noveltune Chapter 99: Boss Lin Opens the Box, A Feigned Attempt Leads to Backlash
Chapter 99: Boss Lin Opens the Box, A Feigned Attempt Leads to Backlash
Boss Lin brought more than a dozen people with him.
There weren't many people, but everyone was carrying a weapon.
Someone was holding a black umbrella, the surface of which had been painted with black dog blood; under the moonlight, the color appeared dull.
Someone was carrying a copper ruler, which was engraved with Southeast Asian patterns and had black thread wrapped around the end.
There were also two middle-aged men dressed in feng shui attire, with small copper bells hanging from their waists, their eyes fixed on the old pit.
The secretary, holding the black briefcase, stood half a step behind Boss Lin, her arms tightly wrapped around him.
The nose scar also appeared.
He was wearing a black jacket with the cuffs tucked under his wrists, and he stood at the back of the crowd.
The moonlight dragged his shadow on the muddy ground, its tail missing half an inch, making it look awkward.
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at him but didn't linger.
Boss Lin's gaze fell on the wooden box.
"The Zhenhai Iron is indeed here."
Master Ma stood beside the array diagram, leaning on his teacup.
"Boss Lin, according to the rules of the underworld, you shouldn't stop him from returning to his post."
Boss Lin smiled.
"Old Ma, if it really is a return to the original site, of course I won't stop you."
He raised his hand and brushed the dust off the cuffs of his suit.
"But Boss Cheng took the things from me and then took the Zhenhai Iron to Mancheng. To call this a return trip is just too much of a blatant attempt to take advantage."
Tieguai Li was carrying a wrench, with half of his prosthetic leg stuck in the mud.
"Didn't you have a magic array diagram in your bag? If you have something, why are you chasing us?"
The secretary's expression changed, and she turned to look at Boss Lin.
Boss Lin didn't look at her.
"Master Li has excellent cooking skills and is quick-witted."
He looked at Tieguai Li, a smile playing on his lips.
"But some things can't be covered up with words alone."
Tang Wanqing pressed down on the copper coin thread, the red thread at her fingertips already taut.
"You want to rob Zhenhai Railway?"
Mr. Lin shook his head.
"The word 'rob' sounds awful."
He looked at Cheng Xiaojin, his tone carrying the patience of a Southeast Asian businessman.
"I just want Mr. Cheng to help me measure the pile positions."
"The key to the living has arrived, the array diagram has arrived, and the sea-suppressing iron has arrived. With the right timing, location, and people, why do you all want to enjoy it all by yourselves?"
Zhou Banxian, holding the compass, didn't hold back his words.
"Wasn't measuring the nasal scar once enough? You want to measure a living person too?"
He spat a mouthful of alcohol into the mud.
"Boss Lin, people in Southeast Asia don't talk about good deeds, but people in Beijing do."
Boss Lin looked at the scarred nose, who kept his head down and didn't reply.
Boss Lin said, "Last time, the door's energy was unstable."
He looked away and pressed his fingertips against the ring.
"This time there are old pits, talismans, and array diagrams to guide them; my people know the importance of these."
Cheng Xiaojin burst out laughing.
"Do your people know what's important?"
He glanced at the short shadow at the feet of the man with the nose scar.
"Brother Nose Scar's shadow is half an inch shorter; he knows the route to the crematorium."
The nose scar twitched its eyelids, and the cuffs of its sleeves were pressed down further.
The smile on Boss Lin's face faded slightly.
"Boss Cheng, there's no need to stir things up."
He looked up at the array of copper coins in the middle of the wasteland.
"I'm not in a hurry to take action today."
"The array diagram I brought can be used to verify the stake positions in public."
"If what I have is genuine, it doesn't matter what you're hiding."
Tang Wanqing looked at Cheng Xiaojin.
Tieguai Li gripped the wrench tightly and lowered his voice.
"He wants to open the package."
Cheng Xiaojin said in a low voice, "Let him drive."
Tang Wanqing frowned.
"Improving air conditioning will expose old pits."
"Perfect."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the black briefcase, her eyes filled with a coldness and a hint of malice.
"Let him open the box and verify his ancestors."
The moonlight pressed down on the edge of the old pit, and two of the copper coins had already turned black.
Tang Wanqing's red thread wound around the damp soil, but there was still one last piece missing.
Boss Lin raised his hand.
The secretary placed the briefcase on the folding wooden table and opened the first layer of hidden clasps.
With a snap, the leather buckle popped open.
The second layer of skin is turned upside down.
The third layer of darkness was revealed.
Tieguai Li looked at the mechanism and his lips twitched.
"My imitation turned out pretty good."
Cheng Xiaojin almost burst out laughing, but forced the laughter back down her throat.
Boss Lin pressed down on the lower left copper nail twice with his fingers, then pressed it inward from the right side of the leather edge.
The hidden groove slid open, revealing an old iron plate lying inside.
The fake formation was revealed.
It still carried the cold air that Cheng Xiaojin had poured in; as soon as it left the dark trough, the surrounding air seemed to drop.
Boss Lin looked at everyone.
"Please look carefully, everyone."
Two Southeast Asian feng shui masters stepped forward, one taking a copper bell and the other taking ash paper, striking a very imposing pose.
Tang Wanqing whispered, "If we delay a little longer, my second layer of the copper coin formation will be almost complete."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded and took half a step forward.
"Boss Lin, please be careful."
He took the Zhonghua cigarette from behind his ear and twirled it between his fingers.
"Ancestors are something you acknowledge as family and relatives."
"Don't say I didn't warn you if they don't recognize you."
Boss Lin looked at him.
"Boss Cheng is still being stubborn."
"I'm just providing good service."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"After-sales reminders are free."
Boss Lin personally picked up the fake array diagram and placed it towards the old pit.
The cold air on the surface dissipates outwards.
It held back the dampness in the old pit, and a soft sound of water came from the bottom of the pit.
Zhou Banxian's face darkened.
"It's setting a trap."
Tang Wanqing lowered the red thread.
Hang in there.
Cheng Xiaojin didn't move.
The protective iron scales are on the wooden box.
The moment the fake cold air approached the old pit, the iron scales emitted a clear, metallic clang.
The Zhenhai Iron in the wooden box responded with a sound.
One low, one clear, two metallic sounds crashed onto the wasteland.
The fake array pattern caused a thin crack to appear on the surface.
The crack was short, but clearly visible.
The secretary's face turned pale, and she tightened her grip on her bag.
Boss Lin's finger stopped at the edge of the fake ring, his thumb brushing against the silver ouroboros ring, the ring face gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
Tieguai Li grinned.
"Oh dear, Mr. Lin, what's gotten into you? Why are you making a scene?"
He raised the wrench, his mouth becoming even more rude.
"Would you like me to fix it for you? Special price for acquaintances, no invoice required."
Boss Lin ignored him, staring at the crack in the fake fuse, and finally couldn't maintain his composure.
"Cheng Xiaojin".
Cheng Xiaojin shrugged.
Don't look at me.
He pointed to the wooden table.
"You opened it yourself. I'm just a poor street vendor, I could never get such a high-class scam."
Boss Lin slowly placed the fake ticket back on the table.
"You swapped my things."
Master Ma spoke.
"Boss Lin, you need to have evidence to back up your claims."
Boss Lin looked up at Master Ma.
"Mr. Ma, are you going to cheat along with the younger generation?"
Master Ma chuckled, "Back when you went to Panjiayuan, I taught you a piece of advice."
He looked at Boss Lin without the slightest bit of politeness on his face.
"Once you've bought or sold, don't rely on your own judgment."
Boss Lin's face darkened.
Zhou Banxian chuckled.
"That's called the unwritten rule of the underworld. Weren't you just being quite principled?"
Boss Lin raised his hand.
A door measuring man walked out from behind, carrying a Southeast Asian copper ruler.
The ruler's body was bluish-green, with a black thread tied to its tail, and a small bone bead attached to the end of the thread.
Tang Wanqing immediately stepped in front of Cheng Xiaojin.
"Don't let the ruler get close to him."
Boss Lin said, "I won't measure his body, I'll only measure his shadow."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the copper ruler.
"Boss Lin, buying counterfeit goods isn't scary."
He tucked the Zhonghua cigarette back behind his ear.
"Using counterfeit goods to measure the number of people who die is truly a case of ancestral graves emitting black smoke."
Boss Lin said coldly, "Measure it."
The doorman walked towards Cheng Xiaojin's shadow at her feet.
The man with the nasal scar stood at the back of the crowd, his fingers twitching slightly inside his sleeve.
No one saw how he made his move.
While measuring the door, his hand and foot slipped, and the copper ruler shifted to the side by half an inch.
The ruler didn't land on Cheng Xiaojin's shadow, but instead pressed down on the lingering shadow of the corpse mud beside the old pit.
That place was exactly where the protective pile, resembling a giant rice dumpling, had collapsed back into place.
The copper ruler bent immediately upon touching the corpse's mud.
Twist it from one end to the other, section by section.
The measuring hand screamed in agony as a piece of his shadow on the ground was bitten off by the black water at the edge of the pit.
The tiny bone beads shattered into pieces in the mud.
The two Southeast Asian feng shui masters retreated simultaneously, their copper bells jingling incessantly.
Zhou the fortune teller, clutching his compass, shouted, "The door is locked from the inside!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tang Wanqing pressed the last coin of the second layer of the copper coin array into the ground.
"It's done."
Boss Lin turned to look at the nose scar.
The man with the nasal scar had his head down, his wrists hidden in his sleeves, and his short shadow on the muddy ground was close to his heels.
Boss Lin didn't lash out on the spot, but his facade of civility crumbled even more.
Cheng Xiaojin took half a step forward and stood right inside the coin line.
"Boss Lin, you see, that's just how it is in Beijing. There are many ancestors and many rules."
He raised his chin and pointed to the bent bronze ruler.
"You're using a fake indicator to measure the Death Gate; if the Death Gate doesn't bite you, who will it bite?"
Tieguai Li added insult to injury from the side.
"Luckily, I didn't get an invoice, otherwise after-sales service would have been difficult."
The secretary held the briefcase, her fingers trembling so much she couldn't hold the corners down.
Boss Lin looked at Cheng Xiaojin, then at the protective iron scales on the wooden box.
"it is good."
He pronounced the word very slowly.
"Boss Cheng is resourceful."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"Children from poor families would have starved to death long ago if they didn't have the means to do so."
Boss Lin raised his hand, and someone behind him opened a black wooden box.
As soon as the box was opened, a faint crawling sound came from the wasteland.
Tang Wanqing's expression changed.
"Nanyang Town Corpse Gu".
Zhou Bansian cursed, "Damn it, if you can't handle the game, you release bugs?"
Master Ma said in a deep voice, "Protect the box."
Tieguai Li held the wrench horizontally in front of his chest.
"Xiao Jin, from now on."
Cheng Xiaojin stared at the black wooden box, then took the Zhonghua cigarette from behind his ear and tapped it between his fingers.
"Boss Lin, you're a very discerning person."
Boss Lin looked at him.
"each other."
Inside the black wooden box, the first grayish-white insect crawled out, landed on the muddy ground, and headed straight for the muddy corpse pit.
Where the insects crawled, tiny bubbles rose from the damp soil along the edges of the copper coin-shaped wire.
The collapsed mass of corpses in the old pit has risen another inch.
It stirred up the yin energy in the wasteland, and a low dragon roar came from the Zhenhai Ironwood Box.
It's almost midnight.