The solemnity on the old lady’s face, along with the weight and determination of her kneeling, was truly beyond belief. She was a woman who could command the winds and rains in Beijing, a formidable figure in the underworld known as the Old Nine Gates, and a matriarch of a wealthy family in her twilight years. Any one of her identities could easily crush us, yet she knelt down, as if it was the most natural and resolute thing to do. It seemed that only this act could express her piety.

My astonishment was no less than that of others. In the few seconds that the old lady knelt, it felt as if a hand had suddenly pressed down on my shoulder, making my knees tremble. I struggled to resist the impulse to kneel alongside her. I couldn’t tell if it was my own submissiveness or if the atmosphere was simply too bizarre.

In that moment, I suddenly felt that I might be different from the mute oil bottle; I might never understand his world.

Fortunately, this feeling quickly faded under the interruption of the fat man, who was also startled and stood dumbfounded for a few seconds before blurted out, “Oh no, this old lady is a zongzi!” After saying this, he realized it was impossible. He raised his eyebrows at me, and I finally snapped out of my shock and immediately said, “Grandma, what are you doing?” I rushed over to help her up, but I saw the old lady with a solemn expression, unwilling to rise. Next to her, Huo Xiuxiu looked completely dumbfounded, perhaps having never seen her grandmother like this before, and for a moment didn’t know what to do, so she just continued to kneel.

Strangely, the mute oil bottle didn’t move at all, watching her like a statue.

This was quite an awkward situation, and I had no experience in handling such scenes. I was at a loss for what to do. I exchanged glances with the fat man, who was also confused, but quicker to react than I was. He immediately came over with me and forcibly helped the old lady up.

The old lady’s eyes never left the mute oil bottle. After we helped her sit down, the fat man said, “Old lady, are you scared stiff by such a robust finger, or what? It’s the 21st century; can we not stick to old customs? You’re doing this and don’t care about your knees hurting, but we’re worried about shortening our lives!”

The old lady ignored him and continued to look at the mute oil bottle, asking, “Do you remember me?”

The mute oil bottle shook his head. The fat man then said, “Don’t mention him; even my fat uncle forgot him not long ago.”

The old lady bit her lip and said, “That’s right, you probably don’t remember anything. If you did, you might not have come to see me.”

I asked, “Grandma, do you know each other?”

She paused for a moment before saying, “Not just know each other. As soon as I heard you mention him, I understood what had happened to my daughter.”

I exchanged glances with the fat man, and we saw the old lady seemed extremely fatigued. She sat down and suddenly burst into tears: “It seems that it was A-Ma who harmed you. It’s retribution; Wu Laogou and Jie Laojiu’s nephew harmed each other, and our children have been disappearing one after another—it’s all retribution. In our line of work, we truly cannot escape the cycle of heavenly justice.”

I was incredibly curious, feeling that things were becoming clearer, and I wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly didn’t know what to say. Xiuxiu comforted her from the side, saying, “Grandma, the Old Nine Gates have continued for so many years, and many descendants are thriving. If we talk about retribution, I don’t think that’s quite right; some coincidences should be accidents. You don’t need to be too fatalistic.”

The old lady shook her head. “Actually, there isn’t really an ‘Old Nine Gates’ anymore. After the liberation, we still had some fantasies, but then things happened one after another. At first, we wanted to stick together, but later on, it was good enough just to save ourselves. In those years, those who mixed with us and ate from our plate, we considered them our own, but how many were harmed by us, and how many turned around to harm us? In the old society, there was still a sense of righteousness and loyalty; a knife in the hands of a ‘Black Back Old Six’ could protect a whole street. But in those years, everything was gone. We never imagined that people could be so wicked.” She continued, “When even people like us started to harm others, I knew the fate of the Old Nine Gates had come to an end.”

I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but I could guess she was referring to a certain period, so I asked, “What exactly happened?”

She looked at the silent oil bottle and suddenly fell silent herself.

This silence felt very awkward to me. I knew she might be thinking, and I didn’t dare interrupt her for fear of provoking her, so I held back and didn’t urge her to speak.

After a long time, she slowly began to speak: “Kid, you’re very sincere with me, but you’re a descendant of Wu Laogou. Back then, we swore that this matter would stay buried in our hearts. Of course, that oath isn’t so important now, but I don’t want to talk about it unless he wants to know; then I will tell.”

I felt a jolt in my heart, cursing inwardly. Why was it always like this? Every time it came to such moments, Uncle Three was like this, Grandpa was like this back in the day, and now this old lady was the same. It seemed they all had a big knot in their hearts, stuck in their throats, unwilling to mention the secrets within. What kind of mess were they involved in?

I looked at the silent oil bottle to see how he would react. The old lady also looked at the oil bottle, her emotions very complex: “Do you want to know?”

The oil bottle met her gaze but did not answer. I shot him a look, urging him to ask quickly and not miss this good opportunity. But he glanced at me and shook his head.

Everyone was a bit surprised. “You don’t want to know?” the old lady asked.

The oil bottle’s expression was calm as water: “I don’t believe you.”

The old lady’s expression changed immediately as she met his gaze. She exclaimed, “Why?”

The oil bottle didn’t answer her; instead, he turned to me and said, “Take me home.” Saying that, he walked out without looking back.

I was caught off guard and had no choice but to follow him, walking to the center of the courtyard. The fat man immediately followed as well. I could already imagine the old lady’s astonished expression. The fat man was also confused, probably wondering why the little brother suddenly acted this way.

After walking a few steps, we heard someone call out, “Stop!” Turning around, I saw Huo Xiuxiu catching up to us, blocking our way. “Wait, wait!”

I looked back at the old lady; she had already returned to the inner room. Huo Xiuxiu looked at the oil bottle with a very strange expression: “There are people from the New Moon Hotel and Liuli Sun outside. If you go out, you definitely won’t be at peace. My grandmother said, since we’re old acquaintances, she will help you find a safe place. You can stay there for a while to avoid the storm, and we can keep in touch. She has many questions to ask you.”

“Your grandmother wouldn’t be interested in my loot, would she?” The fat man lifted the jade seal. “My little brother said that we don’t trust you.”

Huo Xiuxiu said, “My grandmother has always been a person of her word. You should just give in; it’s better for everyone. Besides, where else can you go now—” She paused for a moment, blinked at us, and pointed at the dull oil bottle. “Actually, I think I might know a little about him.”