The three of them walked down the mountain path and soon entered the streets of Tangwu Town.
As soon as they stepped onto the street, a wave of warmth washed over them.
A faint scent of sulfur drifted through the air, mingled with the aroma of food. Wooden buildings lined both sides of the street, with red lanterns hanging beneath their eaves. White steam rose from various spots, wrapping the entire street in a hazy, warm mist.
Mountains loomed in the distance, also shrouded in mist, where a few larger buildings could be seen nestled against the slopes.
“This is Tangwu Town, located within the Kingdom of Chaowu.” Chen Mian slowed his pace, his gaze sweeping across the familiar streets, a nostalgic smile playing at the corners of his lips. “It's been a long time since I last came here.”
Flora took a deep breath, her lively eyes looking exceptionally bright through the mist.
She looked around, finding everything new and fascinating.
The red lanterns hanging under the eaves, the steaming roadside hot spring channels, and the crisp clatter of wooden clogs on the cobblestones.
Her gaze finally rested on a roadside food stall, where bamboo steamers were stacked high. Billowing white steam hissed from the gaps, carrying a sweet aroma toward them. “Smells so good.”
They were hot spring buns.
The brown dough was steamed soft and fluffy, piping hot and each about the size of a fist. The sweet fragrance of the buns drifted over, blending with the mist.
Loviki's gaze was also drawn to them.
Chen Mian glanced at them, pulled a few Chaowu copper coins from his pocket, walked over to the stall, and handed them to the owner. “Boss, three please.”
The owner, a white-haired old man wearing a white apron, smiled as he wrapped three buns in oilpaper and handed them over. “Careful, they're hot. Fresh out of the steamer.”
Chen Mian took them, turned around to hand one to Flora and one to Loviki, keeping the last one for himself.
Flora nibbled on hers in small bites like a squirrel holding a nut, completely unaware of the bit of red bean paste stuck to the corner of her mouth.
Noticing this, Loviki reached out and gently tapped the corner of Flora's mouth with her fingertip, wiping away the red bean paste. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she withdrew her hand and licked her finger.
Flora's face instantly flushed crimson. “Loviki, y-you...”
“You had something on your face,” Loviki said, sounding perfectly justified, though a subtle glint of mischief flickered in her eyes.
Ever since their camping trip, Loviki seemed to have developed a fondness for teasing Flora.
Of course, there were plenty of times when she got teased right back.
The three of them continued down the cobblestone road.
The shops lining the street were all wooden structures of varying heights. Some sold hot spring specialties, others sold handicrafts, and there were also inns and restaurants adorned with hanging noren curtains.
Wooden plaques hung at the entrance of each shop, displaying the shop names in both the Continent of Cecia's common tongue and the Chaowu language.
Tourists wearing various styles of yukatas passed by them from time to time. Some still had damp hair, their faces flushed with the post-hot spring warmth, their wooden clogs clicking against the cobblestones with a rhythmic clack-clack-clack.
Flora looked around curiously, her gaze darting from a shop selling bath salts to a stall displaying woven bamboo crafts.
“The buildings here... are so unique.” She looked up at the curved roof of a three-story wooden building. The curve of the eaves was much more pronounced than those in the Hella Kingdom, as if specifically designed that way for a reason.
“It's the style of the Kingdom of Chaowu,” Chen Mian explained. “Wooden structures with highly curved roofs to keep off the rain. Tangwu Town is a signature tourist town in Chaowu, and since it's on the border, many foreign tourists visit. So, they put extra effort into showcasing these architectural features.”
“But with the air being so damp here, wouldn't the wooden buildings rot easily?”
“The surfaces of the buildings are coated with frostwood wax. There are many frostwood trees in Chaowu, and their resin can be used to make frostwood wax, which seals out moisture,” Chen Mian explained, pointing to the structure.
By the roadside, there was a stall selling dango.
Three-colored dango skewers—pink, white, and green—were drizzled with a clear syrup that glistened in the sunlight.
She didn't speak, but simply stood there, her eyes fixed on the skewers.
Chen Mian glanced at her, pulled out a few more copper coins, and bought two skewers. He handed one to Flora and the other to Loviki.
“You're not having any?” Loviki asked, tilting her head as she took the skewer.
“I just ate,” Chen Mian replied, putting his copper coins back into his pocket.
Loviki took a bite of a pink dango. Her chewing gradually slowed, and her eyes narrowed slightly. “It's sweet.”
“Dango is supposed to be sweet,” Chen Mian said.
“It's better than the ones sold in the Hella Royal Capital.” She took a bite of a white one, her cheeks puffing out.
Combined with her usually cold expression, she looked rather cute.
Flora also took a bite of a white dango, chewing it carefully, her eyes curving slightly.
“The ratio of glutinous rice flour is perfect... It doesn't stick to the teeth, nor is it too hard. They must have added honey to the syrup; the sweetness is much gentler than pure cane sugar.”
Loviki looked at her. “You can tell all that from just one bite?”
Flora smiled. “When you cook for a long time, your sense of taste becomes quite sensitive.”
The three of them continued forward.
On both sides of the cobblestone road ran a man-made hot spring channel. Hot spring water was piped down from the mountains, flowing through the town and giving off white steam. Dwarf bamboo and maple trees were planted along the channel; the maple leaves were still green, but they would surely look beautiful in the autumn.
A few children crouched by the channel, their sleeves rolled up, using bamboo baskets to scoop out hot spring eggs. The baskets were specially made with mesh bottoms, allowing the hot water to rush through and spin the eggs around inside.
The eggshells were a light brown, bubbling and rolling in the steaming water as the children chattered, counting down the seconds.
Flora stopped to watch for a moment, curiosity in her eyes. “Are those... hot spring eggs?”
“Yeah,” Chen Mian said. “They're slowly soft-boiled in the hot spring water, making them incredibly tender. Want to try one?”
“Can we?”
Chen Mian walked over to the channel, crouched down, and spoke a few words to the children. He seemed to be speaking the language of Chaowu; though his accent carried hints of a foreigner, he communicated without any trouble.
He handed over a silver coin. The children looked at each other, then grinned and picked out five of the largest hot spring eggs from the basket, stuffing them into a small woven bamboo net bag for him, along with a small packet of salt as a bonus.
Chen Mian walked back with the net bag and handed it to Flora. “Eat them while they're hot. They won't taste as good once they cool down.”
Flora picked up an egg, tapped it gently against the stone railing, and carefully peeled off the shell.
The egg white was translucent and jiggled slightly like jelly, while the yolk was a beautiful, runny orange.
She sprinkled a tiny bit of salt and took a bite, her eyes instantly lighting up. “So tender...”
“The white is like pudding, and the yolk is perfectly runny. The salt really brings out the sweetness.”
Chen Mian also took one, peeled it, and ate it in one bite.
Honestly, he didn't particularly like eggs. Back when he had just graduated before transmigrating, money was tight, and he had eaten so many boiled eggs with instant noodles that he had grown sick of them.
But these hot spring eggs were indeed excellent. The white was so tender it hardly felt like an egg, and the runny yolk had a rich, sweet flavor.
“Not bad,” he said, tossing the eggshell into a nearby trash bin.
Loviki had already peeled her second egg. She ate them quickly; she had finished the first one in just two bites, only slowing down slightly for the second.
While the young lady of the Lorenz Family certainly looked like a noble lady when she put on airs, she didn't actually seem to have much of a high-and-mighty attitude, aside from being a bit tsundere.
The three of them continued along the cobblestone path toward the center of town.
The steam grew thicker, making the glow of the red lanterns hazy, as if filtered through a thin veil.
The clack of wooden clogs, the sounds of laughter and conversation, and the rushing of the water blended together, echoing in the mist and creating an illusion that time had slowed down.
As they passed a small shop with a plain fabric curtain, Flora's steps slowed.
Displayed in the window were a few white cotton undergarments, simple in style and reaching just down to mid-thigh.
“...These,” she said softly. “To wear underneath when soaking in the hot spring.”
Loviki took a glance and nodded.
Chen Mian waited by the door.
Before long, the two of them walked out, each carrying a small paper bag.
“All bought?” Chen Mian asked.
“Yes,” Flora murmured, keeping her head down, the tips of her ears red.
Loviki, on the other hand, was completely unbothered. “It's just two pieces of white cloth. What's there to blush about?”
“I'm not blushing,” Flora's voice grew even softer.
“If you're not blushing, look up.”
Flora raised her head, only to lock eyes with Loviki, causing her ears to flush even more furiously.
Chen Mian didn't chime in, simply turning to continue walking.
Behind him, Flora quickly caught up, the paper bag rustling softly in her arms.
Loviki walked at the rear, looking at the two in front of her, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward.
Eventually, the three of them stopped in front of a shop.
The shop's name was "Tangwu House".
In the window, several sample yukatas were neatly folded, each accompanied by a matching sash.
A wind chime hung by the door, tinkling in the warm breeze.
“We're here.”
Flora looked up at the sign. “...Do we really have to buy them?”
“We're already here,” Chen Mian said as he pushed open the wooden door, the hanging noren curtain swaying gently and stirring a light breeze.
He looked back at Flora with a smile. “Are you sure you don't want to experience the local specialty? Tangwu Town's hot spring yukatas are famous across the entire continent.”
Flora bit her lip and followed him inside.
Loviki followed closely behind. Before entering, she looked up at the wind chime and reached out to flick it, making the glass beads chime a few more times.
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