From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him-Chapter 59 - 60: Midnight Scare

"Stop fussing. We just need a place to rest," Ancient Wen Heng said, quickly stopping her. It pained him to see her dragging her exhausted body around, trying to stay busy.

Jin Qianqian truly couldn’t go on. She tossed some toiletries and snacks onto the bed before turning back to the main hall outside, where her familiar bed and bedding were waiting.

Drifting off into their own dreams, the two of them had clearly forgotten that time flowed differently here than it did outside. By the time they had slept their fill and felt fully refreshed, ready to head back out and continue their efforts, they found themselves standing frozen in place.

They looked up at the starry sky. The moon was still hanging in the same spot where it had just risen.

"Hah, my memory is shot," Jin Qianqian said, slapping her forehead. "What do we do now?"

Ancient Wen Heng gazed out at the pitch-black darkness. "I guess we’ll have to wait it out outside. Let’s walk ahead a bit and find a clearing to build a fire. Looks like we’ll be staying up until dawn tonight."

Jin Qianqian quickly pulled out a high-powered flashlight. "This is all my fault. I completely forgot about this. But I do have some charcoal and alcohol in my space."

Hearing the rustling sounds all around them, goosebumps broke out all over Jin Qianqian’s skin. She cast aside any sense of decorum and clung tightly to Ancient Wen Heng’s arm.

"You have a tent, right?"

Jin Qianqian’s eyes lit up. "I do! Big ones and small ones. And I even have a portable hot pot with a gas canister. We can eat hot pot to kill time."

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’This space is just too convenient,’ he thought, a little envious.

Groping their way through the darkness, they found a towering tree and set up the tent beneath it.

"Other than the surroundings being a little creepy, this is actually a great outdoor experience." The tent’s enclosure gave Jin Qianqian a sense of security. ’If there’s any sign of trouble outside,’ she thought, ’I can just pull Wenheng into the space with me. Even if the time flow is different, the worst that can happen is we stay in there a bit longer.’

Ancient Wen Heng leaned back comfortably on the air mattress. "If I could forget everything we just went through, I’d almost think we were just camping. It would be perfect if we could invite a few friends over."

"Might I have the honor?"

Startled, Jin Qianqian shot to her feet and scrambled over to clutch Ancient Wen Heng tightly.

The sudden voice startled Ancient Wen Heng as well. As Jin Qianqian rushed toward him, he stopped her.

Steeling his nerves, he called out, "Who’s out there?"

"I am Guo Yurong. I happened to be passing by and overheard you, my friend, wishing to invite a few friends over. So I took the liberty of recommending myself."

Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian were speechless. ’Passing by? In the middle of the night, deep in these old mountains? What a flimsy excuse.’

"It’s not a mountain spirit, is it?" Jin Qianqian asked.

But the man outside clearly had excellent hearing. "I am a man of flesh and blood, not some mountain spirit. Please, my two young friends, do not worry."

"..."

Ancient Wen Heng patted Jin Qianqian’s hand reassuringly, then unzipped the side of the tent and poked his head out.

By the light of the moon and the faint glow of the incandescent lamp filtering through the tent, Ancient Wen Heng could only make out a dark figure standing there.

Before he could even say hello, the figure moved in a flash, appearing directly in front of him.

"So the entrance is here," Guo Yurong said, curiously sizing up the deep-blue tent. "This thing truly is peculiar."

Seeing the long shadow cast behind the man in the faint light, Ancient Wen Heng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

’I may be an atheist,’ he thought, ’but since Qianqian and I managed to end up in this unknown dynasty, who’s to say spirits and monsters aren’t possible?’

Ancient Wen Heng decided to just unzip the tent flap completely. He gestured with both hands in a sign of invitation. The man didn’t stand on ceremony, swaggering right inside.

"This is truly an ingenious creation! Marvelous, simply marvelous!" Upon entering the tent, Guo Yurong felt his eyes couldn’t take everything in at once. He looked up at the incandescent lamp, then stared at the small pot that burned without any firewood.

Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian finally got a clear look at the man’s face. He was nearly six feet tall with a rugged face, dressed in a robe with a sword at his side. The same two words simultaneously flashed through both of their minds: wandering hero.

"I never imagined a friend with such refined tastes could live so contentedly here in these deep, old mountains." Guo Yurong then turned to look at them, only to be slightly taken aback by their youthful faces.

"I’m just curious as to why a friend like you would be ’passing by’ so late at night?" Ancient Wen Heng deliberately stressed the words "passing by."

Guo Yurong took a deep whiff of the beef tallow-scented air in the tent and licked his lips without a care for his image. "I heard you wished to invite friends, so I made a special trip to offer my company. Might I have the honor?" ’I’ll never admit I was drawn here by the light.’

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’Scoundrel!’

Jin Qianqian was too. ’Scoundrel!’

"To meet is a sign of fate. If you don’t mind our simple setup, please sit and have a drink with us." Ancient Wen Heng gestured for him to sit. The man, not standing on ceremony, sat down directly across from them.

Flicking back his sleeves, Guo Yurong stared at the bubbling broth. "The aroma from this pot is so powerful! One whiff makes you want to start eating. I’m just not sure what you two are planning to cook in it?"

Jin Qianqian brought over a stack of take-out containers that had been piled in a corner. These were all individual portions she’d had the hot pot restaurant prepare.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "My wife and I were just about to have some hot pot. If you don’t mind, my friend, please join us."

Guo Yurong didn’t know what "hot pot" was, but he understood the invitation to eat with them.

He quickly sat up straight. "I don’t mind at all! Seeing that you have both meat and vegetables, it looks like I’m in for a treat today."

Jin Qianqian carefully added half a container of fish balls to the pot, followed by some sliced fish.

Ancient Wen Heng helped by portioning out the dipping sauce into small bowls, placing one in front of each of them.

"I’m not sure if you eat spicy food, my friend. Unfortunately, we only have a spicy broth."

Guo Yurong looked at the reddish broth, a little confused.

"Are these those ’spicy cloves’ from the Western Regions?"

Ancient Wen Heng didn’t understand what the man meant. ’Come to think of it,’ he mused, ’in the original owner’s memories, I don’t think I’ve ever seen red chili peppers.’

’I just hope that after tonight, we never see this guy again.’

Jin Qianqian said, "Perhaps! We bought them from a traveling merchant from abroad. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get very many. After this meal, we’ll have to find a way to track that merchant down again."

Seeing the man staring intently at the pot, Ancient Wen Heng took the initiative. He used a ladle to scoop out a fish ball and placed it in Jin Qianqian’s dipping-sauce dish.

He then served some for himself before gesturing for Guo Yurong to help himself.

Now that he had someone to copy, Guo Yurong understood immediately. So this "hot pot" was a cook-and-eat-as-you-go affair. It was actually rather interesting.

He mimicked the two of them, dipping the food into his sauce dish before popping it into his mouth.

At first, he wasn’t used to the numbing sensation in his mouth, but his eyes soon lit up, and his hands began to move faster. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Watching the man panting from the spice while stuffing food into his mouth, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but speed up her own eating. ’Where did this glutton come from?’ she thought. ’At this rate, will there be anything left for anyone else?’