Courtyard House: Home Alone

Huang Jiaxing watched Lin Yifan's departing figure with a flicker in his eyes until the small figure disappeared around the corner of the alley before he looked away.

He thought to himself: This child seems ordinary, but he always gives people a feeling of being unfathomable.

Who exactly is he? The son of "Azure Wolf"... This identity is too sensitive.

He needed to report to his superiors as soon as possible, and at the same time, monitoring Lin Yifan also needed to be put on the agenda.

As soon as Lin Yifan stepped out of the courtyard, he felt several pairs of eyes staring at him. He used his mind to "see" and found that there were three people in total. The one leading them was the one with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face, named Li Kui.

Not far away at the alley entrance, a Ford sedan was parked, and the driver was none other than Xu Fugui. Damn it! These bastards, they can't even handle their own business, and they're just making things worse for me. Perfect, I'll just borrow this Ford.

He pretended not to know anything and continued walking towards the car at the alley entrance. When he was about ten meters away from the car, the three people behind him quickly caught up.

They surrounded Lin Yifan from the left, right, and back. Lin Yifan pretended not to know anything and said to Li Kui on his right, "Isn't this Xu Fugui's distant cousin? Why haven't you found a job yet?"

Li Kui's face turned ashen after being choked by Lin Yifan's words. He had intended to adopt a fierce stance, but he hadn't expected the kid to speak so directly, with a hint of mockery.

He suppressed his anger, his triangular eyes glaring fiercely at Lin Yifan: "Kid, enough nonsense! Our boss needs to talk to you. Come with us!"

Lin Yifan blinked, feigning confusion: "Boss? Which boss? I don't know him."

"Stop playing dumb with me!" a burly man on the left growled impatiently, pulling open the car door with one hand and shoving Lin Yifan from behind with the other. "You'll see when we get there!"

Lin Yifan pretended to be a normal child, seemingly without much strength, and got into the car. He wanted to see what these people wanted to do to him.

He still wore that innocent expression, but his tone had turned cold: "Brothers, I'm just a child. Have you mistaken me for someone else? My master is waiting for me to deliver the manuscript."

"Look who's driving up ahead. With him here, do you think we'd mistake him? Stop talking nonsense, just come with us and you'll find out!" Three people, one on each side, and the one named Li Kui ran to the passenger seat and got in the car.

"Hurry up!" Li Kui said to Xu Fugui, who was driving.

Xu Fugui turned around and gave Lin Yifan a sinister smile, "Xiao Fan, you haven't been out for several days, have you? Now that you're out, don't even think about going back."

Lin Yifan sneered inwardly, but her face showed increasing fear. Her small hands gripped the back of the seat in front of her tightly, her voice trembling with tears: "Uncle Xu, what...what do you want to do? I...I really don't know this boss you're talking about! Please let me go, my master is waiting for me!"

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the expressions of the people in the car, especially Xu Fugui's reaction.

Xu Fugui glanced at him in the rearview mirror, his sinister smile deepening: "Hmph, you'll know who you are when we get there. A little brat, acting all high and mighty in the yard, huh? Stop pretending!"

Li Kui, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and spat, "That's right, don't fucking refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Sit still, or you'll regret it!"

The car slowly drove out of the alley and merged into the sparse traffic of early morning in Beiping. Lin Yifan outwardly shrank back, looking terrified, but in reality, his mind was racing.

He needed to know where they were taking him and what their background was so he could deal with them and the people behind them.

The car headed north, passing through two bustling streets, and soon exited Andingmen, gradually moving towards a relatively quiet area.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Lin Yifan asked again, his voice trembling with tears.

Xu Fugui, who was driving, impatiently cursed, "Shut up! Why ask so many questions! You'll know when we get there!"

The burly man sitting to Lin Yifan's left nudged him with his elbow and said menacingly, "If you make another sound, I'll gag you!"

Lin Yifan immediately shut his mouth and remained silent, observing the scene outside the car window. He knew that since the other party hadn't immediately attacked him, it meant they wouldn't kill him for the time being. They probably wanted to get something from him, or use him as some kind of bargaining chip.

The car drove for about half an hour before finally stopping in front of what looked like an abandoned factory gate. The gate was tightly shut, rusted, and surrounded by overgrown weeds, appearing dilapidated and eerie.

Li Kui got out of the car first, walked to the gate, and knocked. After a moment, the gate creaked open a crack, and a head peeked out, cautiously scanning the area. Only when it saw Xu Fugui's car did it open the door.

"Bring him down!" Li Kui shouted into the car.

Two burly men grabbed Lin Yifan from either side and dragged him off the car. Lin Yifan deliberately slipped and staggered, making it harder for them to drag him, and at the same time, he took the opportunity to observe the situation inside the factory.

The room was dimly lit and filled with the smell of rust and dust, as if no one had been there for a long time.

"Hurry up!" A burly man gave him a push from behind.

Lin Yifan was shoved and pushed into the factory. After passing through an empty factory building, they arrived at a relatively small room.

The room contained only a dilapidated table and a few chairs, with some miscellaneous items piled up in the corner.

A man in his fifties, dressed in a long black robe and top hat, watched them walk in. Behind him stood two burly men.

"Butler, the person has been brought." Li Kui stepped forward and said respectfully.

The man's gaze was like that of a venomous snake, fixed on Lin Yifan as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"You're Lin Yifan?" The butler's voice was hoarse and deep, carrying a chilling air of authority.

From the moment Lin Yifan arrived at the factory gate, he used his mind to survey the factory area and discovered that apart from the four people who brought him there (including Xu Fugui), there were only three people in front of him.

He suppressed his discomfort, raised his head, and feigned fear, timidly asking, "I...I'm Lin Yifan. Who...who are you? Why are you arresting me?"

The butler sneered, walked up to Lin Yifan, and looked down at him: "Who I am is unimportant. What's important is that you shouldn't stay in Beiping anymore. Listen carefully, if you behave, I'll spare your life; otherwise, I'll finish you off right here."