After leaving the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ryou noticed that Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion had both been repaired.
He glanced at the two restaurants, then looked at Keqing. "Do you want to eat at home tonight, or should we try Xinyue Kiosk or Liuli Pavilion?"
Dunyarzad and Dehya both looked toward the restaurants with interest.
Keqing did not even bother.
"Home," she said at once. "I don't really like their food anymore."
Ryou raised an eyebrow.
Keqing hugged his arm, completely serious. "No one cooks better than you. I used to love Golden Shrimp Balls, but now I know you'll make them for me whenever I want, right?"
Ryou tapped her forehead lightly. "You."
"And spicy crayfish," Keqing added quickly. "And seafood. Anything seafood, as long as you make it."
"All right, all right."
Ryou laughed and pulled her closer.
When he looked back, Dunyarzad and Dehya were both staring at him.
"What?" Ryou asked. "Is it that strange that I can cook?"
Dehya recovered first. "In Sumeru? A man cooking isn't exactly common. Unless he's a mercenary, maybe."
She shrugged.
"Mercs have to handle everything themselves. But you and Keqing look like you come from good families, same as Dunyarzad. Someone with that kind of background usually doesn't touch a kitchen."
"That's all?" Ryou said. "Anyone can cook. Getting good at it is the hard part."
Keqing seized the opening immediately.
"Don't underestimate my husband," she said, proud enough that she might as well have been the one cooking. "His food is amazing. Once you try it, you won't forget it."
Ryou saw the way Dunyarzad and Dehya looked at him and shook his head.
"Let's go to Bubu Pharmacy first. Once we're done there, we'll head home. I'll make sure everyone eats well tonight."
By the time they reached Bubu Pharmacy, the place was crowded.
Most of the patients were elderly. Several looked pale, coughing into their sleeves or sitting with one hand pressed to their chest. Ryou swept his eyes over them and guessed it was some kind of cold or fever.
For Baizhu, those should have been minor cases.
Ryou walked to the counter. "Where's Baizhu?"
Herbalist Gui looked up. "Ryou? Baizhu is still seeing patients inside, so you may need to wait a while."
Ryou glanced around the pharmacy. "The weather hasn't turned that cold. Why are there so many people with cold symptoms?"
"I'm not sure either," Herbalist Gui said, lowering his voice. "People have been coming in one after another these past few days. The symptoms are all similar, and the medicine worked before, but today and yesterday the number of patients suddenly jumped. We're almost out of several herbs."
"Is that so…"
Ryou had just started thinking it over when footsteps came from behind him.
A middle-aged woman helped an elderly man inside. The old man's face was ashen, his cough rough and heavy, and every step looked like it cost him.
Keqing moved closer to Ryou. "Ryou, this feels wrong. There are already more than twenty people here at this hour. Could it be contagious?"
Ryou took her hand and stepped aside to make room.
"Let them be seen first. We can wait."
He called to the others, "Dunyarzad, Dehya, come with us."
They went outside to the stone table by the walkway.
Ryou brought out the adeptal tea and the Adeptal Energy Teapot. Once the tea was brewed, the fragrance spread quickly, drifting through the pharmacy entrance and into the street.
He poured a cup for each of them.
They had barely taken a few sips when one of the elderly patients came over from the doorway.
The old man looked deeply embarrassed. His face was red, and he kept glancing at the teapot without knowing how to ask.
Ryou understood at once.
Before he could speak, Keqing smiled and said, "Please sit. Have a cup of tea."
The old man stiffened. "I… I'm sorry. The fragrance was too strong. I smelled it and couldn't help coming over to ask for a cup."
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Ryou said, pouring one for him. "Please."
The old man accepted it with both hands.
Keqing added, "This is adeptal tea. It's good for the body. Since you came to Bubu Pharmacy because you're unwell, maybe a cup will help."
The old man stared at the tea, then drank carefully.
Ryou watched him without speaking.
His medical skill did not reach its full strength on ordinary people, but his Eyes could still show him enough. The old man's condition was a severe cold, far worse than it should have been. He had come alone too, which probably meant his children were not by his side.
The tea could extend life and nourish the body. Against something like this, it should help.
What bothered Ryou was the number of similar cases.
Liyue Harbor's weather had been stable. Even if a few elderly people had caught a chill, there should not be this many, and not this badly.
Something was wrong.
A sudden scrape snapped him back.
The old man had tried to rise too quickly, almost knocking the chair aside. Ryou caught him before he could bow too deeply.
"Please don't do that," Ryou said. "You'll make me feel like I'm losing years off my life."
He helped the old man sit again.
The man's face was flushed now, not with fever, but with excitement. His hands had steadied, and the tremor in his body was almost gone.
"Thank you," the old man said, voice shaking. "You saved me. That tea really is adeptal tea. My body doesn't hurt anymore. I was just… I was too excited."
"It was only a cup of tea," Ryou said. "Feeling better is a good thing. Go home and rest properly."
He poured him another cup.
"Here. Drink a little more and calm yourself."
The old man immediately shook his head.
"No, no. If I didn't know how precious it was, maybe I could drink it. But now that I know it's adeptal tea, I can't."
He looked at the cup, both longing and ashamed.
"Letting someone like me drink something this precious… wouldn't that be a waste?"
Ryou frowned.
Before he could answer, Keqing spoke first.
"That's wrong."
The old man looked at her.
"Tea is meant to be drunk," Keqing said. "You're a person, and I'm a person. If I can drink it, why can't you?"
The old man opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Normally, he would never have argued. But after one cup had eased his illness so clearly, he understood just how valuable the tea was. Receiving one cup already felt like more than he deserved. Asking for another made him feel guilty.
Ryou pushed the cup closer.
"It's only tea. Please."
The old man's eyes reddened. "Thank you."
Ryou picked up his own cup and drank.
The tea was good, but the taste still fell short compared to the pot they had brewed in Qingce Village. After tasting tea boosted all the way to quality +5, the gap was hard not to notice.
He glanced at Keqing.
Keqing smiled back at him brightly.
Ryou looked at her for a moment, then sighed.
Keqing narrowed her eyes and pinched him under the table. "Hey. What's that look for?"
Dunyarzad and Dehya both looked over.
Ryou leaned close to Keqing's ear and lowered his voice. "Remember the tea we had in Qingce Village? I thought you knew why this one felt different. But you just smiled at me like you understood everything."
Keqing's expression shifted.
She thought for a moment.
Then realization slowly landed.
"Oh." She sat up straighter, very serious now. "There is a difference. The tea at Uncle He's house tasted better and felt more comfortable to drink."
Ryou smiled, about to praise her.
Before he could, Dunyarzad spoke softly.
"Ryou, after drinking this tea, my whole body feels much better."
She held the cup carefully in both hands.
"I believe what Keqing said. To me, at least, this really is adeptal tea."
Dehya looked into her own cup.
"I don't know anything about judging tea. Good tea, bad tea, expensive tea—I can't tell." She took another sip and shrugged. "But this tastes good, and drinking it makes me feel comfortable. That's enough for me."
Ryou looked at the two of them and lifted the teapot.
"Then have another cup. It's only tea."
He had just started pouring when a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Ryou, this fragrance of yours has filled all of Bubu Pharmacy."
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]