txolops Chapter 450 Soft words on the face? Get out of here!
Chapter 450 Soft words on the face? Get out of here!
When Manager Hu heard Ah Sui utter the words "shore fire," her hand, which was picking out the red thread, stopped under Seventh Eye. The tip of the silver hairpin was being pushed outward little by little by the black water film, but she did not look up at the door. Instead, she moved the white paper lantern closer to the small box.
"Coastal Fire?"
Mo Chengyue held the Rain Flower Sword with his left hand, while his right palm was still hanging outside the threshold by the blood-stained note. The red pattern below the character "Mo" on his palm was being dragged by the black water toward the bottom of the boat without lights. The red marks on the Yin Xin Pendant were still spreading, but he ignored the pendant.
"Don't ask Ah Sui anymore, she said those two words are enough."
Shopkeeper Hu gritted his teeth and asked, "What kind of fire is 'shore fire'?"
Mo Chengyue watched as the dark shadows on the bottom of the ship outside the door scurried inward along the wooden planks of the abandoned dock. The talisman ash was scattered to both sides by the water bubbles, and the outer ring of the dock formation kept collapsing inward. He pressed the Rain Flower Sword diagonally into the ash line.
"Fire on the shore".
Shopkeeper Hu was almost angered by him. The silver hairpin in her hand slid down a little, but she pressed it back to the base of the red thread.
"I knew it was a fire on the shore, so I asked how to light it."
Seventh Eyes lay on the edge of the wrecked boat, half of her disfigured face held up by a silver hairpin. The thin thread under her red wedding dress loosened as the boat, without lights, approached the shore. Upon hearing this, a cold, wet laugh escaped her throat.
"Sister, the fire on the shore is too late."
Manager Hu didn't take her, but whispered to Xiao Xia, "Ah Sui, the lamp is on the shore."
The seventh eye turned halfway toward the small box, and the red line under the eye was burned white by the old silver of the silver hairpin.
"Sister, even if you protect her, you can't protect yourself."
Looking at the black water outside the door, Mo Chengyue suddenly asked, "Manager Hu, is anyone keeping watch at the Earth God Temple?"
While pressing down the hairpin, Manager Hu replied, "Old Zheng and the others are guarding the ashes in the temple. Old Zhou is also there; he knows some old customs."
"Can you hear me?"
"The sound is indistinct through the water."
"Then let the water noise be lower."
The seventh eye's laughter faltered.
"Do you want to call for help from the shore?"
Mo Chengyue pressed the hilt of the Rain Flower Sword into the talisman ash, and with his left hand, he took out a Qingxin Talisman that had been softened by water bubbles from his sleeve. The corner of the talisman was already curled up. He bit the edge of the talisman and stuck the talisman directly to the inside of the threshold.
"I won't shout."
Shopkeeper Hu asked, "Who will shout?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the small box in her arms.
"Let Ah Sui not shout, let Deng shout."
Manager Hu immediately protected the white paper lamp.
"The lamp must not be removed from its case."
"I didn't let it leave."
Mo Chengyue used the tip of his sword to lift the dry leaf thread that was already soaked by the threshold, and sent the end of the thread under the white paper lampshade, so that the lamplight only brushed the end of the thread and did not shine on Manager Hu's feet.
"Place the notch in the lampshade towards the wire, don't shine it on the ground, and don't shine it outside the door."
Shopkeeper Hu turned the lampshade as he instructed. The lamp flame burned along the dry leaf thread, but the thread did not catch fire; only a wisp of bluish-white smoke with an old silver sheen emerged.
The seventh person's expression changed.
"Are you going to send the soul lamp's energy ashore?"
Mo Chengyue stared at the wisp of smoke creeping out along the dry leaf line, pressing the Rain Flower Sword even lower with his left hand, the talisman gray wall barely blocking the dark shadow at the bottom of the boat.
"To correct you, it's a distress signal."
The Seventh Eye said sternly, "The ship without lights will receive the message."
"It's busy collecting debts."
Manager Hu looked down at the wisp of smoke drifting out of the threshold along the dry leaf line, his voice tense.
"Can this get me to the local temple?"
Even if it doesn't reach the shore, it can still drift to the shore in the wind.
"What if the shore wind is suppressed by the water?"
"Then let's see if Old Zhou's ears are annoying enough."
The seventh eye sneered.
"Can mortal ears hear the sound of a boat underwater?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the red thread that had been re-entered below her eyes, and used the tip of his sword to pick out a bit of talisman ash to block the path of the thin thread of her red wedding dress that was about to spring towards the small box.
"Even mortals have pots."
Manager Hu pressed hard on the silver hairpin, the tip of the hairpin grinding downwards along the gap in the water film.
"What if Old Zhou can't hear me?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the ship's silhouette that was already close to the bottom of the dock outside the door. The wooden planks under his feet began to turn black. His right palm was dragged lower, and the blood-red lines on his palm burrowed into his wrist bone.
"Then we'll be discussing workers' compensation on the deck tonight."
Shopkeeper Hu didn't scold him. She tucked the small box tightly into her bosom and whispered to the lid, "Ah Sui, did you hear that? There are still people on the shore."
The old silver light inside the small box shone briefly against the soul-sealing talisman, then fell silent.
Outside the door, the unlit boat's hull brushed past the bottom of the abandoned dock, and wet, black ripples began to rise from the wooden planks inside. The shadow that had been nailed by the Rain Flower Sword at Manager Hu's feet was dragged toward the threshold again, and the white paper lantern on her shoulder swayed, its light almost falling to her feet.
Mo Chengyue immediately said, "Raise the lamp."
Shopkeeper Hu gritted his teeth and held the lamp back to his chest.
"I know."
"Hairpin Separation from Pine Trees".
"It's not loose."
"Don't let blood stain your hairpin."
"Hidden."
"Don't reply to the Seventh Eye."
"Aren't you annoying?"
Mo Chengyue flicked the Rain Flower Sword into the talisman ash. The black water was blocked by the spine of the sword and splashed onto the tiger's mouth of his left hand. The wound was soaked in water, and blood slid down the hilt of the sword.
"You have to listen, even if it's annoying; the after-sales service isn't over yet."
Seventh Eyes stared at Manager Hu, and then whispered softly as he approached again.
"Sister, did you hear that? No one is coming from the shore."
Manager Hu stared intently at the box lid.
"Ah Sui, let's go back to shore."
The Seventh Eye's voice was even softer.
"Sister, if you look at me now, I'll tell you how to light the shore fire."
Shopkeeper Hu slowed down his hand that was pressing the hairpin, and the light from the white paper lamp reflected on the edge of the box lid. The old silver light inside the soul-sealing talisman was dulled by the moisture.
Mo Chengyue said coldly, "She doesn't know."
The seventh eye looked at him.
"What makes you think I don't know?"
"If you knew that, you wouldn't have rushed to trick her into coming back."
The old silver aura swirled wildly in the seventh and a half eye, and the red thread flipped up under the silver hairpin. The wet red thread flicked from under the red wedding dress toward Shopkeeper Hu's wrist.
"Mo Chengyue, do you really think those mortals on the shore can break the rules?"
Mo Chengyue flipped his wrist, and the Rain Flower Sword cut diagonally. The talisman ash and thunderfire ash residue scattered under the blade, burning the few thin threads back into the black mud.
"When it comes to etiquette, the worst thing is when relatives don't cooperate."
Upon hearing the word "relatives," Manager Hu's hand, which was pressing down on the silver hairpin, steadied itself.
"Ah Sui, let's go back to shore."
Outside the abandoned shipyard, the sound of the water grew increasingly subdued, the original sound of the river tide being swallowed up by the bottom of the unlit boats, leaving only a muffled darkness outside.
Just as the dark shadow at the bottom of the boat was about to cross the gray line on the threshold, a muffled thud came from the distant shore.
bang.
Manager Hu paused on the shoulder protecting the box.
The smile on Seventh Eyes' face vanished.
Bang, bang, bang.
The sound of an iron pot being struck by a wooden stick came from outside the red mist. At first, most of it was swallowed up by the black water, but then more chaotic metal sounds followed. The edge of the pot hit the bottom, the iron spoon smashed the stove, and the broken copper basin crashed against the stone steps. These mundane noises had no spiritual power, but they tore open the sound of water that had been suppressed outside the abandoned shipyard.
Shopkeeper Hu's eyes welled up with tears, but he didn't let them fall.
"It's Lao Zheng's fault."
Mo Chengyue paused for a moment, looking at the black water outside the threshold, and pushed the Rain Flower Sword into the talisman ash with his left hand.
"You can tell from the sound?"
"His pot had a cracked edge, so it rattled unevenly."
Mo Chengyue twitched the corner of his lips.
"Okay, professional."
Old Zhou's aged yet fierce voice came from the shore, carried in segments by the sound of boiling pots.
"In the old wedding boat ceremony, the third fire is lit by the water, signifying that relatives are seeing the bride off onto the boat!"
Old Zheng yelled at the top of his lungs, "Send your mother's boat away! I'm not sending her away today!"
The clattering of the pots and pans grew louder and more chaotic.
Old Zhou shouted again, "The third fire will light the ashes and dry the soil; it means relatives are keeping people on the shore!"
Shopkeeper Hu pressed down hard on the silver hairpin, the old silver burning into the base of the red thread. She shouted towards the door, "Old Zhou, light the fire in the ashes!"
Mo Chengyue immediately chimed in: "Don't call me by my old name, don't call me 'boat,' don't call me 'people of the water'!"
Old Zheng, standing on the shore, shouted angrily, "I heard you, Manager Hu! Protect the box!"
Old Zhou's voice rang out: "Bring the ashes, spread dry soil on it, and make sure the third fire doesn't get wet!"
The Seventh Eye shrieked, "Shut up!"
The fine threads beneath her red wedding dress all sprang outwards, only to be simultaneously blocked by the black water of the lampless boat and Mo Chengyue's talisman ash. The ends of the threads churned in the black water, creating a string of wet red foam.
Manager Hu gritted his teeth and said, "You're afraid of the noise from the pot."
The seventh eye was fixed on her.
"What I fear is that you will disregard etiquette."