indianbanksassociation Chapter 449 Softly Begging for Mercy
Chapter 449 Softly Begging for Mercy
Mo Chengyue looked up at the unlit boat outside the door. The boat was pressing the black water below the threshold into a thin layer, and the shadow of the boat's bottom had already reached the inner edge of the dock formation.
"Coast Fire".
Manager Hu held the silver hairpin, and a look suddenly appeared on his face as if he had found a key in an old memory.
"I know."
Mo Chengyue looked at her.
"explain."
"In the past, when wedding boats were launched from the abandoned wedding dock, relatives were not allowed to board the boats, but three torches were lit on the shore as a sign of goodwill."
"What kind of fire?"
"The first lamp illuminates the new road, the second cuts off the old waters, and the third sends people away from the shore."
Mo Chengyue frowned.
"Does this rule apply to red-light boats too?"
"It was used even earlier, but later the red lantern boats were changed to red lanterns, so people on the shore didn't dare to light them anymore."
The seventh person's expression changed.
"Nonsense, the rules for wedding boats have long been abolished."
Manager Hu finally looked up at her, his eyes showing no tenderness of kinship, only the hatred that had been suppressed for twenty years.
Whether it's useless or not is not up to you to decide.
Yu Lin Hong's lingering regret spoke in the blood-written message: "The shore fire cannot be lit."
Mo Chengyue asked, "Why?"
"This dock is completely flooded. As soon as the fire hits the ground, it will be returned to the boat."
Manager Hu immediately said, "It won't touch the ground."
Mo Chengyue turned his head to the side.
"How much?"
Manager Hu shielded the small box with his elbow, and with his other hand, he pulled out an oil paper package from his waist. Inside were tinderboxes and three small incense sticks, which were commonly kept in old inns.
"According to the old custom, when sending off the fire, one should not light the boat or the water, but only the incense held by the relatives."
Mo Chengyue stared at the three incense sticks.
"You've been carrying it with you all this time?"
"People in the inn often carry incense to calm their nerves when walking at night."
"How many can we order?"
"You can order any three."
The red line under the seventh eye twitched violently, and the old silver aura in half of the eye was pulled back by her.
"Don't order."
Manager Hu held the incense sticks between his fingers and said coldly, "You say I can't, but I'm going to light them anyway."
Mo Chengyue did not immediately let her make a move; instead, he drew his sword to stop the tinderbox.
"etc."
Manager Hu looked at him.
"Ah Sui said it's afraid of shore fires."
"Being afraid doesn't mean you can't lend it."
"What do you mean?"
"Yu Lin Hong spoke too cautiously just now, as if she was waiting for you to make a mistake."
Manager Hu did not rub the tinder in his hand.
"Then how should we order?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the three incense sticks, then at the dark figure getting closer and closer under the unlit boat.
"Who made the decision according to the old rules?"
"Family members".
"Whose relative?"
"The relatives of the people who saw the boat off."
"Who should we give it to now?"
Manager Hu stopped.
Seventh Eyes immediately chimed in softly, "Send me here, sis. If you don't light the fire, I'll be dragged into the tent."
Manager Hu did not look at her.
Mo Chengyue said, "Did you hear that? She chose it for you."
Manager Hu gritted his teeth.
"Then we can't deliver it as she said."
"right."
Yu Lin Hong laughed through the blood-stained bandage: "It's too late for you to realize it. The ship has already docked. Once the shore fire is lit, the old rules will recognize the person who was closest to the ship."
Mo Chengyue said in a low voice, "The person most recently on the ship is the Seventh Eye."
Just as Seventh Eyes' face lit up with joy, Mo Chengyue's next words silenced it.
"He's the same person from the bottom of the boat."
Manager Hu stopped using the tinderbox completely.
"Would the person at the bottom of the boat be the one to deliver the fire?"
"It pushed the boat ashore, waiting for the shore fire to give it a way to get ashore."
Manager Hu looked at the small box.
"Then why did Ah Sui remind you?"
"She's pointing out the key to breaking the deadlock, not telling you to just say it directly."
Ah Sui gently touched the side of the box, and the old silver aura at the edge of the Soul-Sealing Talisman moved closer to the incense burner.
Shopkeeper Hu lowered his voice: "Ah Sui, listen to me, don't be anxious."
Mo Chengyue picked up a pinch of dry talisman ash with the tip of the Rain Flower Sword, and then asked Manager Hu to place the incense sticks on top of the talisman ash.
"The first lamp should illuminate the new road, not the boat, but the box."
Manager Hu immediately understood: "Follow Ah Sui's route back to shore."
"The second lamp should be used to cut off the old water, but not the water outside the door; the red line under the seventh lamp should be cut off."
"And the third one?"
Mo Chengyue did not answer immediately.
Outside, the unlit boat's hull was pressed against the threshold. The wooden planks of the abandoned dock emitted a dull thud. The shadow of Manager Hu at her feet was stretched long by the black water, only to be pushed back by the lamp in her arms.
The Seventh Eye spoke coldly: "The third lamp sends people off the shore, so of course it should send me off the shore."
Mo Chengyue said, "You are just a tent on the boat, not worthy to come ashore."
Yu Lin Hong slowly said with lingering regret, "Even if the third lamp isn't lit, the boat will still dock."
Manager Hu looked at Mo Chengyue.
"Who do you want to give the third lamp to?"
Mo Chengyue stared at the dark figure pushing the boat under the unlit boat, and changed the angle of the Rain Flower Sword with his left hand. The blade was pressed against the inside of the threshold, and the ash from the talisman spread out along the spine of the sword to form a narrow path of fire.
"Send the person at the bottom of the boat off the ship."
Manager Hu's expression changed.
"Isn't that just letting it get ashore?"
"We won't send them ashore, we'll send them off the ship."
"Where to send it?"
"Send it outside the accounting office according to regulations."
Manager Hu understood half of what was being said, but he had already firmly held the incense stick in his hand.
"You're gambling again."
"This time, we won't bet on Yu Lin Hong, nor on the boat without lights, but on the old rule that relatives light the fire."
"Does the person at the bottom of the boat have any relatives?"
There is no best.
Why?
"Nobody recognizes it, and the third lamp can't find the shore name."
The Seventh Eye chuckled softly, "You dare let her light a third lamp? If the people at the bottom of the boat can't find the shore, they'll look for the person who lit the fire."
Shopkeeper Hu tightened her grip, pressing the tinder so hard it made a soft crackling sound.
"Will it come looking for me?"
Mo Chengyue said, "Possibly."
Why didn't you say so earlier?
"You should have ordered some if I had told you earlier."
"Mo Chengyue".
"Um."
"You're such a hateful person."
"Live for hatred first."
Shopkeeper Hu held the first incense stick up to the white paper lamp. The flame did not leap outwards, but was instead held back by the old silver aura in the box. A small yellow light shone along the tip of the incense stick and shone on the soul-sealing talisman.
Ah Sui gently touched the side of the small box.
Shopkeeper Hu said in a low voice, "Ah Sui, the first lamp will guide you back to shore."
The lower half of the seventh eye immediately turned red, and the red line lunged towards the small box, but was blocked by the spine of Mo Chengyue's sword.
Mo Chengyue said, "The second cup."
Manager Hu lit the second incense stick, and without letting the flame touch the ground, he placed it directly on the end of the silver hairpin.
The old silver aura flowed along the hairpin into the red line under the eye. The thread, which was about to break, was illuminated by the incense, and the black film receded outward, finally allowing the silver light in half of the eye to break through a wider gap.
The Seventh Eye screamed, "Sister, it hurts!"
Manager Hu held onto that sound, his hand not moving away.
"Ah Sui, the second cup of water is broken."
Mo Chengyue looked at the third incense stick and his voice tightened.
"Don't rush to light the third one."
Yu Lin Hong suddenly smiled, her lingering regret evident.
"It's too late."
The dull thud of wood sliding along the muddy water came from under the unlit boat. Finally, the dark shadow under the boat emerged from under the threshold, looking like a soaking wet person lying on the bottom of the boat, pushing it ashore with two hands whose knuckles were not visible.
Manager Hu grasped the third incense stick.
"Or not?"
Mo Chengyue looked at the dark shadow, then at the old silver light on the edge of Ah Sui's soul box, protected by the first incense stick.
"point."
Just as Manager Hu was about to place the third incense stick by the lamp, a hoarse, familiar voice suddenly came from the depths of the black water outside the abandoned dock.
"Don't order a third one!"
The incense in Manager Hu's hand rested by the lamplight, the flickering light illuminating her pale profile.
Mo Chengyue pressed his left hand on the Rain Flower Sword, his gaze passing over the threshold to the dark figure raising its head beneath the unlit boat.
The sound squeezed out again from the water's reflection at the bottom of the boat, carrying the hoarseness of Old Zhou, who had been choked by water before his death.
"Manager Hu, don't order a third cup."