Courtyard House: Home Alone

Just after seven o'clock, Chen Gongshu arrived at the east courtyard.

"Young master, everything is ready." Chen Gongshu was wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket and a dog-skin hat, looking just like a peddler going from street to street.

Lin Yifan took a closer look. The mask was applied very well, indicating that Chen Gongshu had also received makeup training. His originally angular features had become much softer, and a few fine lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes, making him look like a kind-hearted man in his forties.

Lin Yifan nodded, turned and walked out of the courtyard gate, but then stopped and looked back at the four maids standing at the gate. In the morning light, they wore cotton-padded jackets of different colors, like four small flowers standing in the wind.

"Let's go back inside, it's cold outside."

Wenxiu suddenly ran up to him, took something out of her bosom, and stuffed it into his hand. Lin Yifan looked down and saw that it was a purse embroidered with orchids, with fine stitches and some loose threads still stuck to the edges—clearly it was made in a hurry.

"Inside is... a peace charm I got from Baiyun Temple." Wenxiu's voice trembled. "I brought it with me, I brought it with me..."

Lin Yifan put the purse into his pocket. He didn't linger and walked out of the alley with Chen Gongshu. As he turned the corner, he scanned the area behind him with his spiritual power. The four girls were still standing there, Wenxiu's shoulders were sobbing as if she were crying.

"Young master," Chen Gongshu said, urging his mule to ride alongside him, "this bond is no small matter."

Lin Yifan didn't reply, but took out two train tickets from his spatial storage—first class tickets from Beiping to Tianjin.

"Young master, this object..." Chen Gongshu touched his cheek, his voice tense, "is it really not a magical artifact?"

"It's nowhere near as good as a magician's," Lin Yifan said, mounting the mule. "It's just a more sophisticated trick. Remember, don't let anyone touch your face. If you sweat, gently pat it with a dry cloth; don't wipe it."

Chen Gongshu nodded solemnly, and the two walked to Qianmen Railway Station, mingling with the crowd of travelers as they boarded the platform.

The first-class carriage was at the very front of the train, with leather seats, small tea tables, and attendants specifically there to serve tea. Lin Yifan ordered a pot of Longjing tea, and as he watched the city walls slowly receding outside the window, he suddenly spoke:

"Uncle Chen, how much do you know about Manager Zhou of Hongjitang in Tianjin?"

Chen Gongshu lowered his voice: "I don't know. Xu Zheng was originally from the Tianjin station of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Only he knows about his agents."

"What about Xu Zheng?"

"He and the other four, including Liu Quande, should have arrived yesterday. They'll be keeping an eye on those foreign devils. I'll check on them when we get there."

Chen Gongshu pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. "This is the secret code. Every day at 5 PM, go to the Guanghe Tower in the South Market for a performance. It's the third private room on the second floor."

Lin Yifan took the note, rubbed it in his palm, and it turned into tiny pieces of paper. This skill made Chen Gongshu's pupils shrink slightly—turning paper into powder, his internal energy had reached a state of perfection.

"Young master, your skills are truly impressive..."

"The conditions are too harsh; you can't learn them. You only need the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands." After saying that, he closed his eyes to rest. Seeing Lin Yifan like this, Chen Gongshu obediently shut his mouth as well.

At noon, the train pulled into Tianjin East Station.

Lin Yifan put on his top hat and pulled his scarf up to cover half his face. Chen Gongshu followed behind him, hunched over like an old servant attending to a young master. The two exited the platform, where a rickshaw was already waiting on the street. The driver was a lean man who didn't greet them when he saw them come out, but simply pulled his straw hat down a little.

"Young master, which restaurant should we go to?"

"Let's go to the Lishun Hotel first," Lin Yifan said, referring to the accommodation Xu Zheng had arranged. "We need a quiet, superior room."

The driver grunted in agreement, grabbed the handlebars, and sped off. Lin Yifan sat in the carriage, his spiritual energy spreading outwards like a spiderweb.

The area around the station has always been a melting pot of all sorts of people. He sensed at least three groups of people secretly observing the passing travelers—pickpockets, undercover agents from the police station, and a faint but palpable murderous aura emanating from the second floor of the opium den on the street corner.

"Uncle Chen," he whispered, "there's a tail following you, don't turn around."

Chen Gongshu stiffened slightly, then casually pulled out his pipe and tapped it on the sole of his shoe: "How many?"

"Two, wearing grey cotton coats, they've been following us from the platform until now." Lin Yifan narrowed his eyes. "No rush, let's see whose men they are."

The rickshaw meandered through the bustling streets of the Japanese Concession before turning into the quiet alleys of the French Concession. The two men maintained a distance of about a hundred paces at all times, neither getting too close nor too far away, clearly experienced.

The Lishun Hotel was a three-story Western-style building, with uniformed Indian police officers standing at the entrance. Lin Yifan got out of the car, gave the driver a silver dollar, and the man took the money, bowed in thanks, and left.

"Young master, the private room on the third floor is ready." The doorman greeted him solicitously. "Hot water and food will be served shortly."

Lin Yifan nodded and led Chen Gongshu upstairs. The room was indeed elegant, with mahogany furniture, a Persian carpet, and a pot of daffodils on the windowsill, already in full bloom. He walked to the window and extended his spiritual energy downwards; the two people were standing in front of a general store across the street, pretending to look at the goods.

"Uncle Chen, do you recognize him?"

Chen Gongshu peeked through the gap in the curtains and shook his head: "Unfamiliar face. Definitely not from the Military Intelligence Bureau, nor does he seem like a member of the Green Gang."

Lin Yifan pondered for a moment, then took out three miniature communicators from his spatial storage and tuned them to a specific frequency. He then handed them to Chen Gongshu, saying, "These are the most advanced communicators. You wear one, and give the other two to Xu Zheng and Liu Quande."

Meanwhile, find out about those foreigners and contact me via communicator after you've got the information. You stay there; if anything happens later, lead them around.

Chen Gongshu took the two small, copper-button-sized objects. They were slightly heavy in his hand, with a matte metallic sheen. He examined them several times, but couldn't find any loose threads or flared openings. They looked more like two finely polished buttons.

"Young master, how...how do I use this?"

Lin Yifan tucked one of the rings inside Chen Gongshu's collar, then gently pressed his fingertip below Chen's Adam's apple: "Speak, and your voice will naturally come from within. The effective range is fifty li; that's enough for the Tianjin city area."

Chen Gongshu opened his mouth, then closed it again, his face full of doubt. Lin Yifan didn't explain further, but took out a matching earplug from his spatial storage and handed it to him: "Put it in your right ear, so no one can see."

After Chen Gongshu put it on as instructed, Lin Yifan took two steps back and lowered his voice, saying, "Test. I heard a response."

The voice seemed to come directly from his head, so clear it was as if someone was speaking right next to his ear. Chen Gongshu shuddered and instinctively reached for his right ear, but Lin Yifan stopped him with a look.

"Don't move. You'll get used to it."

"Young master, this..." Chen Gongshu's voice tightened, "It's even more amazing than the Kuomintang's radio."

"So don't let anyone touch your collar."

Lin Yifan put the other communicator into the inner pocket of his mandarin jacket. "Go find Xu Zheng. I need to know the foreigner's background before 5 PM. Also, lead those two tails to Nanshi when you leave, don't lead them towards Xu Zheng."

Chen Gongshu solemnly cupped his hands, his back hunched as he left the room, looking exactly like an honest and unassuming servant. Lin Yifan stood by the window, his mental energy locked onto the two figures in gray cloth.