Their next stop was a quieter alley in the town where the 'reserve' vintages were kept. Here, Li Yu heard a pitiful mewling sound.

  Huddled behind a stack of barrels was a Sour-Claw Cat. These were strange, hairless felines with skin that secreted a natural oil to protect them from acidic environments. They were being used as the town’s pest control. They were set to hunt the little critters that could damage all the stored pickles.

  This one was currently miserable. It was pawing at its mouth and drooling. Li Yu crouched down. "Hey there, little one."

  The cat hissed at him but it was weak. It didn’t even have the energy to run away.

  "Let me see," Li Yu said while extending a finger coated in soothing Life Qi. The cat could somehow sense the life energy and hesitated. Li Yu gently lifted its lip. He then probed its body with his spiritual sense.

  "Acid erosion, most likely anyways." Li Yu clicked his tongue. "You bit into a barrel that was leaking Void-Vinegar, didn't you? I saw the stuff a while ago."

  Void-Vinegar was extremely potent. It was highly concentrated and used in batch cooking. On its own and undiluted it could dissolve bones. At least that’s what the shop owner had told him. It had burned the cat's gums.

  "Bai Ruo," Li Yu called out. "I need something alkaline to help this beast. Do you see anything that could be used?"

  "I saw a limestone grinder two streets back." Bai Ruo said. "I'll be right back. I’ll go get some."

  She left and soon reappeared later with a handful of white powder. Li Yu mixed the limestone powder with water to make a paste. He applied it to the cat's gums. The sizzling slowly stopped instantly.

  The cat was surprised that the thing this person gave it was so effective. The pain mostly vanished. Only the pain of the wound itself remained. It looked at Li Yu with wide grateful eyes, then head-butted his knee while purring.

  "Don't eat the black barrels," Li Yu warned as he was scratching the cat behind the ears. "Stick to the critters. They will punish you for destroying crates as well."

  The cat followed them for three blocks before leaving to go off on its own. Where it went after this Li Yu didn’t know but it was more at home here than he was. It would be fine.

  The sun began to dip lower and was casting long shadows across the valley. They were heading back toward the gate when a frantic bell began to ring from the center of town.

  "The Mayor's Vat!" someone screamed. "The Guardian is loose!"

  Li Yu exchanged a glance with Bai Ruo. "Trouble."

  They ran toward the town square. In the center stood a vat the size of a small house. It was made of Iron-Wood and bound with golden hoops. This was the legendary batch of Thunder-Melons.

  But something was wrong as people had worried looks on their face. The vat was shaking. Massive, thumping sounds came from inside and liquid was sloshing over the rim.

  "The Guardian!" The Mayor, a round man with a magnificent mustache, was wringing his hands. "Old Moss-Back! He’s trashing the vat! He’s going to bruise the melons!"

  "What is Old Moss-Back?" Li Yu asked a guard who was next to him.

  "The Brine-Turtle," the guard gasped. "He lives in the vat! He stirs the brine gently with his swimming! He’s been in there for fifty years! He has made countless batches."

  The so-called Brine-Turtle was actually a fresh water turtle that the mayor had raised since it was a baby. It’s exactly breed unknown. However, the mayor had been using to swim in his batches since he became a skilled pickle maker. After a while it earned its name as the ‘Brine-Turtle’ till this day.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  A massive scaly head breached the surface of the brine. It was a turtle but its shell was covered in symbiotic moss that filtered the liquid. Currently, the turtle was thrashing wildly. It was snapping at the air and doing backflips.

  "He's mad!" the Mayor cried. "Shoot him! No, don't shoot him! He’ll bleed in the brine!"

  Li Yu watched the turtle. It wasn't attacking anyone. It was just... uncoordinated. It tried to climb the wall of the vat, slipped and fell back in with a massive splash that sent gallons of expensive pickle juice flying.

  "He's not mad," Li Yu said as his nose twitched. He smelled the fumes coming off the vat. It was sharp, alcoholic and incredibly potent.

  "I think… he's drunk," Li Yu diagnosed.

  "Drunk?" The Mayor blinked. "But... it’s brine! Not wine!"

  "Thunder-Melons contain high levels of sugar. The one we had unpickled was incredibly sweet." Bai Ruo piped up and was stepping forward. She was smelling in the air. "In the heat, the natural yeasts on the turtle’s shell must have accelerated fermentation. You’ve accidentally created Thunder-Melon alcohol. And the turtle has been swimming in it. Eventually some of the alcohol would get in its mouth."

  'He is pickled,' Si Luo commented dryly in Li Yu's mind. 'Literally.'

  "If he keeps thrashing like that he'll burst the melons!" the Mayor wailed. "That batch is worth a fortune!"

  "I can help you." Li Yu said. "Clear the area."

  Li Yu leaped. He cleared the twenty-foot wall of the vat and landed on the rim. The fumes were enough to knock out a horse.

  "Hey! Buddy!" Li Yu shouted down at the turtle.

  The turtle looked up but then its eyes were spinning in different directions. It burped, releasing a bubble of green gas. Li Yu took a deep breath. He needed to sober up a two-ton turtle instantly.

  He dove in and lifted the turtle out. Once it was outside the turtle went limp. It looked around, confused and then tried to keep swimming as if he was still in the vat. The crowd laughed and cheered at the funny sight.

  "That," Li Yu coughed, "was strong stuff."

  The Mayor rushed over. "Thank you young man. You saved the batch! And Old Moss-Back! How can I repay you?"

  "A bath for starters," Li Yu said as he smelled himself. "And maybe a jar of those melons when they're done."

  That evening, clean and smelling only faintly of alcohol, Li Yu rented a private room at the local inn. He made sure the windows were shuttered and the privacy formations were active. He set up one of his own as well.

  Poof.

  Si Luo appeared in a cloud of violet smoke. She landed gracefully on the plush rug, instantly wrinkling her nose.

  "It still smells like vinegar and now thanks to you alcohol in here," she complained, though she didn’t look upset or bothered by it at all. She smoothed her black silk dress. "Did you enjoy your swim in the pickle juice?"

  "It was necessary," Li Yu said, drying his hair with a towel. "And profitable. The Mayor is going to give us a barrel once it's done."

  They sat around a low table. Bai Ruo was busy categorizing the jars they had bought, looking like a child with a dragon's hoard.

  "This town," Si Luo said while picking up a pickled quail egg and inspecting it. "It is strange. They obsess over preserving things. In nature, in the void, everything decays eventually. Death and decay comes for all. Why do they fight it so hard?"

  "Preservation is like a form of hope," Li Yu said as he was taking a sip of tea. "It’s saving the best of today for a harder tomorrow. It is admitting that winter is coming, tough times could be ahead but refusing to starve."

  Bai Ruo looked up from her notebook. "I like that. The Dao of Preservation. It is very logical. Has a nice ring to it as well."

  "You are such a scholar," Si Luo laughed, poking her cheek.

  Li Yu smiled as he was watching them. They were adapting to life here and his company. The haughty Queen and the timid Scholar were finding their place in this messy, vibrant mortal world.

  "Alright," Li Yu said. "We have supplies. We have a map. Next stop is the Marrow-Drying Wastes."

  "We go tomorrow?" Bai Ruo asked.

  "Tomorrow," Li Yu agreed. "But tonight..."

  He pulled a jar from his bag. It was the Pickled Snake-Gourd. Si Luo’s eyes lit up immediately. A wicked grin spread across her face. "Oh? You bought it? After all that protesting?"

  "I'm going to make soup," Li Yu interrupted while pulling out a knife. "Soup. For energy. Because the Wastes are said to be dangerous."

  Si Luo leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Of course. Soup. For energy."

  As the stars wheeled overhead outside the shuttered windows, the three travelers sat together, sharing a meal of soup and pickles. It was an odd little family forged by rifts, thieves and the universal appreciation of a good crunch. Even Tekton was joining them in the meal.