The First Sign of an Opportunity

After eating, we returned to the RV instead of the hotel. Blind Man dug out a cloth bundle from who knew where and called us outside. He found a shady spot with lots of foot traffic, set the bundle down, and sat on the curb. Inside were all kinds of collectible bracelets and handheld ornaments—vajra seeds, bodhi seeds, sandalwood, solid bamboo, and the like.

I was stunned. You could ask around like this? Blind Man spoke up then. "If you go around specifically asking people, they might not tell you the truth. They might even think you're looking for trouble, or suspect you're here for revenge and worry about getting dragged into it. But if you buy something and casually chat about gossip, it becomes much easier to ask." He was saying that for Wu Xie's benefit. When it came to worldly experience, the two of us were the greenest. I was only getting swept along; as far as I was concerned, I wanted the rest of my life to be quiet and uneventful—lying low and waiting to die. Nothing like Wu Xie's complicated, dangerous, scheming life.

After staying there for a while, I got bored. There were plenty of people around, so I dragged Wu Xie and Little Brother to the wholesale market. I planned to set up a stall and sell some little trinkets. After walking around, I took a liking to a shop selling hand-cranked mini fans. They blew pretty strongly and could be played with as well as used for cooling off. The shop also had battery-powered fans. I spent five hundred yuan on a box—two-thirds battery-powered and one-third hand-cranked—and bought a long folding low table from the shop next door for a little over a hundred. When we went back to find Blind Man, Wu Xie and I carried the table while Little Brother held the fans, and we set up beside Blind Man as his neighbors.

We did pretty well over the afternoon. Half the fans sold, with the battery-powered ones proving more popular. The hand-cranked ones were mostly a novelty. Blind Man also talked people into buying over a dozen bracelets. We heard plenty of gossip too, but that antique shop had been there for decades without changing. That little scenic area had only become a tourist attraction in recent years, but the original owners hadn't been surnamed Wu—they'd been surnamed Li. Wu Xie was disappointed after hearing that, but not too much. He had already been prepared for this.

We spent a few more days having fun in Hangzhou, strolling around West Lake and visiting Leifeng Pagoda. We set up our stall for another day and sold off the rest of the fans, keeping only a few hand-cranked ones to play with. The second time we set up, Blind Man also stocked up on drinks, popsicles, and bottled water. His drive to make money never stopped.

After restocking our supplies, we set off for our next stop: Beijing. Once we arrived, we rested first as usual. The next day, we went looking for information. Just like before, there was no Xie Family. Beijing didn't just lack the Xie Family; there was no Huo Family, Hong Family, or Xinyue Hotel either. Xiaohua rubbed his brow. It seemed Beijing had no clues either.

We spent several days eating, drinking, and having fun, all while keeping an eye online for strange weather and unusual phenomena. We found nothing. We decided to go back, rest for a few days, and sort out our thoughts.

The day after we returned was August 16th. Tomorrow was the August 17th Rice Festival. How had I only remembered now? Even if we set out for Changbai Mountain immediately, we would be too late. Forget it—next year, then. Tomorrow also happened to be the second Ten-Year Pact of 2025. I had just been about to go downstairs and invite Little Brother and the others to attend next year's Rice Festival with me when I froze. Whether any of us would even still be here by then was uncertain. We could talk about it when the time came.

The next morning, when I turned on my phone, I was dumbfounded. Changbai Mountain had shot onto the trending searches like it did every year, taking up several spots. But this year, one of them said that at midnight last night, a thunderstorm had appeared at the border of the Changbai Mountain range. The strange thing was, there had been no rain and no lightning—only thunder.

Holding my phone, I rushed straight into the living room. Little Brother, Xiaohua, Wu Xie, Fatty, and Blind Man were all there. They froze for a moment when they saw me charge out. Wu Xie asked, "Nannan, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" I had been so worked up that I ran out without even putting on shoes. Now that I had calmed down, I did not know how to explain it.

I gathered my thoughts. "There was a thunderstorm at Changbai Mountain at midnight last night. No lightning, no rain—only thunder." I pulled up the trending search on my phone and handed it to Xiaohua. "Maybe the opportunity we've been looking for has come, but we missed it." Little Brother spoke then. "The Bronze Gate opens. There will be another time." Wu Xie picked up where he left off. "Little Brother means that this was when the Bronze Gate opened, and it will open again." Blind Man cut in, "Mute, can you determine when it will open next?" Little Brother shook his head. "We'll have to go and see." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," I said. Blind Man replied, "Little Boss, don't rush. We need to buy cold-weather gear and climbing equipment first. Otherwise, aside from me, Little Brother, and Master Hua, none of you will make it up there. I'll buy the equipment this morning, and we'll leave at noon. Relax, Little Boss. The Bronze Gate isn't going anywhere. Besides, none of us are in a hurry."