roccoschili Chapter 87: Half an Inch Less in the Shadow, the Nose Scar's Pledge of Allegiance
Chapter 87: Half an Inch Less in the Shadow, the Nose Scar's Pledge of Allegiance
The bathroom window was narrow, just big enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.
Tieguai Li first caught the folding ladder on the linen cart from outside the ventilation shaft, then wedged his prosthetic leg into the crack in the wall, creating a foothold for Cheng Xiaojin.
As Cheng Xiaojin crawled out, his cuff brushed against the outer wall of the water pipe, the damp coldness clinging to him through the fabric and seeping in along his forearm.
He quickly withdrew his hand.
Tieguai Li, from behind, muttered in a low voice, "I told you not to touch the water pipes."
"I didn't touch it, it was through my sleeve."
"Even if it's through the coffin lid, it's still considered burial."
Cheng Xiaojin didn't argue back this time.
The maintenance platform on the outside of the thirteenth floor was slippery from the rain, and the wind whipped the drizzle onto my face. Car headlights swept back and forth below, and a stack of empty wine crates was piled up in the narrow alley behind the hotel.
Tieguai Li stuffed the blueprints into a waterproof bag and urged him in a low voice, "Go down first."
Cheng Xiaojin glanced back at the window of the room with the nose scar.
There was a faint yellow light behind the curtains.
"Brother Li, he just mentioned the surname Shen."
Tieguai Li held onto the pipe with one hand, his brows lowered.
"That guy surnamed Shen from the Nanyang line?"
"I have no idea."
"Stop thinking about it, just get back alive tonight."
Voices could be heard coming from the hallway, and even through the wall, one could sense their urgency.
"Where are they? Where did the cleaning truck go?"
Tieguai Li's face darkened.
"They've realized what's going on."
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at the end of the platform.
"Which way?"
"You can't go down, there are security cameras on the ninth floor. Go up, to the rooftop."
The two climbed up the outer iron ladder, raindrops dripping from the cracks in the ladder. With each step Cheng Xiaojin took, his fingertips would go numb.
He dared not grip the railing with his palms, but instead used his sleeves to wrap around the iron bars for leverage.
Tieguai Li, who was ahead, turned around to look at him.
"Can you hold on?"
"If you can't hold on, will you carry me?"
"Your mouth is more durable than your legs."
"That's fine, it's not time to be scrapped yet."
Climbing to the outside of the rooftop, Tieguai Li took out a thin piece of metal, pressed it against the keyhole, and flicked it a few times until the door opened.
The wind was strong on the rooftop, and the rain was heavier. A cold wind howled as it passed through the rooftop equipment room.
As soon as the two went inside, they heard the sound of the security door opening downstairs.
"Look up there."
Cheng Xiaojin dragged Tieguai Li behind the water tank.
The word "water tank" popped into his head, and his back tensed up.
Tieguai Li saw it too, and lowered his voice: "Don't get too close."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
Two bodyguards pushed open the door and entered, their flashlights sweeping across the floor.
"Nobody's here."
"The fire door lock was just opened, they must have come up."
"The boss said not to make a scene, the hotel still has guests."
"Then block the elevator and check the security footage."
The flashlight beam swept past the edge of the water tank.
Water droplets are falling from the bottom of the water tank.
Snapped.
Cheng Xiaojin clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves.
The second drop of water fell.
The water stains on the ground slowly spread out, forming a winding line.
One.
Cheng Xiaojin bit the old wound on the tip of her tongue, and the taste of blood spread in her mouth.
Tieguai Li looked down and saw the water, and his expression changed.
"Don't let it continue counting."
Cheng Xiaojin didn't bring any Qianlong Tongbao coins, so he could only take out the ordinary brass coin and press it down through his sleeve.
The copper coin pressed down on the water stains, which spread out but quickly reappeared from the edges.
two.
The bodyguard heard the noise.
"Who?"
The flashlight beam turned around.
Tieguai Li grabbed a discarded mop from the side and threw it toward the equipment and pipes in the distance.
There was a loud clanging sound.
Both bodyguards turned around at the same time.
"there."
They ran toward the sound.
Taking advantage of the brief moment, Cheng Xiaojin pressed the ashtray next to the water stain and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Dad, can I borrow a light?"
The vertical hook at the bottom of the ashtray is a hidden mark that sticks to the ground.
The water stains swayed.
The bluish tinge at the base of Cheng Xiaojin's fingernails pushed outwards by half a step, causing the old wound on the tip of his tongue to continue bleeding in pain.
The numbers on the ground were not numbered any further down.
Tieguai Li grabbed him.
"Walk."
The two went down to the fourteenth floor from the other side of the rooftop, and then took the staff elevator back to the laundry room.
When they arrived at the back door, Tong Kexin was waiting at the alley entrance, holding a black umbrella.
She noticed the red marks on Cheng Xiaojin's neck at a glance, and her expression immediately changed.
"Who did this?"
Cheng Xiaojin touched his neck.
"The person with the nose scar measured my neckline."
"I asked who did it?"
Tieguai Li chimed in from the side: "Knife."
Tong Kexin stepped forward and pulled open his collar to check.
Cheng Xiaojin tried to back away.
"Hey, men and women shouldn't touch each other, there are so many eyes watching in the alley."
"Shut up."
She pressed a dry handkerchief against the wound and smelled blood in his mouth again.
"You bit your tongue again?"
"This time, we didn't use much at all."
"How much is too much? Does it have to be bitten off completely to count?"
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the handkerchief in her hand.
"Boss lady, this handkerchief of yours must be quite expensive. I'll pay you back later."
Tong Kexin stared at him.
"What will you use to compensate?"
"Once the business is completed, I'll put up a sign for your braised food stall: Cheng family's ancestral craftsmanship, honest and trustworthy to all, young and old."
"You need to protect your own reputation first."
Tieguai Li handed over the waterproof bag.
"Got the map, let's go back to the hospital first."
The three of them went around the alley entrance and got into an old van.
The driver was Sister Zhou's cousin, a thin man of few words. Seeing them get in the car, he only asked one question: "Back to Master Ma's Courtyard?"
Tong Kexin nodded.
"Take the back roads and avoid the East Third Ring Road."
After the car started moving, Cheng Xiaojin leaned against the window, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
Tong Kexin handed him a bag of dried sesame cakes.
"eat."
"I just ate half of it."
"That was at noon."
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at her.
"Why do you sound just like Aunt Zhang?"
The car fell silent immediately.
Tong Kexin's hand froze in mid-air.
Cheng Xiaojin lowered her head. "That's not what I meant."
Tong Kexin placed the sesame seed cake on his lap.
"I know."
Tieguai Li, who was in the passenger seat, was looking at blueprints when he spoke, breaking the silence.
"The nose scar wasn't entirely lying. This double-bottomed bag is more complicated than a typical smuggled bag. The first layer deceives customs, the second layer deceives other smugglers, and the third layer hides the deadly stuff."
Cheng Xiaojin asked, "Can it be copied?"
"The appearance can be imitated, but the mechanism is troublesome."
"How troublesome is it?"
Don't let me sleep before dawn.
Tong Kexin asked, "Where's the leather?"
"Old cowhide is hard to find."
Cheng Xiaojin thought for a moment.
"Zhao Defa in Panjiayuan has an old saddle from the 1980s. It's been hanging there for half a year and no one has bought it. People say it smells pungent."
Tieguai Li nodded.
"The saddle leather is old enough to be used after cutting it open. I have some old brass buckles, but the oil smell isn't right, so I'll have to adjust it."
Tong Kexin took out her phone to send a message.
"I'll have Xiao Zhou go get it, but don't bother Zhao Defa too much."
Cheng Xiaojin leaned back in his seat.
"Zhao Defa has such a big mouth; if he drops a saddle in the middle of the night, it'll be rumored to be Genghis Khan resurrected by tomorrow morning."
Tieguai Li said, "Then I'll buy it and pay."
"Easy for you to say. I'm so poor now that even ghosts don't bother with me."
Tong Kexin looked at him.
"I'll pay for it."
Cheng Xiaojin wanted to say no, but seeing her expression, she swallowed her words back.
The car passed an intersection, the windshield wipers swung back and forth, the water lines on the glass were wiped away and then covered again.
Cheng Xiaojin took out an ashtray from his pocket.
The person with the nose scar mentioned was surnamed Shen, and he kept whispering in his ear.
Tieguai Li asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I wonder where my dad actually touched twenty years ago."
"If you find your way into the ouroboros bag, into the Nanyang copper ruler, you might even find your way into the line with the surname Shen."
Tong Kexin said, "Then you mustn't be in a hurry."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the bottom of the ashtray.
The vertical hook mark was subtly visible in the car headlights, swaying back and forth.
"I'm not in a hurry."
Tong Kexin had a sullen face.
"You just used the ashtray to pump water again, and you still say you're not in a hurry?"
Cheng Xiaojin was taken aback.
"Brother Li, are you tattling?"
Tieguai Li didn't even turn his head.
"I didn't say that."
Tong Kexin reached out and took the ashtray from his hand.
The bottom of the ashtray was covered in ash water, and there were wet marks on the edges.
"Do you think I'm blind?"
Cheng Xiaojin opened his mouth.
"Boss lady, this isn't an intelligence network, it's an audit."
"Don't flatter me. When you get back to the hospital, let Tang Wanqing see your hands first."
"Let's look at the bag first."
"Look at your hands first."
"The package can't be copied, and the array diagram can't be obtained."
Tong Kexin moved closer to him.
"With your hand ruined, who are you going to lure back to the target using the array diagram?"
Cheng Xiaojin was speechless.
Tieguai Li chuckled as he led the way.
"The proprietress is right this time."
Cheng Xiaojin sighed.
"Okay, when you get back, check your hands first, then your bag, then eat the sesame seed cake, and finally get scolded."
Tong Kexin stuffed the dried sesame seed cake into his hand.
"Eat now."
The bread truck turned into the alley.
The white cloth is still hanging at the entrance of Master Ma's courtyard house, pasted onto the door panel after being soaked by the rain.
The lights were on in the courtyard.
Tang Wanqing stood under the eaves, holding a compass in her arms, while Zhou Banxian squatted by the well, the yellow paper being replaced with another layer.
Master Ma sat at the entrance of the main room, a teacup resting on his lap.
When Cheng Xiaojin got out of the car, Master Ma looked up.
"Did you get it?"
Tieguai Li raised the waterproof bag.
"Got it."
The lid of the teacup in Master Ma's hand clicked once.
"Then let's make bags."
Cheng Xiaojin looked towards the west wing.
Behind the paper window, a white light shone quietly.
He whispered, "Aunt Zhang, we've taken the first step."