.

Luo Liang originally didn't want to get involved; killings were common in the Sengoku period, especially by bandits. But when he saw the helpless and pitiful look of a five or six-year-old girl, he changed his mind. His moral principles from his previous life wouldn't allow him to walk away. So he got angry, moved, and saved the girl at the last moment, then engaged in a fierce battle with the bandits under the moonlight.