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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: Tides of the Underworld Road
Xia Zhou was puzzled and asked, "What are they coming back for?"
Ji Zichen couldn't figure it out either and suggested, "Let's go down and take a look."
With curiosity, the three descended to the first floor. The more than ten workers returned to the Fire Cloud Residence, wielding spatulas and bowls, looking quite determined. Xia Zhou found it amusing and asked, "What are you all doing?"
The workers raised their bright eyes and said, "Where is the Master? We came back to protect the Master!"
Ji Zichen felt both heartbroken and amused upon hearing this. She could only tell them about the Fire Lion's fate. The workers listened, pounding their chests in grief, weeping uncontrollably. Lin Chuyu, watching from the side, found it funny and said, "If you want to protect the Master, why did you run away back then?"
One worker replied shamefully, "We were scared! Who wouldn't be afraid when faced with so many Sand Bandits? But then I thought, even if we ran away, we wouldn't have anywhere to go because we know we won't find another boss as good as the Master."
Ji Zichen asked curiously, "The Master treats you well?"
The worker replied, "Of course! He pays us more than any other restaurant, and we get holidays during festivals. If customers scold us, the Master always steps in to mediate; he always stands by our side."
At this point, tears welled up in their eyes again. "What should we do now?"
Ji Zichen smiled and suggested, "What can we do? We should keep running the Fire Cloud Residence."
The workers were initially shocked but then filled with joy. "You want us to keep running the Fire Cloud Residence!"
Ji Zichen affirmed, "Yes! Although the Master is no longer here, the Fire Cloud Residence still stands. You have nowhere else to go, right? Keeping it open is what I believe would be the Master's wish."
Instantly, the workers' faces lit up with smiles. "Yes, yes! We should keep running the Fire Cloud Residence!"
The assistant looked at a slightly plump middle-aged man and said, "Ang, you are the head chef of Fire Cloud Residence, and only you know how to brew Swallow Brew. How come..."
Ji Zichen couldn't help but feel delighted as he turned to the man called Ang. "You can brew Swallow Brew!"
Ang sighed with a hint of melancholy, "I know most of the process, but there are a few types of yam that Master hasn't told me about."
Xia Zhou was taken aback. "Does Swallow Brew contain yam? I can't taste it."
Ang proudly replied, "That's the uniqueness of Swallow Brew. Although there are only a few types of yam, I don't know the exact proportions or which specific types are used."
Xia Zhou suggested, "Aren't there just a few types of yam? You can gather them all and try each one slowly."
After hesitating for a moment, Ang said, "We can't just experiment with the ingredients. But if Fire Cloud Residence doesn't have Swallow Brew, then I'll give it a try. However, I can't guarantee that the taste will be exactly the same."
With the chef willing to stay, Fire Cloud Residence had survived a significant crisis, and the staff wouldn't have to face displacement. The workers cheered joyfully.
As sunset approached, Fire Cloud Residence lit bright candles, illuminating the place as if it were daytime. Many diners had fled in fear today, and it was expected that no customers would come for a while; however, things would surely return to normal in the future.
The staff gathered several large tables on the first floor, setting out dishes and wine pots. One of the workers shouted, "Dinner time, brothers!"
As everyone took their seats at the dining table, Ang said to Ji Zichen, "You are a friend of Master; you should take the seat of honor."
Ji Zichen chuckled inwardly. "Am I really his friend?" But with Fire Lion gone, any past grievances should have dissipated. Ji Zichen replied, "I'll pass on the seat of honor; I'm just a guest. You are the head chef of Fire Cloud Residence; they will need you to manage things in the future."
As Ji Zichen spoke, he found a side seat and sat down. Lin Chuyu and Xia Zhou followed suit. Other staff members urged Ang, "Come on, Ang, just sit down! If you don't sit now, I won't listen to you in the future!"
Ango laughed and scolded the group of companions as he took his seat.
At that moment, the remaining companions also sat down, and Ango said, "Everyone, let's dig in."
Xia Zhou picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of Sweet and Sour Ribs. Just as it entered his mouth, he grimaced and quickly spat it out. "Oh no, it's so sour!"
Ango was taken aback. "Sour?" He had a plate of Sweet and Sour Ribs in front of him as well. He poked at the sauce with his chopsticks, licked it with his tongue, and frowned deeply. He immediately questioned, "Who made this?"
A nervous boy, around thirteen or fourteen years old, stood up. "It was... it was me."
Several other companions also picked up the ribs to taste. They all exclaimed, "Sour! Sour! Sour! Sweet Potato, did you use vinegar instead of sugar? Who told you to cook?"
Sweet Potato's face turned red with shame as he stammered, "I... I... I did."
"It was me who asked him to cook," said a seventeen or eighteen-year-old companion named Huang San.
Ango asked Huang San, "San, you are my sous-chef. Why didn't you cook and let him do it?"
Huang San raised his voice to address everyone. "From now on, we are family. This Fire Cloud Residence is our home. I think since we are family, we shouldn't always let Ango do all the work. Besides being helpers, we should also learn some cooking skills."
Some companions looked astonished. "Huh? We have to learn how to cook too?"
Ango nodded at Huang San's words. "San is right; you all need to learn so that after serving tea and dishes, you won't just sit around bragging."
Some companions looked worried while others were excited.
Lin Chuyu laughed and said, "Brother Ji, if they all work hard together, I believe the Fire Cloud Residence will only get better and better."
Ji Zichen nodded with a smile. "It definitely will."
Xia Zhou, however, wore a bitter expression and said, "There's no need to learn everything right now. How about we wait until after we leave?"
Ji Zichen picked up a piece of rib and enjoyed it, praising Sweet Potato, "Sweet Potato, your ribs are a bit sour, but overall they're not bad."
Hearing this from Ji Zichen, Sweet Potato's face lit up with a smile. "Really?"
Ji Zichen nodded with a grin. "Come on, sit down and eat."
After everyone finished their meal, some stood up to head back to their rooms to rest. Sweet Potato and a few companions cleared the dishes and returned to the kitchen. Xia Zhou expressed his reluctance, saying, "Even though we've only been here for a day, I already feel a bit sad about leaving."
Ji Zichen teased him, "If you don't want to leave, just stay and work as a helper."
Xia Zhou quickly waved his hands. "I'm okay with eating, but I really don't want to stay as a cook."
After saying this, Xia Zhou felt he had slightly belittled the cooks. He quickly added, "An Ge, I didn't mean it that way."
An Ge wasn't upset; he smiled gently and said, "It's fine. As the old saying goes, every carrot has its hole. People should do what suits them best. May I ask where you plan to go after you leave?"
Xia Zhou didn't hide it from An Ge and replied, "Yangquan Cliff."
Upon hearing this, An Ge's expression changed dramatically. "What! You all are going to Yangquan Cliff!"
Ji Zichen noticed that An Ge's expression changed dramatically and couldn't help but ask, "What? Do you know that place?"
An Ge's face turned pale as he replied, "I know it. How could I not? I come from Yangquan Cliff."
Ji Zichen had originally planned to inquire about the location of Yangquan Cliff in the nearby town, but he was surprised to find someone in Fire Cloud Residence who recognized it. It was good that someone knew; it saved them the trouble of asking around.
Ji Zichen urgently asked, "So where is Yangquan Cliff?"
An Ge appeared somewhat hesitant as he said, "If you leave Juggernaut Forest and head east for seven days, you'll see Tide Mountain. Beyond Tide Mountain is Yangquan Cliff. However, I advise you not to go there."
Ji Zichen fixed his gaze on An Ge's expression and remarked, "You seem very afraid of that place."
Just thinking about Yangquan Cliff sent chills down An Ge's spine. He forced a serious expression and said, "No one isn't afraid of that place. If you're not scared, it's because you don't understand. I grew up at Yangquan Cliff, but now no one calls it that anymore. People now refer to it as the Sea Tide Underworld Road."
"Sea Tide Underworld Road!" Lin Chuyu shuddered at the name and asked, "Why such a terrifying name?"
An Ge's eyes flickered as if he recalled something frightening. He said, "I can't remember how long ago it was—probably when I was seven or eight years old. Back then, Yangquan Cliff was the closest place to the sun. It was a unique location, suitable for living peacefully. Then a group of people from Purgatory Palace arrived at Yangquan Cliff."
"Purgatory Palace?" Ji Zichen had never heard of it and asked, "What do those people from Purgatory Palace do?"
As soon as An Ge thought of Purgatory Palace, his heart felt like it was being stirred by a dozen buckets of water. He said, "I don't know what they do; all I know is that those from Purgatory Palace wear strange masks and exude an aura of evil and chaos. Their actions are extreme. From the night they arrived, people in our village started disappearing."
"But if the people from Purgatory Palace were taking villagers away, no one actually saw it happen," he continued. "They built a Purgatory Palace on Yangquan Cliff—a tall tower covered in large skulls. Every night, the skulls hanging outside the tower would emit mournful wails."
Lin Chuyu felt her scalp tingle as she asked, "How can skulls make wailing sounds?"
"Yes, that's why it's called the Sea Tide Underworld Road," Ango said.
Although Ango was loud and boisterous, Ji Zichen thought that those from the Purgatory Palace were just putting on a show, not much different from the judge in Underworld Town.
Ji Zichen then asked, "So, you left your hometown to come to the Yellow Sand Plain?"
Ango nodded and replied, "Yes, I haven't gone back since I left."
Xia Zhou laughed and said, "Ango, why are you so scared? From what you're saying, those Purgatory Palace people haven't done anything to you. Besides some villagers going missing and that crying skeleton, it seems like you might be scaring yourselves. Those villagers could have just left early."
Ango responded, "You have a point there, but we're all from the same village; we know each other well. Who would sneak away without saying a word?"
Ji Zichen interjected, "Thank you for reminding us, Ango. You also pointed us towards Yangquan—oh no, I mean the Sea Tide Underworld Road—but we have our reasons for needing to go there."
Ango looked puzzled. "Reasons to go? I know that place better than anyone. It's not a scenic spot or a place with ruins or artifacts. Why do you insist on going there?"
Of course, Ji Zichen wouldn't explain everything to Ango. Instead, Ji Zichen smiled and said, "Ango, there's a lot going on today. I'm sure you're tired, and so are we."
With a sigh, Ango replied, "Your legs are your own; if you want to go, I can't stop you. I've said what I needed to say. Since you're tired too, I won't disturb your rest."
By midnight, everyone had settled down to sleep. At that moment, Ji Zichen heard the sound of tea utensils shattering from Lin Chuyu's room. Concerned, Ji Zichen went to check and found Lin Chuyu's room empty with the back window wide open. On the table lay a token painted with a skull.
Just as Ji Zichen picked up the token to examine it, Ango suddenly appeared behind Ji Zichen. Upon seeing the token, a chill ran up Ango's spine as he exclaimed, "This is the Ghost Howl Order from the Purgatory Palace!"
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