Chapter 001 Eight Treasures Pavilion
The Eight Treasures Pavilion
Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), food, ensemble cast, and road trip fiction.
August 8, 2025
Chapter 001 Eight Treasures Pavilion
As the heat of July intensifies, the southern sun gradually turns cooler.
The cicadas, which had been chirping all summer, were no longer as loud as before, their calls hanging in the air, sometimes clear and sometimes faint.
At the herbal tea shop under the cicada tree, the proprietress brought out refreshing plum juice to cool you down.
There was only one official road between Guangcheng and Licheng, and only one place along the way where traveling merchants could rest and have a bowl of refreshing plum juice.
A rapid sound of horses' hooves came to a stop on the official road, raising several clouds of dust.
Several martial arts practitioners dressed in light blue outfits, with arm guards and sprint boots, leaped off their horses.
"Let's ask around here before we leave." The leader was named He Ping, the eldest disciple of the Qingyun Manor Master.
The group had been searching for the Bazhenlou restaurant since Tingshui, a task they had been tasked with for over a month. Three days ago, they passed through Guangcheng and heard that someone had seen the Bazhenlou restaurant, so they headed towards Licheng.
They immediately set off at full speed.
The Bazhenlou restaurant, pulled by a horse-drawn carriage, couldn't possibly move fast.
They traveled day and night, and should have caught up by now, but they still couldn't find any trace of the Eight Treasures Pavilion.
These herbal tea shops along the official road were incredibly powerful; no one, whether coming from the south or going to the north, or going to heaven or the earth, could escape their eyes.
If even they haven't seen the scene of eight horses pulling a wooden box, no one else can.
The proprietress had already come forward to greet them: "Gentlemen, would you like to rest and have some plum juice, or perhaps some snacks and desserts?"
He Ping handed the tow rope to the person beside him and said calmly, "I want to find out something."
The proprietress quickly glanced at He Ping and the people behind him, and said with a smile, "We know everything that flies in the sky, swims in the water, runs on the ground, and even burrows underground, as long as it passes through this area."
He Ping understood.
The proprietress also crossed her arms and leaned closer, lowering her voice slightly, "But this is a herbal tea shop, and the rule is to provide tea and a place to rest for passersby..."
The proprietress then glanced at the horse they were leading and added, "Horses can also drink water and be fed grass."
He Ping readily agreed, "Then I'll trouble you."
"What a generous person!" The proprietress immediately turned around and shouted in a loud voice, "Come over here and help!"
They didn't linger for even a moment longer.
A waiter immediately stepped forward.
The proprietress instructed, "Give each of you a set of the finest fruits and plum juice! And make sure the horses are well taken care of; they've had a long and tiring journey!"
The waiter responded loudly, "Okay!"
He Ping and his group found two empty tables and sat down.
He Lin, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy beside him, poured water from a cup while muttering under his breath, "Top-quality fruit, plum juice, and even grass for feeding horses. I reckon they're not exactly friendly."
We'd better fleece them ruthlessly.
He Ping smiled but didn't say anything.
They had been away from Qingyun Manor for over a month in search of the Eight Treasures Pavilion.
Bazhenlou is known to everyone in the martial arts world. However, Bazhenlou is not a martial arts sect, but a renowned restaurant in the martial arts world.
The chef's surname is Wang. I've heard that his culinary skills are unparalleled in the world, and he's so popular that he's worth a fortune!
But that's not enough!
The unique Bazhenlou in the martial arts world is not a restaurant that rises from the ground, but a mobile restaurant pulled by eight horses—on a carriage!
Today you may be here, but tomorrow you may be elsewhere.
I've heard that this Eight Treasures Pavilion was built by the head of the Xuanji Sect after five years of seclusion, exhausting all his knowledge. There is no other pavilion like it in the martial arts world!
The Xuanji Sect is the most skilled among all the sects in the martial arts world in terms of mechanisms, hidden weapons, and the construction of secret rooms and mazes. The Eight Treasures Tower, personally crafted by the sect leader, is especially ingenious!
Most of the time, the Eight Treasures Pavilion wasn't actually a pavilion, but rather a large chest pulled by eight horses.
With just one mechanism and mortise and tenon joints, the world-renowned Eight Treasures Pavilion can be extended sequentially from inside the wooden box.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, through the interaction of layers of mechanisms, it can automatically rise into the Eight Treasures Pavilion, which has a kitchen, a ground floor and a second floor, and even a small courtyard.
Similarly, with just one mechanism, this massive two-story Bazhen Tower will collapse and fold inwards in sequence, finally fitting perfectly into a huge wooden box.
Absolutely breathtaking!
Those who roam the world often yearn to witness the splendor of Bazhenlou.
Therefore, there is a saying circulating in the martial arts world: "If you haven't seen the Eight Treasures Pavilion, you haven't truly experienced the martial arts world."
Even many wandering knights would spend months chasing after a carriage just to set foot in Bazhenlou and taste the culinary skills of the owner!
However, the owner of Bazhenlou is very laid-back; he only puts up the sign when he wants to open for business, and when he doesn't want to open, there is no sign of anything even after waiting for several days.
In addition, there is limited space inside the Bazhenlou restaurant.
The kitchen is on the first floor, and there are only two tables in the attic on the second floor. If the table is raised, the small courtyard can barely accommodate another table.
We can only serve a maximum of three tables of diners per meal!
It is said that it is impossible to please everyone, but almost everyone who has come from Bazhenlou has never said that Bazhenlou's cooking is bad!
Some people even dreamed of it and chased after it for months, just to climb the building again and taste it once more...
These are all digressions, of course.
However, the purpose of He Ping and others' trip was indeed to visit Bazhenlou.
"Sir, the fruit and plum juice are here." The proprietress personally brought over the food. "Where would you like to inquire, sir?"
"Eight Treasures Pavilion," He Ping said, getting straight to the point.
Upon hearing the words "Bazhenlou," the proprietress's eyes visibly widened in surprise.
The hand that was placing the fruit plate paused slightly, but quickly regained its previous expression.
Taking the opportunity, he glanced at He Ping and his group again, then said with a smile, "Eight Treasures Restaurant, huh? Lots of people have been asking about it!"
He Ping had already placed the ten strings of cash in front of her.
The proprietress glanced at it but didn't reach out to take it.
He Ping then took out another ingot of silver.
The waiter behind him stared wide-eyed!
Although the proprietress didn't take it immediately, she leaned closer and looked at He Ping more closely, asking, "You mean there are so many of you, with knives and swords? Are you looking for trouble? Or are you customers?"
When the proprietress approached, He Ping's table clearly felt a murderous aura.
Someone next to He Lin had already reached out to touch his sword.
But the proprietress didn't turn around; she simply used two fingers to push the sword at the man's waist back.
The other party was clearly surprised.
But being pressed down by those two fingers, he was unable to move.
He Ping showed no panic and said gently with a smile, "My family has a favor to ask of Bazhenlou and hopes to find a way to help you here, young lady. The brothers who came this time rarely go out, so I apologize for disturbing you."
After He Ping finished speaking, the people at both tables obediently let go.
The proprietress couldn't help but glance at He Ping again.
Yes, she is indeed polite and good-looking.
Otherwise, she wouldn't accept the money and silver!
After receiving the copper coins and silver ingots, the proprietress was in a better mood. "This morning, an eight-horse carriage passed by, carrying a large wooden box. The box was heavy, so the carriage couldn't go fast. If you had ridden quickly, you could have caught up in an hour or two."
After speaking, the proprietress leaned closer again, kindly 'reminding' him, "It's best not to have any ulterior motives. There are quite a few people in the martial arts world who want to mess with Bazhenlou. Guess why everyone says that Bazhenlou is not to be trifled with?"
"I've learned a lot," He Ping nodded.
The proprietress clapped her hands and stood up. "Clear the tables, come on!"
After greeting the other guests, the proprietress turned around and saw that the group had already mounted their horses. A cloud of dust rose from the galloping horses, and in the blink of an eye, they had disappeared from sight.
One of the diners chimed in, "Those must be people from Qingyun Manor. I noticed the words 'Qingyun' engraved on their swords just now."
"Are they chasing after someone? Offending Qingyun Manor is no good!"
The proprietress nonchalantly took a bite of the silver ingot, finding it hard on her teeth, then casually stuffed it into her waist pouch, and sighed in agreement, "Who knows!"
*
After more than an hour of high-speed travel, they finally spotted an eight-horse carriage by the official road near the stream.
An old man with white hair, wearing a straw hat, sat on a rock as tall as a person, fishing, yawning sleepily.
The horse, with its collar and reins removed, was drinking and playing freely by the stream.
He Ping and the others stepped forward, cupped their hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, seniors."
The old man had heard the noise earlier, and only opened one eye to look after the others approached. Annoyed that they had disturbed his peaceful sleep, he muttered resentfully, "You scared all the fish away for no reason!"
The horses were drinking water right next to him, and they would dip their hooves into the stream every now and then. How could he possibly catch any fish?
This old man is clearly being unreasonable!
They're taking advantage of the fact that their senior brother is easy to talk to!
He Lin was indignant.
He Ping replied respectfully, "We apologize for the inconvenience, senior. We are from Qingyun Manor. Our manor lord wishes to invite the owner of Bazhenlou to the manor for a family banquet."
"Bazhenlou never serves meals delivered to customers' homes." The old man glanced at him casually, then pulled down his straw hat.
It means "out of sight, out of mind".
He even yawned deliberately, continuing to doze off while fishing. As for the people behind He Ping, he didn't even glance at them.
That old man has a very eccentric temperament!
Those around them were all secretly thinking to themselves.
He Ping said gently, "We do know that Bazhenlou has this rule, but Qingyun Manor is indeed facing difficulties and would like to ask Miss Wang for help."
The owner of Bazhenlou is the Miss Wang that He Ping mentioned.
Under his straw hat, the old man said disappointedly, "That's really unfortunate, the master isn't here!"
He Ping then looked around and politely asked, "May I ask, senior, do you know where Miss Wang has gone?"
"She's a grown woman, with arms and legs, and she's not part of my body, how am I supposed to know where she went!"
"You!" He Lin felt that the old man's attitude was bad and couldn't help but want to step forward, but He Ping stopped him with a gesture.
Despite the faint sound, the old man's ears twitched rapidly under his straw hat, and he heard it clearly, understanding perfectly what it meant.
He Ping remained respectful, "May I ask if you know when Miss Wang will be returning? We would like to extend our invitation in person."
The white-haired old man, perhaps sensing the other's sincerity and politeness, removed his straw hat, glanced back briefly at him and the sword in his hand, and then said leisurely, "She went to buy ingredients nearby. Sometimes it's an hour or two, sometimes a day or two. She also likes to watch the excitement! She has legs, there's nothing I can do about it!"
He Ping happily cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you for telling us, senior. We'll take our leave now and won't bother you any longer."
The old man was still satisfied.
After everyone left, the old man turned his head and glanced back, muttering, "Qingyun Manor is full of stubborn donkeys."
The old man reached out and stroked one of the horses, saying leisurely, "It would be good to send the stubborn donkey to look for this girl! Otherwise, she might get so caught up in the excitement that she won't want to leave."
After sighing, the old man cast his fishing rod again.
There were no fish around, but the moment the fishing line was cast, a fish in the distance was thrown out by the water pressure.
The old man stood up, caught it steadily, and put it directly into the bamboo basket, muttering to himself, "Last time I was so engrossed in the excitement that I forgot to eat and sleep. If my sleeves hadn't been set on fire, I would have kept watching! I wonder when I'll ever learn to be more careful."
...
The horses galloped swiftly along the official road, but some of the companions were still uneasy: "Senior Brother, that old man didn't seem like he would help us. Could he be playing a trick on us, making us go in the wrong direction?"
He Ping suddenly tightened the reins, and everyone stopped, looking at him in surprise, "Senior Brother?"
He Ping said calmly, "Did you see his hand holding the fishing rod just now?"
Those around them began to recall the old man from earlier. But they couldn't quite remember, as they hadn't paid much attention to him in the first place. Could there be some deeper meaning behind it?
He Pingping said, "His horse was drinking water by the stream, and its hooves would occasionally splash in the water. Where would he find fish to catch by the stream? But his bamboo basket was full of fish."
After he said that, everyone came to their senses and realized it was true!
There are fish in the bamboo basket, quite a few...
The group exchanged glances, then looked at He Ping.
"Back then, the old master Guan Qu, who could cut through clouds and mountains, could kill a bear across a tree. He only told us this out of respect for the old manor lord, and he didn't hold it against us."
Everyone was taken aback. "How long has the Cloud Piercing Mountain Breaker disappeared from the martial arts world? How come he's working odd jobs at the Eight Treasures Restaurant, helping to look after the carriages?"
The surrounding area was filled with fear.
He Ping's gaze was clear and sharp. "That's why we shouldn't offend the Eight Treasures Restaurant lightly. Since the senior has given us directions, and the person isn't here, they must be in a nearby town. Be more discerning and vigilant in the future!"
After hearing He Ping's words, cold sweat broke out on the backs of the group, and they wisely fell silent, no longer daring to be careless.
"drive!"
"Giddy up!"
Hooves flew, and dust billowed up again on the official road.
*
Ping'an Town, near Licheng.
Wang Sumo had just come out of the dried fruit shop. He loved dried fruit, and he couldn't sit still in the carriage if there wasn't any dried fruit on the road.
A veteran who has spent most of his life in the martial arts world has a few quirks.
Lao Qu's quirks include fishing, eating fish, and all kinds of dried fruit.
When he's having a good time, he can travel a thousand miles a day at the Eight Treasures Pavilion; but if he encounters something unpleasant, he can simply park his carriage on the side of the road and not leave no matter who comes!
They were originally going to stay in Licheng, but she heard that the dried fruit in Ping'an Town was very famous.
She wanted to give Lao a surprise.
Who doesn't love surprises! Lao Qu always talks about surprises, but he actually loves surprises more than anyone else!
She casually found an excuse to buy pine mushrooms on the way to Ping'an Town. Old Qu didn't even suspect anything and started fishing.
Sure enough, although Ping'an Town was not large, the entire street was lined with dried fruit vendors. When Wang Sumo came out of this street, he was carrying two full bundles of dried fruit, enough to last him half a month as a snack.
Just as Wang Sumo was about to leave, she heard gongs and drums being played in the street.
That love of watching a spectacle couldn't be contained any longer! My legs seemed to move without thinking, following the crowd and craning my neck in the middle of the crowd.
It's so lively and beautiful!
The bustling atmosphere is full of life!
Wang Sumo's neck was about to break from stretching it.
"Sister, come over here~" came a little girl's voice from behind, gently tapping her shoulder with a twig.
Wang Sumo turned around, and behind her was a shop where miscellaneous goods were stored.
The girl who had just called her "sister" was a little girl of about five or six years old, standing on the pile of miscellaneous goods, watching the commotion just like her. She was dressed in coarse linen clothes, a child from an ordinary family.
The groceries were piled up against the shop wall, quite sturdy, making it a good spot to watch the excitement. It was also just the right size to accommodate two people.
Wang Sumo also stepped onto it, holding onto the side.
Sure enough, if you stand in a high enough position, you can see the excitement from a great distance!
Fire-breathing, juggling, and even suona playing—Wang Sumo asked curiously, "What's going on here?"
The girl was pretty and clever. "Our Ping'an Town's Pine Mushroom Festival! The pine mushrooms are at their best at this time of year. Many merchants come to Ping'an Town to buy pine mushrooms to sell in Licheng and the surrounding areas, and they can get a good price!"
Wang Sumo never expected that her casual remark would actually lead to her accidentally encountering her!
According to this logic, the pine mushrooms here should be better than those from Licheng, both in terms of price and quality.
Moreover, there are no middlemen taking a cut!
"Can I buy pine mushrooms at the market?" Wang Sumo suddenly wondered.
The little girl shook her head. "Today is just a warm-up for the pine mushroom festival. The pine mushroom market won't open until tomorrow! If you want to buy pine mushrooms today, you'll need someone you know to take you, otherwise no one will sell them to you."
Wang Sumo rested her chin on her hand and said regretfully, "I see."
She was afraid that the old man would get impatient waiting by the stream.
Lao Qu doesn't like waiting for people, and he gets angry every time he gets impatient.
The little girl looked at her questioningly, "Sister, are you buying matsutake mushrooms?"
"Yes. I wanted to make fresh matsutake mushrooms for my father, but tomorrow would be too long. Here, these two bags of dried fruit are for him, would you like to try a couple?"
The little girl giggled and said, "You're welcome."
The little girl looked at her with a smile, "Are you a cook?"
Seeing that she was still carrying the bay leaves and ginger slices she had just bought, and that she had just mentioned making matsutake mushrooms, Wang Sumo smiled and said, "Yes, that's me."
The little girl's eyes lit up. "I know where I can buy matsutake mushrooms for you."
"Can you take me there?"
The little girl blinked and said mischievously, "If you can cook me a meal, I'll take you with me. Grandpa Sun loves me the most. If I take you, Grandpa Sun will sell it to you."
"Oh, I see. What would you like to eat?" Wang Sumo suddenly found it interesting.
"Delicious delicacies!" the little girl blurted out without thinking. "The aroma of meat!"
After the little girl finished speaking, she started reaching into her pocket, and finally managed to pull out ten coins from all her pockets.
Somewhat embarrassed, he spread his hands out in front of Wang Sumo, saying sheepishly, "But this is all the money I have..."
"My mother is sick and refuses to take her medicine. I wanted to buy her some steamed buns. If you can cook something delicious, I won't buy her steamed buns!"
The little girl's eyes seemed to hold the stars of the night sky, and also a wealth of expectations.
In a child's eyes, meat buns are probably the same as delicacies from land and sea.
Wang Sumo took it and casually weighed it in his hand. Hmm, ten coins' worth of delicacies felt rather heavy in his hand.
"Alright, let's make ten coins' worth of delicacies!"
[Author's Note]
My darlings, I'm back again! Let's celebrate with drums and gongs!
"Eight Treasures Pavilion" has started! ~ Is anyone here in the middle of the night? ~ [doge]
As is customary, there will be red envelopes (cash gifts) for the first three chapters, limited to 100 per chapter. Red envelopes will also be distributed over the following weekend.
An atypical food story + a hilarious ensemble piece of martial arts fiction + occasional moments of action + a heartwarming and redemptive road trip story set in a private kitchen on a moving carriage.
The female lead doesn't know martial arts, but she's mostly laid-back and loves watching the excitement. She's also a sucker for good-looking people. Other attributes need to be added!
Welcome, esteemed guests, to join Bazhenlou in gathering ingredients from various regions to cook delicious meals!
Of course, there's also the silly and funny world of martial arts.
[Go for it!][Go for it!][Go for it!]
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