Yu Yuan crouched in front of the two men and rubbed the corner of their clothes between his fingers.
His fingers actually turned black.
The black dust on their skin was embedded deep in its texture, even completely clogging their pores.
He could see signs that they had washed but had been unable to get clean.
"Coal dust..."
Yu Yuan seemed to realize something as he looked at them.
"You two... are miners, aren't you? Did you escape from the Dead Mine?"
"Yes... sir..." The speaker was a middle-aged man in his forties. Though extremely weak, he still kept the other man firmly behind him.
His eyes were wary, yet cautious, as though afraid of angering the man before him.
The man behind him was not very old, probably only in his early twenties.
He looked nervous, but Yu Yuan could tell he was rapidly taking in his surroundings.
He seemed to be searching for a chance to survive.
Seeing this, Yu Yuan's impression of the two improved slightly.
Yu Yuan turned to the soldier beside him.
"Go get them something to eat and drink."
Both men froze briefly at his words. The food soon arrived.
"Relax. I mean you no harm. Eat something first, then tell me about the mine."
The two hesitated and exchanged a glance.
The young man kept swallowing, already reaching for the food.
Smack—
The middle-aged man slapped the young man on the head.
Pulling him closer, he said to Yu Yuan, "Thank you, sir!"
"Uh... thank you, sir..." The young man immediately followed his lead.
"Heh..." Yu Yuan was amused.
"Go on, eat!"
The two could no longer restrain themselves. They grabbed the food and stuffed it into their mouths. Clearly, they had been starving for some time.
"Bring some more food!" Yu Yuan