Courtyard House: Home Alone

"Have you seen any other suspicious people or groups passing by recently?" Lin Yifan continued to ask. He not only had to pick up the families of his comrades on this trip, but also had to keep an eye on whether there were any movements of Japanese or puppet troops along the way.

The young bandit tried to recall, then shook his head: "No... I didn't see anything special. There are only a few of us, so we just stay around here. Beyond that is the area of ​​Niutou Mountain, but there are too many people there, so we don't dare..."

"A lot of people at Niutou Mountain?" Lin Yifan's heart skipped a beat. With just himself and Master Yao, and a brand-new truck, they were easy prey in the eyes of these bandits. It would be good to know more about them beforehand.

"Tell me about the situation at Niutou Mountain," Lin Yifan said coldly.

"I...I heard it from the boss and others. They said there are more than two hundred people and more than one hundred guns on Niutou Mountain. Their boss is called 'Sky Monkey,' and he is said to be very skilled and ruthless, even more ferocious than our boss Scarface."

They not only collected tolls on their own territory, but also frequently went down the mountain to rob nearby villages of their grain and goods. The local people were terrified of them.

As the young bandit spoke, he secretly observed Lin Yifan's expression, fearing that he might say something wrong and bring about his death. "Their stronghold is in an abandoned village on the top of Niutou Mountain. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack. The government has tried to send troops to wipe them out several times, but they haven't succeeded."

Lin Yifan understood immediately. This guy was clearly not an old bandit, and probably didn't know much. Lin Yifan looked at him and said coldly, "Now take me to your lair. If you behave well, I might spare your life, but you'd better remember today's lesson."

Go back and behave yourself, take care of your mother. If I find out you've done anything wrong again, I'll make sure you're dead, no matter where you are.

Upon hearing this, the young bandit's face first lit up with unbelievable elation, then was enveloped in immense fear. He repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, young master! Thank you for sparing my life! I will definitely be obedient! I will definitely be a good person!"

Fearing that Lin Yifan might change his mind, he struggled to get up from the ground. Although his legs were still trembling, there was a glimmer of hope for survival in his eyes.

Lin Yifan glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the driver's seat. Master Yao was still huddled in his seat, his face pale. When he saw Lin Yifan coming over, his lips trembled, and he couldn't say a word.

Lin Yifan patted him on the shoulder and said calmly, "Master Yao, it's alright. Move the car over to the side. I'm going to check out their hideout. You stay here and find some branches or something to tie to the car. I'll be back in a bit."

Master Yao then seemed to snap out of his daze and shakily started the truck. Lin Yifan glanced at the bandit again: "Go, drag those corpses to the side of the road, and search them while you're at it, see if there's anything useful."

The young bandit dared not delay and quickly replied "Yes," then, suppressing his fear and nausea, began to drag the corpse from the ground.

Master Yao drove the truck to a slightly wider spot on the side of the road and parked it. Then, trembling, he got out of the truck and, following Lin Yifan's instructions, began searching for tree branches nearby.

Lin Yifan stood to the side, scanning his surroundings with his spiritual power while keeping an eye on the young bandit's every move. He wasn't entirely sure he could trust the bandit's words; one should always be wary of others.

The young bandit moved quickly, perhaps driven by the will to survive. In no time, he dragged more than a dozen corpses into the woods by the roadside, piled the guns and broadswords that had fallen to the ground at Lin Yifan's feet, and then began to search their bodies.

He found a bulging money bag and a dagger on Scarface Qiang, while the other bandits mostly had only some loose copper coins and cheap tobacco on them.

"Young master, that's all."

The young bandit, carrying a money bag and a dagger, approached Lin Yifan tremblingly. Lin Yifan glanced at it, took the money bag, and weighed it in his hand; it seemed to contain quite a few silver dollars.

He casually tossed the money pouch into his backpack (space), and didn't even glance at the dagger.

"Lead the way," Lin Yifan said calmly.

The young bandit nodded hurriedly and walked ahead, heading deeper into the mountain valley. Lin Yifan followed behind him, maintaining a certain distance, while constantly monitoring his surroundings with his mental energy.

The mountain path was rugged and overgrown with weeds, clearly indicating that few people usually traveled there. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a hidden cave appeared ahead. The entrance was concealed by some branches and weeds, making it difficult to spot without careful observation.

"Young master, this is it," the young bandit said, pointing to the cave.

Lin Yifan didn't go inside. Instead, he used his spiritual power to carefully examine the cave. The cave wasn't deep, and the light was dim, but this didn't hinder his use of spiritual power to investigate.

Lin Yifan "saw" some tattered bedding and several empty wine jars piled up in the cave, with some dry food and water in the corner. It seemed that the bandits' hideout was indeed very simple.

He searched carefully but found nothing of value, nor did he see anyone else. He frowned. Was this all the bandits had? Or did they have other strongholds? But he couldn't worry about that now.

He turned to the young bandit and said, "Alright, that's all. You can go now. Remember what I said."

The young bandit felt like he had been granted a pardon and immediately kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master! I'll leave right now and go home right now!" After saying that, he scrambled down the mountain, afraid that Lin Yifan would change his mind.

Lin Yifan watched his retreating figure disappear into the mountains, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He didn't know if letting the bandit go was the right or wrong thing to do, but he had given the man a chance. Whether the man would cherish that opportunity was beyond his control.

He turned and left the mountain, returning to the truck. Master Yao had already gathered a lot of tree branches and was busily tying them around the truck bed.

"Master Yao, pile the remaining branches into the truck bed," Lin Yifan said.

Master Yao nodded quickly and did as instructed. After Master Yao had piled up all the branches, Lin Yifan got into the driver's seat. "Master Yao, let's go."

"Okay...okay, Mr. Kobayashi."

Master Yao quickly started the truck, and it slowly drove away from the place filled with the stench of blood. Lin Yifan watched the mountain valley recede into the distance outside the window, his heart unmoved.

In this chaotic world, being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself.

To calm Mr. Yao down, Lin Yifan started chatting with him about everyday things, which gradually helped Mr. Yao calm down. A little over an hour later, the car entered the Niutou Mountain area mentioned by the young bandit.

Lin Yifan also used his mental power to "see" the bandit scouts hiding nearby, but he didn't alert them or tell Master Yao, so as not to frighten him.

Lin Yifan knew that these scouts were just outposts; the real trouble was yet to come. The truck moved slowly along the winding mountain road, the surrounding woods growing increasingly dense and the light dimming considerably.