The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"How could that be? But they definitely didn't pay."

"What? Then why aren't you in a hurry at all?"

"Because it was some kind of executive from the Winter Solstice Kingdom who invited them."

what?

The executive officer of the Winter Kingdom?

Upon hearing this, Beidou's first thought was of the young master.

After all, in Liyue, the only Winter's End Executive Officer that I can find and think of right now is that kid I just argued with.

Since that kid was treating, he probably wasn't some distant stranger.

It is very likely that he is his close friend from Zhidong.

hehe...

Beidou licked his lips, a hint of ferocity flashing in one of his eyes, which was covered by a screen.

"What a coincidence! So they're that guy's friends? I really hope I can run into them and have a good chat."

For some reason, when Beidou stirred her energy, others could feel a surge of lightning elemental power emanating from her. Xiangling, who was directly in front of her, felt a tingling sensation, like ants gnawing at her face.

"Hey? What's wrong? Is it because the meat slices were too awful...?"

"What are you? Nothing, I think this stuff smells pretty good..."

"Really?" Xiangling tilted her head and asked doubtfully.

Just as the two women were talking, three people who had visited not long ago, along with a particularly cute emergency food item, pulled back the curtain of the Manmindo.

Upon entering the shop...

"Ahem, is Xiangling here?"

"Huh? Ying, and you guys too? Why are you all..."

Just as Xiangling was feeling somewhat confused by Kiana and the others' arrival.

Beidou had come to his senses and looked at the two girls who had been on his boat not long ago.

"You two, oh. You're back so soon? How was it? That kid from Zhidong got a crushing defeat, didn't he?"

As he said this, Beidou turned his gaze to Kiana.

He inquired about the outcome of the battle in a rather bold tone.

After hearing her question, Kiana thought about it for a moment and decided that since they had already started fighting...

There's no need to hide the outcome of the battle.

"Cough cough, indeed. It should be considered a pretty crushing defeat, anyway, in the end he was carried away by his men."

"Hmm, that's good."

Hearing that the young master had been humiliated, Beidou, who had recently had a conflict with him, was naturally overjoyed.

After all, since I didn't do anything myself, someone else will help me deal with the people I don't get along with.

Where else can you find such a good thing?

"Hahaha, come on! We were interrupted at the Liuli Pavilion earlier, so let's have a good drink here today!"

However...

"Uh, I'm sorry. I can't drink alcohol, and neither can Ying."

"What?!"

Unexpectedly, Kiana, like that bartender in Mondstadt, insisted on not drinking. Ying immediately gave her a somewhat annoyed look and complained:

"I'm not some little kid, what's wrong with having a little drink?"

"That won't do, Ying."

Before Kiana could respond, Paimon, positioned behind Luminous, muttered something under his back.

"Drinking is bad for your health, and you're not as mature as Paimon, so you should wait a bit."

Paimon?

"Huh? Waaaaaah!!!"

Before Paimon could react, Ying yanked him off and then stared intently at the temple of this precocious emergency food.

It was clear that he was extremely disgusted by her foolish answer earlier.

Amidst their playful banter, everyone took their seats in turn.

Get ready for this unexpected cocktail party.

"Xiangling, thank you for your trouble. You don't need to worry about the wine; I'll have the staff buy some from the nearby winery."

"Oh well."

Xiangling yawned and then enthusiastically started cooking. Before long, she brought all the fragrant dishes to the large table that everyone had put together.

"Hehe, the food is ready. This is Inazuma cuisine that I specially consulted with Manyo and then made based on his experience. Try it!"

"Huh? This dumpling, and this sushi... well, whatever."

Kiana and Ying originally planned to have some fancy dishes like braised pork belly and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but Xiangling, just to make sure Ying was happy, specially prepared some simple, plain rice-themed dishes to entertain her...

Unfortunately, when she saw the delicious food that she could occasionally enjoy while living in Inazuma, a joyful smile did not appear on Kage's face.

"....Why"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Helpless, she could only slowly pick up her chopsticks and take a bite.

With just one bite, she realized...

"Huh? These dishes... taste completely different."

"Hmm? It's different?"

Slightly surprised, Kiana slowly picked up her chopsticks and tasted some of the dish, only to find that it was indeed similar to traditional Inazuma cuisine.

But there are many differences...

The Battle Between Flame and Lightning and the Abyss (Genshin Impact): Chapter 27 What exactly was added to this rice ball?

The ingredients that Xiangling placed on the table included rice balls and fish slices, both very characteristic of Inazuma. However, since this was Liyue, not Inazuma, the place was not Inazuma.

Therefore, the ingredients chosen are also those with a strong local flavor, such as rice transported from Qingce Village and fish caught in the small river near Liyue Harbor.

Because these ingredients are located far from Inazuma, it is impossible to recreate the freshest flavors of Inazuma cuisine.

However, it is precisely because of this that they can be combined to create unusual flavors.

The most obvious manifestation of this is...

Xiangling added sugar.

And it wasn't just a tiny bit added...

"Wow, so sweet... Eek! This rice ball is too sweet!"

After taking a bite of the rice ball and successfully biting into the plum inside, Kiana was so sweet that she had to stick out her little tongue to exhale its fragrance.

She never imagined that there could be such sweet rice balls in the world.

What I didn't expect was that this damn sweetness would stick to my tongue like a sticky substance and not fade away for a long time.

"I doubt many people could handle such a sweet rice ball, right?"

Kiana turned to look at Xiangling, and complained helplessly.

After hearing her complaints, Xiangling scratched the back of her head somewhat embarrassed:

"Huh? Really?"

"Of course! Cough! Kiana, do you also think this rice ball is too sweet? Strange, I feel like I've seen this smell before..."

After eating the rice ball, Ying, who was standing next to her, felt a familiar, sticky, sweet taste for some reason.

It's as if I've used something with a similar smell to create a trap before...

It's extremely strange.

Seeing that the two of them were so uncomfortable because the rice balls were too sweet, Beidou, feeling much more sober, burst into laughter.

"You actually feel this bad because the rice ball is too sweet? You guys are still too young. Young people shouldn't be so young, otherwise it will be very difficult for you to succeed later."

Upon hearing this, everyone present

"Big Sister Beidou, you should eat some vegetables."

"Huh? What did you say, 'kid'!"

Beidou is poised to launch an attack.

Seeing that something was wrong, Wan Ye hurriedly picked up the rice ball and handed it over.

"Hey...would you like to try some?"

"You're something else, kid. I'd like to see just how powerful this rice ball really is!"

After saying this, Beidou ate the rice ball.

As a result, after eating it, her previously dizzy mind suddenly became much clearer.

What exactly is this?

It's so sweet!

"vomit!"

Because he tasted a flavor he had never seen before, Hokuto was unable to accept the impact of the taste for a moment and immediately spat out the rice ball, then wiped his tongue with his hand.

"What kind of seasoning did they add?! It's way too sweet!"

Unexpectedly, even the captain looked incredulous. After a brief discussion, the crew of the Death Star decided to give it a try and picked up a rice ball to eat.