mousepad-d2 Chapter 44: Metal overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal
Chapter 44: Metal overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal
Another gust of cold air gushed out of the well, weaker than before, but still enough to send chills down everyone's spine.
then……
A muffled, undulating sound came from deep within the well.
It's like... breathing.
Extremely deep, extremely slow, with each stroke spaced about four or five seconds apart.
The wine jug in Zhou Banxian's hand fell to the ground with a clatter, and the wine spilled onto the stone slab.
Tieguai Li gripped the hexagonal wrench so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
Tang Wanqing's face was as white as paper under the moonlight.
Cheng Xiaojin squatted beside the well, his ear almost touching the stone slab cover.
The breathing sound came again, then disappeared.
The wellhead fell silent again, with only wisps of cold air seeping out.
No one spoke, no one moved, and even the night breeze seemed to be sucked in by the well.
After a while, Zhou Banxian bent down to pick up the wine pot. His hands trembled so much that the lid clattered against the pot several times.
"There's something down there... damn it." Tieguai Li's voice trembled slightly.
No one responded.
Tang Wanqing was helped by Tieguai Li to sit down behind the nearest empty stall in the East District.
Her lips were pale, and a copper coin had cut the right sleeve of her cheongsam, leaving tiny beads of blood seeping from the skin beneath the cut.
Tieguai Li took out a band-aid he always carried from his pocket and handed it to him: "Put this on first."
Tang Wanqing took it, her fingers trembled slightly as she tore open the packaging, and she applied the band-aid to the wound. Her movements were swift, but her strength was clearly insufficient.
Cheng Xiaojin squatted down opposite her: "Wipe the blood from the corner of your mouth."
Tang Wanqing wiped her hand with the back of her hand and saw the dark red stain. Her eyes flickered.
"The malevolent energy has rebounded into the body."
Zhou Banxian squatted down beside her and reached out to touch Tang Wanqing's wrist.
"The pulse is still stable. It's the qi that's damaged, not the blood. It will recover in a few days."
"I don't need you to take my pulse." Tang Wanqing pulled her wrist back, clenched her hand on her knee for a moment, and then let go.
Zhou Banxian wasn't annoyed. He stood up, dusted off his trousers, and walked to the side.
It was almost midnight when Mr. Ma arrived.
He went into the east area and swept around the scattered copper coins and broken shards of the Bagua mirror on the ground, then walked to the well and listened for a while.
Then they walked over.
"Speak up, everyone."
Zhou Banxian spoke first, recounting the whole story from the setup of the Three Talents Formation to the backlash of the evil energy to the breathing sounds at the bottom of the well, without adding a single unnecessary word.
After listening, Master Ma didn't say anything. He picked up the enamel mug, scratched the lid against the rim, and made a dull, muffled sound.
"Miss Tang." Master Ma looked at Tang Wanqing.
"You decide for yourself, would increasing the size and doing it again help to suppress it?"
Tang Wanqing remained silent for a few seconds.
I'm not sure.
When she uttered those four words, Cheng Xiaojin saw her back hunch slightly before straightening up again.
"Uncertainty is something that can't be suppressed."
Master Ma placed the teacup on the corner of the stall.
"The Yin Water evil leaking from the bottom of this well has not been accumulated in one or two years, but over six hundred years. One piece of the sealing system composed of 135 pieces of Zhenhai Iron has leaked, and the water outlet of the entire branch is loosening."
"What should we do then?" Tieguai Li walked over from beside the telephone pole. "We can't just stand by and watch, can we?"
Master Ma didn't answer Tieguai Li; his gaze fell on Cheng Xiaojin's face.
"I remember your birth date and time; you are a Xin Metal Day Master."
Cheng Xiaojin scratched the back of his head, indicating his agreement.
"Metal generates water."
Master Ma's voice was very low.
"In the Five Elements, metal is the mother of water. The mother can control the child. The Xin metal in your destiny naturally restrains the evil energy of water. This is something brought about by your birth chart. It has nothing to do with craftsmanship or inheritance. It is something that is in your destiny."
A cool breeze drifted over from the direction of the well, silently gliding across everyone's feet along the ground.
Cheng Xiaojin was stunned: "You mean you want me to go?"
"If you don't go, who will?"
The courtyard was quiet.
Tang Wanqing looked up at Cheng Xiaojin, opened her mouth slightly, but didn't say anything.
Zhou Banxian leaned against the iron frame of his stall, his hands in his pockets.
Tieguai Li stood beside him, leaning against the wall, his expression unreadable.
Cheng Xiaojin stood up.
Instead of heading towards the wellhead, he walked in the opposite direction and sat down on the steps at the end of the stalls in the east section.
Tieguai Li followed him out, leaned against a pillar next to the steps, and rubbed his prosthetic leg against the ground a couple of times.
"Old Li."
"Um."
"I...I'm a little scared."
"I know."
"Did you hear that breathing sound from the bottom of the well?"
"I heard you."
"That's not the sound of water, it's the sound of life."
Tieguai Li did not respond.
Cheng Xiaojin twirled his cigarette around: "But what will happen to the people in this area if I don't go?"
"The security guard's nightmares are just the beginning; they will only get more and more sinister. Zhou Banxian is right. Yin water evil first affects people who sleep lightly, then people with weak yang energy, and then everyone."
"With hundreds of stall owners in the eastern section of Panjiayuan, and tens of thousands of tourists coming and going every day, if the evil energy of this well really comes to pass, who can withstand it?"
Tieguai Li was still a little worried about him: "Have you thought it through? I think you're a person with your own ideas."
"Yes, I've thought it through. Master Ma will set up the layout, Master Zhou will determine the directions, and Tang Wanqing will seal off the evil spirits on the outside."
"And what about yourself? Who cares about your life?"
Cheng Xiaojin patted the dirt off his pants.
"My grandfather once said, 'If you ever embarrass yourself, I'll beat you up in the afterlife.'"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means that even if he were to die, he wouldn't want to see me cower like a coward."
Tieguai Li stared at him for a while, then Cheng Xiaojin stood up and walked back.
Tang Wanqing stood in front of him, the tear on the cuff of her cheongsam still untreated, and the edge of the band-aid curled up at one corner.
"What method did you use?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"You have no compass, no talismans, and no legitimate lineage. What will you use to suppress the evil spirits and water afflictions?"
"I...I'll take myself..."
Tang Wanqing's lips trembled slightly.
Do you know what it means to use the Xin Metal element as a catalyst in one's birth chart?
"I think I probably do."
"you do not know!"
Tang Wanqing took a step forward, and Cheng Xiaojin smelled a faint scent of blood mixed with the smell of her cheongsam fabric.
"When metal is strong, it generates water, and water drains the metal's energy. If you treat yourself as a conductor and let the negative energy pass through you, this depletion is taken from your destiny and is irreversible. This is... shortening your lifespan."
Cheng Xiaojin looked down at her.
"Miss Tang, your Three Talents Formation was just shattered. The copper coin sword is scattered and the Bagua mirror is cracked. Do you have any other solutions?"
Tang Wanqing did not speak.
"You don't have it, and neither do I, but I have one more thing than you."
"What?"
"I'm tough."
Cheng Xiaojin walked around her and continued back. After taking two steps, she heard a high heel click on the stone slab behind her, but no second click.
He didn't turn around.
Master Ma sat on a small stool behind the stall, his teacup resting on his lap. He tapped the lid three times, each tap slower than the last.
"Have you thought it through?"
"I've made up my mind, Mr. Ma."
"Then get ready."
Master Ma looked up at the sky.
"Make your move tomorrow night. The yang energy can still be suppressed during the day, but the evil energy will rise again after nightfall. Take advantage of the daytime to retrieve the contents of the box."
"What is it?"
"The abacus your grandfather left you."
Cheng Xiaojin was taken aback: "Didn't you say not to take it out unless absolutely necessary?"
Master Ma put the lid on the teacup, the sound as muffled as banging on a coffin lid.
"This is a last resort."