Mo'er's Echo

"I won't answer."

A Hui pushed the bowl of water away.

"Find someone else."

"It can't be changed."

"That's what Mo'er said."

"You're not one of the Total Echo."

"I'm the first one."

"Then let Lin Qi take it."

"The Coaster recognizes him, he accepts it, and after I go up, it will become a node attachment."

Lin Qi spread his hands.

"I agree with what A Hui just said, don't just dump everything on me."

Where is Makino?

"She opened the outer lock; this serves as evidence of the rescue."

"Garp?"

The Monkey Family left their mark.

"Dragon?"

"The same chain of witnesses."

A Hui asked everyone he could think of, but Mo'er rejected them one by one.

Why should it be me?

"You've listened to me for so many years."

"All I heard was a lie."

"At least I heard it."

I don't want to hear it.

"Then I won't answer."

Mo'er answered readily.

A Hui kicked the door panel.

"You're doing this again."

I didn't force you.

You know perfectly well that if I don't answer, you won't be able to come up.

"I can stay here."

"Inverted Cup won't last long."

"It can hold out for a while."

"How many years is 'a while' in your mouth?"

The old man on the ground coughed, and the word "Mo'er" on the Coaster darkened in one spot.

A Hui grabbed her left wrist, which had just been unchained, and pressed her palm against the wound.

What do we need to do to receive the Echo?

"Let me finish what I have to say."

"Just listen?"

"After listening, you can accept it or return it."

What would happen if we returned it?

"I'll stay down here."

We've come full circle.

That's just how the rules are.

Which sentence?

"We can talk about it after we open the cup."

A Hui stood up, the wire around his ankle dragging across the ground.

You tell me first, then I'll decide.

"Let's open the glass first."

"I won't open it unless you tell me."

"It's better if it doesn't open."

"Mo'er!"

The gear inside the door turned one notch, and the remaining five locks tightened simultaneously.

Makino handed the crowbar to the Old Carpenter.

How long are they going to keep arguing?

"Looks like the noise could cause the table to collapse."

The Old Carpenter knelt beside the door to inspect the right wrist lock.

"This one is deeper than the one on the left; prying it open forcefully will injure the bone."

"Remove it from the door frame."

A Hui said.

"If the door frame is removed, the wire will shrink along with it."

I grabbed him.

You can't hold five people with one hand.

Who said I only have one hand?

A Hui wrapped the broken thread from her left wrist around her waist and tied a knot.

"When the right-hand lock is released, hang the wire here first."

Vegapunk stared at the structural diagram.

"He can manage; his waist is more stable than his wrists when bearing weight, but he has to support the entire weight of the door."

"How long?"

"After removing the remaining four locks..."

"Let's do it."

Makino didn't immediately grab the tools.

Do you agree to let us touch the door frame?

"Agree."

"Just remove the lock, but don't push the door open?"

"Right."

"Say it if it hurts."

"I'm used to it."

"Habit doesn't mean you agree to tolerate it."

A Hui glanced at her.

"I'll scold Mo'er when it hurts."

A response came from underground.

"OK."

The right door frame was pried open by wooden wedges, and the Old Carpenter carefully removed the iron wire bit by bit.

A Hui's shoulders pressed against the door panel, and the old thread around her waist gradually straightened.

"A Hui."

"Don't speak."

"This lock has barbs underneath."

"I know."

You wouldn't listen when you were a child.

"You still have the nerve to bring up your childhood?"

You were more obedient when you were a child.

Because back then I didn't know you were a complete liar.

The food I gave you was real.

Half of the rice was leftovers from you.

"I don't have much either."

That's why I didn't throw it away.

Their voices came through the floor, and the right wrist lock finally left the door frame.

As soon as the wire was lowered, A Hui was pulled back half a step by the waist.

Makino held onto the wooden frame by the door without touching him.

Can you stand up?

"Able."

"To be honest."

"He can even swear."

"Then let's continue."

The two locks on her ankles were removed one after another, and A Hui's breathing became shorter and shorter.

In the end, only the wire behind the neck remained.

The wire passed through the copper sheet and connected to the gear inside the door.

Vegapunk magnifies the edge of a copper sheet.

"This is a voice lock. Once removed, A Hui's voice, which was taken away, will flow back all at once."

What impact will this have?

Lin Qi asked.

"He might hear all the words that have been cut off over the years at once."

How long will it take?

"See how much was deducted."

A Hui touched the copper plate behind his ear.

"Dismantle."

Mo'er said from below, "Don't take it apart."

"You're finally getting anxious?"

"Pour the Inverted Cup first."

"The order is incorrect."

When the sound echoes back, you won't be able to hear my last sentence.

"Then say it a few more times."

You can only say it once.

A Hui leaned against the door, the iron wire around his waist still supporting the weight of the door for him.

You don't want me to hear it?

"Think."

"Are you afraid I'll hear?"

"Um."

"Then it definitely needs to be demolished."

Mo'er tapped the side of the cup four times at the bottom of the well.

"A Hui, don't take it apart."

"It's too late."

The Old Carpenter pried open the clip behind the copper sheet.

The sounds that had been accumulating inside the lock for years suddenly rushed back outside.

A Hui did not fall.

He stood there, first hearing Mo'er say "Run!" as the iron gate closed, then hearing the same words he'd heard every night during the first year. "Still alive."

The second year is about not being afraid.

Starting in the third year, the only sound left was the Cup Voice.

In the years that followed, Mo'er continued to knock every day.

Occasionally, a few words that couldn't be delivered would be interspersed.

A Hui, is it windy up here today?

A Hui, is there enough water?

A Hui, is anyone passing by outside?

A Hui, don't follow my example.

A Hui, let's go.

A Hui.

The sounds lingered in the narrow doorway. A Hui, leaning against the doorframe, stopped cursing.

A copper sheet fell into the water.

All six locks were released, and the basement door, losing its support, opened wide inwards.

There was no room behind the door.

A stone staircase, only wide enough for one person to pass, extends downwards; where A Hui had previously stood, there was only half a narrow slab.

Over the years, he slept between a door panel and stone steps, and would fall off whenever he turned over.

Makino brought the oil lamp to the top of the stairs.

"Come on up first."

A Hui didn't move.

"The Inverted Cup hasn't been poured yet."

You no longer need to guard the goal.

"I know."

"Then come up and have some water."

I answered his Echo and went up again.

Lin Qi picked up the Coaster.

"Have you made up your mind?"

"No decision yet."

"How do I connect?"

"Listen to what he has to say first."

The black ring underground began to rotate again, and the sound of a wooden axle loosening came from the end of the stone steps.

Mo'er said, "Put the Coaster up to the entrance."

Lin Qi walked to the table, where the Old Carpenter and Genzo held up a rope to make room for him to place the Coasters.

"Face down?"

"Name facing up."

What would happen if we let it go?

"Inverted Cup, the Total Echo goes out."

"And you?"

"I'll say the last sentence."

You'd better not try anything funny.

A Hui stared down from the top of the stairs.

I don't have the energy to pursue you for a few more years.

The Coasters were placed in a tin box.

The bottom of the box sank down, the wooden planks under the table split in two, and an inverted, giant black cup appeared at the bottom of the Tavern.

The cup has no patterns, only more than 1,700 scratch marks.

Lin Qi placed his hand next to the Coaster.

"Open."

The Black Cup was raised half a foot.

There is no water inside.

A dense cacophony of sounds burst forth from the wellhead, traveling along the established receiving lines to various locations.

Writing gradually appeared on the Blank drink menus on the Tavern wall.

Someone called for their mother.

Someone reported the location where they were transferred.

Some people left only a whisper.

Makino and the villagers were busy copying, and no one looked up.

The Black Cup rose another half foot, and a withered hand emerged from the bottom, its index finger still in a tapping posture.

A Hui stepped onto the first step.

"Mo'er."

"Don't come down."

"That's none of your business."

"Stand there and listen."

Beneath the Black Cup, Mo'er was entangled in countless Echo Lines on a wooden frame, his hair now completely white.

He struggled to lift his face and look at A Hui on the stone steps.

I'm going to say it.

A Hui gripped the stone wall.

"Explain."

"I told you to leave that day, but there was actually no way out the door."

"I know."

You know?

"I knew it in the first year."

"Then why did you stay?"

I'm afraid you'll be downstairs alone.

Mo'er's mouth hung open, unable to utter the words he had prepared for years.

A Hui tapped the stone steps four times with his foot.

"Now you."

Mo'er raised the finger that was still movable and tapped it four times as well.

"A Hui, I'm sorry."

The Echo Lines were released simultaneously.

This statement did not lead back to the bottom of the well.

A Hui stood on the stone steps and caught it.