It was midafternoon, and Jin was behind the cut-out counter of their wagon with bubbling oil in a wok behind him. He stared at his wife, who glared at him through the large open cutout. She had her hands on her hips and was eyeing him. She was beautiful, even in her anger, or Jin always thought so. The way her face scrunched up and her eyebrows pinched together.

  The wagon was decorated with little white silvery snowflakes and lanterns all around it. Mei always placed light blue-gray umbrellas on the tables in front of the wagon, and the tables had paper talismans with runes that would make illusionary snow drift from them. The table that formed under the window had a white tablecloth over it, and the sign that usually had their menu and prices just had a single image of a bucket with chicken pieces poking out of it.

  “What’s wrong, my love?” He asked and gave her a nervous little smile.

  She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Jin wasn’t exactly that powerful of a cultivator. He was still in the few-body stages. This being said, he didn’t need to feel her spirit to know she was trying to contain it and reign in her anger.

  “Just think of the money we made?” He tried to calm her. It was true. It was only midafternoon, but they had completely sold out of the chicken they were selling. Well, besides the few pieces they saved for themselves and the couple of people that had made arrangements and even prepaid.

  Mei opened her eyes and waved at the line of people. “Yes, we’ve done quite well, but we still have a line of hungry customers! It’s the Night of Silver Snow, so how come we didn’t get more chicken?!”

  Jin sighed and looked at all the people. One man walked up dressed in the formal robes worn on the night to celebrate Minako. They were deep silver on the outside, with white on the inside and black trim. He looked at Mei and then back at Jin. “Does this mean you’re out of chicken?”

  Mei turned, and her eyes flashed red.

  “Mei, stop. Breathe,” Jin pleaded.

  Mei stared at the man and then at the crowd. She took a deep breath and then deflated. There was no point in getting angry, and her husband was right. They did make a killing profit-wise. People loved buying this fried chicken, and they loved paying more than usual for it because it was a special occasion. This just meant they could close shop and have a nice quiet dinner together with their special guests whenever they decided to show up. “Yes, sir. I am very sorry, but we weren’t able to get enough chicken. We are sold out.”

  The collective crowd groaned and filtered away to go to a different spot to secure some food and drink.

  Their wagon was in a prime spot. They could secure a spot right outside of town, near the shrine to Minako. People stopped to get food on their way back to town after leaving their gifts for the wintry kami. People would go and leave a special cloudy white sake in simple clear flasks or mochi dusted with a powdery sugar to look like snow. Some would leave simple pure white rice or hang paper snowflakes from the gate of the shrine that was painted a blue-grey. Or near the stone basin that collected rainwater and always seemed to form thin ice on the top, no matter the season.

  Mei groaned with them and apologized as the last of the hopefuls walked away to find a different place to get their early dinner. She glared through the window once more at her husband, who smiled sheepishly.

  “It’s not my fault, my love. It’s a hard time to get chicken, you know that. I bought everything I could. We aren’t local, so, you know… they sell to people they know first,” Jin defended himself.

  Mei sighed again and nodded as she began to fold up the tables and lean them against the wagon. “Yes, yes. I know. I don’t mean to get angry at you. It’s just frustrating watching all of those people walk away hungry.”

  Jin just shrugged. “When did Niku say she would be here with that Maikeru fellow and their ox? I’d like the ox. What’s its name? Betsy? I’d like Betsy to get some time with Ping. Maybe he’ll become a spirit ox.”

  Mei stood there and listened and nodded along to Jin’s half mumblings and then she sighed and shrugged. “I’m not sure. Hopefully, it’s soon. I’m hungry myself, and I’d rather just all of us eat together so we can put everything away.”

  “Well, wait no more, we’re here,” Niku spoke up behind Mei. Just a moment before they were both standing down at the shrine. Niku explaining customs and the event to the man from somewhere far away. Now, thanks to his power, they were there.

  Jin stumbled back at the sudden appearance of her and Maikeru standing beside her. As soon as they appeared, he doubled over and put his hands on his knees to hold himself up. Jin pointed at them both. “Wha.. wha… how?”

  Mei whirled and looked like she was about to pull a weapon from somewhere until she realized who it was.

  Niku was about to explain when Maikeru put a hand on her shoulder. He was breathing heavily, and sweat covered his face. She looked at him and reached to grab him just before he fell forward. “Oh my goodness, Maikeru.”

  It only took her a moment before she looked at Mei. “Do you have anything to give energy? Something strong? It isn’t a mana issue. It’s something deeper than that.”

  Mei and Jin both stood with their mouths hanging open.

  “Mei! Jin! Please!” Niku shouted.

  This seemed to snap them both out of the daze they had been in at their literal sudden appearance. Jin was the first to act, and he moved about the inside of the long wagon, digging around. “I do, actually. They were a gift from someone. They’re supposed to be powerful; we haven’t really needed them.”

  Mei stared in horror as Jin gave Niku the Thundervein Surge pills she was saving to try to sell. Niku must have caught the look because she grinned, and as she fed Maikeru, the pills, she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll pay.”

  Mei pretended to argue, saying that it was fine, but she smiled. “Thank you.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The next arrival, after he took the energy pills, was much more pronounced than Maikeru and Niku’s entrance. Betsy, the lightning spirit ox, came running up the hill from the shrine, sparks of lightning at her hooves. She bellowed loudly and stopped on a dime when she reached the small group.

  “I’m alright, girl, I’m alright. These pills, wow,” Maikeru said and stood up straight. He could practically feel lightning flowing through his veins. “Is that how you feel all the time?”

  There was no spiritual scan needed from the ox since they had a connection that was deeper than that. Betsy nodded her head and stomped a hoof. “Yes,” she bellowed out low and slow.

  “Nice,” he said and patted her on the snout. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt his chest. The cultivator from another world even scanned his channels with his spirit with his eyes closed and eventually shrugged before he continued. “We still have to pay you for dinner, so, yeah, just let me know the total with the pills.”

  Mei practically saw the shiros dancing in front of her. Little platinum coins with legs and arms danced around her, but she saw Jin stare at her disapprovingly. She said the amount slowly, testing. “Three shiro I think should do it?”

  Jin frowned, and Mei returned the look. The pills would have gotten double that in Yoshino or any other large city. Hell, she probably could have gotten four for them here in this one.

  “Yeah, alright,” Maikeru said easily. “That including the dinner?”

  Jin rushed to answer before his wife could. “Yes. Dinner is included with that.”

  Mei frowned but nodded.

  “Excellent. Thanks. Doing what I did took way more out of me than I thought it would,” he explained as he dug through his coin pouch looking for two of the coins and handed them over to Mei, who pocketed them quickly without looking at them.

  “Which you’re going to have to explain to us,” Jin said as he turned and started to make their plates. “Five orders coming up.”

  Everyone grabbed a stool nearby and pulled up to the little window. The way it was cut in the wagon part of the window turned into a small table, which was usually used by Jin to give Mei dishes, but this would be nice. A small intimate dinner among friends. As Jin worked and cooked, Maikeru told the story.

  “It’s part of my path. I believe it’s a path of transportation or movement, so…” he had started, but Mei held a hand out to stop him.

  “Wait, that wasn’t done with mana?” She asked and looked at him with her eyes wide open.

  Maikeru shook his head. “No, it was something more than that? I think? I don’t know; I can’t really explain it. It drains some other part of me.”

  Mei looked at Jin, who had been scooping white rice onto the plates. He stared back at her with his eyebrows raised high on his bald head. They were both surprised. Granted, they knew Maikeru was powerful, but being so powerful he could will the universe to do something like for him? It was almost unheard of outside of legends.

  “That’s powerful stuff, Maikeru,” Mei said slowly.

  Niku nodded in agreement. “It is, which is why we’ve been testing and evaluating. Not even Elder Hisai has been able to nail down what rank he is, but with this ability….”

  “The Heavenly Realm,” Mei breathed softly.

  Niku lowered her head and shook it. “No, I don’t think it’s possible.”

  “Guys, c’mon. Does it matter?” Maikeru looked between the women. He felt slightly uncomfortable about it all, and to him, it really didn’t matter.

  “At the moment, it most certainly does not,” Jin said and slid the first plate to Niku.

  Maikeru’s eyes went wide as he stared at the plate. It was a bed of white rice with pieces of fried chicken on top. He gave her a particularly large, juicy-looking breast, and it had the bone and all. On top of the chicken, he poured some smooth sauce that, when Maikeru ate it, made him think of Japanese styled curry.

  “Fried chicken?” Maikeru asked and looked around at the small group.

  Mei smiled widely and nodded. “Of course, what else would we eat on the Night of Silver Snow?”

  Maikeru just blinked and mumbled under his breath. “Jesus Christ, it is Japan.”

  “I’m sorry, Jesus who?” Niku looked up just as she was about to dig into her plate.

  Maikeru looked at his plate and saw Jin had given him a thigh and leg, and he practically drooled. How he missed fried chicken. “Nevermind, I’ll tell you later.”

  Maikeru’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, it’s Christmas?!”

  The group looked at him strangely and kind of irritated at his keeping interrupting them starting to eat their food.

  “Maikeru, what?” Mei asked.

  “Um, where I’m from, we have a holiday called Christmas. I guess it’d be about now,” he said as he thought about it. Then he launched into the story. He mostly stuck with the commercial version and how it was a time for family to sit around and relax and just connect.

  “The best thing though was presents!” He finished.

  “Presents?” They asked in unison.

  Maikeru nodded and then told the story of Santa Claus. “He brings presents for the kids, and then families exchange gifts.”

  “Santa Claus?” Mei asked with a raised brow.

  “Yeah, he’s great. He has a big beard and loves the color red. He’s a lot like this other guy who lov.. Nevermind that. Niku I actually had something,” he started and looked at her.

  Niku, right as he looked at her, had a mouth full of chicken and rice, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she started to blush. She forced the food down her throat and shook her head. “Oh, Maikeru, no, but thank you.”

  Maikeru pulled a small box from his robes and set it in front of her. “Well, it’s not something I can take back, and I can’t really get any use out of it myself. Please, a gift from me to you.”

  Niku, who was still blushing, put down her chopsticks and grabbed the small box. She opened and inhaled sharply as her eyes opened wide. “Oh, Maikeru, you didn’t have to.”

  Mei and Jin tried to lean in close to look. Betsy ignored them all and chomped on her chicken and rice. Niku showed the hairpin. It was silver and had a small ornate lotus blossom with blue gems. It was simple, but the quality was amazing.

  Maikeru stumbled, scared she didn’t like it. “I thought. Now, I know it doesn’t seem that great, but I figured while you worked it could… You know, keep your hair out of whatever you were making.”

  Niku looked up at him and smiled as her eyes grew soft. “Maikeru, it’s beautiful.”

  Mei and Jin looked over at each other and gave small knowing smiles.

  “You like it?” Maikeru asked.

  Niku nodded and stood and hugged him, giving with a soft kiss on his cheek. “I do; it’s lovely. Thank you.”

  The moment was ruined when there were loud noises coming from the ox beside them as Betsy was now licking the sauce, giving long, slow licking noises as she tried to devour everything in the bowl she was given.

  Maikeru frowned at Betsy and then looked up at Jin. “Well, I guess she liked it.”

  I'm going to make it so Patreon 20 chapters ahead and also drop it to two times a week.

  I'm going to continue the story to its ending but I'm slowing down with it. Life is... well, it's been a lot lately.

  I've also been working on something new code named "BBQ LitRPG" and have been writing a chapter here and there and the feedback I've gotten so far has been quite positive.

  Like I said, I'm finishing this story. I've been working on this world and this story for so long, I can't imagine not finishing it.