Chapter 164 - Delicious!

“How is the soup?” Spider asked, changing the subject.

“Delicious!” Xiang said, “If I knew that the food here was this good, I would have listened to Yuzu’s recommendation and come here a long time ago.”

“Oh?” A smile beamed on Spider’s face as he looked over to Yuzu, “You recommended us?”

“Once or twice. The broth here is nice.” Yuzu shrugged, sipping another spoonful of soup before adding, “But only on the special.”

“Your words wound me. But I insist that you try the sage soup, I worked really hard on it.” Spider chuckled before looking at Xiang who was vacuuming up the noodles per his usual style, “Well- if you can get any before Xiang devours it.”

“Try some! Here, let’s switch!” Xiang said, pushing his bowl over to Yuzu and taking hers, “We might as well each try both.”

She frowned as she looked down at the bowl of noodles which was already more than half finished. Both Xiang and Spider looked expectantly at her as she examined it. Yuzu did not enjoying being put on the spot, however she didn’t have a good reason to object. With a sigh she dipped her spoon in the soup and gathered some of the noodles on top. She used her chopsticks to place a piece of the white meat and a few of the crispy sage leaves on top, forming a small bite with all the components of the meal in one spoonful.

As she took a bite, a warm rich flavour filled her mouth. The golden soup had a thin layer of oil on top, and it was a comparatively thicker and creamier than the soup that she had ordered. The white meat was some kind of fish and was so soft it practically melted in her mouth. The sage leaves added a delicious salty crunch that topped off the experience.

“Oh? She likes it!” Xiang grinned, seeing the subtle change in Yuzu’s expression.

“Is that so?” Spider asked.

“It’s not bad.” Yuzu replied, “I don’t mind it at all.”

Their conversation was interrupted as a group of people came around the corner. There were a dozen men walking alongside several horse driven carts, shouting and calling out to the crowd as they passed by.

“What’s this all about?” Xiang stopped gulping down the food as everyone at the restaurant looked over at the commotion.

“The White Maiden cures the sick! She brings strength to the weak! She is our guiding light in these dark times!”

“Cheap rides to the White Maiden’s Shrine! Two way trip!”

“Praise the Maiden!”

Yuzu blinked in surprise as the carts pulled over at the side of the road as the men solicited to the crowd. The carts were already half filled with people, many of whom looked sick or were wearing cloaks and hats, but also there were an equal number of healthy, able-bodied men and women hitching a ride.

A man with a white bandana wearing a short sleeved white monk’s robe walked over holding a stick with a number of ceremonial talismans hanging from it.

“Praise the Maiden!” He said, “My name is Tua Kong, Two days ago I was on my death’s bed with the Devil Eyes. But I went to the Maiden’s shrine and was cured!”

As he announced to the crowd, Xiang looked at Spider with a confused look.

“Have you heard of the White Maiden?” Spider asked, to which Xiang nodded. Spider rubbed his chin as he looked over at the cart, “Apparently some people have come up with the idea to offer paid rides to Her shrine.”

“Not just rides.” Tua Kong said, coming up to their table, “We’re also looking for workers to help build up the shrine. A lot of the people you see here were already saved by her, we want to show our thanks.”

Yuzu’s ears perked up upon hearing this. She listened intently as she pretended to be focused on eating.

In fact, she had already received several prayers this morning. A small group of people had shown up to the shrine at sunrise and began praying to her. In addition to several sick people that she helped, there were also a few people who had received her help on previous days and had returned to pray and give their thanks.

However this was the first that she’d heard of people wanting to build at her shrine. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

“I thought it was just a rumour, to be honest. I didn’t know that she’d helped so many people.” Xiang said, a thoughtful look appeared on his face as he asked, “You said she cures people… is it only Devil Eyes? Or can she do more?”

“I’m sure she can do more!” Tua Kong replied, “The White Maiden is our saviour, our beautiful protector and guardian! If you are doubting it, you are free to join us. A ride is only three bells per person! If you come to work on the construction you can come for free and we’ll pay standard rates at the end of the day.”

“Oh? Who’s paying for it?” Spider asked.

“Earl Shum.” Tua Kong said, “Apparently there was some recent event that has caused him to lend his support.”

Recent event… Yuzu kept her eyes down as she listened to the conversation. They must be referring to what happened at the ball.

“Yuzu, you like shrines, right?” Xiang said. Yuzu ignored him as he then addressed Tua Kong. “I have some carpentry experience. If I come along can my sister join us too?”

“Sure! It looks like we’re just about to start moving again, but don’t worry, we still have a few more stops to make before we start heading out to the shrine.” Tua Kong smiled, “You can take your time with your meal and then catch up with us before we leave the market. Our last stop will be at the Cathedral plaza.”

The enthusiastic man bowed to each of them before he turned to catch up to the departing caravan. Yuzu saw that the carts had a few more passengers than when they had first stopped.

“Carpentry?” Spider raised an eyebrow at Xiang, “I didn’t know you did that.”

“Well, with Yuzu managing the shop most days, it’s a way to make some more money.” Xiang said, “Although the wood shop I was working at has been closed since the disease started spreading.”

“Ah, yes. It’s been hard.” Spider nodded, “Many of the merchants are having a hard time as well… Well, we’re a tenacious lot. We might struggle sometimes, but we always make things work in the end.”

As he spoke, Spider looked toward the noodle cart, a pensive expression growing on his wrinkled face. Yuzu felt a small tug from her spiritual intuition and she activated her spiritual vision to see a thin golden string float over and wrap itself around her and Xiang’s threads. This golden string was covered in a sticky black coating.

“Say, if you two are going to the shrine… Can I bother you for a favour?” Spider looked at Yuzu as he lowered his voice, “If you could take Rabbit with you, I would greatly appreciate it. With the rumours going around I’ve been meaning to take her - well, she’s been under the weather-”

Rabbit was the young girl with large front teeth who had taken Yuzu’s order when she had come to the restaurant with Char Char. Yuzu realized why the restaurant felt different today - the girl’s loud and sassy voice calling out orders over the crowd was missing from the general ambiance.

Yuzu nodded sincerely, “It’s not a problem.”

“We’ll take good care of her!” Xiang said boisterously, “Don’t you worry!”

Spider smiled, standing up straighter as he raised his hand to his chest and bowed formally, “Excellent. Well, I’ll excuse myself to go fetch Rabbit. Please enjoy the noodles, they’re my treat today.”

The noodle shop owner smiled brightly and left the table, only walking a few steps before animatedly greeting another customer and engaging in a friendly conversation. The moment of vulnerability had lasted so briefly that one could think they’d imagined it, but Yuzu knew that he was deeply concerned about Rabbit.

“These noodles are great.” Xiang said, slurping up the last of the noodles in the bowl in front of him, “You should let me know what other recommendations you have.”

“Did you just eat all of my noodles?” Yuzu asked incredulously, “I barely even touched it.”

“Oh? Sorry, you looked like you were enjoying the spider soup. I thought we traded.” Xiang said.

“I only tried it because you and Spider insisted.” Yuzu rebutted.

“I see.” Xiang said, pointing at the bowl in front of her with his chopsticks, “But you almost finished the rest of my soup yourself.”

“Er-“ Yuzu blinked, looking down. There were only a few noodles left swimming in a small pool of soup. She had eaten most of the bowl without realizing it. Although it had already been about half empty when Xiang had traded with her, this was already more than she usually ate in a sitting.

Xiang laughed as he saw the surprised expression on her face.

“Guess the special isn’t the only good thing on the menu anymore!”