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

Chapter 142 The Southeast Asian ruler measures the living shadow, the deadlock collapses under the discarded ticket booth.

Cheng Xiaojin did not turn around.

"It depends on whether your family can keep them in line. Rules aren't just talismans; you can't just put them up and call it a day. Someone has to keep them."

The town's security officer nodded immediately.

"I arranged for someone to take him home, and notified his family to leave a light on, some soup, and some ashes on the door."

Tong Kexin's voice squeezed out from the walkie-talkie again.

"Cheng Xiaojin, the water has receded at Andingmen, and the ashes are gone. If you dare to say you're still going to Deshengmen, let me make it clear, I'm not cooking a second batch today."

Cheng Xiaojin took the walkie-talkie.

"If I don't want to stay up late, I won't. I'll just drink water tonight."

The other side paused for two breaths.

You'd better speak like a human being.

Tieguai Li smiled and switched the steel pipe to his other shoulder.

"Let's go back to the hospital. If we don't go back soon, Master Ma's teacup will be telling our fortunes."

As the containment vehicle started, the last sound of a board being pulled up came from behind the empty wall of the Drum Tower.

笃.

Cheng Xiaojin sat in the car, his left hand hidden in his sleeve, his right hand pressing on the note with Lu Mingzhu's imprint.

As soon as the car turned out of the alley, the tablet of the town's property bureau officer lit up on its own.

On the map, an extra blue line marks the location of the old drainage ditch under Deshengmen Bridge.

The blue line does not lead to the north of the city. It goes down and around Jishuitan, around Huguo Temple, and stops below the gray well in Mayeyuan.

Han Shaobai stared at the screen, the ledger almost slipping off his hand.

"Brother Cheng, how did this waterway end up under our yard?"

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the blue line for a long time before folding the note into his palm.

"Because someone doesn't want us to use the bridge."

Tieguai Li placed the steel pipe across his knees.

"So, is it possible to sail on water?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked up and gazed at Panjiayuan, which was getting closer and closer outside the car window.

"Let's talk about it when we get back to the hospital."

As soon as he finished speaking, a wisp of black smoke rose from the direction of Master Ma's courtyard. The smoke was not high; it curved around the entrance of the alley and went straight into the daylight.

That's smoke from the ash well.

"Don't look back at the wall."

Cheng Xiaojin kicked the little "Go Home" sign that had rolled out of the insulated box to Tieguai Li's feet, the sound echoing along the gray plaster of the empty wall of the Drum Tower.

Tieguai Li bent down and nailed the back of the card with the last old nail. The nail head sank into the plastic, and old ash seeped out along the nail hole.

The white plaster on the wall was still falling, but what was falling was not dust; it was fine pieces of copper rust.

Han Shaobai held the account book, his eyes fixed on the bamboo tube in his arms. He poked the red stick into it three times, and the third tap made the mouth of the tube numb. He quickly pressed the bamboo tube into his arms and cursed under his breath.

"Ancestor, please be quiet tonight. I want to go back alive."

Tieguai Li lifted his foot and pushed him back half a step.

"Let's get through tonight first, then we can think about other things."

Cheng Xiaojin squatted at the base of the wall, his bluish fingertips hovering half an inch above the rust, not touching the wall, but groping downwards along the scattered echoes left by the broken bronze.

The copper plates that had been blown up inside the wall were in disarray, but the sweet and bitter scent of agarwood mixed with copper rust still lingered, dragging eastward along the ground.

Tang Wanqing stared at his left hand and pulled him back an inch.

That's enough.

Cheng Xiaojin withdrew his hand, the iron-blue stain under his sleeve had already extended two inches above his wrist, and the bluish-gray lines were seeping into his veins. He shook his hand, but couldn't feel anything.

"I'm listening to the road."

Tang Wanqing pulled out a silver needle and pressed the tip against the inside of his forearm.

"If you keep listening, the road will grow up to your arm."

Cheng Xiaojin glanced at her, still wanting to banter, but Tang Wanqing had already put in the needle, the end of the needle swaying gently for a couple of breaths before it stabilized.

"If you keep pushing Xin metal, the green line will reach the elbow."

Tieguai Li picked up his toolbox and separated the two men.

"Never mind him for now. The wall is sealed, and he's vomited out. Where to go next?"

Town property management staff were wrapping three food delivery workers in emergency blankets when they heard the noise and looked up.

"The lockdown at Deshengmen is still in effect, but we just received a reply from Andingmen saying that the waterline has receded by half."

As soon as he finished speaking, the walkie-talkie on his shoulder snapped, and Tong Kexin's voice came through.

"Cheng Xiaojin, answer me."

Cheng Xiaojin reached out and took the walkie-talkie.

"I am here."

The wind was howling wildly over there, like someone dragging an iron bucket through the water, and Tong Kexin was panting heavily.

"The water channel under the ticket booth has opened again."

Cheng Xiaojin's eyelids drooped.

"How much soot is left?"

"The ash is gone, the acid water is almost gone, and there's still enough furnace ash to cover half a circle."

Someone shouted urgently on the walkie-talkie, followed by the sound of a long spoon scraping an iron grate. Tong Kexin immediately cursed back.

"Don't stand forward, lest your shadow fall into the water!"

Cheng Xiaojin's expression changed.

"What came out?"

First, a series of counting sounds came from the other end.

"One foot."

The sound of water rose a little higher.

"Two feet."

The long spoon hit something with a dull, muffled sound.

"Three feet."

Tong Kexin's voice cut through the static electricity.

"Wearing a straw raincoat, holding a wooden ruler, measuring people's shadows."

Tang Wanqing's expression changed on the spot.

"Ruler Master!"

Tieguai Li hoisted the toolbox onto his shoulder.

"Those guys from Southeast Asia are quite capable."

Tang Wanqing had already walked towards the car.

"It measures roads, graves, birth dates, and even shadows; the soul is devalued first."

Han Shaobai caught up with the account book in his arms, but his foot slipped and he almost stepped on the small "Go Home" sign. Tieguai Li grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"And after the discount?"

Cheng Xiaojin didn't even turn his head, and walked straight towards the entrance of the alley.

Installment payment.

Tieguai Li shoved him into the back seat of the car and closed the door behind him.

"After you've divided them up, collect the bodies."

As soon as the car door closed, the empty wall of the Drum Tower was left behind. The old nail heads on the wall were still shining. The piece of broken copper was stuck in the white ash. In the end, it only made a soft sound. In the sound, there was no longer Shen Jiulou's laughter, only a thin line running along the water.

Cheng Xiaojin sat in the passenger seat. The alleys outside the window rushed past. The navigation screen kept changing between Deshengmen and Nanhaizi, and finally it turned into a whole blue screen. The operative cursed under his breath and reached out to look again.

Cheng Xiaojin turned off the screen.

"Don't look at it, look at the streetlights."

"Even streetlights aren't always accurate."

"If the streetlights are inaccurate, you'll get yelled at; if the navigation is inaccurate, nobody will."

Tieguai Li chuckled from behind, and the air in the car finally eased a little.

Tang Wanqing unwrapped the bandage and wrapped it around Cheng Xiaojin's left wrist. A piece of red thread was tucked inside the bandage. As it went around the wrist bone, Cheng Xiaojin's eyebrows twitched.

Tang Wanqing saw it, "Does it still hurt?"

Cheng Xiaojin smiled.

"Pain is a good thing; it means you haven't completely returned to the City of the Dead."

Han Shaobai peeked out from the back seat, his face still pale.

"Brother Cheng, after this match, I'll treat everyone to hot pot."

Tieguai Li caught it very quickly.

"How big is the pot?"

"A normal pot."

"Tch~ What a loser!"

The damp fog in the night had rolled up close to the ground. When the wheels rolled over it, all that could be heard was the sound of water, but no splashes could be seen. The operatives had no choice but to slam on the brakes.

"We can't get any further ahead."

The ticket booth stood slightly west of the intersection, its cement walls mottled, half of the window frame rusted black, and the iron roof riddled with holes from the rain. The puddle in front of the booth was twice as big as before, with black water swirling around the iron grate.

Tong Kexin stood beside the iron grate, a small aluminum kettle lying upside down on the ground, with the last bit of oil still clinging to its spout. She held a long spoon in one hand, and the cloth in her other hand was soaked and pressed tightly against her palm.

A man in a straw raincoat stood on the water in front of her. His straw hat was pulled down very low, revealing only a section of his dark blue chin. Water plants and black thread were tangled among the straw raincoat. The two-foot-long wooden ruler in his hand was densely engraved with the time of birth, date of birth, and the sexagenary cycle.

The ruler was pointing directly at her shadow.

The dim yellow light bulb on the top of the ticket booth swayed incessantly, dragging her shadow to the water's edge. The ruler raised his hand, and the wooden ruler fell on the shadow, causing Tong Kexin's shoulder to sag.

Cheng Xiaojin got out of the car.

"Turn off the lights first."

Tieguai Li reacted quickly, throwing his toolbox out of his hand. The lid flipped open, and a wrench flew up, smashing the light bulb on the ticket booth roof. As soon as the light went out, half of the shadow at Tong Kexin's feet immediately dissipated.

The master lifted the bamboo hat; there were no holes underneath, only two thin slits through which water seeped.

"Four feet two inches, a woman working at a fire stall, the lingering fragrance of the pot, half price."

Tong Kexin grabbed the long spoon and started shoving it.

"I've never sold even half a bowl of this pot."

The straw raincoat was pulled onto the spoon head, a few blades of grass were scattered, but the bottom was empty. The wooden ruler was placed on top of it, and the spoon handle immediately bent down half an inch.

Tieguai Li's face darkened.

"Pricing is calculated based on the quantity of iron."

The personnel guarding the area had already raised their guns, and Tang Wanqing grabbed the muzzle, but another person pulled the trigger first. The bullet was only three inches from the master when it seemed to hit an invisible ruler, deflecting its direction and embedding itself in the wall of the abandoned ticket booth.

The ruler raised his ruler and made a stroke, instantly bending the barrel of the gun in the man's hand, with white smoke billowing out from the crack.

Cheng Xiaojin had already heard it clearly.

It wasn't that the gun was broken; it was that, according to the rules of the ruler, this thing had been measured as scrap metal.

The ruler turned his head, and the wooden ruler pointed directly at the account book in Han Shaobai's arms.

As soon as Han Shaobai got out of the car, the corner of the account book's cover was already blackened, with the blackening seeping inwards along the seal. His face had lost all color, but he still clutched the account book tightly.

"Why is it looking at me?"

Tieguai Li stepped in front to block his way.

"Because you clearly owe money."

With a tap of the Yin Wood Ruler, Han Shaobai heard a soft cracking sound from his wrist. His knees buckled, and he almost fell into the water, only managing to stay upright thanks to Tieguai Li's prosthetic leg.

"Don't kneel, if you kneel it will be taken as an admission of guilt."

The master's hat was pressed down even further.

"The ledger is six and three-tenths inches long, made of light paper with heavy ink, and can be folded."

The cover of the ledger turned black even faster.

Tang Wanqing flung out the red thread, and as soon as the end of the thread wrapped around Han Shaobai's ankle, a row of dense markings appeared on the water's surface. Following the end of the thread upwards, the entire red thread was measured into a short line and broke on the spot.

Tang Wanqing's fingertips trembled and bled; she then quickly pulled the broken thread back into her sleeve.

Cheng Xiaojin looked down at the water. With each step the ruler took, a short ruler mark would first appear on the surface of the water before it was supported.

It measures the flat road, the shadow, and all the objects that can fall into the water.

Cheng Xiaojin snatched Han Shaobai's account book, turned to the page on the empty wall of the Drum Tower, and wrote: "Enticing you with questions on the Yin Road, no payment, no delivery, no arrival, no order."

He glanced at the line of text and tore off a page.

Han Shaobai gasped in pain, but still managed to add a trembling sentence.

"Don't tear too many pages, this book is quite expensive."

"Your life is more precious."

Tieguai Li handed over the steel pipe.

"Where to put it?"

"Pipe head".

"What are you going to use to stick it?"

Cheng Xiaojin glanced at the mud on the ground.

"Saliva will do."

Han Shaobai looked pained, but still did as he was told. The account book was pasted onto the top of the steel pipe, crumpled up, and the words "Unpaid" looked even darker.

"Strike its armpit three inches below the ground."

Tieguai Li stared at the Yinmu ruler, then lifted the tube and circled around to the side.

The ruler was closing in again. Tong Kexin took a half step back, her heel hitting an overturned aluminum kettle. Just as she bent down to pick it up, the ruler tip immediately flicked at her shadow.

Although the light bulb went out, the car headlights were still on, and her shadow was once again dragged into the water.

"Four feet two inches, the remaining fire returns to water."

Tong Kexin planted the long spoon on the ground and refused to back down.

"Cheng Xiaojin, are you even capable?"

Cheng Xiaojin turned around and walked to the discarded ticket booth, reaching his left hand toward the rusty iron window frame.

Tang Wanqing stepped in front of her.

"Don't touch it."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at her.

"Let her shadow measure two more feet, and the fire in the pot will return to the water. The stalls at Andingmen will close tonight, and the stalls at Yin will open again tomorrow morning."

Tieguai Li was already cursing from the side.

"You two stop arguing later, my accounts are about to melt."

While she was distracted, Cheng Xiaojin had already fastened his left hand to the iron window frame.

As soon as the rusty iron touched Xin Jin, the old iron frame of the entire abandoned ticket booth lit up in his ears. The window frames, door hinges, iron nails on the top of the ticket booth, and the iron grates buried underground all formed a tattered net.

He didn't rush to exert himself; he listened first.

The counting sounds from the water cavity were climbing up the iron grate. Each number was attached to the scale on the ruler. The ruler used the scale on the water to determine the route, the shadow to determine the person, and the account book to determine the value.

Cheng Xiaojin didn't use any more blood. He just forced the breath he had brought all the way from Huguo Temple into the iron bars. That breath carried the smell of steamed bun skin, the pungent smell of soot, and the burnt aroma left by Tong Kexin's old soup oil after it had burned out.

The next moment, the entire iron frame of the abandoned ticket booth emitted a cracking sound.

The ruler marks on the water's surface were messed up.

The ruler stopped beside Tong Kexin's shadow. Taking advantage of this moment, Tong Kexin flicked her toe and kicked the overturned small aluminum kettle onto the shadow. The old soup oil residue at the bottom of the kettle stuck to the water surface. When the car headlights shone on it, the shadow was instantly cut in two.

This measurement fell short; only an empty pot was found.

"The woman at the fire stall, though the vessel is empty, still retains a lingering fragrance."

The small aluminum kettle immediately dented.

Tong Kexin's eye twitched, but she raised the long spoon even higher.

"Make it up to me later."

Han Shaobai immediately responded.

"I'll pay for it."

Tieguai Li had already circled around to the water's edge from the side. The account pages on the steel pipe were wet with water mist, making the words "unpaid" seem even heavier. The ruler heard footsteps, flipped the wooden ruler backward, and the reflection in the puddle first stretched out two black hands, wrapping around Tieguai Li's prosthetic limbs.

The prosthesis sank immediately.

Instead of pulling his leg away, Tieguai Li pushed the prosthetic leg half an inch deeper into the water and twisted the steel pipe with both hands.

"I've already lost money on this leg once, so I'm not afraid of you having to estimate it again."

The black hand climbed up the prosthetic leg, and just as it reached the knee, Tieguai Li twisted his waist, and the steel pipe swept across the water's surface. The ruler raised his ruler by one notch, and the steel pipe grazed past the raincoat, only bringing down a clump of grass.

The grass fell into the water and transformed into two small characters.

Unresolved.

Cheng Xiaojin recognized him at a glance and immediately spoke up.

"Don't stop, it's recognizing the ledger page."

A series of bubbling sounds came from under the ruler's bamboo hat.

"Unpaid, unsettled, but traceable."

Han Shaobai's face turned even paler.

Cheng Xiaojin loosened the iron bars on the window, and his left arm slumped down. Tang Wanqing immediately caught his elbow, but he ignored his hand and stared at the half-circle of bubbling ashes.

"Kexin, finish the closing remarks."

Tong Kexin turned her head and understood immediately, then slammed the long spoon against the ticket booth door frame.

"Shops at Andingmen are closing today, reopening tomorrow morning. We accept credit from honest people, but those who try to cheat us out of business!"

Behind the cordon in the distance, Aunt Liu and the others were blocked from coming over, but upon hearing this shout, they joined in through the fog.

"The same goes for the douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) stall: those who owe money, whether alive or dead, should pay tomorrow; don't try to act like a big shot with a wet ticket!"

Several voices, though not in unison, were full of life.

The ruler in the master's hand trembled, and the two unformed knots on the water surface immediately broke apart.

"Tiezhu, again."

Tieguai Li used one leg for leverage, while his prosthetic leg was still entangled by the black hand. He simply knocked off the buckle, leaving half of the prosthetic leg in the water. He then flipped to the side, using the force of his entire body to sweep the steel pipe out horizontally.

"Han Shaobai, remember this, it's called the poor man's version of molting."

This time, the steel pipe didn't hit its body, but struck the wooden ruler three inches from its hand. The words "unpaid" on the account page were rubbed against the ruler, and black liquid immediately gushed out from the ruler's markings.

The ruler master withdrew for the first time.

Only take half a step back.

It moved back above the iron grate, turned the wooden ruler, and pointed it directly at Cheng Xiaojin's left arm.

"Xin Jin hand, seven and a half inches long, high residual value."

Tang Wanqing's face darkened, and three silver needles fell at the same time. The ruler had already pressed down on Cheng Xiaojin's shadow. The car lights shone from behind, and the shadow of his left arm was dark and bluish. As soon as the wooden ruler touched him, his left hand clenched inward.

"Step back."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the ruler and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"You have good taste in measuring my hands."

As the wooden ruler pressed down, the blue thread on his left arm immediately shot up half a finger. Tang Wanqing flicked her red thread, wrapping it around his shoulder and trying to pull him away, but he pressed the end of the thread with his right hand and returned it to her palm.

"Don't pull me away, it thinks I'm the most valuable thing right now."

"You are valuable to begin with."

"Then make it unaffordable for them."

He raised his left arm and deliberately sent his shadow down the ruler. Tong Kexin's expression changed, and she was about to shout when Tang Wanqing stopped her.

"Don't call him by his name."

Cheng Xiaojin stretched his left hand to the water's edge, his fingertips only half an inch away from the black water. He measured upwards inch by inch along the shadow with the wooden ruler. His left arm grew heavier and heavier, his shoulder went numb, and even the car lights in front of him began to blur. But he finally heard the sound of the wood grain inside the dark wooden ruler.

This wood doesn't belong to Beijing; it's been soaked in the South Seas tide and inhaled the fragrance of the dead. Every mark on the ruler is inlaid with fine copper powder, specifically connected to the purple copper sound path of Shen Jiulou. After the piece of broken copper in the empty wall of the Drum Tower was destroyed, a gap was left in this ruler.

The notch is at the end of the ruler.

The ruler is measuring him now, which is equivalent to personally sending the copper powder at the end of the ruler into the Xin Jin listening domain.

This is exactly what Cheng Xiaojin has been waiting for.

He interlocked his fingers, and through the half-inch of water vapor, he pulled Xin Jin back into his body along with the shadow. At the same time, the ends of Tang Wanqing's three silver needles bent down, and Cheng Xiaojin felt a metallic taste rise in his throat, which he swallowed back forcefully.

The markings on the wooden ruler rise up one by one from the end of the ruler.

Cheng Xiaojin stared at it, his voice hoarse.

"Rust is cheap in Beijing, but cheap things are the most unpleasant to get your hands on."

The ruler tried to pull the ruler away, but it was already stuck. Xin Jin bit the copper powder in the wood grain, and the old, crackling sound of the iron frame of the abandoned ticket booth flowed into Cheng Xiao Jin's hand.

The dates and times on the ruler kept falling down, turning into black worms when they fell into the water. Just as they were about to burrow back down, Tong Kexin threw a spoonful of furnace ash back up.

"Go back? What are you talking about? We're closing up shop!"

Tieguai Li finally pulled his prosthetic leg out of the water, snapped it back onto his leg with a click, grabbed the steel pipe with both hands, and saw that half of the account page was rotten, but the words "unpaid" were still hanging there.

Cheng Xiaojin squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Three inches."

Tieguai Li rushed forward in one step.

The ruler was held back by Xin Jin, slowing its movements by half a beat. It tried to retreat into the water, but Tong Kexin smashed the last half circle of furnace ash, along with the basin, into the iron grate.

"Closing up!"

As soon as the gray liquid was covered, the black liquid immediately shrank downwards.

Tieguai Li's steel pipe swept across, hitting the zigzag waist of the ruler right there. The black characters on the account book flashed, and the ruler's entire body bent inward from the waist. It wasn't that it was interrupted; it was that the ruler itself bent back.

The road, shadow, and account it had measured all chased after it in this instant. Tong Kexin's words, "Get out of here, you shady bastard," hung on the water's surface, while Han Shaobai's unpaid page blocked its escape route.

The ruler opened his mouth and spat out a string of soaked eight characters.

Han Shaobai rushed forward with the account book in his arms, his wrist still aching, but he gripped the pen firmly.

"Write what?"

Cheng Xiaojin spoke in a low voice.

"A dead account, a Southeast Asian ruler, the wooden ruler is broken, the measurement is impossible, the credit becomes a dead account."

As soon as Han Shaobai finished writing, the wet characters sank to the bottom of the water one by one. The ruler's raincoat collapsed from the waist down, the grass turned black, and the straw hat rolled to the water's edge. Tong Kexin picked it up with a spoon, and there was nothing underneath but a clump of rotten wooden ruler scraps.

The wooden ruler broke into three pieces, all the markings on the ruler were gone, and only a stream of foul-smelling water was gushing out.

Tieguai Li, carrying the steel pipe, took a couple of breaths and looked down at the ledger page.

"This page of your paper is really valuable."

Han Shaobai plopped down on the ground, clutching his wrist and gasping for breath.

"It's worth it if it can be reimbursed."

Tang Wanqing ignored them and squatted down next to Cheng Xiaojin to remove the needles. The first needle tip was half black, the second was bent into a hook, and when the third was pulled out, the blue line on Cheng Xiaojin's left arm climbed up half a finger to the elbow and stopped below the elbow crease.

She pressed the needles into the waste needle bag, not even bothering to wipe the black liquid from the back of her hands.

"You just used yourself as bait."

Cheng Xiaojin sat down against the wall of the abandoned ticket booth, his left hand hanging down beside his knee, his fingers unable to spread.

"We have to let it see the goods first."

Tong Kexin walked over carrying the bent long spoon, looked down at him, the bandage was soaked in water, and the edges of the burn were red from being soaked.

"If you do it again, I'll tie you to the car first."

Tong Kexin stared at Cheng Xiaojin.

"You owe me a pot of soup, and a kettle. If you lose another piece of your arm, how will you repay me?"

Cheng Xiaojin was quiet for a moment, then took a coin out of his pocket and handed it over.

"Pay one dollar first."

Tong Kexin didn't catch it, but kicked it back at him.

"Keep it to buy coffin nails."

Town officials arrived with a group of people and took a look at the receding water outlet.

"The water has receded, the drain temperature has returned to normal, the instruments are still jumping around erratically, but people can get close now."

Zhou Banxian's voice came through the walkie-talkie, hoarse and strained.

"The water level at Andingmen has receded by half, but don't relax yet. The water level at Deshengmen hasn't receded; in fact, it's gotten higher."

Cheng Xiaojin picked up the coin and pressed it back into his palm.

"With the Drum Tower closed and Andingmen demolished, it can only move towards Deshengmen."

Tang Wanqing glanced at the broken ruler on the ground.

"The ruler was sent to dismantle the water cavity of Andingmen. Once he dies, the waterway will backflow onto the main line."

Just as Han Shaobai was about to ask where the main plot was, a gurgling sound came from under the iron grate.

Everyone bowed their heads.

The black water stopped rising, but a soaked delivery uniform slowly floated to the surface. The yellow vest was darkened by the water, and a food delivery receipt was stuck to its chest. Most of the words on the receipt had been washed away by the water, leaving only the delivery address clearly visible.

Under Deshengmen Bridge.

The operative squatted down, used clips to lift up the clothes, and his expression immediately changed.

"These are the clothes worn by people on the missing persons list."

Han Shaobai helped Tieguai Li to his feet, his voice weak.

"Those three from Gulou were rescued."

The operative shook his head.

"There are still people at Deshengmen. The ones whose photos were blurred in the previous batch weren't just delivery drivers."

A copper coin slipped out of the sleeve of the delivery uniform, landed on the iron grate, spun half a circle, and a small piece of white paper was stuffed into the coin hole.

Tang Wanqing used a silver needle to pick out the paper, unfolded it, and saw that only four characters that had been soaked in water remained.

The funeral procession was opened.

Zhou Banxian gasped for breath on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"broken."

Following closely behind was Master Ma's voice, which was even deeper than his.

"The old ditch at Deshengmen connects to the funeral route; that road was never meant for the living to travel on back then."

Cheng Xiaojin slowly stood up, her left arm still hanging at her side. After a while, she reached out and peeled off the food delivery receipt from her delivery uniform. The back of the receipt was soaked in black water and had a row of light marks, with the spacing between the front and back of the receipt being frighteningly neat.

Tieguai Li leaned over for a look, and the slight relief on his face vanished instantly.

"This doesn't look like a living person walking."

Cheng Xiaojin handed the receipt to Tang Wanqing.

"Ghost soldiers".

Over the walkie-talkie, the shouts from the Deshengmen lockdown team had completely broken down.

"Something was brought ashore from under the bridge."

"The water is full of bronze armor."

"The lamppost is broken, back up, back up quickly."

Then came the heavy thumping of water, one after another, coming from the night in the north, as if the entire old ditch was moving towards the shore.

Cheng Xiaojin looked up towards Deshengmen, where a row of cold bronze armor plates could be faintly seen through the fog.

Master Ma left only one sentence on the walkie-talkie.

"Don't block it on the ground, find someone who knows about water."

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the delivery uniform, clenching the coins in his palm into his bruised skin.

"Han Shaobai."

"exist."

"Pay the money."

Han Shaobai immediately looked up.

"Whom should we invite?"

Cheng Xiaojin tucked the food receipt into a blank page of the ledger and turned to walk towards the car.

"In the Huguosi noodle shop, there's a skinny old man named Tan who drinks Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). He's a corpse retriever."

Tieguai Li shouldered the chipped steel pipe and followed him onto the vehicle.

"This time, we've hired someone who actually knows how to eat underwater."

Tong Kexin threw the curved spoon into the truck bed, then bent down to pick up the dented small aluminum kettle and hung it back on her waist.

"Cheng Xiaojin".

Cheng Xiaojin turned around.

She stood in front of the ticket booth, the water in the back cavity had turned black, and cold air was still emanating from the iron grate.

"After the Deshengmen battle, you'll be alive to return the soup."

Cheng Xiaojin glanced at her, and a hint of his usual witty banter finally returned to his lips.

"Okay, interest will be calculated based on the price of steamed buns."

The car door closed, and the second sound of stomping water came through the walkie-talkie. Brass armor clashed, long spears dragged on the ground, and the shouts of the control personnel were swallowed up by the waterway. The car headlights cut through the fog and headed straight for Huguo Temple.

Beneath the discarded ticket booth, the broken piece of the wooden ruler turned over in the furnace ash, revealing a character "Shen" scorched by copper powder on its back. The next moment, sour bean juice seeped through the crack, corroding the character "Shen" through, leaving only a wisp of foul smoke clinging to the ground, crawling towards Deshengmen.