Chapter 50: Bear Paw

Lin Qing, who was stirring the pot, heard those words and her hand shook, almost dropping the utensils on the ground.

The term "Wangji Wangluo" was something she had only seen in history books.

Tian Tian's eyes trembled slightly. She looked at Qiao Jiajin with a serious expression and asked:

"Qiao Jiajin, you said last time... what year were you born in?"

"I already told you, seventy-nine." Qiao Jiajin scratched his nose with a finger, looking unconcerned. "Nineteen seventy-nine, what's the matter?"

Tian Tian slowly stood up, carefully staring into Qiao Jiajin's eyes: "You're not joking with me, are you? If you were really born in seventy-nine, you'd be over forty years old by now."

Lin Qing was slightly stunned by this and turned to look at Tian Tian: "That doesn't seem right..."

Qi Xia ignored the others who were arguing and helped himself to a bowl of meat.

Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brow, finding Tian Tian's words hard to understand: "What's wrong with you, Tian Tian? Are you starving? How could a strapping young guy like me look over forty?"

Yes, he didn't look like he was forty.

Based on his appearance and physical condition, he absolutely couldn't be over forty.

Xiao Xiao, standing nearby, heard the conversation but, like Qi Xia, remained still.

Lin Qing's mouth moved slightly as she asked: "Qiao Jiajin, what year is it now?"

Qiao Jiajin looked at her suspiciously: "Two thousand six, of course."

He turned his head and saw Tian Tian and Lin Qing staring at him in disbelief, which made him feel even stranger.

"Why are you all staring at me?"

Lin Qing felt the whole situation was eerily strange. She turned to Tian Tian and asked: "Tian Tian, what year are you from?"

"I'm from two thousand nineteen..." Tian Tian frowned and said, "What's going on here?"

Lin Qing felt weak all over and slowly sat down: "Everyone... I'm from two thousand sixty-eight..."

"Ah??" Qiao Jiajin was shocked. "Two thousand sixty-eight??"

Qi Xia nodded silently upon hearing this.

Yes, she really seemed like someone from the future.

That explained everything.

In her era, people had to wear masks from a young age, and masks were as common as everyday clothing from birth.

So, when she didn't wear one, she had that odd expression, as if she were naked.

With the rapid development of networks, she wouldn't need to know what "chuandan" was, as online ads were overwhelming enough.

Qi Xia shook his head silently, not expecting the others to notice this issue.

"This just makes it even weirder..." Tian Tian's lips trembled slightly as she said to the group, "We're not from the same year, yet we've all gathered here on the same day. Could this really be the work of 'Shen'..."

Lin Qing, equally in disbelief, said: "If we're not from the same time, then the 'dizhen' we each experienced before coming here isn't the same event either..."

She then looked at Qiao Jiajin: "But in my memory, I never heard of a major earthquake in the region where you and the others are from..."

"What about you?" Tian Tian suddenly asked Qi Xia, "What year are you from?"

"I'm from two thousand twenty-two," Qi Xia said.

"What on earth is going on?!" Qiao Jiajin felt a bit dizzy. "You're kidding me—why would this happen? You're so smart; have you figured anything out?"

Qi Xia shook his head. None of his theoretical knowledge could explain the situation before them.

Why were they all from different time periods?

Was "Shen" selecting these people randomly or on purpose?

How long was the time span among the participants?

"No matter what, we'll only be gathered here for ten days," Qi Xia said, glancing at the dark red sky outside with a firm expression. "Whether this is 'Shen' doing it or not, I don't care. Right now, I just want to fill my stomach and go find the 'Dao' as soon as possible. Even if you're all very concerned about this, I don't recommend digging into the truth."

Everyone slowly sat down after hearing Qi Xia's words.

Yes, Qi Xia was right—they had to get out.

No matter what years they were from, they all shared the same goal: to escape this cursed place and return to their normal lives.

Spending several days investigating the "time periods" would only go against their objective.

The five of them took small bowls from the restaurant and each served a bowl of meat soup, their expressions still a bit unnatural.

The mysteries of this place seemed to layer upon one another, with so many things they wanted to figure out.

But as Qi Xia said, seeking the truth would definitely waste a lot of time.

Which was more important: the truth or escape?

"Yeah... let's not think about it anymore." Tian Tian sighed. "Haven't we been through enough 'unbelievable' things already?"

Lin Qing and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances and helplessly shook their heads.

Tian Tian picked up an old frying ladle and slowly tore some meat from the bear's arm, putting some in everyone's bowl.

The bear's arm had been stewed until it was falling apart; with a gentle touch, the meat separated from the bones. A rich aroma wafted out, carrying the hot, thick juices that assaulted everyone's noses.

"It's... actually pretty fragrant." Qiao Jiajin swallowed hard and picked up his bowl.

Qi Xia held his bowl in his hands without moving.

He glanced sideways at Xiao Xiao and saw that she had started eating, so he waited a little longer.

Once he was sure the food was completely safe, he tore off a strip of white meat from the bone.

He brought the bear meat to his nose and sniffed it—the aroma was enticing. Then he popped the meat into his mouth and bit down gently, and the hot juices burst forth.

"Huff..." Qi Xia was scalded and quickly exhaled a few breaths of hot air. He chewed haphazardly and swallowed the white meat.

It was awful.

He had never imagined bear meat could taste so bad.

The texture in his mouth was fatty and greasy; after a few chews, it left a strong gamey flavor.

Maybe it was because they had no seasonings, or perhaps bear meat just tasted like that. In any case, after the first bite, Qi Xia didn't want to touch the bowl anymore.

He looked at Lin Qing beside him; she was frowning too, her features twisted as if she'd bitten into an extremely sour lemon.

Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, however, didn't seem to mind. They chewed big mouthfuls and looked at the two.

"What's wrong? Not tasty?" Qiao Jiajin asked.

"What do you think?" Qi Xia replied. "We're from different eras—does that mean our taste buds are different too?"

"It's really not great," Qiao Jiajin said with his mouth full. "But we have to survive, right? Kid, you probably never ate leftovers from the trash when you were little, did you?"

Qi Xia found Qiao Jiajin's words amusing. He set his bowl down and said with a hint of mockery: "Qiao Jiajin, your diet sounds pretty varied. You've not only eaten bear paw but also trash?"

"You're getting a bit bold, kid..." Qiao Jiajin stuffed another large piece of meat into his mouth and said, "Do you know how much older I am than you? From now on, call me 'Qiao Ye'—I'll look out for you. In my life, I've eaten more trash than you've eaten bear paws."

"I'll say it again—I haven't eaten bear paws, and I haven't eaten trash either."

Tian Tian and Lin Qing were amused by the two of them, making the food in their hands seem a bit more palatable.

Yes, no matter what eras they were from, they were comrades right now.

Qi Xia stopped bantering with Qiao Jiajin and picked a few more pieces of meat from his bowl to eat.

No matter what, eating something was better than going hungry—they didn't know what kind of games lay ahead and needed to keep their energy up.

The bear's paw happened to be in Qi Xia's bowl. He thought this part might be different from the rest, but after just one bite, he gagged repeatedly.

This part was even fattier and greasier, feeling like a slab of snot with a gamey taste in his mouth.

"Did ancient people really consider this a delicacy?"