“Is that a dead body?” Xiao Jia’s way of thinking aligned with Han Fei after spending a night together.
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Han Fei’s eyes returned to normal. He woke up from a deep thought as his stomach grumbled. Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia were surprised to see him like this. “I like to eat meat a lot. A unique kind of meat is very special to me. I have to eat it.” When Han Fei spoke, the owner heard him and walked out of the kitchen with the wok. The fragrant in the air thickened. Han Fei’s nose twitched as he turned.
A middle-aged man around 1.85 meters tall appeared in the living room. He was all dressed in white. His face, neck, hands were covered in burnt marks. The man’s face looked like it had melted. That formed a great contrast to his delicious cooking. He only stood there, but the fragrance of the meat had already filled up the room. “Who let you in?”
The half-burnt lips slowly opened. The man’s voice was harsh. The scars on his face moved with his every word. It was very scary.
“There have been children missing around the neighborhood. We came to interview the tenants.” Lee Guo Er used the same excuse, but the man didn’t believe her. The scars on his face twisted. “I don’t know anything about that. Leave now.”
The man’s attitude was brash. Lee Guo Er wanted to say something, but Han Fei behind him suddenly spoke, “Do you mind my rude request? Can I try your meat? I can even pay for them.”
Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia were surprised by Han Fei’s request.
The man was startled. His eyes, hidden inside his scars, stared at Han Fei. He seemed to observe Han Fei’s desire for meat. “Are you… a food critic?”
“No, I just like meat. I’ve tasted all kinds of meat before. There’s a kind of meat that is stuck in my mind. However, I can’t remember what kind of meat it was.” Han Fei’s expression was scary. His eyes glowed with greed and gluttony.
“This is such a coincidence. I like to cook with rare and delicious meat. Since my wife is still asleep, I’ll make something for you to try first.” The man’s lips curled upwards to reveal a spine-tingling smile. These two men’s conversation was very scary. Xiao Jia and Lee Guo Er didn’t want to have any meat. However, Han Fei insisted, so they could only follow.
“I guess you can call this a themed restaurant.” Xiao Jia evaded the paper money and the cut white celebratory posters. He didn’t even dare to sit.
Lee Guo Er frowned too. She had no idea why Han Fei would suddenly choose to eat here. To her impression, Han Fei wasn’t one to be controlled by gluttony. While the two were conflicted, Han Fei took a seat at the table obediently. His index fingers danced on the table. He was excited about the food.
“Han Fei, be careful of the meat.”
“I know.”
Several minutes later, the kitchen door opened, and the man walked out with two plates of food. The big red plate was filled with meat. They seemed to be marinated. After a simple stir-fry, they released a strange fragrant. The white plate used white meat to piece together the word, 囍. All the meat pieces were carefully selected.
“Try some.” One plate of red meat and another plate of white meat. The man was definitely a chef. He had accurately pinpointed the property of each meat and cooked them accordingly.
Xiao Jia and Lee Guo Er looked at each other. They looked like they were having their last meals. However, Han Fei picked up his chopsticks excitedly. With his teammates looking on in shock, he gorged himself on the meat. The way Han Fei ate was scary. All the meat appeared to melt in his mouth. He didn’t even bite and swallowed most of them. This stunned Xiao Jia and Lee Guo Er. The man also stared at Han Fei. The man had guests to his house before. Before they saw him in person, they enjoyed his cooking. After they saw the chef, they didn’t dare to eat his meat anymore. As if afraid of offending the chef, Han Fei finished two plates of meat alone. He rubbed his stomach and showed some satisfaction on his face. Eating meat could help Han Fei recover.
After consuming all the meat, Han Fei’s brows started to furrow again. The man’s meat was very delicious. They were cooked in many different ways, but none of them matched the taste in his mind. He hadn’t tasted the meat he wanted.
“It seems like you’re not satisfied with my cooking.” The man in white walked to the dining table and looked at the empty plates.
“I’ve been searching for a unique taste. It’s beautiful and dangerous. It carries an indescribable allure. I want to eat it, just like I want to eat her.” Han Fei lifted his head to look at the man. He didn’t mind the man’s appearance. He just wanted to find that special meat.
Xiao Jia and Lee Guo Er had no idea what Han Fei was saying. They thought the strange person in the room was the man in white, but now they had a different idea.
“I think I know what you mean.” The man said. Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia turned to look at him. They really had no idea what these two were talking about. It was like their conversation was encrypted. The man entered the kitchen and locked the door.
The three in the living room heard the sound of rummaging. Lee Guo Er pulled the dazed Xiao Jia and slunk into the bridal room. She had been curious about the thing under the sheet since they entered the room.
“Are we going to pull the sheet right up? Isn’t that a bit rude?” Xiao Jia was very nervous. “What if there’s a real dead body under there? I’ll need therapy for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t worry. Compared to the things you’ll face in the next few days, this is nothing. People have to keep on growing.” Lee Guo Er grabbed the corner of the sheet. At that moment, she had a strange feeling of being watched. Lee Guo Er looked up at the black and white wedding picture above the bed. The couple in the picture stared right at her.
“Do you think this can scare me?” Lee Guo Er pulled the sheet back. The soft queen-sized bed had a wooden doll the size of a real person. The doll’s body had been hollowed out. Many talismans and broken pictures were stuck inside the wood. The doll wore a bright red wedding dress. Its body was tied with red strings.
“It’s not a body.” Xiao Jia sighed.” Xiao Guo, let’s go. This room is very strange.”
Lee Guo Er nodded. She rearranged the sheet. When she did that, she accidentally touched one of the strings. The wooden doll’s leg moved on its own. The two were too nervous to notice this. They recovered everything and returned to the table. They waited for another half an hour before the kitchen door opened again.
The man walked out with a tray. The tray had a metallic lid as if afraid that the smell would be too overpowering.
“I use a very rare cooking method. Very few people have tried this before. You’re very lucky today.” The man placed the tray on the table, and his eyes shone excitedly. “I prepared this for my wife. If I didn’t run into you today, I wouldn’t have cooked with it.”
“I can’t wait.” Han Fei controlled his muscle to reveal an ugly smile.
The lid opened, and the smell wafted out. Even Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia leaned in subconsciously. Slices of meat were placed on the colorful plate. The thick gravy slid down the crystalline meat. It was like an art. Xiao Jia swallowed his saliva. He was hungry after running for the whole light. The meat fragrance grabbed hold of his stomach. He leaned in closer. Xiao Jia licked his lips and grabbed his chopsticks. “Shall we try?”
Lee Guo Er glared at Xiao Jia as if warning him, but Xiao Jia didn’t get it.
“This meat is not that precious. You can try, but don’t tell anyone about it after you leave this place. Just remember the taste in your heart.” The man seemed to always stay at home to create meat dishes. He rarely communicated with others.
“They have a unique smell.” Han Fei picked up the meat and chewed on it slowly. He closed his eyes to savor it. Lee Guo Er originally wanted to stop Han Fei, but she was too late. After seeing Han Fei takes a bite, Xiao Jia also took a piece for himself. He placed the meat in his mouth, and the deliciousness burst immediately. “What kind of meat is this? It’s so good! It doesn’t have the gameness of mutton or the stink of beef. The layer of fat is just right. It’s so tender!” Xiao Jia picked up another slice. He was addicted. There was a voice in his mind telling him to feast.
The man only smiled. He turned to Lee Guo Er. “Aren’t you going to try some? You can’t have this meat elsewhere.”
“I’m a vegetarian.” Lee Guo Er patted Xiao Jia’s shoulders, trying to make him calm down. “We should be talking about the missing children in the neighborhood. They won’t disappear for no reason. Your meat is so tender. Are we looking at the children?”
Xiao Jia immediately froze. He was reminded of something. The man said that he had prepared these meat dishes for his wife, but his wife was dead already. It was why he conducted that scary ritual. The meat in his mouth was delicious, but Xiao Jia couldn’t swallow anymore. His face turned purple.
“Your meat is delicious, but it is not the taste I’m looking for. They are far behind the taste I am familiar with.” Han Fei put down the chopsticks. He glanced at Xiao Jia. “Don’t worry. These meat slices are lamb meat. They are mixed with a specific ratio of beef and chicken. They don’t taste like the kind of meat you’re thinking about.”
“Oh. Okay.” Xiao Jia swallowed the meat, but then something hit him. He whipped his head at Han Fei, and his eyes widened.
The man and Lee Guo Er noticed it too. They all retreated from Han Fei. The atmosphere in the room tensed. There was only the sound of Han Fei’s fingers tapping on the table.
“Who are you?” The man’s scars started to twist. He pushed Xiao Jia, who was close to him, away. His eyes glowed with a warning.
“Don’t ask me. I don’t know!” Xiao Jia wanted to vomit. He was very afraid.
“Don’t worry. It’s not what you think. I simply like to eat meat. I haven’t done anything out of common morality. The meat that I’m looking for is not that kind of meat either.” Han Fei’s eyes shone with disappointment. “Who did you learn your cooking skill from?”
“Is that important?” After some silence, the man said, “A woman taught me that. She was good at making meat dishes.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s missing.”
“Did you commit to the ritual to bring her home?” Han Fei didn’t forget the reason they were there.
“No, that is to call back my wife. This ritual, everything that happens here, the cooking is taught to me by the woman.” The man asked, “Do you know that woman?”
“What is her name?”
“I don’t know. I only know that she is looking for someone in the city. When she finds him, she will die, but she will still find him.”
