The atmosphere suddenly became very strange. I looked at Huo Xiuxiu and felt as if I was facing a little fox. Indeed, as soon as she spoke, I immediately understood what kind of situation she was describing and realized she wasn’t just bluffing. I even believed she might actually possess some information I was unaware of. However, under her gaze, I had a strange illusion that the main topic at that moment wasn’t about that.

Huo Ling and a few others were crawling on the ground, which seemed to match the situation in the tape I had seen. It appeared that Old Lady Huo also had a videotape from Golmud. What was going on here?

After a moment of hesitation, I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Here we were, three big men—Old Mansion, Erguotou, and a little girl coming to exchange information with us, yet we were still hesitating. What kind of courage and boldness did she possess? In comparison, we three seemed rather petty and indecisive. At that moment, we either had to stop pretending to be cool or agree more readily. It felt shameful to keep thinking it over.

So, I sighed and nodded, saying, “Alright, I believe you. But actually, I’ve already told your grandmother most of the things. What’s left are just some details. You might be disappointed.”

Huo Xiuxiu exclaimed, “No worries! To put it bluntly, it’s already great that we have intelligence to exchange, right?”

I nodded, and she continued, “When I came here, I already thought about the things you just mentioned. The whole situation is very complicated. We could start from the beginning to cross-check, but since our information overlaps, maybe we can start from a specific incident.” She glanced at the silent oil bottle and suggested, “Why don’t we start with him? I’ll tell you about him, and you tell me about the ancient tomb on the snow mountain you mentioned.”

I exchanged glances with the Fatty, who coughed and said, “I agree. So, you go first?”

She looked at me, “Are you guys even men? Always trying to take advantage of me.”

The Fatty wanted to argue, but I stopped him, thinking it didn’t matter if I spoke first. So, I began to recount everything about the Cloud Top Palace in detail.

I was extremely thorough because I had only given a rough outline to the old lady before, and to be brief now would be a waste of time. It took about half an hour to finish. During the entire time, she didn’t interrupt, completely absorbed, perhaps because she had a beautiful listener. I spoke so captivatingly that even the Fatty gave me a thumbs up, saying I had a talent for storytelling.

After a long time, she remained still, seemingly deep in thought. The Fatty called her a couple of times before she snapped back, sighed, and looked at the silent oil bottle, saying, “This brother is so impressive. No wonder my grandmother has to kneel. I thought I was losing out today, but now it feels deserved.”

“Did you gain any insights?” the Fatty asked her. She shook her head, “My mind is a bit muddled. I thought of some things, but I can’t connect them just yet. Maybe there will be a conclusion later.”

The Fatty looked at me and laughed, “That sounds just like you, a female version of innocence.”

“Your turn,” I reminded her.

She composed herself, took a deep breath. “Alright, let me think about how to say this.” After contemplating for a moment, she said, “It has to start with a nightmare.”

“Nightmare?” The Fatty raised his eyebrows.

She said, “Actually, it should be my grandmother’s dream.”

Then, Huo Xiuxiu began to tell her story. At first, I felt a sense of pride because she was so focused, but after she started sharing her story, I had almost the same reaction— I was extremely surprised. The experiences she described were just as complex as my own, if not more so. Moreover, her reflections, approached from a uniquely female perspective, seemed to resonate even more closely with reality than mine did.

Indeed, everything stemmed from a dream, but the origin and the content of the dream were not closely related. Even now, she still doesn’t know what kind of dream it was. What piqued her interest was that whenever her grandmother had this nightmare, she would always say something in her sleep.

About six or seven years ago, Huo Xiuxiu was just a little girl. In her own words, even when she wore a super short skirt, no one would turn to look at her. She was the most beloved child of Old Lady Huo. Every summer, she would travel from Changsha, the furnace of a city, to Beijing to escape the heat. During those times, Old Lady Huo would take her shopping, play at Houhai and the Summer Palace, or drive out of the city to Wanping Ancient Town for snacks.

However, no matter how close they were during their outings, Old Lady Huo had a habit of sleeping alone at night. Regardless of where they stayed, the little girl was never allowed to sleep with her grandmother.

At that time, the old lady lived in a siheyuan (courtyard house), and her bedroom was very large—big enough for twenty people to sleep in. As the little girl grew more aware, her curiosity led her to find her grandmother’s mix of intimacy and distance strange, but she didn’t dare to ask. At night, she would sleep in the same room as the nanny.

One night, she woke up in the middle of the night to find the nanny was not by her side. In that old house, it was pitch black outside, the room was very large, and the moonlight was hazy, casting eerie shadows that sent chills down her spine. At that age, children have the most vivid imaginations, and she was immediately frightened, her face turning pale.

She called out a few times, but the nanny didn’t respond. Panic set in, and thinking of her grandmother, she jumped out of bed and ran to her grandmother’s room, wanting to hide in her arms.

However, when she pulled aside the old-fashioned bed curtains, she found no one on the bed. She froze for a moment, and suddenly felt cold sweat break out. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something hanging from the bed frame above.

Looking up, she saw the most terrifying scene of her life—her grandmother was hanging in a strange position from the bed frame, her eyes rolled back, hair disheveled, seemingly in a deep sleep.

She was so scared that she wet her pants, sitting on the floor nearly in shock. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard her grandmother speaking.

At first, she thought her grandmother was calling her, but upon listening closely, she realized it wasn’t. It was her grandmother’s sleep talking.

Her grandmother said, “There is no time left.”