No Other Choice

No Other Choice (Please bookmark and vote!)

After thinking it over again and again, Luo Qingqing decided to meet him in the side room outside her bedroom.

This was not a suitable time to receive visitors, much less a young man. But she had her reasons—he could not possibly fail to understand that, and merely to avoid suspicion, he should not have come within ten paces of her. Yet he had come despite knowing full well. That could only mean he had something in mind.

As one of the Luo Family's talented younger generation, she had seen plenty of the treachery in people's hearts. Xia Fan's initial attitude had been good, but that did not mean it would remain so. Changing his mind in less than two days was rather quick, but it had not exceeded her worst expectations.

If his attitude had changed drastically and he intended to use what happened last night as leverage to obtain something from her, she needed to make him understand that such a move was nothing but a fool's dream.

And he would have to pay a price for so brazenly breaking his promise.

Under Luo You'er's "watchful eye," Xia Fan entered carrying a porcelain basin. "Good evening. Luckily, you haven't gone to sleep yet."

What sort of greeting was that? For a moment, Luo Qingqing could not tell whether he was teasing her or genuinely saying hello. "I don't think this is an appropriate time to visit. Couldn't you come tomorrow—"

She stopped halfway through, because an enticing aroma of food had caught her attention.

This had nothing to do with self-control. It was a human instinct—because the town residents had evacuated, their supply of three daily meals had been completely cut off. Though the Luo Family usually bought extra food as reserves, those provisions were only meant for emergencies and were nowhere near enough for everyone's everyday needs. Since they still had to hold out for two more days, Luo Fengqing had gathered all the food together and planned to distribute it to those remaining on the final night.

In other words, she had gone almost an entire day without eating.

It had been manageable while she was busy, but once she stopped, with that rich fragrance washing over her, her body gave the most fitting response.

Grrr...

Luo Qingqing's stomach growled.

The moment that sound emerged, all the imposing momentum she had built up vanished into thin air.

The source of the fragrance was undoubtedly the porcelain basin in his hands.

"Why are you—"

"I guessed you hadn't eaten dinner, so I made a little extra while I was at it." Xia Fan placed the basin on the table and lifted the lid. "This is suitable for eating while we talk. If you think it's good, you can call everyone over to try some."

Luo Qingqing had intended to question his motives, but once the lid came off, the words at her lips took on an entirely different form.

"This is... crab?"

"You've had it before?" Xia Fan could not help being surprised.

"No, but I have heard of it." Luo Qingqing studied the angular, golden-yellow crabs in the basin. "It is said that crab-eating was once popular among the upper classes of Yong State. Northern green crabs were best crushed and mixed with sugar into crab paste, while the larger lake crabs of the south were more suited for steaming. As far as I know, three ancient texts mention this, but because of their ugly and frightening appearance, they were mostly used only as seasoning or seafood side dishes, and never became widespread afterward."

"You shouldn't be called Luo Qingqing anymore. You should just be called Luo Baike from now on," Xia Fan muttered softly.

"What did you say?"

"Ahem... I said the Luo Family truly deserves its reputation for knowing all things. You even know every method of preparing crab."

"But those books never recorded a method like yours." Luo Qingqing said with great interest, "They are neither lake crabs nor green crabs. They look more like the little mountain crabs commonly found by streams... Can these really be eaten?"

Hey, hey, your bobbing throat says otherwise.

Xia Fan did not answer. Instead, he picked up a crab and put it directly into his mouth.

With one light bite, the crisp fried shell shattered at once.

Anyone hearing those crunching sounds could imagine just how crispy it was.

Luo You'er could not restrain herself at all. Copying Xia Fan, she stuffed an entire crab into her mouth, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"Senior Sister, it's delicious!"

Once her junior sister had taken the lead, Luo Qingqing could no longer stop her. Silently reciting that this was to verify historical records and absolutely not to satisfy her personal appetite, she reached toward the porcelain basin.

When half a crab entered her mouth, a rich fragrance of oil instantly burst forth and filled her entire mouth. After the golden shell cracked apart, the juices inside poured out, presenting an entirely different texture. Finally came the crab meat on her tongue. Even after the assault of salty fragrance, it retained its original sweetness. The delicate shreds of meat melted the moment they entered her mouth, and the blend of those three layers of flavor brought the crab's freshness to an entirely new realm.

Her junior sister's simple words had nevertheless conveyed her feelings about the dish most directly.

"This method... could it be deep-frying?"

Food cooked in hot oil was uncommon, though Luo Qingqing had happened to eat one or two such dishes before—throughout all of Qi State, only large shops in the Capital Region sold similar fare. Yet whether spring rolls or fried strips, they were fundamentally flour-based foods and vegetables. This was the first time she had seen a living creature like a crab cooked in oil.

Xia Fan nodded in praise. "Exactly. The inn kitchen's rice jars had been emptied completely, but some seasonings remained. Probably because those things could not fill one's stomach, the townspeople did not take them away. When I went to the Back Mountain earlier, I found a Huo Creek with quite a lot of crabs in it. I also happened to find a jar of vegetable oil in the kitchen, so I used it to make this."

There were far more than quite a lot. He had woven a basket from vines and effortlessly caught nearly a hundred—the crabs of this era had clearly never suffered the beating of terrifying upright apes. The moment he overturned a stone where they were hiding, they climbed into his basket in swarms, so he had not needed much effort to gather today's dinner.

Compared with steaming, which emphasized the original flavor, these little crabs—where one hand could grab several at once—had not only no crab roe but hardly any meat. Back in his childhood, only street vendors would skewer and fry them for sale. Yet that high-fat, high-calorie method once scorned in his time was a delicacy ordinary people flocked to in ancient times. Driven by their genes, the satisfaction brought by abundant oil far surpassed the taste of the ingredients themselves.

As for certain modern cooking techniques, such as locking in moisture with high heat and frying them twice, they merely added flowers to brocade for a dish already tempting enough.

Luo You'er's exaggerated praise quickly caught everyone else's attention. Before long, all the Luo Family female disciples stationed in the large side room had gathered around. Having gone a full day without food, they had no resistance whatsoever before this golden dish, becoming captives of fried crabs one after another.

Luo Qingqing was surprised to discover that in less than fifteen minutes, the senior and junior sisters who had originally treated Xia Fan with cold looks were now chatting with him here and there.

This inevitably increased the pressure in her heart. From the current situation, she had probably overthought the possibility of him threatening her with her reputation and purity. After all, that incident itself was the greatest bargaining chip; whether he brought food or not would not offer the slightest help if they truly tore their faces apart. But he had clearly not paid a late-night visit merely to give them food for free. As the saying went, one's mouth grew soft after eating another's food, and one's hand grew short after taking another's things. If he took the opportunity to make some more moderate request, such as asking the Luo Family to take him along through the Great Desolation Evil Night, she feared she would need to spend considerably more effort refusing him.

"Enough. Tell me why you came." Luo Qingqing cleared her throat and faced Xia Fan solemnly. "Your fried crabs are indeed good, but compared to the Luo Family's interests, the latter is more important. I trust you will not make things too difficult for me."

"Unless you make crab for us every day," Luo You'er quickly added.

Without a word, Luo Qingqing swung her hand and gave her a chop to the head.

"Hey, hey..." The latter clutched her head in grievance. "Isn't negotiation just haggling? That's how Master and the others negotiate."

"Some things cannot be compromised on. Get over there!"

"Okay..." Luo You'er, with a crab leg between her teeth, obediently squatted in the corner of the room.

Xia Fan could not help laughing. Spreading his hands, he said, "I told you before, I caught too many, so I brought you a portion while I was at it. At least I didn't come empty-handed. As for what I want to discuss, it has little to do with crabs. I mainly came to tell you that having most people evacuate is not the best choice. In fact, I have a better way to deal with the Great Desolation Evil Night."

"You?" Luo Qingqing frowned in confusion. She truly had not expected the conversation to take this turn.

"That's right. But that method requires keeping everyone in Qingshan Town—every examinee's strength is crucial. Rather than splitting into noble families or small teams to fight, gathering into one mass would better bring out strength approaching everyone's limit."

Typical empty talk on paper. Luo Qingqing did not even want to ask what his method was. Ten people were naturally stronger than one, but the premise was how to make the interests of ten people align—this was also why children of noble families could seize every advantage first. "What you say is not without reason, but others may not listen to you. Whether the examinees choose to stay or leave is by no means the Luo Family's decision, but their own wish. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help you."

"I know. I never intended to persuade them," Xia Fan said frankly. "I only need to leave them with no other choice."

That straightforward answer rather surprised Luo Qingqing. She had thought he was the sort of person who liked making plans based on wishful thinking, but those words seemed to mean he was not.

For some reason, a trace of unease suddenly welled up in her heart.

"What exactly do you want to discuss with me?"

"Not discuss. Tell." Xia Fan slowly shook his head. "Because the evacuation plan began with the Luo Family, I think you should be the first to know."

"..."

I should know?

Those words even sounded somewhat arrogant.

She had imagined him threatening her without knowing the height of heaven or depth of earth, and she had considered whether the Luo Family truly had enough strength to bring one more Sanmen disciple through the examination. But neither possibility included the situation before her now.

For a moment, Luo Qingqing did not know how to respond, and an eerie silence fell between them.

What shattered that silence was the hurried footsteps outside the side room, followed by the panicked cries of a Luo Family disciple.

"Something terrible has happened, Senior Sister Luo! Something terrible!"

The door flew open. The female disciple who rushed inside saw everyone in the room chewing crabs with lingering fragrance filling their mouths, and could not help freezing for a moment. But she quickly remembered her mission and turned to Luo Qingqing. "Senior Sister, the Release Platform and the Wooden Kites are on fire!"

"What?" Upon hearing the news, everyone unconsciously slowed their chewing.

"How did it catch fire? There shouldn't have been anything there that could ignite!"

"How badly is it burning? Where are the people responsible for guarding it?"

"Is anyone putting out the fire?"

"I don't know... I only noticed something was wrong after seeing the firelight from afar!" the reporting disciple said urgently. "Judging from the blaze alone, I'm afraid it can't be saved!"

The room immediately erupted into chaos. Only Luo Qingqing remained motionless, her heart turning ice-cold.

Xia Fan's words suddenly echoed in her ears.

"I never intended to persuade them. I only need to leave them with no other choice."

"Not discuss. Tell."

Filled with disbelief, she slowly turned to look at Xia Fan.

And he gave her an affirmative answer. "I set it."