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

Cheng Xiaojin was bent over, her hand still hovering over the tissue.

The fake bag next to the shoe is pasted with a red carpet, and a bit of old cowhide texture is visible on the corner of the bag. When the light is pressed on the leather surface, the old cracks appear dark.

Mr. Lin held his wine glass, his gaze lingering for a moment on the shoes of the man.

"Mr. Cheng, do you like the carpet in the VIP area?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked up, putting on a smile like a poor person entering a fancy restaurant.

"It looks good. Boss Lin paid to sit in the front row, and I just wanted to get a glimpse of it. Does that count as copyright infringement?"

The bodyguard took half a step forward.

"Sir, please return to the back row."

The man with the nasal scar squatted beside the safe, his hand pressing against the edge of the door as he picked up a tissue. He didn't look up, but simply stuffed half a finger of the wad of paper into the crack of the safe.

Through the earpiece, Tieguai Li lowered his voice considerably.

"The trunk door is still open, don't waste your breath arguing with him."

Tong Kexin chimed in with a comment.

"Boss Lin has already seen the bag by your shoe, don't try to be clever."

Cheng Xiaojin smiled, picked up a tissue, and handed it to the person with the nose scar.

"Dude, next time buy some better quality paper. If it falls on the ground like snowflakes, poor people might mistakenly think you've spent money."

The nasal scar was taken, and my throat tightened.

"Thanks."

Boss Lin took two more steps closer.

"Mr. Cheng is very busy tonight."

"You're not busy. You take pictures, I'll flatter you."

Han Shaobai, who was sitting in the back row, couldn't sit still any longer and stood up to shout.

"Cheng Xiaojin, have you finished reading? You've studied this lousy inscription to the point of being in the front row?"

Cheng Xiaojin turned around and answered him.

"Young Master Han, this painting looks incredibly realistic; I need to take a closer look."

Han Shaobai's face darkened.

"return!"

That shout came at just the right time.

Several collectors around him turned to look at Han Shaobai, and the bodyguard also glanced at the back row.

Mr. Lin held his wine glass, not moving an inch.

Tieguai Li called out the numbers in his earpiece.

"Twenty-eight."

Cheng Xiaojin flicked her toes, and the fake bag slid to the edge of the red carpet, half of which was blocked by the leg of the seat in front.

He turned around, making it look like he was going back to the back row.

But Boss Lin spoke up.

Mr. Cheng.

"What's wrong now?"

You dropped something.

Cheng Xiaojin glanced down at the fake bag, then patted his coat.

"Oh, it's true. Young Master Han asked me to get the documents, and I almost lost them."

The bodyguard reached out, ready to pick it up for him.

Suddenly, the man with the nasal scar stood up and bumped his shoulder into the bodyguard.

"Move aside, we haven't finished picking up the paper yet."

The bodyguard was knocked off balance by the impact.

Boss Lin looked at the nose scar.

"Your hands and feet are unsteady tonight."

The man with the nasal scar had his head down.

I didn't sleep well last night.

"When you get back, have someone take a look at your wrist."

The man with the nasal scar clutched the paper in his palm and tucked his wrist into his sleeve.

"Thank you, Boss."

Tieguai Li's voice crept into Cheng Xiaojin's ear.

"twenty."

Cheng Xiaojin bent down to pick up the fake bag, and as he lowered his body, his shoulder just happened to block the half-inch gap in the safe.

His other hand slipped out of his sleeve, his fingertips slipping into the crack of the trunk door.

The handles of the genuine bag are so cold they feel prickly to the touch.

Cheng Xiaojin didn't touch the bag itself, but only pinched the edge of the leather case.

Tieguai Li said, "Don't pull, press the lower left copper nail twice."

Cheng Xiaojin carried the fake bag, pretending to adjust the strap, and covered the suitcase door with the back of her hand.

He felt the copper nail through the leather sheath with his fingernail.

a bit.

The copper nails were not loose.

Cheng Xiaojin pressed the tip of her tongue against the old wound, stubbornly preventing the taste of blood from surfacing.

Tieguai Li cursed for half a sentence.

"What happened?"

"born."

"Did the yin energy bite through the lock, causing the spring to rust?"

"It's like an old lady clutching her bankbook, tighter than you think."

Tong Kexin suppressed her anger.

"Are you still being sarcastic at a time like this?"

Tieguai Li said, "Don't use brute force. If you use brute force, the hidden clasp will get stuck."

Cheng Xiaojin closed his eyes.

Inside the venue, the auctioneer was introducing the third item on stage, his voice trailing off.

"Distinguished guests, this early Qing dynasty white jade thumb ring has a clear provenance and a well-documented history."

Someone below chuckled softly.

Wine glasses clinked lightly, clothes rubbed together, and footsteps of the secretary could be heard from the direction of the restroom in the distance.

The sounds piled up one after another, squeezing into my ears.

Cheng Xiaojin ran her fingernail along the edge of the copper nail.

A faint clanging sound came from inside the brass buckle.

He understood.

There are three springs inside. The innermost spring has been air-pressed and its rolled edge is biting into the latch.

Tieguai Li counted in his earpiece.

"Thirteen."

Cheng Xiaojin lowered his voice.

"Brother Li, Sanhuang, they're biting to death inside."

Tieguai Li paused for a moment.

"Press the right edge of the leather inwards by half a finger, then pick the topmost spring. Can your hand handle that?"

"If my hands don't work out, I'll put them up for sale. They're original hands from Cheng Xiaojin, guaranteed authentic."

Tong Kexin said, "Stop talking nonsense."

Cheng Xiaojin pressed a breath of Xin Jin Qi to his fingertips.

The chill seeped into his bones through his fingernails, making his fingers weak, but he forced them to stay upright.

Press the right edge of the leather inward.

Half a finger.

The copper spring made a soft sound.

Tieguai Li's voice was tense.

"Nine."

Cheng Xiaojin's ring finger was inserted at an awkward angle, and the knuckle was painfully pinched by the leather edge.

He used his fingernail to pry open the topmost spring.

It didn't turn on for a moment.

Sweat trickled down his temples, following the knife scar on his neck.

Boss Lin was only three steps away from him.

"Mr. Cheng, does it take this long to pick up a bag?"

Cheng Xiaojin didn't even look up.

"Poor people have a lot of things, and even if the bag strap gets knotted, they have to fix it. They can't be like you, who just replace it when it's broken."

Boss Lin smiled.

"What a waste of Mr. Cheng's mouth."

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity we can't use it to measure doors."

Cheng Xiaojin paused for a moment, his fingers hidden in the crevice of the box.

The man with the nasal scar had his head down, and the paper in his hand was crumpled into a ball.

Cheng Xiaojin also laughed.

"You're still thinking about this? Mr. Lin, are you really not afraid of shortening your lifespan?"

Tieguai Li called out the numbers in a low voice.

"five."

Cheng Xiaojin sent a burst of Xin Jin Qi from his fingertips.

The copper spring finally loosened.

Click~

The noise was so faint that only he himself could hear it.

The hidden groove is opened to a width of one finger.

Beneath the genuine bag, the third array diagram lay in a hidden compartment, the cold air causing the leather inside the box to become damp.

The moment Cheng Xiaojin's fingertips touched it, a deep dragon's roar echoed in his ears.

The dragon's roar from Zhenhai Iron was deep and resonant. This sound carried the dampness of the waterway, and he felt the crack in the broken bone beneath the city.

He dared not linger.

He pulled out the real needle and pressed it into the red cloth bag in his sleeve.

The fake talisman had already been hidden inside the handle of the fake bag by Tieguai Li.

With a flick of his finger, Cheng Xiaojin sent the thin sheet of iron into his palm, which was covered in the coldness of the ashes from Aunt Zhang's stove.

Insert the false lead, close the hidden groove, and reset the bottom of the package.

Tieguai Li exhaled into his earpiece.

"two."

The secretary's footsteps echoed from the corridor entrance, and Boss Lin turned to sit back down.

Cheng Xiaojin picked up the fake bag and stepped back.

The bodyguard suddenly stared at his sleeve.

"What are you holding in your hand?"

Cheng Xiaojin raised his hand, revealing a wad of tissues in his palm.

"The paper, the paper from the VIP area, take it back and enshrine it."

The bodyguard reached out his hand.

"show me."

Nasal scar opening.

"What are you looking at the paper for? Boss, are you going to sit down or not?"

The bodyguard turned to look at Boss Lin.

Mr. Lin sat back down in his chair, placing his wine glass on the armrest.

"Let him go back."

The bodyguard stepped back.

Cheng Xiaojin turned and walked to the back row, his hand pressed against his sleeve, the cold making half of his arm numb.

He had only taken three steps when Boss Lin suddenly reached out and opened the safe.

Cheng Xiaojin did not turn around.

Tieguai Li cursed half a sentence into his earpiece, then swallowed the rest.

Tong Kexin didn't make a sound, she even suppressed her breathing.

Mr. Lin reached into the safe and touched the bottom of the briefcase.

The cold, metallic breath inside the fake incantation was pressed down by his palm, and a little more escaped.

Mr. Lin stopped pointing.

The secretary returned and asked in a low voice, "Boss?"

Boss Lin closed the safe.

"fine."

Cheng Xiaojin sat down in the back row, and Han Shaobai asked him in a low voice.

"Did you get it?"

Cheng Xiaojin stuffed the fake bag under the seat.

"Young Master Han, your directness makes you more suitable as a hostage than as an accomplice."

Han Shaobai gritted his teeth.

"Don't drag me down with you."

"Don't worry, I'll give you a receipt before I die."

Han Shaobai glared at him.

Why are your hands shaking?

Cheng Xiaojin pulled his sleeves in.

"Poor people get excited when they see big shipments."

Tieguai Li asked into his earpiece, "Where is the real guide?"

"In the sleeve."

"Are you cold?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the back of Boss Lin's head in the front row.

"cold."

Tong Kexin said, "Let's retreat."

"If we withdraw now, Boss Lin will be watching."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

The auctioneer strikes the gavel on stage.

"Next item: a Republic of China-era cloisonné enamel vase."

Cheng Xiaojin leaned back in his chair, his face pale, and his lips barely moving.

"Wait until he thinks he's won."

In the front row, Boss Lin leaned back in his chair, his fingers resting on the safe.

The man with the nasal scar stood back against the wall, head down, his shadow still half an inch shorter than usual.

Cheng Xiaojin pressed down her cuffs, and a chill crept up her wrists inch by inch.

Through the earpiece, Tong Kexin said, "Cheng Xiaojin, don't try to tough it out."

Cheng Xiaojin replied to her in a low voice.

"Boss lady, I'm used to owing a lot of money, I'm used to carrying it all."

Han Shaobai didn't hear clearly.

"What did you say?"

Cheng Xiaojin looked at the bronze bottle on the stage.

"I said, this bottle is faker than I am."

Han Shaobai closed his eyes.

"You'd better shut up."