Chapter 1
Back then, people said my grandfather was crazy. Not only did he guard a clock tower, but he also patrolled around it every night at midnight, making his rounds.

Who listens to night watchmen these days? Besides, my grandfather made his rounds silently, just circling the clock tower with his clapper. What was worse, my grandfather walked silently and loved to talk to people.

If anyone came home late at night, they'd be startled by my grandfather, wherever he was, unless they looked carefully. Especially when he came out to talk to you, he could scare you to death.

Many people in the alley had told my dad about it, but they didn't dare to approach my grandfather. Because my grandfather had been a soldier when he was young and had killed people, few in the alley dared to talk to him. They said the fierce look in his eyes was unsettling.

I asked him why he guarded the clock tower, and he told me he wasn't guarding the clock tower, but guarding the ancestral teachings.

I asked him, "What did our ancestors do?" He pointed to the clapper used for night watch: "They were night watchmen."

But I always felt that wasn't the whole story. I had seen ordinary clappers used for night watch when I visited museums with school—just a piece of hollow wood.

The clapper my grandfather used had a layer of bone covering a piece of wood. I didn't know what animal the bone came from, but my grandfather had polished it until it was dark red and shiny. At first glance, you'd think it was a piece of jade.

Once, an antique dealer took a fancy to my grandfather's clapper and insisted on buying it. My grandfather, annoyed by his persistence, finally said, "This clapper is made of a human skull. Buy it if you're not afraid of bad luck."

The man took it and looked at it carefully, his face immediately changing. He kept saying he was "blind and didn't recognize Mount Tai" (an expression meaning he didn't recognize something of great value), and later avoided my grandfather whenever he saw him.

Originally, our family lived well in the alley. If it hadn't been for my good-for-nothing second uncle, none of the later events would have happened.

That year, a boss came to our area and took a fancy to the clock tower. After inquiring, he found out that the clock tower was our family's ancestral property and even had a property ownership certificate.

The boss offered my grandfather a price several times, but my grandfather refused to sell. In anger, he even slapped the village official who had come to broker the deal.

But my second uncle got greedy. While my grandfather was out, he secretly sold the clock tower, took the money, and ran away without leaving a word.

When my grandfather found out, his face turned green with anger, and he picked up his smoking pipe and walked towards the clock tower.

When my grandfather arrived, the boss had already brought the construction team. He said he would dismantle the clock tower and move it to his home to rebuild it. To ensure the clock tower could be dismantled smoothly, the boss even brought several experts and professors from the archeology department.

When my grandfather went to find them, my dad was afraid he would lose his temper and suffer, so he hurried after him towards the clock tower.

I followed my dad, I never knew my grandfather could walk so fast. I couldn't keep up with him even running.

When I caught up to the clock tower, I don't know who in the construction team released a dog. I saw a dog as big as a calf about to pounce on my grandfather, and I was so scared I almost fell to the ground.

Unexpectedly, my grandfather didn't even move a hand, he just glared at the dog, and the dog was so frightened it tucked its tail and ran back, hiding behind people and refusing to come out. My grandfather said, "Let the person in charge come out."

The boss walked out of the crowd, "Old Chen, I bought your house with real money. The contract is signed. Don't be stubborn."

My grandfather said with a sullen face, "I have to take responsibility for what my own son did. You can have the clock tower, but I have to take the things inside. You bought my clock tower, but you didn't buy the things I put inside, did you? I'm right no matter who I talk to."

"Suit yourself!" The boss made way for my grandfather.

"You wait for me outside." My grandfather said and entered the clock tower.

As soon as he went in, the boss wiped his sweat, "What does this old man do? Why is he so scary?"

Someone said, "Old Chen has really killed people. I heard that when he was in the army, our side thought everyone on the position was dead and planned to shell the position. The enemy kept coming up, but they just couldn't take the position. A platoon was sent up to see what was going on, and guess what?"

The man looked towards the yard, "Old Chen, his legs were broken, was still lying on a pile of dead bodies, firing a machine gun!"

"I heard that he threw several people's heads around him, I don't know how he cut them off! He killed at least two or three hundred people in that battle!"

"No wonder..." The boss's face looked even worse. The bodyguards around him who were unconvinced before also shrank their necks, and no one dared to step forward.

After a while, my grandfather came out of the yard carrying a long, narrow box. Before he even reached my side, someone from the construction team chased after him.

It looked like an expert hired by the boss. The man hurried a few steps and said, "Old man, wait, is that box from the palace? That's a cultural relic..."

My grandfather's face darkened, "What if it's a cultural relic? You want to rob it?"