The three of them hurried toward the beef noodle restaurant.
But after only a few steps, a surging crowd blocked their path.
"Damn it!"
Shen Luolun's expression darkened.
"There are too many people. We can't squeeze through."
Lumine surveyed the surrounding buildings and said:
"A-Luo, I can use those walls and eaves to get across. I'll leave Paimon in your care for now."
"No problem, but be careful."
"Mm!"
Shen Luolun took Paimon and carried her on his back.
Lumine channeled Anemo energy into her legs, leaped up, and raced along the walls, quickly closing in on the restaurant.
"Palm Vortex: Disperse!"
Anemo energy surged from her palm, blowing away the crowd gathered at the restaurant entrance and clearing every obstacle.
Before the crowd could recover, Lumine landed lightly. Electro flashed around her legs, and she darted into the restaurant like a bolt of lightning, closing the door behind her.
"Hm? It's you again, young lady."
The square-faced, middle-aged man in a chef's white coat was startled to see Lumine, but he soon said calmly:
"Did you come in to save your friend?"
"But you're too late."
Lumine's heart tightened, and she hurriedly looked to the side.
Xiangling's face was bright red, and sweat poured down her face. She seemed to be desperately suppressing something, gripping her chopsticks, stained with red chili oil, so tightly that they creaked under the strain.
A steaming bowl of beef noodles sat in front of her.
Clearly, she had already started eating.
She was simply suppressing the urge to keep eating.
"Xiangling!" Lumine called worriedly.
Hearing her friend's voice, Xiangling struggled to open her eyes.
"Traveler."
"Xiangling, how are you? Don't worry, I'll get you out of here right now!"
Lumine drew the Starblade Sword and pointed it at the middle-aged man.
"You'd better not make any sudden moves, or don't blame me for what happens!"
"Traveler, wait-"
Clap, clap, clap-
Before the middle-aged man could say anything, another man emerged from inside the restaurant.
He smiled and clapped, looking indescribably smug.
"What a touching scene."
"You're... that merchant from Snezhnaya?!"
Tsarevich stroked his mustache and smiled.
"Long time no see, Traveler. Although you're always clumsy and infuriating, even I have to admit by now that you have some strength, having defeated so many Harbingers."
"Unfortunately, no matter how strong you are, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop us today."
"You're welcome to try!" Lumine said coldly.
The Starblade Sword instantly blazed with dazzling light, and fierce sword qi swept across their faces like an icy wind.
Tsarevich's expression changed, and he hurriedly pulled the middle-aged man in front of him as a shield.
"You-"
A hint of gravity appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes. He stepped forward, and a shield of flame formed in front of him, blocking the sword qi.
"Hm? A Vision."
Lumine was slightly surprised.
The middle-aged man possessed a Pyro Vision and had even blocked her sword qi. He had some strength.
But that was all.
"What's your name?"
The middle-aged man answered solemnly:
"My name is Tang Hao."
"Young lady, there seems to be a misunderstanding between us."
Lumine sneered.
"A misunderstanding? You've got that right!"
"How dare you sell this kind of... drug! You've harmed the residents of Yilong Wharf, leaving them looking neither human nor ghost, and now Xiangling has fallen victim to your tricks too. I've already had someone notify the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Just wait until you're brought to justice!"
As she spoke, her sword qi grew even stronger.
Even Tang Hao's calm expression gave way to a frown.
He couldn't help taking a step back.
The Traveler was simply too powerful.
He couldn't stand against her.
Who had spread the claim that Teyvat's camera only knew how to pass out?!
He was the one who should be passing out now!
Tsarevich poked his head out from behind Tang Hao and said hurriedly:
"Hey, hey, is it a crime to make delicious noodles?"
"Don't slander us. We haven't made any drugs. Our ingredients are all natural."
"If they enjoyed eating them, that's their own business. What does it have to do with us? Besides, your friend ate that bowl of noodles of her own free will. We never forced her at any point."
What?
Lumine looked at Xiangling.
"Xiangling, is what he said true?"
Xiangling steadied her weakened body and nodded.
"He's right. Nobody forced me. I ate them of my own free will."
"Traveler, stop for now and hear them out."
This...
Lumine glanced at Tsarevich and Tang Hao.
She hesitated, then... put away the Starblade Sword.
The deadly tension in the room vanished.
Tang Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Facing the Traveler, even just matching her aura had taken everything he had. He couldn't have been happier to stop.
Tsarevich wiped the cold sweat from his brow, no longer daring to act smug. To keep Lumine from attacking again, he hurried to explain:
"Yes, listen to her. Hear us out."
"Here's what happened..."
It turned out that after Lumine went to look after Paimon, Xiangling had stayed behind in the restaurant alone.
Xiangling demanded that Tang Hao explain the effects of the beef noodles and whether he had used forbidden ingredients. If he had, it wasn't too late to stop and turn back.
Tang Hao did not answer directly. Instead, he told her to face reality, claiming that Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles were the pinnacle of culinary skill.
Any edible ingredient, any ingredient that brought people satisfaction, could be used.
There were no forbidden ingredients; such claims were nothing but needless worry.
Flavor was the very core of cooking!
Xiangling argued fiercely against him, saying that while flavor was important, the health of the diners mattered even more.
Forbidden ingredients were called forbidden precisely because they harmed people's health.
If one pursued the ultimate taste at the expense of diners' physical and mental health, then the dish could not be called fine food, but poison!
She accused Tang Hao of abandoning a chef's principles.
Tang Hao thought that Xiangling, a junior, was too conservative: worrying about so-called forbidden ingredients and choosing not to use them was the same as refusing to progress. Xiangling, meanwhile, thought the old man was too extreme: mixing "ice" into food was wrong, no matter how good it felt to eat, and it didn't deserve to be called cooking.
The two engaged in a fierce debate inside the restaurant, neither willing to concede.
Finally, Tsarevich, who had been secretly watching all along, came forward.
He proposed that they each taste the other's cooking, and whoever won would have the final say.
They both agreed.
And so, the events that followed came to pass.
Lumine had burst in and seen Xiangling tasting the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, mistakenly believing that Tang Hao and Tsarevich had used some kind of underhanded scheme.
"Then how do you explain the people outside? There's definitely something wrong with your beef noodles!"
"Hand over the antidote, now!"
Lumine stared at them coldly.
"Ahem, there must be some misunderstanding here."
Tsarevich coughed, straightened his collar, and stepped forward.
"Let me state once again: our beef noodles contain no artificial additives. They're nontoxic and harmless. You have to believe us."
"You want an antidote, but we don't have one, and we can't make one either."
"I hope you-ow! Tang Hao, what are you doing?!"
Before Tsarevich could finish, Tang Hao shoved him aside, nearly sending him sprawling face-first.
Ignoring Tsarevich's anger, Tang Hao addressed Lumine:
"Young lady, could you wait until Xiangling and I have finished our contest and decided a winner before we discuss this?"
Lumine thought for a moment, then turned to Xiangling.
"Xiangling, nobody here can force you."
"If you want to end the contest, I can take them down right now!"
"No, Traveler, I want to continue the contest with him."
Xiangling rejected Lumine's suggestion without the slightest hesitation.
"But your body... these beef noodles might make you lose your mind. If you lose... please, just listen to me."
Xiangling shook her head.
"Trust me, Traveler. I'm going to defeat him with my cooking. I'll win."
"..."
Seeing the stubborn determination in the girl's eyes, Lumine opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end she said nothing and could only agree.