Chapter 84 Late-Night Tea Party This was already a feast from heaven...

A miniature campfire made of pine needles is burning inside the tent.

The unique, mellow aroma of pine resin fills the entire house even in the high temperature, creating a pleasant atmosphere like a winter feast.

Liang Xun sat on a small stool made of simple polished stone, her gaze following the bamboo bowl in Xin Sang's hand—until the bowl of liquid, which exuded a rich aroma, was placed in front of her.

"It's ginger soup made from wild ginger, with a few bunches of Sichuan peppercorns added."

Seeing Liang Jun reach out and take it, Xin Sang turned around and served ginger soup to the others.

"The temperature has been fluctuating wildly these past few days, it's really hard to predict. Especially tonight, the temperature dropped sharply, you're probably all freezing, have some ginger soup to warm yourselves up."

The bamboo bowl is green on the outside and yellow on the inside, and the thick bamboo core feels very heavy in the hand.

The heat traveled through the bowl to her palms, and Liang Yun placed the bamboo bowl in front of her nose, whereupon the intense, spicy aroma hit her face.

"Cough cough—"

She originally thought it was just ordinary ginger soup, but she didn't expect the taste to be so pungent that Liang Jun was caught off guard and choked up with tears.

"Oh baby, slow down..."

After handing the last cup of ginger soup to Jiang Chunhua, Xin Sang hurriedly pulled out a tissue and wiped Liang Yun's mouth.

“You might not be used to the taste of wild ginger soup the first time you drink it—I couldn’t stand the taste at first either.”

Xin Sang grabbed a stone bench and quickly coiled her long red hair behind her head. "These are our conditions. After all, it's a barren mountain. We're already very lucky to have found a few wild ginger plants and a few clumps of Sichuan pepper."

She turned slightly to the side, and only then did everyone notice the bubbling stone pot behind her.

Two or three thin slices of ginger float on top of the soup, while dark red Sichuan peppercorns simmer and float back and forth in the broth.

Xin Sang didn't get up; he simply stretched out his arm and took another empty bamboo bowl from the cabinet next to him.

After two large spoonfuls of warm ginger soup were poured in, Xin Sang couldn't wait to drink it.

Seeing this, the other five exchanged silent glances, then slowly picked up their bamboo bowls and took a couple of sips as well.

The scalding liquid rolled into my throat, and the unique spiciness of wild ginger was maximized by the heat.

It was as stimulating as swallowing raw chili water, and the subtle Sichuan peppercorn flavor made Liang Jun feel like sneezing.

She frowned as if she were drinking Chinese medicine, and gulped it all down in one go.

She can sense the path the ginger soup travels through her body.

That warm, hot feeling gradually churned up from the bottom of my stomach.

The warm current stimulated every tiny blood vessel, bringing not only a sweet and refreshing aftertaste, but also causing Liang Yan to break out in a sweat.

"Is it warmer now?"

Xin Sang noticed the beads of sweat on their foreheads and smiled as she handed them a few more sheets of paper.

No more, no less, one for each person.

"Wipe your sweat. Although our tent is warm enough, don't catch a cold."

Xin Sang got up again and brought everyone a bowl of cleaned red wild berries. "Getting sick in a game instance is the worst thing."

Liang Jun remained silent, folded the two tissues, and put them in her pocket.

Where did you get the paper?

Wild ginger and Sichuan peppercorns can be obtained by picking, bamboo bowls can be made by shaving bamboo, and stone benches can be made by polishing stones.

But these tissues, which look like industrially produced products, couldn't possibly have been manufactured by her in the dungeon...

"Oh, you mean this..."

Xin Sang got up with a knowing look and took a pack of tissues from the bedside table. "I redeemed this from a vending machine. It was the only pack left, so I've been using it with great care."

Qi Zhixia held the empty bamboo bowl in her hands. "May I ask where you found the vending machine?"

"I don't know if you guys are familiar with the 'emergency aid station'?" Xin Sang asked observantly, taking Qi Zhixia's empty cup. "Our teammate was seriously injured, and we found this machine while the rest of us were waiting. There weren't many things left inside, and when it was my turn, all that was left was this pack of tissues."

As Xin Sang spoke, she stuffed the remaining half of the tissues back into the bedside table.

"Judging from your words, have you also exchanged items in vending machines?"

Xin Sang possessed extraordinary shrewdness, so Liang Xun had no choice but to release a few pieces of information.

"Yes, but the resources we obtained back then were different from what you got back then."

Xin Sang carefully considered these words, and then nodded in understanding.

"Let's not talk about that now, let's eat some fruit—"

-

The campfire had been mostly extinguished by people stepping on it, leaving only the weakest flame in the center still burning fiercely, providing a faint light source and just the right temperature for the entire tent.

Six single wooden beds were neatly arranged at the innermost part of the tent. They had long since finished their late-night tea party and were preparing to turn off the lights and go to sleep.

Amidst the faint but rhythmic breathing, Xin Sang caught the sound of the person in the next bed tossing and turning.

"Liang Jun?"

She asked tentatively in a low voice, "Why aren't you asleep yet? Are you having trouble adjusting?"

The sound of turning over and over stopped abruptly.

Liang Jun remained lying on her back, staring intently at the dazzling starry sky outside the transparent canopy.

"No, Sister Xin treated us very well," Liang Jun sighed quietly, "I'm just not very sleepy yet."

Xin Sang turned to the side, facing the direction of Liang Jun's bed.

"If there's something on your mind, you might try talking to me about it."

Seemingly trying to ease Liang Xun's mind, Xin Sang continued softly, "Before you came, I was the only one living in this tent. The boys all lived together in groups, making a lot of noise every night, not at all like they were trying to survive in a dungeon; while I could only lie in bed, just like you are now, counting over and over how many stars I could see from the top of the tent."

Unexpectedly, even in the darkness, Xin Sang could see through his little tricks at a glance.

Liang Xun silently withdrew her gaze. "Sister Xin, how long have you been here?"

"how long?"

Xin Sang seemed to be lost in a long memory as well. "A week? Two weeks? Or a month? To be honest, I can't quite remember myself."

Have you ever been to a mountaintop and seen a Ferris wheel?

"certainly."

Xin Sang pulled the blanket tighter around her. "When my teammates lined up to get on the Ferris wheel, I stood below watching them. I thought that after the Ferris wheel went around once, they would come down with souvenirs and not leave the instance until 4 a.m. the next morning. But I waited below for a long time and never saw them again."

"We didn't even have time to say a final goodbye," Xin Sang said with a regretful, bitter laugh.

Liang Jun felt uneasy, so she changed the question again.

"Sister Xin, um..." For a moment, she couldn't find a suitable pronoun to address him, "that blue-haired guy..."

"You mean Ge Lin?"

Xin Sang's tone became more relaxed. "He was one of the first guests I ever hosted. He originally planned to stay one night and then continue his adventure with his teammates the next day, but we talked all night long—just like we are now with you—and then he changed his mind."

Xin Sang turned over in bed.

“He said he wanted to stay here and earn enough points before leaving. I thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a capable young man stay, so I agreed. He helps me collect rent now, and I pay him according to the number of customers.”

As the night deepened, everyone's thoughts would often drift far away during their conversation.

Xin Sang seemed to have thought of something again, her eyes sparkling as she looked in Liang Jun's direction. "To be honest, Liang Jun, I really hope you can stay and live here with me."

"You have your guardian spirit, and your life won't be threatened, which is a unique advantage in dungeons; besides, if you come, I'll have a roommate, we can go dig for wild vegetables and chop down trees together, and chat like we are now at night..."

Liang Xun could no longer hear what Xin Sang said next.

When she opened her eyes again from her warm bed, it was already early morning.

This is their fourth day at Wuxie Amusement Park.

Just as Liang Xuan finished tidying her bedding, the tent flap was suddenly yanked open.

Gu Keke called out loudly from the doorway, "Sister Jun, come out and have breakfast together!"

breakfast?

Liang Jun originally thought that everyone had shared the bread they bought.

But when she walked out of the tent in a daze, she found herself surrounded by a dazzling array of fresh dishes.

The variety wasn't particularly abundant.

The boiled eggs belonged to some kind of bird; the yolks were a clear, golden yellow, and the runny center was still oozing out.

Freshly washed lettuce leaves were laid out on the table, and every time someone picked them up, cool water droplets splashed everywhere.

The most fragrant dish of the entire meal was the mushroom stew that was simmering in a pot; you could smell the fresh aroma of mushrooms from a distance.

Although it was only four days, the extreme fatigue every day made Liang Jun feel as if eating such hot and comforting dishes was something from a past life.

Her stomach growled without mercy, and as soon as she sat down next to Jiang Zhiling and Qi Zhixia, she couldn't wait to stuff a bite of lettuce roll into her mouth.

The lettuce didn't have enough moisture to break up the dryness of the egg yolk. Liang Jun drank several more mouthfuls of warm mushroom soup before finally swallowing her food.

Gu Keke, sitting opposite him, had already swallowed two lettuce rolls.

She wiped her mouth contentedly, preparing to make herself a third one. "I didn't expect this to be so delicious, but I still prefer lettuce wraps with grilled meat..."

Liang Xun's stomach rumbled again.

She chuckled and nudged Gu Keke's leg under the table.

"This is already a feast from heaven, and you still want barbecue..."

She looked at Xin Sang, who was still busy starting a fire, and said, "Sister Xin, thanks to you all, we are able to have a good meal—you should sit down too."

Xin Sang didn't delay her meal; she had already eaten most of the lettuce roll in her hand.

She turned to the side and smiled mysteriously at Liang Jun, "We owe it all to you!"

Before Liang Xuan could even ponder the deeper meaning behind her words, two swift figures emerged from the bushes nearby.

Black Wolf and White Wolf, covered in grass, returned to the clearing, their mouths full of fresh pheasants.

The sound of pine branches burning in the fire was even louder.

Xin Sang used a bamboo stick to casually coil her red hair behind her head.

"Ready? We're going to have barbecue!"

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Author's Note: I've recently become obsessed with Stardew Valley; all I do when I open my eyes is farm.