Chapter 13: Eating

The celery looked very tender, and the slices of meat inside resembled ordinary pork; there was nothing unusual about them.

Qin Wu poked at the dish with his chopsticks, tentatively picked up a small piece of celery, and put it in his mouth.

After swallowing, he opened the panel, and the task on it was still in the ‘Uncompleted’ state.

It seemed he really had to eat all of this.

“Young man, please eat first. If you need more, just call me.” The proprietress called out, took a cloth to wipe her hands, and then approached Qing Xuanzi again.

It sounded like she hadn’t given up, still wanting to entice her to eat a meal at her eatery.

He didn’t know why she was so persistent.

Qin Wu specifically picked out the celery to eat, leaving the meat untouched. However, this taste…

He fell silent, his emotions somewhat heavy.

It tasted exactly like the food his mother used to cook in his past life. With every bite, snippets of time spent with her would automatically surface in his mind.

If this was the case, it was no wonder the food here was so unforgettable.

After finishing, Qin Wu clicked on the panel and found that the task inside was still uncompleted.

What was going on?!

Qin Wu looked at the empty bowl, his heart filled with shock and uncertainty.

Didn’t this count as dinner?

Suddenly, the surroundings brightened, as if a covering overhead had been removed, allowing sunlight to stream in.

But he had seen the sun of this world; it was entirely black and radiated a chilling cold.

How could there be something this bright?

Qin Wu abruptly stood up, the bench behind him scraping against the ground with a harsh sound as it was pushed back.

He looked up towards the sky.

White clouds and mist obscured his vision, but he could still see two bright yellow orbs hidden behind the vapor.

Are these… the suns?

As Qin Wu was shocked, the clouds and mist fluctuated violently. Two long, slender cylindrical objects extended from the mist, getting closer and closer to the ground, appearing to descend towards him.

He immediately wanted to flee to Qing Xuanzi’s side, but looking around, he realized he was the only one left.

“Damn it!”

Qin Wu cursed inwardly, realizing he had been trapped again.

The cylinders drew nearer. Qin Wu had no time to think further and rushed randomly in one direction. Unexpectedly, the cylinders changed direction too, sticking close behind him like maggots burrowing into bone.

Soon, the two cylinders landed completely, positioning themselves on either side of him. Before Qin Wu could breathe a sigh of relief, they moved again, grasping him like chopsticks and retracting towards the clouds and mist above.

He drew his long sword and struck them. The collision produced a crisp clang, but there wasn’t even a scratch on the cylinders.

Seeing that effort was useless, he stopped struggling, ceasing the pointless exertion.

Entering the clouds and mist, Qin Wu could feel a powerful airflow blowing past, and his trajectory was directly along the direction of the current.

The airflow grew stronger, and soon he saw its source: a massive, deep cavern hidden within the mist.

Hot, moist air continuously jetted out of the opening, then surged inward again, constantly cycling. The surrounding mist also gathered and dispersed repeatedly.

Held between the two cylinders, he moved closer to the cavern. He could see that it was bottomless, its inner walls cast from scarlet flesh, and a long, worm-like creature lay dormant on the ground.

Seeing that he was about to be sent inside, Qin Wu used every means available but could not break free, only watching helplessly as the cylinders delivered him into the cavern.

The opening quickly closed above him, and everything plunged into darkness.

…

【Health -10】

【Current Health: 66】

Qin Wu violently recoiled from the dining table, knocking the stool over with the movement. While stumbling backward in a panic, he accidentally stepped on it and staggered.

“Young man, what’s wrong with you?”

The proprietress was holding a plate of stir-fried celery with meat and a bowl of white porridge, looking as if she had just brought them out from the kitchen to serve.

He ignored the proprietress’s question and instinctively looked for Qing Xuanzi. Seeing that she and Qian Tuo were still standing in place, he finally relaxed.

Qing Xuanzi looked over with confusion when she saw Qin Wu in that state.

“Hoo—”

He rubbed his brow and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

Were everything that just happened an illusion?

“You’re not eating anymore?” Qing Xuanzi asked.

The proprietress had already placed the food on the table and looked troubled: “I’ve already cooked it; if you’re not going to eat…”

“I’ll pay for the meal regardless.” Qin Wu took out the five copper coins and placed them on the table.

Since the task showed uncompleted after he finished eating the first time, it would likely be the same this time. Combined with the experience of dying in the cavern, it was best to leave quickly and check the next place.

The two burly men at the table had already finished their noodles and were currently eating stewed beef.

A long chopstick lifted a piece of beef, the wrist turned, and it was slowly chewed in the man’s wide-open mouth.

Seeing his movements, Qin Wu’s face turned uncontrollably ashen. He had just been clamped between two cylinders and sent into a cavern—how similar was this scene!

He was eating the dishes on the table, unaware that he himself had become a dish on someone else’s plate.

“I apologize, Proprietress. Please tell me how much the meal costs.” Although he didn’t know the exact price, since Qing Xuanzi could give him five coins, it must be within that range.

However, the proprietress tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a seductive smile: “But Young Man, the payment for our eatery isn’t that!”

A sense of dread surfaced in Qin Wu’s heart. He subtly moved towards Qing Xuanzi: “If you don’t accept copper coins, what do you accept?”

“Of course it’s…” The proprietress’s mouth suddenly stretched open, her teeth gleaming coldly like a shark’s, “Becoming the customer’s food!”

As she shed her disguise, Qin Wu instantly mobilized his spiritual power, concentrating it in his feet, and rapidly fled toward Qing Xuanzi.

“Senior Sister, save…”

His voice trailed off. He stared blankly at Qing Xuanzi; her face still held that confused expression, as if she couldn’t see the proprietress’s abnormality and didn’t understand why he was rushing over.

“You’re not eating anymore?” Qing Xuanzi asked again.

Qin Wu retreated a few steps, his heart turning completely cold.

She was definitely not the real Qing Xuanzi!

“Customer, it’s time to pay the bill,” the proprietress said mournfully.

The two giant chopsticks reappeared from the clouds and mist. He looked back, and Qing Xuanzi’s figure had vanished once more.

The proprietress stood before the eatery, staring at him coldly, but she didn’t seem inclined to attack.

Just as the chopsticks were about to clamp down on him, Qin Wu looked around and plunged into the forest.

He had initially intended to use the trees to block the chopsticks from the sky. They did stop, slowly retracting into the mist.

Then, a giant hand descended from the sky. He could even clearly see the deep grooves of the palm lines. It grabbed the towering trees near Qin Wu and uprooted them all.

He used all his spiritual power to try and run back into the forest, but he was lightly pinched between two fingers and sent once again into the flesh-lined cavern deep within the clouds and mist.

Before his vision faded, he deeply memorized the black spot on the thumb of that giant hand.

…

【Health -10】

【Current Health: 56】

“Food is here!” The proprietress walked out of the eatery carrying stir-fried celery with meat and white porridge. “A free bowl of gruel is included.”

It was the exact same scene as the first time he ate. This time, Qin Wu sat motionlessly on the stool, not intending to make any rash moves.

The food was placed on the table. Qin Wu drew a pair of chopsticks and made a gesture as if he were about to eat.

Based on the first experience, nothing should happen before he finished eating all this food.

He slowly sipped the rice porridge while subtly surveying his surroundings. He absolutely had to find a way to escape before finishing these things.

Until his gaze swept past the burly man beside him, Qin Wu stared at the hand lifting the food, his eyes fixed.

There was a sesame seed-sized black spot on that man’s thumb.

After two seconds of silence, Qin Wu pulled the stir-fry dish in front of him over and pushed it toward the burly man. He spoke familiarly: “Big Brother, it’s like this; I’m from out of town and wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?” The burly man looked up, his orange-yellow eyes regarding him with confusion.

“…”

He seemed to understand what that’sun’ in the clouds and mist was.

“…No, no need to ask. I think I already figured it out.”

Qin Wu’s expression twisted at a visible rate.

So it was this kid who ate me twice, wasn’t it?