Courtyard House: Home Alone

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Liu Haizhong, then turned to He Daqing and asked, "Brother He, doesn't his figure look like Lin in our backyard...?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice was extremely low, tinged with a hint of probing and disbelief. He Daqing shuddered, abruptly raising his head to look again at the hooded figure on the platform.

In the sunlight, the man's arm holding the knife had smooth and powerful muscle lines, and his posture when swinging the knife was calm and decisive. Even his standing figure exuded an indescribable sense of familiarity.

"Lin Yifan...Xiao Fan?"

He Daqing muttered to himself, his eyes widening, "You know what, that physique, that agility of movement, really does resemble him! But isn't he... isn't he only seven years old? How did he end up here, and even become..."

He shook his head halfway through his sentence, finding the idea too absurd.

Liu Haizhong, who had been listening intently, shuddered as he recalled the conflict from a few days prior and the cold look in the eyes that had been fixed on him.

That look in his eyes was just like that hooded person on the platform right now—so cold it sent chills down your spine!

He instinctively shrank back, swallowed hard, and his voice trembled slightly: "You...you mean...that's Lin Yifan? That seven-year-old brat in the backyard? This...how is that possible! He's so young, he probably wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, let alone kill someone!"

He retorted verbally, but his heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by something, and an absurd yet persistent thought began to take root.

Yi Zhonghai seemed not to hear Liu Haizhong's words, and just muttered, "Seven years old...so what if he's seven years old? In this chaotic world, what strange things can't happen?"

Besides, Xiao Fan, that kid, has always had a maturity and... ruthlessness that doesn't match his age. Have you forgotten how he set the rules for you back then?...”

Yi Zhonghai paused deliberately at this point, giving Liu Haizhong a meaningful look.

Liu Haizhong felt a jolt in his heart and his face burned as he felt the scene of being intimidated by Lin Yifan's gaze a few days ago resurfaced. That feeling was definitely not something a seven-year-old child should have.

He Daqing took a deep breath, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at the figure on the high platform. The hood covered his face, but it couldn't hide his domineering aura.

"If it really is him... then this child is far from simple..." His voice was filled with shock, doubt, and an indescribable sense of awe.

The three fell silent, their eyes fixed on the figure on the platform who kept wielding his sword, their hearts filled with turmoil.

The cheers and applause around them seemed to fade away. In their world, there was only the mysterious man with the hood and the swift, deadly strike, and the innocent, carefree seven-year-old child they remembered—Lin Yifan—who should have been playing in the yard.

This idea, like a seed, quietly took root and sprouted in their hearts, giving them a completely new and revolutionary understanding of the world and the seemingly ordinary child beside them.

In fact, Lin Yifan had already noticed the three of them, and there was nothing strange about their appearance. This was a public trial, and almost every citizen of Beiping with a sense of righteousness wanted to see these war criminals brought to justice.

He just hadn't expected it to be such a coincidence that he'd run into these three "old acquaintances." But he didn't care; with the hood on, no one could recognize his true identity, so let them guess whatever they wanted.

At this moment, all his attention was focused on the "prey" in front of him. With each swing of his sword, his domain power increased, a feeling that intoxicated him.

Meanwhile, Yi Zhonghai and his two companions below the stage were still shocked by their own guesses. Looking at the cold figure on the high platform, they felt as if they were seeing Lin Yifan for the first time, their hearts filled with indescribable complex emotions.

Suddenly, Yi Zhonghai shouted, "It's him! It's him!"

Then, pointing at Lin Yifan on the stage, he said to He Daqing and Liu Haizhong, "You...you look...look at his hand holding the knife, it's so small, it's a child's hand."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing and Liu Haizhong immediately looked in the direction Yi Zhonghai was pointing, their eyes fixed on the hand holding the knife hilt of Lin Yifan.

In the sunlight, that hand did indeed appear much thinner than the average person's, with distinct knuckles yet exuding a stability beyond its years, firmly gripping the blood-stained Japanese commander's sword.

Despite the distance, the size and shape of the hand did not appear as robust as an adult's.

Liu Haizhong opened his mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but found that his throat was blocked and he couldn't utter a single word.

He recalled Lin Yifan calmly telling him: "In my eyes, Lou Zhenhua is not qualified." Now, thinking back, the hidden power behind that statement was chilling.

He Daqing also gasped, his shock deepening. He murmured, "Hands...hands really aren't big...this...this really is Xiao Fan? How could he..."

He simply couldn't reconcile the ruthless and mysterious man before him with the seven-year-old child in the backyard who would occasionally come to his house for meals and teach Zhu Zi martial arts when he had time.

But that hand, along with the figure and movements Yi Zhonghai had mentioned earlier, and that cold gaze—all the clues, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, slowly pieced together a truth they could hardly believe.

He Daqing's face changed completely. He stared intently at the figure on the platform, his lips trembling, "Strange... strange... seven years old... a seven-year-old child..."

He recalled Lin Yifan's occasional displays of skill, his calm tone when teaching Zhu Zi to practice horse stance, and his composure and insight far beyond his peers.

I used to think it was just a child's precociousness, but now I realize it wasn't precociousness at all; it was a kind of vicissitude and... ruthlessness that comes from weathering storms.

Liu Haizhong was as if his soul had been ripped out, slumped in the crowd, and if it weren't for the people around him squeezing him, he would have almost slid to the ground.

He looked at the small hand holding the knife, but Lin Yifan's cold eyes uncontrollably appeared in his mind.

That look... it's not the look a seven-year-old child should have. It's the look of someone who has seen blood, killed, and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

He used to think Lin Yifan setting rules was just child's play, but now it seems like it was a superior instructing his subordinates! He even dared to talk back back then, but now he thinks it's incredibly lucky to be alive!

"He...he really is Lin Yifan..."

Liu Haizhong's voice was barely audible, filled with fear and disbelief, "Then...then what happened before..."

He dared not think any further. A seven-year-old child possessed such terrifying strength and intellect. The secrets hidden behind this were likely enough to overturn everyone's understanding.