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墨書 Inktalez
How great is the danger, really? Should I go in, or should I quietly leave while I still can?
As I hesitated, I heard Nie Qiuyuan's gentle voice say, "Liuying, go in."
His voice suddenly filled me with immense courage. I felt that if he could go in, then I could too! He was so perceptive; if there were any real danger, he would sense it before I did.
But he didn’t know who I was! I had my own secrets. No matter how hard he thought, he would never guess that I came from a thousand years in the future.
In fact, all the scenarios I had imagined were merely possibilities, not immediate threats. Even if Boss Yan was wealthy, he was just a merchant. For power, I had my Brother's Brother backing me up; for martial skills, they couldn’t compare to Nie Qiuyuan and Luo Dachun. What was there to fear?
Moreover, I was doing this for Ye!
I gritted my teeth and nodded at Nie Qiuyuan. He stood up and walked with me toward the bank, clearly intending to accompany me. Luo Dachun and Han Meilan followed behind. With them around, surely nothing would go wrong.
The people around us were lively; some were collecting money while others enjoyed their noodles. The chefs had prepared exquisite dishes for the competition; most of them were far better than my plate of Seven Spice Chili Noodles, so the audience was certainly having a feast.
We reached the entrance where a messenger opened the door for us and led us into the Silver House. We passed through the now-closed business hall and walked through a courtyard into a large room inside.
The large room appeared to be a reception area—bright and spacious. After we entered, the guide stepped back and gently closed the door behind us. A charcoal stove burned in the room, emitting a faint fragrance that made it warm and comfortable. To my surprise, there was only one man sitting inside.
As soon as he saw us enter, he eagerly stood up and hurried forward a few steps. He scrutinized each of us before suddenly freezing in place.
I took a closer look at him; he seemed to be around forty years old, thin with slightly sunken cheeks—he didn’t look like someone from wealth or nobility. Normally, forty is considered a prime age for men, but his hair seemed to have turned gray earlier than usual; there was more white than gray in it. He wore a dark brown patterned satin robe—though simple in style, it was undoubtedly of excellent craftsmanship, indicating that his background was not something ordinary people could compare to.
"I am Yan Shunqing, the manager of Tongfu Hall," the man said after a moment, letting out a soft sigh as he clasped his fists in greeting. "May I ask... who made the Seven Spice Chili Pepper?"
Upon entering, I sensed that Boss Yan did not carry any malevolent aura; instead, he seemed quite melancholic. After hesitating for a moment, I lightly lifted my skirt and stepped forward, bowing slightly as I replied, "It was made by me."
Yan Shunqing's gaze fell upon my face, scrutinizing me from top to bottom and then back up again. His eyes held hope and desire, but as he looked on, they grew dimmer. Yet he continued to stare at me, as if caught between despair and an unwillingness to let go. The complex and contradictory expression on his face made him appear even older.
"You... you are her..." he murmured, gazing at me unknowingly.
"Manager Yan specifically called us into the inner chamber; may I ask what guidance you have?" At some point, Nie Qiuyuan stepped forward, giving a slight bow to Boss Yan as a sign of respect while subtly positioning himself between us.
It was then that the manager seemed to awaken from his daze, realizing his behavior was inappropriate. A look of embarrassment crossed his face as he quickly bowed to Nie Qiuyuan and said, "I was just thinking of an old friend and lost my manners. Please do not take offense. This young lady is your..."
"She is my younger sister," Nie Qiuyuan interjected, glancing at me and cutting off his words. "Is there something wrong with what we made?"
Yan Shunqing did not answer Nie Qiuyuan's question but turned to me instead, saying, "I only wish to ask you one question: Did you obtain the recipe for the Seven Spice Chili Pepper from a woman named A-Chun?"
I shook my head, feeling relieved. It turned out he was looking for someone else entirely unrelated to me, so there should be no danger.
Yan Shunqing sighed deeply, a look of realization crossing his face as he said, "The moment you entered, I knew the product was right but not from her. I had hoped you might be her daughter or someone related to her, but... alas, you bear no resemblance at all."
The air hung heavy for a moment before Yan Shunqing continued, "Well then, perhaps it is destined to be this way. Young lady, our meeting in this manner can be considered fate. I will send someone to deliver silver and jewels to you. In the future, if you need anything from Tongfu Hall, please feel free to ask. I will do my utmost within my capabilities."
As he scrutinized me from head to toe, I quietly observed him in return. The sorrowful aura that emanated from him was undoubtedly genuine. Having seen many such situations before, I trusted my strong intuition as a woman. This matter surely concerned first love!
My heart softened instantly, and I felt a sense of kinship with this Boss Yan, as if we were both lost souls meeting in a world where we had never known each other. Just think about it: if a man, for the sake of his first love, endured until his hair turned white, still devoted to her even after achieving success, spending lavishly every year to create a buzz in an age without television ads, hoping that his beloved would hear the news and come back—such persistence is no less than my own eight-year journey through the Tang Dynasty for my idol.
I stepped forward and said generously, "Boss Yan, may I ask what you seek from the owner of this Seven Spice Chili Pepper? If there’s anything a woman can help with, I will surely speak without reservation."
Yan Shunqing hesitated for a moment, then sighed lightly. He gestured for us to sit down and personally poured us some tea. He slowly took his seat and paused for a while before saying, "This arena has been held for eight years now, and this is the first time I've tasted Liao Zhen's authentic Seven Spice Chili Pepper. Well, it's destined that I meet you today. With the storm approaching, I find myself in an uncertain situation, so I will share the background of this matter with you all."
I was slightly taken aback because his mention of "the storm approaching" and "uncertain situation" seemed rather serious and didn’t appear to relate to his first love.
"To be honest with you all, I have been holding this arena every year in search of an old friend. In this world, she is the only one who has ever made me a bowl of noodles like this. It has been fifteen years since I last heard from her, and during these fifteen years, I have traveled across Jiangnan and Jiangbei but have not found anyone who knows about this Seven Spice Chili Pepper. It feels as if it was all just a great dream; everything in my memory makes me wonder if it ever truly happened."
Boss Yan's tone was sorrowful, and Han Meilan's face had already turned into a bitter expression. My heart also felt somewhat uneasy. As expected, it seemed that Boss Yan could not forget this "old friend," the woman he had mentioned named A-Chun, which was why he was so tirelessly searching for her.
None of us interrupted; we simply listened quietly. Thus, Yan Shunqing began to recount his experiences to us slowly.
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