txolops Chapter 438 Biting off the cuff to fish for a boat without lights
Chapter 438 Biting off the cuff to fish for a boat without lights
On the signboard of the unlit boat outside the gate, the second line of wet black characters became clearer and clearer: "A lamp is missing from the soul, an eye is missing from the eye."
Shopkeeper Hu, who was holding the small box, was adjusting the lamp when he saw the last four words. His fingertips suddenly stopped by the lampshade, the flame of the white paper lamp flickered against the side of the box, and the old silver light in the Soul-Sealing Talisman also gently retracted.
Mo Chengyue's left hand rested on the Yuhua Sword, its tip still hovering at the edge of his dragged shadow. Seeing the lamplight shift, he immediately spoke.
"lamp."
Manager Hu put the lamp back to his chest, but his eyes never left the boat sign.
"I owe you an eye."
"Don't read it."
I didn't say anything.
"Your mouth moved just now."
Manager Hu clenched his teeth, forcing back the second half of his sentence, and only managed to squeeze out the sound through his teeth after a while.
"The seventh eye hasn't sunk completely."
Mo Chengyue looked at the words on the ship sign, his right hand still held in mid-air by the blood letter and black water, but his left hand pressed the Rain Flower Sword onto the ash of the threshold talisman.
"If it were completely dry, the accountant would not have written on it."
"She's hiding at the bottom of the wrecked ship?"
"Most likely."
"What about Ah Sui?"
"Ah Sui is in your arms."
Shopkeeper Hu glanced down at the small box. The talisman on the lid was curled by the steam. She quickly put her sleeve over it to prevent the lamp paper from sticking to the talisman.
"But it writes about a lamp that dries up one's soul."
"Whether we acknowledge their accounts or not is another matter."
"Does a ship without lights care whether you acknowledge it or not?"
"The worst thing for an accountant is bad accounts, because if you make a mistake in one bad account, you have to flip through the whole book."
Shopkeeper Hu pressed the lamp more firmly, but the corner of her clothes was pinned to the ground by the hooks, so she couldn't move and could only use her shoulder to protect the small box.
"So, whose debts do you want it to settle?"
"Whoever issues the invoice is responsible."
"Speak like a human being."
"The Seventh Eye uses Ah Sui's soul as a wick, Ah Sui's name as a false pillar, and even wears her wedding dress to pretend to be a younger sister in front of us. Now that the No-Light Boat owes the Soul and the Eye, let it see clearly who owes whom."
After understanding, Manager Hu immediately looked towards the bottom of the wrecked boat. The black water had receded into the cracks in the wood, and the corners of the red wedding dress that had sunk were no longer visible. Only half of the rotten boat plank remained buried in the mud.
She didn't shout or ask if anyone was on the boat; she just kept her voice down.
"Will she come out?"
"She doesn't want to come out."
"Then force her."
"Don't rush, forcing an accountant is harder than forcing a ghost."
Mo Chengyue's right palm was still being pulled by the blood letter, the red lines on his palm connecting with the black water outside the door. Yu Linhong's lingering spirit wandered within the lines, trying to send the blood letter out while the boat was recording accounts without lights.
With his left hand, he moved the Rain Flower Sword back to the threshold, the back of the sword against the end of the array hook. The remaining thunder and fire ash in the hook groove had darkened, leaving only a trace of white hidden in the crevice.
Manager Hu stared at his right wrist, his voice tense.
"She's moving again."
"It would be strange if she didn't move."
"You can still hold it in?"
"If you can't suppress it, have the accountant look at it too."
"You're really including her?"
"She put her hand in the ledger herself, so who's to blame?"
The two lines of text on the ship's sign outside the door did not sink; instead, they slowly moved closer to the center. They were missing a stroke of blood, a cup of soul, and an eye. The three wet, black characters were lined up side by side, and watermarks flowed from the strokes, falling into the black water at the bow of the ship without making a sound.
Manager Hu's face grew increasingly grim as he looked at the words.
"It consolidated the three transactions."
"Um."
What will happen after the accounts are merged?
"It will pick the easiest ones to collect."
"Ah Sui?"
"A weak soul, old eyes, and hot blood are the three most likely to cause problems with the soul."
Shopkeeper Hu immediately pulled the box into her bosom, tucking the white paper lantern between her arms, blocking most of the light, leaving only the polarized light clinging to the edge of the soul-sealing talisman.
"If it dares to touch the box, I'll fight it to the death."
"Hold the lamp steady before you start assembling."
"You think I can't hold it steady enough?"
"When you get angry, the light shines downwards."
Manager Hu glanced down and realized that the lamplight had already touched the hem of her skirt, and the shadow at her feet was elongated by the light, as the black water probed outwards along the cracks in the wooden planks.
She quickly pulled the lamp back to her chest, muttering a curse under her breath.
"This ship really knows how to exploit people's weaknesses."
"The accountant doesn't pick on the weak, does he think he'd pick on someone as tough as me?"
"Are you hard?"
"At least the IOU is solid."
Shopkeeper Hu was so speechless that he almost couldn't reply. Then, a soft clinking sound came from the small box, and the old silver light in the center of the Soul-Sealing Talisman shone outward. Ah Sui's voice came from deep within the talisman, so faint that it could only be heard clearly when the lamp was held close.
"Sis, don't let her take my eyes off me."
Shopkeeper Hu felt a lump in his throat. He touched the lid of the box with his finger, but immediately pulled it back, afraid that his own temperature and blood would disturb the Soul-Sealing Talisman.
"Ah Sui, I'm here."
Mo Chengyue immediately reminded him.
"Say less."
Manager Hu cut off the rest of his words, only using his sleeve to shield the dampness from the edge of the box.
Ah Sui's voice gently touched the talisman paper again.
"She didn't leave; she's at the bottom of the boat."
The anger in Manager Hu's eyes was forcibly suppressed. She did not call her sister again, but only looked up at Mo Chengyue.
"Did you hear that?"
"I heard you."
"Will it work?"
"able."
"How do I use it?"
"Let the accountant hear it himself."
Manager Hu looked at the unlit boat outside the door, then glanced at the small box, and his expression changed.
"No, you just said that the silver hairpin's energy can't escape, and that it will collect the box along with it."
"I didn't say I would send the box away."
"What do you want?"
"The lingering scent of old silver on the box lid."
"Will it hurt Ah Sui?"
"Avoid touching the soul talisman, do not follow the talisman's core, only follow the boat's plaque."
Manager Hu immediately moved the white paper lantern to the side a little, making room above the small box.
"Your right hand is immobilized, and your left hand is still on the sword. How are you going to take it?"
"Come here."
"I?"
"Use your sleeve, not your hands, to wipe the silvery light off the edge of the box lid. Do not touch the talisman used to ward off evil, do not touch the talisman used to seal the soul, and do not touch the blood."
Shopkeeper Hu looked down and saw that there was indeed a faint layer of old silver light on the edge of the box lid. It was the residual energy left when the silver hairpin talisman protected Ah Sui. It was stuck to the wood grain and was being worn away little by little by the moisture.
She was about to reach out, but seeing the old wound on her palm, she withdrew her hand and instead used the clean corner of her sleeve to gently press it against the edge of the box lid.
"so?"
"Don't press it."
"Didn't press it."
"To the right."
"If you go any right, you'll hit the talisman."
"Then stop."
Shopkeeper Hu paused, his sleeve catching a glint of old silver light, revealing fine silver threads through the edges of the originally grayish-white fabric.
She stared at the silver thread, her throat tightening.
"Do we need to show the ship's license plate?"
"Shine a light on it, don't let the light follow it."
"My lamp cannot leave the case."
"The lamp doesn't move, but the sleeves do."
"Will it hold me accountable if I slip my sleeve across the threshold?"
"meeting."
Manager Hu looked up at him.
"Then why did you make me do it?"
"Calculating the cost with one's sleeves."
Where are they?
"Don't go over there."
"You've really got a good plan."
"Occupational disease".
Shopkeeper Hu suppressed his anger, using the white paper lantern to protect the small box, and with his other hand, he used the corner of his sleeve to slowly move outward along the edge of the light on his chest, carrying the trace of old silver.
Her clothes were still pinned to the hooks, her knees were pressed against the wet wooden planks, and her body could only lean forward. If she leaned out a little further, the shadow beneath her feet would be pulled away by the black water towards the threshold.
Mo Chengyue used the Rain Flower Sword to press down on the edge of her shadow. The ash on the sword was blackened by the water vapor. Blood from the tiger's mouth of his left hand slid down the hilt of the sword, but he did not let go.
"Don't stretch your back."
Manager Hu gritted his teeth.
"You can't reach it unless you stretch out."
"Make sure your sleeves are long enough."
"The sleeves aren't that long."
"tear."
Shopkeeper Hu glanced at him, said nothing, and directly bit his cuff with his teeth, tore off a piece of cloth, rolled the corner that had absorbed the old silver's aura outside, and then stretched the cloth strip out the door with two fingers.
Seeing her swift movements, Mo Chengyue smirked.
"Manager Hu, it's not fair for you to run an inn."
"Shut up."
I'm praising you.
"Your praise sounds like you're urging someone to die."
As the cloth strip crossed the threshold of the talisman, the black water outside immediately climbed up the cloth's texture, and the wet, black ship sign seemed to smell the old silver and slowly turned towards that point of silver line.
The shopkeeper's wrist was pulled by the moisture, and the cloth strip almost slipped from her hand. She quickly used the back of her sleeve to protect the small box. The white paper lamp was still stuck to the side of the box and did not shine on her feet.
"It chewed the cloth."
"Let it bite."
"The silver energy is about to disappear."
"That's enough."
"Enough of what?"
"Enough for it to take a look."