Old Liu couldn't help but scoff at their naive expressions. A veteran soldier next to him heard it and quickly gave him a smack, reminding him to keep his mouth shut and not say anything unwelcome at a time like this.
Old Liu grunted again and slowly pushed himself up from the ground. 'Fine, I won't say anything,' he thought. 'They'll find out soon enough how naive they are. Cook something? Yeah, right. I'd like to see them find a single piece of dry firewood that will actually light.'
Once everyone had set up their tents, they stood there dumbfounded. It was just as Old Liu had expected. The matches were a bit damp—they could probably work around that—but there was no dry firewood. That was a real problem. Lighting wet wood would produce thick smoke, which was extremely dangerous in a forest crawling with unseen threats.
