Chapter 278: The Tavern Murder Case
Chapter 278: The Tavern Murder Case (VI)
There was a faint aroma of meat wafting in the wine room, which was thick, sweet, and entered the nose and heart.
The five of them sat down at the wooden table near the door.
It would take some time to wash and skin the pheasant and the yellow rabbit, so the girl in green named Wan'er first served some beef, broad beans and peanuts.
"Wild animals are good. They smell very different."
Shi Dajin took the cup with a smile, took half a cup of wine, washed it, and poured it on the door sill. He then picked up the wine pot and filled it with Bamboo Leaf Green for Lin Pingzhi: "Young Escort Captain, please."
"Everyone."
Lin Pingzhi raised his wine glass, and everyone fell silent.
"This time, we hunted in Lengcui Mountain and got a lot of spoils, which greatly boosted the reputation of our Fuwei Escort Agency. When we get back, I will report to my father and give him the rewards. Let's drink this cup of wine to celebrate our victory!"
After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.
"Cough cough~"
He had a low alcohol tolerance to begin with, and Mrs. Wang usually kept a strict control over him, not allowing him to drink in the mansion except during festivals. He was so excited after saying these words just now that he pretended to be heroic and drank the wine in one gulp, but he choked a little.
"Well done."
"Young Master, you have a good alcohol tolerance!"
"Without such a high alcohol tolerance, how could you be so heroic as to capture a giant bear in the mountains?"
"Exactly that."
How could they just watch the young escort leader make a fool of himself? After a while of flattering him, they finally managed to deal with the situation. When they saw that Lin Pingzhi's face had calmed down, they finally felt at ease to drink.
They were not so particular. They were all dirt-earning men from the escort agency. They toasted each other, played thumb-fighting games, and made a lot of noise. Although Lin Pingzhi was strictly disciplined at home, he liked this rough and rude style with a strong sense of the underworld, and enjoyed himself for a while.
At this moment, the sweet aroma of meat in the store became stronger and stronger, and everyone noticed it.
Zheng Biao frowned and asked, "Is this the smell of yellow rabbit?"
Shi Dajin smiled and said, "The grass is lush this spring. There is a kind of grass called Jiesao in Lengcui Mountain. If the wild rabbits eat it, it can remove the mutton smell and make the meat taste better. This should be the taste."
As the young escort leader's right-hand men, the two of them would sometimes have a hint of rivalry in their daily conversations, even if it was over very trivial matters.
Shi Dajin was a native of Fuzhou Prefecture and was good at speaking. He could always find various reasons to deal with Zheng Biao and maintain his position as the number one person beside the young escort leader. However, he did not understand that some things could not be changed by words.
Lin Pingzhi laughed and scolded, "Old Shi is talking nonsense. Where did the Jie Sao grass come from in Leng Cui Mountain? Male rabbit meat smells good, while female rabbit meat smells bad. That's all. Those hunters deliberately made up the story of Jie Sao grass to confuse the sexes, hoping to sell the goods at a high price without knowing the value of the goods."
Shi Dajin said with a smile: "Young Escort Captain, that's not necessarily true. As the lyrics of Mulan say, 'The male rabbit's feet are confused, and the female rabbit's eyes are blurry.' It's such a simple truth, is there anyone who can't tell the difference between male and female?"
Lin Pingzhi seemed to be thinking about something. He was silent for a moment and shook his head gently. "The male rabbit's feet are confusing, and the female rabbit's eyes are blurry. It's simple to say, but it's just talk on paper. Let alone rabbits, even some people may have seen them before, but after a long time, they will only have a vague impression."
Shi Dajin knew the young escort leader's thoughts best. He asked in a low voice, "Young escort leader, are you talking about Mr. Zhang?"
Lin Pingzhi asked, "You were also present at the Tong Mansion's 60th birthday celebration. Don't you have any memory of it?"
Shi Dajin advised: "Young Escort Captain, there are so many people in the world who look alike. It's not surprising. It's been three years. Maybe there's something wrong with your memory."
Lin Pingzhi frowned. When he first met Mr. Zhang on the Fuwei that night, something happened suddenly and the lights were dim, so he didn't notice anything unusual. Later, when they met once in the escort agency, he always felt that he looked familiar, as if he had seen this person somewhere.
It was not until Mr. Zhang left the escort agency that Lin Pingzhi suddenly remembered that Zhang Yu, the leader of the Sun Moon Sect whom he had met twice in the North Country that year, was very similar to this man.
"The leader of the Divine Cult is called Zhang Yu, and the birthday gift he presented was also a blue-scaled carp..." "Is he Zhang Yu? Or Zhang Liyu?"
"How could there be such a coincidence in this world?"
Shi Dajin chuckled a few times. The Fuwei Escort Agency was in the outer court that day and had no qualifications to enter the inner hall to celebrate the birthday. He was only concerned with eating and drinking, and those who came to celebrate the birthday in the inner hall passed by like a revolving lantern, and the escort leader rarely had time to look.
Later, when they visited Qingfeng Village in Yunwu Mountain, he did not go because he was not used to the climate there. He stayed in Hebei Branch to recuperate, and was accompanied by Wu Biaotou and Shao Biaotou.
Shi Dajin whispered, "Young Escort Leader, don't think about it. Zhang Yu or Zhang Liyu, they are gone anyway. Even if they have bad intentions, they can't harm Fuwei Escort Agency."
Lin Pingzhi nodded, thinking so too, and put the matter behind him.
In the inner hall, Zhang Yu sat quietly at a small table, separated by white walls and window frames, listening to the noise outside and drinking one glass after another, but for no reason a few words came to his mind.
"The humble room is empty, but once the bed was covered with tablets. The withered grass and withered poplars were once a place for singing and dancing... I was sighing that others were short-lived, but I didn't know that I would return home to mourn."
Things in the world are unpredictable. Who would have known that the drinking at this moment would become the final peace for this young man who is somewhat proud, vain, and ignorant, but still has a chivalrous and kind heart.
Perhaps... many years later, he would miss this relatively peaceful afternoon and these incompetent and somewhat mercenary bodyguards very much.
“The best time is always now.”
Zhang Yu put down his wine glass and turned to look at the girl in green standing by the door, staring at him blankly.
Yue Lingshan quickly withdrew her gaze, her eyes somewhat flustered, regretting her recent loss of composure. She decided to turn the tables and stabilize her position.
"What are you looking at?"
Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "Don't be crazy about it, the wine jug is empty."
Yue Lingshan hurried to the table, picked up two empty wine jugs, pointed outside and said, "Sir, you are really confident. Even if I am obsessed with flowers, I should be obsessed with the handsome and suave young master of the Lin family."
"Young lady, with your dignity, please don't go near the young escort leader of the Lin family, or you'll scare him and make him refuse to patronize you next time. You should stay in the inner hall and talk to me."
"Humph!"
Yue Lingshan snorted coldly, picked up the empty wine jug and walked towards the kitchen. She thought to herself, over the past few years, this wild carp seemed to have a calm and reserved demeanor, and had a bit of bearing, but after all, he was still a slick and harsh-tongued little thief from the Demon Sect.
"boom!"
"Boom!"
When Yue Lingshan came over again, she held a tray in her hand and placed a pot of Bamboo Leaf Green Tea, a plate of braised bear paws in red sauce, and a clay pot of bear paws stewed with chicken soup and mushrooms. She opened the lid and the room was instantly filled with a strange aroma.
Zhang Yu looked at the soup, which was milky white, with crystal meat chunks undulating in between. It was red and white, and had a good color, aroma and flavor. He thought to himself, "Lao Denuo is really a versatile person. With his skills, he can at least be a chef if he can't make it in the underworld."
Just as he was about to chow down on the meal, he heard the sound of hurried horse hooves outside the store, followed by the voices of two people speaking with a heavy western Sichuan accent.
"What a big bear! Which bastard must have beaten it to death?"
This plot has been dragging on for a bit too long. There is one more chapter tonight, so it should be over.
This part of the original novel is quite interesting, it looks smooth and has a sense of life. But the trouble with fan fiction is that you can't follow the original novel completely, but you have to follow the original novel. You always want to put something new in the old bottle, but Mr. Jin's old bottle is already full, so sometimes it seems superfluous. This is my first time writing a long novel, and I have written 70 words with bumps and bruises. I am definitely not capable enough, so please just read it. I don't ask for rewards or monthly tickets, just a subscription. I don't expect this book to be a success, but I will still treat every chapter with my heart.
(End of this chapter)