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

After Liu Bai left, Master Ma pressed the torn pages down on the table with a teacup.

The group walked from the courtyard house to the back street of Panjiayuan and entered Tieguai Li's studio on the basement floor.

As soon as the water was poured into the copper basin, grayish-white frost appeared on the rim.

The water was drawn from the well in Master Ma's courtyard. The bucket was covered with a red cloth, and Zhou Banxian carried it all the way without looking back.

Tieguai Li squatted by the workbench, grinding powder from the iron abacus with a file.

"This is an array artifact left by your grandfather, so I have to be careful when polishing it. I dare not polish too much."

Cheng Xiaojin sat on a small stool with his hands on his knees, his fingers so blue they looked almost lifeless.

"You're grinding down the outer layer of iron on the abacus beads, not sawing off your ancestral house deed. If my grandfather really comes up here, he'll punish me first, then you. There's an order to organizational punishments."

Zhou Banxian poured the aged mugwort ash into a copper basin. As soon as the ash entered the water, a dark red color rose from the bottom of the basin.

The well water tasted of iron, and the mugwort ash tasted bitter. Iron filings spun around twice in the well before settling into a layer of murky residue.

Master Ma stood at the door.

"Two hours, not a moment less."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the copper basin.

"Mr. Ma, let me ask first. What if I scream in pain? Would that be embarrassing for the Panjiayuan community?"

"Bite down on something."

Master Ma gave Tieguai Li a look, and Tieguai Li tossed an old leather belt out of the drawer.

"Take a bite out of this; it's military-grade, sturdy."

Cheng Xiaojin took a sniff.

"How many years has it been since you washed this belt? I haven't even treated my hand yet, and the smell is already killing me."

Tong Kexin's voice came from the doorway.

"If you think the smell is too strong, just bite your tongue."

Cheng Xiaojin looked up and saw that she hadn't taken off her apron, there were scallion leaves stuck to her waist, and she was carrying an enamel lunchbox in her hand.

He paused for a moment, wondering when Master Ma had notified her, and he didn't have time to think about it. He instinctively pulled his hands into his sleeves.

"Why are you here? There's a technical seminar here today, we don't serve braised pork."

Tong Kexin put down the lunchbox and stared at his cuffs.

"What are you hesitating for? I've seen your hand before."

Cheng Xiaojin chuckled.

"I was afraid of scaring you. Our industry is all about packaging. Even street vendor goods have to be covered with a red cloth."

Tong Kexin squatted down beside the copper basin, holding onto the rim with both hands.

"Master Ma said you need treatment for your hand, and he asked me to bring the basin. Let's begin."

Zhou Banxian took out his pocket watch.

"After your hand enters the water, you must not pull it out. Send the metal energy to your fingertips, and do the same thing you did to expel the evil spirits that night."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the dark red water in the basin.

His face was reflected in the water, and the reflection in the water showed a downward grin on his mouth, revealing gray gums, and his tongue moved slightly against his lower teeth.

He put the belt in his mouth, and the reflection grinned and laughed.

"Come on, send this disabled socialist labor force back to the factory for repairs!"

He pressed both hands into the copper basin.

The first sensation was cold, so cold that my wrist felt numb.

The second breath, the nail folds began to swell.

The third breath, I stuffed tiny ice shards into my ten fingers, pressing against my nails, against my skin, against every fingerprint groove.

Cheng Xiaojin let out a muffled breath and bit down on the belt.

Tong Kexin held onto the copper basin.

"Don't smoke."

Zhou Banxian looked at his watch.

"The first moment."

Tieguai Li cursed, "This is only the first moment. Don't embarrass me, kid. You've endured the evil spirits for forty minutes. What's a little water?"

"Old Zhou, let me ask you something. Do you know that three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang?"

Everyone was wondering what Cheng Xiaojin was going to say, and they all turned to look at him.

"Hiss..." Cheng Xiaojin gasped, his lips twitching. "You guys probably don't know, four Zhou Banxians are equivalent to one..."

"What are you talking about?" Zhou Banxian asked.

"Two immortals of the moon!" Cheng Xiaojin chuckled.

Zhou Banxian slapped him on the head, "Now that's what you call real pain transfer!"

The water in the basin began to swirl, and the ripples circled around Cheng Xiaojin's ten fingers.

Strands of gray hair seeped from the nail crevices, curling up upon contact with the dark red water. The rusty smell in the basin intensified, followed by the stench of well mud and rotten grass roots.

Tong Kexin gripped the rim of the basin with her fingers and didn't back down.

Cheng Xiaojin's shoulders were pressed very low. He could bear the pain in his skin and flesh, but the pain in his bones was the most damaging, peeling away along the bone seams.

He saw a gray line bulging under the middle fingernail, the gray line pushing the nail plate upwards, and dark red blood beads seeping from the nail root.

The blood dripped into the basin, making the water even darker. At this point, he was no longer in the mood for jokes to distract himself.

Zhou the fortune teller said, "Don't accept it, keep delivering."

Tong Kexin's voice sounded a little distressed, "Cheng Xiaojin, did you hear me? Continue."

Cheng Xiaojin looked up at her.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her lips were pressed tightly together.

"If you dare to back out halfway, I'll boil all those broken copper coins on your stall into soup and sell them."

Cheng Xiaojin squeezed out a few words from behind his belt.

"Spendthrift woman."

Tong Kexin said, "Stop talking nonsense."

More and more ash threads appeared in the copper basin. One thread emerged from under the fingernail of his left hand, carrying a small piece of dark red skin flakes. It swirled halfway on the surface of the water before sinking to the bottom.

Tieguai Li's jaw tightened as he watched, thinking he could help his brother share the burden.

"If this stuff could be dried and sold as old mine slag in Panjiayuan, maybe some fool would buy it."

Despite the pain making her vision blurry, Cheng Xiaojin couldn't help but crack a joke.

"That price will be 300,000, not a penny less."

Master Ma was fiddling with the lid of his teacup at the door.

"Little Jin, I miss the time when your grandfather taught you to play with iron."

Cheng Xiaojin's eyelids twitched.

"Think back to what he said at first?"

"Even iron has a temper."

"Think about it again."

"Human hands must be more steady than iron."

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the iron filings at the bottom of the basin, and heard a distant buzzing sound in his ears, low and long, with the lingering sound of the Zhenhai Iron.

His breathing followed the last note, sinking downwards. Xin Jin Qi pressed from his palm to his fingertips, forcing out strands of gray silk one by one. A gray film floated on the surface of the basin, with bloodstains scattered inside.

Tong Kexin asked, "Will he get better once this thing comes out?"

Zhou Banxian looked at his pocket watch.

"We can go back."

I asked if it could be cured.

Tieguai Li interrupted.

"Yes, it's as good as a brand new enamel basin."

Tong Kexin ignored him.

"Uncle Zhou, please speak."

Zhou Banxian sighed.

"Seven times is enough, once every three days, twenty-one days, and with eight days left until the full moon, it can only be done two or three times at most."

Tong Kexin looked at Cheng Xiaojin.

Cheng Xiaojin bit his belt and looked away.

Her hands holding the basin became even more steady.

"Then let's do it two or three times first."

When the two hours were up, the sun climbed up the roof of the back street.

White light shone through the studio entrance, illuminating the surface of the copper basin. The dark red water turned iron gray, and the bottom of the basin was covered with ash and blood streaks.

Tieguai Li laid out the dry cloth.

Cheng Xiaojin slowly raised her hand. All ten fingers were swollen, and the nail folds were covered with blood spots. The bluish-black color had faded from the second joint to the first joint, and the color had also lightened.

The pain was still there, but when he rubbed his thumb against his index finger, the grooves of his fingerprint finally gave him a rougher feel.

He spat out the belt, revealing two rows of teeth marks on the leather surface.

Tieguai Li handed over the Qianlong Tongbao coin.

"Give it a try."

Cheng Xiaojin took the copper coin, first touching the edge of the coin to check for cracks, then touching the inside of the characters to clean the remaining residue, and closed his eyes for three seconds.

He opened his eyes.

"Qianlong Tongbao coin, with a slightly northern feel, developed patina, genuine old coin, washed later, average quality from its original burial site."

Tieguai Li looked at Master Ma.

Master Ma nodded.

"Eighty percent."

Cheng Xiaojin grinned, his lips pale.

"It's not useless yet."

Suddenly, the room fell silent; no one responded to the question.

Tieguai Li picked up sandpaper and busied himself with grinding a copper pipe that had already been finished.

"Oh dear, this copper pipe looks really tough today, it needs a lot of polishing."

Zhou Banxian picked up the wine jug and walked out.

"I'm going to check the well; the house smells sour."

Tong Kexin lowered her head to tidy up the copper basin, her hands facing upwards so he couldn't see her face.

The sound was muffled in his throat, each word squeezed out one by one.

"I'll support you even if you're crippled."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at her, and something stuck in her throat.

He had a lot to say, but in the end, he only said one sentence.

"It's expensive to raise me. I eat three meals a day, plus a late-night snack."

Tong Kexin looked up and glared at him, her eyes still red, but the corner of her mouth turned to the side.

"Braised meat is plentiful, but there's no wine, no cigarettes, and if you keep talking nonsense, I'll put you back in the pot to soak."

Just then, my phone vibrated.

Cheng Xiaojin used his still-painful hand to pull it out; the screen displayed a text message from the bald owner of the stationery and general store.

"Boss Cheng, someone claiming to be Boss Lin's secretary came to the store today to ask you about something."

The stationery and general store was holding the seventh case; Liu Bai had been there for half a year, and now Boss Lin's men had also infiltrated the area.

Tieguai Li came over.

"What's wrong?"

Cheng Xiaojin handed him the phone.

"Boss Lin's influence has extended to the seventh stake."

My phone vibrated again.

A second message popped up.

He also asked if you were going to Houhai for tea tomorrow.

Only a few people knew about the itinerary in Houhai, not including the bald owner of the stationery and general store.

The fact that Mr. Lin's secretary could ask that question shows that the information didn't leak from the grocery store.

The news came from elsewhere.

He gripped his phone tightly, and his ten fingers, which had just been soaked in water, began to swell slightly again.