Delicious Delicacy of the Demon Spirit

After tidying up the things at home, He Weiran took Li Kuer to the horse market, rented a carriage, and headed north.

The sound of ruts rolling over the snow, the sound of snowflakes falling on the roof of the shed, the sound of the wind, the sound of horses snorting... The old coachman is wrapped in a big coat that is full of patches, and drinks a sip of wine from time to time gourd.The gourd was full of spirits, and Li Kuer, who was sitting in the car, was almost drunk from the strong aroma of the wine.

"I said girl, what are you going to do in Inagawa in this icy and snowy place?"

"My sister is naughty, I want to see if the Dachuan is frozen, so I can dig a hole in the ice and catch some small fish."

"Hey, that's a skill, I'm afraid the girl will return empty-handed."

"It's okay to be empty-handed, it's nothing, just have fun."

Li Ku'er listened to the nonsense He Weiran made up for her very well, and didn't refute it aloud, just kept rolling her eyes at her while holding the syrup jar.He Weiran couldn't bear to see her so ugly, covered her eyes with a slap and continued talking nonsense to the old coachman.

The carriage moved slowly in the snow, and it took twice as much effort as usual to reach the bank of the Inagawa River.The river was really frozen, and the ice was so thick that you couldn't see the bottom at a glance.He Weiran asked the old coachman to wait there, then led Li Kuer out of the car and continued walking along the river bank.

Her hand was unusually warm, Li Kuer held her tightly, and she didn't feel cold anymore...

"Sister He, where are we going?"

"That place, I took you there. Do you still remember the Shanshui rice you ate in the hot summer?"

"Of course I can't forget it." Li Kuer paused, and bad memories flooded his mind: "Ah... it must be the place where you picked yams."

"Remember that eel essence? You have eaten it long ago, so there is nothing to be afraid of."

"But...but there are monsters on that mountain too? Last time you said it was dangerous and told me not to follow."

"Indeed I said so." He Weiran nodded: "So this time I won't go down the mountain, just lure the monster we are looking for down the mountain."

When Li Kuer heard this, she panicked: "I...what monster are we looking for?"

"Go to the Empress Bee in the deep mountains and ask her for help."

Li Kuer still didn't quite understand, but no matter how much he asked, He Weiran just smiled and said nothing.

After walking for a short time, the two arrived at the wild mountain where they had picked yams.He Weiran opened the syrup jar, found a dead branch, dipped some in it, put it in front of his lips and blew lightly, in an instant, Li Kuer felt a sweet fragrance wafting in the air, it smelled very good.

While sniffing the fragrance, she observed the movement around her.Suddenly, there was a strange noise from the mountain, buzzing and buzzing, which made the scalp numb of those who heard it.Li Kuer saw He Weiran's smiling face, and when he thought of a large group of bees approaching, he felt extremely nervous.

Not long after, a mass of dense black clouds poured down from the mountain, like a black cloud, changing various shapes and coming to the two of them.The dense centers spun and gathered more and more together, and slowly, a black-robed female demon took shape.Her eyes are huge and dark, and there are a pair of huge transparent wings growing behind her. Her figure is bumpy, but she always looks a little scary.

She squinted her eyes, breathed in the sweet smell in the air with enjoyment, and then sighed again: "Hmm~~ What kind of fragrance is this? It's so tempting."

She spoke very slowly, as if in a state of obsession.

He Weiran didn't answer, just handed the dead branches dipped in syrup to the Queen Bee.The Queen Bee took the dead branch, first sniffed it deeply, then stretched out her long tongue to lick it, and immediately trembled with satisfaction.

"I like it." She opened her eyes and looked at He Weiran who was smiling in front of her: "What is your Excellency's purpose here?"

He Weiran went straight to the point: "There is a fine plum tree in the town. If the Queen Bee can send worker bees to collect the plum blossom honey, this jar of syrup will be a thank you gift."

"In the town..." The queen bee raised her chin and pondered for a moment, then said: "It's too far away, every time I go there, I don't know how many worker bees I will freeze to death. The gain outweighs the loss."

He Weiran was not in a hurry, and said: "I'm afraid that the empress bee didn't taste the beauty of this syrup."

"Oh?" The queen bee licked the syrup on the dead branch again, after a long aftertaste, she wondered: "Sunflower? It's not like an ordinary sunflower."

"Exactly, when this syrup is boiled, sunflower pollen is mixed with it, which comes from the sunflower flower spirit that absorbs the essence of the sun all the year round. This jar is enough for your group to survive the winter." He Weiran said, and gave it away with the palm of his hand. , the syrup jar slowly floated to the opposite side.

The queen bee took the jar, raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction, and said, "It is indeed a deal that will not be wronged, and I will accept it. You can come here to pick it up after ten days."

He Weiran nodded in salute: "The empress bee is really refreshing. See you in ten days."

The queen bee left with the swarm, and Li Kuer dared to speak, but she still didn't dare to speak loudly.

"Sister He, originally you wanted to ask the mountain bee to collect plum nectar? Why bother, there are beekeepers in the town."

He Weiran found it funny, and asked: "During this winter, when have you ever seen house bees come out to collect honey? They have been raised by beekeepers with syrup. Only wild bees in the mountains go out to collect winter honey for survival, just like In this cold weather, hundreds of flowers wither and die, if there are no flowers within a radius, it is extremely dangerous to go further afield.”

"So that's how it is..." Li Kuer suddenly realized: "If they eat the syrup boiled with Ah Kui's pollen, they won't be afraid of the cold."

The two strolled along the river again and returned to the carriage.Seeing that their hands were empty, the old coachman stroked his beard and said, "Haha, it seems that the two girls did come here for nothing."

He Weiran shook his head with a regrettable look: "It seems that today's luck is bad, and I wanted to warm up my sister with a pot of fish soup. Forget it, go to the fish market to buy one."

………………

Winter goes from spring to summer, and the salt plum blossoms arrive in Kaifeng.Perhaps it was because the food was ready, and within a few months, Li Kuer seemed to have grown in size again, with a few taels of flesh on his body, and a lot of growth.

On this day, the weather was warm, He Weiran asked the old prince for a day off, carrying salted plum blossoms and plum nectar, and took Li Kuer to visit Fang Zhier.

The third young master Qi returned to the old house. It is said that his wife is ill, so even if he put on a show to show others, he should show some concern.Fang Zhi'er was quite dissatisfied with this, he was throwing things and throwing a temper tantrum, when he heard that He Weiran had come, he restrained himself a bit, and ordered someone to clean up before ordering the guests to be brought into the house.

"When I came back last time, the old plum tree was still full of flowers."

"No, Miss He, you haven't been here for a long time. You can only look at the leaves of this tree. But it's nothing serious. My garden is full of exotic flowers and weeds. The weather is fine now, and the flowers are blooming. Gorgeous."

He Weiran pursed her lips and smiled: "I like plum blossoms more. Today, I'm here to cook a bowl of dark fragrance soup for Miss Zhi'er."

Fang Zhier covered her mouth with a fan, but glanced at what He Weiran brought: "Dark Fragrance Soup? What's the name? I've never heard of it."

"Please send a pot of boiling water from the house, and borrow the white jade bowl for use."

Fang Zhi'er hurriedly called someone to do it.Not long after, the servant girl brought three white and moist jade bowls and a pot of freshly boiled hot water.He Weiran scooped a spoonful of plum honey into the bottom of the jade bowl first, then put three salted plum blossoms into the bowl, and washed it with boiling water, the golden salted plum blossoms immediately stretched like new flowers blooming, bright and dripping, accompanied by elegant thoughts pervading open.

"Ah, it turns out that plum blossoms have such a wonderful way to eat them. It's the first time I've seen them. They are really beautiful." Fang Zhi'er picked up the jade bowl in surprise, blew some heat away, and sipped lightly.

Li Ku'er also tasted it seriously, only to find that the mouthfeel is luscious and pleasant with plum fragrance, and there is a hint of cold and bitter taste, the taste is very rich.

It's just too hot... Li Ku'er pursed her lips, blowing hot air, raised her eyes, and saw Fang Zhi'er...weeping.

"Ah...I...why am I crying?" She hurriedly wiped it off with a veil, but she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her eyes: "How strange? I obviously don't want to cry, it's really impolite."

He Weiran lowered her eyes: "It's okay, it's always good to cry. Let's take our leave now, Miss Zhi'er should rest more."

When Li Kuer heard that he was going to leave, he quickly swallowed all the dark fragrance soup in the bowl under the scalding heat, and acted as if he was ready to leave at any time.

Perhaps Fang Zhi'er didn't have much interest in receiving them, she just wiped her tears and thanked He Weiran for the gift, and said she liked it very much.

On the way back, Li Kuer asked He Weiran: "Why did that Fang Zhier cry? Is it because of the dark fragrance soup? I drank it too, why didn't I cry?"

He Weiran touched Li Kuer's face and replied with a smile: "Mei Xiang is noble and pure, she takes away the evil spirits in people's hearts through her tears, and Ku'er has no evil in her heart, so she will have no tears."

Three days later, the news spread in the town: something strange happened in the courtyard of Third Young Master Qi's house. The old plum tree in the courtyard disappeared overnight, and no movement was heard during the night, but early in the morning, There is only a big pit left there, and I don't know if it was stolen by some powerful person.

The news was told by Aunt Liu next door to Li Kuer. After she finished talking about it, Aunt Liu pointed to the small tree that Ah Kui was leaning on and asked, "Hey? Kuer, when did you plant a new tree in the yard? , What a coincidence, it looks like a plum tree."