A mountain appeared at the entrance to Chaoyang Street.
This mountain jogged straight toward the Tongfu Grand Restaurant, shaking the earth all along the way.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
It was as though a fat-headed, big-eared prehistoric mammoth had stepped onto Chaoyang Street, sending tremors through the surroundings.
Many people poked their heads out at the noise, then withdrew them after seeing what was happening in the street.
Not a beauty, not even particularly human-looking. What was there to see?
Thud!
At last, the woman stopped outside the Tongfu Grand Restaurant.
There were quite a few people inside the Tongfu Grand Restaurant, most of them still chatting, making for a fairly lively atmosphere.
The woman stepped one foot inside.
Thud!
After shuddering, the restaurant took several seconds to settle back into silence and stillness.
Everyone's attention was drawn by that noise.
Bai Zhantang, who had been busy working, looked over, and his pupils instantly widened.
What a terrifying mountain of flesh!
Could she be Pan Jinlian's own sister...? Bai Zhantang steeled himself and approached, forcing out a smile. "Please come inside, honored guest! Will you be having tea or milk?"
"Are you Brother Slashing Hall?" The newcomer spoke softly, like the little girl next door.
But paired with that appearance, her voice delivered an impact much like a video streamer switching off her beauty filter in front of her fans.
Too much!
"Brother Slashing Hall, my name is Xiaowu. The wu means dance."
The great demon king of flesh spoke in a sweet voice, gentle as water. "This humble girl is Pan Xiaowu. I'd like Brother Lin Ke's help. I hear he solves cases like a god, so I'd like to invite him into my heart to investigate a case..."
The prehistoric behemoth before him weighed at least three hundred kilograms and was probably even larger than Pan Jinlian.
At least, Bai Zhantang felt the difference in their sizes was greater than that between the old dog at the village entrance and a giant elephant from the southern seas.
"Miss Xiaowu, there are far too many people here hoping to see Young Master Lin Ke. You'll have to wait..." Bai Zhantang summoned the courage to turn her down, then pointed into the packed restaurant.
"Ahead of you in line, we still have fifty-six 'death cases,' twenty-nine 'theft cases,' thirteen 'locked-room cases,' plus cases involving imprisonment, abuse, masters and servants..."
"Huh? That horrifying?" Pan Xiaowu covered her sausage-like lips in fright.
Bai Zhantang smiled unconcernedly. "Yes. Fifty-six people say their love has died and want Lin Ke to help them find new love."
"Twenty-nine people say their hearts have been stolen and want Lin Ke to help recover them."
"And thirteen aunties want Lin Ke to give their boudoirs a thorough spot inspection..."
As she listened to Bai Zhantang, Pan Xiaowu lowered her thick arms, looking utterly speechless. "Fine. Put me in the queue."
"Right away, honored guest!" Bai Zhantang nodded and bowed, stepping forward to lead the way.
Just then, however, a shout drew both their gazes.
"Number 276! Number 276! Your Spring Snow Black Glutinous Rice and Highland Barley Milk Tea are ready!"
"Number 276! Number 276! Please collect your order!"
Pan Xiaowu immediately looked toward the voice and spotted a tiny stall set up in a corner of the restaurant.
A painting hung to the left of the stall, depicting a man with fluttering robes and a distinctly scholarly air.
Holding a brush in his right hand, the man was drawing on a diagram before him, which contained lines arranged in an exceptionally orderly pattern.
A tree diagram!
Young Master Lin's Logical Tree Diagram!
Pan Xiaowu's eyes instantly lit up, and she studied it more closely.
The tree diagram wound upward in layer upon layer, its lines finally converging into four characters:
Cloud Dance Rainbow Tea!
That peerless beauty drew with one hand while holding a cup of "water" and drinking with the other, sketching the tree diagram with effortless grace.
"This... this is..." Pan Xiaowu's voice practically melted.
Bai Zhantang promptly introduced it. "This is milk tea invented by Lin Ke, the 'Great Wei Judicial Commissioner.' It's called Cloud Dance Rainbow Tea, meaning a woman dressed in rainbow robes, dancing among the clouds."
"That picture is called the 'Tea-Cup Crime-Solving Diagram.' It means he solves a case in the time it takes to drink a cup of milk tea."
"What Lin Ke holds in his right hand is Cloud Dance Rainbow Tea, the very first milk tea in our Great Wei! Made from fresh milk and tea leaves, it's rich in nutrients, refreshing, and cuts through grease. Drinking it even helps nourish your beauty!"
"After drinking it, you'll be as beautiful and enchanting as that woman in rainbow robes dancing among the clouds!"
Solve a case over a cup of tea!
Nourish your beauty!
Beautiful and enchanting!
The moment Bai Zhantang finished speaking, Pan Xiaowu grew excited, so thrilled that ripples rolled through the fat on her face, neck, torso, and everywhere else.
It nourished your beauty!
Whether a fifteen-year-old maiden or a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year-old hag, from the empress who stood as mother to the realm down to the "whores" of servile status in entertainment houses and pleasure quarters, what girl didn't love beauty if she had the means?
"Can I buy some? How much per cup?" Pan Xiaowu asked eagerly.
"About thirty-eight copper coins a cup." Bai Zhantang had lost count of how many times he had quoted that price, but it still made his heart tremble.
Too expensive!
A flatbread cost two copper coins, and someone frugal could make it last a day.
Two copper coins' worth of tea bought a whole day of listening to storytelling at the Hanging Mountain Tea Shop.
Yet milk tea that could be finished in a few gulps actually cost thirty-eight copper coins a cup...
To Bai Zhantang's complete lack of surprise, however, Pan Xiaowu waved her hand forcefully upon hearing the price. "That's too cheap! Something this good is only thirty-eight copper coins... I'd buy my dear brother's things even for thirty-eight taels!"
With that, Pan Xiaowu tossed out a scented pouch. "Give me a hundred cups to start!"
"I'm sorry, miss..." Though astonished by Pan Xiaowu's wealth, Bai Zhantang still apologized. "Each person is limited to ten cups per day. That's a rule Young Master Lin Ke set."
"Then ten cups!" Pan Xiaowu didn't care in the slightest. As long as she could support her dear brother, she was willing to do anything!
"Coming right up!" Bai Zhantang smiled and called out, "Customer 368, an order for ten cups of milk tea!"
After calling out, he pointed to a nearby table. "Please sit here, miss. You can look at the menu and choose which ten cups you'd like. We happen to have ten varieties..."
"Then one of each!" Pan Xiaowu waved imperiously, then looked down at the menu on the table, her eyes curving once again. "Oh! Green-Robed Sword Dance, Starfrost Melody... My dear brother is so talented. These names sound wonderful!"
But Bai Zhantang no longer had time to attend to Pan Xiaowu, because another young lady dressed as a gentleman had come in.
"Brother, is my dear brother here..."
"This is so delicious. I've never had tea this good."
"Exactly. This tea is simply the finest thing under heaven, and it's so nutritious too. This is all I'm drinking from now on..."
"And it nourishes your beauty! Wonderful!"
Everyone in the hall was buzzing with discussion.
Some talked with their maids, while others chatted with the people sharing their tables.
Some even took out books and began writing and drawing in them.
Only after Pan Xiaowu sat down, broke her stool beneath her weight, and ended up sitting directly on the floor did Lin Ke, a short distance away, breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness she hadn't spotted him.
He had been sitting here all day.
The proprietor was over there making milk tea, Bai Zhantang was tending to the customers, and he was hidden among the crowd, serving as an observer and recorder.
Observe the customer base's reactions!
Record product sales and customer preferences!
He would use these to guide improvements.
Meanwhile, Lin Ke made a rough calculation of the day's sales and profits.
The result was...
Very profitable!
Before you continue