The best tavern in Lucheng is called Zuixiaolou, and the most famous dish in Zuixiaolou is called Chaotian Pot. This pot uses chicken and donkey meat to simmer soup, mainly with pigs, with pig's head, liver, lungs, heart, belly, intestines under the pot, and then with sweet noodle sauce, pimple pickle strips, pepper, green onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, salt, coriander, sesame oil, green radish strips and other more than a dozen seasonings and cold dishes with food.

During the meal, diners are seated around a special dining table, with a large cauldron in diameter of two feet and three feet deep in the center of the table, the mouth of the pot is flush with the tabletop, and the bottom of the pot is slowly burned with charcoal to ensure the heat of the soup base. After the meat is cooked and fished out, it is wrapped in freshly baked spring cakes, and then served with shredded green radish and a variety of side dishes, the entrance is fat and smooth but not greasy, and it has four tastes of freshness, fragrance, crispiness and tenderness, which makes diners move their appetites and eat unforgettable.

When Zhao Zimai found the ancestors of the Mu family, the two of them were sitting next to a large cauldron, and the chopsticks in their hands were flying up and down in the pot. They were so attentive that Zhao Zimai and Baotian pulled a stool and sat down next to them before the two of them noticed them.

"Zhao Gongzi? How are you? Mu Xiaowu was suddenly startled, choked on the spring cake, patted his chest, and hurriedly took the water handed by Mu Cripple and poured it down, before he could breathe.

Zhao Zimai couldn't hold back a smile, "I heard a case in the county office, the key person in this case is a pair of ancestors and grandsons who can embroider souls, I think, there are only two of you who do such business in the world, so I came over." ”

"How did you know we were here?" Mu lame muttered and glanced at Zhao Zimai a little timidly.

"After taking the silver, it doesn't seem difficult to guess where this old and young man will go." As he spoke, he sniffed and said to the two, "The taste of this pot is really attractive, it is very different from what I have eaten in the capital, Senior Mu, Miss Mu, don't mind adding two more pairs of chopsticks." ”

"I don't mind, it's ......"

Before Mu Cripple finished speaking, Zhao Zimai had already shouted at the shopkeeper, "Man, add a few more dishes to this table, by the way, bring over a pot of your good wine." ”

After speaking, he sat down next to Mu Cripple, whose face had changed abruptly, and after sandwiching a piece of chopsticks and meat, he lowered his head and said with a light smile, "Senior, don't worry, this meal is mine, after all, I took the initiative to find the two of you to catch up." ”

Hearing this, Mu Cripple breathed a sigh of relief, and said "It's easy to say", while raising the chopsticks again.

But Mu Xiaowu, who was sitting on the side, silently put down the chopsticks in his hand, and looked Zhao Zimai up and down with a shrewd gaze, and finally landed on the Hongshu tonic on his chest, "Zhao Gongzi's outfit is very different from before, where is Gongzi an official now?" ”

Before Zhao Zimai could answer, Baotian preemptively said, "Our son is now the general judge of Shuntianfu, and I am a servant under him." ”

Mu Xiaowu's eyes rolled, but the title in his mouth changed, "Shuntianfu is only in charge of Gyeonggi affairs, what is Lord Zhao doing in Lucheng, which is thousands of miles away?" ”

Baotian opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped by Zhao Zimai with a light cough, "Miss Mu, everyone is an old acquaintance, and it seems rusty to call me like this." ”

Mu Xiaowu smiled, "Then I still call you Zhao Gongzi, why did Zhao Gongzi come to Lucheng?" ”

"There is a case in Shuntianfu that involves people from Lucheng, so I went out of Beijing to investigate." After he finished speaking concisely, he picked up the wine glass and toasted Mu Cripple, and then continued, "What does Miss Mu think of the Yuan family's case?" ”

Mu Xiaowu tapped his fingers on the table twice, raised his eyebrows and said, "In my opinion, it is unlikely that this case was done by Chen Yong, childe, you think, any criminal will return to the scene of the crime, as if he is afraid of being looked down upon." Second, the disappearance of Miss Yuan is a bit weird, the person is gone, but the clothes and jewelry are left, has the son seen such a strange robbery? ”

Zhao Zimai frowned, "What does the girl mean is that this case is very likely to be the work of evil demons?" ”

Mu Xiaowu nodded, "I think so, but I don't know anything about judging the case, who is the culprit in this case, I have to find out and decide." Speaking of this, she paused slightly, and then smiled, "Why is Zhao Gongzi so interested in the Yuan family's case, I don't think you are here to talk about the past, but like to ask for advice." ”

Zhao Zimai was spotted by her, so he no longer continued to hide it, "The case in the capital is also in a predicament now, don't hide it from the girl, Baotian and I have been squatting in Lucheng for more than half a month, but we still haven't found any useful clues." So I wondered if this case would also involve some kind of mystery. ”

When he said this, the pot in front of him was boiling again, which can be described as "the cold snow is turning the fire red, and the water incense pot is facing the sky".

The steam rising from the pot blurred Mu Xiaowu's face a little, and her whole person seemed to be trapped in the clouds and mist. Zhao Zimai suddenly remembered the pair of red eyes, his heart trembled, and he quickly took his eyes off her face.

Fortunately, Mu Xiaowu didn't notice his gaffe, only put one hand on his cheek, and said to himself, "It's not impossible, this Lucheng looks peaceful and wealthy, but who knows what is hidden?" Last night, the two of us also found a group of tombs not far from the city, which was very strange......"

Speaking of this, she suddenly raised her eyebrows, put down the chopsticks in her hand, pointed her hand to the sky outside the window, and said suspiciously, "What is in the sky?" It doesn't look like a kite. ”

When Zhao Zimai turned his head to look, the thing just blocked the jade disk-like moon, but the moonlight reflected from behind it, and the silver light illuminated it transparently, and every inch of its body was caught in Zhao Zimai's eyes.

It was a woman, her hair was like splashing ink, her skin was like cream, her eyebrows were apricot eyes, and her hands were like soft wattles. It's just that her body is as thin as a piece of paper, sometimes curled, sometimes flattened by the wind, sometimes wrinkled like waves, and from a distance, it really looks like a dancing kite.

The wine glass in Zhao Zimai's hand fell on the table, making a "bang" sound, he stood up straight suddenly, and squeezed out four words from his lips: "This is human skin." ”

As soon as the words fell, there was already a commotion below the restaurant, and the people in the market also noticed the human skin in the sky, and they all stopped, pointing to it and talking about it.

"Real person or dummy, it should have been drawn, right?"

"Drawn? I've been making kites for decades and I've never seen anyone draw people so realistically. ”

"It's not a painting, I recognize it, it's ...... This is the girl of the Yuan family who has been missing for a month......"