Chapter 46 Visitors
As the sky brightened, Li Wuxiang's first pot of dry food for Xue Baoping was almost ready. First, cook beans and grains such as broad beans, soybeans, black beans, and millet until they are fully cooked, then grind them into powder. Then add oil to the pot, add a clove of star anise, a handful of fine salt, and a little sugar, and then add these with a small amount of sugar. Slowly stir-fry until dry. In this way, it can be stored for four or five days without spoiling, and it is also convenient to eat on the mountain.
While cooking, Li Wuxiang reviewed the action plan he had thought up at night.
The first is Chen Xin. What she said to Xue Baoping were all excuses, just so that she could leave with peace of mind as soon as possible without restricting her own hands and feet.
Chen Xin is a scheming and smart man. When chatting with him before, he also revealed his fear of Zhao Qi. If you tell him the truth, he will believe it. The problem is that he is the local overlord, and his temperament is by no means as weak as he seems. He must have strong ideas of his own.
When doing work, I hate such partners, especially those with families. According to his experience, sometimes two plus one will be less than three or even equal to zero, so Chen Xin cannot be used until a critical moment.
The opportunity last night was a real pity. Now Li Wuxiang can be sure that he is most likely a key part of Zhao Qi's sacrificial ritual, which can explain why he is eager to accept disciples and why he is eager to give himself medicine.
But when I went to see him last night, he was quite nice to me and even took me to hunt ghosts. This meant that he might have really thought about accepting him as his disciple, which gave him the opportunity to see the talisman and get a glimpse of part of the truth of the matter. If he had behaved more kindly at that time, Chen Sanyao might still have been killed, but it would have been Zhao Qi himself. But now, perhaps as his true successor, I know what he wants to do.
If only he could have another half month. He had several ways to make Zhao Qi believe that he was definitely not someone who would bully his master and destroy his ancestors.
But now, he felt that he might have to use the least technical method - to subdue Zhao Qi and force him to get what he wanted. This is quite risky. From an industry perspective, Zhao Qi is equivalent to his former self, and now he is equivalent to a strong man. The strong man may still have a slight advantage in physical strength, but his former self has too many skills and tools to defeat him.
There should only be one chance, and it should be unexpected and not give him the chance to use any invisible and intangible magic spells.
But Zhao Qi's martial arts skills should also be very good, and he would not be killed unless it was necessary.
First, it would not be able to meet the needs of external evil spirits. That thing has not yet fully revealed its ferocious features to me, but since it is called an "external evil", there must be a reason. At this point, he has no doubt about the experience and lessons passed down from generation to generation by practitioners in this world.
Secondly, when he was trapped in the stove, it seemed that Zhao Xi's ghost helped him at a critical moment. This means that death is not the end in this world, especially for practitioners like Zhao Qi.
He just thought about it carefully and considered every step over and over again, feeling as if he had returned to the time when he was working on a project in his previous life.
When the sun began to rise over the horizon, he felt that he had almost prepared everything. At this time, I heard a knock on the door.
Li Wuxiang was stunned for a moment, walked to the door with bated breath and looked out through the crack in the door. What I saw outside was a strong man wearing a white short coat, carrying a knife and carrying a baggage. The corners of his clothes were frayed and dirty, and they were almost turning yellow. His feet were covered with mud and water, his lips were chapped, his skin was rough, and he looked like a traveler. Dressed like a servant on the road.
The strong man patted the door again: "Is there anyone here? Ask for a bowl of water!"
Li Wuxiang wanted to ask Xue Baoping to reopen the Xue family store before, so that he would have the capital to settle down after leaving him. It's just that it's the flood season, so there are even fewer passers-by. Today, this is the first foreigner I've met in these days. He should have seen the "Xuejiadian" store sign.
He was not in the mood for business today, but when he saw the man's attire, he changed his mind.
This person seemed to be a wandering man, and he happened to be asking about other things while waiting for Xue Baoping to catch up on his sleep.
He said "Here we come" and removed a door panel. He was stunned for a moment and then laughed: "It's really rare. I haven't seen anyone outside for a few days."
The strong man also smiled and clasped his fists slightly: "Ask for a bowl of water - this is a restaurant, right?"
Li Wuxiang put the door aside, stepped out of the way, and pointed to the bench in the room: "Yes, but there are not many people now. You have to bring your own food, and I can also get you some hot soup and hot water. Come in and sit down. ”
The strong man glanced inside the door and saw that the room was divided into two large and small stoves, the walls were blackened, there were piles of clean dishes and chopsticks, a few benches, and a few pairs of wooden supports. He knew that it was really a restaurant business in the past. He walked through the door and sat down on the bench. He let out a sigh of relief. He took off his baggage from behind and placed it on the ground. He took out four dry biscuits and handed them to Li Wuxiang: "Get some soup cakes and eat something hot."
He took another handful of copper coins from his arms and asked, "How much does this cost?"
Li Wuxiang took the cake but not the money: "It's just a matter of convenience. I don't have anything delicious here."
The strong man nodded and took the money. He took the water handed to him by Li Wuxiang and drank it in one gulp. He wiped his beard and watched him prepare food while holding the bowl.
——First, soak four dry biscuits in water to make the surface moist, and then cut them into finger-wide strips. The strong man saw that he was very skillful in using the sword, and thought to himself that since he was a young master from a neighboring town, his skills were not practiced as a cook, but as expected, he had practiced swordsmanship.
——I added more firewood to the stove and blew it vigorously with the blowtorch. The remaining grease in the pot started to smoke slightly. At this time, put all the cut cake strips into it, smoke will rise with a hiss, and quickly sprinkle in a pinch of fine salt, take a spatula and start stir-frying.
Stir-fry for a dozen times, then add a little more water along the edge of the pot, and add some remaining oil residue from the porcelain bowl on the side. The aroma immediately hit your nostrils, and the pancake strips that had been soaked in water were fried until the surface was slightly crispy and yellow, making a squeaking sound when the spatula was turned. At this time, the strong man no longer bothered to observe this "Li Jiye", but stared at the pot, thinking that this boy really knows how to prepare meals! Did you learn it from that little girl here? With such understanding, it is a pity to learn to be a cook. No wonder Zhao Qi chose him as his disciple.
But looking at his head of white hair and his current attitude towards others, I'm afraid his temperament has changed drastically after his entire family died. If you lose the spirit in your heart because of this, then no matter how good your skills are, it will be difficult to achieve anything in the future.
After the cake was heated through, Li Wuxiang put it on the stove, added a ladle of water to the pot and waited for it to boil. At this time, he started chatting: "What do you call eldest brother?"
"My surname is Zeng Jianqiu. Your craftsmanship is really good."
Li Wuxiang smiled: "I became a monk halfway. Where is Brother Zeng going?"
"Ah, come and go in the wind and rain, just trying to make a living." Zeng Jianqiu patted the knife on his waist, "Don't think too much, he is not a robber, but a housekeeper, but he has not found a good customer - —Is there a place in your town where I can work? ”
Li Wuxiang's heart rang loudly. Naturally, the people in town who want people to look after their homes and homes are the wealthy households and the town lords. Did this person happen by chance, or...
His expression dimmed: "Ah, I'm... not sure about this either." After a while, he added: "But there shouldn't be. The town lord here has soldiers to look after the house and the courtyard. Brother Zeng went to Qingjiang City Go and have a look, there are more wealthy people there.”
Zeng Jianqiu nodded: "Okay, thank you for your advice."
After the water boiled, Li Wuxiang scooped some of what Xue Baoping had fried and put it at the bottom of another bowl. He washed it with hot water and it immediately turned into a bowl of fragrant gruel. He took out a pair of chopsticks and placed two bowls of food on the ground in front of Zeng Jianqiu: "Brother Zeng, just make do with it."
Zeng Jianqiu was really hungry, so he picked up the big bowl full of fried pancakes and took a bite into his mouth. Some of the pancake strips are close to the middle of the pancake, and are slightly thinner. They are extremely crispy in the mouth, as if they were deep-fried, and have a dry, burnt aroma. Some of them are on the side. They have been soaked in water before, and the inner layer has been stir-fried to make them soft and moist, but there is also a layer of crispy outside, which makes them taste a little tough.
With these two flavors intertwined together and combined with a layer of finely grated oil residue on the cake, he only chewed it for a few times before his cheeks became sore and saliva oozed out, filling his mouth with fragrance. He ate two gulps and swallowed them, then picked up the porridge and took two sips. A thin layer of sweat broke out on his body, and all his pores felt refreshed.
When he stopped to take a breath, he saw "Li Jiye" looking at him with a sad smile, and Zeng Jianqiu knew what kind of person he was.
This young man should have never seen anything sinister when he was at home, so when he opened the door and saw himself armed with a sword, he didn't even have the slightest hint of vigilance. You should also have a good heart. When he asked where he could find work, his expression dimmed, probably because he was thinking of his own home. But then he forced himself to go to Qingjiang City. This kind of mentality is really rare.
As for the rest... the man I met at night said that this little girl from the Xue family is very beautiful, and the two of them must be getting along very well these days... This is easy to handle.
He knew it well and enjoyed the food to his heart's content. After finishing the two big bowls, he burped and wiped his beard: "Brother, your craftsmanship is really good. But I heard someone said that you also worshiped a cultivator in the town. If you are a teacher, do you want to open a shop or learn magic? ”
He saw Li Wuxiang was stunned for a moment, and then sighed: "I want it all."
Zeng Jianqiu laughed: "Of course it's good to have the best of both worlds. But, little brother, do you know? Your master is a demon."
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Li Wuxiang was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "Zeng...you, I got you food and drink, why do you talk like this?"
Zeng Jianqiu's face turned stern and he took a deep breath: "Don't be annoyed yet. Listen to me and tell you slowly. Your master's name is Zhao Qi. He is a long-faced man with thin eyebrows and narrow eyes, right?"
"Did he also call himself a member of the Ranshan sect? Well, it seems I'm right. Then listen up, your master had passed through several villages and towns before coming to Jinshui, and he used curses and practices everywhere he went. Killing people. I have been following him for several months, and the reason why I came here is because I met the man whose life you spared last night, and I found out that he was in Jinshui."
What a coincidence! What a coincidence! Li Wuxiang stared at him and looked at him again, frowning slightly.
Is it really such a coincidence that Zhao Qi's enemy is here? Or is Zhao Qi trying again... No, if Zhao Qi knows that Chen Sanjiao is still alive, why should he try?
This man said that Zhao Qi had killed people before... It was not surprising that he did these things, but it was a pity that he was still thinking that Zhao Qi might not be a bad person last night. It's just that the enemy of a bad thing may not be a good thing. Even if it is, I don't know if it is a good helper or not...
Li Wuxiang said in a deep voice: "I don't know whether what you said is true or false."
Zeng Jianqiu laughed and stared at him with piercing eyes: "Young man, it's easy to learn bad things but hard to learn well. Your master asked you to kill someone last night. Would a good person ask someone to take someone's life lightly? I heard that you show mercy with the sword, so today I came here to see you first because I was afraid of killing the wrong person! Now I see that you have been temporarily deceived. Think about it carefully. Will you follow your master to kill people and harm the world in the future? "
Seeing that Li Wuxiang was still frowning and silent, Zeng Jianqiu touched his arms and threw a stack of paper on the stove: "If you still don't believe it, see for yourself."
Li Wuxiang picked up the stack of papers, unfolded them, and found that they were all contract documents. The papers were old and new, wrinkled, muddy, water-stained, and soaked with sweat. What is written above are the words that a certain town entrusted Qi Jianqiu to take Zhao Qi's life and how much the reward will be. They are all covered with seals of different shapes. There are some bloody handprints on some of them, some are from adults, and some are mutilated. Little palm prints.
Li Wuxiang slowly exhaled: "What...has he done?"
Zeng Jianqiu smiled coldly: "This demon is looking for his master. When he couldn't ask anyone, he thought his master might be passing by, so he set up a trance to ask. Do you know about trance?"
"I... don't quite know. Why would he harm people if he wants to seize the gods?"
"It's not just about worshiping the gods, it's about the incense and longevity of the human world! Wherever this demon has passed, how many people have been short-lived and lost their youth, and how many have been sent to death by him!"< br>
Li Wuxiang thought again and again before hesitatingly said: "Then, if you come to me, what do you want to do?"
Zeng Jianqiu clapped his hands suddenly: "Okay! It turns out that you have right and wrong in your heart! Young man, listen to me——"
"Zhao Qi, this demon, has average swordsmanship and a three-legged cat in his body-lighting skills, but their Ranshan sect's talisman skills are amazing. If he really tries to do something about it, I'm afraid he'll run away. If he runs away, go down. If a village harms the people again, it will be your fault. The reason why he accepted you as his disciple is because he needs someone to help him when he asks the gods, so he needs to find someone who is clever and clever -"
Speaking of this, Zeng Jianqiu paused and a smile appeared on his face: "Oh, by the way, do you know the True Form of the Five Mountains Emperor?"
Li Wuxiang thought for a while: "I knew this was a great god."
"Then Zhao Qi accepted you as his disciple and didn't tell you anything else?"
"He just accepted mine yesterday."
"Oh, okay, okay. Then listen, this is a great master. Look, let's do it this way - to deal with a monster like Zhao Qi who is good at escaping, we must act quickly and must not delay. So take a look This treasure." Zeng Jianqiu took out a small oil paper bag from his arms and handed it to Li Wuxiang.
Two chapters merged into one.
(End of chapter)