69novels Chapter 419 Sword Sheath Blocks and Pulls Away
Chapter 419 Sword Sheath Blocks and Pulls Away
Xiao Liu was kicked forward two steps, and the sword light in the fish basket took the opportunity to burst out. The cold white light crossed the boundary tree and left a thin, bright sword mark on the official road. The sword sound outside the fog also became clear, as if the sword tip responded from the distant mountain wind.
Mo Chengyue slammed his palm down on the ground, and the Crimson Sun Powder mixed with talisman ash was sprinkled into the spot where Manager Hu's blood had fallen. The dark red watermark was forcibly diverted by him, forming a crooked little circle that blocked the space between the paper blade and the fish basket.
The woman's laughter faded considerably.
"You're using her blood to pave my way?"
Mo Chengyue swept his Rain Flower Sword horizontally, the sword shadow forcing the water blade back into the forest, and his words were light and easy.
"Don't jump to conclusions; you were the one who started this unfounded claim of kinship."
Manager Hu gritted his teeth and pressed the wound into his sleeve.
"How long can it last?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the remnants of the old riverbed below the bloodstains. The red water was being drawn by the blood energy of the Hu family. Some of the red paper money was turning towards Manager Hu, while others were still staring at Xiao Liu. The entire forest was being pulled and made to make a rustling sound.
"Just hold on until that fish emerges from the fog."
Xiao Liu had already rushed beyond the boundary tree. He dared not stop and ran forward along the official road, shouting as he went.
"Master, I'm going out!"
Mo Chengyue didn't even turn his head.
"Don't report the good news, keep running."
Xiao Liu hugged the fish basket tightly, his footsteps making a loud thud on the muddy surface of the official road.
"I'll run! I'll run faster than someone in debt!"
The cold white sword light in the fish basket finally pierced through the mist completely. A soft chirping sound came from the belly of the dried fish that had hidden the message. The golden-blue light of the feather talisman was enveloped by the sword energy and flew quickly away into the distance along the official road.
The red paper money all turned around, trying to chase after the boundary tree, but was tripped by the dark red water stains left by Manager Hu's blood. The paper blades spun in front of the boundary tree, cutting the old red rope into pieces that flew everywhere.
Taking advantage of the ship owner's misjudgment in locking the road, Mo Chengyue affixed the second thunder talisman to the Rain Flower Sword. The sword light and talisman fire rolled up against the ground, burning a gap in the last layer of red paper in front of the boundary tree.
"Manager Hu, please return the money."
Shopkeeper Hu put the white paper lantern away. Her injured arm was still dripping blood, but she first looked at Xiao Liu's retreating figure.
"Can he catch up with Boss Fan?"
Mo Chengyue sheathed his sword and turned around, sweeping away a piece of unburnt paper money at her feet with the scabbard.
"It's okay if we can't catch up, Xin already knows the way."
Shopkeeper Hu then stepped back. As soon as his foot left the dark red watermark, the red paper money gathered up again, and the sound of water rising from the ground made it seem as if an entire old river was being pulled awake from the mud.
Xiao Liu's shouts came from outside the fog; they were far away, and sounded like he was crying.
"Master, I'm really running away!"
Mo Chengyue replied through the fog.
"Don't look back, or the fish will complain."
The sword's cry from beyond the mist gradually faded into the distance, and the cold white light receded from the forest entrance into a mere glimmer. The red lantern tassels drooped again, but the humidity inside the boundary tree was even heavier than before.
Manager Hu covered his arm, slowly drawing his breath back into his chest.
"The letter has been sent."
Mo Chengyue looked at the red pattern of the wedding boat that had reappeared in his palm. This time, the red pattern did not dodge, but instead shone brightly.
"Yeah, they're putting the blame on me too."
From deep within the forest came the gentle sound of a boat rocking on the water. A woman's voice drifted down through the mist, a cold laugh tinged with annoyance at having her way cut off.
"The letter has been sent, so let's leave the person here."
The sound of boats and water from deep within the forest grew closer and closer, but the official road outside the boundary tree had been covered again with red paper money. Mo Chengyue and Manager Hu were left in the maple forest, with their escape route behind them and the old river mouth beneath their feet.
Shopkeeper Hu held the white paper lantern to his chest. Blood from his injured arm dripped down his sleeve, falling into the gaps between the withered leaves and being swept away by the dark red watermarks.
"The letter has already been sent. You can still leave now."
Mo Chengyue glanced at her, and used the scabbard of his Yuhua sword to brush aside the paper money at his feet.
"I'm leaving. Are you going to try and bargain with the paper figure using the lamp?"
Shopkeeper Hu bit his sleeve and tore off the ripped strip of cloth to wrap around his arm.
"At least I know the way."
Mo Chengyue raised his hand and patted a calming talisman on her shoulder, the talisman's pattern gleaming against her fabric.
"Someone who knows the way just dripped blood into the old riverbed and almost opened a VIP passage for the other side."
Shopkeeper Hu slowed her movements, the flame of the paper lantern was deflected by the damp wind, and she asked in a low voice, "Are you blaming me?"
Mo Chengyue took two steps forward, blocking her inside the boundary tree.
"Why blame you? Blame me for taking a delivery job that ended up costing me more than what you'd pay for escorting goods."
Shopkeeper Hu was speechless at those words. He wrapped the lamp cord around the coin that was meant to ward off evil spirits, and the coin gently touched the lamp handle.
"You're still settling scores at a time like this?"
"Of course it should be calculated."
Mo Chengyue raised his Yuhua sword, the tip pointing at a row of wet, dark tree trunks in the forest.
"Life can be sacrificed, but costs cannot be overlooked."
A woman's voice chuckled softly in the mist, red lantern tassels on the branches drooped down, and wet red threads stretched out from between the branches, with the hanging paper slowly unfolding into human shapes.
"The groom sent the letter, but left himself on the way to his wedding. Why is he still thinking about the cost?"
Mo Chengyue tucked the thunder talisman between his fingers without looking in the direction the sound came from.
"If you're willing to reimburse me for the cost of the incense, I'll be a little nicer to you now."
Manager Hu immediately turned his head to remind her, "Don't talk to her too much; she's using your echo to find her place."
"She can find it."
Mo Chengyue used his toes to push aside the withered leaves, revealing the crisscrossing water lines beneath them.
The question is whether she's accurate in her selection.
The female voice changed direction from the woods, carrying the lingering notes of a wedding song in the damp air.
"Sis, why are you still standing behind him?"
Shopkeeper Hu's hand, which was tying the cloth, stopped at his cuff, and the white paper lantern sank slightly.
Mo Chengyue held the scabbard horizontally in front of her, the end of the scabbard pressing against the tip of her shoe as she tried to move forward.
"Don't you know how many copper coins that sound is worth?"
Shopkeeper Hu's throat moved, and in the mist before him, the silhouette of a seventeen-year-old girl in red appeared. The silhouette stood behind an old maple tree, half of her face covered by wet hair.
She calls me "sister".
"The red-light boat called me 'bride' last night."
Mo Chengyue pressed down on the scabbard and picked up a red paper money that had crawled to the side of Manager Hu's shoe.
"The title is free, so of course they'll give you extra."
Shopkeeper Hu's fingertips gripped the Soul-Suppressing Coin, and blood seeped from the cloth strips again.
"But she knew that Shuang'er was afraid of thunder when she was little."
"Which child who grew up by the river wasn't afraid of thunder?"
Mo Chengyue took out the soul-protecting talisman and pressed it onto Manager Hu's wrist.
"If she were really Shuang'er, she would have told you to stay away from the water first, instead of trying to persuade you to go over when you were bleeding."
The figure in red sobbed softly behind the tree, her wet hair clinging to the side of her face, water droplets falling onto the red paper, which then turned into a small lantern shape.
"Sister, I've watched the shore from the ship for twenty years, and I don't want to watch anymore."
Shopkeeper Hu's wrist was burned by the soul-protecting talisman, causing him to flinch, and the white paper lantern nearly fell to the ground.
Don't listen.
Mo Chengyue grabbed the lamp handle and lifted the lamp back up.
"You owe her the truth, not the door to open for the ship."
Shopkeeper Hu closed his eyes and pressed the Soul-Suppressing Coin into his palm.
"I know."
The woman's sobbing gradually faded away, and the red lantern tassels hanging from the branches split open at the same time, revealing hands and feet soaked white inside the paper. Paper corpses hung down along the red lines, their faces without features, but each with a wet red "double happiness" character pasted on its chest.
Manager Hu retreated to Mo Chengyue's side, his throat tightening.
"This is a paper corpse for the wedding boat."
As Mo Chengyue watched the paper corpses sway in the wind, the Yin-Yang Qi Observation Technique unfolded before his eyes, and red lines wound around the tree trunks, converging into the darkness at the bottom of the forest.
"The name sounds festive, but the work is downright gruesome."
Shopkeeper Hu held up his lantern and shone it on the nearest paper corpse.
"They're not living corpses. If you cut them apart, they'll stick back together. I saw one once twenty years ago."
"Then we won't cut it."
Mo Chengyue sheathed the Rain Flower Sword and took a step back.
Manager Hu immediately looked at him.
Why are you sheathing your sword?
"Effortless".
"Don't tell me you're only thinking about saving money now."
"I've always wanted to save money."
Mo Chengyue took out two talismans, then stuffed one of them back into his sleeve.
"They were just too enthusiastic, and I felt embarrassed to be too stingy."