Chapter 3

There's no such thing as soba.

'What am I supposed to do with one arm? You should at least wash your hands. Dirt under your fingernails! Damn it.'

The brat who ate my food even neatly placed the bowl on the intact table.

As if to show off, he cleaned up the bowl himself, as if asking for praise.

Holding one arm, I sat on the floor in a daze when a man's voice came from behind.

"Is the innkeeper here? The, business... "

Turning around slowly with a gloomy face, I saw three women and a middle-aged man standing there.

Even in the chaotic situation, I observed the appearance of the guests.

If they were martial artists, I would have chased them away even in the rain.

The man and woman stood awkwardly in front of the broken door.

Fortunately, they didn't seem to be martial artists.

The man wore a Jinxian Guan (進賢冠) and held a white feather fan, looking like Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms game.

The hat and fan, which only high-ranking literati would use, gave him the air of an elderly scholar.

'The two women look like maids, and one of them has her face covered, so they might be a family?'

They seemed to have taken shelter from the sudden heavy rain. When they saw the chaotic scene and the arm in my hand, the four of them leaned forward and looked startled.

It was a situation where they might suspect a murder had taken place in the inn.

I could only let out a bitter laugh and wave the arm at them as a welcome.

"I want to do business, but martial artists caused a commotion and left this as a gift. Haha... ha..."

"Oh..."

The guests looked at me with pity.

***

Holding the arm and sitting on the floor, I and the guests who entered the inn were in an awkward standoff.

-Clang

"Oh my!"

The loud noise made the maids jump and hug each other.

The sound was from the half-broken door finally falling outside.

Thanks to the door falling, our awkward standoff ended.

The man finally asked with a very apologetic look.

"Unfortunately, it's getting dark and it's raining heavily. Can we stay for the night? I'm really sorry..."

He kept stroking his beard, looking very embarrassed. Seeing the chaotic inn and me sitting on the floor, he seemed reluctant to ask.

But I could understand the man's situation.

Although this village is on the main road, the nearest city, Qingchuan, is about a day's walk away. If it rains heavily at night, it's impossible to travel.

Moreover, with three women, where could they go in the rain?

The women's clothes here are thin... and they stick to the body when it rains. Exactly.

If they walked until tomorrow, they would have to show their figures to the men they meet on the main road.

Honestly, it was difficult to accept guests in this situation, but as a fan of the Three Kingdoms game, I believed that no one wearing Zhuge Liang's fashion was evil, so I decided to accept them.

I threw the arm towards the kitchen and said to the guests.

"Fortunately, the annexes are undamaged, so there should be no problem with sleeping. However, I need to check the ingredients for the meal."

Fortunately, the annexes for accommodation were a bit separate, so I could accept guests if they wanted to stay.

However, the inn's dining area was a mess, so there might be some problems with preparing dinner.

When I informed the guests of this, the man, who seemed well-educated, replied very politely.

"We just need a light meal. Even if it's not possible, don't worry too much. We have some snacks. I'm really sorry..."

The man kept apologizing. Honestly, he didn't need to apologize. The ones who should apologize were the brats earlier.

"I understand, sir. Please sit down and rest for a moment. I'll prepare a place for you."

I pushed the broken chairs and tables aside and brought a few intact chairs to lead the guests.

Since guests had arrived, I first prepared a place for them to sit.

"Please sit here."

"Is it okay like this...?"

The guests, feeling very apologetic, couldn't even sit down.

"Since I'm hosting you, you are my guests. It's difficult if you act like this. Sir."

Only after I insisted did the man move.

"Hehe, the young man is very polite."

After confirming that the man and the lady, who seemed to be his daughter, were seated, I quickly moved.

I pushed the broken chairs aside and brought an intact table to the guests. Seeing my pitiful state, the two maids came to help.

However, the wood was sharp, so I stopped them.

"Oh, young ladies, you don't have to."

"Oh, young lady, hehe..."

"We need to clean up quickly to sit down."

The maids, who seemed to have good temperaments, quickly helped me set up two intact tables and prepare chairs. They skillfully prepared their own seats and the seats for the hosts.

They were very strong.

When the two maids quickly set up two seats, the man's voice was heard.

"Let's eat together, not separately."

The man suggested eating together, but the maids declined.

In this situation, it's rare for someone to treat maids so well, so it seemed that the principle that no one wearing Zhuge Liang's fashion is evil in the martial world held true.

"No, sir, how can we... You and the lady should eat."

"Since the inn is in chaos, it's better to eat together. Isn't that right, innkeeper?"

The awkward negotiation from the sir.

However, I didn't have time to join in.

First, I needed to check what food was available.

"I'll check the ingredients and see what food can be prepared. Please wait a moment."

Entering the kitchen, I saw a new mess.

What kind of chaos did these brats cause in the kitchen? The prepared dumplings were rolling on the floor.

The pot for boiling water had fallen, making the kitchen a sea of water.

The pot for the noodle broth had also fallen, leaving no broth at all.

The guests had been caught in the rain and needed warm soup, but it was impossible to prepare a soup dish.

I first set up the stove, lit a fire, and filled the pot with water.

When I checked the ingredients, the vegetables were mashed, and the hanging pork had rolled on the floor, but it seemed fine after washing.

I brought towels I had prepared in the cupboard to the still wet guests.

"Sir, only stir-fried noodles can be prepared right now. Is that okay?"

"Hehe, stir-fried noodles? In this situation, we can't be picky about the food. Bring it out."

The man smiled kindly.

Relieved by his words, I headed back to the kitchen to prepare the food.

If someone from my past life saw me offering strange food to guests, they might think, "Isn't it obvious that it's soba in an inn?"

Honestly, that's a misunderstanding due to lack of knowledge about martial arts or China.

The soba we often see in martial arts novels, "Bring out a bowl of soba," doesn't actually exist in the martial world.

Well, it does exist, but not the soba we know.

When we think of soba, we usually think of thin noodles, but in China, soba (素麵) refers to noodles made by wrapping dough around a stick, applying oil, and stretching it.

For Koreans, it's like dried noodles (乾麪) hung on a stick and oiled.

Another type of soba is a spicy noodle dish that soldiers in Chongqing ate during the Southern Song Dynasty to survive the cold winter when the Yuan Dynasty invaded the Southern Song.

Since the era I'm living in is before the rise of the Yuan Dynasty, Chongqing soba doesn't exist.

That's right! It turns out that the phrase "Bring out a bowl of soba" in inns only appears in martial arts novels.

The romantic soba of martial arts is actually a non-existent dish.

I was surprised when I learned this while studying Chinese cuisine.

It was a moment when one of the romantic elements of martial arts novels disappeared, so it was natural to be surprised.

I smiled, recalling that moment.

Since the rain was still pouring, I decided to serve tea to the wet guests. When the water in the pot I had put on earlier started boiling, I poured it into a teapot, added tea leaves, and headed outside.

"It must be cold. Please have some tea first."

"This guy is doing everything despite the chaos. Hehe."

"Thank you, innkeeper."

The woman in the veil, who had been silent since entering the inn, finally spoke.

The moment I heard the voice of the woman who seemed to be the man's daughter, I could express my feeling in one word.

The sound of jade beads rolling on a silver tray.

I was amazed that such a beautiful sound existed in the world.

When I looked at her in surprise, her blue eyes reflected in the lanterns caught my eye.

'Blue eyes?'

Perfect voice with blue eyes?

I was startled by the exotic beauty, and she seemed to notice my gaze, turning her head slightly to avoid it.

Realizing my mistake, I quickly apologized. It was impolite to stare at a lady's face.

"Excuse me, young lady. And sir."

"Ah, you were surprised by the blue eyes. My wife is from the north. She's not a ghost, so don't worry. Haha."

People here often fear blue eyes, thinking they are the eyes of ghosts, so that's probably what he meant.

When I glanced at the blue-eyed woman, her eyes, which had been startled, now looked sad.

She must have lived with similar misunderstandings.

I quickly apologized to her.

"Excuse me, young lady. I didn't mean to think of you as a ghost. Your eyes are like a clear blue lake, which surprised me. Please don't take it to heart."

Her eyes trembled at my words.

The sir laughed and said,

"Are you flirting with my daughter in front of me? Haha, you're a brave guy."

"Excuse me, sir."

Although he was joking, I felt it was better to leave, so I quickly headed back to the kitchen.

I could see his eyebrows twitching.

Fathers with beautiful daughters see all men as enemies, so they are very dangerous.

No matter how much Zhuge Liang's fashion is not for villains.

I took a deep breath in the kitchen and started boiling the noodles in the pot.

To make the stir-fried noodles I had offered to the man.