The sunset was like blood, and the sky and the earth were fiery red.

The wind-swept fields, and the distant woods, were dyed a fiery red color by the setting sun.

It was about to be twilight, and on the long official road, pedestrians hurried by.

A group of nearly 100 soldiers, surrounded by a dusty carriage, creaked along the official road.

In the carriage, Lu Heng leaned in the carport, looking out of the window, the beautiful sunset. Shook his head with a wry smile.

In that carriage, there is still a faint fragrance, refreshing.

Now, in the empty carriage, only Lu Heng is left.

Halfway, at the intersection not far from Luoyang City, Lu Heng reluctantly sent away Bai Suyan, who was in a hurry to return to Sichuan.

A parting is a lot sad.

But before leaving, Bai Suyan secretly kissed Lu Heng to this day, as if he was reminiscing about the woman's soft lips.

Last year, he made a set of plans to promote local development for Zhang Wenshan, who was still the governor of Yizhou at the time, and after Zhang Wenshan was transferred, his successor continued to implement the plan. Now that a year has passed, although I have not been to Chengdu to take a look, I heard Bai Suyan say that with the efforts of the imperial court policy and local officials, the life of the Miao family is now much better than before.

When he was on the road, Lu Heng was cheap for a while, and said a word about the promotion ideas of Miao Medicine. Suddenly, the white beside him was plain and his eyes were full of brilliance.

Pretending to be serious and indifferent, after taking out Lu Heng's whole set of plans, Bai Suyan giggled, and after pecking lightly on Lu Heng's lips, he left with a light peck like a dragonfly.

She said that when she waited for next year, when she figured out how many times she was in the Lu family, she would naturally come to the door.

Now that the beautiful woman has gone, in the empty carriage, only the scholar touched his face, silently looking at the west, the sunset hanging down to the hillside.

It's just that a very pleasant smile on his face dyed red by the slanting sun greatly spoiled the sad atmosphere.

The sunset is like blood, and the ancient road stretches. The lonely carriage creaked past, pulling out a long oblique shadow.

When twilight fell, the heavens and the earth were blue.

In the dim twilight ahead, an inn located next to the official road was dimly lit.

The horse team stopped in front of the inn, and the soldiers of the Snow Wolf Battalion came forward and knocked on the door.

Bang bang, after a few knocks on the iron ring on the door. The wooden door creaked open, revealing the sleepy face of the shopkeeper.

After the shopkeeper yawned, he saw the appearance of the group of people standing outside. After seeing that these people were fully armed, as if they were a group of sergeants, the shopkeeper hurriedly put on a smiling face, pushed the door open with his hands and feet, bowed down and said, "A few military masters, please!" ”

Seeing the gate open, Zhanxiong instructed a few people to be responsible for patrolling the perimeter. The rest of the soldiers of the Snow Wolf Battalion led their horses in. Behind, Zhanxiong and several soldiers followed closely around Lu Heng, their eyes scanning the surroundings like lightning.

"Yo, what a handsome horse! The shop has good forage, you see ......! The shopkeeper praised the horse, and stretched out his hand to touch it. But halfway through the hand, it was held by a hand like an iron tong.

"This horse's surname is Zilie, ordinary people can't touch it!" The soldier smiled, let go of the shopkeeper's wrist, and said naturally. After reaching out and patting the grain bag hanging on the horse's back, the soldier smiled and said, "We bring our own forage, so we don't have to worry about the store!" ”

The shopkeeper smiled wryly, touched his bruised wrist, and gasped.

After entering the yard, arranging for the soldiers who were responsible for feeding the horses and the first soldiers on duty to keep vigil. The rest of the people followed the shopkeeper towards the inn lobby.

When I entered the hall, I saw that there was no one in the hall. After Zhanxiong gave the order, the soldiers sat down in groups of three or five. When one of the soldiers saw Zhanxiong nodding, he got up and asked the shopkeeper, where is the kitchen?

"We cook our own meals!" Seeing that the shopkeeper looked at him in surprise, the soldier said with a friendly smile.

"But, but the shop has never had such a rule!" The shopkeeper glanced at the shopkeeper sitting behind the counter and said with an embarrassed expression.

The soldier smiled, took out a silver ingot of five taels from his pocket, put it on the table, and then said to the shopkeeper with a smile: "The rules are set by people!" ”

Before the shopkeeper could react, the drowsy shopkeeper sitting behind the counter rushed over with a whoosh, and his actions were so swift that he almost made the soldier draw his sword.

I saw that the shopkeeper, who was about fifty years old at the time, ran over, stuffed the silver neatly into his sleeve, smiled flatteringly, and said to the soldier: "Yes, yes, what the military master said is right, the rules are set by people!" ”

Turning his head, he glared at the shopkeeper and said, "What are you still doing in a daze, why don't you take the military master with you!" ”

After the shopkeeper came back to his senses, he nodded hurriedly, and without a moment's delay, he headed towards the kitchen.

At this moment, Lu Heng, who was talking to Zhanxiong in a low voice, stood up.

After he called the two people, he clenched his fists and said to the shopkeeper: "I don't know if the boss has a stove here?" Cooking utensils like casseroles? ”

"This!" The shopkeeper was a little dumbfounded, and nodded puzzledly: "This is naturally there, but what do you want these things for?" ”

Judging from the soldier's respectful attitude towards this scholar, this person should be a general in the army, or a senior official in the imperial court. The shopkeeper knows countless people, so he naturally recognizes it.

At this time, listening to the scholar's question, although the shopkeeper was suspicious, he also replied respectfully.

"That's great!" Lu Heng smiled, and then said to the soldier: "Take a few people, move the stove and casserole to the yard, then cut some meat and vegetables, and prepare the curtain wood!" ”

"Childe, what do you want?" Zhanxiong stood up, puzzled, and looked at Lu Hengdao.

"I only ate some dry food along the way, and my mouth was very light." Lu Heng smiled, turned his head, winked at Zhanxiong, and said mysteriously: "Tonight, my son will show you a hand and teach you how to cook a good dish!" ”

It's no wonder that Lu Heng is greedy, along the way, Bai Suyan tried his best to seduce Lu Heng, how delicious Sichuan hot pot is. What tastes delicious, spicy and dry. This was a fatal temptation for Lu Heng, who could only live on dry food for several months.

Lu Heng, who was seduced along the way, kept swallowing saliva.

On the side, Bai Suyan giggled, scolding Lu Heng for being a big glutton.

Now, Lu Heng, who happened to rest here and endured all the way, took this opportunity to try it first.

The soldiers of the Snow Wolf Battalion did not drag their work in the slightest. After a few moments, the things are ready.

The feast was also changed from the hall to the courtyard.

Under Lu Heng's guidance, the soldiers lined up more than a dozen stoves and casseroles in a neat row, and then lit a fire, made ingredients, and added water.

The roaring fire burned, licking the bottom of the black pot. The fire that came out of the furnace brightened the night in this courtyard.

The soldiers sat on either side of the stove, watching curiously as the military advisor rolled up his sleeves and quickly threw the cumin pepper into the boiling casserole.

At this time, Lu Heng didn't look like a scholar at all, he looked like a cook. Pinch a handful of chili peppers and other spices and sprinkle them into the pot.

After being so busy for a while, when he saw Zhanxiong, he was also sitting there, looking at himself curiously. Lu Heng scolded angrily: "Don't sit stupidly, come over and help!" ”

"Okay!" Zhanxiong had already had itchy hands, and when he heard the words, he ran over with his fart.

"Then those meat and sweet potatoes are cut into slices, a little thinner!" After Lu Heng sprinkled a handful of chili peppers into a casserole, he turned around and pointed to the large pieces of meat and sweet potatoes on the wooden board behind him, and said to him.

"Look!" Zhanxiong smiled, pulled out his waist knife with a snort, and danced whirringly.

In the flash of the knife, the large pieces of meat and sweet potatoes and other ingredients all became well-proportioned slices.

Seeing this scene, Lu Heng couldn't help but be stunned, this is okay!

Seeing Zhanxiong smiling and thanking the brothers for their cheers, Lu Heng smiled and continued to work on the ingredients.

After the seasonings were evenly sprinkled into the pot, Lu Heng asked the soldiers sitting on both sides to stir the spices in the pot with chopsticks.

After a while, the clear boiling water began to become oily and rosy.

A mouth-watering aroma also permeated the courtyard.

Not only did the seducing soldiers swallow their saliva, but even the display case and the shopkeeper came over curiously.

"This is Yizhou's hot pot?" The shopkeeper pointed to the boiling water in the pot and asked curiously.

Lu Heng nodded with a smile, clapped his hands, and looked at him with some surprise: "Heh, the store is so knowledgeable!" ”

"Hehe, my lord praised it. The villain went to Yizhou once when he was young, and the most memorable thing for the villain is the hot pot in Yizhou! When the shopkeeper spoke, he slipped a mouthful of saliva, and said with a smile.

"Don't be stunned, hurry up and put the meat!" When Lu Heng saw those soldiers, he looked at the soup in the pot with a glint in his eyes, and scolded with an angry smile. Turning his head and looking at the shopkeeper with a light in his eyes, Lu Heng smiled and said, "Let's eat together!" ”

When the shopkeeper heard this, he wanted to be humble. But after seeing that the scholar finished speaking, he returned to his place. was no longer ambiguous, and directly moved a chair and sat down with the shopkeeper.

Hearing this, the soldiers woke up like a dream, laughed, and hurriedly put meat and vegetables in the pot.

After the pork and mutton turned white and the ingredients were cooked, Lu Heng took the lead in picking up the chopsticks, glanced at the soldiers and said, "Let's eat!" ”

For a while, the courtyard of the inn under the cover of night was hot.

The soldiers, who had been running all the way and had never rested, finally ate hot food, and it was still so delicious.

The soldiers laughed and grabbed the ingredients in the pot with their chopsticks, eating happily.

And in the pot, the sauce prepared by Lu Heng himself made the taste of this hot pot even better.

A sufficient amount of chili peppers, the soldiers who ate them were sweating profusely and constantly sighing. The mouth is full of spicy feeling, but the aroma in it makes these guys go all at once and dry up all the ingredients in a row.

"If you don't have enough to eat, shopkeeper, let's go and bring some meat!" Zhan Xiong was shirtless, stepped on the chair with one foot, and fished in the pot with chopsticks for a long time, but he didn't even catch a fart. Annoyed, Zhanxiong directly waved his hand and said to the store that was also full of red light.

"Yes, yes, Master Jun, wait a minute!" The shopkeeper stood up, wiped his mouth, responded with a smile, and pulled the shopkeeper towards the back kitchen.

"Zhanxiong!" Just when Zhanxiong squatted down and was about to pick up the pot to drink soup, Lu Heng, who was beside him, looked at the shopkeeper who had entered the store, and said in a deep voice.

"Huh?" Zhanxiong hurriedly put down the pot, turned his head, and looked at the military advisor with an indifferent and calm face in amazement.

Lu Heng raised his chin, pointed to the kitchen and said, "Send someone to follow them!" ”

Hearing this, Zhanxiong's hot pot delicacy that was full of his head suddenly disappeared. His face became extremely solemn, and he looked at the military advisor and said, "Childe, do you mean ......?" ”

Thinking about it, Zhan Xiong said suspiciously: "This, it's unlikely!" ”

Lu Heng withdrew his gaze from the kitchen, turned his head, looked at Zhanxiong and said, "Four months ago, when you left Beijing, didn't you find that there was nothing here?" How did this inn come about? ”

"Tut, look, the table is still wet!" Lu Heng flicked his fingers on the table, the smile in his eyes was very clear, and he said to Zhanxiong, who was contemplating his eyebrows.

Hearing this, Zhanxiong was suddenly shocked. Looking down, he suddenly realized the newly made table. Here, it's obviously a black shop.

And go, looking at the newly built table, no more than ten days. Zhan Xiong thought about it, and suddenly understood, obviously, someone had built such an inn outside the city of Tokyo, waiting for him to come to the door.

"Yes, the lowly general understands!" Zhanxiong clenched his fists and said in a deep voice.

Then, he raised his chin at the soldiers who had stopped what they were doing, and three of them nodded and walked away. The rest of the soldiers, seeing the awe-inspiring expressions of the military advisor and the main general, subconsciously, they held the hilt of the knife beside them.

"Everyone, eat!" Seeing that the atmosphere had cooled down, Lu Heng smiled, holding chopsticks, and said with a smile to the soldiers: "I still have a lot here, don't waste it!" ”

It's still going to be a show. Otherwise, it's not fun to be recognized.

After an order was given, the soldiers smiled, took the porcelain bowl, ran over, and divided the things in the cauldron in front of Lu Heng three times by two.

While eating hot pot and singing.

A birdsong sounded faintly in the night.

Zhanxiong, who had been pricking up his ears, changed his face slightly after hearing it. Lowering his voice, Lu Heng said, "The brothers on the periphery report that there are about thirty black-clothed assassins who are quickly approaching here. The brothers asked, did you kill them? ”

Lu Heng held the bowl, and after thinking about it, he said lightly: "Let them in!" ”

"Yes!" Zhanxiong nodded to the soldiers on the side.

Then the soldier took a piccolo from his collar, put it in his mouth, and gently blew the melodious sound of birdsong.

After a while, I heard the kitchen door being kicked open.

The shopkeeper and the shopkeeper, who were still eating and chatting together just now, were extremely embarrassed at this time. Like a dead dog, it was carried out by the soldiers of the three snow wolf battalions.

"Report to the military advisor, they have just been poisoned!" A soldier of the Snow Wolf Battalion threw the white powder in his hand on the ground and said to Lu Heng.

On the side, Zhanxiong lowered his head, stretched out his finger to touch the white powder, and sniffed it.

"It's arsenic!" Zhanxiong's face sank like water, turned his head, looked at Lu Heng and said in a deep voice.

(To be continued)