Free Web NovelOnions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns were sautéed in oil, then chopped dried chilies were sprinkled in, and a good quality Pixian bean paste was added to release its fragrance.
Black fish is an excellent ingredient for boiled fish slices; it doesn't need much processing, just slice it thinly, blanch it once, and spread it over the sautéed spices.
Next came the soul-stirring step of Chinese cooking—sprinkle an appropriate amount of salt, minced garlic, and ground pepper!
Then, pour a ladle of hot oil over it, arrange cucumber shreds, and this last dish was finally complete.
Lu Yibei didn't see any strange shadows on the vegetables and meat Su Mi bought back, and after spending more than two hours, she finally finished cooking a table full of dishes.
When the boiled fish slices were brought to the table, the hot oil was still bubbling, and the tender fish meat made a soft sizzling sound, fully absorbing the flavor of the spices.
The deliciousness of the fish, the richness of the spices, and the fresh aroma of the cucumber shreds intertwined, drifting far along the old street.
The old neighbors gathered around the large round table had long been unable to control their cravings.
Seeing this, they all picked up their chopsticks and began to eat, and with each bite, the aroma filled their mouths, and every taste bud cheered with delight.
“Tsk tsk! As expected of Xiao Bei, this pork loin is so tender!”
“The bones are fried until crispy, yet the meat is still so tender! How exactly were these ribs made? It’s truly divine!”
“Emmm! Fish... Oh, my head feels numb!”
It was rare for the old neighbors to gather, clinking glasses over a lavish table of dishes, sharing family gossip, and amidst the laughter, there was a feeling akin to celebrating the Lunar New Year.
However, Su Mi noticed that Lu Yibei hadn't touched her chopsticks at all; she sat alone on a small stool in the corner, staring blankly at the lush, flowing canal, as if something was on her mind.
Su Mi walked over, patted Lu Yibei’s shoulder, and said, “Hey, why aren’t you eating, kid? You’re not too tired, are you?”
“You can’t blame me for this; ever since your family’s shop closed, these neighbors have been craving your food.
I only told Uncle Zhang and Lili, but who knew it would spread like wildfire, and now there are more than a dozen people here.”
“If you ask me, with your skill, why are you studying literature? If you went to Lanxiang for further study and came back to open a restaurant, I guarantee business would be booming!”
“Lanxiang? They teach excavators there!” Lu Yibei rolled her eyes at Su Mi and said, “Am I supposed to go for further study and come back to cook with an excavator for you? Besides, my skills are still far from perfect; I haven’t seen anyone eat until their clothes burst!”
“Ah?” Su Mi was stunned, “Is there really someone whose cooking can make people’s clothes burst? I haven’t read much, don’t lie to me!”
I was just joking, and you actually took it seriously! Lu Yibei opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally sighed, “Ai, never mind, I still have something to do.
You entertain the neighbors and make sure they eat and drink well; I’m leaving first.”
With that, he stood up, wiped his hands with a rag, took off his apron, picked up his guitar bag containing the mingwang statue, and headed towards the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
Lu Yibei couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about seeing “half a person” in the 96 Cai Market.
The shadow on the pork was pig-shaped, the shadow on the beef was cow-shaped, and the shadow at Widow Zhang’s mouth was the indescribable shape of Old Wang next door.
So, the origin of the half-person shadow was self-evident.
The thought that the frozen meat shop might have sold human flesh mixed with other meats to people made Lu Yibei feel nauseous and lose all appetite.
Was it a case of murder and disposal where body parts accidentally got mixed into the frozen food? Or did the owner of that frozen meat shop intentionally mix human flesh into the frozen food for sale with some ulterior motive?
Furthermore, the “half a person” shadow could speak and was observing passersby with unclear intentions, which likely qualified it as a Weird tale.
But if it really involved a Weird tale, then it wasn't something a temporary worker like me could handle.
Even if I were overflowing with a sense of justice and wanted to intervene, besides rashly barging in and confronting the frozen food shop owner, aren't there many more subtle ways?
What’s more, finding someone from the Night Watch could also help me check if there’s anything strange hidden in my old house, right?
Lu Yibei thought, tightening the strap of his guitar bag.
For professional matters, find professionals to handle them—this was his method for his meager sense of justice.
“Hey, no, you haven’t eaten yet! Where are you going?!” Seeing Lu Yibei walk away, Su Mi shouted at the top of his lungs, “Are you coming back later?!”
Lu Yibei waved his hand with his back to Su Mi, “I’ll be back later, I’ll stay at your place, so make my bed!”
“Hmm, at least until the Night Watch big shots come to help me check, I won’t be living in the old house!” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
“It’s all that damn fat guy’s fault; he made it too scary!” Lu Yibei thought.
...
A cool breeze swept through Peony Street in early autumn, creating ripples in the canal and bringing wafts of Guihua scent.
In the teahouse by the street, the storyteller reached a thrilling part, and occasional cheers erupted!
Walking on such an ancient and charming street, it was easy to lose track of time. freёwebnoѵel.com
Lu Yibei walked with his head down, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the gate of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
With a creak, the old vermillion-painted gate was pushed open.
The afternoon sun streamed through the courtyard, illuminating the falling leaves in the serene courtyard.
Is there no one guarding the house? Lu Yibei tilted his head, walked through the courtyard, and went straight to the back house.
As soon as he pushed open the heavy metal door, he heard a woman's lazy voice by his ear.
“Hmm... who is it at this hour? Oh? How is it you? Why are you back again?”
The dark corridor was like some long-bodied monster that swallowed the light.
A faint, cold wind blew from the depths of the corridor, carrying a hint of chill.
Lu Yibei stood in the corridor, distinguished the direction of the voice, fixed his gaze on the large door with a roughly scrawled character “Lu” in dark red material, and then bowed slightly.
“Hello, I’m the new temporary staff Lu Yibei, I...”
Before Lu Yibei could finish speaking, his vision plunged into darkness.
In the darkness, he felt a cold chill begin to swirl, coil, and pull around him... He felt as if he had fallen into a giant black vortex, his body began to lose weight, spin, and a feeling of motion sickness appeared.
Then his body plummeted rapidly.
When his vision returned, Lu Yibei had lightly fallen onto a clean single bed, surrounded by blue screens.
Pale light shone from the ceiling, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of disinfectant and an indescribable spice.
Is this... a hospital? After briefly surveying his surroundings, this thought arose in Lu Yibei’s mind.
“Tap, tap, tap—!” The sound of high heels lightly striking the ground came, and a voluptuous blonde woman in a white coat walked around the screen, appearing before Lu Yibei.
“Are you alright?”
Looking at the captivating white expanse on the woman’s chest, Lu Yibei’s cheeks flushed slightly, “N-no, no, thank you, uh, thank you for your concern.”
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An Qing didn't mind at all; instead, she leaned closer, knelt on one knee by the bed, and placed her hand between Lu Yibei’s legs.
Lu Yibei instinctively wanted to close his legs but froze in place when he saw the well-proportioned curve encased in black stockings.
In a daze, An Qing used her slender fingertips to lift Lu Yibei’s chin, and a hint of an ambiguous smile appeared on her red lips as she said, “Your name is Lu Yibei, right? Jiang Li mentioned you.
I didn’t expect you to be quite handsome!”
“My name is An Qing.
Besides being responsible for Saturday duty, I also handle new recruit training.
Although temporary staff don’t need training, you can call me Teacher An, just like them.”
“Uh, hello, Teacher An!”
“Lu Yibei, do you know that I’m usually taking a nap at this time? If you don’t have a good reason, I might punish you, you know!”
“W-what kind of punishment?” Lu Yibei asked weakly.
An Qing pushed Lu Yibei onto the bed, placed one hand on his chest, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly, “A very serious, very serious punishment! Are you scared?”
Her long golden hair fell, brushing his face, bringing a strange fragrance that made one feel drowsy.
Her gentle, moist breath exhaled from her red lips, like a small mouth, lightly kissing his earlobe, a tingling itch permeating his heart.
“Then...” Lu Yibei paused, then said seriously, “Teacher, it’s my first time, please be gentle.”
As he spoke, Lu Yibei closed his eyes, quietly awaiting the romantic encounter.
Lu Yibei lay on the bed, eyes tightly closed, his expressionless face looking exactly like a corpse!
If it weren't for his chest still rising and falling, An Qing would have almost lost control and dissected him on the spot.
He looks good, and his expression after being teased is also good, but it's a shame he's alive! Not my type.
An Qing thought, pouting with a lack of interest, and shook her head.
“Test passed, you can get up now.”
An Qing’s voice came from the darkness.
Lu Yibei was stunned, then slowly sat up, only to realize that the blue screens around him had been removed at some point.
Looking around, the entire room wasn't large; the decor was mainly blue and white, and it looked very much like a school infirmary.
An Qing sat behind a nearby desk, smiling at him.
“Test? When?” Lu Yibei asked in confusion.
Damn it! That’s it? I thought this beautiful older sister had some kind of virginity-collecting fetish! Was I overthinking it?
“When I blew into your ear.” An Qing shrugged, “If it were a Weird tale infiltrating, at such a close distance, below A-rank, I’m confident I could kill it instantly, you know! Impressive, right?”
The Spell that confused the mind, the finger placed at the body's center of gravity, the shallow but unsheathed scalpel—everything happened without Lu Yibei's awareness.
An Qing said, a gentle smile appearing on her charming face, possessing a touch of the girl-next-door vibe that inexplicably made one want to get closer.
However, although Lu Yibei didn't know what an A-rank Weird tale meant, seeing the blood-stained scalpel on An Qing's fingertip, he instantly felt a chill down his spine and dismissed all improper thoughts.
“Tell me, what are you doing at the Night Watch? Normal people finally get out of here, shouldn’t they be busy celebrating? Why did you come back so quickly? Very suspicious, you know!”
As she spoke, An Qing tightened her grip on the scalpel, pointing the tip at Lu Yibei.
Sunlight spilled in from the window, falling on the blade, flashing with a silver gleam.
“I...” Lu Yibei looked at the tightly gripped scalpel in An Qing’s hand, swallowed, and said, “Um, what was it, when I asked that Miss Jiang what a temporary staff needed to do after becoming one, she told me that I just needed to walk around the streets when I had nothing to do and report anything strange immediately...”
“So, you encountered something strange?” An Qing tilted her head.
Lu Yibei nodded with a serious expression.
“Oh?” An Qing frowned, her entire demeanor instantly transforming from a charming fox to a calm and fierce wolf.
“You can still see strange things at this time? That’s interesting, tell me about it?”
Lu Yibei recounted the entire incident of seeing “half a person” at the 96 Cai Market.
An Qing was silent for a moment, then pouted and said, “It sounds like a Weird tale that hasn’t fully formed yet, but to be safe, I think we should still go take a look.”
One great advantage of having a poker face is that, often, people won't doubt the truthfulness of what you say, because no matter what, your expression is always so honest and reliable.
Hearing this, Lu Yibei nodded repeatedly and said, “That’s what I thought too.
It’s great that you’re willing to go see it, and by the way... can you come to my house? My house seems to be haunted too.”
An Qing sized up Lu Yibei, smiling playfully, “You’re quite interesting.
If ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) I hadn’t detected no spiritual energy fluctuations on you, I would suspect you’re a Psychic of the fate type, hmm, the kind plagued by bad luck.”
Lu Yibei, “...” Although he didn't know what a Psychic of the fate type was, hearing the words “plagued by bad luck,” anyone would know it wasn't a good thing, right?
“Alright, you stay here! I’ll go check out that frozen food store you mentioned first.”
An Qing said, standing up and shaking her white coat, which made a light clinking sound of metal.
Through the gap in her clothes, Lu Yibei vaguely saw a row of various models of scalpels on the inside of her clothing.
“No, don’t you need me to lead the way?”
“I know where the 96 Cai Market is; it’s not far from here, so I can go by myself.” An Qing narrowed her eyes and smiled, “What’s more, if it involves a Weird tale, a battle might occur, and I might not be able to protect you then.
Are you sure you want to come with me?”
“No, no, Teacher, you go ahead, I’ll wait here obediently for you to come back!” Lu Yibei quickly shook his head.
A battle might occur? Do I even need to think about it? Of course not!
“Then you wait here for me to come back!” An Qing shrugged, and as she spoke, she pointed to the document bag on the table, “Oh, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for, and there’s no mobile signal here.
If you’re bored, you can read that; it’s about Mr. Rabbit.
As a person involved, you are authorized to know.”
“Also, the si ye book on the table is for new staff.
Although temporary staff don’t need to study it, you can briefly understand it.
Didn’t Jiang Li tell you to walk around outside? You should at least have some common sense about Weird tale, right?”
“Hmm, that’s about it! These two things should be enough to pass the time.
As for the other things, don’t touch them, okay?”
“What happens if I touch them?” Lu Yibei asked cheekily.
An Qing laughed, the sunlight reflecting on her face, her eyes curving into two arcs, and the upward curve of her lips so natural, so comfortable.
In the sunlight, she was as sweet as a melting toffee.
“You’ll die!”
Lu Yibei, “...”
“Just kidding!” An Qing waved her hand, her smile growing wider, then her expression suddenly darkened, and her tone became icy, “You’ll wish you were dead!”
Lu Yibei, “???”
