"I just wanted a bowl of tofu soup—was that really necessary?"
— Lin Zhou · The man in the Imperial Capital who finds it hardest to get tofu soup
---
The morning sunlight had just spilled into the Spirit Herb Workshop.
Wearing his pink work uniform and yawning, Lin Zhou walked out the front gate, clutching a single copper coin, his eyes filled with determination.
Today, his goal was simple—go to the soup shop at the street corner and buy a steaming hot bowl of tofu soup.
The workshop provided room and board, but no soup! This was a crisis!
---
[The "Protect-the-Master" Squad's Misunderstanding Escalates]
Just as he stepped out the door, a voice like an icy wind drifted from the corner of the wall.
"Where are you going?"
Lin Zhou jumped. "Soup."
"Before soup, emotional assessment first."
"…I'm not angry, not sad, completely fine."
Li Xinglan stared at him for two seconds, then nodded slightly, casually inscribing a line into the comm talisman hidden in his sleeve:
> "Target's emotions stable, action temporarily permitted."
The very next second—
The sky roared, and from the direction of the southern gate of the Imperial Capital came the rumble of thunder. Crown Prince Chiyan, clad in a crimson cape, rode in on a blazing warhorse, ten full ranks of crimson-armored cavalry thundering behind him, their hooves shaking the paving stones.
"Lord Lin Zhou is going out?! Who approved this?!"
Lin Zhou: "I'm buying soup."
The Crown Prince immediately drew his sword. "Tofu soup? Dangerous! The temperature is unstable, it could scald you!"
"I'll use a spoon—"
"No! The Imperial chefs will cook it!"
Before Lin Zhou could react, a crimson mist bled into the sky. The Blood Prison Witch, Honglei, descended slowly beneath a blood-colored parasol, landing on a stone lion by the street, her smile dripping with alluring mischief.
"Brother Zhou wants soup? I have spirit broth boiled with a thousand-year-old blood spirit, nourishing and invigorating—one sip and even your eyebrows will grow smoother."
Lin Zhou's face darkened. "I just want regular tofu soup."
Honglei flicked her wrist, and instantly a wall of blood mist rose outside the soup shop's fence, sealing off the entire street. "From today on, this shop only serves Brother Zhou."
---
[The Dragon Clan Saint Son's "Assistance" (?)]
Just as Lin Zhou was looking for a hole to crawl into, a golden light pierced the clouds. The Dragon Clan Saint Son descended in human form—white hair, golden eyes—and landed before him.
"Today, the royal chef of my Dragon Clan shall prepare for the Dragon Father—no, for Lord Lin Zhou—a 'Dragon Bone Snow Tofu Soup.'"
Lin Zhou: "You put dragon bone in it?!"
The Saint Son replied matter-of-factly, "It replenishes qi and blood, prolongs life."
"…Who did you kill?"
"No one. I pulled it from myself."
Lin Zhou's eyes widened. "You can pull out dragon bones?!"
"Yes. Hurts a bit though."
---
[The Tofu Soup Convoy]
And so, Lin Zhou's plan to get soup was forcibly upgraded into—
Imperial crimson cavalry sealing off the entire street → Demonic blood parasol covering the sky → Dragon Clan royal chef cooking on the spot.
Li Xinglan sat at a nearby tea stall, watching this mob with a cold face, tossing out a single sentence:
"I've taken note of your disruptive behavior today. It will all be added to your record."
The Crown Prince sneered, "You drinking soup too, Arbiter?"
Honglei chuckled, "Careful, I might make soup out of you."
The Saint Son: "My dragon bone soup is the best in the world."
The three were instantly at each other's throats.
---
[Ending Foreshadowing]
Lin Zhou sighed, holding the steaming bowl that had been escorted to him by three rival factions. Just as he took his first sip—
The ground trembled ever so slightly.
From the old well at the end of the street, a faint blue light emerged.
Li Xinglan immediately stood up, voice cold: "Don't move—that's the third seal's spirit vein node."
The Crown Prince drew his sword. "Who let him get near it?!"
Honglei gripped her blood parasol. "Touch my Brother Zhou, and see what happens."
The Saint Son raised his hand. "Seal the well—the Dragon Clan way. I'll block it."
Lin Zhou stared at the soup in his hands and swallowed another mouthful.
"…I just wanted soup. What are you all trying to do?"