Courtyard House: First, kill the hypocrites, leave none alive.

It rained all day.

In the police station morgue, Zhao Jianguo's body lay on a cold iron bed, covered with a white sheet. The forensic doctor had just finished the preliminary autopsy and was washing his hands while reporting to Officer Zhang.

"The time of death was probably between 9:30 and 10:00 AM," the forensic doctor's voice was exceptionally clear in the empty morgue. "The fatal wounds were three stab wounds to the abdomen, one of which pierced the liver, causing massive bleeding. The other two wounds damaged the intestines and kidneys. The murder weapon was likely a single-edged dagger, with a very sharp blade, approximately two centimeters wide."

Officer Zhang lifted the white sheet and glanced inside. Zhao Jianguo's eyes were still open, his pupils dilated, and his face was frozen in shock and fear. His black Zhongshan suit was soaked in blood, turning dark red, and a knife had pierced his abdomen, revealing the cotton wadding underneath.

"What was found at the scene?" Officer Zhang asked.

"No," the young policeman who went to the scene shook his head. "The rain was too heavy and washed away all the bloodstains. The body was discovered by a family member who lagged behind after the funeral procession had gone far away. He was already dead at that time, and there were no signs of a struggle or footprints around him—the rain washed everything away."

Officer Zhang remained silent. This method was all too familiar—clean, efficient, and leaving no trace—a typical Chen Feng style.

But why did Chen Feng want to kill Zhao Jianguo?

Zhao Jianguo is the acting director of the neighborhood committee and the husband of Director Wang. Director Wang was killed by Chen Feng two months ago, so it's understandable that Zhao Jianguo hates Chen Feng to the core. But why would Chen Feng, who has already killed so many enemies, risk killing Zhao Jianguo on the funeral procession?

Unless... Zhao Jianguo did something that threatened Chen Feng.

"Investigate Zhao Jianguo's whereabouts over the past two months," Zhang Gong ordered, "especially his actions related to Chen Feng's case. Also, investigate his interpersonal relationships to see if anyone knows what he's been up to lately."

"Yes."

"In addition," Officer Zhang added, "notify Zhao Jianguo's family. There are many people in his family, so do a good job of comforting them and prevent them from causing trouble."

---

When news of Zhao Jianguo's death reached the Zhao family, the entire family was in an uproar.

The Zhao family is considered a large family in Beijing. Zhao Jianguo has three brothers, two cousins, and several other male relatives. In addition, there are his wife Wang Yulan's relatives—Wang Qiang is Wang Yulan's younger brother, and several other male relatives—making a total of more than twenty people, all now crammed into Zhao Jianguo's two-bedroom apartment.

The room was filled with smoke; the men were smoking, and the women were crying. The atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

"My brother-in-law... my brother-in-law died unjustly!" Wang Qiang pounded the table, his eyes bloodshot. "It must have been that beast Chen Feng! It must have been him!"

Zhao Jianguo's elder brother, Zhao Jianjun, a worker in his fifties, had a livid face: "What did the police say?"

"What else can we say?" Zhao Jianguo's second elder brother, Zhao Jianshe, sneered. "They say they're investigating and to wait for news. My brother was the acting director of the neighborhood committee, and he was stabbed to death in broad daylight on the street. The police can't even catch the murderer. What are they good for!"

"I'm going to find them!" Wang Qiang stood up and was about to rush outside.

"Stop right there!" Zhao Jianjun shouted. "Who are you going to see? The police? If the police were useful, Chen Feng would have been caught already!"

Wang Qiang stopped, panting heavily: "What do we do then? Just give up?"

"Forget it?" Zhao Jianjun's eyes flashed with ferocity. "When has my Zhao family ever been bullied like this? Fourth Brother is dead, and his wife died two months ago—all because of Chen Feng. This blood feud must be avenged!"

Everyone in the room stood up, their emotions running high.

"Yes, revenge!"

"Chen Feng must die!"

"If the police can't catch them, we'll catch them ourselves!"

Zhao Jianjun raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Listen to me. Chen Feng is wanted throughout the city, and even the police can't catch him. How are we supposed to catch him?"

"I know where he is!" Wang Qiang suddenly said.

All eyes were on him.

"You knew?" Zhao Jianjun stared at him. "How did you know?"

Wang Qiang hesitated for a moment. Only he and Zhao Jianguo knew about the scheme they had orchestrated to kill Old Sun and frame Chen Feng. Now that Zhao Jianguo was dead, should they reveal it?

But looking at his angry relatives in the room, he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Two months ago, after my sister was killed by Chen Feng, my brother-in-law and I wanted revenge. We investigated Chen Feng and learned that his most important person was his younger sister, Chen Xiaoyu. So..."

He recounted in detail how he and Zhao Jianguo killed Old Sun, how they framed Chen Feng, and how they released the news that Chen Xiaoyu was by the moat.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

"You...you killed Old Sun?" Zhao Jianjun couldn't believe it.

"It was to lure Chen Feng out," Wang Qiang explained, "but Chen Feng didn't fall for it. Instead, he blew up the courtyard house and now he's killed my brother-in-law!"

The room was deathly silent. Everyone understood—Zhao Jianguo's death was very likely related to his plot to harm Chen Feng.

"Foolish!" Zhao Jianjun slammed his fist on the table in anger. "You're setting up a court in your own backyard! This is a crime!"

"But what's the use of saying all this now?" Zhao Jianguo's third brother, Zhao Jianye, said. "The fourth brother is already dead, and we can't let the revenge go unavenged. Besides, Wang Qiang is right; Chen Feng is definitely looking for his sister now. We can start from that angle."

"How do we start?" someone asked.

Zhao Jianjun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Chen Xiaoyu... has a mole on her neck, wears a red string necklace, and is about fifteen or sixteen years old. Chen Feng has definitely been searching for her everywhere these past two months. If we can find Chen Xiaoyu, we can use her to lure Chen Feng out."

"But where can we look? The police have been searching for two months and haven't found it."

"The police are searching openly, but we can search covertly," Zhao Jianjun said. "We'll mobilize all our relatives, friends, and acquaintances, casting a wide net throughout Beijing. We'll offer a reward; a hefty reward will surely attract brave men. As long as we find Chen Xiaoyu, Chen Feng won't be able to escape."

Wang Qiang's eyes lit up: "That's right! I know some people in the underworld, I can ask them to help me find someone. As long as there's money, they'll definitely be willing to do it."

"I'll pay for it," Zhao Jianjun said decisively. "We'll combine the fourth brother's pension with what our families can chip in, and offer a reward of five hundred yuan. Whoever finds Chen Xiaoyu will get five hundred!"

Five hundred yuan was a huge sum of money in those days. An average worker's annual salary was only three or four hundred yuan.

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Although there were some risks, they couldn't worry about that in order to avenge Zhao Jianguo.

"But this must be kept secret," Zhao Jianjun instructed. "The police must not know, and outsiders must not know our purpose. Just say... just say we are helping the police find clues, and there will be a generous reward."

"clear!"

"Also," Zhao Jianjun looked at Wang Qiang, "the matter of what you and your brother-in-law set up before ends here, and no one should mention it again. Let Chen Feng be responsible for Old Sun's death. What we need to do now is find Chen Xiaoyu and avenge Lao Si."

Wang Qiang nodded vigorously.

The Zhao family began their operation. A large network of over twenty people, along with their relatives and friends, formed. The reward quietly spread through the black market and among the common people—find a young girl with a mole on her neck and wearing a red string necklace; five hundred yuan for her.

The news spread quickly. The temptation of 500 yuan was too great, and countless people began to look around for such young girls.

Chen Feng was completely unaware of all this.

---

Inside the air-raid shelter in the north of the city, Chen Feng leaned against the cold wall, reading a newspaper by the light of a small kerosene lamp.

This is his new hiding place. After killing Zhao Jianguo that day, he didn't go back to the warehouse in the east of the city, but came directly here. The air-raid shelter was told to him by Skinny Monkey. It was dug during the war, but later abandoned. The entrance was very well hidden, behind a patch of weeds.

Conditions inside were terrible. The cave was deep, winding, and branched off in many directions. He chose the innermost branch, which was relatively drier. Some dry grass was laid out on the ground, serving as his bed. In the corner was a pile of the food and water he had brought—enough for a week.

The light from the kerosene lamp was very dim, barely enough to make out the words on the newspaper.

Today's front page of the *Sijiucheng Daily* is again reporting on the bombing and the murder of Zhao Jianguo. The wording is very harsh, saying that the murderer is ruthless and that the police are doing everything they can to apprehend him.

After Chen Feng finished reading, he threw the newspaper aside.

Zhao Jianguo is dead; the last threat is gone. Now, he can focus on finding Xiaoyu.

But how to search? Two months have passed, and there's not a single clue. Not by the moat, not in the shantytowns, not in the orphanage, not in the mass graves. It's as if Xiaoyu has vanished into thin air.

Could it be... that he's really gone?

The thought popped into his head again, but Chen Feng forced himself to suppress it. He couldn't think the worst; Xiaoyu must still be alive, waiting for him somewhere.

He needs help. Searching alone is too inefficient.

But who to turn to? Skinny Monkey and his men could be used, but not entirely trusted. After all, they were Scarface Wang's subordinates; if they knew his true identity, they might turn on him at any moment.

Moreover, through the Zhao Jianguo incident, Chen Feng understood a principle—no one in this world can be completely trusted.

Zhao Jianguo was the acting director of the subdistrict office. On the surface, he was a respectable official, but behind the scenes, he plotted against him. If even someone like that couldn't be trusted, how much less could those desperate criminals on the black market?

He has to rely on himself.

Chen Feng stood up and paced around the air-raid shelter. The shelter was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time. His footsteps echoed in the shelter, hollow and lonely.

The wound on my right shoulder has completely healed, leaving only a pink scar. The knife wound on my back has also healed and doesn't affect my mobility. My body has recovered, but the emptiness in my heart is growing ever larger.

He killed so many people and avenged himself, but his parents never came back, and he still couldn't find Xiaoyu.

Does this road ever end?

Chen Feng stopped and took out a portrait of Xiaoyu from his pocket. Under the kerosene lamplight, the little girl in the painting smiled innocently, with two dimples, big eyes, and the red rope necklace around her neck was clearly visible.

"Xiaoyu..." Chen Feng whispered, his fingers gently tracing the portrait, "Where exactly are you?"

The cave was deathly silent, except for the faint crackling sound of the burning kerosene lamp wick.

Suddenly, a sound came from outside.

Very light footsteps were heard near the entrance to the air-raid shelter.

Chen Feng immediately became alert. He blew out the kerosene lamp, groped his way to the entrance of the side cave, held his breath, and placed his hand on the pistol at his waist.

The footsteps grew closer; it was more than one person.

"Is this the place?" a man's voice asked in a low voice.

"That must be it, the skinny monkey is talking about this place," another voice said.

Skinny Monkey? Chen Feng's eyes turned cold. Had Skinny Monkey revealed his hiding place to someone else?

"Brother Dagang? Is Brother Dagang there?" the first voice called out, echoing in the cave.

Chen Feng didn't answer. He quietly retreated deeper into the cave and hid behind a protruding rock.

Footsteps approached. Two people, holding flashlights, swept the beams of light across the cave.

"Nobody's here," someone said. "Did they leave?"

"Let's look again. Skinny Monkey said Big Steel is definitely here."

The two continued walking in. The flashlight beam swept across the rock where Chen Feng was hiding, but they didn't find him.

Chen Feng observed from behind the rock. They were two young men, in their early twenties, dressed in ordinary work clothes, and unarmed; they didn't look like police officers.

Were they Scarface's men? Or were they sent by Skinny Monkey?

"Brother Da Gang, we were sent by Brother Shou Hou," one of them shouted. "We need to speak with you urgently!"

Chen Feng still didn't answer. He was waiting, waiting for the two men to lower their guard.

The two walked deeper into the side cave, but found no one, and began to mutter to themselves.

"Could something have happened?"

"No way, is Brother Da Gang that amazing?"

"But there's really no one here..."

Just as the two turned to leave, Chen Feng made a move.

Like a cheetah, he leaped out from behind the rocks, one hand covering one man's mouth, the other pressing a gun against the back of another's head.

"Don't move." Chen Feng's voice was icy.

The two were so frightened that they froze, dropping their flashlights which rolled to the side.

"Brother Dagang...it's...it's us..." the person whose mouth was covered mumbled.

Chen Feng released his grip, but the gun was still pressed against the other man's head: "Who sent you?"

"It's...it's Skinny Monkey," the man gasped, "He said he has something urgent to tell you and sent us to deliver it."

"What is it?"

"Zhao... Zhao Jianguo's family has offered a 500 yuan reward on the black market for information about Chen Xiaoyu."

Chen Feng's pupils contracted: "What?"

"Really," another person quickly said, "the news has spread. They're looking for a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a mole on her neck and wearing a red string necklace. Five hundred dollars for her. Everyone on the black market is looking for her, even the street thugs are keeping an eye out."

Chen Feng's heart sank. Zhao Jianguo's family? A reward for Xiaoyu?

What are they trying to do? Lure him out with the light rain? Or...?

"Who put out the bounty?" Chen Feng asked, his voice cold.

"I don't know, but it must be someone from the Zhao family. They're rich. Zhao Jianguo is a cadre and receives a pension. If the Zhao brothers chipped in, they could come up with five hundred yuan."

Chen Feng understood. Zhao Jianguo was dead, and his family wanted revenge. He would use Xiaoyu as bait to lure him out.

This is the same scheme Zhao Jianguo set up back then. Only this time, the reward is higher, and more people are involved.

It's dangerous with the light rain.

If these people find it first, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"What else did the skinny monkey say?" Chen Feng pressed.

"Skinny Monkey said to be careful. The whole city is looking for Chen Xiaoyu right now. If you go out to look for her, you'll easily be exposed. He told you to hide for now and wait until things calm down."

Wait? Chen Feng sneered. If they waited any longer, Xiao Yu might be found.

He can't wait.

"Go back and tell Skinny Monkey," Chen Feng said, "to help him look too. We can offer a reward. I'll give a thousand dollars to anyone with concrete clues."

The two gasped. A thousand dollars? That's an astronomical figure.

"But there's a condition," Chen Feng added, "You must notify me first when you find her. Anyone who dares to lay a finger on her will have their entire family executed."

These words were spoken calmly, but the murderous intent within them sent chills down the spines of both of them.

"I...I understand."

"Also," Chen Feng released the two, "you're not allowed to tell anyone that you saw me today, except for Skinny Monkey. Just say you couldn't find me, understand?"

"Understood, understood."

"roll."

The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon and ran away as fast as they could.

Chen Feng was left alone in the air-raid shelter again. He picked up the flashlight from the ground, turned it on, and the beam of light swept around the shelter.

We can't stay here any longer. The Zhao family has offered a reward for Xiaoyu's whereabouts, and soon someone will realize that Chen Feng might be hiding in an abandoned air-raid shelter or a basement. It's not safe here anymore.

He needs to move to a different place, a place no one would expect.

Chen Feng began packing his things. Food, water, weapons, money, and medicine were all put into a cloth bag. He discarded the kerosene lamp but took a flashlight.

After packing up, he slung his cloth bag over his shoulder, took one last look at the place he had lived in for less than three days, and then turned and left.

It was already dark when I emerged from the air-raid shelter. The rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast, and I couldn't see any stars.

Chen Feng determined the direction and headed south of the city.

He remembered a place—the sales home.

He went to look for Xiaoyu two months ago, but she wasn't there. The director of the orphanage was a kind person, and she comforted him at the time. Maybe…maybe Xiaoyu went there later, or maybe the director knows something.

Moreover, most people wouldn't expect him to go to a sales home. The most dangerous place is the safest place.

Chen Feng quickened his pace.

In the darkness of night, his figure moved like a ghost through the streets and alleys of Beijing.

Behind him, a citywide manhunt for Chen Xiaoyu had quietly begun.

The 500 yuan reward was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating countless ripples.

On the black market, on the streets, and in the alleys, countless eyes began to search in the shadows. A fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl with a mole on her neck and wearing a red string necklace—this feature was too obvious; once seen, it would never be forgotten.

Some people were there for the money, some to curry favor with the Zhao family, and some simply to watch the spectacle.

The underground world of Beijing began to stir because of this bounty.

Chen Feng was on his way to the orphanage.

He didn't know whether what awaited him there was a clue or another trap.

But he had to go.

We'll spare no expense for Xiaoyu.

The blood debt has been repaid, but this bloody game is far from over.

The phrase "not a single one can be left alive" now has a new meaning.

The Zhao family members should not be allowed to live either.

Chen Feng's eyes gleamed with a cold light in the night.

The game continues.