noveltune Chapter 81: A Heartbeat at the Bottom of the Well
Chapter 81: A Heartbeat at the Bottom of the Well
The red lines in the courtyard were stretched taut one after another.
The yellow paper at the four corners of the well was completely soaked, lying flat on the blue bricks. The red talismans were blurred by the water, turning a grayish-red mess.
The grey water slid outwards along the edge of the well, reaching the red line before being stopped by the copper coin that Tang Wanqing had previously pressed down.
Glug, glug...
The sound didn't resemble bubbles; the rhythm was too steady and too heavy.
Cheng Xiaojin stood under the eaves, an ashtray tucked into his arms, Tong Kexin's coat draped over his back, and the old red rope still tied around his ankle.
He stared at the well opening for a moment and said, "Whose well burps in the middle of the night, and so melodiously at that?"
Zhou Banxian's face turned pale, and the smell of alcohol on his lips had faded somewhat.
"Don't joke about it."
Cheng Xiaojin replied, "I'm not joking, do you think it can just go back to sleep?"
Zhou Banxian shut his mouth.
Tang Wanqing took out copper coins from the box and laid them down one by one along the outer edge of the well.
"Don't go near the well. It's not the small water outlet that's causing trouble tonight; something down there has heard the copper membrane."
Tieguai Li emerged, leaning against the wall, carrying a lightning-struck wooden abacus.
"What you want."
Cheng Xiaojin's eyelids twitched when he saw the abacus.
"Brother Li, your service is so good, it would get a five-star rating in Panjiayuan."
Tieguai Li handed the abacus forward impatiently.
Stop joking with me.
He stopped halfway through handing it over, looking down at Cheng Xiaojin's hand hidden in her sleeve.
"Are your hands okay?"
Tong Kexin reached out and took the abacus first.
"He doesn't just take it directly."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at her.
"Boss lady, you're starting to look a lot like my manager."
Tong Kexin placed the red cloth under the abacus, her eyes never leaving his hands.
"Stop trying to glorify yourself; you're at best a dangerous item."
Master Ma stood at the entrance of the main room, his enamel teacup already placed down, but he didn't move towards the well.
"Use an abacus to listen?"
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"If it doesn't touch water, the iron beads will make a sound if there's a sound in the well, and the sound will echo back onto the wooden frame if there's a sound from the door."
Tang Wanqing looked at him.
Are you confident?
"No……"
Cheng Xiaojin took the abacus from Tong Kexin, who had placed a red cloth over it.
"But it's still better than me jumping into a well and having a chat with it."
Tang Wanqing drew a red line on the edge of the well.
"After the station line."
Cheng Xiaojin walked behind the line, placed one end of the abacus on the edge of the well platform, and left the other end hanging.
The iron bead didn't touch his skin because of the red cloth covering his hand.
Another sound came from the bottom of the well.
Boom!
The sound traveled up the abacus, the iron beads hitting the wooden frame with a low thud.
The smugness on Cheng Xiaojin's face faded.
Through the red cloth, he lightly flicked the outermost iron bead with his fingernail.
Hey~
There was no echo of water coming out of the well.
Two breaths later.
Boom, boom, boom!
Three times, sinking one after another.
Zhou Banxian took half a step back, and the wine pot hit the door frame with a dull thud.
"Not this well."
Tieguai Li asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhou Banxian stared at the well opening, his face tense.
"The sound came from deeper water veins. The three wells in Panjiayuan were just water outlets, and this place was also a water outlet. The real echo was in the core of the Locking Dragon Well formation."
Tang Wanqing's face darkened.
"After the third stake was pulled out, the core of the formation began to vibrate."
Cheng Xiaojin flicked the iron ball again.
This time, the well returned even faster.
Thump, thump!
Deep underground, something is separated from the entrance by a thick layer of water.
Cheng Xiaojin licked the cut on the tip of his tongue, and the taste of blood spread in his mouth.
"I heard it when the evil spirits were being guided last time."
Master Ma asked, "The same?"
"no the same."
Cheng Xiaojin stared at the well surface.
"Last time it rolled over in the distance, tonight it looked this way."
Tong Kexin gripped his sleeve tightly, "Don't make it sound so spooky."
The well water surged upwards, and half a foot of gray water overflowed from the well opening, only to be pushed back down by the copper coin ring.
The water level did not fall back to its original position, but floated about a hand's width below the edge of the well, and the character "water" slowly appeared on its surface.
one two Three……
Cheng Xiaojin's expression changed.
Tong Kexin saw it too, and her throat tightened.
"It's counting."
The character for "water" floated up one after another, arranged on the surface of the well, without scattering.
Thirteen, twenty-seven, fifty-nine...
Zhou Banxian muttered a curse in a low voice.
"It's taking attendance!"
Tang Wanqing shook out all the copper coins from her sleeve and pressed them into the well.
"We can't let it finish counting."
Tieguai Li asked, "What will happen after we finish counting?"
No one responded; the number of characters in the well had reached ninety-six.
Cheng Xiaojin pushed the abacus to Tong Kexin.
"Take it."
Tong Kexin's voice changed from anxiety.
"What are you doing?"
"Well control".
"You must not get it wet."
"I don't touch water."
Cheng Xiaojin took out a Qianlong Tongbao coin from his pocket.
As soon as the copper coin appeared, the numbers on the well surface paused for a moment before continuing to be arranged.
One hundred and nine, one hundred and ten, one hundred and eleven.
Tang Wanqing stared at his hand.
"Blood on the tip of the tongue?"
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"Same as always, cheap and effective."
Tong Kexin's face was extremely pale.
Your tongue isn't healed yet.
"Perfect, saves me the trouble of biting it again."
He lowered his head and bit his tongue, the blood dripping into the hole of the Qianlong Tongbao coin.
When blood touches the copper, the patina within the coin is stirred, and a dark red hue seeps out from around the hole.
The well water level has reached 128.
Zhou Banxian gripped the door frame and urged him on.
"quick!"
Cheng Xiaojin stood behind the red line, not crossing it even once.
He placed the copper coin on the iron bead at the very front of the abacus and moved it through the red cloth.
The iron bead, carrying the copper coin, slid down the wooden frame and landed right in the center of the well.
133, 134, 135...
The moment the copper coin landed on the edge of the well, Cheng Xiaojin spoke.
"You've miscounted; I haven't called roll yet."
The coin is turned over, with the blood hole facing down.
The last three numbers on the well water swayed and were dispersed by the ripples.
The grey water sank to the bottom, and a muffled sound came from the wellhead.
Boom!
After that sound, all the red lines in the yard loosened a little.
Tang Wanqing immediately added three copper coins.
"Don't move, it's stuck, it hasn't completely healed."
Cheng Xiaojin took half a step back, her back bumping into Tong Kexin's shoulder.
Tong Kexin helped him up.
How's your hand?
Cheng Xiaojin tucked both hands into his sleeves.
"It's still here, it's not lost."
Stop being sarcastic.
"It's a bit cold."
He looked down at the base of his fingernails, where the bluish ring had reappeared.
"No problem, it'll still work even with a discount."
Tieguai Li put the abacus back and touched the wooden frame.
"The iron beads have gotten damp."
Zhou Banxian squatted three steps away from the well, staring at the well surface.
"It's not flushing a well, it's flushing a live point."
Tang Wanqing put away the compass.
"Once the copper membrane is removed, it will recognize your location, and the courtyard house will no longer be safe."
Tong Kexin asked, "Then what should we do, move?"
Master Ma shook his head. "The Zhenhai Iron, the incomplete scroll, the Nine Stakes Map, and half a rubbing are all here. Moving them will only cause them to scatter even faster."
Tieguai Li said, "Add mechanisms, add ash water, add red thread."
Tang Wanqing looked towards the kitchen.
"The wellhead can control the pressure, but the water pipe can't control everything."
No sooner had these words been spoken than a soft sound came from the direction of the west wing.
The thermos lid bumped against the edge of the table.
Everyone turned their heads; the lights were off in Aunt Zhang's room.
Cheng Xiaojin called out, "Aunt Zhang?"
After a while, Aunt Zhang's sleepy voice came from inside the house.
"It's okay, just turn over."
Cheng Xiaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
"You can go to sleep, don't get up at night, and don't touch water."
Aunt Zhang muttered to herself inside the house.
"Okay, okay, you guys are all better at managing things than the neighborhood aunties."
Tong Kexin said in a low voice, "Let her sleep in the main room."
Master Ma looked at the west wing.
"She has trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds."
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at Master Ma but said nothing more.
Tang Wanqing used yellow paper to absorb the water stains outside the well, and Tieguai Li used lime water to repair the line again.
Zhou Banxian walked around the well three times, chanting the old incantation, but was interrupted by Cheng Xiaojin halfway through.
"Old Zhou, don't mispronounce it. You just pronounced Beidou as Beidoufu."
Zhou Banxian glared at him.
"What do you know? It's like pressing water into tofu."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"Okay, you can continue pressing the tofu."
Tong Kexin tightened Cheng Xiaojin's coat.
"Are you still cold?"
"Much better."
"lie."
Cheng Xiaojin turned her head to look at her.
"Boss lady, give the men some face."
"You're practically at the mercy of Jing's call, and you still care about saving face?"
He smiled to himself, but didn't reply.
The thud from the bottom of the well had faded into the distance, but the courtyard remained cold.
The dampness seeped into your feet layer by layer, and the lamp at the entrance of the main room was also off.
Master Ma picked up the teacup, but didn't drink from it; the lid brushed against the rim of the cup.
Hey~
Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.
"Master Ma, don't sleep too soundly tonight, and keep an eye on the water pipes too."
Tang Wanqing nodded.
"I will guard the well."
Tieguai Li said, "I will guard the courtyard gate."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the west wing, then turned to look at the kitchen.
"I'll guard the main room; if I hear any water, I'll call out first."
Master Ma said, "You should rest first."
"I'm fine."
"Your face is whiter than paper."
Cheng Xiaojin twitched the corner of his mouth.
"That's because the light is bad. I'll replace it with a brighter one for you another day, and you can pay me for the work."
Master Ma didn't try to persuade him any further.
Night fell over the courtyard, and the wellhead was re-covered with yellow paper.
Everyone thought that the fiercest anger had been suppressed.
In the old water pipe in the kitchen, a drop of gray water slid down the inner wall of the sheet metal.
tick...