Folklore and Strange Tales: At the Start, You Retrieve the Sea-Suppressing Black Iron

Chapter 140 The Ma family compound is divided into three parts, and the North City's underground ditches and the Yin City are completely destroyed.

As soon as he finished speaking, a clump of dust fell from the top of the courtyard wall.

A person in a gray-blue uniform climbed over the wall, and when he landed, he stepped on the edge of the gray well, causing his shoe to slip half an inch.

The steel pipe in Tieguai Li's hand was already pressed against his chest.

"Don't move. Falling down is considered a work injury, and climbing over the wall is considered trespassing."

The man raised his hands; his sleeves were covered in mud, his face was smeared with wall plaster, and he had a cut on his forehead.

"It was a warrant from Section Chief Zhou; I meant no harm."

Tieguai Li didn't remove the steel pipe.

"Saying you have no ill intentions while using a VPN is about the same as Shen Jiulou saying he sells legitimate incense."

Cheng Xiaojin stood by the stone table, not approaching the person.

"Who asked you to deliver these things?"

The operative took out a folded piece of paper from the inner bag and handed it to Master Ma through the steel pipe.

Master Ma didn't take it; he used his tobacco pipe to pry open the corner of the paper.

The paper bears the seal of the Town and Town Bureau and the signature of Section Chief Zhou.

Tang Wanqing glanced at it.

"The warrant is genuine."

Tieguai Li still didn't release them.

"The warrant is real, the door is real, and the door isn't sealed."

The operative gave a wry smile; blood trickled down his brow bone from the corner of his forehead, which he wiped away with his sleeve.

"I walked through the main gate three times, and each time I returned to the wellhead of Huguo Temple."

Several people in the courtyard looked up at the same time.

Cheng Xiaojin asked.

"Where did you come from?"

"Cultural Relics Protection Monitoring Point outside Deshengmen".

The operative swallowed hard.

"If I went straight here, I shouldn't have passed Huguo Temple, but I walked halfway down the alley and heard the sound of a pancake shovel. When I looked up, Sister Zhou's car was right in front of me."

Tong Kexin's face darkened.

"The third stake has just been secured, and it still dares to target Sister Zhou?"

Cheng Xiaojin pressed lightly against the edge of the sound path map.

"The road is using the newly revised meal rules as a guide, and Huguo Temple has become a living anchor, with wrong turns in the north city being turned around by it."

The operative noticed the dark blue back of his hand, paused for a moment, then looked away.

"Section Chief Zhou said that modern monitoring is completely messed up. The satellite image shows that the road network in the northern part of the city has not changed, but the surveillance footage shows someone walking into the alley from Deshengmen. When he came out, his clothes were soaked and he was holding a road sign. Five minutes later, the photo of that person started to blur."

Han Shaobai hugged the account book tightly.

"The photo is blurry, and the naming rules were also missing?"

The operator opened the file box.

When the lid of the box was lifted, the file folders inside were crammed full.

The top photo was clipped on. It showed a young man wearing a delivery vest. His face was pale at the edges, but his features were still there. His mouth and eyeliner were smudged by water.

The operative placed the photo on the table.

"Found after being missing for twelve minutes, still alive, but doesn't remember who she called, and all the contacts in her phone have been changed to the words 'intersection'."

Zhou Banxian moved the compass next to the photo, and the needle tilted towards the photo.

Master Ma blocked the needle with his pipe.

"Don't let the test reveal your identity."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the photo.

"Road rules are loosened, and name rules follow suit. Roads lead people along, but halfway through, names are replaced by road signs."

Tieguai Li held the steel pipe half an inch towards the officer's chest.

"Your town's cultural relics bureau is usually quite organized, so why are you suddenly thinking about setting up stalls?"

The operative's face flushed, but he didn't shy away from his words.

"As Section Chief Zhou said, orthodox magical artifacts can't stop living people from going astray, and technology can't see the Yin City turning corners. The North City needs people who can recognize the old rules."

Tong Kexin sneered.

"To put it bluntly, you guys are no longer effective, so you've come to us peasants to clean up your mess."

The operative lowered his head.

"Yes."

After that word was uttered, no one in the courtyard mocked him anymore.

Cheng Xiaojin picked up the photo, pinching only the corner. There was a watery echo inside the photo paper, which seemed to seep into his fingers along the back of the paper.

He immediately let go, and the photo fell back onto the desktop.

Tang Wanqing reached out and blocked his wrist.

"Again?"

"It stuck to my hand by itself."

Cheng Xiaojin shook his hand.

"Just like those fake jade sellers at Panjiayuan, they'll try to claim me as a relative the moment they see me."

Tieguai Li chuckled.

"At least fake jade doesn't bite."

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the number on the back of the photo.

Which route does this delivery driver take?

The operative flips through the files.

"Under Deshengmen Bridge, next to the old drainage ditch, there's a street sign in the surveillance footage that says Nanluoguxiang and points underground."

Master Ma pushed the sound map towards Cheng Xiaojin.

"The Deshengmen Intersection".

Zhou Banxian's compass needle also leaned towards that line.

Cheng Xiaojin has not been decided yet.

He flipped through two pages of the file and pulled out another photograph.

The photo shows an old man wearing a vest for morning exercise and carrying a birdcage.

The birdcage was empty, and the cage door was open.

The old man stood next to a road sign. The signpost was covered with black soil, and embedded in the soil was half a human bone, bent into the shape of an arrow.

Han Shaobai gasped and then shut his mouth.

Tieguai Li went over to take a look.

"Who made this brand? Their aesthetic sense is appalling."

Cheng Xiaojin pushed the photo to Master Ma.

"The Signpost".

Master Ma nodded.

"Six hundred years ago, when the Yin City was being built, there was a type of person called a guide. While alive, they would guide the construction site and after death, they would be buried at the mouth of a dark ditch. If the road rules were broken, the bones of the guides would be dug out and used as markers."

The officer said hurriedly.

"This word also appears in Section Chief Zhou's file, but the information is incomplete, with only half a page remaining."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the bone-shaped road sign.

"Shen Jiulou moved the Yin City road signs to the ground. He doesn't need to kill anyone. He just needs to let people follow the signs. The more people follow them, the more solid the road becomes. Once the wrong roads in the north of the city are familiar, Yin City can be reached by the road."

Tong Kexin rolled up her sleeves.

"Then remove the sign."

Zhou Banxian coughed.

"The signboard is easy to pull out, but the ditch opening is hard to close. There's a hidden ditch underneath the dominoes. If you pull it out wrong, the ditch opening will become a door."

Tieguai Li clicked his tongue.

"The cards are cards, the channels are channels, but they have to be together. These guys really don't care about their work."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the town's property bureau staff.

"What conditions did Section Chief Zhou offer?"

The operative took another document out of the box.

"The Town Property Bureau will provide North City with lockdown, archives, medical care, vehicles, and evacuation of residents if necessary. Section Chief Zhou hopes that Mr. Cheng will accept the role of temporary consultant."

Tieguai Li laughed.

"Is this a temporary consultant position? Is it a permanent position? Does it offer the five social insurances and one housing fund?"

Han Shaobai peeked out.

"Is the consulting fee calculated by the hour or by the job?"

The operator was stumped by the question.

Cheng Xiaojin pushed the document back.

"We will not incorporate them."

The operative panicked.

"Mr. Cheng, Section Chief Zhou said that the situation in Beicheng has exceeded the scope that the underground community can handle on its own; you need official resources."

o

"We want the resources, but not the staffing."

Cheng Xiaojin pointed to the file box.

"Keep the files, the vehicles are usable, you handle the lockdown, how people move, how the signs are removed, how the accounts are kept, listen to me."

The operative looked at Master Ma.

Master Ma picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"He can now read half a set of accounts."

The operative looked at Tang Wanqing again.

Tang Wanqing fastened the silver needle box.

"He does not belong to the Bureau of Town Objects, nor does he belong to the lineage of Town Dragon."

Tong Kexin added, "It doesn't belong to Shen Jiulou either."

Tieguai Li tapped the agent's shoe tip with a steel pipe.

"Cooperation is fine, but don't try to boss people around. Once you've completed the procedures, everyone in Beicheng can set up stalls underground."

The operative paused for a moment, then pushed the file box next to the stone table.

"I'm only responsible for delivering and relaying messages. Section Chief Zhou has one more thing to say."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.

"explain."

"Section Chief Zhou said that Cheng Shouyi also refused a temporary consultant position once back then."

The wind blew out of the ash well, causing the edges of the sound map to flip up.

Master Ma stopped holding the teacup.

Cheng Xiaojin didn't move.

The operator took a yellowed photocopy from his chest pocket.

The paper contains a record of cultural relic protection investigation from twenty years ago, with a line of text in the signature column.

Cheng Shouyi, a civilian assistant, refused to be included in the file.

Han Shaobai leaned closer, but shut up after seeing clearly.

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the line of text for a long while before reaching out and pressing the copy next to the sound path diagram.

"My father refused to have his file filed, which means he knew back then that the file would be seen by others."

Master Ma raised his eyes.

"What did you figure out?"

Cheng Xiaojin pointed to the bottom right corner of the copy.

"This paper has been turned over too many times, and the edges have a sandalwood scent. The archives of the Town Museum should not contain agarwood from Southeast Asia."

The operator's expression changed.

"Did Shen Jiulou see the file?"

"I've seen it, or it passed through his hands."

Cheng Xiaojin pulled her hand back into the medicine bag.

"If Section Chief Zhou were smart, he wouldn't send the complete electronic file. In Beicheng, people can walk, names can be lost, and files can also be assigned to different owners."

The operator immediately took out a communicator.

Tang Wanqing raised her hand to stop her.

"Don't drive it in the yard."

Grandpa Ma pointed his pipe toward the courtyard gate.

"Strike at the doorway, with your back to the ash well."

The officer did as instructed and retreated to the courtyard gate to report.

Tieguai Li even pointed at his back with a steel pipe, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Han Shaobai looked at the photocopy.

"Brother Cheng, your father had dealings with the authorities back then, could there be any other records left behind?"

Mr. Ma folded up the copy.

"Even if it exists, you can't trust it all. Anything that can be filed can be borrowed."

Cheng Xiaojin looked into the room.

"Where's the ashtray?"

Master Ma didn't answer, and got up to go inside.

A moment later, he brought out the old ashtray.

The ashtray was placed on the stone table, and the noise in the courtyard immediately subsided.

The cracked red needle made a muffled sound as it hit Han Shaobai's bamboo tube, but Han Shaobai pressed it down with his account book.

Tang Wanqing took the red rope and copper buckle out of her sleeve and hung it on a pillar far away, keeping it away from the ashtray.

"The copper buckle is three feet away."

Cheng Xiaojin nodded.

"Don't let it build a bridge."

He stood three feet away from the ashtray, his hand dangling in mid-air.

Listening to the Cheng family's finger bone message from a distance is more difficult than listening to ordinary metal instruments, but the further away the distance, the more the sound within the bones is consumed.

Cheng Xiaojin didn't push her hand forward, but instead turned her ear toward the ashtray.

From the ashtray, the familiar sound of a vertical hook being struck could be heard.

This time the knocking was urgent; it didn't announce the location, nor did it sound like the greetings in the old code.

The sound echoed repeatedly at the same spot at the bottom of the tank, frantic and chaotic, yet each time it returned to the same place.

Master Ma couldn't hear, but he saw Cheng Xiaojin's face turn pale.

"How do I knock?"

Cheng Xiaojin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"Three short pauses followed by a stop, repeated over and over, were called 'avoiding the door' in the old Cheng family business."

Sweat dripped from Zhou Banxian's face onto the compass.

Which door should we avoid?

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the coal production line in Beicheng.

"Avoid the exit gate; don't go in through the path that looks like you can walk through."

Tieguai Li hoisted the steel pipe onto his shoulder.

"Then take the path that cannot be taken."

Cheng Xiaojin chuckled, but halfway through, a metallic taste rose in his throat.

He wiped it off with a piece of paper and folded it into his palm.

"Shen Jiulou laid out the easy route, just waiting for me to lead people in. He knows the Cheng family is soft-hearted and that I will definitely go to rescue them if I see the missing persons file."

Tong Kexin stared at the paper in his hand.

"He certainly knows how to find fault with you."

"The problem with street vendors is that they can't stand seeing others get scammed."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at Han Shaobai.

"Bring me the account books."

Han Shaobai handed over the account book.

Cheng Xiaojin didn't touch the account book pages; he simply used his chopsticks to pick up a pinch of old ash from the ash well in Master Ma's courtyard and sprinkled it on the sound map.

The ash fell onto the paper, but did not spread out; it slowly slid along the charcoal lines.

The ash on the line near Deshengmen slid the fastest, and when it reached the break, the ash particles veered to the side in small circles.

The line from the old puddles near Andingmen also bends, turning even deeper.

The line on the empty wall of the Drum Tower in the middle was not drawn in a straight line; the gray ash sank into the paper texture halfway through, revealing a thin line that was not originally drawn.

The town's property bureau staff had just finished their report when they turned around and saw this scene, nearly dropping their communicators.

"What kind of method is this?"

Tieguai Li answered for Cheng Xiaojin.

"Panjiayuan high-tech, 60-year-old gray navigation system, more energy-efficient than your stuff."

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the gray line.

"Three temporary outposts."

Han Shaobai pressed the pen onto the ledger page.

Which three?

"The old drainage ditch under Deshengmen Bridge, the abandoned ticket booth next to the puddles outside Andingmen, and the empty wall west of the Drum Tower."

Cheng Xiaojin pointed to the thinnest one.

"The true way is in an empty wall."

Zhou Banxian frowned.

"The energy is weakest on the empty wall above the compass."

"So it's true."

Cheng Xiaojin said.

"Shen Jiulou would place the most eye-catching items in the brightest spot. There are many missing files at Deshengmen and heavy water cavities at Andingmen. These two places are shown to the Bureau of Town Materials. They are empty walls with no files, no water sounds, and no smell of dead people, making them suitable for hiding road signs and main posts."

Master Ma looked at him.

"First hit the empty wall?"

"First, drive in three loose nails."

Cheng Xiaojin pushed the ledger to Han Shaobai.

"Have the town's property bureau seal off Deshengmen and prevent ordinary people from getting close. Have Tong Kexin borrow soot, acid water, and furnace ash from the neighbors in Huguosi to cover the water inlet. We'll go to the empty wall of the Drum Tower."

Tong Kexin immediately looked up.

"I'll go with you."

"Go to Andingmen."

"Cheng Xiaojin".

She called out her full name, and no one in the courtyard interrupted.

Cheng Xiaojin looked at her.

"The An Ding Men Water Pot can imitate the Hu Guo Si Pot Fire. Only you know how the bottom of the pot makes a sound when it's stealing flavor. If you don't go, the people from the Town Administration Bureau will just poke the bubbles with their instruments."

Tong Kexin took her words back and then tightened her apron again a moment later.

"Okay, I'll go."

She stared at Cheng Xiaojin's hands.

"If you dare to touch me with your bare hands, I'll tie both your hands to the handles of the pot when I get back."

Tieguai Li nodded.

"This punishment is skillfully executed."

Tang Wanqing looked at Cheng Xiaojin.

"I'll go with you to the Empty Wall."

Cheng Xiaojin did not object.

"If you're wearing a brass belt, don't lean against an ashtray or a road sign."

"Know."

Han Shaobai raised his hand.

"And what about me?"

Tieguai Li patted his account book.

"By following Cheng Xiaojin, your account book is now more valuable than you yourself."

Han Shao's face fell.

"Family asset structure optimization failed."

Master Ma pushed the enamel mug in front of Cheng Xiaojin.

"Finish your drink before you leave."

Cheng Xiaojin picked up the teacup, this time testing the temperature with his lips before drinking.

After drinking the hot water, my stomach felt much better.

He put the teacup back on the table, and as he turned around, there were two more taps coming from the ashtray.

Cheng Xiaojin stopped in his tracks.

These two movements are slow and spaced out.

After the second tap, a lingering sound echoed from the bottom of the ashtray.

The vertical hook is followed by a half-stroke.

Master Ma noticed that something was wrong with his expression.

"What did you say now?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked back at the ashtray, but the finger bone letter didn't ring again.

"This time it's not about avoiding the door."

"What is it?"

Cheng Xiaojin tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"In the old Cheng family name, the character '人' (person) is not fully written when a vertical hook is followed by a half-stroke."

Zhou Banxian's face tightened.

"people?"

"My dad is reminding us that there are living people among the road sign people."

Upon hearing this, the operative's face drained of color.

"Three of the people listed in the files have not been found."

Tieguai Li picked up his toolbox.

"Then let's grab our weapons."

Master Ma took a cloth bag out of the house and handed it to Cheng Xiaojin.

Inside the cloth bag were several old iron nails, their heads worn shiny, each nail covered in old ash from the yard.

"Don't touch it with your hands, let Tiezhu take it. It's an old nail that was removed from the threshold of Master Ma's courtyard. It recognizes the courtyard, not the underworld."

Tieguai Li took the cloth bag and weighed it in his hand.

"Good stuff, much better than that box of paper from the town's goods bureau."

The operative didn't dare to refute.

Tong Kexin turned and walked out, but turned back again when she reached the courtyard gate.

"Cheng Xiaojin".

"Um?"

"If someone calls your father from the other side of the empty wall, don't turn around."

Cheng Xiaojin glanced at her.

"Don't worry, if my dad really calls me, he'll usually scold me for being useless first."

Tong Kexin kept a straight face, but she still couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief after being hit by that remark.

"Keep being so sarcastic, but don't let your wits run away at the gates of Yin City."

"A chain just broke, so I don't want to listen to chains today."

Tieguai Li picked up the steel pipe, laughing and cursing.

"Let's go, if we keep talking, Shen Jiulou will have to pack up and leave."

Several people were discharged from the hospital.

Town property bureau officers were escorted by Tieguai Li and walked at the front, responsible for contacting the containment vehicle.

Han Shaobai held the account book in his arms, the bamboo tube slung across his chest, and the red-lacquered seal was unusually well-behaved. He looked down at it repeatedly.

Tang Wanqing walked to Cheng Xiaojin's left, with the silver needle box in her sleeve and the red rope and copper buckle wrapped in three layers of cloth.

The brass buckle occasionally struck, the sound muffled within the cloth and not carried out.

Once outside Panjiayuan, the noise of cars on the street increased.

The sun was already high in the sky, and half of the roadside breakfast stalls had closed, but the fumes from cooking oil still lingered in the air.

The further north you go, the more incorrect the road signs become.

The first sign, leaning against a utility pole, read "Gulou Street," but the arrow pointed to an alleyway selling secondhand furniture.

The cement ground beneath the sign was damp, with wet streaks bypassing pedestrian footprints and sticking directly to the roadside drain.

Cheng Xiaojin stopped.

Don't look at the arrows, look at the footprints.

Tieguai Li squatted down.

"Electric vehicle tracks, leather shoe prints, dog paw prints, all mixed up."

Han Shaobai also squatted down, and the account book almost touched the ground, but Tang Wanqing grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"The ledger is off the ground."

Han Shaobai immediately stood up straight.

"My life is now under the control of the ledger."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the wet stains.

"The footprints of living people all went around the sign, except for one series of footprints that went into the alley. There was no dust around the footprints, and when you stepped on them, they didn't stir up any dust on the ground."

Tieguai Li followed the gaze.

"A dead person passed away?"

"The signpost was led by someone."

The town's property bureau staff took out walkie-talkies.

Is this area under lockdown?

Cheng Xiaojin shook his head.

"This is bait. Don't move it. If you do, it will know we've seen it."

They continued north.

After passing the second intersection, the control vehicle stopped at the entrance of the alley, and two town property bureau personnel stood at a distance, not daring to go in.

The operative went over to hand over the item, and the other party handed him a tablet.

The screen displays real-time monitoring of the northern part of the city. There are three blank areas in the image, with water ripples floating around the edges of the blank areas.

The operative handed the tablet to Cheng Xiaojin.

"The empty wall is right there in this gap in the surveillance."

Tieguai Li peeked out.

"You guys are pretty good at pretending to be blind."

Cheng Xiaojin did not answer the tablet.

"I don't think it's useful. What Shen Jiulou makes you unable to see may not be what he's hiding. What he makes you see is what you should be afraid of."

Tang Wanqing suddenly raised her hand, signaling everyone to stop.

The cries of a vendor selling candied hawthorns echoed from deep within the alley.

This place is far from Huguo Temple; Old Sun shouldn't be here.

Han Shaobai's face tightened.

"A fake Old Sun?"

Cheng Xiaojin listened for a moment.

"Use falsetto to imitate the ending sound, and this to imitate footwork."

Behind the shouts, there was the sound of a cane tapping the ground.

Sometimes light, sometimes heavy.

The sound of Old Sun's cane once echoed across the waterline when he was selling goods at Huguosi Station, and the bottom of the well remembered that rhythm.

Now it uses the sound of the cane as a guide, trying to make them think that a living customer is ahead.

Tieguai Li switched the steel pipe to his right hand.

"I'll go knock on it."

"Don't knock."

Cheng Xiaojin used the back of her hand to press against his sleeve through the cloth.

"It waits for the metallic sound to connect."

Tieguai Li slowly lowered the steel pipe.

"Change to what?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked at Han Shaobai.

"I need money."

Han Shaobai was stunned for a moment.

"Is it time for me to leverage my family's advantages again?"

"Flip a coin, not a bill."

Han Shaobai took out a one-yuan coin from his pocket and handed it to Tieguai Li.

Tieguai Li flicked his thumb, and the coin flew into the alley entrance, rolled half a circle after landing, and stopped at the edge of the wet stain.

The shouts stopped.

The sound of the cane stopped.

The next moment, a hand reached out from the alley.

That hand was white, the back of the hand was covered in black soil, and bone powder was embedded between the fingers.

It didn't pick up the coins; instead, it used its fingernail to draw an arrow on the ground, pointing deep into the alley.

Han Shaobai's lips moved slightly.

"It's quite procedural."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the arrow.

"No money, no job. This is the old rule of Beijing. In the past, porters who led the way could not take people without being paid."

Tieguai Li was amused.

"Then why didn't it pick it up?"

"It's not a living guide, it can't take money from the living world, it's waiting for us to owe it a debt for asking for directions."

Han Shaobai immediately flipped through the account book.

"Write: 'Luring people along a dark path to ask for directions, but no payment was made, and the deal wasn't completed?'"

"Write."

Cheng Xiaojin said.

"One more thing: the living don't ask the dead for directions."

Han Shaobai put pen to paper.

As soon as the words were written, the hand in the alley withdrew.

The arrow on the ground collapsed into a pool of black soil, revealing half a bone fragment inside.

The character "残" (cán, meaning broken or damaged) was engraved on the bone fragment.

Guard.

Tang Wanqing used a silver needle to pick up the bone fragments, without letting anyone touch them.

"Guard what?"

The old nail bag given to him by Master Ma made a sound at Tieguai Li's waist.

Cheng Xiaojin's face darkened upon hearing that sound.

"The bones of a gatekeeper."

The operative's Adam's apple bobbed.

"A living person?"

"Bones are dead."

Cheng Xiaojin looked into the depths of the alley.

"There might be a living person tied to the back of the skull."

No sooner had those words been spoken than a shout came from the end of the alley.

"Cheng Xiaojin".

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying the smoky tone of someone who had been smoking a pipe.

Han Shaobai dropped the pen from his hand onto the ledger.

Tieguai Li almost cursed, but then swallowed his words back.

Tang Wanqing stepped in front of Cheng Xiaojin, the red rope and copper buckle inside the cloth bag making two sounds, the sound was muffled by the cloth, but still revealed a half-sound of copper reeds.

The voice called out again.

"Cheng Xiaojin, don't leave the empty Drum Tower."

Cheng Xiaojin stood at the entrance of the alley, his eyes not moving deeper into the alley.

Tieguai Li asked in a low voice.

Whose voice is that?

Cheng Xiaojin tucked both of his livid hands into his sleeves.

"My dad's."

Han Shaobai's face turned pale.

"Really?"

Cheng Xiaojin took a bite of the remaining sesame seed cake, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

"Fake."

The sound from the alley stopped.

Cheng Xiaojin threw the crumpled paper from the sesame seed cake into a roadside trash can.

"If my dad really stops me, he won't call me by my full name. He'll say, 'Cheng Xiaojin, you're asking for a beating again.'"

Tieguai Li hoisted the steel pipe and shrugged.

"Did you hear that? Your skills are subpar."

The dark aura deep in the alley receded somewhat.

The fake Cheng Shouyi was pierced by this sentence, and the last sound dissipated, revealing the faint sound of the half-bronze whistle underneath.

Tang Wanqing let a corner of the red rope and copper buckle peek out from under the cloth.

The copper buckle touched lightly, and the sound of the copper whistle was cut off in half.

Large patches of plaster on the walls of the alley were bubbling, and black water was seeping out of the bubbles. The black water was escaping along the base of the walls towards the hollow walls.

Cheng Xiaojin looked up.

"Keep up."

They walked through the alley, around two damp patches, and finally arrived at an old wall.

The wall is located to the west of the Drum Tower, sandwiched between two old buildings.

The wall was painted with whitewash, but the plaster peeled off, revealing the old bricks underneath.

There was no door or window in the center of the wall, but three road signs were placed at the base of the wall.

One is written on Deshengmen.

One is inscribed with Andingmen.

One writes "Going Home".

The pole of the road sign on my way home is made of human bones.

A person was tied to the bottom of the bone pole.

The man was wearing a delivery vest, his head was drooping, and he had a small sign hanging around his neck.

There are two words written on the sign.

intersection.

The town's security officer took a step forward, only to be stopped by Tieguai Li with a steel pipe.

Don't go over there.

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the soles of the man's shoes.

The soles of the shoes were still covered in dust from the ground, which hadn't been soaked through by the black water.

"Alive."

The scent of agarwood from Southeast Asia wafted from inside the wall.

The smell was hidden behind the white ash, mixed with the stench of the ancient tomb's preservatives, making one's stomach churn.

Something scratched at the wall.

A dark red light shone through the cracks in the bricks, without a sound, only the dry, bitter smell of the air being baked.

In the distance, towards Deshengmen, the same dark red light also rose in the sky.

The walkie-talkie in the operator's hand crackled with static, followed by the distorted shouts of the Town Bureau personnel.

"The cordon at Deshengmen has failed, the road signs have moved by themselves, and someone is walking into the ditch."

Another walkie-talkie then rang.

"The water in the Andingmen cavity opened, and the soot from the pots was washed away. The stall owner, Tong, told us not to back out, saying that someone in the water was counting the pots."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the three road signs, his eyes showing no sign of backing down.

Shen Jiulou's voice drifted out from inside the empty wall, following the cracks in the brickwork.

"I don't want the meal rules anymore."

The three road signs at the base of the wall all turned toward Cheng Xiaojin.

Shen Jiulou's voice carried the scent of sandalwood and cold ash, each word climbing out like a domino.

"I'll decide the route through the northern part of the city tonight."

The operative took half a step forward, and Tieguai Li's steel pipe moved horizontally, pressing against his lower back.

"Don't bother seeing me off."

The operative's jaw tightened, his eyes fixed on the deliveryman at the base of the wall.

"He is still alive."

Cheng Xiaojin glanced at the layer of dust on the soles of the deliveryman's shoes, and her bluish fingers twitched slightly inside her sleeve.

"It's troublesome when people are alive. You can pull out the dead, but when people are alive, they're tied up like road signs. Whoever touches them incurs a road debt."

Han Shaobai bit off the pen cap and stuck the account book to his chest.

"Brother Cheng, how should we keep this account?"

Cheng Xiaojin raised his hand to stop him, and half of the medicine cloth was sticking out from his sleeve.

"I'll hold off on writing for now; Shen Jiulou is waiting for that first stroke."

Han Shaobai picked up his pen, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Does Yincheng even offer bundled sales?"

"If the road is damaged, the ledger will guide you; whoever writes the first entry, that's the road we'll follow."

The scent of sandalwood in the empty wall thickened, and Shen Jiulou's voice seeped out through the cracks in the brickwork.

"Young Master Cheng, the person is right in front of you. If you don't save him, he'll go into the wall. If you save him, he'll follow you on this path."

Tieguai Li spat.

"People from Southeast Asia also like to listen to crosstalk, but their jokes are so weak and awful."

Tang Wanqing opened the silver needle box and aimed the needle tip at the three road signs.

Cheng Xiaojin turned her head to look at her.

"Don't touch the bone shaft with the needle; there's vital energy inside."

Below the bone pole behind the deliveryman, the black soil bulged, and three strands of wire were tied to the bottom.

"One share connects to the neck card, one share connects to the wall, and one share connects to Deshengmen."

The walkie-talkie in the operator's hand crackled with static.

"After the control line at Deshengmen was moved back, three people were staring at the road sign and walking towards the ditch entrance, but they couldn't be woken up."

Another voice squeezed in.

"The aroma of rice wafts from the water stalls at Andingmen. Vendor Tong tells people to sprinkle soot from the pot, and they're announcing the names of the dishes in the water—all of them were sold at Huguosi Temple today."

Cheng Xiaojin frowned slightly.

"People walk through Deshengmen, people hear at Andingmen, people watch over the empty walls; when these three places are all there, the road regulations of the northern city are all based on Shen Jiulou."

Han Shaobai's pen circled the ledger page once.

"Which end should be cut off?"

"Invoice for directions"