Chapter 117 — Cold Night

The southern borderlands were vastly different in custom from the Central Plains, yet over the years, remote as that region was, it had never been entirely cut off from the heartland. The furs, ores, and other local products of the southern frontier had always enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Central Plains, drawing no small number of merchants there to trade.

In time, inns—which had never existed in the southern borderlands at all—appeared under the influence of those Central Plains merchants, springing up in the busiest few towns.

The one in which Ming Li and Xiaobai now found themselves was just such an inn, its name taken directly from the local place-name: the Tianshui Inn.

Stepping inside, one could plainly see that the arrangement of tables and chairs owed much to Central Plains culture, though the proprietor and the serving staff were all local Zhuang folk. Of the peoples of the southern frontier, the Zhuang were the most numerous and, by comparison, the most prosperous; they had been the most deeply influenced by the Central Plains, and unlike the other tribes who still clung to a life of hunting above all else, the Zhuang had gradually taken up farming and trade.

Even so, the Zhuang character was a gentle one, and most of their people lacked that ferocious edge, so that in terms of strength they were in fact less formidable than the Miao, whose numbers were fewer than theirs.

Ming Li and Xiaobai sat down, and a server promptly came over to attend them. Dusk was falling, yet there were not many guests in the inn. Judging by his looks and dress, this server too was a Zhuang of the southern frontier, except that he had likely been working here some while, for his speech was quite fluent.

"You two gentlemen—will you be wanting something to eat? We also have clean rooms here, and our prices are the fairest for miles around, known far and wide."

Ming Li nodded. "Keep two clean rooms for us. We'll stay the night."

The server nodded with a smile, then said, "You two must not have eaten yet, surely? Shall I bring you something?"

Ming Li was not hungry, but he glanced at Xiaobai and decided to order a little food anyway. "Mm—bring us two bowls of rice, and a few..."

"Er!" Xiaobai, seated to one side, suddenly spoke up, smiling. "Do you have 'clay-smothered yellow sparrow' here?"

Ming Li started and turned to look at her. The server was taken aback as well and could not help giving Xiaobai another glance. "Miss, have you been to our southern frontier before? That's one of our signature dishes—of course we have it."

Xiaobai's smile deepened, her eyes flickering as though recalling something, and she said slowly, "Mm, that's right—and 'three-section snake intestine,' 'roast bear tail,' 'roast autumn leaves,' 'five little insects'..."

"...and 'black-heart fruit'..."

Her eyes glimmered; she spoke as she thought, at first rather slowly, naming one dish at a time, but later faster and faster, the names growing ever more outlandish—one listen told you they were fantastical beyond belief, certainly nothing the Central Plains could produce.

Ming Li was dumbfounded. Inside the shop, not only did the server's smile stiffen into a gaping, awkward expression, but even the proprietor, who had been tallying accounts in the distance, could not help coming over.

Only after rattling off nearly thirty dish names in one breath did Xiaobai pause to rest, then turn to the proprietor and the server with a smile. "These dishes—do you have them here?"

Proprietor and server exchanged glances. After a long moment the proprietor gave a dry laugh. "Miss, you are indeed a woman of wide experience. Every one of those dishes you named is a famous specialty of the southern frontier—only many of the ingredients aren't easy to come by. Apart from the clay-smothered yellow sparrow, this shop can manage only the black-heart fruit and the roast bear tail. My deepest apologies."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Xiaobai's face, but at once she smiled. "Then cook those three for us first!"

The proprietor and server hurriedly assented and bustled off. Xiaobai's bewitching eyes turned, and she saw Ming Li watching her. She gave him a charming smile. "It's been several hundred years—I don't know why, but suddenly I have a particular craving to taste the flavors of those days again. You've been here before—have you ever eaten these dishes?"

Ming Li shook his head. In the past, when he had come to the southern frontier, his heart had been full of one thing only: finding the Black Witch clan to cure Bili. How could he have had the leisure to indulge such appetites? As a rule he had made do with whatever he could find in the wild. This time, if not for special circumstances—having to evade the pursuit of the Fénxiá Valley's men scattered everywhere, and the fact that Xiaobai was, after all, a woman (albeit a thousand-year demon fox...)—it would hardly do to camp out in barren hills and wild ridges night after night. That was why they had entered a town.

He was silent a moment, then suddenly asked, "The clay-smothered yellow sparrow I can roughly guess at. What is the black-heart fruit?"

Xiaobai smiled. "It's a fruit unique to the southern frontier. Its skin is emerald green, its flesh white and tender, but the heart of the flesh is black. Deep-fried in oil, it's exceedingly delicious."

Ming Li frowned. "And that 'roast bear tail'—what is that? The tail of a black bear? I've heard of bear paws and bear gall, but never that bear tail could be made into a dish."

Xiaobai smiled faintly. "That bear is not the bear you're thinking of. The southern frontier has a unique beast called the 'long-tailed bear.' It is far smaller than the black bears and white bears we know, but its flesh is so savory that those others cannot compare. Its long tail especially is the essence of the creature—greatly renowned here in the south."

Ming Li said nothing. Xiaobai glanced at him and suddenly said, "Strange. Ordinarily you hardly seem to care about anything, so why do you show a bit of interest the moment these dishes come up?"

Ming Li was startled and for a long moment said nothing. He had grown up on Dazhu Peak of Canglan Mountain, and before long had begun cooking; for the culinary art he did indeed have a certain natural gift and fondness. Had he been born into an ordinary household, he might well have become a cook—and likely made a modest name for himself at it. But now...

Ming Li sighed softly, and suddenly all his interest drained away; he did not want to say anything more. Xiaobai watched him with keen interest, a soft light flickering in her eyes—what she was thinking, no one could say.

Only Little Grey remained as restless as ever, looking this way and that, letting out low chirps now and then, as though expecting something.

Deep into the night, all was quiet. Tianshui Stockade, bustling all day, gradually sank into stillness as night came on.

The Tianshui Inn had two stories, the upper one being the guest rooms. Ming Li had noticed that tonight only he and Xiaobai were staying. It seemed that although this place was lively enough, in these times—the world thrown into turmoil—few Central Plains merchants came to the southern frontier. And the local Zhuang folk, as a rule, did not lodge at inns.

Xiaobai's room was right next to Ming Li's, the dividing wall made of wooden boards and hardly soundproof; he could faintly hear soft laughter and squeaky chatter from next door. The monkey Little Grey had run over to play with Xiaobai again. Though these days Little Grey still came back to sleep with Ming Li every night, Xiaobai—how she had managed it, no one knew—seemed to be especially close to the little creature, and now Little Grey liked nothing better than to cling to this thousand-year demon fox whenever it had nothing to do.