Liuli Sun might never understand how that steel pipe flew from forty meters away and hit him squarely on the head. I thought I would see the muffled oil bottle rush over, knocking down the interceptors along the way, and then appear before that old man like a ghost. But he didn’t; he chose the most economical and time-saving method.

The distance was far, and I didn’t know how effective the hit was, but with a steel pipe like that and the level of impact involved, I figured it couldn’t end well. Fortunately, it hit his forehead; if it had been the back of his head, it might have shattered his skull.

At first, those people didn’t realize what had happened, but as soon as someone near Liuli Sun shouted, everyone gradually stopped. When they saw their boss lying on the ground, they were immediately at a loss for what to do. The person behind him helped Liuli Sun up and yelled, and only then did they all retreat, hastily getting into their cars and leaving.

Within a minute, everyone had fled, leaving only a crowd of onlookers and us few remaining. The fat man was covered in blood, and the car beside him was smashed in, with dents all over from the steel pipe. There were even several shoes left on the ground.

I watched the van and the Crown car drive away, feeling as if I were dreaming. It was only then that the intense pain in my back began to flare up, making me feel like I might collapse.

The fat man unbuttoned his shirt to cover his forehead, patted me, and urged me to move closer to the car. “We can’t stay here, girl. Ask if your family’s driver can still drive. If not, we’ll have to flag down a taxi. Among the spectators here, there are definitely some Liuli Zhangs and Liuli Zhaos.”

“He can drive, but he’ll definitely be stopped by the traffic police at the intersection,” the driver replied. He was also injured, with a severe gash at the corner of his eye.

“Taxi, bus, whatever. I, your fat lord, don’t want to deal with Lei Zi right now.” The fat man seemed particularly reliable at that moment.

Huo Xiuxiu was still on the phone. As soon as she hung up, she told the driver, “Xiao Li, you handle the car here.” Then she turned to us and said, “Follow me.”

The fat man tucked the steel pipe into his suit and pulled out the jade seal from under the seat of the car, not even knowing when he had hidden it there. We followed Xiuxiu, pushing through the crowd of onlookers, who all parted to let us through. We ran into a side road, crossing through a block and arriving at another street.

A few scattered people trailed behind us, no longer bothering to hide their presence. I felt a bit like a dying zebra in the animal kingdom, watching the vultures circling around it. Fortunately, once we reached the other street, another red flag car was parked at the roadside. This time, there were two JEEPs in front and behind us, painted in colors that gave a strong sense of security.

We hurriedly got into the car, and the fat man said, “Girl, why didn’t you ask for a way out sooner?”

“I didn’t expect them to be so anxious, not even wanting to assess the situation,” the girl replied, now sitting in the front seat and starting to tremble a little. But I could see she was holding it together, pulling out a lot of napkins and handing them to the fat man. “My grandmother and I can’t possibly have a team of soldiers on standby at all times.”

“Does Liuli Sun know your grandmother?” the fat man asked.

The girl nodded. The fat man flinched at my action of tending to my wound and said, “This old guy dares to take such risks and go against the Old Nine Gates; it seems he really needs this thing.”

“Maybe he just wants to snatch this thing back and return it to the restaurant owner.”
“Liuli Sun is a wealthy person, so rich that he doesn’t even understand the concept of money. If he wants something, he would definitely think about buying it. Robbery is not his strong suit; he must be in a desperate situation to resort to this. He must be afraid that if you take this thing away, no matter how rich he is, he won’t be able to get it back.” Huo Xiuxiu looked at the jade seal stuffed in the fat man’s clothes. “What on earth is this? Someone like him would want it so badly.”

Twenty minutes later, we entered a mysterious residential complex. There were quite a few Hongqi cars parked inside, and at the back, there were even several traditional courtyard houses. We got out of the car and first went to a health clinic in the community for some basic bandaging.
I had a large bruise on my back, the spot where the steel pipe hit me was the worst. The fat man had a head injury, but fortunately, it looked worse than it was; he only had some abrasions and a cut from the threads of the steel pipe. After disinfecting it, they put a bandage on him.

After we were done, Huo Xiuxiu led us on. We wandered through the community, realizing just how vast it was. After walking for quite a while, we entered an alley, and as we continued deeper, it felt like we were in a secluded area. Various towering ancient trees grew from the neighboring courtyards, giving the impression of entering a temple. I never expected to find such an impressive scenery hidden in a residential complex in Beijing; it was truly a case of “great talents hidden in the city.”

Eventually, we reached the end of the alley and entered through a very inconspicuous small door. Inside was a large courtyard, and we immediately saw an old lady sitting in the courtyard drinking tea. Clearly, she had returned before us and had been waiting for a while.
In the courtyard, there was a persimmon tree, a well below it, and some obviously precious plants nearby, giving the impression that it used to be a home of a well-off family. The three of us entered casually, and the old lady asked Huo Xiuxiu if she was hurt. After Xiuxiu recounted the events, the old lady turned to us and said, “It’s a good thing our Xiuxiu wasn’t hurt; otherwise, I would have skinned you alive.” With that, she invited us to sit down.

I chuckled, “This time, you won’t light my lamp again, right?” The old lady shot me a look, not amused. “I, Old Lady Huo, don’t use the same trick twice. And whatever I say goes. I don’t need to deal with you; bringing you here is my way of accepting defeat in a bet, so you don’t ruin my reputation. While your heads are still on your necks, let’s settle our matters.”

The fat man and I exchanged glances, thinking to ourselves, damn, this old lady probably sees that we’ve gotten into big trouble and wants to distance herself from us quickly. Well, it’s fine; we all have our needs. I don’t want to have too much to do with such an eccentric old lady, so let’s get this over with quickly. I went straight to the point, “So, are you willing to tell us?”

“Don’t you want to know why I offered such a high price for your Lei style?” The old lady stood up, gestured for us to follow her, and then said, “If this were someone else, I wouldn’t say a word. However, since you are a descendant of the Old Nine Gates, you’re not considered an outsider. But the other two must stay outside.”

This scene has happened more than once or twice. I gave a glance to the fat man and the “Dull Oil Bottle,” and they nodded. I followed the old lady into the side room. As soon as I entered, I saw that it was a collection room filled with antiques. There were no decorations, just rows and rows of shelves. Although it looked like an old house, once inside, I felt a tingling sensation on my face, and there was static electricity in the air. It seemed to be temperature and humidity controlled.

All the collectibles were wrapped in newspaper. The old lady led me to the innermost part of a few shelves, and I saw a steel wire stretched across the wall used for hanging paintings, but what was hanging there were all designs from the Yangshilei style.

I counted a total of seven pieces, with a noticeable gap between two of them, indicating that one was missing. That should be the one I had.

“This is the ‘Leiba Ceng’,” the old lady said. “Since you understand the Yangshilei style, you should know what this is.”

I nodded, a bit surprised. With just a glance, I knew this was a fine example of the Yangshilei style. Moreover, these seven drawings were actually the design plans for a building, a multi-story structure.

Each of the seven sheets detailed the structure of each floor very clearly. This building was not a typical one; its base was the largest, tapering as it rose, resembling a tower at first glance. However, since each level had a building’s structure, it was much larger than a typical tower, more akin to the Mayan Sun Pyramid. Generally speaking, aside from towers, there are rarely ancient buildings constructed to such heights. However, it was also evident that the uppermost part was already in the shape of a tower; only the bottom three levels could be called a building.

“This is a blueprint from the 25th year of the Daoguang era, and the designer should be Lei Siqi,” the old lady continued. “I have seven sheets here, representing the underground levels one through seven of the building. The lowest level should be with you.”

“Is there anything unusual about this building?” I asked. At first glance, they appeared to be ordinary Yangshilei designs, although from the drawings, it was still apparent that these buildings had a backlighting design, similar to the one I had.

“It might not mean much to others, but it holds special significance for me,” the old lady said, fiddling with the blueprints. “This building is called Zhangjia Building. In the 1970s, the designs for this building began to surface abroad and were acquired back to the country. You know that Yangshilei was a royal designer and would not design buildings for the common people, but look at these designs; they are clearly residential in style. It is evident that there is some story between this Zhangjia Building and Emperor Daoguang or the Yangshilei style. At that time, I had a daughter working in the cultural bureau, and they had a project related to this building. At the end of 1978, they found this building in Guangxi. I remember it was January 15th when my daughter set off to Guangxi to participate in the archaeological excavation. It was her first time going far away, and she was gone for several months.”

The old lady turned to look at me, her expression somewhat desolate: “I had always hoped that this opportunity would help her develop her abilities. So when she returned, I was very happy and prepared to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. I didn’t expect that after she came back, her personality suddenly changed.”

As soon as I heard the name “Zhangjialou,” I felt a shiver and immediately thought of that ancient building at the bottom of the Demon Lake. I wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say. However, upon hearing her last sentence, my mind jolted again.

“Changed?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes, after she went to Guangxi, her personality suddenly became very strange. She used to be very cheerful, but after she came back, her demeanor turned gloomy. She basically stayed in her room all the time, and I don’t know what she was doing. I secretly watched her a few times and found her alone in her room, constantly drawing something.”

Generally speaking, this kind of situation is often due to a breakup. I thought to myself that she must be drawing her boyfriend’s face.

Old Lady Huo continued to speak to me, “At first, I thought she had fallen in love, but later I realized that wasn’t the case. Because one time when she was on a business trip, I went into her room and saw those drawings, and I realized something was off.” She paused, “They were all pen sketches, and every drawing depicted a building—a very strange building.”