Communication Barriers in Another World

At dawn, a faint fish-belly white struggled to tear open the night curtain over the eastern horizon.

The chill in the forest had not receded with the faint morning light. Instead, compounded by the long night, it had become even more biting.

Unlike the splitting headache ordinary people got after staying up all night, his mind was clear and his thoughts sharp.

Cui Ciyou leaned against the remains of the half-collapsed shelter and leisurely woke from a light sleep.

[Another world... monsters... and this unbelievable strength of mine...]

[My body's recovery abilities seem completely different from before, too.]

He instinctively lowered his head and looked at his right fist, crudely wrapped in strips torn from old clothing.

The scraped, swollen skin on his right fist from brutally killing the "Assault Hound" last night had miraculously healed when he removed the strips.

His skin was smooth and unblemished, with only a few extremely faint white marks remaining.

At the sight, Cui Ciyou's expression grew increasingly complicated.

Awakening—forest—night—monsters—battle—unbelievable recovery...

Everything from last night replayed through his mind like a revolving lantern, leaving him unable to deceive himself any longer.

"I really did come to an entirely different world somehow."

His throat was still parched. He drank the morning dew he had collected with his T-shirt, but it could only barely moisten his cracked lips.

His most urgent task was to fully resolve his water and food problems.

That meant he had to make containers for holding water and heating it as soon as possible, so he could boil the stream water.

Just as Cui Ciyou had roughly sorted out his thoughts and was about to head to the stream to see whether those "dim-witted" otherworldly fish could serve as breakfast—

A clear, rhythmic sound he had never heard in this forest abruptly reached his ears.

"Clip... clop-clop... clip..."

The crisp, regular sound carried the distinctive quality of something hard striking the ground, steadily approaching in his direction.

[Is that... the sound of hooves?!] Cui Ciyou's heart tightened.

His body tensed instantly like a fully drawn bowstring, almost as a reflex.

He rolled to his feet and silently hid behind a thick tree.

At the same time, he used his foot to stamp out and cover the last weak embers in the fire with wet mud.

His heartbeat quickened, not entirely from fear, but more because—those hoofbeats might mean the presence of "people"!

"Could they be natives of this world?"

The hoofbeats drew nearer and clearer.

Soon, besides the sound of hooves striking the ground, he caught the distinctive creak of wheels grinding over a muddy road and... faint, indistinct voices in conversation.

The source was a patch of woodland not far from the stream he had found yesterday.

Cui Ciyou quickly adjusted his breathing, carefully parted the dense branches before him, and peered through a gap in the trees.

Through the dawn mist, three rather old wooden carriages slowly traveled down a muddy path worn beside the stream.

Each carriage was pulled by two draft horses. The horses were fat and sturdy, but their steps were heavy, clearly burdened by substantial loads.

On the driver's seat of the lead carriage sat a burly man with a full beard.

He wore dark linen clothes and a soft cap of the same material. At his waist hung a longsword with a crossguard. Its leather scabbard was styled with a distinctly medieval European flair.

His expression was stern as his vigilant eyes swept the surrounding forest. The fingers gripping the reins were thick-knuckled and powerful.

From the looks of it, he was not merely the driver; he was most likely the leader of the caravan's guards as well.

The compartments of the two carriages behind him were covered with thick oilcloth, concealing whatever they carried.

Seven or eight men dressed similarly followed beside and behind the convoy, wielding spears, axes, or swords.

Their expressions were wary as they kept the carriages closely protected in the middle.

Now and then, he could hear several people talking inside the second carriage, but they were too far away for him to make out their words, and besides... their language was completely incomprehensible to him.

Cui Ciyou narrowed his eyes, hiding himself deeper in the tree shadows as his mind raced.

[Carriages... medieval-style weapons and clothing... a completely unfamiliar language...]

All of it perfectly matched his conclusion from last night: this was another world.

These people should be natives of this world. They looked like a traveling merchant caravan.

[What should I do next? Show myself and approach them? Or... stay hidden and wait for them to leave?]

He almost immediately decided not to make contact for the time being.

Recklessly approaching a group of heavily armed, highly wary strangers, especially when they could not understand each other's language and their understanding of one another differed so greatly, was not a wise choice.

Human nature was universal. Seeking gain and avoiding harm, and being wary of outsiders, were instinctive.

Without enough ability to protect himself or sufficient information, exposing himself—an "outsider"—could very well invite fatal danger.

So he chose... to keep his distance for now and wait to see what happened.

Yet events often did not unfold according to human will.

Just as Cui Ciyou had made up his mind to wait for the caravan to leave on its own—

"Thud!" A dull, heavy crash came from the direction of the convoy!

It was immediately followed by the startled neighing of horses and the brief, chaotic shouts of guards and drivers in an otherworldly language. The urgency and tension in their voices were unmistakable.

Cui Ciyou's attention was immediately drawn over.

Through the gaps in the branches, he clearly saw:

It was the heaviest-looking cargo carriage in the middle of the convoy. The road was too muddy and slick.

Its left rear wheel had sunk deep into a concealed pit, leaving it completely immobile!

The two tall horses pulling it anxiously pawed at the ground, but could not drag the carriage free.

Several guards and drivers hurried over at once. Some tried to pry the wheel with crowbars, while others pushed hard from behind the carriage.

Meanwhile, the bearded leader and several other guards immediately spread out and scanned the surroundings with even greater vigilance, clearly worried about being attacked while the carriage was trapped.

Watching the chaos, Cui Ciyou's thoughts stirred slightly.

[These people really have terrible luck. Still, they're handling it fairly orderly. They don't look like a ragtag bunch.]

His gaze settled on the anxious, busy figures. His expression was calm, with no intention of stepping forward to help.

They were strangers with no ties to him, and he did not know whether they were friends or foes. There was no reason to expose himself and take unnecessary risks for them.

[No matter what—it has nothing to do with me.] He prepared to quietly back away.

However, just as he was about to move—

A young guard responsible for the caravan's outer perimeter happened to look up while nervously scanning the area. His hawk-sharp eyes swept right across the patch of brush where Cui Ciyou was hiding!

Though Cui Ciyou had concealed himself well, the changing morning light in the woods and his black clothing, which stood out starkly from his surroundings, still allowed the other man to keenly catch a trace of something unusual!

(In a primeval forest during the day, a black hoodie was quite conspicuous!)

"—!"

The young guard's expression froze for an instant before his pupils abruptly contracted.

Almost reflexively, he yanked out the longsword at his waist and pointed its tip directly toward Cui Ciyou's hiding place.

At the same time, he shouted something in an extremely short tone filled with intense vigilance and alarm.

The sudden sharp cry instantly stopped everyone who had been working or standing guard. They all turned in unison toward the direction the young guard had indicated.

The next second, when their eyes caught the figure hidden in the tree shadows—

Nearly every face displayed the exact same expression—first shock, then confusion, followed by deep wariness and hostility!

Cui Ciyou silently cursed his bad luck and narrowed his eyes.

He knew he had been discovered.

"...Tch. What a pain."

He cursed silently, but there was no panic on his face. He remained as calm as possible.

[I can't understand a word these people are saying?]