"A selection of Japanese dishes based on noodles and soy-vinegar-sugar sauces," Hannibal answers him. "A-Yao here was experimenting with the sauce, and A-Ning there was making noodles but had never heard of soba, and then one thing led to another, and here we are."

There is still the bristling qi of resentment and distrust between 'A-Yao' and 'A-Ning', but Hannibal apparently doesn't let that stop him in the culinary pursuit of inter-sect understanding.