Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 539-538 Standoff in the Courtyard
Shen Tiankuo's face was ashen.

When his daughter's bracelet was placed in front of him, he had already prepared for the worst.

Others may not know, but Shen Tiankuo knows all too well—this bracelet is a magical artifact he obtained from the Xijun Temple, a life-saving treasure to be used in critical moments.

The fact that it's broken now means that Shen Morou must have encountered a life-threatening situation.

So Shen Tiankuo ignored his wife's weeping and wailing, and immediately ordered the Da Xuan army to leave the camp and enter the city under the pretext of suppressing bandits to conduct a search.

The Da Xuan army dispersed to various parts of the city in batches, while Shen Tiankuo led a team of personal guards to the scene to investigate.

"According to the report from the patrol officers who were in the vicinity at the time, they first heard gunshots. When they investigated the sound, they suddenly saw a blinding golden light burst out from the house, but it disappeared in an instant. By the time the patrol officers arrived, the person had already disappeared."

Yan Huaizheng, the director of the police station beside him, was still rambling on, his tone deliberately low, but his mind seemed to be seeking credit.

Shen Tiankuo had no interest in acknowledging him and stepped forward to push open the courtyard gate.

The courtyard was pitch black and exceptionally quiet.

Yan Huaizheng thoughtfully handed over the lantern, which Shen Tiankuo took and gently turned the knob at the bottom. With a "hiss" sound, flames shot up inside the lampshade, illuminating the surroundings.

Carrying a lantern, Shen Tiankuo entered the courtyard. Having heard Yan Huaizheng's explanation before, he didn't think much of it and walked straight towards the small house at the end of the courtyard.

Just as he reached the center of the courtyard, and his personal guards were about to follow him in, an unexpected incident occurred.

First, a thick vine suddenly sprouted from under his feet, binding Shen Tiankuo to the spot in the blink of an eye. Then, a person suddenly jumped out of the abandoned water vat next to him, grabbed Shen Tiankuo and held him in front of him, and the dark muzzle of a hunting rifle extended from below, pressing against Shen Tiankuo's chin.

"Don't even move!"

Shen Tiankuo heard a loud shout above his head, which almost deafened him.

Fang Youliu, holding a shield woven from vines, darted out from the shadows in the corner and stood back-to-back with Shunzi.

The Da Xuan Army was well-trained and reacted extremely quickly. A loud "whoosh" was heard as all the soldiers raised their guns and aimed in this direction.

The field fell silent for a moment.

"Humph."

Shen Tiankuo broke the silence with a cold laugh, his icy gaze falling on Yan Huaizheng opposite him: "Director Yan, is this the scene you've been protecting?"

The moment the unexpected happened, Yan Huaizheng's back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Hearing Shen Tiankuo's question, he dared not meet his gaze, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead while glancing elsewhere: "Admiral, do not panic, the Great Xuan Army has already surrounded this place, the bandits have no way to escape..."

Shunzi retorted urgently, "You're the bastard! We're not bandits!"

Shen Tiankuo recognized the voice and subconsciously turned his head to look.

"do not move!"

Shunzi poked him with the barrel of his gun.

Shen Tiankuo couldn't see their faces clearly, but he could see their tall silhouettes and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Is it you?"

They had met once before, in Abbott’s guest room.

Shunzi shouted, "Trying to get close to me won't work!"

Fortunately, Fang Youliu was quick-witted and seized the opportunity to speak: "Your Excellency, please forgive us. We only entered this place by mistake and resorted to this tactic to protect ourselves. As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up, we will release the people immediately."

"Let him go?"

This word struck a nerve with Shen Tiankuo, and his tone immediately changed: "So my daughter is really in your hands?"

Fang Youliu was taken aback: "Are we talking about the same thing?"

Shen Tiankuo narrowed his eyes slightly: "That would be best."

Shunzi noticed that the Da Xuan army opposite him was about to make a move, so he interrupted again: "Tell your men to put down their guns! I'm a coward, I might accidentally blow your head off." After hesitating for two seconds, Shen Tiankuo nodded slightly and said to the other side: "Put them down."

The soldiers obeyed orders without question and immediately lowered their guns upon hearing the command.

Shen Tiankuo sensed that Shunzi's tense muscles relaxed slightly, so he asked again, "Where is my daughter? Is she safe now?"

After a whole night of fussing, Shunzi was seething with anger and retorted irritably, "I haven't even found my older brother yet, and you're already asking about him."

Shen Tiankuo remembered that there were three people when they met in the waiting room tonight, but now there was indeed one less.

A thought flashed through his mind: "So it was your older brother who took my daughter and moved her beforehand?"

Shunzi was also stunned: "Really?"

Shen Tiankuo was taken aback by the question: "You're asking me?"

Shunzi naturally retorted, "Didn't you say that?"

Shen Tiankuo almost got confused: "Wait, I'm asking you—"

Fang Youliu couldn't stand it any longer after listening for a while: "You're looking for your daughter, and he's looking for his older brother—these are not the same thing at all! We just happened to run into each other."

Shen Tiankuo, however, did not believe it and sneered, "What a coincidence. I came here looking for my daughter, and you came here looking for your elder brother—doesn't that prove that they have both been here before?"

Shunzi exclaimed as if struck by a sudden realization: "That's right!"

"What a load of rubbish!"

Fang Youliu almost jumped up in panic: "We didn't come here on purpose, we just happened to be passing by and decided to hide here..."

His voice gradually faded.

Shen Tiankuo's sneer grew even louder: "Hiding? Why are you hiding? And who are you hiding from?"

Shunzi and Fang Youliu remained silent.

"I know!"

Yan Huaizheng, on the other side, interrupted loudly.

He had just received a report from the police, and the burly man in front of him matched the description in both physique and weaponry.

Yan Huaizheng pointed at Shunzi: "Tonight, bandits caused trouble. This man took advantage of the police station's lax defenses to launch a surprise attack, thus disrupting the police station's search plan and allowing the bandits to escape! All the evidence points to the fact that they are bandits!"

"Fuck your mother's fart!"

Shunzi was furious: "I just saw you in the factory tonight—you know perfectly well that we're with Second Master!"

Yan Huaizheng scoffed upon hearing this: "Second Master? Who doesn't know that the men under Second Master's command are bandits recruited by others? In my opinion, you were clearly spies who deliberately surrendered and were planted in advance to enter the city! In that case, it's no wonder that the bandits were able to enter the city silently tonight; it turns out that you were working together from the inside!"

Shunzi was so angry that her lips trembled, but she didn't know how to refute him.

Shen Tiankuo was genuinely afraid that Shunzi might pull the trigger in a fit of anger, so he took the initiative to comfort him: "Don't get agitated, I'll give you a way out—your elder brother has clearly already left the city with the bandits, abandoning you. He was the one who acted unjustly first, so why don't you become witnesses for the crime? As long as you tell the truth, once I rescue my daughter, I, as the admiral, will guarantee that you will be spared the death penalty."

Shunzi clenched his teeth so hard they were grinding, and spat out each word through gritted teeth: "I've made myself clear—"

"I'm not a bandit! Neither is my elder brother!"

"I am Ye San! My elder brother is Ma Er!"

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

The next moment, Yan Huaizheng burst out laughing.

"Brother Leopard, I think you've really lost your mind in this panic. Why are you talking nonsense?"

(End of this chapter)