Chapter 93 Fire Spirit Suddenly Appears (8)

  The shopkeeper quickly walked up to Huo Xiaoyi with a tray, saw Zheng Zedong and Huo Xiaoyi sitting together, and didn't look surprised. While serving the dishes, he said: "Oh, you two know each other? Are you eating together? Do you want to add some more dishes?"

  Zheng Zedao politely said to the shopkeeper, "We hit it off at first sight, I didn't know you before. No need to add dishes, I'm not hungry, just chatting with Fire Brother." Zheng Zedao seemed unlikely to mention that he had discussed the location of Qingyun Inn with Huo Xiaowei at Hongma Inn before.

  The shopkeeper smiled and said, "What do the two guests need? Just call me anytime." The shopkeeper arranged two dishes and a soup, and a stack of steamed buns, "Please enjoy your meal!" After saying that, he slightly bowed and quickly left.

  When Huo Xiaoyu saw the dishes on the table, his appetite was greatly opened. One dish was braised pork with vermicelli, one dish was roasted chicken with mushrooms, and one soup was sour and spicy. Three white steamed buns looked so appetizing that they made people's mouths water. Huo Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, he grabbed a bun, and didn't care about Zheng Zedong, eating with his hands and feet, humming: "Delicious! Mother! Too delicious!" It wasn't that Huo Xiaoyu was starving to the point of madness, thinking that even donkey dung eggs tasted good. The two dishes and one soup presented by Qingyun Inn were authentic Northeastern home-style famous dishes, with a flavor that was not only authentic but also rich and savory. When the pork vermicelli was rolled in his mouth, it could melt into a thick juice, and the chicken mushrooms had a satisfying chewiness, every bite releasing a fragrant aroma!

  Zheng Zedao looked at Huo Xiaoyi devouring the food, completely bewildered. He thought it was just a mess of stir-frying and stewing, all black and without even a semblance of presentation. He didn't even want to touch it, yet Huo Xiaoyi could eat it with such abandon?

  Zheng Zedao asked very respectfully: "Fire brother, what dish is this? Is it really delicious?"

  "Hmm, it's delicious! The braised pork with noodles and the roasted chicken with mushrooms are my favorite dishes. I dream of having a big meal every day, and these two dishes always appear in my dreams! Brother Zheng, try some, try some, you won't regret it! It's really delicious!"

  Zheng Zedao thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright! I'll try it." Zheng Zedao picked up a pair of chopsticks from the holder on the table, picked up a piece of mushroom, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. He soon furrowed his brow slightly, didn't dare to chew again, and swallowed it whole with a gulp. Zheng Zedao was extremely unaccustomed to this salty flavor, didn't think it tasted good at all, and couldn't spit it out as that would be impolite, so he could only swallow it down in one go.

  Zheng Zedao put down his chopsticks, took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and smiled: "Indeed the taste is not bad, but I won't eat anymore."

  Huǒ Xiǎo said vaguely: "The taste is good, just eat a bit more, there's still a lot left, I won't be able to finish it."

  "Never mind, never mind, just try a little."

  He didn't care whether Huo Xiao ate or not, and he himself was eating with great relish, as if he wanted to make up for the food and drink he had missed out on in the past two years. The sound of his eating was deafening, and before long, he had devoured the two dishes, one soup, three steamed buns, and even wanted to lick the plates clean.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié patted his belly, feeling extremely satisfied and burst out laughing: "Haha! I'm full! It's been a long time since I've eaten so comfortably!" Huǒ Xiǎo Xié saw Zheng Zedao's eyes flicker, and he glanced to the side, unable to help but turn his head to look. He saw that the big man, the sickly-looking guy, and the short guy in the front hall were all staring at him intently. As soon as their eyes met, they quickly looked away, continuing to sit silently by the table. The bearded big man slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and Huǒ Xiǎo Xié jumped in fright - was he going to hit someone?

  The bearded big Han said to himself: "I won't eat anymore! Go back to sleep!" He took a big step, clattering away from the table, and was about to return to his room.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé let out a belch and said: "Sorry about that, it was too delicious, didn't notice everyone else, sorry to disturb you all!"

  The dwarf and the sick jar saw the bearded big man leave, and they also got up one by one, ready to leave. The short guy walked while staring at Xiao Xie a few times, quickly leaving. The sick jar had a look of being seriously ill, slowly walking back, swaying with each step, almost falling down at any time, not looking at Xiao Xie at all.

  After the three of them left, only Huo Xiaoyao and Zheng Zedao were left in the front hall of Qingyun Inn.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé scratched his head and said with embarrassment, "Oh dear, I'm afraid I was a bit rude just now and scared everyone away. I'm really sorry."

  Zheng Zedao smiled slyly: "I think the three of them were plotting something just now, but Fire Brother disrupted their plan. Fire Brother, your move was clever."

  Huo Xiao was stunned, and Zhang Er basically couldn't understand what was going on.

  In the thieves' jargon, apart from the usual slang and phrases that can be heard, there is a rare form of communication called "heibei". It's used among lone bandits in the Jianghu. Heibei is similar to the "zhǎngjià" method used between merchants, where they negotiate prices by subtly moving their hands in their sleeves, but it's more complex and relies on extremely minute changes to convey meaning. The little dwarf fiddles with the peas on his plate, the sickly-looking man slowly eats his snacks, the big guy pops beans into his mouth, seemingly doing nothing, but every tiny movement has a profound implication.

  A few thieves cooperate to steal, sometimes they can't speak, and rely on eye contact and gestures to communicate. When encountering complex situations, they need to discuss and agree in advance who will do what and how to divide the spoils. This is the origin of "啜黑". The bearded big man, the sick jar, and the short dwarf sat quietly in the front hall of the Qingyun Inn, looking like fools doing nothing, but actually using the "啜黑" method to secretly discuss something, perhaps related to theft or union, anyway, they can't let others know what they are discussing, because without the pre-arranged "引黑", no one would understand.

  How can a petty thief like you understand such profound thieving techniques?

  Zheng Zedao saw Huo Xiaoxie looking a bit dazed, and he understood a little in his heart. Before Huo Xiaoxie could speak, he continued: "Cough! Brother Huo, let's not talk about this, what's the point of caring about them? Why don't we go to my room and sit down, I'll tell you more about the situation at Qingyun Inn?"

  Huoxiao Ye hastily agreed and followed Zheng Zedao back to their room.

  Zheng Zedao said all the way: "Fire brother, the Shaoxing dishes at this Qingyun Inn are extremely authentic, shall we try them tomorrow? There's even Lanxiang Hall's signature dish, Shaoxing Xiaokou! Absolutely authentic! I'm afraid the chef of Qingyun Inn likes to steal recipes and seasonings from all over the world. And there's also Shaoxing mixed vegetables, and the meat pie is extremely delicious!" Zheng Zedao chattered on and on, leading Huo Xiaoxie back to their room, for now.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié learned from Zheng Zè Dào that the Qingyun Inn was not just a building for people to live in, but also had countless entrances leading underground behind the backyard. However, they were all locked with iron railings and had notices saying "No guests allowed inside, violators will be expelled." The thieves here feared the status of the Qingyun Inn, and no one dared to casually investigate. Zheng Zè Dào was even more so; before Huǒ Xiǎo Xié arrived, he had nothing to do except wander around, practice his skills in private, eat and sleep. He didn't even have anyone to talk to, and his life was really dull. So when Zheng Zè Dào saw Huǒ Xiǎo Xié arrive, he was finally happy to have a "foolish kid" who didn't need to be too guarded around, accompanying him.

  Zheng Zedao also said that the antique paintings and calligraphy in this Qingyun Inn room are almost all worth a fortune, it seems that Huo's wealth has long been beyond imagination, so these treasures are not even taken seriously. From this, it can be inferred that the things that Huojia thieves want to steal have already transcended the ordinary, and are beyond the understanding of these common folk thieves. Every time Zheng Zedao talks about this, his eyes shine brightly, as if he is intoxicated.

  Huoxiao Ye felt that Zheng Zedong was a person who couldn't be loved or hated, despite being able to sense that Zheng's intentions were not entirely pure. However, no matter how he thought about it, Huoxiao Ye still felt like he owed Zheng some gratitude. Zheng would talk to him about all sorts of things, analyzing the strange occurrences at Qingyun Inn with sincerity and truthfulness. In contrast, Huoxiao Ye couldn't even come up with a decent joke, only managing to tell a few stale city jokes that could barely make Zheng laugh. Despite this, Huoxiao Ye was content with his life, and Zheng was very enthusiastic, knocking on his door every morning to invite him to breakfast together. As a result, Huoxiao Ye spent all his time with Zheng, except when they were sleeping or using the restroom, they were inseparable. The other guests at Qingyun Inn also started to form their own cliques, although not as close as Huoxiao Ye and Zheng's relationship.

  For several days, Qingyun Inn was peaceful and quiet, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Except for constantly seeing strangers' faces filled with shock and surprise as they arrived at Qingyun Inn, life here was exceptionally comfortable and relaxing. It was the most leisurely and enjoyable period in Huo Xiaoyao's life so far. Deep within the underground area of Qingyun Inn, without sunlight, it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening. When hungry, Qingyun Inn provided all sorts of delicious food from all over the world. When bored, one could go to the backyard pond to fish for goldfish and turtles. When sleepy, one could return to their room, take a hot bath, and sleep. Huo Xiaoyao had almost forgotten why he came here in the first place due to the comfort.

  It was already June 15th in the blink of an eye.