Chapter 77: Meng Po

  Qiu Nianwei felt a sudden surge of spiciness in her throat, which spread to her gums and teeth within a second, and finally filled her entire mouth.

  It starts with a slight sweetness, followed by a wave of sourness, then a hint of bitterness, and finally all spiciness, with the spiciness getting heavier and heavier, rushing from the mouth into the nose, and even making the eyes feel spicy.

  She couldn't help but let out a soft "tsk" and saw that Mu Yu Xin was already sticking her tongue out with her mouth open.

  "Oh! So spicy!" Mu Yu Xing cried out softly.

  The other three people saw Mu Yu Xing and Qiu Nian Wei's reaction, all of them were slightly surprised, they picked up their chopsticks and tasted the dishes in front of them, a few seconds later, the three of them also showed almost the same expression as Mu Yu Xing and Qiu Nian Wei.

  Mu Yu Xing looked at the dishes in the plate with extreme surprise, but did not see any chili peppers. However, the spicy taste in her mouth was still surging. She unbelievably picked up another piece of fish meat with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. When she swallowed the fish meat, she felt that this mouthful was even spicier than the first one. She involuntarily opened her mouth and made a "hiss" sound.

  At this moment, everyone was surprised to find that the soup in the plate gradually turned pale pink, and ten seconds later, the pale pink deepened into crimson. The dishes on the plate also began to turn red, and Mu Yu Xing and Qiu Nian Wei couldn't help but stare with wide eyes.

  "What's going on?" Mu Yu Xing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  "This is a secret cooking method, Yan Shu doesn't pass it on to outsiders. Can such a dish be considered one-of-a-kind?" Tian Nuanyu lightly smiled and glanced at Qiu Nianwei.

  Qiu Nianwei still wanted to pretend that she didn't think much of it, but the spiciness in her mouth had already made a thin layer of sweat appear on her forehead. She had never eaten anything so spicy before, and her heart began to regret her greed for ordering the tenth level of spiciness earlier.

  "It's so exciting, Brother Lan let me try how spicy the dish you ordered is!" Mu Yu Xin excitedly picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the dish in front of Lan Sheng.

  Just a moment after taking the first bite, Mu Yu Xin started sticking out her tongue and fanning with her hand, repeating "Spicy! So spicy!"

  Looking at Mu Yu Xin's appearance, several people couldn't help but laugh. Lan Sheng Yan, Duan Liu Yun and Qiu Nian Bai nodded in unison.

  "It's a bit special!" Lan Shengyan said with a light smile.

  "It's got some meaning, I feel like it's only after tasting the sweet, sour and bitter flavors that you truly experience the spiciness," Duan Liuyun said with a smile as he picked up his chopsticks to take another two bites of the dish in front of him.

  As they spoke, everyone saw that the color of several dishes had turned into bright red chili red.

  Several people's eyes gathered on the dish in front of Qiu Nianbai at the same time, he ordered the 17th layer of spicy flavor, which should be the most spicy one. Everyone was a little curious about how spicy this spiciest dish could be.

  "Brother, let me try some of your dish," Qiu Nianwei picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.

  Two minutes ago, she was still regretting that the dish she had ordered was too spicy, but after the spiciness in her mouth just now, she suddenly felt a surge in appetite, and surprisingly, there was a feeling of wanting to eat more with increasing spiciness.

  After eating, Qiu Nianwei and Mu Yuexin had the same reaction as before, constantly sticking out their tongues, and couldn't bear it anymore, picking up the teacup to take two big gulps of tea.

  Mu Yu Xin burst out laughing and also stretched her chopsticks into Qiu Nian Bai's dish.

  "Let's have a good time today!" Duan Liuyun smiled and started eating with chopsticks.

  His words were like a call to action, and everyone began eating with gusto.

  Tian Nuoyu was afraid that they couldn't take the spiciness of the dish for the first time, so she ordered two sweet dishes to balance their taste.

  Several people were getting more and more excited as they ate, but after ten or so minutes, several of them had sweat on their foreheads. Mu Yu Xin and Qiu Nian Wei even had tears streaming down their faces from the spiciness.

  Mu Yu Xin finally understood why earlier when she walked into the store, she saw many people wiping away tears while still laughing and chatting.

  Exhilarating! Invigorating! Refreshing!

  Suddenly, a waiter walked into the private room. He was holding a tray with six bowls of clear tea on it. He walked to the dining table and put one bowl in front of each person. Without saying anything, he left again.

  "What is this?" Mu Yu Xing looked at Tian Nuan Yu with a puzzled face.

  Tian Nuoyu faintly said a sentence: "Meng Po's Soup".

  "What?" Mu Yu Xing's eyes widened in shock and she let out a cry, her eyes having gone round with surprise for the whole day.

  Everyone looked at the bowl in front of them filled with clear tea.

  The bowl is an ordinary flat-mouthed porcelain bowl, about the same size as the small bowls used at home for serving rice. The outside of the bowl is light brown and the inside is white porcelain. Two-thirds of the bowl is filled with tea that is clear and free of any impurities, just like clear water.

  "Ma Po Tofu? It's a bit like plain water," said Qiu Nianbai, who had been quiet all along, suddenly speaking up with a smile.

  "Have you ever heard of a legend that Meng Po collects every tear drop from the living in the mortal world and then brews it into Meng Po soup?" Tian Nu Yu intentionally paused for dramatic effect.

  "Is this really what's left after tears have been simmered down?" Mu Yu Xing associated it very quickly.