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

Chapter 88: 3-Second Blind Switch, Tieguai Li's Skill

No more cooking was done in the courtyard house late at night.

Tieguai Li set up his worktable under the eaves; an old door panel, two long benches, and a layer of oilcloth served as his work surface.

When the old saddle arrived, it still smelled of earth.

Zhao Defa didn't dare to ask any more questions. He only heard that Master Ma wanted it, so he ran over wearing a raincoat, took the money, and left with his face wiped clean.

"Mr. Ma, I'm selling this to you now, don't come back and say I sold a fake."

Cheng Xiaojin stood under the corridor.

"You still have any real stuff on your stall?"

Zhao Defa glared at him.

"Cheng Xiaojin, you're already like this, why are you still insulting me?"

Cheng Xiaojin smiled.

"Habits can't be changed."

Zhao Defa glanced at the white lamp in the west wing, his lips moved slightly, but he stopped arguing.

"I heard about Aunt Zhang's situation. My wife will come to help tomorrow."

Master Ma nodded, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Zhao Defa waved his hand, turned around and left.

The courtyard gate closed, and Tieguai Li used his knife to cut open the saddle skin.

The leather is old and hard, with many cracks on the edges, but the inner layer is still sturdy.

Tieguai Li took a sniff.

"It works."

Tong Kexin placed her phone on the table, and messages kept popping up on the screen.

"The antique market has two underground floors with three entrances: the main entrance for checking invitations, the side entrance for shipping goods, and the back entrance for staff. Han Shaobai can provide one assistant position at Boguzhai."

Cheng Xiaojin sat to the side, while Tang Wanqing looked at his hands.

She measured his wrist with a red thread, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"I've stirred up the metal element again tonight."

"It moved a little."

"How many numbers do we count to on the water tank side?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked at Tieguai Li.

Tieguai Li lowered his head and ground the copper buckle.

Tang Wanqing said, "Don't look at him, I'm asking you a question."

"two."

Tang Wanqing tightened the red thread.

"Even two counts as advancement. You don't have any Qianlong Tongbao coins now, and the ashtray isn't a protective bronze charm; every time you use it, it's gone."

Cheng Xiaojin said, "My dad wouldn't be that petty."

Master Ma spoke at the entrance of the main room.

"If Shouyi were here, he would have hit you first."

Cheng Xiaojin shut up.

Tang Wanqing wiped the edge of his fingernails with mugwort ash.

"Don't touch any old material tonight."

Tieguai Li didn't even raise his head.

"Then how did he fill the fake bag with cold air?"

Tong Kexin immediately looked at Cheng Xiaojin, "What do you mean by 'filling in the air conditioning'?"

Cheng Xiaojin coughed.

"For technical discussions, you don't necessarily need to use me."

Tieguai Li said, "I don't need you. The bag lacks the weight and feel of the array pattern on the bottom. Boss Lin carries the bag every day, and his secretary carries it every day. They can feel the difference even if it's a penny lighter."

Tong Kexin said, "Can't we stuff it with iron blocks?"

Tieguai Li shook his head.

"Ordinary iron has a metallic taste and no warmth. The array diagram has been pasted on the third pile, and the cold air is different."

Tang Wanqing said, "Even using old iron won't work?"

"Old iron is filled with yin energy; it can't be fooled."

Cheng Xiaojin pulled her hand away from Tang Wanqing.

"Make the bags first."

Tong Kexin pressed down on his sleeve.

"You promised to look at my hands first."

"I've finished reading it. Miss Tang almost strangled my wrist like a dumpling."

Tang Wanqing looked at him coldly, "If you keep being sarcastic, I'll tie a red knot for you."

Cheng Xiaojin immediately sat up straight.

Tieguai Li started making bags.

He removed his prosthetic leg, placed it upside down against the door panel, and used it as an iron block for shaping leather. The old saddle leather was cut into several pieces, and layers of prepared lard mixed with black dog blood were applied to it.

The smell was so strong that Zhou Banxian peeked out from the well.

"Are you making buns or cooking monsters?"

Tieguai Li said, "Shut up, keep an eye on your well."

Zhou Banxian was holding a wine pot.

"The well hasn't moved, but your smell could smoke the person at the bottom of the well back up."

Cheng Xiaojin said, "Then apply more, and register a patent for it later, 'Li's Fumigation Bag'."

Tong Kexin stuffed a dry cloth into his hand.

"Don't use your sleeves to wipe your sweat."

"Boss lady, you're even more meticulous than Master Ma."

"Master Ma doesn't care if you eat sesame cakes."

Master Ma's teacup lid clicked once.

"I'm in charge of tea."

Cheng Xiaojin lowered his head and smiled.

The laugh was brief; the white lamp in the west wing shone over, and he fell silent again.

Tieguai Li's men kept moving.

The copper buckle had to be old, not new and shiny. He washed it three times with acid, then rubbed it with mugwort ash, and finally soaked it in Master Ma's old tea for fifteen minutes.

If King of Glasses were here, he could tell that half of this aging process was the dirty workmanship of the antique trade, and the other half was a folk method for warding off evil spirits.

Tieguai Li said, "The kickback shown on the nose scar is not something an ordinary maker can do. People in Southeast Asia are afraid that people will open the bag. If the button is wrong, the bottom layer will get stuck."

Cheng Xiaojin asked, "What about forcibly opening it?"

"If you force it open, the small box inside will flip over, and the array diagram will draw in external energy, injuring the person who opens the package first."

Tang Wanqing looked up.

"Is Boss Lin also wary of his secretary?"

"That's an old habit of people from Southeast Asia," said Master Ma. "When the goods are in someone's hands, they treat them like goods and guard against them."

Tong Kexin handed the phone to Cheng Xiaojin.

"Han Shaobai replied. The auction will be held tomorrow night. Boguzhai has two spots, one for himself and one for his assistant. He said you can go in, but you can't cause trouble."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the screen.

"Reply to him for me. He charges per incident for causing trouble, but there's a 20% discount for friends."

Tong Kexin typed directly.

I told him, "You'll shut up."

Cheng Xiaojin touched his nose.

Tieguai Li propped up the first bag shape.

After the shape was revealed, Master Ma examined it closely with a magnifying glass.

"The leather grain is smooth, and the buckle fits correctly."

Tieguai Li said, "It's still not quite there yet."

He followed the blueprint of the nose scar and made it layer by layer.

The first layer can hold documents, the second layer can hold small white boxes, and the third layer only has a narrow, one-finger-wide recess.

By the time we reached the bottom, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

None of the people in the courtyard were asleep.

Zhou Banxian sat by the well, nodding his head, but every time the yellow paper at the wellhead moved, he would open his eyes again.

Tang Wanqing was exchanging copper coins under the corridor.

Tong Kexin distributed dry biscuits to everyone, and no one touched the water.

Tieguai Li then inserted the copper buckle into the bottom of the bag and pressed it twice.

Click~

The base plates are staggered.

Press the right side edge again.

Click~

The hidden slot is open.

Tieguai Li let out a long breath.

"It's done."

Master Ma walked over and used a magnifying glass to see the handle from the corner of the bag.

"I can't find any fault with it."

Tieguai Li rubbed his wrist.

"If you use this trick to cheat your peers, you could get a few years in prison."

Cheng Xiaojin took the fake bag, held it in her hand, and weighed it in her hand.

His brow furrowed.

Tong Kexin immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

Cheng Xiaojin weighed it twice more.

"light."

Tieguai Li's expression changed.

"How much lighter?"

"About one mace."

Tieguai Li took it and weighed it with a small scale.

"The weight of the package is about the same as shown in the picture."

Cheng Xiaojin shook his head.

"The missing piece is the weight at the bottom. The array diagram isn't just a simple copper sheet; it's made of Zhenhai Iron, which is cold, heavy, and presses downwards."

Tang Wanqing said, "I can't use you."

Cheng Xiaojin didn't speak, and Tong Kexin stepped in front of him.

Why are you looking at me like that? I said no, and that means no.

Cheng Xiaojin looked away.

"I haven't said it yet."

"Nothing good ever comes out when you stay silent."

Tieguai Li rummaged through his toolbox and pulled out a few old iron pieces.

"None of these will work?"

Cheng Xiaojin squatted down and looked through the cloth.

There is a clock spring, an old door bolt, and a section of a stove grate.

He finally pointed to the corner of the grate.

"This area is close to the stove and has strong yang energy, so wash it off first."

Tang Wanqing asked, "What are you washing?"

"No need for water, use mugwort ash, tea ash, and the cool ash from Aunt Zhang's stove."

The courtyard fell silent.

Master Ma looked up at him.

Cheng Xiaojin said, "She was harmed by the water pipe. The stove fire is still burning, so she used the stove ash to suppress the water vapor, which is in accordance with the rules."

Master Ma stood there for a while, then nodded.

"Take a little, but don't bother her."

Tong Kexin went to the kitchen door and took a small amount of cool ash through the yellow paper.

When she returned, her eyes were red again.

The iron sheet was repeatedly rubbed with mugwort ash and stove ash, and then Tieguai Li ground it into the size of an array diagram.

Cheng Xiaojin sat at the table and stretched out his hand.

Tang Wanqing held him down.

"Just one breath of Xin Jin Qi, and you won't be able to leave the house tonight."

"Miss Tang, I thought you didn't care about me."

"I'm afraid that if you die, no one will come back to the camp."

Cheng Xiaojin smiled.

"That reason works too."

Tong Kexin placed the red cloth in his palm.

"Say it if it hurts."

"If I told you, could you take my place?"

"I can scold you awake."

Cheng Xiaojin placed his fingertips on the old iron sheet.

The metal energy was gradually sent in.

The old iron sheet first felt cold, then its edges turned a pale blue. Cheng Xiaofeng broke out in a sweat, and the old wound on the tip of her tongue bled again.

Tang Wanqing counted her breaths.

"Three breaths is enough."

Cheng Xiaojin didn't stop.

Tong Kexin grabbed his wrist.

"That's enough!"

He then relaxed.

The old iron sheet fell into the red cloth, the cold air was contained very well and did not dissipate, but it felt heavy in the hand.

Tieguai Li stuffed it into the bottom of the fake bag and then closed the hidden clasp.

Cheng Xiaojin picked up her bag.

This time, the weight is right.

Tieguai Li looked at him.

"Your life is truly being drained of money, one penny at a time."

Cheng Xiaojin placed the fake bag on the table.

"Don't make it sound so bad. We'll collect the labor fee from Boss Lin later."

The lid of Master Ma's teacup clicked softly.

"It's dawn. Let's rest for two hours first. Tonight at the antique market, no one can afford to make a single mistake."

Cheng Xiaojin looked towards the courtyard gate.

The rain stopped.

The white cloth was still wet, and the lamp in the west wing was still lit.

He took the unlit Zhonghua cigarette from behind his ear, tapped it on the edge of the table, and then put it back.

"Aunt Zhang, the buns are ready."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tong Kexin's phone lit up.

Han Shaobai sent a photo.

In the photo, at the elevator entrance on the second basement floor of the antique market, Mr. Lin's secretary is holding a black leather briefcase and pressing the old leather patch on the right side of the bottom of the bag.

The message consists of only one line.

"They arrived early."