The moment the fried skewer entered her mouth, Ayaka felt as if her throat was on fire. Her delicate features immediately twisted, and her fair cheeks turned beet red.
"Water, I need water!"
Okazaki Rikuto quickly poured a glass of cold plain water for the girl. Ayaka, disregarding all elegance, drank it down in one gulp.
"Phew… much better…"
Ayaka let out a long breath, then saw Shiki contentedly eating her second skewer.
Ayaka: "???"
Doesn't she fear the spice?
She only sprinkled half the amount and it was already so spicy. Why was there no reaction at all after sprinkling it all over?
Was it her that was abnormal, or was it you?
Ayaka thought for a moment, then picked up a fried skewer she hadn't touched and handed it to Okazaki Rikuto.
"Mr. Okazaki, why don't you try some?"
"Me? No, no, how could I eat a guest's food!"
Okazaki Rikuto quickly shook his head. In truth, he just didn't want to eat it. If even the Shiratsuyu Princess, with her profound composure, could be overwhelmed, how spicy must it be?
"It's fine, consider it my treat."
Ayaka handed the fried skewer to Okazaki Rikuto without explanation. The middle-aged man looked at the fiery red powder on the skewer, and his throat couldn't help but bob…
Really, should he eat it?
Gulp.
He involuntarily swallowed his saliva. Finally, under the dual assault of curiosity and his position, he still took the fried skewer covered in jueyun chili powder and took a bite.
"#$%&"
Okazaki Rikuto ultimately uttered a few incomprehensible characters, then collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Kamisaka Ayaka: "..."
So, the abnormal one was definitely Shiki!
And looking at it this way, her tolerance for jueyun chili was even higher than average people?
"Mmm~ As expected, eating skewers still requires chili and cumin. Boss, another… huh?"
After Shiki had cleared the fried skewers from her plate, she wanted a few more servings, but then she found that Okazaki Rikuto, who had been standing in front of her, was nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Okazaki? Strange… where did he go?"
"Ayaka, have you seen where Mr. Okazaki went? And why is your face so red?"
"This is all because of you! How can you eat something so spicy?!"
Ayaka grabbed Shiki's fragrant shoulders and shook her wildly. The latter was somewhat bewildered by the shaking.
"Is… is it very spicy?"
"Heh heh, as expected, you are abnormal."
Ayaka looked resigned. Shiki, however, felt that she was merely at the normal level for a person from Tianchao. People from Sichuan could eat far more spicy food than her.
"What do you mean I'm abnormal? It's clearly you guys who are too weak."
"But I don't blame you. Who made jueyun chili a specialty crop of Liyue?"
Shiki expressed helplessness. You can't expect people from a region that doesn't produce chili to be able to eat spicy food.
"Speaking of which, where's Mr. Okazaki? Wasn't he just here?" Shiki continued to ask.
Ayaka didn't speak when she heard this, only turned her head away and silently pointed under the counter.
"Huh?"
Shiki stood up to look and saw Okazaki Rikuto lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
"..."
What the heck? Did you eat rat poison? Or was it from eating chili?
Speaking of which, can chili make people foam at the mouth?
With this question in mind, Shiki waved her hand and sent out an electric arc. The voltage wasn't strong, but it was enough to wake someone up.
"Aghhhhh!"
Okazaki Rikuto suddenly sat up from the ground. Was it a delusion? He seemed to have seen his mother, who had died many years ago.
"Mr. Okazaki, are you alright?"
"No… *cough cough*… I'm fine."
Okazaki Rikuto coughed twice. Although he was awake, the irritation from the jueyun chili in his throat hadn't subsided, and he wanted to cough every time he spoke.
He quickly poured himself a glass of cold water and drank it down. However, it didn't seem to be quite enough, so Okazaki Rikuto drank another glass.
"*Cough cough*… Much better…"
"Good, as long as you're fine. You should go rest. The fried skewers can be delivered by others," Shiki said.
After he fainted from the spice, she felt that his condition wasn't very good. Plus, it was already late, so she urged him to go rest quickly.
"Oh, how can I do that? You two are distinguished guests. Would it be appropriate if I, as the owner, wasn't here?"
Although Okazaki Rikuto had held a high-ranking position in the Tenryou Commission with extensive connections in his earlier years, this did not mean he could disregard the person with the most power in the current Shogunate, aside from the Raiden Shogun.
If anything, he was still the girl's subordinate. Of course, he had to come out and greet his superior when she came to eat.
"It's very appropriate." Shiki nodded earnestly: "So, can you go rest now?"
"Or are you saying you won't even listen to a Sobayonin like me?"
"This…"
Okazaki Rikuto didn't know what to say. Looking at the girl's beautiful face, he could only agree in the end.
"Alright then. If they do anything foolish, I hope you'll be more understanding."
"Understood. As long as it's not a particularly stupid mistake, I'm too lazy to bother with it."
Shiki felt it was nothing. Everyone makes mistakes, and minor blunders were understandable.
But if it was something particularly outrageous or intentional, then she couldn't just let it slide.
"Thank you for your understanding, Ryougi-sama."
Okazaki Rikuto bowed, then went to the back kitchen to give some instructions, and then went home to sleep.
"Um… Shiki, could you help me eat the rest of these fried skewers? They're really too spicy…" Ayaka said, pushing the plate towards the girl.
"Oh, okay."
Shiki poured the remaining chili powder and cumin from her own plate onto it. Ayaka watched from the side, her eye twitching.
'Sure enough, half the amount was still too much. For the next plate, I'll just sprinkle a tiny bit.'
...
Liyue Harbor, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"What? Wanmin Restaurant is haunted?"
Hu Tao's face showed utter disbelief. Although it was night, where was this? Liyue Harbor! A soul wouldn't come here no matter where it went!
"Hall Master Hu! It really is haunted! I had just finished cleaning the kitchen, and as I was about to lock the door, a golden light knocked me to the ground!"
"By the time I stood up, the kitchen was in a complete mess, and it scared me so much that I jumped out the window and ran all the way here."
"And now I feel so tired, and I'm a bit out of breath. Have I been cursed by a ghost?"
Chef Mao said nervously, completely unaware that his breathlessness was purely due to running too fast.
Hu Tao's little face immediately fell when she heard this, and she said in an extremely perfunctory tone:
"Mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes, a ghost curse, it's very serious!"
"Ah? Then I'm in great danger, aren't I?"
"Mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes."
"Hall Master Hu, you must save me!"
"Mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes."
"Xiangling still needs me!"
"Mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes."
Chef Mao: "..."
Such a perfunctory tone, even the most foolish person would notice. Chef Mao knew that the girl definitely hadn't taken his words seriously.
"It's true, Hall Master Hu! My kitchen is still a mess right now! If you don't believe me, you can come and see!"
"Oh, are you sure it's not just an illusion caused by being too tired?" Hu Tao sighed, quite troubled, but she ultimately decided to go with Chef Mao.
"Fine, fine, I'll go with you. It's not like anything will happen…"
Hu Tao was already used to such situations. Many people thought they had encountered ghosts, but in reality, it was just their psychological effect.
For example, Chef Mao, Hu Tao believed he was simply too exhausted, which led to hallucinations.
Of course, ghosts exist in this world, but yin and yang are separate. In a place as full of positive energy as Liyue Harbor, wouldn't ghosts staying here be akin to seeking death?
Especially that exorcist with the Pure Yang Body, tsk tsk tsk. If an ordinary person's positive energy is like a small flame, then he must be a raging fire, right?
With such abundant positive energy, he wouldn't be able to encounter ghosts in this lifetime.
Ghosts would have to avoid him, otherwise, touching him would mean instant death. Chongyun, to ghosts, was nothing short of a living King of Hell.
The two arrived at Wanmin Restaurant, and Chef Mao immediately perked up.
"See, didn't I tell you, Hall Master Hu? Look how messy this kitchen is!"
"Oh ~ it's quite rare tonight."
Hu Tao looked through the window and saw the messy stove. She then took out homao's staff and said, "You don't mind if I break a few things, do you?"
"I don't mind, I don't mind." Chef Mao quickly shook his head. "As long as Hall Master Hu doesn't burn down my Wanmin Restaurant, anything goes!"
"Alright then, stand back a bit."
As Hu Tao spoke, she twirled her spear, then let out a tender shout and directly smashed the locked door to smithereens.
'My door––'
Chef Mao looked at the shattered door with great heartache, but there was nothing he could do. Compared to the door, his own life was more important.
Although Hu Tao did not see a ghost, she sensed an extremely powerful Lightning element. Just a slight residue of it was enough to make her feel as if she were facing a formidable enemy.
"Rise!"
Hu Tao flicked homao's staff, and a fiery red butterfly instantly appeared behind her. However, this pattern came and went quickly. Aside from homao's staff being imbued with flames, it was no different from its normal state.
This was a secret technique of her Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, specifically used to purify those dirty things. This was called "Dance of the Otherworldly Butterfly."
"You stay here and don't move."
Leaving Chef Mao outside, Hu Tao walked in alone.
This Lightning element was truly too powerful. She wasn't sure if its owner had left yet, so the safest way was for her to go in alone and check.
She didn't know if she could win, but she could definitely run.
She possessed an ability that granted her immunity to fatal DMG, preventing immediate death, while also significantly boosting her physical attributes and strength. This allowed her to make a quick escape during that time.
She named this ability: "Lingering Fragrance of the Ghostly Butterfly."
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