roccoschili Chapter 78: The Nasal Scar's Submission of a Memorial
Chapter 78: The Nasal Scar's Submission of a Memorial
As soon as Boss Lin took a few steps out, cold air emanated from the third array diagram leaked out of the seam of his briefcase.
Cheng Xiaojin did not chase after him, but stood by the waterline in the back alley of Rongbaozhai, his sleeves covering his hands, his toes grinding the damp dust in the brick seams.
Mr. Lin got into the back seat of the van first, his secretary held the door for him and half of his body blocked the side of the van, while the man with the nose scar walked at the back with a black cloth bag in his arms, and hadn't gotten into the van yet.
Tong Kexin asked softly, "Are we just going to let him take him away like that?"
"We can't beat them."
Cheng Xiaojin answered decisively.
"They have a magic diagram in their bag, money and connections behind them, and a boss from Southeast Asia. What do we have? A proprietress carrying a pot of ginger soup, a cripple with a wrench, and a drunken old charlatan?"
Zhou Banxian was displeased, "I'm not drunk."
Cheng Xiaojin turned around.
"So you called the trash can 'senior brother' just now?"
Zhou Banxian, holding his wine jug, remained silent.
A black line peeked out half an inch from the crack in the brickwork behind the stationery store, and a rustling sound came from the trash can.
The lid of the bucket was slightly ajar, and a wet piece of paper was stuck to the side, with two words visible through the water stains.
Too talkative...
Zhou Banxian's expression immediately turned sour.
"Who's being nosy? Can't I even address him as 'Senior Brother'?"
Without saying a word, Cheng Xiaojin put the Qianlong Tongbao coin on the lid of the bucket.
"Old Zhou, shut up for a bit. Yinmen has just fallen asleep; don't wake it up."
Water seeped from the bottom of the bucket, and half a small handprint floated to the surface, with slender fingers pressing against the edge of the coin.
Tang Wanqing tossed out three copper coins, which landed at the bottom of the bucket, causing the waterline to recede.
"The seventh gate was activated by the sound of the measuring gate, and the surrounding old objects responded."
As Cheng Xiaojin watched the small handprint disappear, the playful smirk on his face also faded.
There are too many old things in Liulichang: silver hairpins for ghost marriages, dowries to pay off gambling debts, door knockers stolen from deceased relatives, longevity locks hidden at the bottom of cabinets. Living people put their guilty thoughts into objects, and sooner or later the objects will have to vomit them out.
The van's window rolled down, and Boss Lin sat inside, watching the people in the alley.
Cheng Xiaojin's voice suddenly rang out.
"Nose scar".
"Your sleeve is missing a piece, and so is your shadow. Go back and have General Manager Lin report it as a work injury."
The secretary spoke up, "Mr. Cheng, that's enough."
Cheng Xiaojin ignored him. "Don't rush. Let me chat with the door measuring master for a bit. You were carrying a recording pen when we were rescuing people. You must have been quite busy."
The man with the nasal scar turned his head away, the alley lamplight illuminating the scar on his nose, making it reflect light slightly.
Cheng Xiaojin pointed to the powder marks left by the copper ruler on the ground.
"See for yourself."
The man with the nasal scar remained silent, but Boss Lin spoke up, "Let's go."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"Mr. Lin, it won't hurt to let him take a look. Anyway, he's already tested the waters with a copper ruler once."
The man with the nasal scar clutched the black cloth bag tightly.
Tang Wanqing placed the compass next to the copper ruler fragments, and the needle deflected along the gray-black mark.
"The crack has two layers of marks. The outer layer is the gray water that was activated by the gate's energy, and the inner layer is the trace left by the gatekeeper's yang energy being drawn away."
His face, marked by the nose scar, paled even more.
"Last night in Master Ma's courtyard, your shadow was bitten off by half an inch by the gray water. Today, you measured the seventh spot with the door latch, and the shadow on the wall bit your cuff. It was you both times."
Cheng Xiaojin looked up at Boss Lin.
"General Manager Lin's hands are clean, his secretary's hands are clean, and the boss in Southeast Asia is far away. If he wants to eat people, he'll eat the one who has the foot first."
Boss Lin's face darkened.
"Mr. Cheng, you're trying to sow discord."
"Don't be nervous, I'm just doing some accounting."
Cheng Xiaojin touched the foot of the nose scar through his sleeve.
"The alley lamp is to your left and behind you, so your shadow should fall to your right and front. Take a step closer to the crack in the brickwork, and you'll be in the right position."
The air in the alleyway grew heavy.
The man with the nasal scar slowly lowered his head and took half a step as instructed, placing both feet together on a crack between bricks.
The alley lights shone down, casting people's shadows diagonally across the damp bricks.
The shadow on the right foot followed the brick seam smoothly outwards; the shadow on the left foot, however, looked as if it had been gnawed by something, the tail of the shadow was shorter, and the edge was covered with a ring of wet gray fur.
Tang Wanqing raised her hand and flicked out a copper coin.
The copper coin rolled along the ground and stopped in front of the shadow of the scarred nose's left foot. It didn't sink into the shadow, but just trembled slightly at the outer edge of the gap.
She flicked out a second one, which landed near the right foot shadow of the nose scar.
The two copper coins were placed one in front of the other, exactly half an inch apart.
The half inch that was missing last night hasn't come back yet.
Cheng Xiaojin looked at Boss Lin.
"President Lin, I may be a bit cheeky, but I didn't mean to scare the employees. They are people, not spare parts."
The secretary frowned. "That's enough."
Cheng Xiaojin asked with a smile, "What's the rush?"
Mr. Lin finally calmed down a bit. "Mr. Cheng, if you want the array diagram, you can just say so."
"Will you give it to me if I tell you clearly?"
"impossible."
"That settles it."
Cheng Xiaojin put his hands back into his sleeves.
"I'm not robbing or stealing today. I'm just reminding my brother with the nasal scar not to measure himself down to half a skin just because of what the boss says."
He looked at the scar on his nose.
"Mr. Lin has a large family and many subordinates. If he loses one inspector, he can send another from Southeast Asia. But you only have one life. Who will replace him if you lose one?"
The person with the nasal scar did not reply.
Cheng Xiaojin continued.
"Last night in Master Ma's courtyard, I didn't let the ash water finish eating your shadow. Today you were measuring the door, and I told you not to. Brother Li saved you with a wrench, and Miss Tang suppressed your shadow with copper coins. You owe us two and a half lives."
Tieguai Li added a sentence.
"Half of it is the cuff."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"Yes, the cuffs aren't worth much, so we'll count them as half a pair."
Tong Kexin glared at him but didn't say anything.
Boss Lin spoke again.
"Walk."
This time, the nasal scar was touched.
He bent down to pick up the corner of the black cloth on the ground. The black cloth had been wrapped around the copper ruler. As he picked up the cloth, the tip of his shoe lightly touched the ground.
A small brass button rolled out from the hem of his trousers, spun twice along the crack in the brickwork, and stopped not far from Cheng Xiaojin.
The copper buckle is small, with polished edges and a ring of fine, shallow water ripples on the back.
Cheng Xiaojin moved the tip of his shoe over to block the brass buckle. The movement was natural, as if he was trying to avoid the water on the ground.
Mr. Lin's gaze stopped, and his secretary beside him also turned his attention to him.
Without looking at Cheng Xiaojin, he stood up while holding the black cloth.
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"President Lin, your subordinates are very disciplined; they even drop things in a methodical way."
Boss Lin looked at the nose scar.
The man with the nasal scar had his head down.
"The copper ruler is broken, the black cloth is torn, and an old button may have fallen off."
The secretary quickly leaned over and reached into the car to check the briefcase next to Boss Lin.
The outer buttons are all there.
The copper buckle at Cheng Xiaojin's feet carried a chilling aura drawn by the third array diagram.
It's the hidden clasp inside the briefcase, the item that's close to the array diagram's storage compartment.
The chill crept up Cheng Xiaojin's instep through the sole of his shoe, but he didn't touch it.
Tang Wanqing subtly moved the copper coin in her sleeve, suppressing the aura on the ground.
Boss Lin stared at the scarred nose for a few seconds, but the scarred nose's shoulder didn't move an inch.
Inside the van, the driver glanced back, then turned back.
Boss Lin withdrew his gaze.
"Get in the car."
The man with the nasal scar, clutching a black cloth bag, ducked and walked around the back of the car.
Before getting on the bus, he glanced at Cheng Xiaojin's feet out of the corner of his eye.
very short.
Cheng Xiaojin pushed the toe of his shoe into the shadows, the brass buckle being covered by the dark color of the brick seams.
The man with the nasal scar got into the car.
The secretary then closed the car door and went around to sit in the passenger seat.
The van drove out of the back alley.
Tieguai Li walked over.
"He submitted his application."
Cheng Xiaojin watched the direction the car had gone.
"It doesn't count as a formal allegiance yet."
"What does that count for?"
"Consider it him leaving himself a way out."
Cheng Xiaojin moved the tip of her shoe away.
The copper buckle lay on the damp brick, with a ring of fine water droplets hanging from its edge. The water droplets did not fall to the ground, but stuck to the copper edge.
Just as Tong Kexin was about to reach out, Cheng Xiaojin stopped her.
"Don't touch it."
Tang Wanqing used a red cloth as a pad to pick up the copper buckle, then attached the compass to it, and the needle deviated towards the third marker.
"The array diagram was kept close to my body for quite some time."
The man with glasses crouched down and took a look.
"The briefcase has a hidden snap closure inside, which most people wouldn't open. The nose scar has been surgically removed."
Tieguai Li grinned.
"This kid has pretty delicate hands."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.
"Brother Li, are you praising the enemy's employee?"
Praise the skill, not the person.
Zhou Banxian came over, his smell of alcohol filling half the alley.
"Can this button be used to track someone?"
Tang Wanqing shook her head.
"It can only stabilize the Qi. If the array diagram is drawn too far away, the Qi will dissipate."
Cheng Xiaojin took out the copper-bodied ashtray and held it about a foot close to the copper buckle.
The water droplets on the edge of the copper buckle moved, forming a small vertical hook, and then quickly dispersed.
His father's secret mark came true again.
Cheng Xiaojin curled her fingertips tightly inside her sleeve.
"Let's go back to Master Ma's place first tonight. Brother Li will take apart the buttons to see if there are any hidden compartments. Old Zhou will check the three-pronged approach and the ruler. Miss Tang will check the door's feng shui. The landlady will keep an eye on me and not let me touch anything that might be a little impulsive."
Tong Kexin said irritably, "I'm good at this job."
Tieguai Li wrapped the copper buckle in red cloth, and then added another layer of oiled paper.
King of Glasses carefully put away the small white box containing the copper foil.
"I'll be waiting for you tomorrow noon."
The group didn't linger and turned to leave the back alley.