act40side

Indeed... I can't figure him out.

But it does provoke a question... They've never emptied the jails for the Feast before. Why do it this year?

This matter may not concern you directly, but I'm sure you've heard something about it?

Yumen experienced a Catastrophe at the beginning of the year. Then, this summer, we suffered the Dahuang incident.

And what was the root cause of all this?

...The bestial Sui.

This thousand-year-old case must finally be resolved...

I dare not engage in presumptuous speculation. This is as much as I can say for now.

Duoxie...

Censor Jie Zhen... why did you terminate the ongoing interrogation?

Ah...

As the saying goes, 'Words may deceive, so trust your eyes.'

I wager you haven't seen the burned scrollery yet.

No, I have not.

Perhaps you'd better go see for yourself.

I will take my leave.

The restaurant, which was loud and boisterous just a moment ago, goes completely silent.

The regulars, anticipating what is to come, file out of the diner one-by-one. Of course, they remember to leave money for their meals.

Jiang, close the door.

...*sigh*

What? What happened?

Jiang, wasn't she just eating these tangerine cakes here?

Yes, she was.

And didn't you tell me she was criticizing the taste?

No. She said they taste 'different', not bad, just 'different'.

(winking vigorously)

I guess you'd call it criticism. They're not exactly orthodox, different to what I had before.

So you're the head chef, eh? Pretty young, aren't you?

Don't try to change the subject!

I was just critiquing the food. That's not a capital offense!

Besides, I thought the rest of the dishes were awesome.

Now you're on to flattery! This is my restaurant, and I have my rules! You either tell me what's wrong with the tangerine cakes, or I won't let you leave!

I told you already. They taste different to the ones I've had before.

Where, and when, did you eat them before?

Oh maybe... more than ten years ago? When I was living in Victoria, a relative sent them to me.

Did you come here to stir up trouble? Jiang! Escort her out!

No. We're not in the habit of kicking customers out of the restaurant...

Good madam, think for a minute. What exactly is it about these cakes that tastes different? Maybe this is all some kind of misunderstanding?

Let me think... I remember the tangerine cakes I had before were sweeter. Yes, you must not have used enough sugar.

The tangerine cakes need more sugar? Hahaha...

To think I took you for a food critic. You are a woman with absolutely no taste. I won't waste my time arguing with you. Please leave.

You say I have no taste, when the real problem is your cooking?

Oh... no...

My cooking, you say?

Don't make me laugh! My cooking... my culinary talent, my—

Alright then. I'll make you a bet. Go out this door here and sample the food at some of the other restaurants. If you find a better tasting meal, I'll give you this entire shop!

(softly) No, please no.

But if you can't find better food, you have to sit at this table by the window and shout out to the streets...

Shout what?

Apologize to me! One hundred times!

But what would I want with your restaurant?

Let's do this instead. If I find food that tastes better, then you'll let me eat here for a month, free, and you'll teach me how to cook a few of the tastiest dishes in Yanese cuisine, also free of charge.

Huh?

There's an old Yanese saying, 'Give a man a fin and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fincatch, and you'll feed him for a lifetime.'

This restaurant... when I leave, I can't take it with me. If you teach me how to cook a few tasty dishes, I can cook them for my friends.

But weren't you just criticizing my cooking?

I told you, all your other dishes taste great.

Wait. Wait a moment! Don't think you can just trick me like that! We still need to discuss the tangerine cakes!

Okay. Then I'll take your bet. I know I can find tangerine cakes, somewhere in Baizao, that taste like the ones I had before.

Hmph...

Huh? What's that weird smell?

I think it's coming from back in the kitchen...

I know that smell. It's like something is overcooked.

My stew!

Dear customer, I apologize. Our head chef has a bad temper and is easily offended.

Please come again, alright?

Pretty weird...

I've heard that skilled chefs tend to be eccentric.

In fact, I'll bet the reason he was able to become a good chef was precisely because he takes his food so seriously.

Did you notice that each of the five tofu dishes you ordered had tofu cut in a different way, yet every piece of tofu within each dish was exactly the same size and shape?

I don't think many chefs in Baizao could accomplish that.

Hm? You overheard our argument?

Sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping. You were just within earshot.

You were all having such fun, sharing your dishes amongst yourselves. Well, I believe you accidentally took the plate of tangerine cakes that I ordered.

Oh! Sorry about that!

What a dummy I was, taking someone else's food and then having a fight with the chef over it.

You wait here. I'll order you some more, straight away!

No. There's no need for that.

I came here today to try the food. After seeing how much you all enjoyed it, well, I figure it must be good enough.

However, I'm still a little curious, what exactly did you not like about the tangerine cakes?

I can't really put my finger on it, but I just know I've eaten better ones before.

Are you sure the dish you ate before was indeed 'tangerine cakes'?

Of course!

One of my relatives lived in Baizao, and would ship me these cakes. There's no way I'd be wrong... I'm sure.

May I trouble you with a request, then?

You're going out looking for another restaurant that serves these tangerine cakes, right? Can you take me with you?

Sure! You're from Baizao, aren't you? That's perfect. You know your way around these parts!

Then again, it's getting kind of late. Let's meet here again tomorrow at noon. What do you say?

Certainly.

Oh, right. By the way, my name is Blaze. I'm a tourist from Victoria. How should I call you?

I am a woman of few hobbies. I like to write, and I like to eat.

My pen name is 'The Wandering Foodie'. In any case, you may call me Xingzhu for short.

Such a trove of knowledge, those wonderful archives...

Ashes to ashes... dust to dust...

The dark space still has a lingering, acrid smell. On the collapsed beams of ironwood, murky raindrops tremble, ready to fall.

The iron chests that once held so many records and books have been warped and twisted by the flames. The paper and ink within have smoldered into ash, leaving only faint traces of words.

Do not linger too long. Rain showers after a fire send smoke up into the air.

What have we learned so far?

We've determined this to be arson.

The absurd part? The fire's time and location match Yu Cheng's confession perfectly.