69novels Chapter 418 Chopping the Basket!
Chapter 418 Chopping the Basket!
The cold white light of the sword inside the fish basket shone along the seam, drawing in the normal morning light outside the forest. It even managed to seep into the mist through the gaps between the broken stumps, making the wet red lantern tassels shrink behind the branches.
Xiao Liu, clutching the fish basket, stood with his feet planted firmly in front of the boundary tree, and almost burst into tears again.
"Master, it really knows how to use a sword?"
Mo Chengyue pressed the lid of the basket, and when the red pattern on his palm was illuminated by the sword's breath, the red line under his skin immediately retracted. He looked down at the dried fish with its belly ripped open, and his tone was much more steady than Xiao Liu's.
"No, it was just smelled by someone who knows how to use a sword."
Manager Hu carried a white paper lantern, its light reflecting a cold glow from the sword's gleam. She immediately looked toward the official road outside the misty realm.
"The message went through?"
Mo Chengyue didn't let go, tapping the lid of the basket with his fingertips.
"I've taken a deep breath, but I haven't crossed the threshold yet."
Xiao Liu quickly hugged the fish basket tightly to his chest.
"So, does that mean I can't breathe too loudly now? I'm afraid I'll blow all the air out of my lungs."
Manager Hu glared at him.
"Say less, it's more effective than holding your breath."
The dried fish hiding the message in the fish basket gently bumped against the basket wall again. A cold white light swam out from the gaps in the bamboo strips and landed on the old official road outside the boundary wood. The water droplets hanging on the roadside grass were swept away by the sword intent and rolled to both sides.
Seeing this commotion, Mo Chengyue finally held the Rain Flower Sword horizontally in front of him.
"Qin Wanzhuang's sword aura recognizes the Feather Talisman. The fog won't hold out for long, and neither will the ship's captain."
When Xiao Liu heard the name Qin Wanzhuang, his eyes lit up for a moment, then immediately shrank back.
Will our second senior sister come to save us?
Mo Chengyue handed the array hook to Manager Hu, and then used his sword sheath to cover the shadow at Xiao Liu's feet.
"If she really saw this letter, the first thing she wouldn't do would be to save people."
Xiao Liu was stunned.
"What is that?"
Mo Chengyue glanced at him.
"First, she scolded me for stuffing the letter into the fish's belly, thus tainting her sword aura."
Shopkeeper Hu's previously tense lips twitched, and the white paper lantern swayed slightly with her wrist.
"You still dare to talk badly about your senior sister at a time like this?"
"I'm admitting my mistake in advance; my attitude is sincere, so I'll be given a lighter sentence."
Xiao Liu lifted the fish basket upwards, almost burying his nose in the smell of dried fish.
"Immortal Master, if Second Senior Sister really comes, can I say that the idea was yours? I was just hired by Yu?"
Mo Chengyue raised his hand and flicked the calming talisman on his forehead.
"If you manage to see her alive, feel free to tell anyone."
Xiao Liu immediately shut up, but moved his foot a little further away from the boundary tree.
The cold white sword light extended outward along the crack in the fish's belly, cutting a narrow opening in the fog outside the forest. A clear sword cry could be faintly heard from afar, as if someone outside the fog was raising their sword in response.
The sound of a sword rang out, and the weariness in Manager Hu's eyes was pushed aside. She urged him in a low voice.
"You can walk now."
Mo Chengyue did not respond. He looked at the old red rope on the broken stake. The paper money hanging at the end of the red rope was slowly standing up. The edges of the thin paper were glistening with moisture. The row of red paper money that was originally pasted on the boundary tree also began to float in against the wind.
Xiao Liu pulled his foot back after taking the first step.
"How did they come back to life?"
Shopkeeper Hu swung the lamp forward, the light sweeping across the paper money. Several pieces of paper were burned and curled up, but more red paper emerged from under the fallen leaves, climbing along the watermark of the old riverbed towards the boundary tree.
Mo Chengyue conjured two thunder talismans and placed them between the spine of the sword.
"It's not that he's alive, it's that someone won't let him leave the house."
A soft female voice drifted through the mist, sounding not far from the three people, through the trees and the vapor.
"Groom, you've already accepted the gifts, why are you still sending out messages?"
Xiao Liu felt a chill run down his spine, and almost dropped the fish basket.
"Why is she still following us?"
Mo Chengyue flicked the Thunder Talisman, and the talisman fire crawled along the sword blade. The water ripples and sword shadows of the Rain Flower Sword Technique were reflected in the talisman fire, and the dampness in the forest was cut into tiny specks.
"You're carrying a letter, not a blanket. Run."
Manager Hu immediately grabbed Xiao Liu's arm.
"Follow me, and don't step on the red paper."
Xiao Liu was pulled by her and staggered towards the edge of the boundary tree.
"I'll try my best, but they're decorated even more elaborately than during the Lunar New Year!"
Red paper money flew in from both sides, the edges of the paper curling into thin blades of water. The first piece grazed the fish basket, slicing open the bamboo strips and releasing the fishy smell of dried fish, which made Xiao Liu's face contort from the stench.
"It's cutting down the basket! It has no fishermanly manners!"
Mo Chengyue stepped in front of the two, his sword slashing diagonally. The Rain Flower Sword Technique swirled up fragments of light, and the blue and white fire lines from the Thunder Talisman swished along the edge of the paper blade. More than ten pieces of red paper turned black in mid-air and turned into wet mud when they landed.
"Stop speaking up for the fish; it's quieter than you."
Shopkeeper Hu dragged Xiao Liu through the first broken post. The white paper lantern hung low in front of them, and every time the light swept across a damp spot, dark red watermarks were revealed under the withered leaves.
She gritted her teeth and reminded him.
"Don't go to the left front, there's an underground ditch below."
Xiao Liu quickly switched feet.
"I can't tell!"
"If you can't tell, then listen to me."
"I'm listening, but my legs are slower than my ears!"
A row of red paper money rolled up from behind them, following Xiao Liu's shadow. Just as the paper blade touched the end of the shadow, Mo Chengyue's sword sheath pierced through from the side, flicking the shadow back under the fish basket.
Xiao Liu was so frightened that his voice went limp.
"Immortal Master, what did my shadow do to deserve this today?"
Mo Chengyue flicked out a calming talisman, which landed on the edge of the shadow, its golden patterns pressing down on a circle of wet red.
"It went to work for you, so it's considered a work injury."
Manager Hu didn't turn around, his tone tense.
"Stop joking, they went around to the front."
Outside the boundary tree, red paper money was piled up into a narrow wall along the official road. Between the papers was running water, and the water surface did not reflect the morning light, but only the blurry red lanterns.
Xiao Liu, holding the fish basket, stopped abruptly, almost stepping the tip of his shoe into the water.
"There's no road ahead!"
A woman's voice laughed from the mist.
"The letter can go out, but the person cannot leave."
Mo Chengyue lowered the Rain Flower Sword, the lightning on the blade flickering due to the dampness. He didn't chase after the woman's voice, but only looked at the white paper lantern in Shopkeeper Hu's hand.
"Can the lights still illuminate the river mouth?"
Manager Hu immediately understood, and with a flick of his wrist, the white paper lantern touched the ground.
"It can take pictures, but as soon as the water sac lights up, it will bite me first."
"We'll see what happens once we get a bite."
Shopkeeper Hu glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions. The Soul-Suppressing Coin slid out of her sleeve, the hole of the coin passing through the lamp wire. When the lamplight fell, the withered leaves in front of the boundary tree were all illuminated, revealing the direction of the culvert.
Xiao Liu looked at the crooked waterline at his feet, and his voice became softer.
"So I almost stepped on the boat deck just now?"
Manager Hu pulled him to the right.
"Shut up, and carry your fish properly."
The red paper wall noticed they had changed their route, and the paper blade immediately followed close to the ground, a piece of paper money flying over the lamplight and heading straight for Manager Hu's arm holding the lamp.
Just as Mo Chengyue's sword was about to intercept, two more water blades came from the side and behind in the mist, their target being the fish basket on Xiao Liu's back.
"Protect the basket!"
He only had time to utter those two words before the Rain Flower Sword Technique split into three sword shadows. The first one slashed towards Xiao Liu's back, while the other two, carrying lightning talismans and fire lines, met the water blade.
Shopkeeper Hu did not back down. She stuffed the white paper lantern into Xiao Liu's arms and used her arm to block the outside of the fish basket.
The red paper money brushed against her sleeve, tearing the fabric, and blood dripped down her forearm onto the withered leaves.
Xiao Liu's voice changed from anxiety.
"Shopkeeper!"
Manager Hu pushed him away from the boundary marker with his bare hands.
"Go on your way!"
Blood dripped into the narrow waterline beneath the fallen leaves. The red water, which had been chasing the fish basket, suddenly became erratic. Several dark red streaks of water emerged from the ground, circling around Manager Hu's feet, as if they had mistaken him for someone else, or as if they had been led away by an old scent.
Mo Chengyue raised his eyelids and tucked the thunder talisman between his fingers.
"The blood of the Hu family can disrupt its locks."
Shopkeeper Hu's face turned pale, but he immediately used his injured arm to press down the Soul-Suppressing Coin.
"Then use it."
Xiao Liu turned around in a hurry.
"No, she's bleeding!"
Manager Hu kicked him in the shin.
"I told you to run, not to hold a funeral!"