I pointed toward the door, then held my hand above my head to mark a short height, trying my absolute best to mi “Juan.”
The waiter frowned at for a long while. Then he suddenly went “Oh!” as if he understood, nodded, and pointed toward the back courtyard, motioning for us to follow.
My stomach tightened. So Juan had been here.
Lian’s expression hardened; he stood and strode off. Hua and I hurried after him.
The farther we walked toward the back, the stranger the atmosphere felt.
The kitchen was blazing hot, pots bubbling, steam rolling. The cooks didn’t say a single word—only the thud of cleavers on cutting boards and the clatter of ladles stirring broth. The silence made my hair stand on end.
Once in the courtyard, the waiter pointed at a corner. When we didn’t move, he pointed at his own backside… then at a small wooden door.
My face instantly darkened. Great. He thought we were looking for the outhouse.
Hua smacked the back of my head, barely suppressing a laugh. I flailed my hands desperately. “No, no! We’re looking for soone! Soone!”
The waiter only grew more confused. He even held up two fingers, and for a second I genuinely wondered if he was asking whether we needed “two toilet stalls.”
Lian finally lost patience, grabbed by the arm, and dragged out. I nearly stumbled straight into the outhouse door before I realized what was happening.
By the ti we returned to the front hall, dusty and humiliated, the waiter looked at us like he fully believed we’d failed our collective bathroom mission. He pointed to the white towel on his shoulder, as if asking whether we needed another hot cloth.
I nearly collapsed against the table laughing. “It’s over—he definitely thinks the three of us had a shared ergency and didn’t… succeed.”
Lian had been tolerating it long enough. He snapped, “Sit.”
I blinked. “Huh? Aren’t we still looking for Juan? Why sit?”
Lian didn’t answer. He simply strode to an empty table, pulled out a chair with practiced elegance, sat down, and started flipping through the drink-and-dish board as if he were genuinely here for lunch.
I had no choice but to follow. Still confused, I leaned toward him and muttered, “We’re not actually eating, right? We literally just had breakfast. My stomach is still processing those buns…”
Before I finished complaining, there was a sharp smack on my head.
“Ow—!” I clutched my skull and glared. Hua had tapped with his folding fan, expression blank.
“Quiet,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Use your nose.”
I froze. “Use my—what? Don’t tell you’re asking to sll your feet or—”
Lian finally snapped. Without looking up from the nu, he said one cold word: “Wine.”
“Huh?” I sniffed the air suspiciously. After a mont, realization hit .
There was a faint aroma—neither spices nor tea. It was…
“Wait—that’s the sa sll as those five jars we hauled back to the ruined temple!”
I sat up straight, scanning the hall.
People were eating and drinking quietly, heads down. Nobody was talking. But every table—every table—had at least one bowl or jar of that wine. The sll was everywhere.
“This is—” I started to say, but the waiter returned with a tray, doing his rounds.
Lian raised a hand, gesturing succinctly: bring us the sa wine everyone else is drinking.
The waiter blinked, then nodded and hurried off.
When he was finally out of earshot, I hissed, “Hey hey hey—are we really drinking this too? Didn’t we leave five whole jars in the ruined temple? You two each carried two jars—you’ve got enough to last till next year’s Moon Festival!”
Hua said quietly, “If this wine is that widespread—served not only at the Moon Festival but also here daily—we need to investigate it properly.”
“I know we need to investigate, but we don’t need to get drunk doing it…” I muttered, already worrying about passing out under the table.
Soon, bowls of wine were served. White porcelain, pale golden liquid. I lifted mine carefully and sniffed. Yep. Sa scent.
“Well… whatever. One sip won’t kill .” I downed a small mouthful. Sweet on the tongue, warm in the throat—smooth enough to drink like water.
“Damn, that’s actually good,” I murmured. “Better than the stuff at the temple.”
Lian didn’t respond. He tapped lightly on the table, eyes distant.
We sat there for half an incense stick, silent. The hall was unnervingly quiet—only bowls and chopsticks clinking.
Suddenly, Hua asked, “After drinking it, do you feel anything off?”
I thought for a mont. “No. Why?”
Hua smiled slowly. “That’s the problem.”
“…What?”
“It ans the wine doesn’t make people mute. So their silence has another cause.”
I stared. “So after drinking for half a day, this is the conclusion?”
“Better a small conclusion than none at all,” Hua said with a snort. “Worst case, the wine’s still worth two strings of coins.”
I rolled my eyes, ready to retort, but Lian suddenly murmured, “Look.”
He nodded toward the back door. The curtain had lifted with the breeze, revealing sothing hanging from the woodpile behind it.
I squinted. My heart lurched. “Wait—that… that’s Juan’s jacket!”
We set down our bowls and quietly moved toward the back.
The courtyard was still. Only the woodpile rustled in the wind. My stomach twisted. Don’t let it be a body. Please don’t let it be a body.
Lian signaled for us to spread out and move in slowly.
My nerves were shot. I was half-convinced sothing horrible was waiting behind the stacked logs—
A figure suddenly popped up, and I nearly dropped dead on the spot.
“Juan!” I blurted. Then froze.
Juan was sweating buckets, holding an axe, staring at us like we were the weird ones. “Why are you guys here?”
I almost laughed out of sheer panic. “Why are we here? You vanished for half a day! Your little siblings were terrified! And you—you’re here chopping wood like an employee of the month?!”
Juan scratched his head. “I just ca for food. The boss said I looked useful and asked to help out. Said he’d give leftovers after.”
I nearly choked on my own breath.
Hua crossed his arms. “Wonderful. We almost planned your funeral.”
Blushing, Juan wiped his sweat. “I’m fine, really. Oh—just now, when I went to the back kitchen for food, I saw a bunch of wine jars on the ground. All sealed up. Not sure if it’s related to all the weird stuff happening in town.”
“Wine jars?” I repeated. “The sa ones they serve out front?”
Juan thought. “Looks like it. But if they’re ant to be sold, why seal them?”
I frowned. “Good question. How do you drink sealed jars? Are they for storage?”
Hua tapped with his fan again. “Use your brain. They might be set aside for next year’s Moon Festival.”
Lian crouched down to look Juan in the eye. “Did the seals have any markings?”
Juan shook his head. “Too far to see. Just noticed they were sealed tight. Three layers of paper.”
Lian thought for a mont. “Whether it’s the sa wine or not, if those jars relate to the Moon Festival, we need to inspect them.”
I swallowed. “You an… we’re going into the kitchen?”
Hua flicked his fan shut. “What else did you think we ca for?”
Before leaving, Lian shot Juan a final look. “Finish your work and go back to the temple.”
Juan nodded at once. “Okay!”
The three of us exchanged a glance, finally relieved. No clues yet, but at least Juan wasn’t dead.
I let out a long breath. “Scared half to death… I was ready to cry in front of Senior An tonight just to make him help us with the investigation.”
Hua snorted. “If you cry, he’ll probably make you drink ten more jars to ‘calm down.’”
: “…”
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