After prying open the door, Lu Ban saw two people standing in the room, a man and a woman, wearing cloth clothes and with numb expressions. From the moment Lu Ban came in, the two of them had been staring at him vigilantly.

"Hello, I would like to ask how to get to Kushui Town?"

Lu Ban took a quick look around the house. Although it was the largest house in the village, it still seemed small and cramped. Apart from a wooden bed, a table, two chairs, a kitchen counter and cabinets, there was nothing decent inside.

"Ku Shui Town... over there, go straight along the road."

The man answered gloomily, a little afraid and a little angry, and pointed to the road.

"I see you don't seem to welcome us very much. Is it because we are going to Dry Water Town?"

Lu Ban asked again, while moving closer to the kitchen counter and looking at the things on it.

Dried fish, flour, rice, etc.

"Kushui Town, unlucky..."

The man spoke hesitantly. He saw Lu Ban picked up the salted fish hanging in front of the kitchen counter.

"I'm a little hungry now. Can I have some of your salted fish? I see you have a lot of them hanging here. This kind of dried fish can't be kept for too long. If I don't eat it now, it will go bad and I might get a stomachache. How about this, since I'm here and we have a destiny, why don't I help you take some salted fish away? It can also be considered a good deed."

As he spoke, Lu Ban took down three of the salted fish and stuffed them into his bag.

“…”

The man looked at the crowbar in Lu Ban's hand and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"These garlics will sprout if you don't eat them, and the onions won't last long. There's also salt. It's been very foggy lately and it's all damp. For your health, I'm helping you get rid of it."

Lu Ban also picked up some garlic, onions, kelp, a handful of salt, and finally, some rice.

"By the way, do you know the Black Queen Mother?"

He skillfully put the ingredients into his bag and asked casually.

Hearing this word, the expressions on the man and woman's faces finally changed. From that numb and dull look, they suddenly became a little panicked, fearful, and awed.

"I don't dare to know, I don't dare to know..."

The man muttered to himself and took a few steps back.

"Don't dare to know? Does that mean you know?"

Lu Ban took two steps forward.

"I don't know. I don't know..."

The woman covered her ears, as if just hearing the word would hurt her.

"Do you know anything about the Hai family? I heard that strange noises were heard in their yard at night?"

Lu Ban pressed forward step by step.

"The Hai family is, the Hai family is the messenger of God, I dare not know, I dare not know..."

The man said in awe.

“It does seem to have had a profound impact.”

Lu Ban muttered to himself.

Since he had already taken the salted fish, he didn't bother the man anymore. He walked out of the house and considerately helped them close the door.

"Did you find anything?"

Trist didn't know what was happening in the room, so he asked.

“The salted fish is of good quality.”

Lu Ban put the three salted fish on the carriage and climbed on.

"Did you steal it from someone else's house?"

Trist glanced at the three salted fishes that Lu Ban had.

"No, I took it. I didn't threaten them. If you don't believe me, go ask them."

Lu Ban explained.

"…Are you really going to eat these?"

Ordering the carriage to start, Drizzt asked in confusion.

When he was in a quiet place, he usually tried to avoid eating local food. On the one hand, it was to prevent there from being something weird in the food, and on the other hand, the taste of most of the local food was hard to describe.

"Yeah, otherwise what would I do with these? You have really weird questions."

Lu Ban answered as a matter of course and looked at the village disappearing behind him.

"The people here must know about the Black Queen Mother. The Hai family must be a little weird, but they dare not say it. It is probably because the Hai family controls this area."

"That task is a bit difficult."

Drizzt thought.

The mission is to survive until the end of the wedding and to witness it, which means that you cannot hide outside Ku Shui Town until the time expires. And being in a wedding, you will probably be surrounded by people from Ku Shui Town. If something unexpected happens in the middle of the process, two fists cannot beat four hands.

"You don't want to eat?"

Lu Ban pointed to the dried salted fish beside him.

“I don’t eat…”

Drizzt was ashamed.

"Then I ate it myself."

He took out a camping grill, some charcoal, a pot, and mineral water from his bag.

The barbecue grill is designed to be suspended and can be placed directly on the carriage. After making the fire, Lu Ban heated the pot and poured oil.

Throw the dried salted fish cut into small pieces into the hot oil and fry them. Soon, a fragrant aroma spreads.

The villagers' salted fish are not completely air-dried, but still have some freshness. As long as they are heated at high temperature, they will immediately emit that unique seafood aroma.

He then put in the onions and garlic and stir-fried them until fragrant, then added water.

Finally add the rice and sliced ​​kelp, cover the pot and wait.

"You seem very skilled?"

Trist looked at Lu Ban with strange eyes.

It would be fine if it was the first time to come to the Silent Land, but to be able to come to the foreign land of [Erosion] difficulty, he must be a veteran who has completed more than two missions. Why didn't Lu Ban bring various survival props, but instead had such a complete set of kitchen utensils?

“It’s just so-so.”

While Lu Ban was waiting, he saw that the trees around him became sparse, the night wind began to grow stronger, and the humidity in the air became higher, and the smell of the sea became stronger.

You can even hear the faint sound of waves.

The sea breeze blew the leaves, making a rustling sound, which seemed inexplicably strange on the empty and quiet road.

Gurgle Gurgle——

Lu Ban's pot made a bubbling sound and he opened the lid.

The rice was cooked into porridge and mixed with salted fish and kelp. It looked like primitive food. It didn't look very appetizing, but it had a strong aroma. The salty and fresh smell penetrated into his nose, and even Trist couldn't help swallowing.

Lu Ban picked up the spoon, scooped up a little porridge with salted fish and kelp, and put it into his mouth.

The umami flavor locked in by drying is stimulated under high temperature and mixed with rice, giving it an extraordinary taste. The fish meat is delicate, the kelp is crispy, the rice is soft and glutinous, and the spicy aroma of green onions and garlic blend into a warm pot of porridge.

“It’s quite delicious.”

As long as the ingredients are good enough, it will be delicious even if you just stew them together.

Lu Ban drank porridge with big gulps and gnawed on salted fish. Trist, who was standing by, looked at this scene and felt a little conflicted.

"You really don't want to eat?"

Seeing his dilemma, Lu Ban took out a spare bowl.

"I just eat a little bit, just a little bit."

Drizzt felt as if he had been led astray by this person.

But when he picked up the bowl, drank the salted fish porridge, and let the taste of the sea soak into his tongue, Trist felt that it was quite good to eat like this.

He had just finished enjoying his salt fish porridge and put down the bowl when he saw the view in front of him suddenly open up. The trees disappeared and the shadows of the buildings stretched across the night sky.

They arrived at Kushui Town.