mousepad-d2 Chapter 101: Iron Falls at Midnight, Bone Setting at the Gate of Death
Chapter 101: Iron Falls at Midnight, Bone Setting at the Gate of Death
When midnight arrived, the wind on the wasteland stopped even more thoroughly.
The moonlight fell on a spot seven steps and three inches to the southeast, where a small wooden stake was half-exposed in the damp soil.
The copper coins around were either broken or blackened, with only half a circle remaining to hold up.
Tang Wanqing re-tied the broken red thread.
"The second layer of the copper coin formation is half destroyed, and the third layer can only suppress it for half an hour."
Zhou Banxian placed the compass next to the array diagram and wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth.
"Is half an hour enough?"
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the Zhenhai ironwood box.
"It has to be enough, even if it's not enough."
Tieguai Li opened the wooden box.
Once the red thread was untied, the Zhenhai Iron was revealed.
The dark, ancient iron lay on the old cotton quilt, its surface rusted and dull.
The moment the lid of the box was opened, the gray water at the bottom of the old pit receded half an inch, then quickly rose again.
Master Ma placed the battle formation diagram to the north of the predetermined landing point.
"The formation diagram leads to the deviation."
Zhou Banxian said, "I will report the number of steps and the location of the door."
Tang Wanqing pressed the copper coins into the mud one by one.
"I'll use a three-layered formation to prevent the water elemental from turning against us."
Tieguai Li took out four iron nails and elm wedges.
"I'm stuck in a metal frame, three and a half inches to the side. Whoever slips up is a coward."
When Cheng Xiaojin unwrapped the towel and revealed her hands, Tang Wanqing's expression turned sour.
The blue lines had already crossed the base of the fingers, and several cold marks clung to the skin, climbing up the tendons.
She reached out and pressed her hand on his wrist.
"You're at most 50% of your usual touch right now."
Cheng Xiaojin moved his fingers.
"To put it optimistically, there's still 50% left."
"What if we put it the worst?"
"To put it bluntly, they might have to close down their stall and start selling pancakes instead."
Tieguai Li retorted, "Do you even know how to do a stall?"
"No, I'll hire you."
"roll."
Master Ma looked at Cheng Xiaojin.
"Xiao Jin, remember, only reattach the first broken root, and stop once you've reattached it. Don't be greedy."
Cheng Xiaojin stopped laughing.
"Mr. Ma, what if the first one isn't enough?"
"Even if it's not enough, save your life first."
Zhou Banxian glanced at the old pit, then at Cheng Xiaojin.
"As long as you're alive, there's always another chance."
"Alright, we'll go by your terms first. If our ancestors are unreasonable, I'll negotiate with them."
Tieguai Li and his cousin Zhou Jie carried the iron together.
When Zhenhai Iron left the wooden box, cold air emanated from the old cotton quilt underneath.
Cheng Xiaojin reached out to support one side, his fingertips touching the iron surface, and his feet slipped slightly.
Tang Wanqing immediately raised her hand.
"If you can't take it anymore, just say so."
"We can hold on."
The Zhenhai Iron let out a low dragon roar, and the fragments of the protective iron scales were placed under its body, close to its lower back.
The formation diagram is shown in front, the iron scales are below, and the elm wedges are used to determine the angle.
Zhou Banxian stared at the compass.
"The landing point was perfect."
Tieguai Li shouted: "Support your lower back, and lower your front half an inch."
Tang Wanqing said, "The red thread is wrapped around the iron, so it won't touch your hands."
Master Ma said in a deep voice, "Fall into the trap."
The first foot of Zhenhai Iron was buried.
The wet mud parted to both sides, and the lime water, pressed down by the iron gas, retreated into the old pit.
Zhou Bansian's eyes lit up.
"Smoothly".
A series of soft sounds rang out from Tang Wanqing's copper coin thread.
"The first layer is connected."
Tieguai Li grinned.
"Our ancestors were very accommodating today."
Cheng Xiaojin remained silent.
His hands were pressed against the sides of the Zhenhai Iron, and the sensation was a mixture of cold and pain.
The dragon's roar emanating from the iron body was very deep. As it sank into the water, the sound shortened slightly when it encountered the first broken root.
He heard something close up underwater.
Click! Very light.
When the old wooden latch is put back into its groove, that's the sound it makes.
"I can see the opening of the first one."
Cheng Xiaojin said in a low voice.
Master Ma said, "Stay calm."
The second foot of the Zhenhai Iron was buried.
The fragments of the protective iron scales flashed, and the water ripples remaining on the iron surface slid down along the Zhenhai Iron.
The black mud that had been gushing out of the old pit receded three inches, revealing the whitish old soil underneath.
Zhou's cousin stood by the car and couldn't help but speak.
"The water has receded."
Zhou Banxian cursed, "Stop watching the show, keep an eye on the outer circle."
The people from the outer circle, owned by Boss Lin, haven't left yet.
Behind the black umbrella, someone gently shook a copper bell.
The moment the bell rings, the ash-water at the bottom of the old pit will churn again.
Tang Wanqing tossed out two copper coins.
"If anyone shakes the bell again, I'll break their hand first."
Tieguai Li hoisted the wrench onto his shoulder.
"Miss Tang, let me help you break the other one."
Boss Lin stood at a distance, without moving.
He watched the Zhenhai Iron fall, his face growing increasingly grim.
The secretary, clutching her briefcase, dared not speak.
Nose Scar stood at the edge of the crowd, his shadow shorter, but his toes pointed towards Cheng Xiaojin.
The third foot of the Zhenhai Iron was buried in the ground.
A tingling sensation spread through Cheng Xiaojin's palm.
He heard a second underwater broken root stick up to him.
"Slant it a little more."
Tieguai Li immediately pressed down the elm wedge.
"southeast?"
"Don't go past three and a half inches."
Cheng Xiaojin squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, "Once you get past that, you'll be facing a dead end."
Master Zhou examines the compass.
"The atmosphere at the entrance is not chaotic."
Tang Wanqing's forehead was beaded with sweat.
"The third layer is starting to draw water, hurry!"
Master Ma said, "Set the bone."
Cheng Xiaojin pressed both hands onto the Zhenhai Iron.
Xin Jin Qi was sent from the palm into the iron body.
He had expected it to be very cold.
However, when the first wisp of air entered the iron, the Zhenhai Iron actually heated up a bit.
The heat, carrying the sound of forging six hundred years ago, seeped into his palm along the rust.
He heard the third real dragon roar.
It was long and heavy, stretching from the underground of the city towards Beijing, through waterways, through the base of the old city walls, and through countless unseen bolts.
Cheng Xiaojin's touch returned somewhat at that moment.
The fingertips can distinguish the rust from the top and bottom, and also the fine crevices of underwater roots.
Tang Wanqing whispered, "Your hand?"
Cheng Xiaojin twitched the corner of his mouth.
"My ancestors gave me some overtime pay, 60% of it."
Zhou the fortune teller exclaimed happily, "It's connected?"
Cheng Xiaojin listened to the sound of the iron fitting together.
"The first one is connected."
The grey water in the old pit began to flow backward, and the water shrank downstream along the original waterway.
The dampness under the barren slope has subsided, and the withered branches in the abandoned orchard, bent by the dampness, have slowly lifted up a little.
The outer ring of copper bells stopped ringing.
Under the black umbrella, the two Southeast Asian feng shui masters took a half step back.
Tieguai Li's eyes reddened as he read this.
"Did it work?"
Master Ma remained silent.
Cheng Xiaojingang was about to retract his first breath of Xin Jin Qi when a hollow sound came from the iron base.
The sound didn't come from Mancheng, nor from the third old pit.
Someone moved something in the distance, and the echo circled around, carrying a faint sound from thirty paces away, before forcefully inserting itself into the dragon's roar.
Cheng Xiaojin's expression changed.
Zhou Bansian immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Xiaojin didn't dare to let go.
There is a blank number.
Tang Wanqing asked, "What empty number?"
"The number of shadows is hidden in the directions."
Cheng Xiaojin's throat was full of the taste of blood. "Thirty steps away."
Zhou Banxian looked down at the compass.
The compass needle was still pressing on the seven-step, three-inch mark, without deviating.
"That's right."
Master Ma flipped the diagram over and looked at the broken lines on the back.
"The array diagram is also correct."
Tieguai Li got anxious.
"What's wrong with that?"
Cheng Xiaojin gritted his teeth.
"Even earlier."
The repulsive force beneath the Zhenhai Iron began to push upwards.
Tang Wanqing tightened the red thread, and the three layers of copper coins jingled together.
"It's rebounding."
Master Ma said in a deep voice, "Xiao Jin, stop breathing."
"We can't accept it."
Cheng Xiaojin pressed his hands on the iron, and the blue wire climbed up again. "As soon as the first wire was connected, I pulled it away, and it broke immediately."
Just then, he heard another incomplete number.
146.
The sounds that emerged from underwater, carrying the damp, cold steam from the kitchen, climbed up his tongue.
Cheng Xiaojin lowered his eyelids and pressed his palm down slightly on the iron surface.
"Aunt Zhang's debt hasn't been settled yet."
Boss Lin watched this scene from the outside, and his expression finally changed.
He said in a low voice, "I see."
Cheng Xiaojin looked up at him.
"You know?"
Boss Lin didn't answer. He took half a step back, and the black umbrella followed suit, its edge leaving the moonlight by the old pit.
Zhou Banxian roared, "Don't get distracted!"
The Zhenhai Iron emitted a long whistle.
Cheng Xiaojin forcefully shoved that mouthful of pungent metal into the first broken end.
click!
The first underwater root completely closed.
The grey water in the old pit has receded by half a foot.
But the next moment, the entire Zhenhai Iron block shoved upwards.
Tieguai Li's expression changed.
"I can't hold it down anymore."