If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Chapter 401 The Door Opens

Mo Chengyue looked at the crowd in front of the temple, first pointing to the bonfire, then to the edge of the cooking pot array: "The old, weak, and children stay in the temple. The cooking pots must not be stopped, and the fire must not be extinguished. If anyone hears someone calling for their mother, father, or wife in the inn, just assume they owe money and haven't paid it back."

Xiao Liu, holding the iron spoon, asked, "What if they call my name?"

Mo Chengyue replied, "That's even simpler, do you owe it money?"

Xiao Liu quickly replied, "I don't owe you anything."

Mo Chengyue nodded: "Then let's accuse it of trying to scam us."

The portly shopkeeper couldn't help but chime in, "Young Master Mo, is your Hehuan Sect's exorcism always this simple?"

Mo Chengyue glanced at him: "I also know how to use expensive methods, but the current budget will be borne by your ferry terminal."

The portly shopkeeper immediately changed his tune: "Simplicity is good; simplicity is close to the common people."

Shopkeeper Hu didn't laugh. She tightened the talisman on her wrist again and asked in a low voice, "Are you really going?"

Mo Chengyue said, "The door is already open. If I don't check it, it will open windows, wells, and even other people's heads later. The trouble will only get more and more expensive."

Old Zheng gritted his teeth: "I'll go with you."

Manager Hu also spoke up: "I'll go too."

Xiao Liu held up the iron spoon: "I can go too, I can run fast."

Mo Chengyue looked at the shoelaces still dangling at Xiao Liu's feet: "You run fast, but you fall fast too. Stay in the temple and keep banging pots."

Xiao Liu protested, "I can help."

"You help me stay alive."

Mo Chengyue handed him a calming talisman, his tone finally becoming more serious: "If someone's mind is troubled, just stick it on their forehead. Even if you stick it crookedly, it's still a good deed."

Xiao Liu held the talisman, his tense expression slightly eased by his question: "What if I stick it on Fatty Shopkeeper?"

The fat shopkeeper immediately glared at him: "You dare!"

Mo Chengyue said, "If he wants to run away, he'll be the first to be caught."

The chubby shopkeeper, clutching his aching back, moved toward the fire: "I'm not running. My back is only good for strategic garrison duty."

Old Zheng led two strong boatmen, with Manager Hu carrying a lantern in front and Mo Chengyue following beside her. The group walked along the temple wall toward Tingchao Inn. The sound of pots and pans started up again behind them, a chaotic and unpleasant noise, but it kept Jiang Wu out of the street.

The red rope that held the talisman at the entrance of the inn had broken into several pieces, and the copper coins were scattered all over the ground. The broken pieces were damp, and the door was half open, with a dim red light shining through the crack.

Old Zheng stopped at the bottom of the steps, managing to squeeze out, "The door is open."

A boatman muttered under his breath, "Nonsense, we all saw it."

Another boatman grabbed him: "Don't speak, what if the door turns back on you?"

Mo Chengyue raised his hand, and the array hook slid out from his sleeve. The tip of the hook picked up a broken copper coin from the ground. He looked at the crack and asked Manager Hu, "Have these coins been broken before?"

Shopkeeper Hu shook his head: "No, at most it gets hot, or it makes a sound by itself at night."

Mo Chengyue threw the copper coin back on the ground: "Well, you've been very kind tonight. Just scrap it."

Old Zheng's scalp tingled: "You can't joke about this, can you?"

Mo Chengyue said, "No joke, are you suggesting we applaud it?"

Manager Hu stared into the room and whispered a reminder: "Don't step on the threshold. It's an old rule of the inn; the threshold blocks moisture."

Mo Chengyue nodded: "You lead the way, but don't stray too far from me."

Shopkeeper Hu looked up at him. The white paper lantern made her eyes appear pale, and the night had erased her usual gentle demeanor, leaving only a forcedly composed face: "Young Master Mo, what if I hear Shuang'er calling me?"

Mo Chengyue looked at the lamp in her hand: "Just ask her where the account book is."

Shopkeeper Hu's lips twitched, but he didn't laugh: "Your attempt at comforting me is really asking for a beating."

"The fact that you want to punch me means you haven't been led astray by the ship yet."

Mo Chengyue stepped across the threshold, and the array hook first probed into the hall. The tip of the hook lightly touched the floor tiles, and water immediately seeped out from the cracks in the tiles, retreating to both sides along the ground.

Old Zheng cursed, "Does this water recognize people?"

Mo Chengyue said, "Recognize vitality, recognize fear, recognize bad luck."

The boatman asked, "So, which category do we fall into?"

Mo Chengyue replied, "We have all three at the moment."

The fat shopkeeper didn't come along. If he were here, he'd probably say the Hehuan Sect's External Affairs Hall was like a debt collector.

The tables and chairs in the lobby remained as they were before they were left. The bowls and chopsticks were placed beside the cabinet, and the abacus was placed on the counter. Only the string of spare soul-suppressing coins behind the counter had broken off, and the copper coin fragments had fallen into the account book, soaking the pages with rings of water.

Manager Hu strode forward, but then withdrew his hand after reaching out: "The ledgers are wet."

Mo Chengyue used the array hook to press down on the edge of the account book: "Don't touch it. We need to see if it's wet with water or something else."

Old Zheng leaned closer and asked, "Did you figure it out?"

Mo Chengyue said, "If I see you getting any closer, I might have to cook an extra pot tonight."

Old Zheng immediately stepped back to his original position: "I'm fine standing here."

Soft wooden creaking came from upstairs, as if someone was walking barefoot down the second-floor corridor. Water droplets fell down the cracks in the stairs, landing on the steps with a soft pattering sound.

A boatman, his face pale, said, "There are people upstairs."

Another boatman pulled his knife halfway out, then shoved it back in: "Wouldn't someone be wading through water in their own inn in the middle of the night?"

Manager Hu looked up, his voice hoarse: "The third room on the west side of the second floor."

Mo Chengyue looked at her: "The one I'm staying in?"

Manager Hu nodded: "I've arranged a room for you that isn't by the river."

Old Zheng couldn't help but say, "If it's this wet even when it's not near a river, what would happen if it were near a river? Wouldn't people be able to raise fish there?"

Mo Chengyue looked at the stairs, and the array hook slowly rose: "Don't praise it, it's easy to get arrogant."

Manager Hu walked to the top of the stairs. When the white paper lamp shone up, the wooden steps were covered with wet footprints. The footprints were thin and the toes were distinct. They had walked down from the second floor and disappeared near the third step.

Old Zheng's iron spoon struck the scabbard with a clang: "Are these footprints going downhill?"

Mo Chengyue said, "It could also be to make us think that it's going down."

The boatman asked in a low voice, "Where is it?"

Mo Chengyue raised the array hook and pointed upstairs: "To where we're going."

The boatman swallowed hard. "Young Master Mo, could you please not be so sure about the bad news?"

Mo Chengyue replied, "If I'm vague, you'll be hoping for the best."

Manager Hu stepped up the stairs. The lamplight shone across the wall, revealing that all the red ropes and copper coins hanging on the wall were cracked, with fragments embedded in the wooden board. The broken ends of the red ropes hung wetly, as if someone had just soaked them in water to soften them before tearing them.

She whispered, "These spirit-suppressing coins have been hanging here for twenty years."

Old Zheng muttered, "Can't even hold out for one night after twenty years?"

Mo Chengyue replied, "It's not that we can't guard them, it's that there's something inside that recognizes them."

Shopkeeper Hu slowed his pace: "Do you know him?"

Mo Chengyue looked at the loose coins: "Target the soul-suppressing coins first. Open the door, then cut off the coins, and finally enter the room. It knows how your inn stops the boat."

Old Zheng's face darkened further: "Isn't that a regular customer?"

Mo Chengyue said, "Pretty much, it's a follow-up call with old customers."

Shopkeeper Hu held the white paper lantern handle, his fingertips pressing the bamboo handle to make a soft sound: "What if it really is Shuang'er?"

Mo Chengyue didn't look at her, but simply stuck a soul-protecting talisman on the stair railing: "If it's her, she'll make you hand over the account book while you're still alive."

Shopkeeper Hu followed him, asking, "What if she doesn't want me to live anymore?"

Mo Chengyue said, "Then let's put her back on the boat first, and then ask her why."

Old Zheng grinned: "Young Master Mo, your explanation sounds more reliable than mere words of comfort."