Chapter 19: Teacher, Be Gentle
Stir-fry green onions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns in oil, add chopped dried chili peppers, and top it with high-quality chili bean paste until fragrant. Black fish is an excellent ingredient for boiling fish slices and requires minimal preparation; just slice it thinly and blanch it before laying it over the stir-fried spices.
Next comes the soul of Chinese cooking—sprinkle with salt, garlic paste, and pepper!
Then pour on a ladle of hot oil and add shredded cucumber; this final dish is complete.
Luxianbei didn’t notice anything strange about the vegetables and meat he bought from Su Mi and spent over two hours completing the table full of dishes.
When he served the boiling fish slices, the hot oil was still bubbling, and the tender fish meat sizzled, absorbing the flavor of the spices. The delicious fish, the rich aroma of the spices, and the fresh scent of the cucumber intertwined, wafting far down the ancient street.
The old neighbors sitting around the large round table were already struggling to control their appetites. Seeing this, they quickly picked up their chopsticks and began to eat; with each bite, the fragrance filled their mouths, and every taste bud cheered in delight.
“Wow! As expected from Xiao Bei, these slices are so tender!”
“The bones are crispy, yet the meat is still so tender! How did you make these ribs? It’s incredible!”
“EMMM! The fish… oh my, my choked head!”
The old neighbors rarely gathered together, feasting on a lavish spread while exchanging family stories, laughter and cheers creating a festive atmosphere.
However, Su Mi noticed that Luxianbei hadn’t touched his chopsticks, sitting alone on a small stool in the corner, staring vacantly at the lush water plants in the stream, seemingly lost in thought.
Su Mi leaned over, patted Luxianbei’s shoulder, and said, “Hey, why aren’t you eating? You’re not too tired, are you?”
“You can’t blame me. Ever since your family’s shop closed, the neighbors have been craving food like crazy. I initially only told Uncle Zhang and Lili, but who knew the word spread and now there are more than ten people here.”
“I think with your skills, why are you studying literature? If you went to Lanxiang to improve your skills and opened a restaurant afterward, business would be booming!”
“Lanxiang? That’s a place for learning to operate excavators!” Luxianbei rolled his eyes at Su Mi, “Am I supposed to come back and cook with an excavator? Besides, my skills are still far from perfect; nobody has even burst their clothes from eating my cooking!”
“Huh?” Su Mi was taken aback, “Is there really someone whose food can make people burst their clothes? I haven’t read much, so don’t trick me!”
I’m just joking, and you took it seriously! Luxianbei opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself, finally sighing, “Ah, forget it. I have things to do. You take care of the neighbors and let them eat and drink well; I’m leaving.”
With that, he got up, wiped his hands with a cloth, took off his apron, grabbed a guitar bag containing the Ming King statue, and headed in the direction of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
Luxianbei felt that something was off about the “half-person” he saw at the market. The shadow on the pork was in the shape of a pig, the one on the beef was in the shape of a cow, the shadow at the corner of Widow Zhang’s mouth was in an indescribable shape of the adjacent old Wang, and the half-person’s shadow was self-evident.
The thought that the frozen meat shop might have sold human flesh mixed with other meats made Luxianbei feel nauseous, and he lost all appetite.
Was it a case of mishap during a m*rder and the body parts mixing in with the frozen food? Or did the owner of the frozen meat shop mix in human flesh with some ulterior motive to sell it?
Also, the shadow of that “half-person” could speak and observed passersby with some unclear intent, making it very likely to be an urban legend.
But if it really involved urban legends, it wasn’t something I, a temporary worker, could deal with.
Even if I were filled with a sense of justice wanting to investigate this matter, just recklessly barging in to confront the owner of the frozen food shop wouldn’t be the wisest approach; there are plenty of diplomatic ways, right?
Moreover, finding someone from the Siye Society would also help check whether there were any strange things hidden in my old house.
Thinking this, Luxianbei tightened the strap of his guitar bag.
Professional matters should be handled by professionals; this was how he justified his meager sense of justice.
“Hey, wait! You haven’t eaten yet! Where are you going?” Seeing Luxianbei walk away, Su Mi shouted, “Will you come back later?”
Luxianbei waved his hand without looking back, “I’ll be back later. I’m staying at your place, so help me make the bed!”
He wouldn’t go back to the old house until the people from the Siye Society came to help look! It’s all that fat idiot’s fault for making it sound so scary! Luxianbei thought.
…
A cool breeze swept through Mudan Street in early autumn, rippling the water in the stream and bringing the fragrance of osmanthus. In the teahouse by the street, the storyteller reached an exciting part, and cheers rang out occasionally!
Walking down such an ancient street made it easy to lose track of time.
Luxianbei walked with his head down and soon found himself in front of the door of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
He pushed open the old vermilion door, and the afternoon sunlight streamed through the courtyard, illuminating the fallen leaves in the serene courtyard.
Is there no one watching over this place? Luxianbei tilted his head and walked through the courtyard directly towards the back. As soon as he pushed open the heavy metal door, he heard a lazy voice from a woman nearby.
“Um… who is it at this time? Huh? It’s you again? Why are you back?”
The dark hallway seemed like some long-bodied monster that swallowed light, and a faint wind blew from deep within the corridor, carrying a hint of chill.
Luxianbei stood in the hallway, figuring out where the voice was coming from, fixing his gaze on the door made of dark red material, carelessly marked with the character “Lu,” and then bowed slightly.
“Hello, I’m the new temporary operator Luxianbei, I…”
Before Luxianbei could finish speaking, he was engulfed in darkness.
In the dark, he felt a cold chill begin to swirl, spiral, and tug around him… it felt like he was trapped in a giant black vortex, his body losing weight, spinning, and the dizziness began to hit him, and then he was rapidly falling.
When the brightness returned, Luxianbei found himself floating gently on a pristine single bed, surrounded by blue screens. The pale light from the ceiling illuminated him, and the air carried a mixture of disinfectant and an indescribable assortment of scents.
Is this… a hospital? After glancing around the surroundings, Luxianbei had this thought in his mind.
“Tap tap tap!” The sound of high heels clicking on the ground approached, and a voluptuous woman in a white lab coat appeared around the screen in front of Luxianbei.
“Are you alright?”
Seeing the alluring figure before him, Luxianbei’s cheeks slightly flushed, “I’m fine, uh, thank you for your concern.”
An Qing didn’t mind at all; instead, she moved closer, kneeling on one knee beside the bed and placing her hands between Luxianbei’s legs.
Instinctively, Luxianbei wanted to close his legs but froze in place after seeing her shapely curves wrapped in black stockings.
In his daze, An Qing lifted Luxianbei’s chin with her slender fingertip, her red lips forming a teasing smile as she said, “Your name is Luxianbei, right? Jiang Li has mentioned you; I didn’t expect you to look quite good!”
“My name is An Qing. Besides being responsible for weekend duty, I also handle new recruit training. Although temporary operators don’t require training, you can still call me Teacher An.”
“Uh, Teacher An, hello!”
“Luxianbei, do you know that I usually take a nap at this time? If you don’t have a good reason, I might punish you!”
“What, what kind of punishment?” Luxianbei asked weakly.
An Qing pushed Luxianbei back onto the bed with one hand pressing against his chest, leaning close to his ear, and gently whispering, “A very serious punishment! Are you scared?”
Her golden hair cascaded down, brushing against his face, accompanied by a strange fragrance that made one feel drowsy. A warm, moist breath escaped her red lips, kissing him lightly on the ear, causing a tingling sensation to seep into his heart.
“Then…” Luxianbei paused and said seriously, “Teacher, it’s my first time, please be gentle.”
As he spoke, Luxianbei closed his eyes, quietly waiting for his encounter.
Lying on the bed, Luxianbei had his eyes shut tight, his expression devoid of emotion, resembling a corpse! If it weren’t for the rising and falling of his chest, An Qing would have almost lost control and considered dissecting him right there.
He looked good, and his expression after being teased was nice; if only he weren’t a living person! Not my type, An Qing thought, pursing her lips and shaking her head in disinterest.
“You passed the test, you can get up now.”
An Qing’s voice echoed in the dark, and Luxianbei was startled and slowly sat up, only to realize that the blue screens around him had been taken down at some point. Surveying the surroundings, he found the room wasn’t large, primarily decorated in blue and white tones, resembling a school infirmary.
An Qing sat not far away at a desk, smiling at him.
“Test? When?” Luxianbei asked, confused. d*mn! Is that it? I thought this beautiful older sister had some sort of innocent collection habit! Was I overthinking it?
“When I blew air in your ear.” An Qing shrugged, “If it were an urban legend infiltrating, I could have easily killed anything beneath A-grade at such a close distance just now! Impressive, right?”
The spell of confusion, fingers positioned at the center of mass, the shallow but undetectable willow leaf kn*fe—all occurred without Luxianbei noticing.
As An Qing spoke, a gentle smile appeared on her enchanting face, giving off a neighborly older sister vibe that made one feel inexplicably close.
However, although Luxianbei didn’t know the concept of A-grade urban legends, seeing the bloodied willow leaf kn*fe in An Qing’s hand sent a chill down his spine, dispelling all improper thoughts.
“Alright, tell me why you came to the Siye Society. Normal people find it hard to get out of here. Shouldn’t you be busy celebrating? Why did you return so quickly? It’s quite suspicious!”
As An Qing spoke, she tightened her grip on the willow leaf kn*fe, pointing the blade at Luxianbei. The sunlight streaming through the window glinted off its edge.
“I…” Luxianbei looked at the firmly gripped kn*fe in An Qing’s hand and swallowed hard, “Uh, earlier I asked Jiang Li what a temporary operator needs to do after becoming one, and she told me to wander around the streets and immediately report anything strange…”
“So, you encountered something strange?” An Qing tilted her head.
Luxianbei nodded, his expression serious.
“Oh?” An Qing furrowed her brow; her demeanor shifted from a charming fox to the cold, fierce air of a starving wolf. “Seeing something strange at this time is interesting. Tell me more!”
Luxianbei recounted the details of seeing a “half-person” at the market.
An Qing fell silent for a moment, pursed her lips, and said, “It sounds like an urban legend not yet fully formed, but to be safe, I think we should check it out.”
The major benefit of having a poker face is that most people won’t question the truthfulness of your words because your expression is consistently honest and reliable.
At her words, Luxianbei nodded repeatedly, “I was thinking the same; it would be great if you were willing to go. By the way… could you also visit my house? It seems like it’s haunted too.”
An Qing studied Luxianbei, smiling playfully, “You’re quite interesting; if I hadn’t noticed any spirit energy fluctuations from you, I might have suspected you were a spiritual ability user on the side of misfortune. The type that has bad luck following them.”
Luxianbei, “…” Although he didn’t know what a spiritual ability user on the side of misfortune was, anyone would understand that it wasn’t a good thing!
“Alright, you stay here! I’ll go check out the frozen food shop you mentioned.”
As An Qing spoke, she got up, shaken her white coat producing a metallic sound. Luxianbei caught a glimpse of various models of willow leaf knives hidden inside her coat through the gap.
“Wait, don’t I need to lead the way?”
“I know where Market 96 is; it’s not far from here. I can go on my own,” An Qing squinted, smiling, “Besides, if this involves an urban legend, a battle might occur, and I might not be able to protect you. Are you sure you want to come along?”
“No, no, Teacher, you go ahead; I’ll just wait here obediently for you to come back!” Luxianbei quickly shook his head.
A potential battle? No need to think about it; of course, I won’t go!
“Then sit tight while I’m gone!” An Qing shrugged and pointed at the file bag on the desk, “Oh, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. There’s no mobile signal here, so if you’re bored, you can check that. It’s about Mr. Rabbit; as a party involved, you have the right to know.”
“Also, the book ‘The Book of Siye’ on the desk is for new operators. While temporary operatives don’t need to learn it, you might as well familiarize yourself a little; Jiang Li told you to wander around, right? You should at least have some knowledge of urban legends.”
“Okay, that should be enough to pass the time! These two things should keep you occupied; don’t touch anything else, got it?”
“What happens if I do?” Luxianbei asked cheekily.
An Qing laughed, her face illuminated by the sunlight, her eyes curving into arcs as her mouth formed a naturally refreshing smile that was almost as sweet as melted toffee in the sun.
“You’ll d*e!”
Luxianbei, “…”
“Just kidding!” An Qing waved her hand, her smile growing broader, but her expression suddenly darkened, and her tone turned icy, “It’ll be worse than d*ath!”
Luxianbei, “???”
