dmims Chapter 98: 7 Steps 3 Inches, Another Hidden Treasure Underwater
Chapter 98: 7 Steps 3 Inches, Another Hidden Treasure Underwater
The wind in the wasteland has died down.
The sludge from the old pit stopped turning over; only the dampness clung to the edge of the pit, circling low around the soil.
The moon moved to a more southern position, and its light fell on the array diagram. The three broken lines on the back were illuminated with dark patterns, and water stains were still hanging in the seams of the lines.
The dampness bypassed the first ring of copper coins, then clung to the ground and rubbed against the feet of the Zhenhai ironwood box, getting half a foot closer.
There was a soft, low sound coming from the wooden box, making one's chest feel heavy.
The lid of the teacup in Master Ma's hand made a soft tapping sound.
Zhou Banxian placed the compass on the north edge of the original pit, his lips dry and chapped.
"Starting from the original pit, move seven steps and three inches southeast, following the old ruler method. The steps must not be disordered."
Tieguai Li tied one end of the rope to the probe, wrapped the other end around his arm, and tugged at it.
"I'll measure it."
Tang Wanqing took out a copper coin, her fingertips brushing against the eye of the coin, and a red thread hanging down from her sleeve.
"Press one down with each step. The ground is soft; we can't let the water absorb the count."
Cheng Xiaojin placed the protective iron scales on the Zhenhai ironwood box and then weighed it down with an ashtray.
His hand rested on the edge of the iron scale through the towel, his fingers not touching it completely, and the blue lines at the base of his fingernails were still emitting cold air.
Tang Wanqing stared at his hand.
"Listen only to the echo, don't read the afterimage."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded, but still wouldn't admit it.
"Don't worry, Miss Tang, I'm not interested in the night shift life of Ming Dynasty workers right now."
Master Ma placed the array diagram onto the dry wooden board and examined the broken lines on the back for a moment.
"start."
Zhou Banxian stood beside the original pit and first tapped the empty spot in the pit with his toe.
"This is the original core."
Tieguai Li straightened the hemp rope, and as the rope tightened, the fine hairs immediately became damp.
Tang Wanqing pressed down the first copper coin.
Zhou Banxian took the first step.
"southeast."
As soon as his shoes touched the ground, gray water seeped out, seeping up along the edges of his shoes, and the earthy smell followed.
Tang Wanqing pressed down with her second copper coin.
"The water is pushing my feet."
Zhou Banxian looked down at the mud at his feet, his eyebrows furrowed.
"It wants to expand its reach."
Tieguai Li squatted down and checked it again with the hemp rope.
"It's an inch too big."
Zhou Banxian stepped back halfway, his shoe leaving a shallow mark in the mud.
"Follow the old ruler."
Cheng Xiaojin listened to Tie Lin with his head down.
Two layers of sound came from the iron scales, one rough, moving close to the ground, and the other fine, burrowing under the mud and water, moving more diagonally.
He didn't speak, but simply pulled his fingertips further into the towel.
Zhou Banxian took the second step.
Another patch of ground softened.
Tang Wanqing pressed down with the copper coin, and the red thread stretched southeast along the ground, its body darkened by the dampness.
Every step was difficult. The wasteland seemed to be calculating, and as soon as you stepped on it, the mud would bulge outwards, each time adding only half an inch or an inch. You could easily fool it if you didn't look closely.
Tieguai Li cursed, "This company is really good at bookkeeping; they're ripping people off bit by bit."
Cheng Xiaojin added, "It's the same as collecting stall fees at Panjiayuan."
By the time he landed the seventh step, Zhou Banxian was already sweating, and the sweat was streaming down his temples.
"Seven steps."
Tieguai Li squatted down and took the old ruler to measure the last three inches.
"Three inches short."
Tang Wanqing pressed down another copper coin.
As soon as the coin was covered with mud, the surrounding gray water seeped into the hole of the coin, making a muffled sound.
"Place it quickly."
Tieguai Li planted a small wooden stake in the ground and patted the top of the stake with his palm.
"Seven steps and three inches to the southeast."
Zhou Banxian stared at the compass; the needle circled halfway before finally stopping.
"The landing point has been determined."
Tang Wanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Zhenhai Railway lands here?"
Cheng Xiaojin suddenly spoke.
"Not yet."
Zhou Banxian looked up at him.
"Why not?"
Tang Wanqing also looked over, still holding the copper coin in her hand.
"The formation diagram provides the seven steps and three inches."
Cheng Xiaojin brought the protective iron scales closer to his ear, pressing the edge with his fingers through the towel.
"Seven steps and three inches is the number of steps a person can take; the Zhenhai Iron must be connected to the root of the water vein."
Tieguai Li scratched his head, mud splattering onto his sleeve.
Speak like a human.
"The surface landing point is correct, but the underwater root isn't directly below it; it's tilted to the southeast."
Tang Wanqing pressed the copper coin down next to the array diagram, her expression becoming even more tense.
"The array diagram guides the bones, the compass determines the gate; you heard this, but you cannot override these two things."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at the iron scales protecting the stake.
"Then let the third thing speak."
Zhou Banxian, clutching the compass, muttered a curse under his breath.
"Did you hear it underwater?"
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"There are two layers of echoes. The upper layer is the dead end on the ground, and the lower layer is the broken iron root. The point of impact remains the same, but the iron body must tilt."
Master Ma picked up the array diagram and looked at the three broken lines on the back. The teacup lid remained between his fingers and made no more noise.
"There is a broken line that is not on the ground."
Tang Wanqing turned her head.
"Master Ma?"
Master Ma used a magnifying glass to examine the array diagram, stopping his fingertip along the edge of the dark line.
"Here, the first two lines are tears in the soil veins, and the third line is dark with rust on the sides. Xiao Jin is right, this one is a tear in the waterway."
Zhou Banxian patted the compass, and the smell of alcohol on his breath had faded.
"No wonder that even though he was on the Seven Steps and Three Inches to the Death Gate, he always seemed to have half a breath left. The old man was calculating the human feet, not the iron body."
Tieguai Li asked, "How much slanted?"
Cheng Xiaojin did not answer.
He unwrapped a layer of the towel from his hands, revealing his red and cold fingertips, and slowly applied the protective iron scales to the stake.
Tang Wanqing immediately grabbed the top of his wrist, avoiding his palm.
"Are you crazy? Your touch has just returned to 50%."
Cheng Xiaojin gritted his teeth, sweat rolling down his forehead.
"If you can't hear anything within half an inch, and you plug it in by mistake, we'll all become underground specialties all over the city."
The iron scales crackled.
From inside the ironwood box in Zhenhai, a deep dragon's roar echoed in response.
Cheng Xiaojin's vision went black, his fingertips were numb with pain, and a chill crept into his flesh through his nail crevices.
He heard the sound of broken roots shaking underwater; of the three roots, two stretched southeast and one curled back north.
Some remnants were unearthed from the bottom of the old pit.
146.
Cheng Xiaojin tasted blood in his throat and pressed his finger against the iron scales again.
"Don't use this to pressure me."
Tang Wanqing increased the pressure on her hand, and her expression changed.
"Cheng Xiaojin".
Zhou the fortune teller asked urgently, "How much?"
Cheng Xiaojin swallowed hard, the old wound on the tip of his tongue aching from the smell of blood.
"The landing point remains unchanged."
Tieguai Li gripped the hemp rope tightly.
"What about the angle?"
"The iron body leans three and a half inches to the southeast."
Tang Wanqing stared at him.
"Three and a half inches?"
"It's not moving three and a half inches, it's the iron body tilting in three and a half inches, with seven steps and three inches pressing down from above, and the water source below."
Zhou Banxian snapped the compass lid shut.
"This number is tricky; that old monk Yao Guangxiao really knows how to make things difficult for people."
Tieguai Li looked at the wooden box, then at the designated landing spot.
"The Zhenhai Iron is so heavy, it's not easy to keep it stable when it's tilted down."
Master Ma spoke.
"Prepare the triangular wooden wedges and iron posts."
Tieguai Li immediately rummaged through his toolbox.
"There are old elm wood wedges; they're hard and require a lot of effort."
As he spoke, he took out three elm wedges, first testing the angles on the ground, his shoes making a crunching sound as he stepped on the mud.
"You have to hold the lower body in place first, then support the lower back. If you put it in directly, the iron body will slip, and no one can hold it down."
Tang Wanqing began arranging the second layer of copper coins, with the red line bypassing the newly determined landing point, pressing the copper coins one by one into the damp soil.
"I'll hold it down for half an hour, at most half an hour. After that, the underwater roots will move again."
Cheng Xiaojin removed his hand from the iron scales, and the pale blue line on his fingertip had grown longer.
Tang Wanqing wrapped the towel around his neck again, her grip firm.
"If you touch your hands again, I'll tie you to the car with a red thread."
Cheng Xiaojin's lips twitched in pain, but she still managed to smile.
"Tie it up, but don't tie it too tightly, or we'll have to set the bone later."
Zhou Banxian looked at him and suddenly cursed.
"No wonder the compass keeps pointing at you. You little rascal, you were born to cause trouble for the Yin Gate."
Cheng Xiaojin put the cigarette to his lips, but didn't light it.
"Your way of praising people is so novel, I need to digest it."
Master Ma rewrapped the battle formation diagram and placed it next to the newly designated landing point.
"Prepare to unload the iron."
The iron scales on the protective stake suddenly made a soft sound.
This time, the sound didn't go into the pit, but instead veered towards the outside of the abandoned orchard.
Cheng Xiaojin looked up.
"We have a guest."
Tieguai Li gripped the wrench in his hand and shoved his prosthetic leg into the mud.
"Are people even visiting each other's homes in this wasteland?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than car headlights appeared in the distance over the wasteland.
One.
Two paths.
Then, more car lights emerged from the dirt road outside the abandoned orchard, sweeping across the weeds and illuminating the edge of the old pit, revealing a row of figures in black.
Tieguai Li cursed.
"They came fast enough."
Tang Wanqing tightened the red thread.
"Boss Lin."
The car door opened.
The secretary got out of the car first, carrying a black leather briefcase. Her shoes sank into the mud, and she held the briefcase tightly in her arms.
Boss Lin stepped out from the back seat, his suit jacket draped over his arm, his shoes shod in the wet mud, his face still maintaining that composed demeanor.
He first glanced at the copper coin array, then looked at the protective iron scales on the wooden box, and finally fixed his gaze on Cheng Xiaojin.
"Boss Cheng, starting construction at night without even informing your old friends?"
Cheng Xiaojin took the Zhonghua cigarette from behind his ear and twirled it between his fingers.
"Boss Lin, construction sites all over the city don't offer late-night snacks. You're too late."