The last bowl of Cream Mushroom Soup Xia Nan ate in Barracuda Bay was especially sumptuous.
Unlike on ordinary days, when the seafood added depended on whatever surplus ingredients the kitchen had on hand, the bowl of Cream Mushroom Soup before him had clearly been prepared with care. The shell of a large shrimp that should have filled the entire surface of the bowl had been completely removed because it took up too much space, leaving only a single piece of glistening, translucent white meat that appeared and disappeared beneath the thick broth;
Several whole, unidentified mushrooms had been sliced into thick pieces, revealing their delicate textures saturated with broth. They were interspersed with crisp seaweed slices, a whole small squid with plenty of bite, and scattered morsels of fresh, tender clam meat, all roiling and tumbling through the bowl with every stir.
The ingredients had been piled in so thickly that even a casual spoonful scooped up a mouthful of seafood.
Wrapped in broth and brought to his mouth, the seafood's unique freshness blended perfectly with the rich garlic fragrance released by frying it in butter, as well as the deep, savory saltiness of the seared mushrooms.
The broth was as smooth as silk, yet the fresh, crisp chewiness of the seafood kept it from feeling greasy at all.
Xia Nan even felt that this might be the best bowl of Cream Mushroom Soup he had ever tasted in Barracuda Bay.
In the years of adventure ahead, in those desolate forests, deserts, and frozen wastelands, during countless late nights spent gazing at a campfire before his tent, his thoughts would surely wander back to this specially prepared bowl of Cream Mushroom Soup he had drunk one cool, comfortable morning in a chilly tavern. "So? How is it?"
Hera had