Courtyard House: Home Alone

The person sitting in the rickshaw was Li Sangou. He was reclining on the rickshaw, which was covered with brocade cushions, with his head tilted to one side and a trace of drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth. He had obviously been out partying at the brothel until the wee hours last night.

He was wearing a brand-new black silk mandarin jacket, a gleaming gold watch on his wrist, and several jade rings on his fingers, exuding an air of nouveau riche greasiness and arrogance.

He seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, letting the rickshaw bounce along the street.

A moment later, the small hill ahead also sent a confirmation signal. Lin Yifan nodded, then gestured for him to leave, and walked towards the group of people.

The twelve policemen and two bodyguards didn't pay any attention to the child walking towards them. Besides, they were almost at the police station, so their vigilance dropped considerably. Eighty meters... fifty meters... twenty meters.

Right now, with a thought, Lin Yifan released fifteen bullets from his stationary warehouse, accurately striking twelve policemen, two bodyguards, and Li Sangou between the eyebrows.

Without uttering a sound, the fifteen men slumped down as if their bones had been removed. Li Sangou, on the rickshaw, tilted his head to the side, a trace of drool still clinging to his lips, his eyes wide with disbelief and terror, before finally losing all life.

The pedestrians around were stunned by the sudden scene. A few seconds later, screams and cries erupted, and the crowd scattered like a hornet's nest.

The rickshaw driver was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, and the once peaceful street was thrown into chaos.

With a thought from Lin Yifan, a piece of white paper with the words "The Fate of Traitors" written on it appeared on Li Sangou's body without warning.

He stared blankly at everything before him, as if he had merely crushed a few ants that were in his way. Without pausing, he took advantage of the chaos, quickly turned around, and merged into the fleeing crowd, disappearing around the street corner in a few flashes.

Almost at the same time Lin Yifan made his move, Zhao Gang received the news and immediately led his men to Li Sangou's home in Xicheng Hutong.

The gate to Li Sangou's house was tightly closed, but for Zhao Gang and his men, who were well-prepared, it was nothing more than a false obstacle.

After a few dull thuds, the sturdy wooden door was forced open.

The servants in the courtyard were trembling with fear and dared not stop them.

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Gang's men immediately split up and began to systematically "raid" the house according to Lin Yifan's instructions.

Li Sangou had indeed amassed a considerable fortune from the people over the years, including gold bars, silver dollars, jade artifacts, and calligraphy and paintings, which quickly filled a table.

Looking at the property stained with the blood and sweat of the people, Zhao Gang's anger intensified. He said coldly, "Take a thorough inventory and register it. These things will be used for the benefit of the people!"

After escaping the crowd, Lin Yifan didn't relax at all. Following the information provided by Zhao Gang, he hurried towards Wang Defa's division headquarters.

Tieshizi Hutong was right in front of them. The heavily guarded, independent courtyard at the entrance of the hutong must have been the Japanese military law office. And Wang Defa's division headquarters was not far away.

Lin Yifan concealed his aura, teleported to the outside of the rear wall of the puppet army division headquarters, and then entered his own space to check the situation inside.

Inside the main building of the central courtyard, a middle-aged military officer with general's stars on his shoulders paced anxiously with his back to the door. He wore a crisp, dark gray military uniform with a wide belt around his waist, from which hung an exquisite Browning pistol.

Judging from his slightly overweight back and steady gait, this man must be Wang Defa, the commander of the puppet army division.

He seemed to be troubled by something, muttering to himself, and occasionally stopping to frown and ponder over a document on the table.

The furnishings in the main room were not luxurious, but they were quite tasteful. A large pear wood desk was placed in the center, piled with documents and telegrams. A neatly trimmed asparagus fern was placed on a flower stand in the corner, adding a touch of life to the solemn military tent.

Several men who looked like staff officers stood to the side with their hands at their sides, not daring to breathe loudly, clearly intimidated by the oppressive aura emanating from Wang Defa.

Lin Yifan focused his mental energy on the main room, where he saw Wang Defa stop and shout at the three officers in front of him, "What's wrong? Are you all mute now? I'm asking you, the Imperial Army can't come for the time being, what are we going to do? Will that 'Ghost' also target us?"

"Yes, Commander," a tall, thin staff officer said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.

"The brothers outside just called. Just now, Li San Gou was shot dead in public in front of the police station! He and his twelve guards were all shot dead, one shot each, all between the eyebrows! The killer was swift and clean, leaving only a note at the scene saying 'The Fate of Traitors'! The city is in chaos now, everyone's saying that 'ghost' has reappeared!"

"What?!" Wang Defa whirled around, his face turning deathly pale, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief. "Li San Gou... he's dead just like that? It hasn't been that long..."

He muttered to himself, the veins on his forehead throbbing, clearly quite frightened by the news.

Although Li Sangou was only a deputy police chief, Wang Defa had long heard of his deeds. Now, he was actually killed in broad daylight by that "ghost" on the street. This "ghost" was too bold!

Another short, stout officer chimed in, "Commander, this 'ghost' is elusive and ruthless. Li San Gou is a cautionary tale! Although our division headquarters is heavily guarded, we still have to be on guard."

The Imperial Army's military police and headquarters were much better positioned than we were, and their fighting strength was several times greater than ours, yet we were still defeated by the "Ghost"...

"How about we leave the city first? Or go to the military camp outside the city... to lay low for a while?"

"Escape? Where to escape to?" Wang Defa interrupted him irritably. "The Imperial Army is in dire straits itself and has already gone underground. They have no time to care about us!"

Besides, where in Beiping is safe? That "Ghost" dared to attack even the military police and headquarters; what place wouldn't he dare to go?

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, slamming his hand on the table so hard that the teacups on it jumped. "A bunch of useless trash! You're all so arrogant and domineering usually, but now that something's happened, all you can do is spout useless nonsense!"

The three officers were thoroughly berated by him, but dared not refute him. They could only lower their heads and remain silent.

Lin Yifan saw and heard everything clearly from within his spatial dimension. He sneered inwardly; it seemed the news of Li Sangou's death had reached Wang Defa and successfully planted a seed of fear in his heart. This saved him a lot of trouble.

In addition, this Wang Defa seems to know a lot about the Japanese. We should arrest him first and see if we can get anything out of him.