Chapter 72 Preparations

  The beehives are like whirlpools of water, densely arranged on the waist of the mountain. On the forest of stele, there is a large patch of osmanthus trees, emitting a strong fragrance. Many bees fly back and forth among them, and then fly to their nearby nests to brew honey.

  Min An stood outside the wall of silk threads, smelling the sweet fragrance wafting out and curiously asked: "Could it be that honey can also brew poison?" Otherwise, Xuan Xu wouldn't have said that the source of the poison was here.

  Xuan Xu smiled and said: "Really like a child, always talking nonsense." He didn't explain anything first, so as not to miss the opportunity to stay with Min An. He just put on his gloves and mask, and walked towards the beehouse.

  Xuan Xu picked up a piece of honeycomb and poured the fresh nectar into a clay jar. He then carried the jar out. Min An leaned in to sniff him and said, "You smell so good."

  Xuan Xu smiled and took out a cloth bag from his clothes, untied the knot, pulled out a crispy rice fruit stick. He dipped the rice fruit in the ceramic pot with honey and handed it to Min An.

  Min An held up the honey and hesitated: "You said the source of the poison was here, then what about this honey..."

  Xuan Xu didn't say a word, the corners of his mouth were forever that warm and gentle. Min An saw his smile and thought it was clearer than a mountain spring, no longer doubting anything, he lowered his head and took a big bite of rice cake, crunching loudly.

  Xuan Xu patted Min An's head: "Dare to eat it down, aren't you afraid of poison?"

  Min An licked his lips: "I believe in Xuan Xu."

  Xuan Xu smiled: "Fortunately you trust me so much, come on, I'll take you to see the real source of poison."

  Through the stone forest, osmanthus trees, and further climbing up, there is a mountain top with seeping water. The air has a murky smell, bitter and slightly fragrant. Min An rubbed his nose and muttered: "Such a familiar smell."

  Xuan Xu turned his head and replied: "It smells like mud wax, and when inhaled into the lungs, there is also a fragrance."

  Min An nodded: "Right! Right! The ceramic bottle that Xiao gave me had this scent in it!"

  The two had not yet climbed to the top of the mountain, and a passing farmer specially reminded them: "Two gentlemen, don't go forward, the cave in front is a dead hole, and you can't get out once you enter."

  Min Anqi asked: "What's inside the cave?" The villager just shook his head: "Three people died inside, and the government doesn't care. Nobody dares to go in again, so nobody knows what's inside."

  The village farmer went far away, Min An was curious, however, he pulled the grass roots upwards and crawled, stretched his head to explore. The mountain cave was like a stone hole, humid and dark, when the wind blew, it continuously emitted a bitter fragrance, the stone wall at the entrance of the cave was covered with white ash, like a speckled door panel.

  Xuan Xu looked at Min An's figure on the grass, smiled, picked up a stone and threw it at the branch that Min An was holding onto, startling him into letting go. Then, Min An slid down to the bottom of the slope like a four-legged creature, yelling "ahh" all the way.

  Xuan Xu's eyes were quick and his hands were fast, grabbing onto Min An's collar. "Your left arm is injured, yet you're still so reckless," he said. "First follow me back, we'll get everything ready before coming again."

  Min An thought for a moment, indeed, no one knew what was inside the cave, and rushing in blindly might not bring any benefits. So he followed Min An from behind, strolling into the mountain town.

  Xuan Xu held a clay pot in front of him and occasionally turned his head to hand over a rice stick dipped in flower honey, which Min An ate with relish, her mouth full of fragrance.

  All the way, villagers kept greeting Xuan Xu, who would definitely stop to bow and ask for peace. Min An finished eating the rice fruit and stood behind him, also bowing in respect.

  Xuan Xu's residence was located in a courtyard with bluestone, outside which there was an arch bridge, with osmanthus trees standing on both sides, their faint fragrance wafting over the entire riverbank.

  Xuan Xu brought warm water, urging Qin An to enter the house and wash up. When Qin An came out after washing and dressing, he saw Xuan Xu rolling up his sleeves and standing in front of the well, washing clothes.

  "Isn't there anyone serving you?"

  Xuan Xu smiled slightly: "I'm here to serve you, is that okay?" He obviously had the demeanor of a noble young master, his wrist exposed at the cuff was slender and refined, just like his face, without any flaws. Such a pampered person doing ordinary chores was surprisingly also very skilled.

  Min felt a sudden movement in his heart, walked over and grabbed Xuan Xu's hand, touching the palmar surface of his fingers and palm. Both places had a layer of callus, which had been smoothed out by stretching, washing and grinding.

  Xuan Xu stood still, smiling: "In the near future, I will travel and study all over the world. Naturally, I will need to take care of my own food, clothing, and accommodation. The servant found a recipe in a book and taught me how to take care of my palms. Tonight, I'll pass on the method to you?"

  Min An waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.

  Two people sat at the table chatting, Xuan Xu said that it was all thanks to getting along well with the villagers that they could find out about many secrets in and outside the mountains. For example, that ordinary-looking cave, if the villagers hadn't reminded him, he would have almost gone inside when he first went to collect honey.

  "The Bailu County is rich in white wood, and the fragrance of Osmanthus trees attracts bees to collect nectar. The scent is so strong that it can be smelled two miles away. I once stood on a mountain top to take a closer look, and saw a group of black-backed white-winged bees flying into holes, leaving behind white ash-like powder wherever they went. I scraped some of the powder off and tried it, and found it was poisonous."

  Xuan Xu told Min An about the dangers in the cave and conveyed this important message. Min An asked, "Does this white-winged bee carry poison itself?"

  Xuan Xu Hui Dao said: "Yes, perhaps living in a cave for a long time has given birth to an unusual species."

  Min An was shocked, and Xuan Xu asked: "Did Elder Xiao send you to investigate the case without knowing the danger here?"

  Min An shook his head: "The case file didn't mention it, and even Lord Xiao might not know about it. Besides, the crime scene is in a neighboring county, so even if Lord Xiao wanted me to investigate, she would have led me to that area, and naturally wouldn't have mentioned the situation here."

  Xuan Xu slightly hesitated and didn't respond. From then on, he paid a bit more attention to the words of Xiao Shao in Min An's mouth.

  Min An immediately thought of the urgent matter: "We should inform the county government, set up a fence and stone platform at the cave entrance, and seal it with seals."

  Xuan Xu smiled slowly: "With a seal sticker, can you still get in?"

  Min An rushed into the hall, took up a pen and inkstone, and wrote a notice: This matter is of great importance, no one is allowed to enter the cave, those who commit crimes will not be forgiven, and will be punished with hard labor. Proclaimed by Changping Prefecture, Baimu County.

  He walked out with a smile and said: "After I've finished investigating, the officials in the county will be persuaded to put it up. The seal of the prefectural government office has already been left below, which is also effective."

  Xuan Xu looked at the seal in Min An's hand and understood his little thoughts, but didn't expose him, just smiled at him. Min An was indeed afraid of being accused of dereliction of duty, so he specially stamped his seal to take credit, indicating that he was also on official business here, and showed the seal as if it were a model.

  Since Min An was willing to stay by his side, Xuan Xu was naturally delighted. He asked Min An what he wanted for lunch, and Min An looked around before replying, "What's good to eat here?"

  Xuan Xu smiled again: "Look, I'll make it for you." He walked into the kitchen, pushed open the windows on both sides, poured in water from a bamboo tube, and cleaned the table. He was busy in the kitchen, focused and rarely responded to Min An's casual chat. Before long, he made a plate of flavorful chicken, stir-fried a dish of fragrant mushrooms and dried vegetables, and steamed glutinous rice balls with osmanthus flowers and yellow rice.

  Min An ate his fill and sincerely praised: "It's as good as Cuihua's cooking at home."

  Xuan Xu washed away the smoke and ash before coming out to sit with them, having only drunk a bowl of plain porridge. Min An curiously asked: "Eating so little, how do you have energy?"

  Xuan Xu smiled and said: "I'll leave some flavor, this afternoon when I make pastry for you, we can try the taste."

  "Is there still cake in the afternoon?"

  Xuan Xu smiled and said: "Here with me, of course I'll serve you myself. Afternoon tea paired with Ming Xiaogao is the most delicious."

  Min An finished eating the food on the table and was about to go to the kitchen to help, but Xuan Xu pressed him down and handed him some small toys, coaxing him to play happily.

  By afternoon, Xuan Xu was even more amazed by Min An.

  Xuan Xu called out to Min An to take off his shoes and socks, and then hand in hand they walked into the river water outside the yard. "Take a look," he said, "there's no net at the bottom of the river, you can only rely on feeling with your toes to pinch the shrimp."

  Min An splashed around in the water and laughed: "This is really a great place, even the water is warm! It's already late autumn, are there still any shrimp?"

  "There is one with a big head, hidden deep, you need to look carefully."

  Just then, Xuan Xu suddenly shouted: "Got it!" He stood still, slightly bent over, and with his right hand that had been probing the water, he made a grasping motion outward, and incredibly pulled out a large white prawn.

  Min An stared in wonder, and he himself hooked his two feet deep into the river sand, also clamping them to the left and right in the water, but no matter how much sweat he expended, he couldn't catch even one.

  Xuan Xu hung her sleeves and smiled softly as she looked at him.

  Min An stretched his toes in the water like a crab's pincers, only regretting that he couldn't snap them loudly. Xuan Xu was smiling all along, and finally Min An rushed over to punch him, but he just pulled out a net from under his feet and poured the shrimp caught in it into a bamboo basket.

  Min An Pin said with a smile: "I knew that Xuan Xu had hidden some good things! With craftsmanship so profound, it's hard not to make new and fresh things!"

  Xuan Xu smiled and pulled Min An ashore, the two walked barefoot towards the kitchen, Min An followed behind Xuan Xu, seeing his shiny footprints on the bluestone floor, leaving a wet mark, couldn't help but feel a thrill in her heart, she also went to step on those water marks, wanting to fit her slightly smaller footprint into the larger outline.

  If you follow in his footsteps, you can walk into his heart, even better.

  Min Anxin couldn't help but curve up the corners of her mouth into a happy smile as she thought to herself.

  Xuan Xu put Min An by the well-ventilated windowsill, washed his hands and face, and fried a batch of golden shrimp balls. He brought out osmanthus honey and wrapped another plate of date paste rice cakes, placing them on the stove to steam until cooked.

  Min An ate sweet and light-flavored pastries, feeling more and more that he had come to the right place.

  By dusk, Xuan Xu once again broadened Min An's horizons.

  Xuan Xu lit four lanterns and hung them up, illuminating the entire room. On the table were arranged gold foil pieces, cotton cloth, brocade linings, needles and threads, and even a coconut shell.

  Min An leaned against the table and asked excitedly: "What are you doing?"

  Xuan Xu smiled slightly: "If you want to enter the mountain cave without being bitten, the secret is here."

  Min An looked at it for a long time without getting the point: "What is it after all!"

  Protective clothing and lightning-proof hat.

  Min An picked up the golden armor that had been sewn into shape and said, "I know this one, it's worn on the body. But why do you need to wear a hard hat when entering the cave?" As he spoke, he also tapped on the coconut shell.

  Xuan Xu smiled and said: "I've checked the weather detection needle, I know it's going to rain in the next two days, so I'll prepare some for you in advance."

  Min An heard that his annoying habit was known to Xuan Xu, and he felt guilty, muttering: "How did you also know that I get sick on rainy days?"

  Xuan Xu was very aware of Min An's inner thoughts, and smiled warmly from start to finish: "I won't dislike you one bit, only by my side can you get rid of this bad habit."

  Thank you very much to Su Xiaoyou, Zhu Erduo, H, Momo and Rong Yiyiy for the landmine (*^__^*) Let's hug one by one:)