mousepad-d2 Chapter 61: Taking a Female Ghost to a Banquet
Chapter 61: Taking a Female Ghost to a Banquet
When the powder from the red chopsticks seeped into her fingernails, Cheng Xiaojin was in so much pain that she bit the corner of the table, leaving two teeth marks.
Tieguai Li stood to the side, holding the bamboo paper in his hand, his face whiter than a fluorescent light.
"If you really can't take it anymore, just say so. Don't pretend to be a martyr here. Panjiayuan won't give you any compensation."
Cheng Xiaojin lowered her head, her ten fingers spread flat on the worktable.
Dark red wood powder was pushed little by little into the nail bed, mixing with the iron-blue residue on his fingertips, the color seeping into the flesh.
The feeling was indescribable, but he still wouldn't back down.
"Whether or not I receive a pension is another matter, but could you please issue me a martyr's certificate? I'll take it to Tong Kexin's stall for braised pork offal, as a form of preferential treatment for military families."
Tieguai Li cursed, "You little brat, with such a foul mouth, when you really get to the underworld, even the King of Hell will have to assign you to the night shift as a customer service representative."
Zhou Banxian squatted by the threshold, with the wine pot at his feet, his eyes fixed on Cheng Xiaojin's fingers.
"Stop joking. The resentment powder has entered your armor. Suppress it with Xin metal. Don't let it go to your palm. It's going to burrow into your palm lines. Today, you can forget about going to the banquet at Houhai. You'll have to start your feast here first."
Cheng Xiaojin's lips twitched when he heard the words "the banquet begins".
"Old Zhou, you have no guts! What do you mean by 'starting a feast'? I haven't even bought a house, gotten married, or had my fill of braised pork yet. My revolutionary cause has just begun, and you're already arranging a feast for me? Does the organization even know about this?"
That's what he said, but he pressed his finger down on the table.
After the pink powder entered the flesh, that chilling sensation began to creep in.
It doesn't go through blood vessels or tendons; it specifically targets the most sensitive tactile areas, and Cheng Xiaojin was momentarily stunned.
Water tank, grey water, and the hand pressing down on the back of the head.
The woman cried and wouldn't let up, while the man panted beside her. The light bulb above the water swayed back and forth, and a picture of the God of Wealth was pasted on the wall. The God of Wealth smiled happily, and there was a half-eaten bowl of noodles on the cutting board.
The girl saw all her own things before she died.
Our own stove, our own bowls, our own parents.
Cheng Xiaojin pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, forcefully suppressing the nausea.
Tieguai Li noticed something was wrong with him and reached out to press his shoulder.
"You saw it?"
"I saw some everyday family matters."
Cheng Xiaojin raised his head, his face pale, but he still managed a smile.
"This girl had a hard life. Her last meal was noodles; she didn't even get to eat braised pork. Wouldn't you call that a regret in life?"
Tieguai Li opened his mouth, but couldn't reply.
Zhou Banxian picked up the wine pot and then put it down again.
"Don't joke around. What you're dealing with now is the last breath of resentment a person has before they die. That stuff is even more unreasonable than the Yin Water evil at the bottom of a well. Yin Water evil affects the earth's veins, but this stuff affects people's hearts."
"The human heart is the hardest thing to heal."
Cheng Xiaojin rubbed the last bit of powder into the nail bed of her right index finger, and the veins on the back of her hand became visible.
"That's why we prepared this for the iron fanatic. The old man has studied iron for half his life. He can tell the difference between furnace fire, rust, and sweaty hands. Letting him touch this is a way to broaden his horizons."
Tieguai Li looked down at the pair of chopsticks that had been filed down.
Wrapped in red silk, with a damp stain seeping out inside.
He used pliers to put the chopsticks into the iron box, closed the lid, and then placed a piece of scrap iron on top of the lid.
"This thing is really weird. I glanced at it just now and felt like the chopsticks were pointing at me as I ordered food."
Cheng Xiaojin grinned.
What do you want me to order?
"Click on one of my legs."
"It's quite a good eater. It knows your leg is easy to take off, so it just takes it off and puts it on the table."
Tieguai Li grabbed a file to hit him, but Cheng Xiaojin quickly dodged backward, which pulled at the red powder under his fingernails, making his face contort in pain.
Footsteps came from the doorway.
Tong Kexin brought in an enamel mug, the ginger soup steaming upwards. She glanced at Cheng Xiaojin's hand, her eyebrows furrowing.
"You guys are really something. Yesterday you soaked your hands until they looked like pig's trotters, and today you're stuffing them with dead man's powder. Are you planning to pickle them next time?"
Cheng Xiaojin tucked both hands into his sleeves.
"No way, this is called cultural relic restoration, the human body aspect. Look at my condition, late Qing Dynasty patina, with blood stains, it's definitely from that period."
Tong Kexin placed the enamel mug on the table.
"You mean opening the door is the right thing to do? I'll crack your skull open and that'll be the right thing to do too."
She cursed him, but didn't touch his hand; she simply pushed the ginger soup to his lips.
"drink."
Cheng Xiaojin took a sniff; the smell of ginger was pungent.
"Was there any poison in this soup?"
"I'm logging off."
"What kind of poison?"
"Conscience is the best teacher for reckless people like you."
Cheng Xiaojin lowered his head and took a sip. The spiciness made his throat burn, and the chill in his body was suppressed a little.
He held the enamel mug and remained silent for a long time.
Tong Kexin looked at his lowered eyelashes and lowered her voice a little.
"Is it really absolutely necessary to go?"
Cheng Xiaojin swallowed the ginger soup and licked the corner of his mouth.
"Boss Lin's men have gotten involved in the seventh case. They even knew I was going to Houhai today. If I hadn't gone, he would have come looking for you."
"Then let's all go together."
"No way," Cheng Xiaojin shook his head. "In Houhai, Boss Lin has set up an inspection bureau. If there are too many people, he'll retreat into his shell, and he won't be able to take out the array diagram."
Tong Kexin remained silent, and Cheng Xiaojin started joking again.
"Besides, why would I take you there? What if there's no braised pork on the table, and you flip the table right there? Who's going to take responsibility for that diplomatic incident?"
Tong Kexin snatched the enamel mug from his hand.
"Stop making fun of me. If you die in Houhai, I'll set up a braised pork stall in front of your place for three days, with a sign that says 'Cheng Xiaojin's favorite dish,' 20 yuan a bowl, buy three and get free paper money."
Tieguai Li chuckled beside him, then quickly suppressed his laughter.
Cheng Xiaojin looked up at her, a hint of his usual smugness still lingering on his lips.
"Then you have to raise the price. Twenty is too cheap; it makes me seem low-class in my lifetime."
Tong Kexin glared at him, while Cheng Xiaojin turned to look at Tieguai Li.
"Where's the car?"
"At the alley entrance, a tattered loaf of bread, the license plate covered in mud, and in the trunk were a military flashlight, hemp rope, half a bag of lime, and your old coat."
What's the purpose of lime?
"If you collapse, I'll sprinkle lime to draw a circle around you, so that the stagnant water won't flow down and fill Houhai Lake."
Cheng Xiaojin gave a thumbs up.
"Dude, that's thoughtful, but it sounds a bit like disinfecting a pigsty."
Zhou Banxian stood up and handed him a piece of yellow paper.
The yellow paper was folded into a triangle and wrapped with three red threads.
"Keep it safe. When Tie Chi opens Tie Yi, don't rush to send him your resentment. Wait until he reads the four words 'Daoguang Iron Pot' before suppressing Xin Jin's anger. If you do it too early, he'll become suspicious; if you do it too late, he'll confirm that it's a fake."
Cheng Xiaojin stuffed the yellow paper into his inner pocket.
"The Daoguang iron wok, I'll remember that."
Zhou Banxian stared at him.
"Also, don't let the resentment come back at you through the metal. That girl is very resentful and sees everyone as someone who harmed her. Just be a conductor, not a dining table."
Cheng Xiaojin patted his chest.
"Don't worry, I'm a worthless person, not good enough to be a table, at most I'm just a stool."
Tong Kexin grabbed his sleeve.
"Cheng Xiaojin".
He turned around.
She took a clean piece of gauze from her apron pocket and bent down to wrap each of his ten fingers thinly, very lightly, avoiding the nail folds, so that it would be easier for him to touch the metal when needed.
Her fingers move quickly, but her words are slow.
"You can talk a good game, but when it really hurts, don't try to tough it out. If you need to run, then run. We can find another way to use the array, but once you're gone, you're really gone."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the top of her head. There was a bit of soot in her hair. Normally she would scold someone for getting her hair dirty, but she didn't even care right now.
He wanted to reach out and brush it off for her, but he was afraid that the resentment powder under her fingernails would touch her.
So he raised his hand halfway, then lowered it again.
"Don't worry, I've never failed the course 'Running Away' from elementary school to high school."
Tong Kexin tied the gauze in a knot.
I won't bail you out if you fail.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Go collect the stall fees."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled and turned to walk out.
The door to the basement opened, and the sun slanted in from the stairwell, shining on his face. From last night to this morning, the smell of the ruined pig intestines from the alley entrance still seemed to linger in his nose, and the fishy smell of the red chopsticks hadn't dissipated either.
He pulled down his sleeve to cover his fingers.
Tieguai Li followed behind, leaning on his crutch, muttering curses under his breath.
"If you drive Tie Chi crazy today, remember to treat me to a good meal when you get back. Don't try to fool me with Tong Kexin's braised pork again."
Cheng Xiaojin turned around.
"I need to record what you said and listen to it with her."
Tieguai Li slipped and almost sent himself back to the basement.
……
At the entrance of the Zhuhong lacquered gate clubhouse in Houhai, two men dressed in black stood in the shadows. The stone lions in front of the gate held stone balls in their mouths, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the stone balls.
Cheng Xiaojin walked to the door, her fingers curling slightly inside her sleeve, the pink under her nails dancing in the air.
He pushed open the door to the private room, and the aroma of tea wafted out first.
Boss Lin sat in the main seat, his lean face bearing a polite expression, the silver ouroboros ring on his right ring finger resting on the edge of his teacup.
An old man was sitting next to him.
The old man wore a faded Chinese-style jacket, had sparse hair, and placed his hands on his knees. His skin was dry and cracked, and his knuckles were so large they didn't look like a living person's hands.
The ten fingers are bent outwards, and the nails are thick and yellow, like hard shells growing from the bark of an old tree.
Cheng Xiaojin knew at a glance that this was Tie Chi.
The old man raised his eyelids, looked at his hand covered by his sleeve, and suddenly grinned.
"Young Master Cheng, put your hand out so I can see it."