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

As night fell, a light drizzle began to fall in Beijing.

The hotel's side entrance was dimly lit, and car headlights swept across the wet stone lions, causing the water lines to flash briefly before dimming again.

Cheng Xiaojin pulled her cleaning hat down low and pushed the linen cart through the door.

Tieguai Li, wearing a gray-blue work uniform, followed behind. The name tag was borrowed by Tong Kexin from the laundry room owner.

The elevator was empty.

Tieguai Li whispered, "There are eyes at both ends of the thirteenth floor, one in the fire escape, two at the elevator entrance, and one smoking near the nose scar entrance."

Cheng Xiaojin watched the elevator numbers jump up.

How did you know he smokes?

"There's dust on the carpet. The hotel just replaced it, so it's noticeable as soon as a speck of dust settles on it."

"Brother Li, if you don't become a thief, the thief world will be missing a grandmaster."

Tieguai Li glared at him.

"Stop arguing with me. You don't have a Qianlong Tongbao coin now, so don't try to show off."

The elevator reached the twelfth floor, and the two pushed the cart into the emergency exit.

Warm yellow light shone through the crack in the door on the thirteenth floor, and someone outside was speaking in a low voice.

"The boss told us to keep a close eye on them."

"Who are you watching?"

"Nose scar, the boss looked off when I came back from Rongbaozhai this afternoon."

The other person laughed.

"He can still run? He can run away, but he can't run away from his shadow."

Cheng Xiaojin reached into the red cloth bag in his pocket; the brass clasp was cold and hard.

Tieguai Li pulled an old copper coin from the bottom of the cloth cart.

"How long can it last after being soaked in grey water?"

Cheng Xiaojin said, "That's enough to scare people."

He squatted down, used bamboo clips to hold the copper coins, and pushed them from under the door to the edge of the carpet in the corridor.

The brass clasp inside the red cloth bag twitched.

Cheng Xiaojin pressed Xin Jinqi to the end of the bamboo clip, and the corridor wall lamps began to flicker.

The bodyguard cursed, "What kind of broken light is this?"

Water droplets seeped through the wallpaper, and the droplets crawled down the wall towards the shoes.

"Old Liu, did you see that?"

"What do you see?"

There is water on the ground.

"Is the hotel leaking?"

"A fart leaked from the thirteenth floor."

Tieguai Li peeked through the crack in the door.

"He went to press the walkie-talkie."

Cheng Xiaojin pushed the cart out.

The corridor lights flickered. The bodyguard glanced at the corner of the wall as two men pushed a linen cart past him. The wheels rolled silently on the carpet.

The door to the room with the nose scar was in the middle of the corridor, and another bodyguard at the door turned around.

"What do you do?"

Tieguai Li, speaking with a regional accent, announced, "Change the linens; guests number 1208 need extra blankets."

The bodyguard frowned.

"This is the thirteenth floor."

Cheng Xiaojin looked up, her face full of confusion.

"Huh? The elevator took me to the wrong floor? Seriously, your hotel numbers are so complicated."

Just as the bodyguard was about to approach, one of the wall lamps in the corner went out.

The man who had been smoking earlier shouted, "Come and take a look, this water is wrong."

The bodyguard cursed and turned to take two steps back.

Tieguai Li slid his hand across the side of the prosthetic leg, and the clockwork knife slid into his palm.

He pressed himself against the door, inserted the tip of his knife into the crack, and with his other hand pulled out a thin copper wire.

Cheng Xiaojin turned his back to the door, using the linen cart to block his view.

"Brother Li, hurry up, my face won't last much longer."

The electronic lock clicked softly.

Tieguai Li said in a low voice, "It's open."

The two of them slipped into the room.

The moment the door closed, a short dagger from Southeast Asia was pressed against Cheng Xiaojin's throat.

The main light in the room was off, the curtains were drawn, and a small bedside lamp illuminated half of the scarred nose on his face.

His eyes were bloodshot, his wrists were bruised, and old wounds were visible where half of his sleeve was missing.

Cheng Xiaojin stared at the tip of the knife.

"Wow, the welcoming ceremony is very Southeast Asian."

With nasal scars clenched teeth, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Tieguai Li stood guard behind the door, and the clock and knife were confiscated.

"Put the knife down."

The incision on the nose scar was moved forward half an inch.

"What are you doing here?"

Cheng Xiaojin raised two fingers, pinched the back of the knife, and pushed it to the side.

The knife was cold; the moment his fingertips touched the metal, the blue color rose a little higher.

He didn't let go.

"Your hand is shaking so much while holding the knife; you're biting your own shadow, how come you've even bitten your guts away?"

The nasal scar disrupted his breathing.

"Don't mention the doormat."

"That's Boss Tilin?"

The nose scar made his complexion look even worse.

"You can leave now, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

Cheng Xiaojin looked down at his feet.

The light shone on the carpet, casting the shadow of the nose scar close to the edge of the bed, half an inch shorter, with uneven edges.

"You can leave, but you'll sleep tonight. Tomorrow morning your shadow will be half an inch shorter, and the day after tomorrow it will be half an inch shorter. Seven days from now, while you're still breathing, your shadow will be gone first."

The man with the nasal scar yelled, "You can't scare me!"

Footsteps sounded outside the door; someone was knocking.

"Scarface?"

The three people in the room stopped at the same time, and the hand holding the knife tightened.

There was another knock at the door.

"Scarface, the boss told me to ask if you're asleep?"

Tieguai Li looked at Cheng Xiaojin.

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the nose scar.

"Ten seconds. If you call them in, you die. If you send them away, I'll leave you a way out."

The room key touched the door lock, and a beeping sound came in.

Cheng Xiaojin took a step forward, and the back of the knife slid across his neck, leaving a red mark.

"You work your ass off for Boss Lin, and he uses you as a doorkeeper. The door reflects your shadow, and he sends you back to the hotel to sleep."

"Do you think he believes you, or is he waiting for you to clean up your own act?"

The man with the nasal scar grinded his teeth, and the door lock beeped again.

Cheng Xiaojin took out an ordinary brass coin from his sleeve.

This money was a clean copper coin that Master Ma found in his drawer. It had been soaked in mugwort ash and couldn't suppress the evil spirits; it could only protect a little bit of life.

"If you want to live, then speak up."

The man with the nasal scar closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, the tip of the knife pointing downwards.

He yelled at the door, "What the hell are you yelling for? I'm asleep!"

There was a moment of silence outside the door.

"The boss said..."

"The boss said we'll talk about it tomorrow. If you swipe your card again, I'll chop off your hand."

The people outside cursed a couple of times, and then their footsteps faded into the distance.

Nose Scar sat down against the edge of the bed, and the dagger fell onto the carpet.

Tieguai Li kicked the knife away, and Cheng Xiaojin rubbed his neck.

"I almost had to have you perform a tracheotomy on me. Aunt Zhang hasn't even had her seventh day memorial service yet, and I don't want to go down and wait in line."

The man with the nasal scar looked up and asked, "Who is Aunt Zhang?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.

"An old lady who boiled water for us counted to 147 last night, and then she was gone."

The nasal scar rolled in his throat.

"The Water Demon has entered the city?"

"It's gone into the kitchen water pipes."

His wrist trembled even more violently.

"Boss Lin didn't say."

"He said, 'You still dare to take his ruler to measure the door?'"

Raindrops pattered against the glass outside the window, and inside the room, only the bedside lamp and the shadows of three people remained.

The scar on his nose looked down at his shadow; the gap was pressed against the edge of the carpet, and no matter how he moved it, he couldn't fill it.

He said in a hoarse voice, "I don't want to die."

Cheng Xiaojin pressed the brass coin onto the table.

"Then I'll trade my life for yours."

The man with the nasal scar looked up and asked, "What do you want?"

Tieguai Li said, "The briefcase has a double-bottom structure."

He didn't answer about the nose scar.

Cheng Xiaojin said, "You dropped the brass clasp. You can touch the bag, so don't pretend."

He looked down at his wrist; a bluish-black tinge was creeping in from the cuff.

"If I draw it, you'll get the array diagram?"

"Even if we can't get it, we have to try."

"And then what?"

"Return to the starting position."

He smiled wryly, his nose scar visible.

"Do you really want to fix that problem?"

"If that hole isn't patched up, it won't just be Aunt Zhang who dies."

The man with the nasal scar looked at him.

"Cheng Xiaojin, do you know who's behind Boss Lin?"

Cheng Xiaojin pulled up a chair and sat down.

"I know a little bit about ouroboros. And further up, there are people hiding even deeper."

The person with the nasal scar shook their head.

"Boss Lin is just one hand on the South Seas trade route. If you take the array diagram, he will target everyone around you."

Cheng Xiaojin took out the ashtray and placed it on the table.

"People around me have started to die."

The room fell silent.

The man with the nasal scar looked at the old ashtray and his expression changed.

"This thing..."

Cheng Xiaojin asked, "Do you recognize it?"

Avoiding his question, she opened the bedside table and took out a hotel notepad and pen.

"Old-fashioned cowhide bag, double bottom with inward closure, opens on the right side, three-layer bottom panel."

"The first layer holds documents, the second layer hides small boxes, and the third layer holds life."

Tieguai Li leaned closer.

"How do I open the third floor?"

A cross-section of the nasal scar was drawn.

"Press the copper nail in the lower left corner twice, press the leather edge on the right side inward, and the bottom plate will be offset by about one finger's width."

"Boss Lin's bag has been altered. The secretary only knows about the second layer; there's another kickback at the very bottom."

Cheng Xiaojin asked, "Is the formation diagram at the very bottom?"

"I only felt the air conditioning, I didn't see anything real."

How did you run into them?

The pen tip, marked by a nose scar, rested on the paper.

"After Liulichang, the boss asked me to check if my bag had been tampered with. When I opened the second compartment, air came out from underneath, and my wrist turned blue."

Tieguai Li stared at the picture.

"If the image is real, I can forge it."

Cheng Xiaojin asked, "Is Boss Lin going to the secret auction at the antique market tomorrow night?"

The nose scar is raised.

"You even know this?"

"The aunties in the alley are more dedicated than your bodyguards."

The person with the nasal scar nodded.

"Go to the second basement level, a private, clandestine shoot. Keep your bag with you at all times. Only during the intermission will your secretary be out of your sight."

Cheng Xiaojin put away the blueprints.

"What's the secret code?"

The man with the nasal scar said, "I can't help you any more obviously."

"You don't need to help me, you should help yourself."

Cheng Xiaojin tossed him the brass coin.

He caught the nasal scar, the copper coin pressed against his palm, and the bruise on his wrist receded by about half an inch.

He stared at the copper coins.

"How long will this protect you?"

"The picture is real. I'll find a way to make your shadow grow back in seven days."

Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.

"The picture is fake; consider this money as paper money for the dead."

The scar on his nose clutched the copper coin.

"Cheng Xiaojin".

"explain."

"Your dad used to use an ashtray like this too."

Cheng Xiaojin pressed his fingers against the edge of the ashtray.

"Have you seen him?"

"I was young then, and I ran errands for an old man on the Nanyang route."

The nasal scar lowered its voice.

"The old man said, if you see someone carrying this kind of ashtray, don't bother measuring their door."

Tieguai Li looked at Cheng Xiaojin.

Cheng Xiaojin asked, "What's the old man's name?"

The man with the nasal scar shook his head. "I only know his surname is Shen."

Footsteps sounded again outside the door.

Nasal Scar pushed the note to Cheng Xiaojin and turned to lie back on the bed.

"Use the bathroom ventilation window, not the hallway."

Cheng Xiaojin kept the picture safe.

"You were really good at cursing just now. It's better to be alive than to be someone else's ruler."

The person with the nose scar pulled the blanket over their face.

"roll."